Jaune and the Games we Play
by Catalist223
Summary: Ryuugi's the games we play, i didn't write this, just trying to make it easier for me to read on my phone. Check out the rest of Ryuugi's work at spacebattles. This is a story about Jaune living his life as if it were an RPG
1. Chapter 1

1\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 1 - New Game

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
New Game**

"Hey, mom?" I said, joining my mother in the kitchen as she watched the sun set outside the window.

"Hm?" My mother, Isabella, turned towards me slightly, lifting an eyebrow as she made the sound in the back of her throat. "What is it, sweetie?"

"I, uh…" I scratched my cheek as I frowned slightly. "Well, I guess I'm just unsure about something and I figured you'd know?"

"Oh?"

"Is it…Mom, which would you say is more important, Intelligence or Wisdom?"

My mom put down the dish she'd been washing, turning to face me fully with her head tilted to the side.

"I'm not sure I understand the question?" She said questioningly. "Where'd this come from?"

"Well," I said, wondering about that a bit myself, if for different reasons. "I was playing a game, I guess. You know, an RPG, right? And it had the usual stats: Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Luck. And I never thought about it until a few days ago, but its like, all the others are obviously different, right? I wondered why Intelligence and Wisdom seem to be the exception and I started thinking about whether they were different in real life, too, and how."

Mom seemed to ponder that for a minute.

"Well, I'd say that it's ideal to have both intelligence and Wisdom," She said. "Just how it's better to be strong _and_ fast _and_ tough _and_ lucky, rather than just one in particular, but that's very rarely possible, is it? If I had to say which was most important…I suppose I'd say Wisdom."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well…If _I_ was to differentiate between Intelligence and Wisdom, I'd say that the former was power and the latter the awareness of how to _use_ that power. I'd say that Wisdom was the ability to make good choices and Intelligence a way to give you _more_ choices. If you're smart and have a thousand ideas, wisdom would tell you which was the best choice to make and what the long term effects would be."

I nodded at her seriously.

"Then it would be better for me to become wise then become smart, right?" I asked, just to double check.

Mom put a hand to my cheek and smiled.

"Oh, Jaune. You're still young," She said. "You have time enough to become whatever you want."

"Thanks, mom," I said, smiling honestly. "Then…I promise I'll become someone great. And, uh, why don't I handle the dishes?"

At that, her eyebrows went up again before she chuckled and nodded.

"I'll leave it to you then." She said, patting my cheek again as she turned away. I stared after her for a moment.

 **?**

 **LV?**

 **Isabella Arc**

I sighed and turned to the dishes, washing them one by one.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuously washing dishes has created the skill 'Dish Washing' to quickly clean dishes!**

I just sort of…stared at the blue box that appeared before my eyes for a moment and then exhaled slowly, shaking my head.

So even stuff like this…

How do I explain this? I can't, honestly, which is my I don't. I didn't even tell my mom or dad. But if I had to, I guess I could describe this as my special ability. I haven't had it for very long—just a week, really—but…well, you see, the game I'd told my mom about, that made me wonder about all this? Well…

"Status," I muttered.

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV2**

 **HP: 100/100**

 **MP: 50/50**

 **STR: 10**

 **VIT: 10**

 **DEX: 10**

 **INT: 10**

 **WIS: 10**

 **LUK: 10**

 **POINTS: 5**

 **MONEY: 100 Lien**

This window appeared in front of me at the sound of my voice. I'd confirmed I was the only one who could see it by opening it repeatedly in a crowd and not drawing any attention. Initially, I'd wondered if I was just seeing things, but…well, I had an Inventory, too, and I could literally store stuff inside of it and they'd, well, vanish until I could take them out. Hell, I could store more stuff in there then I could physically _carry_. I could even go on quests and stuff, though most of them were stuff like 'Set the table,' 'Take out the trash,' and 'Go get groceries.' Despite that, they gave me experience points and yesterday I'd even leveled up and gotten points. Given the circumstances, I was willing to operate under the assumption that would work like in a game, too.

Which had led me to the question I'd asked my mom. My stats were…average. Perfectly so—I wasn't good or bad at anything, for someone of my level, but I had figured out pretty quickly that I was low leveled. Most of the people in my class had levels like three or four, but I'd started at level one with completely normal stats. It had been kind of depressing to have that thrown in my face, especially since I'd gotten the ability something like a day after I'd failed to get into Signal. Again. And it had hurt. The knowledge, the reminder, the proof right before my eyes hammering in what I already knew—that I was a…

I'd gone to sleep, woken up, and I'd been like this, which had mainly enabled me to see for myself how weak I was.

But now, if I had this ability, if it worked how I thought it did, then maybe I could change that. I was sure of it, now—I could do things no one else could do. I had five points right now and I could put them anywhere I wanted. I could make myself stronger, faster, or anything else. Given the raw potential held in these little numbers on my, well, character sheet, it was only a matter of choosing properly to gain strength.

I had no idea how to do that. I'd considered all my options. I wasn't sure exactly how the numbers worked, but I could become the strongest in my class in a snap of my fingers by putting them in strength or the fastest by placing them in dexterity. But which was most important? Being strong? Fast? Tough? I'd considered it but after sleeping on it, I realized I just didn't know. What's the best choice? Where do I even start?

And then I realized, if I didn't know that, wouldn't making myself smarter and wiser be the best choice? And if Wisdom is the ability to make good choices, then…

I pressed the arrow beside Wisdom five times and raised it to fifteen. Taking a deep breath, I nodded and closed the window.

"I'm done with the dishes, mom!" I shouted. "I'm going out for a bit!"

 **XxXXxX**

I organized my thoughts, putting what I already knew in context. I was, essentially, a video game character. I could grow stronger by leveling up—whether that was my own, personal level or the levels of my skills. From what I'd seen, doing one didn't affect the other, so I had to improve them separately. I already knew how to do both, I'd just been uncertain as to how to go about it.

Improving my skills was as simple as using them. That in mind, I moved into the forest, took my sword out of my Inventory, and started whacking trees while I was busy thinking. I'd done this a little lately, once I'd developed my 'Sword Mastery' skill after practicing for a while. I'd figured out quickly that my skills could be either active or passive, but the method of improvement was the same. What I needed to do then was focus on two things: Leveling up important skills and finding new skills that would be useful.

I'd gotten 'Power Strike' around the same time I'd gotten 'Sword Mastery.' I could use the former about fifteen times before I ran out of mp, after which it took about an hour to regain it. It had taken me about two hours to increase it to level two and longer to raise it to level three, entirely because of how long it took to regain my mp. In comparison, I'd been able to raise my Sword Mastery to level five in a single day because I didn't need mp to use it. From that I could assume that passive abilities were easier to improve then active ones, as well as easier to use—but on the other hand, they were weaker individually and active skills got both stronger and cheaper as they grew more powerful. I needed to get many passive abilities that worked well together but also train my active abilities.

On the other hand, raising my own level was just as important, because it gave me points to improve my stats. Unfortunately, there were only a few ways to do that—doing quests was the only big one I'd done, though I could get a small bit of experience by studying and working out. But if I thought of the world as a game then presumably I could also do it by killing monsters and defeating enemies. Generally, quests gave more experience than individual monsters in return for taking more time and being more complicated. That all depended on the difficulty; I assumed that taking out the trash gave less experience then killing a Grimm would.

If I could do it, finding an area full of Grimm and killing them all would probably be the faster way to level up and places like that were easy to find. I could just leave the city boundaries and I'd find them eventually, though the forests close to the residential district were safe. But…I was still only level two and there was no way of knowing what I'd find. Getting stronger first was probably the wiser choice, as was sticking to quests for now.

Then…could I manufacture quests? If I could get five hundred experience from just doing things like doing chores for my mom, could I volunteer for tasks and do things around the neighborhood? Or did someone have to explicitly ask before I could do something? I'd have to find out. Even if I couldn't, there had to be a fair number of people who needed stuff done around town.

Then, that's where I should start, at least in terms of leveling myself up. For my skills…I should probably make a schedule.

Besides Power Strike and Sword Mastery, I didn't have many other skills. I'd gotten 'Observe' while watching the higher-level people I'd seen around town and the fights I occasionally saw. And, of course, I'd gotten 'Dish Washing' just a while ago, but I think I could exclude that from my list of 'Important skills to grind.'

Observe, however, seemed like the type of thing that could be extraordinarily useful. Even at level one, it showed me a lot about whatever I used it on. It was an active skill, but…it didn't seem to drain mp. Then, if I were to use it on every person I met—no, on everything I saw—I should be able to improve it at a decent rate, right? Did the level or value of the object matter? If it did, I could use it in stores and stuff, and places like that would also have lots of stuff to use it on. A library might be a good place to use it, too, if every single book counted. I could use that whenever I was in the city and I could spend a few hours wandering every day, maybe doing some quests in the process. My Sword Mastery and Power Strike I could train later one, like I was doing now. That would serve to level my existing abilities. As for acquiring new ones…

Dish Washing served as a reminder of how broad 'Skills' could be. If I could get a skill by doing chores, what else would count? Sword Mastery implied that I could get a similar ability with other weapons. It might be more efficient to stick with swords for now, at least in terms of melee, since I'd already put some work into it—but it might be smart to get a longer-range option at some point and maybe see if my hands counted as weapons, just in case. In fact, was there a Shield Mastery? I hadn't gotten one just by wearing a shield, but then I hadn't gotten Sword Mastery until I started using my sword. There wasn't anything nearby to attack me, but…would it count if I bashed something with my shield? I'd bring try it out in a bit.

Besides that, there were a bunch of things that probably counted. Sneaking around probably counted and if I wanted to reach the Grimm later, I'd need to get past the border guard, to say nothing of any of the other reasons I might need to hide. Something to help me run away, just in case. Ways to defend myself, though my shield might count if that worked, and I could try my armor. I'd focus on them for now and see what other skills I discovered and what came to me. I'd hopefully have some time before anything dangerous happened.

But what should I focus on, one I leveled up?

I closed my eyes and frowned. If I was right, then…it should get harder to level up as time went on, so early on I should focus on things I didn't want to wait for. My mom was completely right—I had time to become whatever I wanted. I could become strong _and_ fast _and_ tough and anything else. But while I could do it easily, I should focus on…

"Intelligence and Wisdom, huh?" I muttered before nodding to myself. If I was smart and wise, I could figure out how to get stronger or come up with solutions to things I couldn't face with strength alone. I could make up for weakness with intelligence, but could I make up for being stupid by being strong? Maybe, but it'd probably be harder and I might regret it.

"It's a plan, then," I said, smiling to myself as I drew my shield out of my inventory. "Just watch me—I'm gonna be great someday."

I then proceeded to start my path to greatness by repeatedly whacking a tree with a blunt object.

 **XxXXxX**

2\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 2 - Tutorial Level

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Tutorial Level**

I woke up at six and started working on my homework the moment I rolled out of bed. I'd thought about it last night and had decided for sure—school was going to cut into my time a lot. Not only did I need to spend seven hours a day there when I could be training instead, but there was also stuff like homework I had to do out of class. So, to avoid wasting more time than necessary, I should get this done with as quickly as possible. Hence, waking up early and spending an hour on this week's homework.

 **Diligent studying caused your INT to increase by 1!**

I turned to stare flatly at the notification, wondering why I was even surprised.

I could increase my stats like that, too?

That changed things. If it wasn't just by leveling up—that is, if I could get more than five points per level—then my plans needed to be adjusted accordingly. I'd need to test exactly how it worked, experiment to see if and how it applied to my other stats and how I could improve each, though I imaged that working out would improve the physical ones. In which case…

From eight to three I was in school. Taking into account breakfast and the time it would take to reach class, I would have an hour of free time in the morning that I couldn't use effectively in any other way, so I could study and work out then. At school, I could study and get ahead and nobody should be able to complain. After school, I could stay out until supper, if I told mom I was going to the library—which I was, so it wasn't even really a lie. I could practice a number of my skills then and after supper I could go into the woods to practice the ones I couldn't use in town. Mom would want me back by dark, though, at which point I could study and work out some more in my room.

No matter how exhausted my body got, I would recover after thirty minutes of rest. My hp and mp returned more slowly, but even they would be fully restored simply by sleeping in my bed for six hours. As such, no matter how hard I pushed myself at night, it was fine. If I could gain additional stat points at a reasonable rate, it was more than worth it—if I could gain even just one INT per level then even assuming I couldn't think of any way to get additional Wisdom, I could focus on it and get it to level fifty by level nine and still have an INT of eighteen or higher. If I switched my focus to it afterwards, I could raise INT to fifty as well by the time I was level fifteen.

I resisted the urge to pump my fist in the air before realizing there was no one around to look at me strangely and doing it anyway.

Then I went downstairs to make breakfast before Mom woke up.

The Breakfast of _Champions_.

 **XxXXxX**

School was boring, as a rule, and it wasn't made particularly less so by the fact that I spent the whole time studying. My Int didn't go up again while I was there, which didn't particularly surprise me since even a week of school and homework hadn't raised it until this morning. After it let out for the day, I headed towards the library like I'd told mom, Observing everyone and everything that caught my eye on the way there. Most of them were just normal people, but practice was practice, right?

The library, however, turned out to be a treasure trove. Not just because it turned out that, yes, I _could_ Observe every single book and not just because there were plenty of books there that I could use to study after I finished with my textbooks. Those were nice, but they paled in comparison to the true power of the library. I'm not remotely ashamed to admit that I made a beeline for the section about Hunters and such the moment I entered. I started from the top and went through it alphabetically, taking a book out, Observing it, and putting it back. Each use gave me what amounted to a summary of the book, which got more detailed as I leveled it up again. But as I was approaching the end of 'A'…

 **You obtained the skill book 'Aura: The Light of Our Souls.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

It took me a minute to understand what I was look at. When I did…well, if I'd been holding a drink, I would have crushed it to powder right then and I proceeded to press 'Yes' about twenty times in the half a second it took for the message to vanish. The book proceeded to fill with a bright golden light before flaking apart into what seemed almost like glowing petals and vanishing completely. As it did, I could feel the knowledge flowing into me and I knew, _knew_ , exactly what Aura was despite having never even heard of it before.

 **Aura (Passive & Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%**

 **The Manifestation of one's soul. Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, learned to wield the light of their being against the soulless Grimm. It's a power that allowed Mankind to reach past their human limits and drive back the darkness, letting them bear their burdens and shielding their hearts. Stat increases depend on the amount of Aura (MP).**

 **Passively increases STR by 30%.**

 **Passively increases DEX by 30%.**

 **Passively increases VIT by 30%.**

 **Passively increases INT by 30%.**

 **Passively increases WIS by 30%.**

 **Additional 30% increase to STR when activated.**

 **Additional 30% increase to DEX when activated.**

 **Additional 30% increase to VIT when activated.**

 **HP regeneration speed increased by 100% when activated.**

…Holy _crap_ that's broken and it's only at level _one_. And all Hunters have this?

I looked at my hands as they—my entire body, really—started glowing bright white. After a few seconds passed, it began to die down, the power drawing closer to my skill. It was active already, I could feel it, and I had no objections to that whatsoever. This skill was one I wanted to level up as quickly as possible.

I tried to fight down the urge to start laughing and cheering like a madman and only succeed because I heard footsteps and they reminded me that I had no way of explaining what just happened and, also, I'd just destroyed one of the library's books which I really didn't want to explain either. Or, uh, pay for. Because my wallet was anemic.

Thinking quickly, I dove to the end of the row with my new found speed and turned around the corner, holding my breath in an instinctive attempt to go unnoticed. Someone—another library-goer or a librarian, I didn't know—stopped near where I'd just been and I silently crept past the thankfully empty row beside the Hunter section and turned down into the one two shelves down, where I spotted another person. I went back to looking at books in a way I hoped was casual, going back to Observing.

Seconds passed with nobody coming after me and I let out a slow breath.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous hiding has created the skill 'Stealth' to avoid notice!**

I didn't react as the notice appeared, focusing on the books. Just in case, I should probably avoid looking at the Hunter section again today, though I could still browse through a few shelves of books. I needed to remember that using skill books came with a lightshow and vanishing books and do it somewhere out of the way.

Out of the way…

I spent a minute browsing the shelf I was on, just for show, before minding another empty row. After a few minutes of searching and Observing, as well as some basic thought, I found what I was looking for. A Driver's Manual—or rather, to me, a driving skill book. I could use this with the push of a button and instantly learn how to drive and all it would take is a destroyed book. And…it may have been selfish of me or said something about me, but the destruction of a book in return for skills like this just didn't bother me. If anything did, it was simply that I would be taking the book from the library permanently in doing so and maybe a minor fear of being caught. But…

I took a deep breath and spoke.

"Inventory," I said and the window appeared before me. I pushed the book into it and it disappeared into a ripple in space, stored neatly into one of the top slots. And then, I went back to the shelf and started looking for other skill books.

 _I'll pay you back someday,_ I promised the library as I left a few hours later. As I passed through the threshold, a notification appeared.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous theft has created the skill 'Theft' to take things that belong to others!**

 **Mastery of the skill Theft increases! Theft's level goes up by one! Theft's level goes up by one! Theft's level goes up by one! Theft's level goes up by one! Theft's level goes up by one!**

Ugh.

 **XxXXxX**

After I left the library, I went home and started sorting through the skill books I'd taken. A number were of…questionable utility, but several actually seemed pretty useful, if odd. I'd gotten a Craft skill, for instance…from an art book, but it seemed to apply to making stuff in general, since I'd been able to add blueprints using several cookbooks, art books, and a number of other things. When I had a chance—and the money and the materials—I'd try leveling it up. There were a few others in the small section of the library I'd cleared, but they were mainly stuff like how to drive specific vehicles—leading to my Drive skill—and stuff. It'd take a long time to clear the entire library, I knew, but I was also excited to see what I'd find in doing so.

 _My ability is so cheap…_

Once I was done with supper and my training in the woods, I went to my room, put my textbook on the floor, and did pushups until I thought I would die. I did my best to read as I did, though only covered about a fifth of what I normally would have in that time and then I rolled over onto my back gasping for air. When I caught my breath enough, I picked up my book and read for a while. After thirty minutes passed, I was completely recovered, as always.

I proceeded to do squats until I thought I was gonna die, placing my book on the table in front of me. Afterwards, I read until I recovered and did crunches until I thought I was gonna die, read some more, and did lunges until I thought I was gonna _die_. Then I went to sleep and woke up six hours later, completely refreshed.

 **Repeated effort caused your STR to increase by 1!**

 **Repeated struggles caused your VIT to increase by 1!**

I smiled brightly. That was about a week of effort to get a level in STR, VIT, and INT, without focused effort? If I stuck to my schedule, I should be able to do it in half that time or less. Though it should get harder to level up as my stats improved…but the stronger I got, the more I could train and the smarter I got, the more complex the things I could study, so it should remain roughly even, at least early on. For now, I could probably aim for half a week to a week of heavy effort, per point—maybe faster for INT, given that I spent most of my time at school studying. I'd need to think of something for DEX, however. Acrobatics? Running? I could do the latter as I moved through the city, but I'd need to think of something to attempt the former. I might want to look into weights, too, though I could probably borrow my dad's.

I looked at my clock and nodded to myself in satisfaction. I still had an hour before I needed to get going. Should I work out here some more? Study? Train my skills?

It was both exhilarating and intimidating. Not just my power but even simply knowing that I _had_ stats and skills, that they were numerical values I could watch increase. With a word, I could bring up proof that my every action, every choice, was defining my _life_. Choosing to spend my time one way was taking away from my time to train something else, but at the same time I could literally see any improvements. But what should I use this free hour in the morning for?

I could try working on my DEX, but it would take a while to bear fruit, even assuming I picked the right way to train it—and any time I wasted doing that was time I wasn't spending improving known qualities. The question, then, was if I valued DEX enough to bother, instead of one of the alternatives. And, if not, what did I value and what was most efficient? I spent about three hours working out and studying in the evening, though most of that was breaks to recover. Call it one hour of hard work to two hours of studying, though that was free time I could use for either. I spent seven hours at school and I spent all the time I could studying, so call it five to six hours accounting for various interruptions, but that was time I could _only_ spent studying, because most of my teachers would probably object to me doing backflips in class. I had this one hour in the morning that I could also spend either way, studying or working out.

Except it wouldn't really be the same, would it? If I worked out, I would get at most half an hour in before I needed to rest, whereas I could spend the whole time studying. When my body was stronger, I'd probably be able to train for the whole hour—and I'd get that strong eventually, I knew that for sure—but right now…

I had the weekends off, I thought. I can literally train my body from dusk 'til dawn, then. And once I'd raised my Intelligence and Wisdom to fifty, I could decide how to handle everything else.

So I studied at home and I studied at school and by the time it let out I'd literally finished reading one of my textbooks and it was every bit as awful as it sounds. Maybe, hopefully, it would get easier once I'd gotten smarter—but I doubted it. It wasn't really the contents that were hard, since that had gotten easier to understand and I'd spent two days studying what felt like constantly. It was the fact that what I read was a text book and as dry as the paper it had been written on.

But once school let out, I finally had a break from studying, at least until tonight. I thought about heading back to the Library and searching for treasure; using Observe on even just one bookshelf took forever so I'd only gone through a small section of it. However…there was something I wanted to check out first. The library had been, would be, a treasure trove, but there _were_ limits to what I could find there. I wanted to know I had options, other places to get skill books if needed—and, perhaps, books I couldn't get in a public library. I wasn't in a rush or anything, since I still had all the time in the world to get stronger, but it didn't hurt to look and I might even get lucky.

Which was how I found myself straying off my usual route home, towards a store I'd walked past a hundred times but never gone into.

I started thinking maybe it wasn't the greatest idea I'd ever had the moment I walked into the store and saw the shopkeeper. Or rather, saw what was floating above his head.

 **White Fang Book Trader**

 **LV11**

 **Tukson**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV2**

 **HP: 100/100**

 **MP: 50/50**

 **STR: 11+3.3(30%)=14.3**

 **VIT: 11+3.3(30%)=14.3**

 **DEX: 10+3(30%)=13**

 **INT: 11+3.3(30%)=14.3**

 **WIS: 15+4.5(30%)=19.5**

 **LUK: 10**

 **POINTS: 0**

 **MONEY: 100 Lien**

3\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 3 - Faction Quests

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Faction Quests**

For a moment, my heart pounded. I knew about the White Fang, of course—everyone did. But I hadn't ever expected to run into them on the street or something. I mean, I don't know why I never thought about what they did in their free time, but—

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the Sun," Tukson greeted.

All at once, I calmed down and started thinking about this rationally. He's here. Running a shop. Meaning he's almost certainly not a _known_ White Fang supporter and that he'd probably like to keep things that way. He wasn't going to grow claws and tear my throat out for not being a Faunus.

Furthermore, I knew he was a member of the White Fang because of his title but _he_ didn't know that I knew; I was the only one who could see them. He didn't know anything about me and he probably wouldn't bother finding out so long as I didn't give him any reason too. What's more, I could find stuff out about him a lot more easily then he could about me.

Still calm as could be, I nodded to the owner and walked over to one of the nearest bookshelves and started browsing, casting a glance at Tukson out of the corner of my eye.

"Observe." I muttered and my new Observation window appeared before me. I scrolled past most of it, though it confirmed his race as a Faunus and gave him a title as 'Reluctant Gang Member.' At that, I skipped past his stats—I had no intention of fighting him, after all—and went to the new section at the bottom.

 **Background: A Faunus born in Vacuo, he joined the White Fang prior to its transformation into its current form. Uncomfortable with its new status as a radical organization yet not wanting to betray his friends, he finds himself on unsteady ground, afraid both to withdraw his support and participate. He seeks comfort in his peaceful life as a store owner.**

 **Emotions: Anxiety, Uncertainty, Helplessness, Distraction.**

Huh. That changed things. Hell, that threw my train of thought completely off the tracks.

I wondered what to do now. I was even less worried about Tukson now, but I should probably do something here, right? I mean, I was…wanted to be a hero. But I think I needed a higher Wisdom score to handle something like this. Tukson _was_ a White Fang member, but I guess I couldn't blame him for that—even I knew the story of the White Fang. However, while I didn't blame him for it, I couldn't really help him with it, either. If I was in his shoes, would I want to betray my old friends? Would I want to run, knowing what might happen?

Then…should I just take control of the situation myself, ignore his wishes, and call the police? But that would just get Tukson himself wrapped up in this—and bad as what the White Fang did was, the fact was that a lot of people were biased against the Faunus. Who's to say they wouldn't just arrest and haul off everyone involved?

Then…

I sighed, raising the book in my hands and leaning it against my forehead.

Maybe I should just ask mom about it again. I bet her WIS score was huge.

"Is…something wrong?" Tukson's voice asked, sounding vaguely concerned.

"Ah," I said, lowering the book. "Sorry. A lot on my mind, is all. Sir."

"Heh," He answered. "I know something about that. Can I help you with anything?"

He nodded around his shop and I hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Do you have anything about Aura?" I asked.

"Third row on the left," He said immediately, his phone ringing as I followed his directions. I saw his expression shift slightly as whoever was on the other end of the phone answered before he moved into the backroom, out of my hearing. Even so, given what I knew about him, it wasn't hard to guess what the reason probably was. I hoped—

Holy.

 _Crap_.

Tukson's Book Trade's catchphrase probably wasn't literally accurate but _damn_ , Tukson evidently had access to the good stuff. I was looking at the Hunter section the Aura books fell under and I…I had to hold myself back from reaching out to them. I mean, I want to, like…to touch them. Just for a little while. I—

I took one of the books down and stroked its cover gently.

 **You obtained the skill book 'Meditation: The Soul of the World.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say yes so bad it _hurt_. That blue screen and button hung in the air, taunting me, the bookshelf of skill books just behind it. I could just slip this into my Inventory, grab a few dozen of its friends to keep it company, and…

I sighed and put it back in its place. No. For one thing, stealing may have been stealing, but for some reason, stealing from a person I knew was in need felt worse than stealing from a library. Maybe it was just because Tukson had a face and a little square for his background, I don't know, but it did.

Second of all, stealing from a place like this would be different than stealing from a library. Hundreds of people went to the library every day, shifting in and out, talking, drawing attention—who would remember one blonde boy in all of that, especially when he left with, apparently, no books on him? This place was different. I was the only person in here now and Tukson seemed like he knew his shop. If I left and a bunch of books vanished from the section he'd directed me too, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out the likely culprit. Even if he didn't notice for a few days, I'd still probably only have a few competitors for the title of 'Most Suspicious' by the time he did. And he knew what I looked like.

Also, he was affiliated with a gang that I was guessing probably wouldn't take kindly to one of their members getting robbed.

Or a Human robbing a Faunus.

Or my face.

I noted the price tags with a small hint of longing and sighed, stepping away. I'd have to figure something out and come back some other—

 **A quest has been created!**

I blinked and looked around at the empty front of the store. Here? _Now?_

Nonetheless, I pushed the button.

 **Quest Alert!**

 **Tukson's Hope: Delivery Boy!**

 **Tukson's been called to deliver a package to a member of the White Fang. Deliver it so he doesn't have to! Time Limit: Three Hours.**

Um.

I shifted awkwardly. I wanted to help Tukson. I really did. I mean, I could only image how sucky his situation must be, with no real way to win. That _sucks_ and it's unfair and he didn't deserve it—no one did. I also wanted to be helpful, a hero.

So why was it that I wanted to turn and walk away from this sign? Maybe it was my new Wisdom score. I'd like to blame it on that—see, this wasn't because I was _scared_ , it was because I was _smart_. After all, it's a member of the gang Tukson's a part of; he'd be safe and I wouldn't. And, really, would this situation be improved if I, someone who had nothing to do with any of this, involved myself where I wasn't needed or wanted? Probably not. And, really, if it involves the White Fang, what are the odds it was on the level?

And see, all that was completely valid. Those were all good points. And, hey, if any of that had been what came to my mind, I might even feel reasonable about just turning away, if a bit sadly. Instead, what came to mind was more along the lines of 'Me? Talk to a member of the White Fang? Holy crap, I'm only level two! My hp score is almost as tiny as my STR, VIT, and DEX scores—and even _that's_ larger then my life expectancy if I take this mission.'

I thought about refusing the quest because it was dangerous and I was scared and that was it. I considered leaving Tukson to do it alone to spare myself from having to get involved. And as I realized that, I wasn't sure if that made me want to take the quest in spite of all my reservations or run away even more.

But there was something I was learning lately. Every choice—the ones me make and the ones we avoid—defines who we are. That wasn't necessarily a good or bad thing, it was just a fact. I could walk away from this quest and nobody would ever know but me, but at the same time I _would_ know. That's not to say I'd necessarily regret it, because hell, maybe I walk away and find out tomorrow that I was completely right to do so. Or maybe I _would_ regret it forever. I don't know what the future holds. But there was a choice in front of me and it was mine to make, for better or worse. Yes or No, the choice was mine.

I took a deep breath and looked down, thinking.

And my brain waves abruptly flat-lined.

 **Completion Reward: Exp 60000, Skill Book 'Meditation: The Soul of the World.'**

 _Sixty thousand experience points._

That was…that was a lot. More than all the experience points I'd gathered thus far _combined_ , many times over. That was enough to level me up for sure. Probably a bunch of times, though I could only guess how many; I'm not entirely sure how much I'd need for each level. And a _skill book_ on top of that. Now that's just unfair.

I told myself it didn't matter. Whether I did this or not, whether I chose to aid Tukson or leave him be, had to be decided based upon me and Tukson. That's how a hero would do it. That's how I should do it. Tukson was a man in need and I had to decide whether _I_ would help him, _could_ help him, based solely on that fact.

But _sixty thousand experience points and a skill book._

The reward doesn't change the quest. If I couldn't bring myself to help a man in need who has nothing to offer, what would it say about me if I would suddenly change my mind if I found out he was rich? My dad would help him either way. So would my mom. If I'm only helping him because of what's in it for me, when I would have rejected it before, then what did that make me? Not much of a hero, that's for sure.

But, I thought, I hadn't made my decision before I saw the reward. Maybe I would have helped him anyway, despite the risk. Maybe I wouldn't have. Maybe any decision I made now was biased by what I'd seen, whether to accept or decline. And, really, the reward itself told me about the mission—if it was that great, there was more to this then there seemed. Probably something dangerous—really, really dangerous. And if I did nothing, then Tukson would be the one to face that. He was at a higher level than me, but…

I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I'd know the answers to all these questions if I had another ten or fifteen points of Wisdom.

Tukson returned from the backroom, features set in a severe frown.

"Sorry, something came up," He said, sounding honestly apologetic. "I'm going to have to close early—"

"Um," I interrupted, reaching out subtly to press the button. "It's okay, Mr. Tukson but, uh…actually…"

 **XxXXxX**

It was surprisingly easy to convince Tukson to let me face horrific danger in his place—well, not _that_ surprising if you think about it that way, but it was still easier then I would have expected it to be given that he didn't know about that part. I'd basically just offered to do the job in return for the book, assured him I knew how to get there and was going in that direction, and tried to ease his concerns. Apparently the job was as simple as transporting a book to a building on the Industrial Side, handing it over at the front door, and coming back, so it wasn't like it was anything huge from Tukson's perspective. It was a simple delivery mission.

Yeah. Right.

I stayed on guard as I crossed the city, though I had to move it to make it in time to take the train to the Residential District and then another to the Industrial District. Even though I'd never been there before, I hadn't been lying when I told Tukson that I knew how to get there—I just said 'Map' and one of the City of Vale appeared before me with the position of both my objective and myself marked and the quickest route highlighted. I kept it open beside me and watched it with half an eye as I ran for my life and experience points.

I made it there with nearly an hour to spare and, strangely, wasn't attacked by the forces of darkness, angry Faunus, the police, or anything else on the way there. The most I got were a few odd looks from people as I rushed through the streets and I quickly found myself before a rather plain warehouse in the Industrial District. I was still early in the afternoon and the Sun was high in the blue sky. I could even hear birds chirping in the planted trees on the sides of the street.

I gave the other shoe a chance to drop, but it didn't oblige me. Odds were, it would spring until I'd gone too far to have a chance to escape—or, at least, that's probably how it'd work in a game. Could my power manipulate circumstance that way? Or was it just _me_ it was manipulating, putting in the right place at the right time?

I looked around, looked at the clock nearby, and sighed before taking the last step forward and lifting a hand to knock on the door. I wasn't all that surprised when a blue window appeared before my eyes.

 **Destination reached! New objective: Survive long enough to deliver the package!**

 **A quest has been created!**

 **White Fang's Need: Rescue the Faunus trapped in the rubble!**

 **Members of the White Fang are trapped in the rubble and need your help! Save them while Blake and Adam fight the Spider Droids! Time Limit: Ten minutes.**

 **Completion Reward: Exp 3000 per Faunus saved, Increased closeness with the White Fang, quest item 'The Keys.'**

The side of the building exploded outwards, three massive machines climbing out of the dust and smoke after a pair of blurs. Each of the machines had the same sign above their heads.

 **Schnee Security Droid**

 **LV43**

 **Spider Droid**

 **XxXXxX**

4\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 4 - Mobs

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Mobs**

I think what surprised me the most was that I didn't panic. I wanted to run, of course, and I was well aware of what a horrible situation I'd found myself in, but despite this being the first _real_ fight I'd ever been in—and despite knowing instantly that I was truly, horrifically outclassed—I didn't lose my cool. It was kind of weird, honestly.

As the wall broke and the last pieces of rubble fell, I called up my Inventory, reached into it to get my great-great grandfather's sword and shield, and activated my Aura. Stepping back, I cast my gaze across the building, the robots, the two blurs that had finally slowed to a stop, and then back before walking into the building.

Crazy as it sounded, there was a logic to it. There were three of those LV43 Spider Droids and once the twin blurs had come to a halt I'd been able to see them, too.

 **The Beauty**

 **LV34**

 **Blake Belladona**

 **The Beast**

 **LV41**

 **Adam Taurus**

Given the circumstances, it was easy enough to guess that a fight was about the break out and, again, I was only Level Two. I wasn't gonna survive participating in a fight like that and I didn't want to take my chances in terms of being caught out in the open since each of those Spider Droids had _four_ arm cannons. If I was on the streets when all twelve of those cannons started going off and even one shot happened to hit me, odds were good I wouldn't survive it and I'd rather not take my chances. The level difference between us was such that even a glancing blow might well be enough to take me out—I was a faceless extra in an action movie out here. The obvious thing to do was take cover.

Of all my options, I chose the ruined building for several reasons. First and foremost, it was by far the closest and I could get inside easily. I didn't have to sprint to a nearby building and hope it was unlocked or anything—there was a giant hole in the wall right next to me even if the door _hadn't_ been unlocked. Second of all, given the title of my new quest and what I'd already concluded from Tukson, it seemed safe to assume several things: This was a White Fang Base, 'Blake' and 'Adam' where White Fang Members, the Spider Droids were hunting the White Fang, and most or all of the Faunus inside had already been taken out. Adam and Blake seemed to be the priority targets in the Spider Droid's eyes as well, given how they were focused on them now, and it seemed logical to conclude that _they_ wouldn't want the Spider Droids firing on the building containing their allies and would distract it. As such, it was the least likely place to be filled with bullets. Third…

Third, there were people trapped under the rubble. I accepted the quest and entered the building.

As I did, I had to amend my thoughts slightly, however.

 **Schnee Security Droid**

 **LV10**

 **AK-130 Android**

So it wasn't _completely_ safe in here. It wasn't my fault I couldn't see through walls—and at least they weren't twenty times my level. They didn't seem to notice me at first, which wasn't all that surprising. The sound of gunshots and explosions wiped away pretty much all other sound and even though it was still daylight and most of a wall was gone, the place wasn't exactly bright. Clouds of falling dust and rising smoke acted like curtains throughout much of the building, and half of the lights on the ceiling were broken, scattered by bullets or torn off completely. Several of the rest were flickering so quickly they made things, if anything, even harder to see. For people who couldn't see others by the signs above their heads, I could only imagine how they kept track of anything.

Another flickering glance told me everything I needed to know. There were five remaining Androids and the broken remains of about thirty or forty more. I spotted a number of Faunus by the signs floating about their heads and I saw several more above piles of rubble, which I assumed to be the trapped Faunus mentioned in the Quest. I counted three standing to the nearly ten down—not counting the corpses. The ones remaining were attacking the Androids, one with a gun and two with swords and none of them had a level above seven. Odds were they were going to lose and then die.

I should hide, a part of me whispered, or run.

I ignored that part; it was only a small part, thankfully, and it was crushed quickly beneath the merciless boots of logic. I could already hear the fighting beginning anew outside and however much I disliked being in a room with five killer robots, I liked it way better than being out _there_ with three killer _super_ robots. It was too late to run and if I hid, odds were the robots would just kill these guys, sweep the room for survivors, and find me. I could fight them alone or I could fight them with help.

Besides, what was the point of running if it meant leaving people behind to be slaughtered?

I took a deep, steadying breath. Even if they outnumbered me and were five times my level, I could do this, _had_ to do this. I knew I was a lot more powerful then I should have been at level two, thanks to my skills, training, and Aura—I just had to be smart, hit hard, and hope it was enough. If it wasn't…well, I wouldn't have to worry about it for very long, would I?

Of the five robots, two had been engaged directly by the Faunus, their hands having turned into wicked-looking blades to hold back the curved weapons of the White Fang. The other three had turned them into guns instead, which seemed like a bigger concern—and was probably why the two Faunus had gotten up close and personal with the other two, forcing them to fight on their terms. Outnumbered as they were, it still wasn't enough, even with the remaining Faunus trying to distract the other robots with cover fire—he was outnumbered _and_ outgunned, even if he seemed like a good shot.

I focused on them as the bigger concern, knowing I'd need to make the first hit count. No one seemed aware of me yet, so this was my best chance. I focused on the training I'd done, on my Aura, on the Skills I'd trained, and dashed forward. The sound of gunshots filled my ears and I could feel the ground tremble slightly with the footsteps of the massive creatures outside, but I blotted it out as I narrowed everything down to me and my targets. One of the robots seemed to turn as I got close and I broke my run off to leap at him, swinging my sword down with all my might.

"Power Strike!" I shouted, the edge of my blade biting deeply into the base of its neck. The sight sent a thrill through me—I could _do_ this. Jerking my blade back, I bounced back a step and readied myself to swing again as the machine tried to complete its turn, motions shaky and halting. "Power Strike!"

This time, the head came clean off.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continued use of Aura has created the skill 'Aura Channeling' to empower equipment!**

I ignored the screen, casting my gaze at the firearm-wielding Faunus. He looked surprised to see me, but his expression smoothed as I jerked my head at the robot to the left of me and then stepped right. The element of surprise was gone, but I still had to press the assault. The robot I was approaching had begun firing before it had even completed its turn and I felt impacts across the left side of my chest in an odd way, like the pounding notes of some strange rhythm rather than bullets.

Nonetheless, getting shot at was bad and I broke off my run to throw myself to the side, raising my shield as I went. I heard clicks and bangs, bullets passing close enough to seem like insects buzzing past my ear, but somehow I managed to stay ahead just enough to avoid being hit again—until I realized I was running in a circle and that the Faunus would soon be in the line of fire if I continued to do so. I had a split second to think about that before I was charging, shield out before me.

Bullets rattled against the ancient metal, the blows soft at first but then abruptly harder, jolts rising up my arm at the force even though the shield held—and then I tried to gasp and scream at the same time as a knife of pure fire passed through the side of my abdomen. I went down in a slide, more by chance then choice, but I swung my blade again any way, catching the machine in the ankle hard enough to knock its feet out from under it and send it pitching forward.

I rolled over and fell to one knee as I tried to rise, barely able to breath or think as I reached for what was no doubt a gunshot wound—and the pain abruptly faded. I expected my hand to come away wet with blood, but instead felt only cloth.

 _What…?_

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through the endurance of pain and damage, the skill 'Physical Endurance' has been created!**

The sight of the windows, oddly, brought me back to the present and I rose to my feet, turning. The fallen machine was trying to rise mechanically, but I lifted my blade like an executioner's axe and brought it down, snarling Power Strike as I did. The usual glow did not appear—was I out of MP already?—but the blade bit into the back of its neck and forced it back down to its hands and knees before swinging the blade a second time and then a third. At that, the head came off and the body went limp and I nearly stumbled back with relief.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

There was no time to catch my breath, so I rose back to my feet, turning towards the rest of the battle. As I'd thought, with the numbers evened—no, with the numbers in our favor, counting my defeated opponent—things were going a bit better. The gunman was pinning the robot I'd directed him towards from a distance, distracting it while the other two had apparently been rejuvenated by the turn in battle. I ran towards and past the first, knocking it off its feet as I went and pausing long enough to drive my sword point first straight down into its head before hurrying to join the others. I caught one of the robot's blades with my shield and held it high so the Faunus to my left could hack at its hip, and then crossed blades as the other swung at me, the robots apparently focusing on me as the greater threat.

I swore, suddenly stumbling back to see claws where I'd just been, one of them having suck a blade under my guard, leaving what felt like a gash in my side before the other Faunus could bring his sword down on its exposed wrist, biting into it and knocking it downward. I stepped forward quickly and avenged myself upon it gratuitously. The last machine fell quickly under our blades.

And then I stood, panting hard in exertion but bizarrely elated. At what, I wasn't certain—survival? Victory? Perhaps a mixture of both, our perhaps it was just an adrenaline.

"Shit, dude, are you okay?" The Faunus to my right—a grey-haired boy who couldn't have been more than a year or two my senior and who had curling ram horns—asked as the last robot went down. He paused as he turned to me, looking confused. "Huh. I thought he got you."

I reached down to touch the spot that had hurt terribly moments before and which now felt perfectly fine, my clothes not even torn. Even without my Aura, even when it felt like I'd been hurt, there wasn't even a mark left behind. And yet…I called up my Status Screen and confirmed what I suspected; about half of my HP bar was gone. A good chunk of my MP, however, was back, the increase from leveling up adding to it. I'd have to remember that—and also keep in mind that getting hit with my Aura on drained my MP. Which, you know, was _way_ better than dying, but still would have nice to know about beforehand. I added 'get better defensive options' to the long list of things I needed to work on.

After a moment of deliberation, however, I turned my Aura on again anyway. Not getting splattered was way more important than any other use for it right now.

"So did I," I said aloud. "Guess not."

"Lucky," Ram Man said, several wounds bleeding. "Fuck this went horribly. Thanks for the assist, uh—"

"What's a _human_ doing here," The one with the gun asked, scales gleaming through torn sleeves, and I couldn't help but notice the shift in the other two at the words. Their bodies shifted slightly away from me, eyes dancing over my arms and face as if trying to find something and failing, before smiles dimmed. I wasn't going to lie, fine as I felt I really didn't want to fight three more people, especially not the ones I'd gone through all this to save.

"Tukson sent me," I said, thinking quickly as I raised my hands. "Easy guys, I'm a friend. Just here to deliver a package and when things got messy, I figured you guys could use some help. Speaking of which, we're not out of the woods yet."

I nodded at…well, the huge hole in the side of the warehouse and let the sounds of explosions punctuate my statement.

"Let's grab the wounded and get out of here." I said and led by example by approaching one of the bodies that had a sign above their heads and lifting it onto my shoulders. "We got a way out of this place?"

Lizard Boy was still for a moment before jerking his head at a semi-truck near the back. Nearby were crates that looked like they'd been torn open from the inside and the Schnee symbol on the side. In fact, looking around, I saw that symbol all over the place. Was this a Schnee warehouse?

I imagined the White Fang breaking in to do White Fang-y things and suddenly a bunch of boxes explode and release giant robots, catching them by surprise. Nobody expects the robot police.

Moving quickly, we managed to move the rubble off of the survivors and gathered them into the back of the semi.

"Adam and Blake are still out there," Ram Man said.

"We'll pick them up on the way out," I said before pausing for a moment, remembering something. "Where are the keys?"

He hesitated for a second before tossing them to me.

"You can drive, right?" He said, rummaging around until he found a gun. Probably to provide cover fire, though I really couldn't see the point with those Spider Droids.

Even when he took out what looked like a _rocket launcher_.

"Yeah," I said, thinking of my Drive skill.

 **Quest complete!**

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **A quest has been created!**

 **White Fang's Need: Escape the Spider Droids and get to safety!**

 **Escort the White Fang to safety with Blake and Adam's help! Time Limit: Twenty minutes.**

 **Completion Reward: Exp 10000, Increased closeness with the White Fang.**

 **Failure: Death.**

 **XxXXxX**

5\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 5 - Escort Mission

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Escort Mission**

The thing about doors is that they're for people who aren't running for their lives.

Me? I drove straight through the truck entrance.

"Get in!" I shouted out the window as I saw Adam and Blake fighting. I ended up driving right between them and one of the Spider Droids by pure chance and the machine thankfully halted its attack for a second, apparently uncertain whether it should be shooting at me. Or maybe it was the logo on the side of the truck that stalled it, I don't know. Either way, I didn't slow as I passed them—couldn't afford to, honestly—but the two Faunus thankfully recovered quickly and I saw them hop on top of the truck through my mirrors.

I also saw the trail of smoke left in the wake of a rocket fly out of the back of the truck, presumably the work of Ram Man. A second later, I had to look away as it exploded right in the face of one of the machines—and _wow_ , I _felt_ that explosion even as far away from ground zero as I was. And it was _loud_ , too; the movies don't do explosions justice. I had no idea where the White Fang got their rocket launchers, but whoever made them obviously didn't mess around.

I thought I would have been deafened by the sound—which would have been bad, damn it, why hadn't I thought about that when I saw him with a rocket launcher—but after the last sounds of the explosions died away, my hearing was left untouched. I wasn't sure if that was a Gamer thing or an Aura thing, but either way I wasn't going to complain right now.

"Damn it, Billy!" I heard a female voice snarl, sounding more than a little irate.

"Blake!" Ram Man, or maybe Billy, shouted, though I couldn't see why; the downside of driving a semi.

"Map," I said, nearly sighing with relief as the grid of streets appeared before me. Almost as useful, there were a trio of red dots moving on the map, close behind the blue marker of the truck. My eyes danced across the map for a moment before I swung the truck wide onto Afzan Avenue, passing through a holographic streetlight in the process. I heard shots hitting the pavement as I did, flashes of light too fast to see clearly in my mirrors, but I was driving faster than the machines could move, at least for the moment. Butut given that one of them was clinging to the side of a building as I flew past…well, I was depressingly sure they weren't limited by roads for mobility.

I had to prioritize. Blake and Adam may have been able to combat those things directly, but I had a truck full of people who couldn't have even if they _weren't_ wounded. If those things started firing on us, I couldn't trust the truck to standup under their fire. It wasn't enough to just stay ahead, I had to keep them from having a direct line of fire—and oh boy was that gonna be a fun trick to manage against people who could climb a building and bath me in fire at range. And given the size of this truck…

I had to stay on roads wide enough to maneuver on and connected to _other_ roads I could switch onto before the machines caught up _and_ keep track of the machines locations in three-dimensions and the size of the buildings around me so I could try to keep out of sight. But where was I even going? The bridges? No, I couldn't be certain they wouldn't be willing to follow us into the Commercial or Residential Districts, at which point who knows how many people could get hurt, even assuming we survived crossing it, which was unlikely if they caught us on the bridges. Unfortunately, there weren't all that many roads I could safely drive on, excluding those.

And there was the police to worry about, I was sure. The idea of just going to them and placing this mess in their laps was tempting but…no. I didn't know what the robots would do and if they were violent, a lot of good men and women could die. If they were Hunters, maybe…but they weren't. And even if the robots refused to fire on them, the police would almost certainly want to arrest the White Fang and I couldn't imagine them coming quietly. Given Adam and Blake's levels…no. I had to avoid the police, too. Which probably just meant avoiding the bridges, for now—it had been, what, five minutes since the Spider Droids had gotten loose? Ten? The police wouldn't move in until they could mobilize a response capable of addressing the problem.

But if I couldn't cross the bridges, I couldn't get to…to what? Safety? Where could I take a bunch of White Fang members without them standing out, even if I could cross the bridges? Hell, discounting them, a beaten up, dust-covered truck would stand out all on its own. Where could I—

I had to slam myself back into the seat as a shape swung into the cabin, _through_ my open window. I glimpsed hands grabbing the top of it, a blur flipping over and in, a heart-stopping moment where my vision was covered in black, and suddenly the was a woman in the seat next to me. Pale skin, long black hair, yellow eyes, black bow—Blake Belladonna. Ignoring the dust that covered her clothes and the smears on her face, she would have been beautiful under normal circumstances.

As is, her most distinctive feature was the belt of ammunition across her chest and the rocket launcher Billy must have given her.

"What the hell was that!?" I snarled, the shock she'd induced fading after a flickering instant. "Can't you see me trying to drive here!?"

I nearly growled in frustration as Blake cast me a measuring glance, frowning slightly.

"You're a human," She observed.

"Not this again," I said, nearly swearing. I wanted to say something along the lines of 'This human's saving your skin right now; you got a problem with that!?' but the Level floating above her head reminded me that she could probably break me in half with one hand and that I should be diplomatic. "Tukson sent me, I saw you were in trouble, decided to help, and I'm too busy driving to deal with your suspicions. Unless _you'd_ like to do it?"

She blinked calmly at me.

"I'm not suspicious," She said. "Just surprised. You're obviously on our side; if you weren't, all you would have had to do was walk away."

"Finally, someone gets it," I said, slightly chastised. I checked the map again, keeping an eye on the Map. "We can't cross the bridges."

"No," She agreed. "Even if it wouldn't put people in danger, we'd never make it across."

"You got another warehouse?" I asked.

"Off the side of Wilhelm, down by Elsie," She said and I checked the map. One of the Brothers, the Rivers on either side of the residential district, it flowed down to the very edge of Vale. I could follow it down into the Agricultural District, which wasn't my preferred place to hide from a bunch of robots—but thinking about it, I could see the appeal of a base near the river, if you suspected you might need to make a getaway. After a moment, a marker appeared on the map, showing the location, and I nearly sighed in relief.

"I know the place," I said. "Not gonna matter if we can't lose them, though."

Blake nodded and rolled down the window on her side.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked, trying to split my attention between the road, the map, and Blake. Focusing on the first suddenly got really hard when Blake lifted most of her body out the window, sitting on the edge before resting the rocket launcher on a shoulder and aiming behind us.

"Trying to shake our tail," Blake replied, frowning in concentration. "Can you get me a clear shot?

I wanted to swear. I wanted to ask her what she expected to do to one of those things when she must have known it wouldn't change a thing. I _really_ wanted to close my eyes and hope I'd wake up and this would all be a dream.

Instead, I focused entirely on the map and the road, keeping track of where the dots seemed to be positioned. That amounted almost entirely too bad news—there was one on top of a building, or else climbing one as we worked. It was a little bit off from the river, where a lot of the factories were. If I assumed the worst, which seemed reasonable, it could probably shot at me from anywhere within several blocks of its location; I drew a wide circle around it in my head and told myself to keep far away from that. The other two were roaming the streets at a slower pace, probably coordinating to either drive us into their buddy up north. One was moving into position along Main Street and the other along Anderson, which was gonna suck one way or another since I was gonna need to be on one of those to get anywhere. We were going to have to get past at least one of them or we were sitting ducks.

Anderson was the one that led down to the Agricultural district but it had an intersection with Main I could use and save myself some time, though it might take my too close to the Circle of Death. Of course, Anderson itself was so straight it was gonna be like a firing range past a certain point, which wasn't much better. I licked my lips, trying to figure out a way out of this, a way to get past a ridiculously overpowered robot without getting myself or my passengers shot, but I couldn't—

Or maybe I could.

I brought up my status window, hissing a breath out through my teeth. I didn't have a lot of time, so I considered my options quickly. I'd gained three levels, meaning I had fifteen points to burn, I just had to figure out where to put them. Strength or Vitality were out—it was tempting, to try to respond to my weakness, my helplessness, by improving my body. But I also knew the truth; even if I put every point I had in strength, I wouldn't be strong enough to defeat even one of those machines. If I put them all in Vitality, it wouldn't let me survive such a battle. Dexterity, maybe? No, at most that would give me more control over the truck, but that wasn't really my problem right now, unless it would let me ignore physics and the limits of the vehicle.

It came down to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Luck. And unless twenty-five points of luck would be enough to make lightning fall from the sky and smite my enemies, I don't think that would get me out of this—and relying on my luck seemed risky, even ignoring that it didn't benefit from my Aura. No, it seemed like I've to continue on the course I'd already set. Which to focus on then? Or should I split it? And if so, in what way?

I could boost INT to twenty-six, which the bonus from my Aura would raise to nearly thirty-four. On the other hand, I could raise Wisdom to thirty and let my Aura raise it to thirty-nine. I could split it nearly half-and-half or into thirds or any way I wanted, but what did I _need_?

I had the Map before me. I knew all the options I had available. What I needed to do now was choose and choose well—pick the way out, pick the way to win, somehow save the people I'd chosen to protect. But would I see something new if I was smarter, notice something I'd missed? What if I didn't? What if I tried and wasted points to no end? Or what if I _would_ have seen a way out and squandered it by spending my points on Wisdom? How did I decide when I didn't know the answer and my very life was on the line—and the lives of people I was trying to save? I _couldn't_.

So I did the only thing I could. Was it a wise thing? I don't know. Was it a _smart_ thing? I didn't know that either. The only thing I knew for sure was that it was a very basic, very simple, very _childish_ thing.

I didn't know what to do.

So I listened to my mother.

 _Dust, I hope I'm right._

I chose Wisdom and closed the window.

And then I twisted the wheel.

"Let's get out of this mess!" I shouted, turning the semi-truck in a maneuver that probably broke a dozen laws. "You really think that thing can take one of them out?"

"Adam can," She replied. "But only if we can get him a chance! You think you can?"

I merely smiled at her because, uh, no, I kind of wasn't. But I had an idea and this was our best shot.

I took Third West to Anderson and headed South, putting the pedal to the metal—I was going to need every bit of speed if I wanted this to have even a chance of working. The machine came into sight quickly, waiting in the middle of the street down the road—and it's really unfair that such a large machine could get into position so fast, even if I'd originally been heading North. But I didn't dwell on that thought for long, because I had more important concerns.

"Observe," I muttered, focusing intently. I ignored the stats, mainly to spare myself the knowledge of how bad things were, and focused on Weaknesses instead.

"That black spot in the center of its stomach—that's its main eye!" I said and had to take a hand off the wheel to grab Blake by her shorts to keep her steady as she took a moment to brace herself and then fired. It hit dead-center with the camera and I shifted the truck into the left lane to put space between me and the last place it'd seen me.

And I didn't slow down. Not even a little. That sudden boost in Wisdom hadn't provided any miracle solution, sadly, it had only…clarified things a bit, made the choice easier to make, the conclusions easier to draw, and maybe, just maybe, giving me a little idea. I'd chosen Anderson not because it kept me from the Circle but because of its long shape, perfect for picking up speed at a time like this. There was no way to safety except past one of these things and nothing we had—except maybe Adam—was going to really hurt them. If we wanted to have a chance, we were going to have to do this just right.

If the Droid wasn't blinded, at least temporarily, it wouldn't work. If it had a chance to figure out what I was planning, it wouldn't work. If I didn't have time to build as much momentum as possible, it wouldn't work. Even with all of that put together, I still wasn't sure it would be enough.

But I'd had a thought. I knew the basics of the new ability I'd gotten, that 'Aura Channeling.' Hunters channeled their Aura through their equipment—through weapons and armor alike—increasing their power to harm or defend. It was a simple technique, but a stunningly powerful one if properly honed, based on a very simple principle; Mankind had risen to power thanks to the usage of tools and it only made sense to express the power of their souls in a similar fashion.

And what was a vehicle—such as this truck—but another of those tools?

It wouldn't be enough to defeat the machine. It probably wouldn't even hurt it all that bad. But I didn't need to, for this—I just needed to get through.

I dragged Blake back into the cabin as best I could with one hand. With the one I had on the wheel, I focused my power—all of my power, as I would upon one of my weapons but to a greater extent.

And then I ran a glowing white truck straight into a giant robot.

 **Mastery of the skill Drive increases! Drive's level goes up by one! Drive's level goes up by one! Drive's level goes up by one! Drive's level goes up by one!**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through the shattering power of your soul, the skill 'Aura Crash' has been created!**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV5**

 **HP: 250/250**

 **MP: 150/150**

 **STR: 11+3.3 (30%) = 14.3**

 **VIT: 11+3.3 (30%) = 14.3**

 **DEX: 10+3 (30%) = 13**

 **INT: 11+3.3 (30%) = 14.3**

 **WIS: 30+9 (30%) = 39**

 **LUK: 10**

 **POINTS: 0**

 **MONEY: 100 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

6\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 6 - Delivery

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Delivery**

Of everyone involved, I think I weathered the crash the best. I slammed forward against my seatbelt and then got knocked back into my seat by the airbags fast enough to probably give me whiplash. It hurt for a second and probably took a chunk out of my HP, but it didn't kill me and I felt more or less fine a few seconds later.

Blake, in comparison, nearly went through the window. _Would_ have, really, if my hold on her hadn't delayed things long enough for her to be hit by the airbags, too.

When the pain faded, I realized I was laughing madly. I didn't mean to, it's just…I was alive. I'd survived the crash and nothing was filling me with bullets just this second either. The airbags quickly began to deflate, but I had started trying to move the truck the moment I could and we were in motion a second or so after the crash. Whatever Aura Crash had done, I'd successfully kept the truck in one piece even after running into something big and hard enough to bring us to a complete stop, which was pretty awesome. I felt bumps in the road that I assumed were the Spider Droids legs as I drove over and past it and a few seconds later I could see it in my mirrors, along with—

Shit.

"Adam, get back on board!" I shouted out the window at the Faunus who hadn't been inside and didn't have anything to hold onto. He must have gone flying when we crashed, but it said something about him that he immediately started getting up and brushing himself off, looking more annoyed than anything else as he placed a hand on his sword and took a ready stance. Or, well, I assumed he was annoyed. It was kind of hard to tell with most of his face covered by his mask. Behind him, the Spider Droid was beginning to recover, turning itself around on the ground with its splayed legs; I was gratified to actually see visible signs of damage and broken joints in several of its legs. I didn't think it'd be able to stand up on its own, much less give chase if we got away. If we could get Adam or if he could run and meet up with us later, then—

As if just to spite me, the machine's four cannons merged into one and began glowing with a bright blue light. It wasn't hard to guess that something big was coming.

"Some warning would be appreciated, next time," Blake said flatly, yellow eyes boring into me. "Or, preferably, never do that again."

"Let's aim for the latter," I said. "Sorry, but I didn't want you to worry about what would have happened if it hadn't worked. Adam! _Get on_!"

"If it hadn't worked!?" Blake asked, her eyes actually widening incredulously. It was the largest display of emotion I'd seen from her yet. "What do you mean if it _hadn't worked_!?"

"It's called improvisation," I told her without even looking her way. I was more focused on what was going on behind me—particularly the glow that machine was starting to emit. " _Dammit, Adam_!"

Blake checked her own mirror and exhaled slowly.

"Keep going," She said. "He'll catch up when he's done."

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Blake? Because it looks like that thing has a beam cannon the size of a car!"

"Just watch," She said.

Not having much choice, I did. The machine's glow brightened even as Adam maintained the stance he'd adopted and then there was a torrent of bright blue light that I was briefly certain would eclipse Adam entirely—but it didn't. Instead, he caught the laser beam _on his sword_ , slammed his blade back into its sheath, and _started to laugh_. And glow, but really, the laugh was creepier. Had _I_ sounded like that?

And then, it was over in a flash of light, the machine literally disappearing even as Adam began to stumble and fall.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

"Shit," I said, glancing at the map even as I stopped the truck, ignoring the notifications. The other two machines had instantly reacted to their fellow's destruction, but…

"I'll get him," Blake said, disappearing back out the window. Seconds ticked by almost painfully slowly even though I knew logically that Blake reached her partner's side with amazing swiftness. I heard the back of the truck open and then close and moments after, Blake was back in her seat beside me and I drove on.

I kept watching the map, waiting for something else to happen, but nothing did. We drove right past the border into the Agricultural District without even getting stopped by the police and I realized belatedly how little time had passed in all this chaos. From when I reached that warehouse to right now…it hadn't even taken half a damn hour. I'd gone up seven levels in half an hour and it wasn't over yet. Speaking of which…

As I pulled up to the place marked on the dot and got out of the car, I reached into my Inventory to retrieve the package I'd originally agreed to deliver. When Blake and I went around to the back to get the wounded, I tossed it too her.

"Here," I said. "This was what Tukson wanted me to deliver to you before…everything."

Blake looked down at the messily wrapped package and cracked a smile.

"Neither rain nor sleet nor giant robots, huh?"

"When I take a job, I finish it," I said tiredly, reaching up to open up the back. The White Fang members looked a fair bit more banged up then they had before they'd gotten into a car with me, but they were alive and they were somewhere safe.

 **Quest 'White Fang's Need' complete!**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **Package Delivered! Return to Tukson to receive your reward!**

"We'll need to dispose of the truck to get rid of any evidence," Blake said, nodding towards it. "I have some red Dust—we'll take it somewhere away from here and burn it."

I nodded before looking back into the truck. Adam, down. The three White Fang members I'd met inside the warehouse had collapsed, too, probably banged around from the collision. Right now, it was just Blake and I. But then…

"What about the wounded?" I asked. "I'm guessing we can't take them to the hospital, huh?"

"No," She said. "Even ignoring what we are, the hospitals are required to tell the police about wounds like these, and then…"

She shook her head.

"I know first aid. I'll do what I can," She said. What she _didn't_ say, however, was that it wouldn't be enough. Not for most of them. There were too many bullet wounds, too many injured, too much—

Some of them would die in a few hours, even with the care the three guys in back had managed to give them. Maybe even most of them.

"Is there…" I hesitated before giving up and sighing. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Not unless you know a way to heal the wounded," Blake said frankly, but not cruelly.

I looked down helplessly—and then glanced back up as a blue window appeared.

 **A quest has been created!**

One after another…

But I guess I wouldn't complain. Just this once.

"Maybe," I said, eyes scrolling over the information as it appeared. "But we'll have to hurry."

 **XxXXxX**

Once we'd burned the truck, Blake and I took the White Fang's boat across Wilhelm before rushing to the train and riding it up to the Commercial District. It might have been quicker to steal a car—and it _was_ an emergency—but Blake and I agreed that we couldn't risk someone noticing, calling it in, and getting us wrapped up in another fiasco, especially when we didn't have time to spare. Depending on how long things took, we might just have to risk it on the way back, but I didn't want to chance that until after we got what we needed.

Even so, we were going to be hard-pressed to make it within the time-limit of 'White Fang's Hope,' the new quest I'd gotten. I was running the moment the doors opened and pushed myself as hard as I could to get to Tukson's Book Trade. Blake kept pace with me easily, eyes sharp and alert just in case someone had somehow connected us to the mess that was now preoccupying most of the city—but no one seemed to notice a young boy and girl running, either going about their normal lives or focusing their attention on holographic screens that couldn't seem to decide whether to blame the incident on the Schnee Dust Company or on the White Fang. That wasn't my concern, though, so I just pushed my body as hard as I could, following the route on my map and barreling through the door to Tukson's place.

 **Repeated struggles caused your VIT to increase by 1!**

"Tukson!" I shouted even as I struggled to breath, Blake slipping in quietly after me and shutting the door behind us.

I heard a sudden rattling sound from the back room before Tukson swept up front, the light of a hologram shining briefly before the veil fell back into place.

"Boy?" Tukson asked, expression seemingly unable to settle on a particular emotion. I could guess why, given he probably didn't know what had happened—he'd been worrying about his friends, worrying about me, wondering if he'd gotten me killed, wondering if _I'd_ been the cause of all this. When his eyes settled on Blake, however, he took a deep breath and his features settled. He paused for a moment, before apparently deciding on something and nodding to himself. "It's good to see you both made it out okay. The others?"

I guess it wasn't too hard to figure out that I knew what was going on when a powerful White Fang member was looming in my shadow and following my lead. I wasn't sure what that must have looked like to Tukson, but I was happy to exploit it now.

"Alive but most of them are hurt pretty bad," I said, looking left and right with a frown. "I'm gonna need everything you have on medicine and healing."

I paused for an instant and when no windows appeared before me I spoke again.

"I delivered your package, by the way, so I'm taking my book, too," I said.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **The skill book 'Meditation: The Soul of the World' is now yours for the taking!**

Brushing past them, I went to the shelf and grabbed the book I could blame at least part of this mess on and then crouched down to glance over the others. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Blake moving quickly to one of the other shelves and gathering a few books herself.

"Hey, Tukson, is it possible to heal with Aura?" I asked, lifting my voice.

"It's possible, but it won't help you much," Tukson said. "There are a number of ways to do it, but they all take a lot of training. Up in Vacuo—where I'm from—there are a few monasteries and schools that train people to use their Aura to do stuff like that but it takes years to master it. It's a lot easier to heal yourself than others; something about the differences between souls."

"I'm a fast learner," I said. "Do you have any books on it?"

Tukson opened his mouth again before closing it and shaking his head, apparently deciding against whatever he'd been about to say.

"Yeah," He said. "In the back, just let me get it."

Tukson popped into to the back of the shop and just as quickly returned, carrying what looked more like a notebook than anything else. I looked down at the cover as he held it out to me and could honestly say I didn't understand a word of it. Hell, I didn't even recognize what _language_ it was in, and though the book itself only seemed a tad worn, the script seemed old, somehow.

"This is an old, old Vacuo manuscript—or, well, it's a copy, at least. Back in the War, a few of the monasteries got raided and had their tablets and texts stolen. Afterwards, most of them got returned or put in museums, but a few ended up in some expensive collections. This is a transcription of one of the latter that my friend managed to get for me after the guy got raided himself."

As he spoke, he cast a sidelong glance at Blake before focusing back on me.

"I don't know how much help it'll be to you, though. The original tablet was something like three thousand years old and the monks kept the transcriptions under lock and key. It took me a month to hunt down enough books to even _try_ translating it and it wasn't very helpful. It's the third tablet of a set of eight and it builds off principles in the first two, so I couldn't make any sense of it. I don't even know if I translated the _name_ right…"

I took the book.

 **You obtained the skill book 'The Forge of Souls Creates Life.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

"Did you translate it as 'The Forge of Souls Creates Life'?" I asked. "Because that's what I'm getting."

I saw both Blake and Tukson turn and just…stare at me. I made a show of flipping through the book quickly and nodding to myself as if I could actually understand it.

"It's not a problem," I said. "Blake, let's go. Sorry Tukson, but I might not be able to return your books. Thanks for the help."

I put my new skill books under one arm and turned to go before pausing.

"Actually…you have a car, right?"

 **XxXXxX**

Blake was gripping the armrests to either side of her as I sped through the streets. I was careful not to break the law where anyone was watching, but the moment I was out of sight I was going as fast as I could. The ride back the Agricultural District should have taken an hour.

At this rate, I'd get us there in under half that.

"You must like books a lot," Blake said through slightly gritted teeth as I drifted around a corner in place of actually slowing down.

I glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"To go through all this trouble for one," She clarified. "You must like books a lot."

"I like learning things," I said, figuring she was trying to make conversation to distract herself. "I like knowing things. Books are good for that."

"You don't enjoy reading for its own sake?" She asked.

I mulled over that for a bit before answering.

"Enjoyment doesn't really factor into it. I spend most of my day studying to learn more and become smarter," I said, telling the truth. "It doesn't really matter if I enjoy it. But I've never enjoyed reading stories much, no."

She peered at me out of the corner of her eye, apparently forgetting about her aversion to my driving.

"Why?"

I considered remaining silent since it was something that actually mattered, if only to me—but then again, the White Fang had seen my face, as had Tukson, and I wasn't dumb enough to believe there weren't investigations and background checks in my future. If they didn't have a name and a profile to attach to my face by tomorrow, I'd be shocked. Most of my story would be in their hands before long and the rest…well, I couldn't see them guessing that stuff from anything but me flat-out telling them, though at this point I was probably going to have to let a few details slip loose.

The real question was what they could and would do with that information. Generally, the worst case scenario in a situation like this would be that they could try to threaten my family but, uh, even if they had reason to, I imagined they'd change their tunes when they _saw_ my family. Instead, if they were trying to get to me, they'd probably try to blackmail _me_ by threatening to tell my family what I'd done—but there were ways around that. If needed, I could just explain things to my mom, explain that I'd done it to try and save lives after getting wrapped up in a huge mess, and…well, honestly, that might not be so bad. Telling my mom, that is. A part of me had worried about it for a long time and I still did, kind of, because truthfully I'd always been weak and I didn't want to tell them until I wasn't anymore, but…a part of me wanted her and dad to know.

However, the point was, even if they could threaten to tell my parents or the authorities—and even if they'd gotten pictures to prove it or something—I hadn't done anything _that_ bad, not really. I mean, about a _million_ traffic violations, but mainly in an emergency and in the defense of life. A pretty tiny amount of property damage, too, all things considered. The worst I could be accused of was aiding the White Fang, which, yeah, could be pretty bad, but was largely circumstantial—namely, I wasn't doing it for the White Fang, I was trying to save lives. And hell, I was a minor; I could probably talk my way through it, given the giant robots that had suddenly attacked. There were a few other things they could do, but I thought I could deal with it if they tried to get at me that way.

And more than that…they didn't have much reason to _want_ to do stuff like that, did they? Not _yet_ , at least. I mean, hell, I'd sort of saved their skins, hadn't I? I couldn't say I really _knew_ these people, much less trusted them, but Blake at least didn't seem like the type to ignore that. And by answering her question, I could create a rapport, become more of a person in her eyes, and maybe learn some things in return—and it might help gloss over what I was guessing would come up soon.

And maybe, just maybe, I wanted to finally say it out loud.

"Because the only stories that ever got told in my house were ones I couldn't live up to," I said honestly. "At least, not for a long, long time. And you? You like stories, I guess?"

She was silent for a long minute, staring out the window before looking away. Nonetheless, she seemed to be getting used to my driving—or maybe I was just getting better at it. I'd probably level up the stat some more soon.

"I like stories," She said. "I just know the difference between them and real life."

I hummed, wondering how to answer that, and silence lingered until we finally reached our destination and got out of Tukson's truck. I put my two skill books under an arm while Blake carried hers close to her chest. Just as I was about to go it, she stopped me with a hand.

"Why won't you be able to return the book?" She questioned, glancing at the notebook having apparently deciding to finally ask. "Tukson didn't ask because of…everything, but why wouldn't you be able to give them back?"

A part of me had kind of hoped that she wouldn't notice—but I wasn't actually surprised that she did. I considered staying cryptically silent until she gave up, but I was going to have to use the skill books soon and it was gonna be hard to do that without her noticing, what with the light show and the vanishing books and the instant skill in stuff. I could try getting out of sight, but that might just make it even more suspicious when I came back plus talent and minus books. Given that, she might well make the connections all by herself.

So I told her the truth.

"I'm going to devour them for the knowledge they contain within," I admitted, smiling at the look she shot me. "Hey, you asked. You can see for yourself, if you want."

I held out a hand and she gave me one of the books she'd taken from Tukson's.

 **You obtained the skill book 'Practical Medicine.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

I tapped the yes option with a knuckle and watched the book shatter into light and vanish, feeling the knowledge flow into me as it did so. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, before opening them once more.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Medicine.'**

I looked at Blake, whose eyes had widened slightly as my power took effect.

"I told you I learned fast," I said.

"Is that…your Semblance?" She asked.

"Pretty much," I said, figuring it was probably even partially true. "It's kind of complicated, though, so give me a second?"

I knelt down, lifting my real prizes.

 **You obtained the skill book 'The Forge of Souls Creates Life.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

This time I pressed 'Yes' and blinked when a window I'd never seen before appeared.

 **You cannot learn this skill. Required: INT 25.**

So some skills have prerequisites. That was…fairly unsurprising, honestly. There wasn't enough information to say if it was limited to just stats or if some skills required knowing others—but the latter seemed likely. This, thankfully, didn't seem to be one of them despite being the third in a set, and INT 25 wasn't an issue. I hadn't intended to put points into INT yet, but…actually, now might have been a good time for it. I had enough points to reach it and my chosen goal for Wisdom. First, though, I should check the other book as well, to see if it had something similar.

 **You obtained the skill book 'Meditation: The Soul of the World.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

'Yes.'

 **You cannot learn this skill. Required: WIS 55.**

I hummed to myself.

"Something wrong?" Blake asked.

"Not…really? It's hard to explain. It's not an issue though; just my power being finicky." I answered distractedly before turning her way and holding up the book. "Actually, you know Tukson pretty well, right? Do you know anything about this book?"

Blake frowned at it for a moment, expression considering.

"It's old," She said. "I glanced through it once about seven years ago, when Tukson first got it, but neither of us could make sense of it. Tukson said he'd gotten it from a private library, but whoever wrote it translated it strangely. It's a crude direct translation rather than a transcription and since most of its written in parables and metaphors. There are a lot of what we think might have been poems or rhymes but they don't make a lot of sense in another language. Tukson figured it might have been legible in the original language but…"

She shrugged.

"Tukson kept it in the back for a while, trying to figure it out, but put it up front after giving up and putting it on display. There are a few interesting things in there, like historical accounts that were used as references and even mentions of stuff before the original war with the Grimm, but its...hard to read. I guess that's not an issue for you, though, is it?"

She stared at me with interest.

"You can understand it, right? There were mentions of how it supposedly worked, which kept Tukson interested for quite a while, but…does it…?"

"I'll tell you in a second." I said, frowning at the book thoughtfully.

It was a significantly higher prerequisite, which implied a more powerful technique—for some definition of power, at least. I checked my Status Window to make sure and confirmed that I had forty points to spend, just enough to manage both. Did my bonuses from Aura count towards the requirement? I doubted it and it wouldn't matter one way or another but I should probably check.

Wisdom first. Partially because I really wanted the Skill Book I'd gone through all this trouble to get, especially now that I knew it was apparently something amazing, and partially because I'd originally planned to increase Wisdom to fifty, but mainly because, well, it was Wisdom and it had served me fairly well so far, in terms of staying alive. I'd go to fifty-five and then decide if it was worth investing in any more or if I should switch my focus elsewhere. If I considered ten to be average and thirty to be exceptional, then a fifty-five in Wisdom—or a seventy-one point five if, as I suspected, the bonuses didn't count—should serve me well for a long time. Once I was at that point, I could probably rely on the decisions I made in terms of my other abilities.

Nodding decisively, I raised my base Wisdom to forty-three and pressed 'Yes' again.

 **You cannot learn this skill. Required: WIS 55.**

As expected but good to confirm. I added another twelve points to my Wisdom, taking the base score to fifty-five and giving me seventy-two after Aura's passive buff. The moment I finished, a new window appeared before my eyes.

 **The skill 'Nature Affinity' has been created through WIS rising above 50.**

 **Nature Affinity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%**

 **Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, realized the power of nature and the light that shines within all life and turned its wrath against the soulless Grimm, burning away the darkness. This skill increases the users sensitivity and control over those forces, improving their affinity with the elements.**

 **25% Increase in Mana Recovery Rate.**

 **10% Increase to Elemental Attack.**

 **10% Increase to Elemental Defense.**

 **50% Increase to Element related skill effects and Dust use.**

I stared. I did that a lot with my power, but…but…

…Wow. That was…impressive. Not only the skill itself, but the implication contained within it—that there were similar benefits for raising other abilities above fifty. And was it just fifty? Would something similar happen if it was raised above another number, such as a hundred? Then…what skills would manifest where?

A part of me was eager to find out—but I stayed calm. I'd intended to raise my stats from the beginning by training my body hard, but I had to be careful about it. I needed to raise my INT to twenty-five now out of necessity, but I could improve my other stats relatively cheaply through normal means, which was more effective. Raising a stat became more difficult as the level increased—I could safely assume that simply from what I'd seen with my skills and Vitality, as well as how Strength and Intelligence hadn't improved a second time yet. The cost for raising a skill the mundane way became greater and greater over time.

The value of my points, however, was different. One point would increase the stat by one, no matter what its value, with no additional effort beyond what was needed to level up in the first place, though that itself increased over time. That is to say, raising my strength from ten to eleven via training required relatively little effort, but trying to raise it from fifty to fifty-one would likely be very difficult—and even more so to raise it above, say, a hundred. But the same point I could use to circumvent that small amount of effort could also be used to circumvent that massive effort. Baring special circumstances like this one—or stats like Wisdom that I didn't know how to improve easily—I should train my abilities the mundane way while they were low and gather points to raise them further once they were higher.

I nodded to myself, I drew up my Status Screen again and spent all but one of my points on INT, raising it to twenty-five before pressing the 'Yes' buttons again, this time watching as the books dissolved.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Soul of the World.'**

 **Soul of the World (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%**

 **Since long ago, Man learned to harvest Nature's bounty and wrath alike, using it to forge hope and life from the hostile darkness. All living things possess Aura, the light of the soul, and Nature's power runs through the World, sometimes crystalizing as Dust. This technique enables the user to directly touch and take in power from the World, drawing strength from the world to survive within it using meditation.**

 **Increase HP recovery per minute by WIS while meditating.**

 **Increase MP recovery per minute by WIS while meditating.**

 **Increase Stamina recovery per minute by WIS while meditating.**

 **Aura (MP) can be trained through meditation.**

 **You've obtained the skill 'Soulforge Restoration.'**

 **Soulforge Restoration (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:50**

 **Within the darkness, Man learned the truth—that the soul is something infinite in distance and unbound by death. By releasing it, they found immortality even in their own passins.**

 **Without Dust Crystal, 50 HP restored, low-ranking Illnesses removed.**

 **With Dust Crystal, 50 HP restored, 50 MP restored, low-ranking Illnesses removed, variable effects dependent on type of dust.**

God my ability is cheap.

Taking a deep breath as the knowledge filled me, I stood and faced Blake again.

"Let's finish this before it gets any later," I said, stretching.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV13**

 **HP: 600/600**

 **MP: 725/725**

 **STR: 11+3.3 (30%) = 14.3**

 **VIT: 12+3.6 (30%) = 15.6**

 **DEX: 10+3 (30%) = 13**

 **INT: 25+3.3 (30%) = 32.5**

 **WIS: 55+16.5 (30%) = 71.5**

 **LUK: 10**

 **POINTS: 1**

 **MONEY: 100 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

7\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 7 - Downtime

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Downtime**

I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't stick around for the after party. I healed them, chatted a little bit with those that were comfortable enough around me to talk back, and then I got out of there before anyone decided to bring up the elephants in the room. I didn't hate the White Fang or anything—they hadn't done anything to me to get a reaction like that—but I was kind of scared of them and they _were_ anti-human terrorists wanted by the law. I was glad I'd been able to see them but it seemed wise to go before anything else happened.

I took Tukson's car back to him and left it outside to avoid any questions before heading home. When I finally got back, the place was empty even though it was only just getting dark. My parents had left a note on the counter, saying they'd be out late tonight, probably because of what was happening in the Industrial District, and that there was food in the refrigerator.

I ate the food and turned on the news. It was about the chaos I'd been a part of all day, though, so I turned it back off and just…sat in the silence of my empty house, taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly.

It was…strange, really. All that chaos and rushing to try and save lives—my own and those of others—and then…it was over. Things were calm and silent and just…finished. After I'd gotten what I'd needed from the skill books, healing the injured had been simple. I used Soulforge Restoration to heal them until I ran out of MP, used Soul of the World to restore myself, and then went back to healing.

Now I was just marveling at the day I'd had, letting it really sink in. This morning, I'd been level two. Now, I was level _thirteen_ , simply because of a quest gone horribly wrong. Or maybe right. I still wasn't sure.

I felt…not tired, really, but strange. This morning had been so peaceful, then everything had been thrown into chaos, and just as quickly I was back to my normal life. A small part of me worried about the consequences—that someone would find something connecting me to this, about the White Fang in general, and so many other things—but the rest was just wondering 'What next?'

I guess the same things I'd planned to do this morning. Keep training, keep working, keep getting stronger, keep getting better. The Soul of the World was, despite everything that had happened, honestly worth all the trouble. Up 'til now, the thing that had been holding me back the most was…myself. I could only train so long before my body was exhausted and though I could completely recover in thirty minutes, it still took _thirty minutes_ and I only had so much free time once you took out the seven hours from school, six hours of sleep, the time I had to spend at home, and everything else that got in the way. When I'd trained before bed, I'd spent more time trying to recover then I'd spent actually training.

My training in the woods went only a little better. I'd exhaust my MP quickly and it took a hundred minutes to recover it completely, leaving me to work on Sword Mastery until I exhausted my body too and then to rest until _that_ recovered. I could try training harder, but that just meant I'd tire out more quickly and be forced to rest for a long time again.

I supposed I should count my blessings, since I _could_ recover completely in just half-an-hour and I knew mentally I was improving at a rigorous pace, but…

Well, it didn't matter now. With the Soul of the World, I could restore myself in a fraction of the time, whether it was my body's stamina or my MP. I could train myself to exhaustion and then recover quickly to do it again. Because of that…

I needed to redo my schedule again. I'd given heavy precedence to training INT despite already training it throughout the school day, simply because I couldn't train my physical skills very efficiently in my limited amount of time. I'd intended to improve my INT first, slowly raising my physical abilities as I did until I could switch to training _them_ later. I'd planned to give my mental stats precedence in the beginning anyway, simply so that the decisions I made during my training would be the right ones—and that was still true, in a way—but…

Wisdom was high enough for me to focus on other things, for now. I wanted to get Intelligence above fifty next, but I didn't want to spend any more of my points on it then I had to—especially since I had no idea when I would even be _able_ to get another level. Despite that, I think I was giving Intelligence enough attention by spending most of my school day reading, though I could adjust that if needed. I could devote the early mornings and the time before bed entirely to training my body, instead of trying to split my attention—which, thinking about it, had probably be inefficient itself.

In fact…maybe it was my bloated WIS score or my newfound INT, but I was starting to wonder how efficient _any_ of my exercises had been, studying included. I'd spent all day reading my textbooks, trying to figure things out, but even now I wasn't certain how much had truly sunken in. But with my INT at twenty-five and my Aura boosting it above thirty…I think I could train it a lot more easily too, now. My INT had been just like my other stats in that its low level had made raising it harder.

Now…now I felt like I'd be able to do better. That if I read the same book again, I could soak it up like a sponge. I'd have to try to make sure, but…I think that my INT would actually increase _faster_ now that I could learn things more easily, just as being able to train longer would do for my physical stats. At least, up to a point; I'm sure there was a point where the economies of scale tampered off, but I couldn't be certain where without actual practice.

Then, I'd give the time in the morning and before bed to training my body and the time during school to my mind. But how should I spend the rest? Observe…Observe was an enormously useful ability, but I think it was high enough for the moment, though I'd train it whenever I got the chance. I was thinking that avoiding Tukson's place for a long, long time would probably be a good idea if I didn't want to get wrapped up in any more of the White Fang's business, but I could go back to the library and try to gather more skill books.

On the other hand…before it had really just been Power Strike, Sword Mastery, and Observe, so I'd trained the latter after school and the other two in the evening, but now…now I had a lot of useful skills to train and not much time to do it. But how should I prioritize them?

I frowned down at the table and organized my thoughts.

Aura, I felt, was the most important for several reasons. It was an enormously powerful ability with broad utility and, better yet, I could train it just by keeping it active, meaning I could do it while also doing other things. It would wear down my MP a lot more quickly, but when that happened, I could simply meditate for a few minutes. If I was careful, I should be able to do that even while I was at school, training Aura alongside my other stats. With the partial exception of Observe—which only increased when I learned new things about something and which I'd already used on most of the school—it was the only ability I could train any time. It also wouldn't interfere with the rest of my training, except possibly by exhausting me more quickly—which, really, was just a way of training the Spirits of the World.

Speaking of which…Spirits of the World allowed me to raise my MP independently of my INT, though I imagined it was similarly difficult and time consuming. The question was, then, how much time should I spend training _that_? Should I do it when I exhausted myself in-between the rest of my training or set days aside for it—or both?

Let me see. The most efficient way of training at first would be to train with my Aura on, using my sword and shield. I could raise Sword and Shield Mastery, Power Strike, Aura, and Aura Channeling at the same time that way, most likely, though I'd need to check the profiles off all my new abilities, since I'd been busy when I'd gotten them. I imagined I'd exhaust myself quickly if I fought that way in a real fight—which was one of the reasons I should probably focus on them for a while, as the cost of the skills went down as the levels rose. At the very least, I wanted to get Aura—or else my MP regeneration—high enough that I could keep it on constantly even without Soul of the World, since it was hard to deal with when it cost twenty-five MP a minute.

Of my other skills…Drive had proved itself surprisingly useful and was currently the only skill I had that could be used to escape danger—but I couldn't train it legally, yet, even if I could already drive masterfully. I'd need to go through official channels to be allowed to drive, one of my parents would have to accompany me and watch for weeks, questions might get raised about how good I was at this already—it could be problematic to train it further, currently, though I'd luckily already leveled it up quite a bit. Theft was the same in that it was illegal, though I was sadly aware I'd be leveling it up as well sooner or later. I'd need to improve Stealth eventually, but it wasn't a pressing need until after I'd grown strong enough. Dish Washing I figured I could safely set aside.

Then there were the abilities that would just be difficult to train. I'd need to check Aura Crash to figure out precisely what it did; if it required the use of a vehicle, I'd need to put training it on hold, too. Physical Endurance required me to get hurt and however useful the skill was, it would be hard to engineer situations where that was possible without drawing attention, though I might be able to try beating _myself_ up.

The only other skills I needed to worry about then were 'Craft' and 'Nature Affinity' and I'd need to figure out precisely how to train both before deciding whether I would or not. I wasn't sure where to even start with Nature Affinity yet, though, and the main issue with Craft was the matter of materials. Given that I'd originally gotten it from an art book, I might be able to improve it some if I took up drawing and cooking in my free time, but I imagined those could only take me so far. Eventually, I'd need to actually build stuff.

I knew there was potential there. Even if it was mostly in books or on TV, I'd seen some of the weapons Hunters used and I'd seen my Mom and Dad's a few times. I'd also seen some of the things technology could produce—like, oh, super death bots that chased people around—and I could admit there was definite appeal to the whole Craft thing, but it was all dependent on my resources.

Should I steal stuff so I could practice? But if I stole anything really useful and valuable—weapons, Dust, etc.—it'd draw attention, especially since I'd likely have to make a _lot_ of stuff to level it up. I did not need that kind of trouble right now, but without it there was only so much I could do and that rankled.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, calming myself. The thing that annoyed me the most was that I was too smart and wise to not know _why_ I felt that way. Bringing up my Inventory, I withdrew my sword and shield.

Well, 'my' sword and shield. Originally, they belonged to my great-great-grandfather Julius, but my dad had given them to me several years ago, before I first applied to Signal—and before I first failed to gain entry. The idea was that I'd use them until it was time to get my _own_ weapon. That's what my father had done when my grandfather had given it to him, just as my grandfather had done before him. It was a family heirloom, of sorts.

But…to be honest, I'd always thought of it as more of a hand-me-down. Maybe not at first, when I'd been honored to even _hold_ it, but after I failed, after I proved again and again I wasn't good enough…

It wasn't an honor to me anymore. It was just a reminder, a weight, and maybe even a mark of shame. Jaune Arc, who carried his ancestor's blade because he wasn't worthy of having one of his own. There was a part of me, a fairly large part even, that wanted to level up Craft and was honestly considering theft to help do so despite the risks, simply so I could make my own weapon. Just to _have_ my own weapon.

But…if I put that aside and thought about it logically…was that wise? Was it smart? Given the risks of grand theft and the costs of buying the materials legally, it was unlikely that I would be able to afford improving my Craft for quite some time—whereas my Sword Mastery, Shield Mastery, and the various skills I had to improve it could be leveled many times in that period.

If it took, say, a year until I could make my own weapon without drawing attention, then given my rate of growth and my Sword and Shield Masteries, I probably wouldn't benefit a whole lot from a new weapon. No, more than that, I probably wouldn't _need_ one. If I did ten percent more damage with Sword Mastery at level one and _thirty_ percent at level five, then following that trend I should do at least two hundred fifty-five percent more damage at level fifty _before_ taking into account the bonuses from Power Strike, Aura Channeling, and the bonuses from my Aura. To say nothing of the increases to my stats from training and leaving aside the additional attack speed granted by Sword Mastery and how _it_ would improve. Or the defensive benefits of Shield Mastery.

If I waited too long, I would have no logical reasons to stop using this weapon.

Was that really such a bad thing? It felt like it in my gut, but my brain disagreed. Crocea Mors, the Yellow Death. It was old and outdated technologically speaking, but it had been cutting edge back when it was first made and my great-great-grandfather had used it to great effect in the War to drive back the Grimm. He'd been truly legendary; you could crack open a history book of your choice and odds were you'd find his name in it somewhere. Even now, Crocea Mors was an amazing sword, made by the best smith Julius Arc had been able to find and seemingly untouched by the passage of time, even if it didn't have a lot of additional utility. Beyond the need to have ranged and unarmed options just in case, there wasn't a lot of need to put it aside, beyond my wounded pride. At best, I might want to modify or improve the blade itself, once I was able.

Goddamn Wisdom.

I reverted my shield into its smaller form and sheathed my blade, putting it on the table before crossing my arms on the edge and resting my head. I looked at the blade for a while before sighing deeply.

"What a day," I muttered. "But I guess you've probably seen loads worse, huh?"

It was a rhetorical question. I'd heard all the stories. Julius had fought armies and led them, driven back the Grimm, helped forge Kingdoms, and done things that others had believed impossible until he'd proved them wrong—and Crocea Mors had been beside him through it all.

And I guess it had been beside me through pretty much everything. However much its status weighed on me or what it reminded me of, whenever I'd needed a weapon, I'd drawn it. I could have gotten something else or taken one of the White Fangs guns, but I hadn't. And, in fairness, I _was_ still here, despite the mess I'd thrown myself into. And I remembered, though it seemed like a long time ago, how fast my heart had beaten when my father first gave it to me

Sighing again in irritation, I picked it up and leaned back in my chair, drawing the blade just to look at it. I felt my aura wash over it, embracing it like an old friend—and I felt the blade, too, in a way I hadn't felt before, resonating with my Aura, tied to me strongly, but also independent. I could feel it and I, like music just out of synch, and felt my Aura reacting to that, shifting.

"You and me, huh…" I said at last as we became aligned, feeling as if I knew on some level what was happening. "I guess…that's okay."

 **New Status, "Metal Element Affinity" has been created.**

 **XxXXxX**

I had the next day off from school, so I went into the woods to train for the day. My parents had returned by the time I'd woken up and though I hadn't really been worried about them because, well, they were _terrifyingly powerful_ , it was good to see them safe. Breakfast had passed without incident, ignoring my dad's storytelling and my mom's sarcastic but smiling commentary. No one asked about my involvement, so I assumed I really had gotten away clean, and I left the house with little more than a promise to be back for lunch.

With two days off—and free to spend grinding however I pleased—I decided to start by experimenting with my new Status, 'Metal Element Affinity.' I was ninety-nine percent sure it was the result of my Nature Affinity skill, which had all sorts implications I'd need to experiment with, but first I needed to see what the effects of such a status were. I was more…aware of Crocea Mors, but I wasn't sure if that was because of my Metal Element Affinity, my Nature Affinity, or both.

Frowning, I sat down, crossed my legs, put my sheathed sword in my lap, and closed my eyes. I had no idea what Metal Element Affinity did. When I checked my Status Screen, it had said 'Gives the user an affinity with the element of Metal' which was both obvious and useless, so I'd need to figure it out some other way.

So I meditated on it. I'd learned how when I obtained Soul of the World, probably because you _needed_ to meditate to use that skill, and I'd gotten some practice in between healing the White Fang members. Because of the way Soul of the World worked, though, it was always an interesting experience.

As I relaxed, I could feel—almost _see_ , even, in a way that was hard to describe—the world around me. I could feel power in the air, the ground, the plants, in _everything_ , and glimpse the massive shifting forces throughout the whole of Remnant. Compared to even the small fragment of that immensity I was capable of observing, I was a spark at the edge of a roaring forest fire, only barely separate from it, from being consumed by it. And then I shifted that boundary, touching that power directly and letting it flow up into me, through me, and then away; a tiny, tiny shift in a river's stream, like a child making a hole at the edge of the water with the tip of a finger, that nonetheless filled me to the bursting.

I guided that stream carefully and calmly, letting it in and out, again and again. I didn't lose myself in it and I didn't let it slip from my careful control, but I focused myself on it, on the spinning awareness of the rivers flow through my body and soul. It would have been easy to lose track of myself like this, especially without anyone else around for me to keep track of. When I'd been with the White Fang, it had been easy to keep track of time by the life draining slowly out of the wounded or by the power filling me when I was drained, but here I'd need to do it entirely on my own. I focused on the cycle of energy within me, on the beating of my own heart, counting the moments as they passed me by.

When I was sure I wouldn't lose track of time, I shifted my awareness, focusing it in around me and on my surroundings. I could feel the energy in the air as I breathed and took it into my body and the shifting earth beneath me and there was something there but…instead, I focused further yet, on what I felt most keenly. Crocea Mors _sang_ to me, glowing with my Aura but also with the ancient power of the blade itself. Though my own Aura, I touched that musical power and altered my own tune to match. It was easier then I would have thought—perhaps because there were already traces of the tune within my soul—and after I resounded with the steely song I opened my eyes.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Unification of world and soul has created the skill 'Elemental Aura' to shroud yourself with Nature's wrath!**

I looked down at my hands, inhaling deeply. I didn't look any different—my skin hadn't turned to steel or anything like that—but I _felt_ different. When I touched my chest, it—or my Aura, more likely—felt more…solid might have been a good way to describe it. When I put a hand on the ground to lift myself to the feet, my fingers left narrow gouges in the dirt. My aura was harder, now—and sharper.

 **Elemental Aura (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%**

 **The shifting of Aura in accordance with one's Elemental Affinity, empowering the user by drawing upon the element. Power changes as the caster's INT, skill level, and Elemental Affinity grow. Only possible for those attuned to the forces of nature.**

 **Additional 25 MP used per minute.**

 **Known Elemental Auras: Metal Aura.**

 **Metal Aura: 15% increase in attack damage. 10% decrease in damage taken from physical attacks.**

Elemental Aura, huh? Not bad. Maybe a little expensive, but training it wasn't a problem for me and I could probably reduce the cost. Once I did that, the benefit would be more than worth it, especially since that would probably increase, too. However…

When I used one of my skills it wasn't—or, at least, wasn't usually—just me saying the name and the effect happening. I mean, it was about that easy and that quick, but I could _feel_ my MP or Aura or whatever you wanted to call it as it took effect. Like with Soul of the World, the effect happened as written in its profile and I regained however much HP, MP, and stamina per minute, but it wasn't just sitting there as they just came to me, even if it was essentially that simple.

With my Metal Aura, it was the same. I could feel my aura resounding with the song I'd heard before—not with my ears, but with my Aura, my _soul_. And the source of that song was the sword I held in my hand. But then…

I put Crocea Mors on the ground and stepped away from it, the song fading quickly as I did. As I'd thought, it really did require me to draw upon the element.

I considered that as I picked my sword back up. The profile had pretty much stated that there were other Elemental Auras—the classic Earth, Water, Fire and Air sprang quickly to mind—which would be useful and which I'd have to experiment with. If it required proximity to the element, however, there were limits to it. Or would that change as I leveled the ability up?

I'd need to test if it required a significant amount of the element to be present, if it required contact to initiate, the range, and what other limits there were to the ability. The amount would affect which ones were feasible; I could carry around a few water bottles in my Inventory for Water, if that worked, and stones for Earth. Assuming it didn't, the most reliable elements would be Air, Metal, and Earth—the former was essentially everywhere I was capable of surviving, after all, and I could always carry my sword and armor. Earth could be a bit more variable, depending on how it was affected by going inside, but…

As for Water, it could vary a fair bit, depending on what counted as a valid source of water. Fire…fire was the most uncertain. Depending on how the skill worked, I could call upon it easily or it would be nearly impossible to use effectively. It would need testing, but for the moment I could train with the Metal Aura on.

What else…?

I'd need to find a chance to test it with Dust. If 'Nature's Wrath' itself counted, then it would be simple, after all. I'd needed to figure out what each element did and how leveling up changed the limits. And, of course, I needed to figure out what else I could do with Nature Affinity. For now, though, I'd focus on leveling my skills up, including Elemental Aura, and then on my stats later.

"Time to get to work then," I muttered, drawing Crocea Mors and drawing the Metal Aura back around me. A glance at the sky told me I still had four or five hours until lunch, so I started practicing.

 **XxXXxX**

The next week passed quickly in a blur of constant effort. I woke up and worked out, studied during school hours, worked out for a while after school before going into the woods, ate supper, went back to the woods, and then came home, day after day. Whenever my body seemed ready to give out or I ran out of MP, I closed my eyes and meditated on the titanic power of the world beneath my feet, something no one else seemed able to feel, and then got back to work.

I never stopped unless I needed to and sometimes not even then. With the Soul of the World to restore my HP, MP, and Stamina on top of the odd way my body already worked, I didn't really _need_ sleep, so when I thought I could get away with it without my parents noticing, I worked out through the night. When I thought that would draw attention, I studied or meditated instead, but either way I kept my Aura activated nearly twenty-four hours a day, only turning it off when I ran out of MP and needed to refuel.

Sleep is for the weak or at least non-game characters. I'd thought that eventually it'd start effecting me mental or give me hallucinations or something, but that didn't happen—and though it was weird to never sleep, it got me _forty-two_ extra hours to work with a week instead of wasting on sleep. That was valuable time I could spend training instead and I knew I was making amazing progress. Sure, my rate of advancement was already slowing down as my stats climbed higher, but…even having just had this ability for a little over half a month, I was sure that I could have gotten accepted into Signal if I'd been like this before, even ignoring my skills. And if you included _them_ and how _they'd_ leveled up…

I was going to be a Huntsman. That wasn't a dream anymore, or a foolish, flickering hope, or anything like that. Someday, someday _soon_ , I would become a Huntsmen. When the time came, I'd take Beacon's entry exam and by then I knew I'd pass, I'd be ready for whatever came my way, and—

"Welcome back, Jaune," My mother's voice interrupted my thoughts as I walked through, an odd expression on her face. "There's someone here to see you."

"Hi, mom," I nodded at her, frowning slightly as I jogged in place. "Here to see me?"

My mind quickly came up with a number of possibilities, none of them good. I didn't have a lot of friends, even before my power turned me into a workaholic. I mean, I was on fairly good terms with everyone in my class, but I wasn't _best friends_ with anyone anymore. If something happened, I was usually invited, but I didn't hang out with a lot of people after school, because at school, there were three types of people: Hunter kids, Hunter fans, and everyone else.

Hunter kids were, well, kids like me, who had Hunter parents. My Mom and Dad had a lot of friends and when I was younger I'd hung out with them a lot and they'd been, I guess, my friends. But, the thing is, _because_ they were Hunter kids, pretty much all of them went off to one combat school or another and we'd sort of fallen out of touch after I…hadn't. Hunter fans were the ones who thought Hunters were awesome, which was pretty much everyone, including me, but…there's just…there's just something uncomfortable when the hottest girl in school agrees to go out with you, but only because she wants to go to your house and see your parents.

And I got that. My parents were cool. Hell, my life goal was to become a Huntsman—I understood how they all felt. And I also got that underneath that desire to ogle my awesome, celebrity parents, there were probably a lot of nice people who could be really good friends. But…

Also, bringing people to my house was always an experience. There was a hallway covered in pictures of all the different types of monsters my parents had killed one-on-one; they'd been competing since pretty much forever, before they'd gotten together—apparently that was _how_ they'd gotten together, actually. But the whole thing could substitute as an encyclopedia of the Grimm. Literally. Mom said that she and Dad had once gotten an _actual_ encyclopedia and then gone on a trip around the world to make sure they'd gotten one of each, including the ones that lived underwater.

Did I mention I'm not afraid of people threatening my parents?

And as for the final category…it was my teachers, pretty much. Who I hadn't given any reason to make a house call, unless this was about my grades suddenly improving and they were suspecting me of cheating or something—which, surprisingly, was the best possibility I could think of. If they thought I was cheating, it'd be relatively easy to prove I was just smart.

But if it wasn't anyone from school…

It could be the police or someone like them, finally connecting me to my thefts or the White Fang thing, or…

I walked passed my mom and into the dining room, a dread filling my stomach as if I already knew what I would find.

"Oh," I said as I saw him, letting out an already exhausted sigh. "Hey Tukson."

"Hello Jaune," The bookkeeper replied, nodding at me from where he sat, drinking coffee with my dad.

"Tukson here was telling us about how you did some work for him?" My dad said with a smile. "Why didn't you tell us you got a part-time job?"

"It was only a one-time thing, really…" I said, dragging my eyes away from the Faunus to look at him. Now that I was here, facing him, I was kind of surprised at how calmly I was taking this. It had gotten to be something of a trend.

"There was a book he said he wanted to buy," Tukson explained. "I said I'd give it to him if he ran a delivery for me. Well, it's more like he talked me into it; you have a very convincing son, Mr. Arc."

"Jacques, please," My dad replied immediately before turning to my mother, teeth gleaming. "First time he does real work and he asks to be paid in books. His mother's son, eh?"

Mom rolled her eyes.

"What do you need, Tukson?" I asked politely.

Tukson scratched the back of his head, smiling at me apologetically. I wondered if it was fake and used Observe on him; he was actually sorry. Or, at least, sorry about _something_ , it might not have anything to do with me.

"Blake asked me to invite you to the shop, if you wanted," He said. "She didn't know your number, so I guess now _I'm_ running deliveries."

"Blake?" Mom wondered.

"My niece," Tukson answered, though I was pretty sure that part _was_ a lie. "She's about Jaune's age; he helped her out while he was working for me."

"A part-time job and a _girl_ —" Dad began before falling silent at a glance from mom.

"What's Blake need?"

"She wanted to ask if you'd be interested in helping her again."

Of course.

I was trying to think of how to reply when my dad was at my shoulder, rising from his chair and coming beside me so quickly I hadn't even been able to see him move. He leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Son, when a girl asks you if you want to come over and help her with something, the answer is _yes_ ," He told me seriously, before suddenly letting me go as mom placed a hand on _his_ shoulder.

I looked at him and then back at Tukson, unsure. A part of me didn't want to get wrapped up in anything involving the White Fang, remembering what had happened last time—but the other was thinking of last time too, of how I'd gone from level two to _thirteen_ in a few hours. I hadn't leveled up once since then, though I'd improved my stats a great deal; even though the quest to heal the White Fang had gotten me nearly seventy percent of the way to the next level, the experience I got on a day to day basis wasn't getting me anywhere fast. The difference between getting to level two and to level fourteen, I suppose. And whatever she was, I guess I…kind of trusted Blake? At the very least, I didn't think she would be here for no reason or to hurt me.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to stop by after school and see what she needs, right?" I wondered out loud as much as to Tukson.

The smart part of me told me to stop trying to lie to myself.

 **XxXXxX**

8\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 8 - Mission Control

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Mission Control**

As I'd promised, I went to Tukson's Book Trade after school. Blake, one of the most powerful people I'd ever met especially near my own age, stood alone among the fantasy novels, nose in a book. She looked up as I entered, nodding at me slightly.

"Hello, Blake," I said as politely as I could. I was a bit irritated to be drawn back into this, but one didn't mouth off to people more than twenty levels above oneself. "Did I keep you waiting long?"

"Not really," She answered, placing a bookmark in the novel and closing it before moving towards me. "I wasn't certain when you'd arrive, so I came early. Hello, Jaune."

We were silent then, both having apparently run through our lists of casual conversation topics. Blake walked passed me and pressed a button, making its color shift from green to red, before closing and locking the door and making the windows opaque.

Well. That wasn't ominous.

I glanced above her head as she worked, checking her sign.

 **The Beauty**

 **LV36**

 **Blake Belladonna**

Two levels already? It'd only been a _week_. But then, I suppose she probably saw a lot of violence as a high-leveled terrorist. I figured fighting multiple super droids was probably out of the ordinary even for her, but what did I know?

"What did you need, Blake?" I finally asked, going right for the point after the silence continued to linger. I figured we'd both appreciate getting down to business.

In reply, she tossed me something. I caught it reflexively before looking at it. Glancing up at her curiously, I opened up the scroll and watched as images appeared and began to, well, scroll through the images even as the last remnants of my good day evaporated.

"Those are photos from a company town on Mantle," Blake stated evenly. "Do you know what a company town is?"

I nodded without saying a word but she continued anyway.

"All the businesses in the area are owned by the same company and they all accept company scrip, which is the only thing those employees are paid with."

"'Those employees,'" I repeated, though it was easy enough to guess.

"The Faunus," She said, mouth twisting. "Mantle's famous for its technology, but that's the type of thing that needs a lot of, preferably cheap, manpower, especially to mine dust. It's also not a place famous for its high opinion of Faunus. If you're known as one, there aren't a lot of places you can work, but the major companies will employ them…in a sense. In truth, it's more of a legalized form of slavery. They're given enough to get by, to survive and keep working, but they owe everything they have to the company and if they step out of line, they'll have it all taken away and find themselves out of the streets. What you're seeing is what a few of our people on Mantle have able to get about their living and working conditions and their general state of health."

I didn't reply until I'd finished flipping through the pictures, burnt all the images into my brain and made sure I would remember them. It was…

"Disgusting," I said. "Isn't this illegal?"

"Not on Mantle," Blake answered. "Or not enough that anyone truly cares. Even after the Faunus Right's Revolution…"

She shrugged.

"Things aren't perfect and are worse in some places then others. The White Fang has more traction on Vytal than Mantle and with travel between Kingdoms as it is…" She shook her head, exhaling through her nose. "My associates have been discussing how to take action against…this for several months and there's been a lot of talk about mobilizing a large response."

I closed the scroll and tossed it back to her.

"If you're waiting for me to try and defend _that_ , you're gonna be waiting a long time," I told her. "What those people are doing is sick. But I hope you don't think that just burning the company to the ground is going to help anything."

"I know it won't," Blake said, shaking her head. "I've been one of the people arguing against it. Even if we destroy the entire town—something that would inevitably result in countless meaningless deaths on _both_ sides—it wouldn't help the Faunus employed there. The root of their problem, and the reason they can be exploited in such a way, is that they can't find work elsewhere. Unless we can solve that problem first, destroying the only places they _can_ work isn't going to make their lives better, even if those places are horrible. A lot of the leadership agrees with me, but there's a demand for action and if an alternative can't be found…"

She shrugged again.

They'll do something stupid instead of doing nothing, I understood and nodded. In the long run, it might even help—if they could cause enough fear, if they could show enough power, and if, in doing so, they _didn't_ ignite a massive response and kick off a major conflict. But those were a lot of ifs and there would be a lot of deaths even if they managed it. In time, they might be able to scare people into employing the Faunus on reasonable terms, but that wasn't going to help the ones that would be left homeless and unemployed in the here and now.

Or maybe that was the idea? If there was a lot of anger and fear directed at the Faunus, it wouldn't take much for the Faunus to start giving some back. It could easily drive a lot of them into the arms of the White Fang, giving it the foothold it apparently lacked on Mantle and increasing their ranks majorly. That was a cold way of looking at it, but…if they took it far enough, there could be another war.

Then again, a coldly logical part of me said, if this was how the Faunus were treated even after the Rights Revolution, maybe they could _use_ another war.

I hushed that part quickly.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked. It wasn't a rhetorical question; if she was here, she must have had an idea and I probably wasn't gonna like it.

"There…was one other idea proposed, a long time ago," Blake actually seemed hesitant, which sent off alarm bells in my head. "Mantle…I wouldn't say Faunus are treated great anywhere, but Mantle is by far the worst and the White Fang has enough assets on the other continents to assist newcomers in settling in. The issue is the transition, but if we could get them into Vytal—"

I stopped her right there, putting the pieces abruptly coming together. The bottom dropped out of my stomach and I was already regretting…so many things, coming here the first and foremost.

"You…you want me to fly an airship," I paused for a moment, contemplating what would be needed for something like this. "You want me to fly an airship across the ocean, past who knows how many Grimm, invade a continent known for its advanced technology, perform a mass rescue operation, and _then_ get back _out_ of there, cross the ocean _again_ , and get back here? Is that about right?"

After a long, still moment, Blake nodded, actually looking a little embarrassed.

"The White Fang has attempted to create a system to move Faunus between the Kingdoms several times, but always had to abandon the plan as unfeasible on a large scale—even the possibility has been discarded now and isn't brought up as an alternative anymore. The Grimm are too dangerous and, because of them, boarder control is too tight. With that and peaceful protest abandoned…I really think the leaders are going to push things until there's another war. There are already plans being made for an attack and I…" She shook her head. "I want to avoid that. I think we _can_ avoid that, but we'd need to prove a point here and now that other ways are possible. But it would require something big. Something like this."

"Assuming, of course, that this ludicrous plan _is_ possible," I said. "I mean, what good would saving one town do when so many others are still kept in bondage?"

"It would show everyone that another way is possible," Blake said. "And it would show the Faunus of Mantle that there is a way out for them. It would give people hope, even if only a few hundred were saved."

I sighed and shook my head.

"And how would you suggest we pull this off? Do you even _have_ an airship?"

"We'd need to steal the airship," She admitted. "The White Fang doesn't have any that are big or fast enough for something of this magnitude."

"Oh, right, sorry—that makes sense," I nodded and corrected myself. "You want me to do _all of that_ with a _stolen_ airship, ensuring people will be chasing from the very beginning, meaning I'll have to _escape_ the country _and_ get back into it, after committing a crime that would make me an enormously wanted criminal if I got caught. Anything else?"

"There are only a few airships that are big enough and fast enough to make such a trip and airships in general are equipped with a number of systems to prevent them from being stolen," She added. "Which means acquiring one will be…hard and the moment we have one, we'll need to go. And the chances to steal a major Airship before it's under heavy security are…limited. The only chance I can be sure we'll have before the White Fang takes action is in less than two weeks."

"And a time limit for preparation, because who doesn't love a challenge?" I muttered before lifting my voice. "I have just one question. Well, no, that's a horrible lie—I have about a million questions, but I'm gonna start with this one: Why me? Why am _I_ the person you're going to about this? Ignoring _everything_ wrong with the idea, of which there is a great deal, why do you want to recruit a human you met _once_ to go along with this ludicrously dangerous idea? I mean, let's assume for just a second that I agree to this. You would be trusting me with your life and the lives of _everyone_ involved with this mission. So, again, why me?"

Blake seemed to have been waiting for that question.

"Several reasons," She said, lifting a hand in preparation to tick off her fingers. "The first is simply necessity. If this mission is to have any chance of working, I need someone who can learn to fly a vehicle they've never encountered before, figure out its exact specifications with no experience beforehand, become skilled enough at programming to deal with any measures already on it, use it to outrun the military, and do all of that in a very short period of time. Otherwise, the plan won't work."

"That's because the majority of your plan is 'Hope a miracle happens,'" I informed her.

She ignored me.

"Secondly, your ability to heal others and to regain your own power quickly makes you invaluable for…pretty much any mission. In that particular regard, your own personal power is only a minor consideration—rather, your presence serves as an enormous force multiplier. Adam and I could not do such a task alone, but if we were restored to full power anytime we began to weaken…" She let that statement hang in the air. "But the third reason is the most important."

"Oh?"

"I'm asking you because I think you might say yes," Blake said solemnly. "I can't say I _know_ you, but a week ago, you got involved and risked your lives to help people you didn't even know, simply because they were in danger and you _could_ help them. I think you're good man—I'm not amazed by your sense of self-preservation, but I think you have a good heart. I need to save these people and I need to try and stop the White Fang from going any further down this path. Will you help me?"

I put a hand over my eyes and sighed loudly, turning away from her as I rubbed my face. When I looked up, I was unsurprised to find a blue screen hanging in the air, but I still glowered at it.

 **A quest has been created!**

 **A Friend In Need: Help Blake with her insane mission!**

 **Reach the Faunus on Mantle and then escort them to freedom! Time Limit: Two weeks.**

 **Completion Reward: Exp 950000, Increased closeness with the Faunus of Mantle, Increased closeness with the Faunus of Vale, Increased closeness with the White Fang, Increased closeness with Blake.**

 **Failure: Decreased closeness with Blake, Imprisonment, or Death*.**

 ***Depending on time of failure.**

Don't even try to tempt me with your sexy, sexy numbers, I thought, even as I counted all the shapely zeroes. I knew full well that if the reward was that high, _getting_ it would mean terror and pain. I'd known that last time, too, granted, and it had turned out surprisingly well in the end, but the reward for this one was over fifteen times that one. If that said anything about the danger involved, well, I could only _imagine_. But this time—

I sighed deeply.

"There's too many ifs involved," I said. "Maybe we can get the ship and maybe I can fly it and maybe I can escape and maybe I get us there in one piece and _maybe_ I can get us back—but those are all really big maybes."

"Believe it or not, I actually have a plan, though a lot of details need to be hammered out," Blake said dryly. "Though none of it matters without your help and I'm not going to hurt you if you want to back out. But we _can_ do this. You might not even need to fight."

I thought there was pretty much no chance in hell of that being true, but maybe I was just getting cynical. Still, being in a party with people of Adam and Blake's levels was…

Still not enough to make this sound like a good idea.

"And stealing an airship…that's a major, major crime, especially on the type of scale you're talking about. Who would we even be stealing it _from_? The _military_? Because that would be an unspeakably bad idea without even getting into the amount of people we'd piss off afterwards. I mean—"

"Schnee," She interrupted me.

I looked over my shoulder at her in disbelief.

"You mean…"

"The airship is being produced by the Schnee Dust Company," Blake said. "The same company who owns the town on Mantle. They'll be showing off their newest model in Vale soon at a conference."

Wow, this plan was just getting better and better.

"Poetic justice aside, you…do realize we'd be pissing off one of the most powerful organizations in the world, right?"

"The Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang have been at each other's throats for years," She dismissed. "This won't make a difference on that front."

"Not for _you_ , maybe," I said, turning to face her fully. "But what about me? Even if we succeed, if anyone sees my face…"

Blake reached down to grab the bag at her feet and threw it to me.

"What's this?" I questioned, looking down at it. It was heavier then it looked.

"I just told you, I'm not stupid," Blake said, giving me a flat look that made me think it was wise not to argue.

Hesitating for a moment, I opened the bag with a sigh. On top were a few small cases, a large box, and…

I took out the mask. It was a lot like Adam's, though the designs were a bit different and in black instead of red.

"Um…"

"It's one of Adam's old ones," She said. "But it should fit you, too."

"…Yeah," I said, drawing the word out. "No offense but I don't think hiding my upper face is going to protect me for long when I find myself on every TV station from here to Atlas."

She rolled her eyes and made a rolling gesture with one hand and I took the items out of the bag one by one. After I took out the box, I found myself looking at the back cover of a book and reached in to remove it—

 **You obtained the skill book 'Makeup for the Menagerie.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

…Wait. What?

 **You obtained the skill book 'Making Faces: How to be a Makeup Artist.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **You obtained the skill book 'Windows to the Soul: A Thousand Designs for Beautiful Eyes.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **You obtained the skill book 'The Fairest of Them All.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **You obtained the skill book 'Let Down Your Hair.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

I looked up at Blake silently and then turned to the box. I opened it. Then I raised it, unfolded it, separated it, and stacked it. It was a makeup kit—a real, professional one which had so much stuff inside of it, the box must have contained a pocket dimension. There were about fifty million different pieces—for my skin, my eyes, my hair, my lips, my nails, and who knows what else. It featured about a thousand colors I hadn't known had names and implements which may have doubled for use in torture. The cases that came with it contained what looked almost like slides, with about four dozen colored contact lens in them. Looking at it all was both intimidating and terrifying.

I didn't touch it. It was complex enough that there may have been a self-destruct.

"This is the basic kit," Blake said, which made me look at her again. "I brought more, in case we need it. I only know the basics, but it should be fine with your power."

She stepped towards me and grabbed my chin with one hand, turning it one way and then the other, staring at me like I was a specimen on a slab.

"Didn't think so," She said, before elaborating. "No identifying marks. You're lucky; that makes this easier."

"Um," I started to say before her index finger and thumb forced my lips apart and she stared at my teeth analytically.

"You have good teeth, too. Alter the lines of your face with the mask, change your eyes, maybe shift your skin tone…we'll need to do something to your hair, of course, and we'll need to change your wardrobe, but…do you have any birthmarks?" She asked, freeing my lips.

"No, but—"

"Scars? Tattoos?" She continued.

"No!" I said, pushing myself to my feet. "But wait a second, will you? I haven't agreed to anything yet."

Blake looked me up and down even as her hands busied themselves putting away the makeup kit.

"You want to help," She stated. "You're scared, but you really, really do."

"Of course I _want_ to help, but the odds of this plan working…" I shook my head in irritation. "We, _you_ , aren't going to help anyone by getting killed. If I thought it could work, _maybe_ it'd be different, but…this is…"

Blake nodded.

"I know. Adam said the same thing and I agree," She stated. "And until last week, I'd never have even considered the idea. But it is possible. Or haven't you realized…?"

She turned and began to walk towards the back of Tukson's shop. Before she passed through the curtain, she paused and looked over her shoulder at me.

"Oh, that's right; you've never seen Tukson's private collection before, have you?" She mused. "He keeps all his _best_ books in the back."

I stared after her for a moment. This was the part where I should walk away. I hadn't agreed to anything yet and wasn't going to; I should just click no on the quest screen, walk out the door, and never turn back. This was insane and there was no point even discussing it further, much less in giving Blake a chance to try and make me go along with it. There was nothing but trouble behind that curtain, even if I knew Blake wouldn't _force_ me into this. I should leave right now. That was the smart thing to do, the wise thing to do, and I knew it.

But…

I swore and followed after.

If only Greed wasn't my sin.

And if only she wasn't right about me wanting to help.

 **XxXXxX**

Tukson's backroom was like a dream come true. One of _my_ dreams, specifically. There were boxes on the ground, some of them open, all of them filled with books. There were several rows of shelves, all of them taller than the ones up front but spaced far enough apart to move through comfortably, and the back wall had apparently been fake because it slide aside to reveal a hidden shelf in the hollow space behind it. There were books of every shape and size, scrawled with more languages and scripts then I could count, and ripe for the picking.

I whistled quietly.

"Impressive, huh?" Tukson asked, smiling at me even as he moved between the shelves, drawing out a book every now and then. "Not a lot of people appreciate a collection like this—but I guess if anyone would, it'd be you."

"I told Tukson about your Semblance, in case anything like this happened. He's been sorting through his collection lately, making copies." Blake said and I shrugged, not really surprised or upset or anything. "As for the others…there have been questions, but considering what you had to go through to help us, Adam and I have been deflecting attention as much as possible. I'll let you decide what to tell them later, but I'll probably have to explain things to Adam."

"If I even agree to help," I answered distractedly, moving in the direction of the shelves. Blake caught my hand before I could go and dragged me too one side, where a full length mirror was set on the wall beside a desk. Blake took a length of yellow measuring tape from atop the later and then positioned me in front of the mirror.

"Tukson's getting stuff for you now and you can look through the rest later," She said. "First things first. You can't very well run around in the same clothes you wear normally, can you?"

"Um," I asked awkwardly as she started measuring me. "Is this really necessary? I mean, if I _did_ decide to go along with this, I could just grab a shirt anywhere."

"The clothes make the man," Blake answered. "You'd be amazed how different a change in wardrobe can make you look. You for instance…this is what you normally wear, correct?"

I glanced down at my hoodie and jeans and crossed my arms over them defensively.

"Yeah, so?" I replied, not mentioning that my mom had had them tailor made for me.

"Your shirt's a bit baggie," She answered, grabbing it with two fingers, seeming to talk more to herself then me. "The materials rather thick, too. That's good for us; it hides a lot of your build. We could hide even more of it and try to change the shape of your body, but that could make fighting harder if it comes to that. Then…perhaps the opposite? A change in style…something more formfitting, then?"

"If this is heading towards spandex, tell me now so I can leave. I'd rather wear a fake mustache and use an awful accent."

She rolled her eyes as she finished with the measurements and stepped back. She pondered me for a moment before nodding her head and speaking.

"Take your shirt off."

"Um," I answered her words with the razor edge of my wit. "What?"

Blake looked at me and exhaled impatiently.

After an awkward pause, I followed her commands and took my hoodie off before her eyes—and let me just say, though I've had fantasies which involved getting undressed in front of a beautiful woman, they generally involved her looking less…bored. A raised eyebrow was all I got out of Blake as she looked me up and down, frowned slightly, and then stepped close to me with a length of measuring tape. She checked me around the waist, stomach, chest, shoulders, arms, and a few other places before nodding to herself and scrawling my measurements in a notebook.

"Something you need to remember about Hunters—and people like them, such as you and I—is that they tend to stand out, partially by design," She said, sounding like a teacher that was barely paying attention. "Unique outfits, unique weapons…there are many reasons for it, one of the most import being that we _want_ to draw attention. People who are shooting at us aren't shooting at the people we're trying to protect and our allies can easily pick us out of a crowd. Whether we're fighting against each other or against the Grimm, both of those things are important. However, one of the other reasons is because it's so hard for us to blend in, especially if forced into combat. I can fade from sight in when I need to, but there are only so many people who use Variant Ballistic Chain Scythes. It kind of gives me away, even without getting into my Semblance—and if I refrain from using either, that costs me a lot."

I mouthed the words 'Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe' to myself, having not realized that was a thing until now, but nodded at the point.

"But you're different—or rather, your Semblance makes you different. The thing about disguises is that they come in many forms depending on what you seek to accomplish—but the best ones come in layers," She stated, already drawing in her notebook. "A wardrobe change, a mask, and some well applied makeup are all good places to start, but alone may not be enough. Those of us with Aura usually don't have to worry about most types of biological evidence, thankfully, but there are other things that can give you away. Your weapon, for one, but even how you fight and act, and those can be harder to change. Luckily, it shouldn't be much of a problem for you. You use a sword normally, right?"

"Sword and shield," I answered, wondering if I could put my shirt back on. "It's a family heirloom, but I've gotten used to it."

Tukson dropped a small stack of book on the desk while Blake hummed.

"I would recommend avoiding both of those, then. For people like us, suppressing instinctive reactions and ingrained training is the hardest part," Blake continued, still drawing. "Most people won't notice the specifics, but if another Hunter is nearby, they might recognize you by the way you fight if they see you again later. Do you have a preference for what type of weapon you'd like to learn to use? I'd recommend guns, of course, but you'll need to be careful; Dust residues can themselves give you away and you'd be amazed how much they can get from that stuff if you don't have time to go through the proper channels. Still, it's more than worth it to give you several books on the subject. You'll want a close range option, too, though. A spear, maybe? We don't have the time or resources to manufacture anything special, but that should be doable."

I shifted uncomfortably, enjoying this less and less by the second. I didn't like the idea of switching weapons, even if I understood the intent, both because I wasn't keen about abandoning the bonuses I got from Sword and Shield Mastery and also because I'd already come to terms with making my great-great-grandfathers weapon my own. I had decided to make Crocea Mors my own and I wanted to stick to that. But…

I remembered what I'd thought about before. Just in case, it would be good to have a ranged option and…

"Do you have anything about unarmed fighting?" I asked. "Martial arts or boxing or something I can use with my bare hands? I've been meaning to work on that, but…"

Blake paused in her drawing and looked up at me and then turned to meet eyes with Tukson. It felt as if I were being excluded from a conversation.

"You think he can do it?" Tukson wondered after a second.

"I've no doubt about he's ability to learn it," Blake stated. "I'd have questioned his ability to _use_ it properly, but he's more muscular than I'd have thought."

"I've been working out," I told them, flexing one arm.

Everyone ignored me.

"If anyone _did_ recognize it, it would help cement his image as a Faunus…" Tukson mused before sighing and nodding. I glanced at him as he shoved the stack of books over to make more room before going back to the shelves.

"So…mind filling me in?" I asked Blake.

"He's getting you what you wanted," She stated vaguely, frowning at me before raising a thumb center with my chest and closing one eyes. "If the clothes make then man then…"

She nodded, flipped a page in her notebook, and started drawing again, only pausing when Tukson returned.

"Tiger, you think?" She asked, nodding at me.

Tukson blinked before looking at me.

"Kind of cliché, but…fitting, I suppose," Tukson shrugged. "It could work, I guess. You said his Aura was white?"

Blake nodded.

"Jaune, how much time do you spend shirtless?" Blake asked me seriously, turning back to me.

"Uh," I replied. "What?"

"How much time do you spend shirtless?" She asked again, voice and expression both annoyed. It was nice to know I was the only one embarrassed about any of this. "In public, that is."

"I…none?" I tried. "Unless I'm swimming or something and I don't do that much anymore."

She narrowed her eyes again before nodding.

"It could work," She said. "Layers and padding are usually preferable, but it's something people wouldn't normally associate with or expect from you and it could allow for false identifying marks to help throw people off. Give you the mask, do something with your hair, lips, skin—something distinctive, to draw attention. Strips, perhaps, or a tattoo, so that if people do see you shirtless, they won't make the connection. If you fight with your hands instead of a sword and play to the martial arts stereotype instead of the knight…it could work."

I squinted at her.

"You…you want me to fight shirtless?" I asked incredulously.

"You say it as if the armor you wore before would have protected you from anything without your Aura," Blake said frankly, making me wince. "You can wear a shirt instead, if you want, but remember that we're trying to sell an image here. As long as you find something that fits, it's fine. You want to look the part of the martial artist and the Faunus. Play it up as much as possible and it'll be harder to connect it to you. A lot of the White Fang has embraced such stereotypes, regardless. I was thinking something relatively subtle; a stripe across each cheek, a few across the shoulders and arms, some altered lines on the chest, a meaningless trinket or two for people to remember. Yellow eyes like mine, perhaps. We'll focus on your hair, though, change the style, change the color—something to stand out. Multiple colors? We could continue the tiger theme and with Adam there, it wouldn't even look too strange. Or maybe just white?"

Blake hummed to herself, apparently dismissing me entirely to focus on her note book.

"I still haven't…" I shook my head and abandoned _that_ ship, focusing instead on Tukson. "So! What do you have for me, Tukson?"

"A classic," He said with a sigh. Probably because I was gonna eat it. "From quite a ways before Menagerie. You've heard about the four Beast Kings, right?"

"Weren't there five?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

Tukson waggled a hand.

"Depends on who you listen too, but going by what few scripts remain, there were originally four and it's believed the fifth was someone's personal addition to the story—hence how he was actually the king of them all, the golden lord of Faunus-kind, a better fighter then any of the others, and also strong and wise. But on the other hand, we thought the same about Nicholas the Toymaker and it turned out _he_ was real, so who knows, right? It's hard to tell when it comes to stuff that far before the War, because life before Dust was…"

Tukson shrugged one shoulder.

"Well, you can probably imagine. With the presence of the Grimm and without Dust, things were a lot harder—often times in ways a lot of people don't think about anymore. Without the convenience of energy propellant and with the Grimm everywhere, it was far more difficult to extract, smelt, and forge metals and we couldn't do it with metals as good as we use today; depending on the time and location, some places would be lucky if they could use iron and even they might not be able to extract it consistently when the Grimm could rampage through town any day. And we're talking just basic weapons, because we didn't have the technology to make everything with a gun built right into it. Or guns as we know them today, even. But while we didn't have _Dust_ , we still had _Aura_ and because of that, we could make our _fists_ as strong as anything we could make."

I nodded getting it.

"And it was easier than _making_ weapons," I guessed. "Lots of martial arts, then?"

"Quite a few," Tukson nodded. "If you ever wondered about all those martial arts films set before the War, they're _partially_ rooted in fact, it was just…usually not as the movies depicted. Anyway, at the time there were lots of different groups and schools and such, but over time, several stood out among the rest as they grew and developed followings that could defend greater areas. Among the Faunus, these were the Beast Kings Meng Zhang, Ling Guang, Jian Bing, and Zhi Ming. Or…those might have been their names, at least; the best records we have are from Haven, so it might have just been the names they were known by there. It's also why Jian Bing's, better known as Bai Hu, martial art is the most complete of those that remain."

"What happened to the others?" I asked.

"There's a reason we call this world Remnant," Tukson answered simply. "And after the discovery of Dust and the resulting industrialization, we had better options—especially once we learnt how to fashion Dust into bullets and create better weaponry. As it became far easier to train people in other forms of combat and just as or more effective, Martial Arts faded from prominence during and after the War. There were the occasional upswings and there are always a few schools with popularity, but it takes less time to learn to use a gun then to learn to focus your Aura in specific ways…well, for everyone but you, I suppose. I spent some time in Haven researching it after the Rights Revolution, luckily, and these are the copies I made of the tablets in Bai Hu's temple. I never got around to translating it all and a lot of it was clear as mud, but…Blake tells me that won't be a problem for you."

I took the first in the stack from him, curious.

 **You obtained the skill book 'White Tiger's Tread.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

I clicked yes and the book glowed brightly, fragmenting as knowledge filled me. I took a deep breath and then exhaled, looking at Tukson who stared at me in undisguised interest and then at the window that appeared before me.

 **You've obtained the skill 'White Tiger's Tread.'**

 **White Tiger's Tread (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00% **

**The foot technique developed by the Beast King Bai Hu.**

 **Passively increases movement speed by 10%.**

 **Increases movement speed by 50% when active.**

 **Additional 10 MP used per minute.**

"Yeah," I said as Tukson put the books down on the table. "No problem. Maybe I should visit Haven someday myself, though."

I turned my attention to the two stacks of books. The taller one was composed of items Tukson had picked out after Blake asked—stuff he thought might be useful, mainly. I couldn't train all of them and I doubted all of them counted as skill books, but…well, I'd bear the burden of having many skills with the dignity of an Arc.

"Is this really okay?" I had to ask though, feeling a little bad about devouring the books when I still hadn't really agreed to this ridiculous plan, however certain Blake seemed of my involvement. The only reason I was still back here—besides, I admit it, my shameless lust for Tukson's books—was the fact that she said she wouldn't force anything on me.

That damn quest window was lingering ominously, though.

"It's worth it for the chance." Tukson said, putting down the books with a sigh. "Saving lives, giving second chances…I was around for the Rights Revolution—got taken from Vacuo—so that's the type of thing that means something to me. And even…maybe this could even be the start of something new for the White Fang. If we could prove it was possible, establish a precedent…if the people you saved could be accepted even somewhat here in Vale…"

"You really think that could change the White Fang?" I said, doing my best to keep my skepticism out of my voice.

"Maybe. Probably not," He admitted. "Too much has been said and done for any one thing to change the White Fang. But it could be a start, perhaps. Something to build off of. If it was big enough that neither the public nor the White Fang could ignore it, flashy enough to stick in their minds and stay around, if people told stories about it…it could start something. That's what I think."

He smiled at me.

"Besides, what's the point of books if not to learn something from them?" Tukson asked. "And if you really do understand whatever you eat, then I can just ask you about it later."

I wasn't sure what to say in the face of that, but…

I reached out to touch the first book in the stack and took it in.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Computer Mastery.'**

"I guess…" I sighed, regretting this more and more by the minute. I don't even think they were necessarily _trying_ to make me feel guilty.

Blake hummed, still drawing.

"Don't forget the books I gave you," She said absently and I rolled my eyes before reaching for one.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Disguise.'**

"Hey," Tukson asked, peering over my shoulder. "Blake are these…?"

Blake raised her head and gave him a look that shut him up.

"Ah," He continued awkwardly, still looking at the books before shaking his head. "Actually, give me just a second. There's one more book I want to give you."

Tukson went back to the back wall shelf, index finger trailing over the spins. I glanced at Blake, opening my mouth to ask—

"Don't," She said softly.

I didn't.

" _If_ I went along with it, I'd need the manual for the specific model of airship you'd need me to pilot," I said instead, even as I absorbed a book about Airships. All vehicles fell under broad skills like Drive, Sail, and Pilot but I could gain familiarity with or vehicles this way; the other books Blake had given me would probably do the same for Disguise and how Engineering books added Blueprints to Craft. "I could potentially get by with a normal book on the subject but I'd really rather not."

She nodded and I reached out for another book.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Firearms Mastery.'**

"Found it!" Tukson said, coming back to my side just as I was about to reach for another, a short, well-worn book in his hands. "Have you ever read this one?"

I accepted it.

 **You obtained the skill book 'The Story of the Wind.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

"The Story of the Wind?" I asked, shaking my head. "I've never heard of it."

Tukson clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"Really? I get not knowing about Bai Hu, but this one is an actual classic," He said. "One of the oldest stories in the world. Even _I_ don't know how old it is."

My eyebrows went up at that and I looked at the book in a new light. It didn't _look_ old, though staring at it, I realized the cover must have been torn and replaced at some point. This was probably just another copy, but…

"You sure about giving it to me, then?" I asked. "It must be pretty—"

"You can buy it in any bookstore in Vacuo," Blake said without looking up from her notebook. "And in a lot of bookstore down here. Or just read it online, honestly. It's a very famous children's story up north."

Oh. That was kind of a letdown. But hey, a skill book is a skill book…right? But what skill would a children's book give?

And why would Tukson give me one?

"What's it about?" I asked, hesitating before consuming it.

"Well…Blake's right, I suppose; it's a story about a boy who got lost in a storm—and, by the way, you have not seen a storm until you've been to Vacuo—but found and befriended the Wind, who guided him back home and kept him safe, through the night and the Grimm and the cold. Supposedly, the boy recorded it all in this book and passed it down." Tukson scratched behind one ear. "It sounds kind of silly saying it like that, but it's a good book and a lot of stuff in it _does_ work. Some people think it was actually an accounting of very early Dust use, in fact, because during the war they managed to imitate a lot of the feats, exactly as written—even the designs. Everyone in Vacuo's read that book at least once, I guarantee it."

"They give everyone in the military a copy," Blake added in a quiet voice. "In case any soldiers get lost and need to find their way home."

I looked back at the book, understanding what she was saying.

"This…then this was yours?" I asked Tukson, who shrugged. "I…I can't take this."

"Didn't you hear Blake?" He asked. "You can get one of those anywhere. Really, look at that old thing. I should have gotten a new one a long time ago. Besides which— _I_ know my way home. Besides, I'm not much of a fighter anymore."

I exhaled slowly.

Damn it, damn it, damn it, this was unfair.

"I have some things I need to do after this," I told them both. "And a few things I want to check out, too. But after that, I'll give you an answer, okay? One way or another. You gonna be here for a while, Blake?"

She tossed me the scroll from before again.

"All the important stuff is on there and you can use it to contact me. Keep it."

"Thanks," I said before pushing the button to accept the skill book.

And then I froze, staring for a long, quiet minute.

"Hey, Tukson," I said after I shook myself from my thoughts. "Thanks."

I could hear a new song, carried on the wind, something familiar and half-forgotten—and it made me want to call out to it, to raise the wind and ask it to join me and share the joy in that song, but…

But beneath the gentle song of the air, I heard the stead beat of iron drums, like of an army ready to march, and felt a comforting weight by my side. I knew the steps that had to follow now, to begin the dance.

However, there was something I had to do before anything else, so I could make my decision.

"I'm going to need to go for just a bit," I said, glancing at the clock as my hands gathered up the remaining books.

I had to speak to my father.

And then I had to speak to my sword.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Summon Elemental.'**

 **New Status, 'Air Element Affinity' has been created.**

 **XxXXxX**

9\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 9 - Prerequisites

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Prerequisites**

"Dad?" I asked with a raised voice, stepping into my house. "Dad, are you still home?"

"One sec!" I heard sounds of motion and then saw my dad coming down the stairs a moment before his hand was on my head, ruffling my hair, dropping a bag by the door.

"There you are!" He said, grinning widely. "How'd the date go, lady killer?"

"It wasn't a…" I shook my head. "You know what? Whatever."

I looked down at the bag, nudging it with the toe of my shoe.

"Leaving again already?" I asked.

He smiled apologetically.

"Duty calls. Sorry kid; your mom already went ahead to get our rid prepped, but she'll swing by before we have to leave. You can take care of yourself, right?"

"I always do," I said. "Can I talk to you about something before you go?"

"Is it girls?" He asked, wagging his eyebrows. "Because you're right; we should talk about that now. I know I'm usually busy, but you're sixteen now and—"

"It's important, Dad," I said, not letting myself get distracted even as I felt traces of heat rise in my cheeks.

"Ah," My father said, face becoming serious. Pursing his lips for a moment, he jerked his head towards the dining room and I followed him. When we were both seated, he looked at me with a steady expression. "What's wrong, Jaune?"

I lifted a hand to my lips, wondering where to even start. The beginning, I decided.

"I've been training a lot recently," I said. "Since a bit less than two weeks ago. I didn't really mean to keep it a secret, I just wanted to get a bit stronger before I told you because…"

I could help but look down. We both knew why.

"You've never had anything to prove, Jaune," My Dad said seriously. "Not to me or your mother."

"Yeah, but…I had to prove stuff to myself, you know?" I continued, looking down at my hands on the table. "Ever since…I failed to get into Signal again and again and the others all went off to combat school, but no matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough. And after you gave me Crocea Mors…but I still couldn't…"

I shook my head.

"I tried. You and mom told me I could be anything I wanted, do whatever I wanted, but what I wanted was to be like you and mom, like grandpa and the others. Everyone expected me to become a Hunter, but more than that, _I_ expected it, wanted it. But…I wasn't good at it. At _anything_ I tried. Until two weeks ago."

I tried to gather my thoughts and put them into words.

"I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but…I guess I found my Semblance," I shrugged, honestly having no idea how or why it had happened. "I awakened the rest of my Aura a week or so later, after I figured out how to use it."

Dad's eyebrows went up at that, surprise on his face.

" _After_ you found your Semblance?" He asked.

I nodded.

"After I went to the library, I found a book about it. I don't really know how to describe it without sounding strange but I can do stuff like that; I learn things fast, from books or otherwise, and I recover quickly when I get tired. Recently, I've been training or studying all through the night and I went out every day to train, and…"

I shrugged.

"I know," My father said after the silence lingered. At my look, he gave a half-smile. "Give me some credit, kid; I've known since…I guess it would be after you woke up the rest of your Aura. It's the type of thing that changes you and how you move and, well, you've been leaving it on all the time. Your mother and I have talked about it a few times, but we decided to let you come to us when you were ready. We were going to say something when we noticed you staying up all night, but you were always fine in the morning, so…"

He sighed, smile fading, and I had the feeling there had been more to these talks then he was letting on. Thinking about it, I wasn't even that surprised to hear that they knew, given who they were. I'd always just accepted that my mom knows all and sees all, but she usually didn't bring things up if I didn't want to talk about them unless she thinks she really has to or I do something bad. I hadn't even really been trying to hide it, I just didn't want to bother them about it.

"My Semblance has…well, it's just weird," I admitted. "But it's pretty awesome, too, and it can do all sorts of things. But…I'll tell you about that latter. What I wanted to do is ask you for some advice. About, well, I guess about what I should do about a problem I've been having."

Dad bobbed his head once.

"I, well, I have a friend," I said, before briefly debating with myself and just coming out with it. "Blake, the girl you heard about earlier—and please don't start, Dad, _please_ —asked me for my help and I don't know if I should say yes or not. Because…Dad, have you ever had a friend who wanted to do something that was just _stupid_?"

He laughed in my face, like I'd just said something hilarious before suppressing it—only to lose control again when he saw my face. I stared at him oddly until he wound down, but even then there was a small smile on his face and mirth in his eyes.

"Sorry about that," He said. "You'll understand later, if you become a Huntsman. But I have some experience along those lines, yeah."

"I'll take your word for it," I said, figuring he _was_ the one with experience—and if he and mom were anything to go by, well… "But Blake's idea, it's stupid. But…I think it may also be the _right_ thing to do and I don't know if there are any better options. And if I don't help…she can't do this without me and other people will suffer if nothing is done."

Eyebrows furrowed, the Arc patriarch looked away, the beginnings of a frown on his lips. He stared at a few of the pictures on the walls, of his old team.

"I know a thing or two about that, too," He said, mirth gone. "Is it dangerous? Something you can go to a teacher or the police about?"

'Or me' went unsaid.

"I don't think the police could do much about this—or even the Hunters. And yeah, it's dangerous," I said. "That's why it's stupid. But I think…I can make it work, maybe. And if I do nothing, it won't stop being dangerous; it'll just be dangerous to other people instead of me. And the more I think about it…"

"The more the thought sickens you," He nodded. "You want to do something. Feel like you have to."

I thought about it and nodded firmly.

"Yeah," I said. "I want to help them. There's so much about it that scares me and makes me want to run away, but I _want_ to help. And I keep thinking maybe, just maybe, I could actually do it, if I went all out in my training and try my hardest."

Dad took a deep breath and looked around as if expecting some horrible monster to pop out of the shadows.

"Your mother is going to kill us both…" He sighed before looking back at me with steel in his eyes. "Promise me that if you think you might get hurt, you'll back out. You'll call for help, delay, whatever—but you won't get hurt."

"I intended to do that anyway," I said, even if I was becoming less and less sure about that as time went on. "And Blake and her friends will be there, too. They're strong. Stronger than me. I think if we tested her, she could get into Beacon right now."

"I…God, I don't want to say this, but it'd be hypocritical not to. I made my own father go through this, once, though I was a little bit older…" He exhaled through his nose. "Jaune, listen to me. Sometimes, you have to fight even if it's dangerous because the alternative is worse or because you couldn't live with yourself if you didn't. I understand that, believe me—every Hunter understands that, accepts it the moment they really become one. It's a dangerous job but it's one we chose to do. So…I won't tell you not to, even if I want to. If you're doing this to help people, then put your all into it and help them. But there are three things you have to remember at all times, okay? The people who have your back, the home you have to come back to, and the things you need to stay alive to do. Promise me you won't forget those three things, no matter what."

I stared at my Dad's face for a long moment, noting how uncharacteristically solemn his expression was. He was taking this seriously.

So was I.

"I will," I said in the same tone. "I'm going to get everyone out safely and come home and then I'm going to become a Huntsman. I'll keep training hard and when the time comes I'll take the test and enter Beacon and I'm gonna graduate and I'm going to become the best Hunter in the whole world. I _will_."

"That's my boy," Jacques said, baring his teeth in a smile. "Do you need any help?"

I understood the offer for what it was and glanced back at the bag he'd left in the hall.

"Don't you need to be somewhere?" I asked.

"A murder of Giant Nevermore came in to roost near Mistral and they keep trying to abduct people to feed their young," He said with a shrug. "Your Mom and I are going in for a few weeks to serve as reinforcements, but…we can find someone else if you need."

It'd be a lie to say I wasn't tempted. Like, truly enormously tempted to just tell him 'Yes, Dad, please call off all your plans, including the ones to save countless lives and help me.' But…I hesitated. Part of it was because I knew that those people probably were in great danger and I _knew_ my parents were some of the best equipped to save them. My dad made a flock of titanic Grimm sound like an everyday thing, but…

So part of it was the fact that, much as I wanted to, I couldn't place myself above others, even for something like this.

But, perhaps even more than that…I didn't want to bring my parents into this. If it was…if it was me getting into trouble or making sacrifices, that was one thing, but I couldn't ask that from them. I wasn't worried about them getting hurt, but there were other things that could be taken from them. If I asked them to come—and they would, if I asked them, I knew that much for sure—then if something went wrong, if someone noticed them or something about them…And they were famous, amazing Hunters, way better known than someone like me…

I could be asking them to give up the lives they had made for themselves, what they'd worked so hard to create, and the names they earned. I knew this was risky for me as well, but there were things I could do that others can't—and if I was caught, it would just be on me. I couldn't do that to them, even if I wanted their strength on my side. I didn't know if it was smart or wise or whatever, but I couldn't, I _wouldn't_.

"Ugh," I said. "You want me to bring my _parents_ to a party? How old are you that you think that would be remotely cool?"

"Yeah, I guess I'd cramp your style, huh?" He smiled sadly. He lowered his head to look me in the eye. "I'll hurry home, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "But I'll be back before you."

I'd try to make sure it wasn't a lie.

"I have to get a few more bags," Dad said. "I'll leave you a few things while I'm up there, just in case."

"Thanks," I said, before stopping him as he turned away. "Dad. Just so you know…I'm gonna turn in my homework for the next few weeks tomorrow, because after that, I'll be missing school for a while. I just wanted you to know, so you didn't…"

He sighed.

"Your Mother is gonna _kill_ us…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But I'll handle it. When we both get back, will weather the storm together, okay? A man's gotta take responsibility for his actions."

"Deal," I answered. "Good hunting, Dad."

"You too, kiddo," He said. "And be good, okay?"

"I'll give it my best effort," I hedged, smiling as I watched him go.

When he was gone I let out a long, slow breath, closing my eyes for a minute before opening them once more. I'd decided and now I was resolved.

I accepted the quest and the window finally faded from my sight.

Just one more thing to do.

 **XxXXxX**

When I absorb a skill book, I understand what's written inside as if I've known it forever. After I devoured Tukson's gift, I understood it in its entirety—everything it was attempting to convey, hidden within the story, including the skill Summon Elemental. The moment I first received the skill, I realized something in short order—the skill was 'Summon Elemental' not 'Summon Air Elemental,' just as my Elemental Aura hadn't been restricted just to my Metal Affinity. If I followed that to its logical conclusion, assisted by the knowledge I'd gained, it should be possible to use the spell with other Elements, so long as I met all the conditions.

To summon an elemental, you need three things. The first, of course, is an affinity for the element in question, natural or otherwise. The second is a supply of the appropriate element with which to summon it from. My power supplied the former easily enough and both of my current affinities, Metal and Air, were easy enough to come by. However, the final thing was something that needed to be prepared in advanced—a contract.

After saying goodbye to my mom and dad, I sent a message to Blake telling her about my decision and then went out to what had more or less become _my_ place in the woods to do what I needed. I drew a pair of concentric circles and then a five pointed star with its tips touching the outer circle. Then, I took Crocea Mors out of my Inventory and placed it at the center of the circle, shield over sword. I surveyed my work for a moment to make sure everything was in order and nodded to myself.

"What's that for?" Blake's quiet voice reached my ears, sending my poor heart vaulting up into my throat for half an instant before it calmed. As it had done that several times, I was pretty sure that was some aspect of my power, but I'd need to check on it later.

"I didn't expect you to come today," I said, deciding to pretend I'd known she was there all along. I wasn't sure if she'd snuck up on me on purpose, but if she had I wasn't gonna make it fun for her. "I didn't mean to make you rush over."

"I have my books," She answered. "I can read them anywhere. Besides that, there's not much I want to do in this city besides work."

I hummed in acknowledgement.

"This is a summoning circle," I said. "I'm going to summon an Elemental. I picked up the skill from Tukson's book; figured I'd put it to use."

"You…" I heard surprise in Blake's voice. "That's _real_? The boy and the Wind?"

"Looks that way," I said, look over my shoulder at her. "I don't know how many people could do it given it requires an Affinity with the Element in question, but it's possible, yeah. Tukson said the boy wrote down everything he learned; I think he was right."

Blake frowned at that, tilting her head to the side.

"I…suppose I shouldn't be too skeptical, given everything I've seen," She said. "If there's one thing I know for certain, it's that our world is a strange place. And there have always been stories in Vacuo."

"Oh?"

"Because of the nature of Vacuo, the winds and storms have always been popular in their legends…or, perhaps, in their history. For instance, in the Hall of Kings, the lives of the ancient rulers of Vacuo are transcribed. Four of them claimed to have married the daughters of the North Wind, the Four Winds that are believed to bless Vacuo," Blake said. "And it's often said that if one ventures far enough into the Frozen Desert, they will find Snow's Palace. It's generally accepted as just another myth and expeditions to the far North haven't noted anything of the sort, but…well, here we are."

"Here we are," I agreed.

"Are you going to summon the Wind?" She asked, eyes focusing on the circle interestedly. "Like in the story?"

"Yes," I said. "But later. I gained an Affinity for the Element of Wind from Tukson's book, but I already had an Affinity for Metal—and there's something I have to do."

She tilted her head to the side, looking past me at Crocea Mors, which lay within the circle. Her mouth opened slightly in understanding and she nodded, hand going to her hip.

"Would you like me to leave?" She offered.

I shrugged, a bit embarrassed despite myself.

"You don't have to," I told her. "If it works, it'll be something I'm proud of. Just…be quiet for a minute?"

As she nodded, I touched my hand to the circle and closed my eyes, taking one last deep breath.

"I, Jaune Arc, call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee," I spoke, my voice low but clear. "I hope that you heed my call. Come, Metal Elemental!"

My sword and shield rattled against one another, shaking in place for a moment before going still. For a moment, I wondered if anything had even happened, until I saw my reflect shift in the surface of my shield. The man looking back at me was older then I was and he looked stronger. I'd only ever seen him in artwork, but he looked like my great-great-grandfather. Or, just maybe, like I might look someday.

 _I…Here. You…the Fifth. Why have you called upon me?_

The words took form in my thoughts, but they weren't my own. They weren't loud by any means, but even sluggish as they were, as from some who'd just been woken, I wouldn't call them _soft_. I'd known that Elementals could communicate in such a way, but even so it surprised me to actually feel it.

But there were respects yet to pay.

"I'll begin in accordance to the ancient rituals," I continued. "My real name is Jaune Arc. You have heard my true name; please tell me yours."

This time, my sword didn't so much as move—but I found myself falling, my vision going black. I…remembered something, except I couldn't remember something that had never happened to me, could I? I don't know how long it was dark for, except that it was a long, long time until suddenly there was light and I was removed from the darkness. I remember there being heat, felt my body coming apart as I was bathed in that fire. I felt the pounding blows of steel, the chill depths of water, and I was changed. Flickering images flowed before my mind's eye alongside rushes of sensation. I felt the rushing touch of the wind, hot liquid washing over skin, soft things giving way before my hard form, the power of life and death in my edge, and knew this was my new purpose.

And then I saw myself, kneeling beside the circle, except I was different. My body, hair, and even clothes were made of smooth, shining steel, like the flawless work of a master artisan.

And then it was my turn to change. I felt myself melting and unlike before where it had been an odd sensation, this time I _felt_ it, felt myself twisting and flowing away—and it _hurt_. But beneath my fingers, I suddenly felt the cool edge of my sword and all of that just…went away. The metallic coating I'd felt over my flesh chipped away, flaking off with tremendous speed and all that pain was replaced with a simple, beautiful feeling of completion.

For the first time in a long time, I was truly, completely happy with no conditions or reservations, as wholeheartedly as a child.

 _Crocea Mors. I am. The Yellow Death. You. The Fifth. Jaune Arc?_

I opened my eyes and looked at the sword that had somehow traveled from the center of the circle to beneath my hand.

"Yes, I am Jaune Arc."

 _You and me. That is okay?_

"It's better than okay," I said, remembering the words. "It's great. And so are we."

 _We are one, as the ancient contract decrees._

"Our souls are one."

 _I am Crocea Mors._

"I am Jaune Arc."

 _Until our souls meet their end—_

"—We will be forever one."

 _Then know I will protect you always._

And as abruptly as it had come, I felt the presence fade and realized how exhausted I abruptly was. I tried to stay upright but it was a lost cause and I felt myself tipping over, falling—

Blake caught me before I hit the ground.

"Did it work?" She asked quietly and I smiled.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll tell you about it later, but…for now let me…"

I tried to fight it, tried to meditate instead, but I couldn't fight what was coming. For the first time in a week, I felt myself drifting off and away to sleep. But as I did, I thought I heard Blake speaking.

"Are you jealous, too? Gambol—"

I was gone.

I dreamt of battlefields, of dark creatures thick enough to turn a green plain black charging forward, towards what was behind me. But I didn't flinch. I had my blade in my hand and I met that charge with my own. I swept across that field, cutting down monsters like that were naught but grass in the summer. The sun gleamed down from above as the bodies fell and I…

 **XxXXxX**

I woke up and stared groggily at the ceiling for a minute before my brain started working, at which point I realized there were several things wrong with this picture. For one thing, I didn't sleep any more. For another, I'd been in the forest a minute ago—though I assumed it had been longer in the land of the living. And finally, Blake was at my desk, reading a book.

Groaning, I sat up.

"What a waste of time," I sighed, glancing at my alarm clock. Four hours gone that I could have spent doing things that actually matter. I saw Blake set her book down, looking at me calmly. "Sorry for making you waste your time on me, Blake."

"It's not a problem," She said. "Did you get what you needed?"

I glanced around until I found Crocea Mors, back in its sheathed form, leaning against the wall. Rolling out of bed, I walked on bare feet to pick it up.

"Let's find out," I said, closing my eyes. "Crocea Mors."

 _I am here._

I felt his presence before he spoke and though there was no change to the weapon itself, when I drew the blade and looked at what was reflected in the shining steel, it wasn't my face. Of course, I hadn't truly materialized him, yet. There were two ways to use summoning spells, at least for elementals. The first is simply by summoning the spirit form of the elemental and drawing upon it to manipulate its element—I would feed it my power and it would act as I commanded it. The second method was to truly materialize it, allowing it to act as it wished, though that was more expensive in terms of MP, generally.

But I had an idea I wanted to try. Or, at least, a wish. Because I'd already decided, that we'd…

"Crocea Mors, can you tell what I'm thinking?" I asked, sheathing. "Can you do it? Would it hurt you? And could you…fix it?"

I received no response but the hard metal beneath my fingers softened until it seemed, if anything, like syrup. I grabbed it with my other hand as rivets of liquid steel began to flow across its length—not necessarily downwards, though. They flowed towards my hands, over them, and then down towards my elbows. After a second, I wasn't holding a sheathed sword any more, but a shrinking ball of steel, connected by flowing strands to my fingers.

When it was done, my arms were coated in shining steel from fingertip to near my elbows. I flexed my fingers, rolled my wrists, and worked my elbows to make sure I still had the full range of motion in them as the metal settled and looked down to see Crocea's face in my arms reflection. My left arm, made from my shield, was more thickly armored, better equipped for blocking, but also more than hard enough to deliver a stunning punch. My right, as ever, was my sword, with metallic nails and a sleeker design. My own work, at least mentally, and it was a good first draft at least. Crocea Mors had used his own power to make thought into reality.

This was my desire—to fight with Crocea Mors, regardless of shape. Even if it meant sacrificing the weight of a sword and the bonuses of my power, I'd made a decision and I would stick to it. This way, at least, I'd still be somewhat armed as well and further equipped by the presence of an ally.

Still, I was breathing hard. That had cost a lot of MP, even if I hadn't materialized Crocea for it and I doubted it would have even been possible if it hadn't been his own body he was shifting. It'd take practice before I could do something that fine to something else, much less in combat even ignoring Aura. However…it was still pretty damn awesome.

 **Mastery of the skill Craft increases! Craft's level goes up by one! Craft's level goes up by one! Craft's level goes up by one!**

"It worked," I told Blake, who had watched the entire process in fascination. I had to smile at that, especially as the blue windows appeared before my eyes. "You mind staying like this for a while, Crocea? Turning back won't be a problem, will it?"

 _No._

That was apparently all I'd get out of the Metal Elemental. I'd try manifesting him in a minute, but…

"Let's get to work Blake," I said. "There's a lot we're going to have to do and not a lot of time to do it, so I'll cut right to the chase. I'm going to need training and I'll need your help for what I have in mind, so let me tell you exactly how my power works…"

 **XxXXxX**

10\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 10 - Grinding

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Grinding**

"Your power is bullshit," Blake said as I finished my brief explanation. While we'd walked back into the woods, I'd told her about everything I thought would be important in the coming weeks—about my Inventory and how it could be used to transport things undetectably, about how Skills and leveling up worked, and about how I could see titles and levels in signs above people's heads. Things that we might need to plan around or which would come in handy, such as if Blake saw someone suspicious and needed to know if he was a Level 67 Destroyer of Fools or something.

"I _know_ , right?" I agreed, nodding with a smile.

"It was bad enough when you could just devour books, but…" She shook her head. "Well…I suppose I shouldn't complain, since that's good for us."

She frowned in thought, the bow on her head twitching.

"But let's be careful about this. Because of your 'Inventory' you have what amounts to a pocket dimension that you can store and retrieve things from effortlessly. Did you test if the things you stored inside it could be detected by others?"

"Of course," I answered promptly. "I passed through metal detectors and it didn't react to my sword. When I stole stuff from the library and left with them, there was no reaction then, either. I can't say its _undetectable_ because there was only so much I could feasibly test and I'm sure there's _some_ power or another that could detect it, but nothing I've tried has been able to do it. And before you ask, there doesn't seem to be a weight limit in terms of how much I can carry, though I've only been able to store things I could lift, with a few other restrictions. If getting inside without anyone knowing about our equipment is an issue, I can handle it. And, for what it's worth, the food I've stored inside it hasn't gone bad yet, though the watch I put inside to test the passage of time has functioned normally. And no, I have no idea how that works."

She'd opened her mouth to ask a question, but I'd apparently answered it so she closed it and nodded thoughtfully.

"What you can take with you on a mission like this is always an issue, as is getting it past security," She stated. "We're generally forced to travel light by necessity, but if your…Inventory can really do what you say, we can go in with almost everything we could want. There may be some issues getting Adam through the front door, but he and I can manage. Once we're inside, you can identify everyone important by their…name tags, I suppose? What does mine say?"

"The Beauty, LV36, Blake Belladonna," I recited. "Last time I saw him, Adam's was The Beast, LV41, Adam Taurus."

Blake's lips twitched downwards in displeasure.

"And just to make sure, they said that before you knew who we were, correct?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "For people who are vastly more powerful than me, it doesn't give all that information, but even then I can usually tell something's up because I'm seeing question marks."

Blake muttered darkly under her breath before shaking her head again.

"And you?" She asked, elaborating as I tilted my head. "What level are you?"

"Ah…LV13, now, but I was LV2 about a week ago. That whole mess caused me to level up eleven times, but I haven't gone up again since. You went up two levels, though," I said.

"And your 'Stats'…when you level up and put points in the stat, it really makes you stronger? Faster?" She pressed.

"Yeah. So far, the only things I've given points to are Wisdom and Intelligence, but it seems to improve them," I answered, nodding again. "So does normal training, though. I managed to raise all of my physical stats to near thirty with about a week of effort. Ideally, I'd like to get them all to at least fifty by the time of the mission, but I don't know if that's possible through training alone; after they hit twenty, the rate of increase got slower and slower. Intelligence and Wisdom are my highest stats, currently."

"I struggle to see it," Blake said skeptically. "I can't say I've had much time to get to know you, but in that time you've done a fair amount of things which seemed enormously stupid. Agreeing to help me, for instance."

"I'm aware of the smart thing to do; that's not necessarily the same thing as doing it. Nor is 'wisdom' a synonym for 'heartless'," I shook my head before taking a deep breath. "Speaking of which, the answer is no."

"No?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "To what question?"

""Am I doing this just to gain levels?'" I said. ""Was that the only reason I helped them out?' I'm not going to lie and say I don't appreciate those benefits, just as I'm not going to claim I don't appreciate the skills I gain from the books I devour. I'll even admit that _I_ have wondered for a long time whether I was being selfish or heroic a week ago. But this time, I can say for sure that it's not the reason."

Blake looked at me, silent and expressionless, for a long moment before slowly exhaling through her nose and giving me a nod of concession.

"So you claim, but how do _I_ know that?" She asked.

"Because I'm telling you about my power instead of lying about it or changing the details—and I think we both know that I could, easily, and no one but me would ever know," I told her. "That's how you know I'm telling the truth about this. And _I_ know, because I had chances to back out and didn't take them. I told my dad about my power and talked to him before I called you. If all I wanted was experience points, I had a better option in him then you, because I can gain that experience just as easily by defeating Grimm and with him there, it'd be a lot less dangerous to me than this mission. I could have spent a few more weeks working on my stats, asked him to take me out past the limits when he came back, and fought Grimm knowing he was there if anything went awry. And in case you didn't see the pictures, my dad has killed every monster in the book. Literally, every monster in the book. You can go _check_."

I took her wince as an 'I'd seen it.'

"I could have refused, walked away, and asked him to help me train and gotten the same reward as this mission; more, in the long term. My dad is gone a lot, but I'm sure he could make arrangements. I already intended to ask him and Mom for training when I was ready, in fact. If anything, I think that would be the fastest way to level up, and the method with the least amount of moral quandaries: kill the monsters, save lives, get stronger. But here I am, because you were right. I want to help those people and I want to help you. So I'm going to trust you and tell you the truth and hope you trust me, too."

I saw Blake's eyes move over my face, her gaze intense enough I thought I could feel it—and then I saw her nod.

"Maybe I _can_ see it…just a bit," She said, looking at me considering. "I trust you, Jaune."

I smiled at her.

"Out of curiosity, would it have made a difference if I was just a greedy bastard?" I wondered.

"What do you think?" She asked, raising a questioning brow.

I laughed.

"Nah, I already know the answer," I said. "It wouldn't matter to me, at least, if I was in your shoes. As long as you did what I needed and helped people in need, would it really matter why? Just wanted to see what you'd say."

Blake rolled her eyes but smiled.

"What is it you need?" She asked, expression becoming serious again in seconds. "You'll want to fight the Grimm to…level up, I assume, and you need someone to watch over you while you do. I take it this entire spiel about trust is to convince me to take that role in place of your father?"

"Among other things; I just think this will go more smoothly if we're all on the same page and not worried about one another. I'll need to grind some of my skills, too," I said. "Disguise, computers, my new fighting style, stealth, and anything else that might be useful. We'll need to work on our plan whenever possible, though I have a few ideas I'd like to put into action. The fact remains that there's a lot to do and not much time to do it—but thankfully, I don't need to sleep."

"I do," Blake said flatly. "I can go without it, but only for so long, especially if I'm pushing myself. If you need me for any of this, you might want to build your schedule around that."

"I know," I assured her. "Which brings us to a rather large issue. You're bringing Adam into this, right? Now that you have me on board? I suppose it's about time he and I talked again."

Blake's hidden ears twitched again but she nodded.

"It'll take a day or two to arrange everything on that front. It's not just Adam and now that we have your Inventory, we'll want to bring in more resources, if possible. The White Fang moves fast and Adam's been lingering nearby, I'm sure, but you'll be on your own for a while," She said. "What do you want me to tell him?"

"Didn't we go over this?" I wondered aloud, stretching as I rose. "Tell him what you want. I trust you, Blake. Just send him to me when he gets here so we can talk."

"And you?" She asked. "What will you be doing until then?"

"Can't you guess?" I asked, smirking. "Training, of course."

I drew one of the books Tukson had given me about Bai Hu's martial art from my Inventory, holding it aloft.

 **You obtained the skill book 'Jaws of the White Tiger.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

Clicking yes, I paused for a moment, expression softening as I drew in the knowledge—and the power, for wasn't that what knowledge _was_ in the end?

And then I slammed my left hand up to the second knuckle in the trunk of a nearby tree, fingers flexing within its wooden confines and sending cracks trough the bark before I ripped a chunk straight from the tree. These were the 'Jaws of the White Tiger'—it was an active technique like Power Strike but with three parts, consisting of the initial attack, a crushing attack to gain a grip, and then a ripping attack to finish. From what I had learned from the book, it was intended to be used on spines or throats. However, as a three part attack, the total MP cost was high, especially when enhanced by Power Strike, as I'd just done.

I did it again before speaking.

"Most of my skills are good even at their baseline, but the Active ones are too expensive to use consistently. A week ago, I tested myself to see how long I could last fighting at full power, using my Aura Channeling, Power Strikes, and everything. In total, if I enhanced every attack, I could only last a minute or two. But the MP costs go down as I level the skills up—and that's in addition to the power increasing. I retested mid-week and I lasted five times as long. I haven't gotten a chance to check again yet, but…"

I shook my head, tearing another handful of the tree away.

"But now I have more skills and they each start at level one," I said. "I'll need to level them up until I can at least fight effectively in combat; if I train them constantly for a day or two, getting them to twenty or twenty-five should be possible. There might be a limit to how far the MP cost can be reduced—my Aura skills stopped at five MP a minute—but that should let me use them for real in battle. I was aiming to get all my skills to fifty before, but…"

"Which ones are you going to train?" Blake asked.

"All the ones I can. The martial arts techniques, Summon Elemental, everything I can train on my own out here. I can only train skills by using them properly, though, so Stealth, Disguise, and Computer Mastery and such will have to wait for now."

"You think we'll run into trouble no matter what we do," Blake said, understanding.

I looked at her oddly.

"Don't you?"

She chuckled before disappearing—but for just a moment, her voice lingered.

"At the very least, you're thinking like one of us."

I snorted and attacked the poor tree again. I'd need to heal it soon, no doubt—

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill that uses excessive strength, 'Rip,' has been created!**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill that uses excessive strength, 'Crush,' has been created!**

Huh…?

 **XxXXxX**

After a few minutes, the combined MP cost of all the skills I was trying to train took their toll and I was back to meditating to recover. Even as I felt the shifting tides of the world around me, though, I couldn't help but think of the three skills I had just gained.

I was well aware of how little I truly knew about how my power worked, but it seemed to feel the need to hammer it in whenever possible. I knew logically that I had been focusing on improving what I'd already had and developing my stats which didn't leave me many chances to successfully experiment, but…it was kind of depressing how easily I'd gained skills to assist my martial arts when all I had for swordsmanship were Aura Channeling and Power Strike—which could _also_ enhance martial arts, so.

I'd known that actions could become skills, of course, and even that specific forms of attack could—Power Strike had proven that, for example, as had Aura Crash—but in my practice in the forest, I hadn't gotten any new sword attacks just by wailing on trees. Granted, my sword practice was fairly basic, consisting mostly of practicing Power Strikes while boosted by all my Passive or persistent skills and I _had_ intended to see if I could make my own sword skills once I'd grinded my stats a bit more, but…I'd already gotten two 'martial arts' skills even without counting the ones I'd gotten from the skill books and I'd probably get more; Martial Arts or Fist Mastery, at that very least.

Thinking about it logically, maybe there was a certain sense to it; Bai Hu's martial art was created in a time when weapons and Dust couldn't be relied on against the Grimm. It was a method of manipulating Aura to enhance human capabilities in specific, useful areas, so it wasn't _that_ odd that it would itself grant me useful skills. But when this was over, I was going to learn how to really use a sword. Not just hitting a tree really hard, but all the minutia that didn't fall under Sword Mastery or Power Strike—maybe get to work on trying to create my own style, like I'd planned. Even if I knew that my focus on improving what I'd already had and developing my stats which didn't leave me many chance, this was just irksome. There had to be a long-lost magical sword style _somewhere_. Hell, I should have asked Tukson about it, even if it would have been useless for this mission. I'd need to do that when this was over.

Opening my eyes as I finished meditating, I reactivated my various persistent powers and let them begin to drain my MP and gain experience. Once that was done, I reached into my Inventory to extract another book and got back to work. Stupid as it left me feeling, I wanted to test this out right now.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Claws of the White Tiger.'**

 **Claws of the White Tiger (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:10**

 **The most basic technique of Bai Hu's ancient martial arts style. Through the gathering, hardening, and sharpening of Aura around the hands and feet, it becomes possible to inflict terrible wounds even with one's bare hands.**

 **30% increase to martial arts attack damage.**

 **Additional 20 MP used per minute.**

I took a deep breath and focused my power around my hands and feet, changing the feel of both. Really, it was a lot like my Metal Aura, though focused on a particular part of my body—in fact, so far this entire style went very well with the enhancements I received from my Metal Affinity. Given some of the things I learned from the book, it made me wonder if Bai Hu had been…

I shook away the thoughts and concentrated, drawing the power together.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! The skill to directly use aura, 'Energy Bolt,' has been created!**

 **Energy Bolt (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:5**

 **A skill that attacks by emitting Aura.**

 **Attack power increases with INT.**

 **Range 10m.**

I ignored the new pop up, despite how it made me twitch in irritation to learn I could have had a ranged attack a long time ago if I had just gathered Aura in my hands instead of my sword. In a moment, my gauntlets were glowing white with my Aura, part of which extended from my fingers like, well, claws before the glow faded. It was a persistent skill, meaning I should be able to improve it just by leaving it on, so…

"Energy Bolt," I said a little petulantly, holding my hand out at the tree I was thoroughly ruining. What looked like a sphere of white light shot out of the palm of my hand, flashing quickly across the distance to explode violently on impact.

I whistled softly as the smoke cleared, leaving behind a small crater in the tree's truck. Ten meters wasn't great, but it was a lot better than what I'd had. If I improved the skill, lowered the cost, and increased that range, it should be enough to at least let me close the distance. And perhaps…

I focused on my gauntlets, on the Metal Aura I had already surrounded myself with, and gathered my power again.

This time the Energy Bolt was a misty-grey in color and when it hit the tree it didn't explode—it crashed straight into the trunk like a cannonball, leaving a shattered imprint behind in the wood.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! The skill to directly use element-attuned aura, 'Elemental Bolt,' has been created!**

I let out a surprised laugh before rushing over to the tree and using Soulforge Restoration to heal the damage I'd inflicted before it fell over. Backing up a few paces with a smile, I lifted my hand and closed it into a fist except for my index finger. Inhaling deeply, I frowned in concentration. The normal Energy Bolt exploded on impact while the Metal Elemental Bolt—I decided to call it Cannonball—turned my Aura into an almost solid projectile. But if I could focus all the energy I'd put into the Cannonball into a smaller area such as the tip of my finger…

I tried, focusing hard as I attempted to compress my aura into a smaller shape, turning it from a Cannonball into a bullet. But as I tried to force it to obey, it seemed to slip through my metaphorical fingers. I tried harder, attempting to crush it into the shape I desired, but—

"Damn it," I said after a minute of it constantly escaping my grasp. Try as I might, I couldn't compress it the way I wanted. I'd try again later, but every minute that passed was an enormous drain on my MP. For now…

I took out another of Bai Hu's books with a sigh.

 **You've obtained the skill 'White Tiger's Lunge.'**

 **White Tiger's Lunge (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:40**

 **A technique central to Bai Hu's ancient martial arts style. A skill to move quickly between targets, striking them down.**

 **100% increase to jumping distance.**

 **50% increase to movement speed.**

 **50% increase to attack damage.**

As I felt the knowledge take hold, I frowned before my expression brightened in understanding as a picture in my head began to grow clearer. Or, rather, as I began putting the pieces of a puzzle together—and that's what Bai Hu's art was, a puzzle with many pieces to put together. The individual techniques could stand on their own, but…

I drew another book from my Inventory.

 **You've obtained the skill 'White Tiger's Hide.'**

 **White Tiger's Hide (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:30**

 **The primary defensive technique of Bai Hu's ancient martial arts style. A skill to harden Aura into armor around oneself rather than use it as a passive defense.**

 **Blocks up to a certain level of damage.**

 **Armor's strength, density, and duration increase with level.**

 **Armor's strength, density, and duration increase with INT.**

 **Additional 50 MP used per minute with White Tiger's Hide is active.**

As I thought. Then…

I drew out the remaining books I had on Bai Hu's art.

 **You obtained the skill book 'White Tiger's Roar.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **You obtained the skill book 'White Tiger's Five Hundred Years.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **You obtained the skill book 'White Tiger of the West.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **You've obtained the skill 'White Tiger's Roar.'**

 **You cannot learn this skill. Required: STR 50, VIT 50, DEX 50, INT 60, WIS 60.**

 **You cannot learn this skill. Required: STR 70, VIT 70, DEX 70, INT 90, WIS 90.**

I outright goggled at the prereqs on those skills. I mean…damn. No, more than that, if the skills existed then that meant that…

Wow. Bai Hu must have been hardcore. And there had been three—maybe four—guys as strong as him? That was…wow.

Should I make those my new goals? I mean, there was no chance of me getting up to the minimums of White Tiger of the West anytime soon and I had no idea if I'd be able to use these in public after this was over, but…well, I suppose they made as good a goal as any. It's not like I intended to _stop_ training any time soon and logic dictated that I'd reach those prereqs _eventually_ , even if it took years, at which point there was no reason _not_ to take advantage of them, for the sake of completion, if nothing else.

But…even without ultimate and penultimate techniques…I could still see how this art was meant to be used. It wasn't _complicated_ —okay, that was a lie; I mean, for anyone who couldn't just absorb the knowledge like I could, it was probably a bitch to learn. But the way it was designed to be used…I could see it now that I had all the basic pieces. No, more than that, the knowledge had been hidden in the text and now that I had the parts I could put it into action.

I crouched slightly, drawing a careful breath as I readied myself. White Tiger's Roar wouldn't work without a living target, but I activated White Tiger's Hide. I already had the Claws and Tread active, along with my Aura and Metal Aura. I had materialized Crocea, too, and channeled my Aura through him. Altogether, it cost me almost two hundred MP a minute even if I did nothing else. And that wasn't what I was going to do.

I used the White Tiger's Lunge to reach the nearest tree and sank my hands deep into it with the trunk, assisting the initial attack of Jaws with Power Strike and then following it up with Crush and Rip to enhance the next two phases. In that same moment, my feet touched the bark of the tree and I was Lunging away, leaping towards a second tree to do the same. I dragged away a broken chunk, touched the ground, and then was flying towards a third tree. As I savagely tore into a third tree, a window appeared before my eyes.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through repeated leaps and bounds the skill, 'Jump,' has been created!**

I ignored the screen, already rushing at a fourth tree, moving upward in a straight line that took me further from the earth—and further still as I did the same to go even higher towards the fifth tree, and then the sixth, before falling like a meteor at the ground of the clearing, plowing a crater in the soft earth even as I prepared for an eighth jump—

And stumbled.

I was out of MP, I realized as the effect didn't take hold, my other powers unravelling and fading away even as I thought about it. Breathing hard, I looked around and saw gaping chunks torn out of the trees all around me, as if a massive beast had actually sank their teeth into them and torn pieces away. I tried to turn around and stumbled again, this time falling flat on my ass as I struggled to catch my breath and then falling onto my back, closing my eyes as I tried to recover.

It was amazing. The amount of damage I'd inflicted, the sheer, terrifying power and speed I'd been able to put behind each blow as I'd moved faster and hit harder than ever before. I'd been so fast, so strong, amazing—

For the three seconds it had lasted. Nearly twelve hundred MP gone in seconds—I'd burnt a lot already, in fairness, simply to activate and maintain my persistent powers, but…even if I'd been at full power, I doubted I'd have managed to attack more than ten times. I couldn't even fight at full power for five _seconds_.

But I'd keep training, keep trying, keep struggling until I could, until I could fight like that normally. I'd known, of course, that I wasn't strong—that I was weak compared to any Huntsman or Huntress or even the students training to become like them—but this…it had been a taste of strength. For a moment I'd reached higher then I'd ever come close to before and now I wanted to keep climbing, to feel that way more.

I thought about Bai Hu, the Tiger of the West—of how powerful _he_ must have been at his height if he could use the whole style consistently, and of the fact that he had possessed _equals_. I thought of my parents and of the Hunters I knew were above even _them_ and I wanted to join those ranks. I always had, really, but in an abstract sense. This…this was different. This was…

I opened my eyes and held my hand up towards the sky, looking at it Crocea Mors metal gauntlet, of the legend who'd once raised him high as a sword and carved out history.

"I want to be strong," I told him though his summon had faded, even as a new pair of windows appeared before me. "I…"

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to utilize the power of your body, 'Martial Arts Mastery,' has been created!**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to draw upon an ancient martial art, 'Bai Hu's White Tiger Technique,' has been created!**

I stared at them both for a moment and then shut my eyes again, falling into a meditative state before I fainted from exhaustion. There was still work to me done.

 **XxXXxX**

11\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 11 - Skill Tutor

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Skill Tutor**

I used my shirt to wipe the sweat off my face, trying to slow my breathing. I'd been here for…around two days now, I think; I hadn't stopped practicing since I'd come out here and I'd lost track of time a few times because of my frequent meditation sessions.

At first, I hadn't even been able to practice my powers all at once; they were just too exhausting to make it feasible. I could only go full power for about five seconds and then I'd need to meditate for something like ten minutes to recover—the speed I exhausted myself undid the main benefit of using Soul of the World for training. I'd had to train myself piecemeal, starting with just using my persistent skills and then meditating with Soul of the World to lengthen the time I could keep them on.

I couldn't do much else while I was meditating, but for techniques I could train simply by leaving on it didn't matter—at least, not when I didn't have anything else to do. I hadn't done it much while training my Aura, partially because there _had_ been so much else to do, but mainly because I had managed to get it to the point that I could keep it on all the time with just my passive MP regeneration and there wasn't much need. But for this…

The upkeep per minute for Summon Elemental and White Tiger's Hide, quite possibly my two most valuable skills regarding this mission, were ungodly at fifty MP per minute each—higher than that of Claws of the White Tiger and White Tiger's Tread _combined_. If I used all my persistent skills, I'd exhaust myself in a little over eleven minutes; less time than it took to regain all of my MP though Soul of the World. If I trained them _while_ using Soul of the World, however, the addition to my MP regeneration was such that it greatly slowed the process; with that method, I could train the techniques for over an hour before running out of MP.

Furthermore, the math quickly proved to be in my favor as the cost of maintaining those skills dropped swiftly as they leveled up and were slowly overcome by my increased MP regeneration until I reached the point that they could be maintained indefinitely while I meditated. By the time day had come and gone and the moon had risen, I'd reduced the combined cost of all my persistent skills to around fifty-five MP per minute, discounting the MP I regenerated every minute, raising the amount of time I could fight with just them to close to over twenty-five minutes thanks to the MP I'd gained from Soul of the World—more than twice what I'd started with. At that point, I'd decided to practice my Active skills, leaving the persistent ones on as I did, because I could use Soul of the World whenever my MP got low and maintain them constantly.

I'd started with Jaws of the White Tiger and, honestly, had kind of felt like a cat with a scratching post. That's pretty much what training it had amounted to, to be honest; shoving my fingers into trees and tearing them apart. I added in Power Strike, Rip, and Crush once I got Jaws cost down some, as the former was already pretty cheap from my week of training beforehand and the latter weren't all that expensive to begin with, at least comparatively. I'd gotten a lot of training in for Soulforge Restoration, too, healing the trees I'd set about ruining, though it improved slowly.

I'd trained that from what I judged to be a little before midnight to around dawn before switching over to training Lunge. Once it got dark again, I put everything together and started bounding around the clearing, tearing the place up and putting it back together again and again and again. Blake hadn't called me yet, so I figured I'd keep practicing until dawn—it was cheap enough to actually use in combat as more than just an ace in the hole, but it still tired me out too quickly, reducing the amount of time I could fight to somewhere around thirty seconds. If Blake didn't come back by dawn, though, I'd probably have to call her instead.

I flexed my fingers, looking down at them. I'd need to meditate soon, but I could go a little bit longer. I'd leveled up Martial Arts Mastery with my earlier training, but improving Bai Hu's White Tiger Technique required using several of the techniques together and improving Jump was easiest to do while practicing Lunge; all told, now that I had the costs down some, this was the best way to grind all my skills. Taking a breath and crouching, I was preparing myself for another series of crushing attacks.

"So that's the famous technique of the White Tiger of the West," A voice interrupted me—and very nearly scared me out of my skin before I suddenly calmed again. I turned around to stare at Adam's red and white mask and the passive portion of his face that was visible below it. "Impressive. I've known of several Faunus who sought to recreate it from the tablets, but even after years of study and practice, I don't think any of them came as close to mastering it as you have in just two days."

I laughed a little at that.

"Thanks for the compliment," I said. "But this isn't mastery. It's not even _close_. There are still two techniques I'm not even strong enough to _use_ yet and even these ones I've only just gotten good enough to use for real. If I had _mastered_ this style, well…I don't even know what would happen, but I think there'd be a lot less trees in this forest."

"Even so," Adam said, reaching up to touch the broken surface of one of the trees. "Your power is amazing."

"Blake told you, then," I said, unsurprised.

"Did you think she wouldn't?" He answered evenly.

"I told her to tell you whatever she wanted. I trust Blake," I returned, not rising to what I figured was probably bait. "I'm glad she told you, actually, because that means she trusts _you_ and it saves us some time. I take it she told you I wanted to speak to you? This is a pretty good opportunity, actually—I got most of my skills decently leveled. Now's as good a time as any to start moving on to the next step."

Adam said nothing, just staring at me steadily. Or I assumed he was staring at me—it was hard to tell with the mask, to be honest.

"Since you're here, I assume you'll be joining us on this mission," I filled the silence when it became evident that he wasn't going to. "To be honest, I feel better about this insane plan with you at my back."

"Because I'm strong?" He asked.

"Yes," I told the truth. "No offense, but you and I don't really know each other yet. We didn't really talk much after I healed you and I left shortly after. I only know a few things about you as a person: That you're here, so you must want to help those guys on Mantle as much as Blake and I, that Blake trusts you, and that you're strong as hell. The first two are enough to make me comfortable with working with you and the latter is enough to make me real glad you're here. What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

I scratched my head and sighed, musing—but no, enormous power or not, there was a reason I'd called him here. I settled my own gaze on him and was glad I was so calm, whatever aspect of my power was responsible for it.

"Well," I said. "I assume you don't like me much."

"Because I'm part of the White Fang," He said and it didn't sound like a question. It didn't sound particularly accusatory, either, thankfully; it was just a statement of something that was, to him, a fact.

"No," I shot down immediately, shaking my head. "I can think of loads of reasons for you not to like me—and any number of them could play into why you might be _in_ the White Fang—but I don't think you'd hate me solely _because_ you were a member. I mean, for one thing, _Blake_ doesn't seem to mind me too much and she's part of the White Fang and most of the guys I healed seemed okay with me, though some of the others were a bit cold. They all at least tolerated me, though, because of what I did. And you seemed to as well, but…"

"If you're worried about me stabbing you in the back, you can relax," He said quietly. "It's true that I hate a lot of humans and I'm apathetic about many more, but I'm aware that there's more to groups _than_ the group and specific individual people can be exceptions to any rule. I don't particularly dislike you, as these things go—and I wouldn't endanger this mission even if I did."

"I know," I nodded. "I got that feeling from you and I trust Blake enough to trust _you_. But what I'm saying is, though you don't hate me, you don't _like_ me, either."

He shrugged.

"Like you said, I don't exactly know you, do I?" He answered. "If it makes you feel better, I don't like many people. I don't have to like them to work with them."

"Cool. But since we're going to throw ourselves into the fray together in an absurdly dangerous mission that could quite possibly get us all killed, I'd like to get to know you a bit," I said. "As such, I came up with a team building exercise."

"And that's my cue to leave," Adam said, turning around. "Blake said she'd be busy until around noon, but she'd come by then. See you later."

"Wait!" I stopped him quickly. "Stop, it was a joke. Sort of. I really do need your help with something, though!"

"Get to the point, then," He stopped and looked back at me with a trace of irritation.

"Blake told you about my skills and levels and such, right?"

"She did," He said. "I don't know how many games Blake's actually played, so I'm not sure how much of it _she's_ clear on, but I understand how your power works, more or less. You've been training Bai Hu's style out here, I assume."

"Yeah; that and a few other things," I said. "Mostly my combat stuff, since that's easy to practice on my own and I kind of need to abandon my usual style for this mission. But there are a few other skills I think will be useful that are hard to train quickly, or at least safely, without help. I'm gonna have Blake help me with Stealth and Disguise, for example, because those seem to be her things, but there's another one that I think you could help me with."

"Oh?" Adam asked, slowly turning back around to face me.

"For this mission, I'm both the medic and the driver, which means staying active is my main priority—especially since I'm the only one who can fulfill either of those roles. I've been training my combat skills for the point when things inevitably go horribly wrong, but on the whole, my most important skills are my defensive and healing ones, which are what I'd like you to help me train. You've seen my healing skill; it improves based on how much HP I heal, so these trees aren't a great way to improve it anymore. I've also got a skill called 'Physical Endurance,'" I said, bring up its window as I did so. "I got it back in the warehouse, after a robot drained my aura and shot me. Long story short, it makes me more durable; even at level one I receive three percent less damage from anything that hits me. But as far as I can tell, the only way to improve it is to lose HP to physical attacks. Without my Aura on."

Adam tilted his head to the side and I was sure that if he hadn't been wearing a mask, I would have seen furrowed eyebrows.

"Wait, then….you want me to…"

"To beat the _crap_ out of me, yeah," I said. "Many times. You beat me up for a while until I need to back off and heal and then I get back up and we go again, rinse and repeat until I grind both skills up some. I'll need to test how the reduction in damage interacts with my other defensive powers, too, so we'll test that as well."

"Why not just continue to improve your Aura-based defensive techniques?" He asked. "There's one like that in Bai Hu's style, isn't there?"

"White Tiger's Hide, yeah, and I've got my Aura and Metal Aura, too," I said, nodding. "But there's the issue of diminishing returns and we don't have a lot of time. Like…I can usually learn the first ten levels of a skill in about eight to ten hours if I train it right, but getting it to twenty takes around the clock training for several days. Going by my Aura and Metal Aura, getting them up to fifty…I think it'll take three weeks to a month, even if I focused on them. The effort I have to put in to see improvement grows fast, but the amount of improvement per level is usually fairly constant. And since Physical Endurance is passive…"

I shrugged.

"I get more out of ten levels of it then I would from one more level in White Tiger's Hide. So I need you to hurt me a lot."

Adam just shook his head—and then said something that surprised me.

"I guess that's fitting if you're a game character. It worked in Grimm Nights," He sighed.

I blinked at him. Once. Twice.

And then I smiled brightly.

"The lava cheat in Three?" I said.

"I played the first few a long time ago, when I was a kid," He said, looking away. "Before the Rights Revolution."

I assumed from his wording that he hadn't played any of the others. It was fairly easy to guess why.

"You should play at least six, seven, and ten, if you haven't," I said. "They're the best in the series."

"I don't have time for games anymore," He said, voice flat.

"Neither do I, since I'm busy living one. But since I don't sleep I'll be working around the clock, so there'll probably be some downtime for you and Blake when I don't need one of you to help me; you can play mine, if you want," I shrugged. "Or borrow it. My parents will be out of town for a while, so you two can crash at my place if you don't have anywhere to stay."

"Maybe," He said with the same voice as before. "Also, I know what you're trying to do."

"My mom always says that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet," I said, smiling as I gave him another shrug. "And since we'll be out here for a while, we might as well talk some. And hell, if you want me to shut up, you can just keep beating the crap out of me."

Adam was silent for a long moment.

"That seems fair," He mused at last.

 **XxXXxX**

For a moment, I was weightless. I saw the bright blue sky above me, white clouds drifting by in the slight breeze. Then I saw the earth below me—green grass and brown dirt partially obscured by the leaves and branches of trees. I saw the sky again, then the earth, sky, earth, sky—

And then I reached the apex of my arc and gravity seized me in its merciless hold once more. I came crashing down into the branch of a tree—I had begun to think of this entire exercise as the Tree's Revenge—but it wasn't sturdy enough to hold my weight so I quickly found it breaking under my weight, sending my plummeting head first back to earth.

It hurt.

A lot.

I lay there for a moment, stunned, before Adam appeared by my side, glanced around once, and shrugged before grabbing me by a leg. The next moment, he was swinging me through the air in an unmercifully short arc that ended with my back hitting a tree, before he let go of me.

Which, by the way, hurt even more then falling, at least for a few seconds—at which point it immediately and abruptly faded and I took Adam's offered hand, pulling myself up.

"So like I was saying, if we both survive this mess and see each other again, could you teach me some sword skills?" I asked, gasping for breath. It had felt like my ribs had broken, but only for a few seconds, and I had been forcibly inoculated against pain within the first hour or so. Or at least the way my body felt pain.

He shrugged. I'd learned a few things about the man through trial and error, mainly what subjects were safe. I mean, I didn't always _stick_ to those subjects, because he was kind of going to beat the shit out of me one way or another, but it was still good to know. He was massively out of date in terms of games—like, fifteen years out of date or something—but he didn't really seem to mind me talking about them. He didn't get excited about it or anything, but he didn't mind the conversation. He also seemed to be fine with me asking for advice and I was getting the feeling that, oddly enough, the mentor role was not new to him.

Subjects that he didn't appreciate or which made him angry were many and included, but were not limited to, the Faunus War, his family, his life before and during the war, and why he wore a mask. I learned quickly which subjects would get me pain and answers and which would just get me pain, but mainly I learned that Adam didn't talk much unless you knew how to come at him.

Talking about swords was one way.

"You use a longsword normally, right?" He asked as I began healing myself. "I don't know if my style would work well with that, due to my focus on Iaido. You could try, though; if nothing else, perhaps you could develop a quick draw skill of some kind. I can find you a sword to practice with and we'll see if it translates over to different weapons."

"Maybe," I said thoughtfully, peering at my status screen while my HP refilled. "Mainly, I just really want to have some really cool sword skills, because now that I have all _this_ stuff, well, I feel like I'm lagging behind there. Like, when this is over, what am I gonna do? I'll need to hide my martial arts stuff but those are now my best moves and stuff. A few of them are subtle enough to apply to both martial arts and swordsmanship and you gave me some ideas, but…"

This time, I shrugged.

"Keep in mind that Bai Hu spent years working on his style," Adam said passively. "That it's stronger then what you've managed to puzzle out in a week is unsurprising—especially since it's all about short burst of incredible power. Give it time and keep working. Ready?"

I nodded and a moment later his boot slammed into my knee and I was falling. He caught my right arm with both hands, heaved, and I was flipping _over_ his head. A moment later my back collided with the unforgiving earth. My legs went into the air as I crashed limply into the ground and Adam grabbed one to swing me up and down, up and down, again and again, portions of my HP bar highlighting and vanishing with each hit. After about ten hits, Adam grunted, heaved, and smashed head first into another tree.

I tried to catch myself as I collapsed but couldn't support myself through the pain and slid weakly to the ground. Thankfully, the pain swiftly faded and I managed to lift myself are, shaking my head even as I half expected it to finally fall to pieces. A pair of windows appeared before me as I flopped over on my back.

 **Mastery of the skill Physical Endurance increases! Physical Endurance's level goes up by one!**

"Oh, hey," I choked. "I got another one."

"Back to normal, I guess?" Adam mused, drawing his sword. He gave me a moment to recover and heal myself and then started stabbing me, pulling his sword free, and stabbing me again after a moment's pause—as he had been for most of the last eight or nine hours. It was simultaneously painful for me and painfully boring for Adam, hence him occasionally practicing his throws, hand to hand, marksmanship, and various other methods of inflicting harm.

"Ow," I intoned obligatorily, used to it by now. Chunks of my health bar faded with each stab and it hurt, but the pain both faded quickly and had steadily lessened as my Physical Endurance improved. I stared up at the sky, past Adam's shadowed, stabbing figure. The sun had steadily risen in the sky above us, but I wasn't certain what time it was—somewhere around noon. I could take my watch out of my Inventory and check, but I didn't care that much. "Ow."

Adam shook his head, sighing quietly.

"I'm deriving a lot less enjoyment from hurting you then I thought I would," He said. "It was fun for a while but now this is feeling like work. And you smell horrible."

"I haven't bathed for, like, three days, man," I said after a moment, frowning as I went over the math in my head. "And I've been training constantly that whole time. Sorry I don't smell so great right now. Also, I'm not sure how I should take that first bit. Ow."

"Take it as 'this is really boring,'" He said, still stabbing me. "I can't go all out and I'd tire out eventually even if I could, so instead I end up standing here doing the same thing over and over and over again."

I squinted up at him against the light.

"Boohoo; getting stabbed repeatedly isn't exactly fun for me, either," I said, laying my head back again. I kept an eye of my HP bar just in case, but after hours of this, Adam and I had a system. The next however long passed in a steady cycle of stabs and heals and if I'd been able to see Adam's eyes, I'm pretty they'd have been glazed over. He wasn't the one getting actual, tangible, _permanent_ benefits from this endeavor, so that was understandable.

I saw clouds move to cover the sun, putting an end to my halfhearted attempts to guess the time, and shifted my attention. I took a moment to search through what topic to bring up next, discarded 'girls,' and went to the next option.

"Adam," I spoke, giving him a moment to return from his zoned out state. "New question."

He grunted which could have meant anything—but he did it a lot and I'd decided to interpret it as whatever was most convenient for me at the time.

"You said before that you were apathetic about more humans than you hated, right?" I mused aloud. "Why's that?"

He silently stabbed me a few more times. Just as I was about to accept he wasn't going to answer, though, he spoke.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, I guess. And Blake's taking her sweet time." I sighed. "We should be working on the next step of our plan but…"

Adam grunted and I was pretty sure this time it was in agreement. Of course, he stabbed me afterwards which kind of sent mixed messages, but still.

"The Faunus weren't imprisoned within Menagerie by the people who hated them, not really," He said after several minutes of literally pointed silence. "Or at least, I don't think so. The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of people who don't care—and that's the problem. You can see it anywhere; when a Faunus is getting bullied in school, does the whole class cheer? No; a lot of them might even disapprove. A lot of places discriminate against us, use us, do horrible things to us, but do I think everyone has this deep-seated hatred for us? No. But how many do anything to stop what happens? When they hear a news report about something happening to the Faunus or see them get hurt, they don't _really_ care, not enough to get involved. Even the ones that _could_ do something."

I thought about how many news reports I'd seen and let pass me by, about the kids in school I'd known were probably having a rough time, and felt guilty.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "I can see that, I guess. 'You don't give a shit, I don't give a shit,' basically?"

"More or less," He agreed as I leaned back and sighed. I looked back at the sky, wishing the sun would come out again.

"I'm guilty of that, too," I admitted. "A lot of times. Little things I never really thought about and stuff I saw on the news that I always thought 'I can't do anything about that' or 'Someone else will do something.' But I guess if everyone thinks like that…"

"I figured," He said, shrugging as he shoved his sword into my stomach. "And I'm not stupid; I get it. But that doesn't make it right and it doesn't help the ones who suffer. I'm not going to curse you for not having a perfect record, if you're worried about it; the fact that you agreed to this mission speaks for itself. But there are things people need to understand."

I had to stare for a moment when I realized that Adam was reassuring me and then snorted.

"I'll work on it," I said. "After I get back to school, I'll sort some things out. Considering that you've given me enough punishment to make up for literally everything I've done wrong in my entire life, let's call it even, okay?"

Adam shrugged one shoulder before sheathing his sword.

"I'm bored again," He said when I gave him a questioning look. "I'm gonna go back to punching you."

I shrugged and he dragged me to my feet before his fist went across my face fast enough to make my head spin. I shook my head in an attempt to clear it but he just punched me again, kicked me in the gut to send me back into a tree, before jumping towards me, boot slamming into the side of my skull. I went down, barely catching myself with my hands, and saw Adam's legs before me. More specifically, I saw his right leg drawing back to kick my teeth in and braced myself.

"What the hell are you two doing!?" A voice—Blake I realized after a moment—startled us. Adam even paused in mid-kick for a moment.

Then he kicked me in the face anyway and turned towards Blake.

"Passing time," He said, sounding bored.

"I like to think of it as a bonding experience," I said after the feeling of a broken jaw faded and I had a moment to heal myself. "He punched me in the face, so now we're friends."

Blake looked at me like I was insane.

"You need a Y chromosome to understand," I explained. For an instant, I thought I saw an expression of Adam's face that—given time, water, sunlight, and tender care—might have one day grown into a smile if he hadn't cut it down young. Blake just stared harder, frowning at me, so I rolled my eyes and told the truth. "He was helping me train my Physical Endurance; don't worry about it. You took your time."

Blake's frown deepened and then she tilted her head, opening her mouth to say something, but for shutting it wordlessly, shaking her head.

"Some things came up," She said, evidently deciding to just keep going.

I cracked my neck once and nodded.

"Then now's as good a time as any to talk shop," I said. "You got everything, I take it?"

"Everything I thought you might need," She answered, nodding. "You said your skills were largely general, so I managed to pull a few strings and, thanks to Adam, I got us a Bullhead for you to practice with. A few of our local members agreed to chip in as well and volunteered eleven computers and some extra parts, as well as some Lien and what they could get about the area. Several of them are on rotation, watching the places we know about, and they'll be sending us pictures of everyone who enters and exits. Rodrick is watching the news, to see if anything important comes up."

I think that last part was directed at Adam, but I nodded anyway. I was smart and wise enough to know I couldn't have done that in her place; neither intelligence nor wisdom were replacements for connections. Or experience, I suppose.

"Way to go, Blake," I said. "Then there's a few things we're gonna need to do. Like I told Adam here, I can gain the first ten or so levels of a skill pretty quickly if I train them right, but after that it starts getting harder and harder to improve. Thanks to you, Tukson, and Adam, I got all the basic skills and I had a chance to prepare for the inevitable, but now we're gonna need to use the time we have left to the fullest—and I'm going to need you and Adam to help me on that front."

"I assume you'll be wanting me to assist you with Stealth and Disguise," Blake asked.

"Yup," I nodded. "I may also need some help getting something else; a suit of armor."

Blake frowned, brow furrowing.

"I thought we'd already decided on your disguise?" She said.

"It's not for my disguise," I shook my head. "It's for my training. Weight training, specifically."

"First games, now cartoons?" Adam shook his head, obviously getting the reference. "Well, it shouldn't be an issue with your body. Maybe it'll work."

"I know for sure it does," I answered, glad he understood. "I've been training for a week with my own armor, plus my sword and shield—but the whole thing only weighs about fifteen, twenty kilos. A well-made suit of the stuff can weigh anywhere from thirty to fifty; I was going to work my way up to that, but considering the circumstances…"

"How much is that going to cost?" Blake asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Not a penny, hopefully, since we'll just be taking the materials," I told her, flexing my gauntleted fingers. "I've been keeping Crocea here on constantly to get him leveled—I don't have a lot of faith in my Crafting skill, but with his help and some practice, it should be doable. I don't need it to be good as armor, yet, I just need it to do what I want which is mainly to be heavy. Once I have the armor, Adam and I will do some training at night."

"Grimm," He guessed. "Might as well gain some levels and grind your skills while you're at it."

I gave him a thumbs up.

"I'll fly us there and back in the Bullhead and get as much practice as possible on that front, but I'll wear the armor as long as I can, even in the day."

"The last time I left you drive me anywhere, I ended up flying into the middle of the road in front of a hostile giant robot," Adam noted evenly.

"Well, this time, wear a seatbelt," I advised. "When we're not doing that, I'll be working on my other stuff, like Computers. We still need to get the manual for the airship, right?"

Blake nodded.

"You're going to use a virus?" She asked and I shrugged, wondering how much experience she had at this type of thing. I was guessing not a lot.

"Well, I guess," I said. "Getting it that way would be pointlessly difficult, but I'll grind the skill as much as possible, since it'll help later—so we'll call that plan C or D, I guess."

Blake stared at me, tilting her head.

"And plan A?"

I smiled.

"There are a few things you need to know about hacking—it's not like in the movies," I told her. "First of all, and most importantly, never forget that people are stupid."

 **XxXXxX**

12\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 12 - Infiltration

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Infiltration**

At times like this, I thought back to the question I first asked my mom, about the difference between Intelligence and Wisdom. To be honest, back then I'd mainly just trusted her and had taken her word for it—though even now, there were a lot of times I wasn't sure about the difference. Hell, there were times I even wondered if I _was_ wise and how I could tell. What did that fifty-five on my character sheet _mean_ , really? I could test how strong, fast, tough, and, though it was a bit more difficult, even how _smart_ I was, but how could I do that for wisdom? It wasn't easy.

But then there were moments like these when I thought maybe, just maybe, I could see it.

Blake and Tukson had provided me with more than my fair share of books about computers—stuff about computer languages, how to build computers, how to network them properly, security, hacking, on and on trying to prepare me for this mission. By the time I'd devoured everything they'd given me, I…well, I wouldn't claim to be a master at any of the stuff, but I had options and skills. My Intelligence showed me all the ways I could use that information, put what I had to use. Within minutes, I had rough plans for half a dozen viruses that I could send through emails, downloads, and more. I had ideas to figure out who had access to what, to find system admins and project heads or perhaps even where the company's server farms were located. A few minutes of browsing on my scroll and the right phrasing led me to some web applications for several programs I could set up to try and brute force it after I got a good enough computer.

Wisdom, though, told me I shouldn't do any of that stuff. It said all those ways would be impractical at best, taking weeks of effort if they worked at all, which they probably wouldn't. In the movies, there would be a lot of skulls and geometric shapes and cool, flowing lines of code while I used my lightning fast reflexes to type on my keyboard, but in reality what probably would of happened is that I'd have spent at least several days planning and writing code and building the computers I'd need, set the program running, and then reloaded pages a lot to see what happened. Or just walked away and come back a few hours or days later, after it was done trying stuff.

And maybe I'd have found something, some weak point I could then exploit, possibly even a really useful one to do exactly what I wanted.

But I was kind of doubting I'd find anything major any time soon. I was sure the Schnee Dust Company spent some ungodly amount of money on all their security and had a bunch of people watching things and if they really had to, they'd probably just shut their computers off if they noticed something wrong. People always seem to forget about that in movies and stuff; the all-powerful off switch and reset button. Even if I'd had several more weeks or a few months to prepare and test, I wouldn't try that method. I might do it in my free time because it turns out they pay anywhere from five hundred to forty thousand lien if you _do_ find something and report it—which also meant I'd need to find something that _no one else_ had found and corrected—but as a way to accomplish my current goal? No.

Because Wisdom said I didn't _need_ to. It said that those methods were needlessly difficult and I didn't need to bother hunting down weaknesses when the biggest one was already right before my eyes. Behind those defenses, behind the probably millions or billions of Lien the Schnee Dust Company had spent on cyber security, behind everything like that—I was facing people. A large group of people, perhaps, which greatly outnumbered me, but that was to my advantage in this case, not theirs. After all, I didn't have to outwit everybody in that group, I just had to outwit a person who had the information I needed.

And I figured a lot of people had that information, or at least could get to it. Sure, it wasn't _public_ knowledge, but it was a top-of-the-line, cutting edge new airship. You can't build something like that _secretly_ , not really. How many people need to be involved in the planning for something like that? The countless trials at every stage of the development? The programming? The shipping of materials, the budgeting, the planning, engineering, construction, error checking? People were going to have to go over it repeatedly to make sure everything meets the proper criteria and safety regulations and then there were the people _outside_ the company who were going to go over it. Probably the advertising department had been involved extensively, designing the marketing campaign for after it was finished, plus who knows how many project directors, however many test pilots, on and on.

Did all those people have exactly the information I needed? No, probably not. But the point was, this 'secret airship' was secret only in the sense that we and the public didn't know anything about it. In even the most conservative estimate, hundreds of people were involved in the project; more realistically, there were probably tens of thousands with various levels of separation.

It's said there's an idiot in every crowd. How many were there in a crowd _that_ size?

"Before we get started, let's get a few things straight," I said as I shifted through the trash the White Fang had provided me with, using Observe to sort things out quickly. "First off, passwords. People aren't very good at making them. There's a lot of reasons why that you can find out easily if you look online; general, people have a hard time memorizing something past seven or eight digits if there's no meaning attached to them, so they use things like words and dates and stuff instead—but things like that don't make very good passwords, especially not the words people tend to choose. I could get into how many combinations a computer can guess per second, but even ignoring that, you can look up a list of the most common passwords. Take a guess at what some of the most common are."

A dark-skinned man with folded dog ears set a box down in front of me, another bundle of uneven trash. I was mainly interested in the papers and had already begun sorting useful stuff into a pile, but it was easier to just have them bring me everything because you never know what you might find. And I meant that literally—it's kind of stunning what people just throw out.

The various Faunus in the room looked at me nervously. I was already in costume, practicing my disguise, and I don't think they knew what to make of me yet except that I was with Blake and Adam—who were obviously well respected and high-ranking—and that I was giving orders without either of those two complaining. These guys seemed a bit intimidated by me as a result, though it could also be Adam who was looming silently behind me for lack of anything else to do.

When none of them replied, however, he was the one to speak up.

"Stupid stuff," He guessed with a bored sounding tone.

"Stupid stuff," I agreed. "The most common password in the world is, perhaps inevitably, 'password.' The second most common is '123456.' From there, you get variations like '12345678' and '654321,' words like 'pussy' and 'penis,' the same character repeated some number of times like '111111' or seven sevens, easily recognizable patterns on keyboards like 'qwerty,' and common, popular words and phrases. A lot of people tend to make the password the name of the website or application they're accessing, so 'Schnee' itself is also a common one, and of course there's the enormous number of people who use their birthdays or some other meaningful date. I went through the trouble of printing off a list for you all; if your password is on this list, _go change it_."

I handed the list to the dog Faunus who retreated quickly, grimacing after a short glance at the long list.

"One in every nine people use a password on that list. One in fifty use one of the top twenty. Odds are good we could use that list to get what we need, given some time," I said. "That's our backup plan if our current strategy doesn't work and we'll likely need your help for that as it's relatively manpower extensive. However, thanks to your help thus far, I don't predict it will be necessary."

I saw several of them shift as if to ask, but then they seemed to think better of it. I just smiled cryptically at them.

"For now, this should be enough," I said, nodding my head at the pile of garbage I'd accumulated. "I—and the White Fang—thank you for your help. If you would be willing to give us a bit more of your time, we'll be proceeding to site be for a secondary mission, but I understand if you wish to go home now."

"That's it?" The dog-man asked after a minute, hands twitching towards the box he'd dropped off. "It's only been an hour…"

"I believe in working smarter, not harder," I replied calmly. "The secondary mission shouldn't take much longer than this one, though there will be a bit more heavy lifting involved. Nothing dangerous, I assure you, but I wouldn't mind your help. If you will excuse me, gentlemen."

I emptied on of the boxes and replaced its contents with my horde, arranging it so that the most important bits were on top, and then lifted it and left the room with Adam trailing behind me. I heard whispers as I left, the Faunus I'd left behind already talking about me, but my mind was on other things.

"So what's with the trash?" Adam asked after a minute and I was a bit surprised it'd taken him that long.

I smiled again but didn't look at him.

"Haven't you heard? One man's trash is another man's treasure, Adam."

"Ah," He said and was silent for a few steps. "So what's with the trashy treasure."

I snorted and looked down at the box—and really this _was_ a great example of one man's trash being another man's treasure, purely because of _whose_ trash it was. I'd enlisted the aid of the local White Fang to go through the Schnee Company's trash through Blake, scrounging up the things that hundreds of employees thoughtlessly threw away—which was a lot. There wasn't a master list of passwords or a folder stamped 'Top Secret' or anything, but there didn't need to be. There were reports, documents, print offs for presentations, and countless other things; tiny bits and pieces you could take as a whole to get a larger picture.

And I'd struck gold, if not in a way that might have been immediately obvious to most people. I'd been able to piece it together eventually even if I hadn't found a convenient graph, but it didn't even take that much effort because there'd been _several_.

I held up my greatest prize.

"This beauty is what's called an Organization Chart," I told him. "As its name implies, it's a chart of an Organization—of the local branch of the Schnee Dust Company, specifically. Its purpose is to tell people in the organization who's responsible for what. Note that beside their names are their email addresses. Also recall those 'Remember Me' checkboxes we use on most sites. In most cases, getting into someone's email is actually fairly simple, given access to, say, their work computer or something similar."

"Is that where Blake left to after you talked?" He asked. "Looking at other people's computers?"

"Pretty much," I shrugged. "I gave her one of the copies and she's running recon and stuff, too. I told her that if that wasn't enough, she should search the computer for any files labeled 'accounts' or 'info' or 'passwords,' too, and then move on. Once we have their email well…you'd be amazed. That's plan B, for 'Blake.' You and I will be working on something else."

Adam sighed tiredly but played along.

"Oh? And what's plan A?" He asked.

"We'll be using this copy of the chart for something a bit different," I said and allowed the suspense to build for a moment. "See these scroll numbers? We're going to _call_ people…and _ask_ for the passwords to things like the company server."

"Ask them?" Adam asked disbelievingly.

"Our boss needs us to do something," I said seriously. "It's very important, but we forgot the password."

Adam stared at me for a moment before shaking his head.

"When I dreamed of being a spy as a kid, it was a lot cooler than this," He stated flatly. "You're ruining the magic."

"Just wait until we go dumpster diving," I said, wagging my eyebrows.

 **XxXXxX**

True to my word, we were shifting through trash within the hour. The simple fact of the matter was that people threw out a lot of stuff without thinking about it. Company or not, you'd be amazed at what people put in the garbage—even ignoring the little stuff which can add up a lot if you put some work into it, there's the stuff they throw out just to get it out of the house. A few years pass and the family upgrades their scrolls or hologram projectors or whatever; what do they do with the old ones? All sorts of things. They can leave them somewhere to gather dust or give them to a friend or try to sell them or any number of other things.

But a lot of the time, people just throw them out.

Thanks to Crocea Mors' guidance and some long poles to poke around with, we had found a lot of stuff even before the others showed up. I checked my scroll and saw that Blake had forwarded me a fair number of emails which seemed promising, as well as a steadily growing list of usernames and passwords, which brightened my day somewhat. By the time the next car pulled up, Adam and I were carrying a large hologram generator that must have been relatively new, but had somehow been cracked. At the fourth place we checked, we found a set of scrolls that might have been a few years old at most—I assumed a family had gotten new ones and thrown the old ones out. With the White Fang working together and following my orders carefully, we soon had a small mountain of devices in various states of disrepair.

Those were half my interest in this, but that was for later. For now, I was more interested in the scrap metal we'd gathered en masse. It was easy enough to gather to get any number of forms. Aluminum, of course, was trivial to find in large quantities and iron and steel were pretty much everywhere, and in short order I had all the metal in the world to play with.

And after several days of grinding Crocea Mors, I was ready to play.

"Blake get what you wanted?" Adam asked as I got everything ready.

"More or less," I replied absently. "She got into plenty of email accounts, at least, and that's a goldmine on its own. I'll have to search through to see what I can find, though, and I'll make a few calls once it gets late enough to make people feel really bad for a put upon new guy. It shouldn't be an issue though and with any luck we won't even have to set foot on company property."

"And if we do?"

"We'll handle that as we come to it," I promised easily. "I'd prefer not having to actually go on site, but if it becomes necessary, it shouldn't be a problem. In all likelihood, though, someone emailed themselves a copy to work on at home or something and it's just a matter of patience. If we _do_ have to, though, we'll run some reconnaissance, steal a scroll, and I'll walk into the building with a clipboard, a box of donuts, a coffee-holder, and a confident stride. If even _that's_ not enough, we'll have to take a few chances. But for now, let's cross our fingers and hope that it won't be an issue; we don't want to risk anything if we don't have to."

He grunted

"What are we going to do now, then?"

"We'll prepare for what's ahead. Remember, Adam, that whatever happens, whatever difficulties arise, this is going to be the easy part. For now, we have the advantage of being proactive, because no one even knows they're supposed to be fighting us," I said. "As soon as they do, though, things are going to get hectic and that's what we need to be ready for, because our only advantage then is going to be the fact that we had time to prepare ourselves. So if you'll excuse me, Crocea Mors and I have something to do."

I knelt beside the pile of junk we'd gathered into the hideout, gauntleted hand touching the floor as I closed my eyes and focused on the image in my head. I imagined aluminum cans and metal parts liquefying into a wide, controlled puddle before beginning to move—and then felt my Aura flowing out of me as if through a sieve. When I opened my eyes at a crumbling, crunching sound, I saw cans being crushed and flattened, a broken toaster cracking along the edges, parts tearing free of old toys, and screws twisting free. As they did, as metal parts and pieces clattered to the floors, they all but jumped in place, several pieces hoping up and down. After a few seconds, gleaming droplets seemed to almost condense on their sides before flowing free, crawling across the floor towards me until they touched my armored hands and began to climb up them with increasing speed.

The flowing metal was surprisingly cold as it touched my skin and climbed up my arms. More drops of metal joined the stream with every second, leaving tracks of metal across my bare skin. I began my work just above my elbows, building my armor as the metal progressed. I flexed my arms as I did, making sure I knew exactly how wide each piece needed to be, and they constructed it based on that, the metal alternatively tight against my skin and giving it room. In places where solid armor wouldn't work and beneath it, I thought smaller, of links of chain so small they could barely be seen, fine enough to be almost like cloth. I guiding the metal over my feet, next, and up my legs, before four streams converged upon my chest, before it went up my neck and over my head. I built the helmet around the mask I wore now and covered my lower face as well with air holes built into the mask.

It wasn't fancy, even though my control over metal gave me a great advantage. Most of the materials I used weren't ideal, either. Ignoring the metallic cloth, it was nothing but smooth surfaces and hard, heavy plates. Maybe when this was over and my affinity for metal even greater, I'd work on something stronger and more detailed, but that wasn't the purpose of this. Even protecting me wasn't really the point, though the defense rating was decent and I was sure Crocea Mors would put it to good use. I was only after the training it would provide.

Even with the stat boost of my Aura, getting to my feet was a bit of an effort, as unused to the new weight I was carrying as I was. Counting Crocea Mors, I must have been carrying sixty kilos and it was weighing upon me in ways I'd never had to deal with be for, changing how I had to do even basic things like balance myself—and it was going to take time to get used to that.

I glanced at the windows that appeared before me, informing me of the levels I'd gained in Craft by making the armor and the new blueprint I'd created, and then turned to look at Adam who'd waited silently while I worked.

"What do you think?"

"I've seen worse," He said, looking me up and down. "But you don't seem to have any way to take it off."

"I'll have to melt it every time," I said, voice muffled slightly by the piece in front of my mouth. "Both to take it off and put it back on. Figured it'd be good Crafting experience. I'll change it once I grind that some, but making it hard to remove is fine for now, since I don't intend to remove it unless I have to."

Adam hummed in understanding, pushing himself off the wall and striding closer to me. He knocked on my chest plate with a fist and then nodded to himself about something.

"You sure you're gonna be able to fight in that?"

"Only one way to find out. Feel like going for a spin in the Bullhead?"

Adam grunted again.

"First you wanted me to help you move trash. Now you want to go play with monsters," He said. "No offense, but hanging out with you isn't much fun."

"Hey, if its fun you want, I'll be happy to oblige," I smiled. "I never got to fly an aircraft before. Let's see if we can find a Nevermore or something to practice on, yeah?"

Adam just sighed.

 **XxXXxX**


	2. Chapter 2

1\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 13 - Flight Simulator

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Flight Simulator**

"Do you think it's ironic that I'm being hunted by birds?" I asked, turning to look at Adam. Red dots blinked on my map, a reminder of the dark swarm behind us, ready to tear us apart if they caught us. "Since I'm pretending to be a feline Faunus, I mean?"

"Please keep your eyes on where you're going," Adam said through gritted teeth, fingers tight on the armrests. Credit where it was due, though; he was wearing a seatbelt this time. Given that we were spending a decent amount of our time upside down, I'm not sure he'd survive this if he wasn't.

I turned back forward and obeyed him without replying. Piloting was turning out to be a very different experience than Driving, but I thought I was getting the hang of it. At the very least, I was learning new things—for example, the improvement my Nature Affinity gave me towards Dust usage evidently improved the fuel efficiency of things I was driving. Since it was a percentage based increase, that was really good news because it would give a massive improvement when I was flying a vehicle that was meant to cross between continents. The issue of where, when, and how I was going to refuel remained, somewhat, but this gave me more breathing room.

But more than anything, I was glad I was getting a chance to get used to thinking three dimensionally in a fight. Sure, on the ground you could jump and such—and there were more than a few uses for that when you applied the leg strength of a Hunter, as I well knew—but it was still a big difference between that and actual flight. A lot of it is just really simple stuff that's hard to grasp until you experience it for yourself.

For example, keeping sight of the enemy in the big blue sky. I could already tell that one of the most dangerous aspects of this mission was going to be all the stuff I just could not see and that getting and maintaining sight would be vital. If an enemy ship or a Nevermore or a Fell Albatross saw me before I saw them, it might be over before I could regret it. I had an advantage thanks to my Map, but while it was invaluable, it was also two dimensional and when it told me there was something behind me, well, it could be referring to any point in several cubic kilometers of space. And I wasn't sure if it would alert me to targets I didn't know about, either.

Take right now, for instance, where a murder of Nevermore was on my proverbial heels as they followed the rising turn of my craft. There was a bit of a story there, but it can be summarized as 'the Universe hates me.' We'd run into the dark flock pretty much a minute after we left Vale's airspace and the Nevermore had been stalking us since. The Brightside was that they weren't the _giant_ version, but even that wouldn't make a huge difference to me if I messed up; giant or not, they were creatures who could rend stone and steel alike with their feathers and talons. They could not, thankfully, shoot the former forward—something I'd learned on the job—but while this was proving to be a good way to train my Pilot skill, if I let them draw to close or get altitude on me…

I smiled fiercely, getting an idea.

I shifted the thrusters on either side of the Bullhead, turning sharply even as I shifted the aircraft from a horizontal to vertical position. I rolled, pushing the nose of the Bullhead low and then turning the motion into a steep slice turn, before pulling back to rise back to my previous altitude before they could shoot at me.

And then I was closing in on the murder of Nevermore from the side, speeding up.

"Oh, shit," Adam ground out, tightening his hold on his seat.

"Aura Crash," I replied, the light of my soul washing over the Bullhead right as we dove into the swarm. Relatively fragile bones broke across the surface of enhanced steel, rattling the aircraft with a chorus of shattering pops and cracks even as we jostled at the impacts. Savage claws and razor feature clawed at us, training to tear open the ship and bring us down with then, but the iron shell of my Aura protected us.

 **You used Pilot's Low Yo-Yo without the skill. Your Mastery improves by 10%.**

 **Mastery of the skill Pilot increases! Pilot's level goes up by one!**

 **Mastery of the skill Aura Crash increases! Aura Crash's level goes up by one!**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

I let out a laugh as I cleared the darkness of broken wings, the corpses and blood of Nevermore sliding free of the Bullhead's armor, unable to gain traction due to my Aura—but I wasn't done. I reduced the angle at which I banked during a turn and then pulled up, rising higher into the air in a wide arc that left us, for a moment, upside down.

The moment passed as I spotted the remainder of the murder, scattered slightly by my crash and trying to regroup. I could have just continued my turn and wound up behind them, but I tightened it instead, bringing myself _down_ on the birds instead, plummeting towards them as fast as I could.

"Why the hell did I agree to this!?" Adam snarled. "We have guns on this thing, you know!"

"Aura Crash!" I answered again, smashing my way through the flock of birds again. They let loose high-pitched, warbling cries as they broke across my ship, flying in every direction before plummeting towards the earth. I followed them down for a moment before pulling up and into a turn, before rolling out of my flight path and spinning laterally, and then completing the turn after cutting what I could out of it. I focused on the few remaining Nevermore, got them in my sights, and starting firing. I shot wide at first, adjusted the angle to bring it closer, and at least a few of the shots must have hit because several of the birds fell limply out of the sky.

 **You used Pilot's High Yo-Yo without the skill. Your Mastery improves by 10%.**

 **You used Pilot's Displacement Roll without the skill. Your Mastery improves by 10%.**

 **Mastery of the skill Pilot increases! Pilot's level goes up by one! Pilot's level goes up by one!**

 **Mastery of the skill Aura Crash increases! Aura Crash's level goes up by one!**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Battles in the air have created the skill 'Dogfighting Mastery' to help seize the sky!**

"I know," I replied belatedly. "That we have guns, I mean. But there's a limit to our ammunition so we might not be able to rely on it during the mission, if the ship we steal is even armed. Leveling up Aura Crash is the way to go, I think, so I can just crash through whatever's in the way. You might want to get used to it now."

Adam just growled, still holding on. I continued talking as if he hadn't, though.

"There's good news, though. It seems like there are shortcuts to improving my abilities," I said. "Because I used a skill I didn't actually know, I got a lot more experience. If I grind this way constantly, I should be able to improve more quickly. No, more than that, if I can figure out how to do this with other skills…"

I frowned.

"Oh, but it didn't happen before…does it only work in combat?" I mused. "Hm…well, that's fine. Let's find some more Nevermore, okay? I need to get my flying skills as high as possible before the mission, right? So let's fly around for a bit longer before we land."

Adam swore under his breath.

"When we get on the ground, I'm doing to make you train until you feel like you're gonna _die_ , I swear to God." He promised.

"Ah, please do," I said, smiling. "Since it's to get stronger, I'll happily endure it."

Adam growled something but I didn't hear it. It was as if there were suddenly a great distance between us, a vast empty space that swallowed the sound. I knew he was there but my senses just brushed over him, focused elsewhere.

Behind me…

 **A skill has been created through a special action! After repeated use of your sixth sense, you have obtained the ability 'Sense Danger' to detect impending misfortune!**

 **Sense Danger (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%**

 **Survival Instinct augmented by Aura, this ability allows the user to sense when bad things are about to occur or when they are being watched by those with ill intent. The higher the skill's level, the sooner it can sense danger.**

Okay, if the sudden feeling that there was something terrible behind me wasn't enough to set me on edge, abruptly getting an ability called 'Sense Danger' hammered it home. Without hesitating, I pulled into a sudden turn and swung up to get higher. I looked forward, above me, and all around, trying to see what had pulled my nerves so taunt, but there was nothing—

"Over there," Adam said, voice suddenly quiet as if worried he'd be overheard. "You sensed it, too, right?"

"Hard to miss," I answered, voice strained. I focused my eyes. In the direction he'd indicated and saw a black shape in the distance, far away but approaching swiftly. For a moment, I thought it was just another Nevermore until I realized just _how_ far away it was, at which point I knew I was right.

It _was_ another Nevermore.

 **Darkness There and Nothing More**

 **LV53**

 **Giant Nevermore**

"You know," I told Adam. "I keep meaning to get around to training my luck, I just don't know how."

"As you gain strength by getting stronger and gain intelligence by becoming smarter, logic would dictate you could improve your luck by getting lucky," Adam mused, eyes on the titanic Grimm.

"So what you're saying is it's impossible for me?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "That's what I'm saying."

I cracked my neck once and nodded at that in acceptance. I licked my lips once, glanced nervously at the creature, and then went faster.

"I guess I'll just make my own luck, then," I stated as the Grimm flew towards me.

I matched its charge with my own.

"Do we have a plan?" Adam asked, growling again.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you we did?" I asked, eyes focused on what was in front of me. The dark shape grew with terrifying speed, letting out a cry so loud that I thought I could _feel_ it. I just went faster, pushing the machine as far as it could go without losing altitude. I had to match it on that front, lest it get in position to attack me with its feathers—this was going to be bad enough _without_ it being able to attack me at range. I licked my lips as we drew ever closer, until I sincerely had to wonder if the creature's opened maw could bite the entire Bullhead in half.

"Yes, I would feel a _lot_ better if we had a plan."

I nodded at that and was silent for a moment. The Nevermore's colossal wings seemed to shake the entire sky with every flap, causing the Bullhead to shake like it was passing through turbulence. I looked into red eyes, saw the bone-white mask that covered part of its face, looked once more into the abyss of its throat—and banked hard. I flew just right of its head, close enough that feathers scraped against the Bullhead, and then was passed it. I swung the Bullhead into a turn that was barely wider then it was and starting firing at the back of the Nevermore the moment it was in sight, even as it flew through the space I'd inhabited moments before.

"Okay," I said. "We have a plan. Step one: Don't die."

"What's step two?"

"Working on it." I answered, frowned as it seemed to brush off the bullets as if they weren't even there. It was, somehow, even tougher then it looked—which was just my luck, really. I began contemplating my options.

"Shit," Adam snarled. "Can we get away?"

"Maybe," I said, shaking my head. I'd considered running away the moment we'd seen the creature, but as wonderful as it sounded, there were a few problems with that idea. "Not conventionally, though. That thing's faster than we are and I'm betting it's got really good eyes."

"We have anything _unconventional_?"

"Working on it."

" _Shit_ ," He said empathically. He looked at the Nevermore, face set in a snarl. "This plan seems kind of lacking on all fronts."

"Yes, well, that's why I'm working on it," I replied, glad for whatever part of my power was keeping me calm. "If you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them."

Adam was silent for a moment before muttering something to himself and nodding.

"I might be able to take it out if I get a clear shot," He said. "But it would take a while to charge—longer than normal."

I nodded in acceptance, trusting him, and began working on a plan. Even if he couldn't take out the Nevermore with one hit, it was almost certain to do more damage than anything else we could throw at it, and that was as good a place to start as any. If nothing else, it might give us an opportunity to escape.

"How long?" I asked as I watched the Nevermore swing around, readying itself for another pass.

"Thirty seconds?" He asked, sounding uncertain. "Maybe a bit longer if I want to be sure. Grimm can take a lot of punishment. I'll need to be fairly close, too."

I considered my options quickly. I could open the side of the Bullhead and give Adam a shot into the open air—but no, that wouldn't work. The Nevermore would hardly stand still long enough for him to finish charging and Adam didn't seem to have a lot of mobility while readying his attack. If I sent him to the back of the Bullhead and told him to start getting ready, he'd be thrown around by the evasive actions I'd have to take to survive, which probably wouldn't help much either.

I tried to think of a different way to make it work, a way to juggle our limitations, but there were too many of them. I was probably going to need to pull out every trick I could think of to stay ahead of the Nevermore who was itself extremely mobile. Adam would need both thirty seconds to charge in relative comfort _and_ a clear shot, neither of which was going to be easy to manage while trying to survive aerial combat with an opponent as fast and strong as a Giant Nevermore.

"Give me a minute to think," I said, banking the Bullhead again. I pulled it into a small dive before coming up hard, spinning the Bullhead as I did before pulling out of the turn, flying a wide arc around the Nevermore to try to get behind it, in a position where it couldn't, for the moment, attack me.

And if the Nevermore hadn't suddenly tightened its own turn, maybe it would have worked, but instead I overshot my target and ended up with it behind me, slightly to the side, and completely out of my sight. Instinctively, my eyes went to my Map, indicating the Grimm's position—but that didn't tell me anything useful. I tried to curve around it, but it just followed me, staying close enough on my heels that I never caught more than a glimpse of it and slowly closing in. I had a brief mental image of it catching us and pecking its beak through the hull of the Bullhead to tear out the squishy worms inside, before growling to myself.

The hell I was gonna die before I even got to the suicidal mission.

I took a risk, sliding into a turn even as I climbed. I could hear the vibration caused by the nearby flapping of massive wings, could see it closing in on my Map, but I had to focus with the Nevermore on my tail. I climbed yet higher, banking smoothly at the top of my path before slipping right back down to a lower altitude, placing the Nevermore above me. I licked my lips and waited for a second, then two, then three—

And pulled hard to my left, diving suddenly. I heard massive shapes cutting through the air beside the Bullhead and as they rushed passed, they sounded bizarrely like insects flying by my head. I pulled up, turning the Bullhead at an angle as I rose and changed direction. The moment I spotted the Nevermore, momentarily in a more vertical position as it gave up the pursuit in order to attack, I started firing at its face—and it's vulnerable eyes.

It gave a deafening screech and flapped its wings to push it to the side, as I'd hoped. I rolled the Bullhead as I climbed higher, pulled hard to escape it, and shifted my thrusters to right myself behind the Nevermore before it could recover. I shot at it, short, steady bursts of fire that I knew wouldn't really hurt it, but which gave the illusion I was hunting it, if only momentarily—an illusion I could only hope some instinctual part of the Grimm bought into. Any moment, it would recover and come up with another method of attack.

But for a few seconds, it bought me some time.

I knew that I was doing well, but I also knew this was a momentary thing. The guns on the Bullhead weren't up to hurting such a creature, much less killing it, and even if I could keep dodging, I knew it would hit me eventually, at which point it was over. I could evade a dozen attacks, but the fact remained that I only had to screw up once.

I went over my choices as quickly as I could, trying to find a way out, an alternative—but no. There was only one way we were going to be able to get the time to charge Adam's attack and get a clear shot. But even then…

The Nevermore suddenly tucked its wings close and fell for a second, but that was all it needed because I immediately overshot it. A moment later, I heard the flapping of massive wings on the wind and—

I had a thought. I considered it for a moment, deemed it crazy, and decided to do it anyway.

"I have a plan," I told Adam as I felt the Nevermore drawing nearer. It wasn't trying to shoot at range this time, settling for simply overcoming me and tearing me apart, which it would do in short order unless I did something.

"Is it a good plan?"

"I don't know yet."

Adam nodded seriously.

"What is it?"

"Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to know," I said. "Just be ready to get out on my signal."

"Oh, shit," He replied eloquently. "What? I mean… _what_? What are you doing, Jaune?"

"Do you know how lift works?" I asked, before diving for a second and pulling back as hard as I could, keeping tight control of the thrusters as I did. I made the Bullhead rear back, nose pointing upwards—straight upwards until I was staring at the sky and then a little bit further until I almost thought I'd go plummeting backwards. I saw the Nevermore pass over me, great wings shielding me briefly from the sun.

And then I righted the aircraft, shifting the thrusters to push me back into position in a motion that felt more like falling then flying. A moment later, I was climbing again, even as the Nevermore curved around to find me. I looked into its red eyes and this time I didn't run, didn't turn, didn't try to escape.

I flew straight at it.

"Jaune, please don't tell me we're going to crash into it," Adam said tightly.

"Okay," I nodded. "I won't tell you. Aura Crash."

" _Goddamn it_!"

The Nevermore, apparently, had been expecting a trick, had been waiting for me to try to pull away so it could seize me. It had not expected me to collide full force with its chest—and it definitely didn't expect what I did next.

"Air Aura," I said for the first time, even as the Nevermore drew its wings around it—and me—reflexively.

And then we were falling.

I had no delusions of beating a monster that strong. My bullets did nothing and even my Aura Crash had barely hurt it. But at the end of the day, despite its size and the magic that must have gone into its very existence to allow something that big to fly, it was paying at least passing heed to aerodynamics—and now it was in Remnant's cruel grasp. I couldn't hurt it with my weapons or my spells, but that didn't matter, because I could take the wind out of its wings and leave it to fall.

The Nevermore tried to hold on to us at first, grasping the Bullhead in its talons as it spread its wings open wide, but as it flapped them, our descent did not slow. It tried harder, almost frantically, attempting to fly, before seeming to realize that we were taking the literal wind out of its proverbial sails and letting go, trying to escape.

I wasn't having any of that. As we came free, I thrust us close once more, staying parallel to the almost vertically falling Grimm, just out of reach of wing and claw. It flapped its wings, trying to shift itself, but always I stayed even, spiraling around it as it corkscrewed through the air towards the unforgiving earth.

"Jaune, pull up," Adam said as we got closer to the green tree tops.

"Not yet," I replied, staying in my turning path around the Nevermore, cutting off any attempt it made to fly.

"Jaune," Adam said again as our view of the world filled further and further with green. We were scarcely more than a hundred meters away now.

"Not yet," I answered. I had to be sure, had to make sure it would crash, or I wouldn't get another chance.

Fifty meters.

Forty.

Thirty.

" _Jaune_!"

I pulled away less than twenty meters from the treetops and watched as the Grimm crashed into and through them, carving a scar of destruction through once-unbroken green. I was already shifting the controls, lowering the vehicle the few meters that remained as fast as I could to land awkwardly on the debris—and then the door was open. For a moment, I was blinded by a sudden rush of blue screens, informing me of my improved mastery of Piloting and that I'd learned some odd number of skills in 'Aerial Combat Maneuvering', but I brushed them aside in annoyance, too busy to care.

"You worry too much," I told him, stripping off my seatbelt and standing quickly. "I told you I had a plan. I've never crashed into anything I didn't want to."

Adam muttered darkly as he and I jumped out of the Bullhead together, walking across broken wood towards the massive form of the Grimm, which was already beginning to stir clumsily, seemingly dazed by the fall—but I knew that wouldn't last.

Adam fell instantly into his stance, all signs of irritation and emotion falling from his face as he entered the battle, beginning the countdown.

"He won't stay down for thirty seconds," The Faunus noted quietly, but didn't shift from his position.

I cracked my neck and then my knuckles, stepping past Adam and across the broken ground.

"Yes," I said. "He will."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV14**

 **HP: 870/870**

 **MP: 1250/1250**

 **STR: 31+14.9 (48%) = 45.9**

 **VIT: 33+15.8 (48%) = 48.8**

 **DEX: 29+13.9 (48%) = 42.9**

 **INT: 39+18.7 (48%) = 57.7**

 **WIS: 55+26.4 (48%) = 81.4**

 **LUK: 10**

 **Status: Metal Element Affinity 10, Air Element Affinity 10.**

 **POINTS: 6**

 **MONEY: 100 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

2\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 14 - First Boss

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
First Boss**

I had no delusions about where I stood.

But I wasn't scared, either.

I knew that with the power difference between the Nevermore and I, there was a limit to how much I could do to it. Even with all my skills, I wasn't going to survive if that thing managed to get a solid hit on me and I had severe doubts about being able to even delay it long-term. I knew I wouldn't be able to kill it the normal way by myself—I probably wouldn't be able to wound its hide that badly even with my best attacks.

And yet, here it was. I'd dragged it out of the sky, sent it crashing painfully to the earth, and bit off a good-sized chunk of its HP—way more than my Aura Crash or bullets had done and probably more than _I_ would be able to do now. I'd done far more damage then I should have been able to, given my level and stats. How?

Simple. My life was a game…but it was also real life. For instance, there was more to hitting the enemy then some formula hidden in the background, even if my power could make me better _at_ hitting things. There were a lot of factors that wouldn't normally have applied in a game unless specifically designed to, including a lot of really basic stuff.

Like standing up, for instance.

I took a deep breath, gathering my Aura as I did and settling it in my lungs, the air within them, and in my vocal chords. It was a lot like the way Aura was used to enhance anything Hunters did, but getting it precisely right to create what I needed required a lot of practice and fine control—or else a bullshit power that let you bypass all that. In the time it took to inhale completely, it was ready and I met the Nevermore's eyes as it struggled to rise.

And then I roared.

Except…saying it like that doesn't really convey what happened, however accurate it was. The sound that came from my mouth was something that even _I_ had a hard time believe came from a human. It didn't sound like anything something the size of a person could produce and it was far, far too loud—loud enough to shake the branches of trees slightly, loud enough that you could feel it as well as hear it. It echoed out from me, stretching God only knows how far in a wave of painful sound that gave even a Nevermore pause, if only for a moment.

But a moment was enough.

While it was stunned, I hit the ground and rushed over with all the speed I had, moving faster than I ever had before—a result of my Air Aura, most likely. I was inside its guard before it could respond, blurring under its massive body until I was standing between massive black legs, and then I put Bai Hu's ancient art to use. On each of its enormous feet were four massive claws that it had sunk deep into the ground to help support its weight.

I shoved my hands deep into the ground and pried them out of the earth one by one, ricocheting between them and the creature's body with Tiger's Lunge and tearing them loose with a combination of the Tiger's Claws and Jaws, Power Strike, Crush, and Rip. With the speed of the Tiger's Tread boosted even further by my Air Aura, I flickered between my targets faster than I would have believed I could move before today—and once all its claws were free of the earth, I toppled the Nevermore with what must have been half a hundred flickering attacks between its ankles, knees, and shins, rebounding back and forth again and again until its awkward footing and the weight upon it causing it to finally give out.

Each of my strikes removed only a tiny sliver of health. Even nearly a hundred strikes had stripped away what amounted to only a small portion, its hide standing up against my crushing blows. But gravity wasn't level specific and being over level fifty didn't make it weigh any more or less. When I knocked its feet out from under it, it fell.

 **You've received the title 'The Tiger's Child.'**

The screen appeared before my eyes but I barely paid it attention. The Nevermore tried to catch itself as it fell using the fingers that extended from its outermost wing joint—but it was slow here on the ground and its size made it seem all the more so, even while falling. I lowered myself closer to the ground and the world shifted again as I hammered into the slowly falling limb with my whole body before bouncing back to the ground and up again, smashing into the other wing.

And the giant fell, seeming to shake the earth as it collapsed, already broken wood cracking underneath it as it settled. I bounded away, out from underneath it before I could be crushed, and looked at the fallen beast as my heart hammered in my chest.

The Giant Nevermore, for all its durability and terrifying power, had only two means of attack. It could launch its razor sharp feathers with great force and it could hit its target with its massive body; simple attacks made exceedingly deadly by its sheer size and power. But the former required aerial superiority and the latter required the ability to move effectively—which meant that it couldn't do either while prone on the ground.

It was nearly forty levels above me and had to power to kill me in one hit—and none of it meant a damn thing if it couldn't attack. I'd grounded it and as long as I kept it that way, there was nothing it could do.

Now it was just a matter of giving it bigger things to worry about.

I touched the ground just out of reach of the Nevermore and bounced backwards to land with my feet on the truck of the closest standing tree before kicking off towards the fallen Grimm's masked face, left hand outstretch, right reared back. My left hand touched the white of the Grimm's mask first, holding fast as I leveraged my body forward—and then sank my right hand deep into one of the monster's eyes.

Immediately, the Nevermore began to thrash, throwing its head back and forth as it struggled with frantic motions. I barely managed to keep myself from being flung away as it snapped it's head to the side, but I knew I wouldn't keep hold for long so I grasped what I could with the wicked claws of my right hand and completed the Jaws of the Tiger by tearing it free, pushing away with my left hand as I did and flipping backwards away from the still struggling monster.

As I landed, I danced a step back and waited, casting my glance at the creature's HP bar. If the crash had taken twenty percent of its health away, then everything I'd just done, including the critical hit to its weak point, had caused…about five percent more, despite all it had taken out of me. Now that I had stopped for a moment, I could feel my actions taking their toll on my stamina, worsened by my armor and the Aura Crashes I'd used beforehand. But…

It wasn't focused on rising at the moment. I crouched again, ready to spring into action again the moment it calmed—though I had to wonder how long I'd last—but every moment I could save counted. I acted only when it tried to rise, gripping massive fingers and pulling with all the power in my body before diving away. It kept its head trashing to make attacking its eyes harder, but its motions were slower that way, clumsier, but then so were mine. I couldn't keep this up for very long, even if I was stretching my time as much as I could.

Just as I was wondering how long thirty seconds could last, though, I heard it.

"Move," Adam said and though the words were not loud, there was a power in them that made them carry. I danced back several more steps and jumped back, flipping over Adam as he drew his sword, and I couldn't deny I felt relieved. For a moment, the sky went red and the world turned black as the Nevermore fell—and just as quickly, it was over with Adam sheathing his sword and nearly stumbling. I landed and dashed to his side, steadying him with one hand without looking at him.

My attention was still on the Nevermore—on its health bar. With a single attack, Adam had forced most of it to highlight and quickly drain away.

Most of it.

But not all.

The relief I'd felt withered and die, leaving a sinking hole behind. If the crash had taken twenty and nearly a hundred hits from me had done five more, Adam's attack had wiped away more than sixty percent. What was left was probably less than a tenth of its original HP—but it was still alive and both Adam and I had drained away a lot of our power just to get this far.

For a moment, the both of us were breathing hard as we watched the Nevermore twitch and then start to move.

"I don't suppose you can do another one of those?" I asked. "It doesn't have to be a big one; it's down to about ten percent now."

"Even assuming I could, could you distract it like you did before?" Adam retorted, taking slow steady breaths that made me think he was holding himself back from panting.

I chuckled a little at that and shook my head.

"Think we can run away?" Adam mused.

"Well maybe if you'd taken off a _wing_ or something instead of just giving it a booboo," I speculated. "As is, I think it would catch up. I figure it's kind of pissed at us now—and I'm pretty sure that's your fault."

"I must be more tired than I thought because all I'm hearing is whining," He cut me off, one hand going to an ear as if to check it. "Think you can crash it again if it does?"

"Maybe," I muttered. "My luck's not doing so great today, though, and I doubt it'll fall for the same trick twice and if it gets us…"

I shook my head.

"I'm running out of MP fast and Aura Crash is a bitch. It's risky," I said. "So let's call that plan C."

"You got a plan B?" Adam asked and though I couldn't see it, I was sure an eyebrow was raised beneath his mask.

"What kind of question is that?" I replied, faking hurt. "Of course I have a plan B. You think I'd risk everything on one insane scheme?"

Adam snorted once before turning to look at me.

"Is it a good plan?" He asked again.

I winked at him.

"I don't know yet," I said honestly. "But it's your turn to play distraction, anyway."

I started running before he could ask what that meant, rushing towards the Nevermore. It had already struggled up enough to lift its head and it focused on me with its three red eyes. I knew it recognized me because it shifted its head so I could reach its eyes and then opened its beak wide and let out a shriek filled with pain and rage—but that was my chance.

I jumped as hard as I could, boosting it with one more Tiger's Lunge. I straightened my body as I all but flew through the air, hands stretched out before me, and with both hands I grabbed the very tip of its beak, using the force of the force of the impact to curl my body.

For an instant, I met its eyes.

Then I shoved myself down its abyss of a throat, feet first.

 **XxXXxX**

Now, as insane as this idea sounded, there was honestly a logic to it. Though I'd managed to keep it down, dozens of my best attacks had been water off the Nevermore's back and I had burnt through my power quickly to accomplish very little. If I wanted any hope of killing this thing, I'd need to do at least _twice_ the damage I'd caused before, using less attacks.

There was only one way that was going to be possible—through critical hits. I'd need to make every hit count, striking a vulnerable place on the Nevermore's body like I had before with its eye, which had caused most of the damage I'd been able to inflict upon it before.

There were a few issues with that, though. For one thing, I wasn't going to be able to do anything unless I simultaneously kept the thing grounded the entire time, which would need to be in addition to hurting the creature itself. For another, I'd already used Observe on it and it just didn't _have_ a lot of weak points and it already knew to defend its eyes.

Maybe we could have made it work. I could have continued what I'd been doing while Adam hit it as hard as he could, again and again and again. But…Adam was already exhausted and I was on my way there fast and if either—or, worse, _both_ —of us ran dry before it died…

A prolonged tactic wasn't in our favor. This fight needed to be over _now_. But how was I going to consistently get critical hits when it was guarding its eyes?

The obvious choice was to hit it somewhere else, some place unprotected by its durable hide, some place it couldn't guard even after I'd hit it there—I had to find a place where it couldn't run or hide or even fight back, where I could _hurt_ it. And there was only one place that fit those criteria.

Inside of it.

Inside, it had so many vulnerabilities—organs, veins, and countless other things. Inside, it had no real way of attacking me. And hell, so long as I was inside of it, it couldn't get away—now that's positive thinking at work. And really, when I thought about it that way, it was a brilliant idea.

Having said that, my first thought inside the Grimm was that I was kind of glad I couldn't see what I'd gotten myself into in the moments that followed, because from what little I could feel through my armor it must have been disgusting. I slipped down its throat on something slick and slimy that I didn't really want to think about until I reached out and sank my fingers hard into the sides of the beast's throat and plant my feet on its slick walls as best I could, preventing my fall into who knows what waited in its stomach.

I had a moment to dearly hope this worked and then I was in motion, rebounding of the sides of its throat to cause as much damage as possible. I grabbed, I crushed, and I tore pieces away, liquid flowing over and under my armor as I made a ruin of my surroundings. Once more, I was a little gladdened by the fact that the insides of the Grimm were almost unnaturally dark, sparring me the sight. I felt the Nevermore thrashing around out, it's throat working even harder to bring me down to its stomach, foul smelling air rushing over me.

Hard as it tried, though, I held on, bladed fingers sunk deep into soft flesh. I felt the creature's body being rocked by something—Adam doing his part, I was sure—but I focused on what I needed to do. With the Tiger's Jaws, I sank fingers deep and pulled again and again, until I'd made a large enough opening for what I intended. Fluid spilled over me, passing through the holes in my armor to cover my face and body. I had to hold my breath as I forced myself against that stream, reaching an arm through to loop around the edge, shoving against what felt like a massive tube. With my other hand I grasped the edge of the flap I'd made and heaved, as if I were lifting a tree, widening it even as the creature thrashed.

I felt Crocea Mors, the manifested spirit lending me its strength as I tried to force the hole open. I shoved until I could lift a foot to stand awkwardly on the broken edge and grab the top with both hands, putting my entire body into opening the monster's throat even as I resisted what felt like a flood of fluid and held my breath until my lungs burned. At last, I tore it wide enough to pass through and I could feel the Nevermore's struggling weaken.

But I didn't stop. I Lunged forward, bladed fingers sinking deep into the tube I'd felt earlier before ripping into it with Jaws, Power Attacks, Crushes, and Rips. Between each attack, I Lunged back into the Nevermore's throat, tearing at the other side, before throwing myself back like a saw, shredding everything in my path with the dwindling remains of my power. Even as my lungs and limbs began to burn, I didn't let up. I didn't stop as the thrashing slowed. I didn't stop when what seemed like my entire world shook as the Grimm finally fell. I didn't let up until—

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

The windows shone brightly without actually illuminating anything—probably because only I could see them. As the messages appeared, I had to smile, despite my exhaustion and how disgusting all the various things that must have been covering me made me feel.

Then I started as I heard a disturbingly pleasant jingle and felt a thrum through the whole of my body, followed by the appearance of another window.

 **You have defeated the boss monster Giant Nevermore! You've obtained the title 'Grimm Slayer'!**

I didn't have time to ponder the meaning of that, though, because my lungs were still burning and I was still submerged in Grimm blood. I crawled back into the dead monster's throat and half climbed, half swam up it. Blood had flooded it from the wound I'd made, though, and it was only the surge of MP leveling up had given me that allowed we to escape, rushing up the passageway with another Tiger's Lunge. I had to crouch as I reached its beak, but it was thankfully mostly free of blood and I could see light through the cracks of the beak. I finally took a breath—

Only to gasp in what seemed like particularly foul smoke instead of air. I started coughing immediately, going to one knee, but there was still no air to draw in. I struggled to lift the Nevermore's beak—though that meant lifting its entire head, really—but I'd done too much, too quickly and my stamina was shot for the moment.

I pushed on anyway, even as I tried to cough up my own lungs, because I was _not_ going to go through all this just to die on the way out.

Suddenly the beak's weight eased. I saw bright light, a shadowed figure, and then I was being hauled out. Adam dumped me on the ground even as the smoke signifying the Grimm's passing billowed out around us, and as close to the ground as I was, I could at last breath. So I laid there for a moment and did that. It was nice. So was having nothing trying to kill me. And having survived the various things that had. Being alive was kind of nice in general, really.

"It's about time you showed up," Adam said. "I was about to leave without you."

"The hell you were," I said after a moment. "Who'd drive you home?"

Adam snorted and sat down beside me, drawing one leg up to rest his chin on. For a moment, the two of us just sat there, resting in the aftermath.

"You look disgusting by the way," Adam noted, looking at the mixed black and red fluids that covered me from head to toe. "The other Grimm are probably avoiding this area because of the Nevermore, but that's going to draw them in like nothing else once they finally decide to check this place out."

"Man, screw them," I said and there was only a little bit of a cough in it. I was already mostly recovered, thanks to my power. "They'd be biting off more than they can chew."

I reached back and knocked on the Grimm's beak, just in case he didn't get it, and I was pretty sure Adam rolled his eyes beneath his mask.

"Seriously, though, just give me a chance to meditate and I'll take on all comers," I said. "That's why we're out here, after all."

"Oh? You still want to train?"

"You kidding?" I asked, turning my head to look at him. "I'd say today has been a pretty damn good day. My first time outside the boarders and I killed a Giant Nevermore. I already gained six levels man, and we've just gotten started. Why? You getting tired already?"

Adam actually chuckled at that, shaking his head before leaning back, keeping himself upright with his arms.

"I'll have to warn everyone who's working with us. 'He's a good pilot,' I'll say. 'But he's completely insane,'" He said before pausing. "God, it's just now sinking in that I'm going to fly across the ocean with you in the captain's seat. And I _volunteered_ for this."

I laughed loudly at that.

"Hey, don't worry—I won't get you killed," I promised. "I need someone to drag me out of any Giant Nevermore we kill."

"Please don't tell me you're honestly thinking about _hunting_ those things?" Adam sighed.

"Why not?" I asked, smiling brightly. "We know how to deal with them now and they have pretty easy attack patterns, too. If we ground them in the Bullhead, they basically can't fight back—I get inside and run amok, you charge your best attack, boom. I got _five levels_ off this one guy _and_ two titles…whatever those do-I'm a Grimm Slayer now, by the way, and the Tiger's Child. If we could farm these guys…"

"I don't think so," Adam said firmly. "They aren't that common around here anyway."

"Yeah, but in the wild…" I wagged my eyebrows at him. "You know we'll stumble across trouble on our way to Mantle. You _know_. And there are places where you can find _flocks_ of Giant Nevermore."

"Ugh," Adam groaned, lip curling in disgust. "Well, maybe we can avoid that if you do the smart thing and put your points in Luck. You have thirty points to spare now, right?"

"Thirty-one," I said. "I could boost it up to forty-one right now. Although I have to wonder…if I got luckier, would the attacks stop or become more frequent?"

"What?" Adam asked flatly.

"Well, it all depends on how Luck works, doesn't it?" I argued cheerfully. "I mean, depending on how you look at it, I've been pretty lucky so far. Horrible danger aside, I got so much experience from that Spider Droid and those Quests and this thing, it's amazing. And I'm alive! But if I want to get stronger, I need to keep fighting powerful enemies and stuff, right? So would luck decrease how much trouble I got into or _increase_ it? Would I meet rarer monsters? I mean, hell, what does luck even do for me? Jokes aside, my luck's pretty normal at ten, so…"

Adam winced, shaking his head.

"That's…" He shook his head. "Let's put luck on hold for a bit, maybe?"

"Until we can be sure it won't cause a bunch of rare Grimm to suddenly appear, just in case," I agreed, looking around carefully to make sure I hadn't given the Universe any ideas. "I mean, in normal games, I'd figure it would improve my chance of critical hits or getting item…"

I trailed off, noticing something beside the Nevermore that I hadn't seen before. Or…maybe it hadn't _been_ there before. I stood up, feeling vaguely stunned, and walked over to it as if in a trance, while Adam frowned at me.

"Jaune? What is…what is _that_?" He asked, shifting his question midsentence as he noticed what I'd seen before.

"Adam…" I said, blinking. "I got loot."

"You're kidding me," He said, coming to my side. He looked down and was, for a moment, silent. "You're not kidding me."

Beside our fallen opponent, on a patch of unstained ground, was a folded black cloth. Atop it was a book whose cover I couldn't see because it was obscured by a mask much like the Nevermore's, except smaller, and beside it all was a thick stack of Lien.

"I…don't know why I'm surprised," I said. "This is what would happen in a game, after all, it's just…I guess I always thought my power applied only to me, because it was my Semblance. But, this…did it _create_ these out of nothing?"

"I…suppose," Adam said hesitantly. "It's often said that the Grimm are manifestations of enmity, which is why they eventually fade after they're killed. But if _they_ can be given form, it's obviously possible for stuff to be created that way, so it's not utterly impossible that a fallen Grimm could be turned into something else. But…I've never even _heard_ of anything like this. What _are_ these?"

I picked up the pile of goods, still staring at them in wonder before shaking myself and using Observe.

 **50000 Lien**

 **Fifty thousand lien, obviously. Do you need an explanation on how money works?**

 **Dreary Midnight—Rank: Rare**

 **A cloak made of Nevermore hide and infused with their power. While worn, greatly improves the user's Air Element Affinity, giving the power to better control the air and potentially to even to glide upon wind currents. Try not to run into any trees.**

 **Passive Skill: Tempest.**

 **Skill Book: Far Strike—Rank: Rare**

 **A skill that enables the user to strike opponents at a distance with a wave of cutting power. Though relatively weak at first, both power and range can be improved by raising the abilities level.**

 **Lenore—Rank: Mythic**

 **The Grimm Mask of the Nevermore, infused with their dark power. The Mask of Loss.**

 **?**

Frowning slightly, I relayed the information to Adam, who tilted his head with a frown and nodded.

"Seems like a pretty amazing haul, but…I just don't know what to make of your ability," He said, reaching out to flip through the skill book. "I mean…I suppose I can understand the mask and _maybe_ the coat, but…this book for example. Did it steal it from somewhere or _create_ it and fill it with knowledge? Because I _know_ this technique and what's written here is accurate. And is this counterfeit Lien? And if not, _how_?"

"I have no idea," I shook my head. "I keep telling myself not to be surprised by my power anymore, but…"

I just shook my head some more.

"Well, whatever," I said, sighing in resigned acceptance. "How do you want to split it? The books useless to you and we don't know if the money works yet, so I'll take the former and check the later."

I hesitated for a moment, greed rising up in me again. This was the part where I should offer to give Adam the mask and keep the cloak for myself—he had, after all, done most of the damage to the Nevermore, so it was only fair he get the most valuable item and he wouldn't benefit from the book or cloak besides—but…I wanted both. Well, I mean, I was more than a little nervous about the Mask, because, one, it was a Grimm Mask and, two, I didn't know anything about it, but at the same time…it was a _Mythic_ item. Sure, I hadn't know I could get items like this until a minute ago, but it was a level above rare.

Even if I was half-convinced it was probably cursed, I wanted it.

I took a moment to try and suck it up but Adam raised a hand, stopping me.

"Keep it all," He said.

"What?" I asked, starting slightly.

"I can see you salivating you want it so bad," Adam said, smirking. "The book and cloak are useless to me anyway and you can think of the mask as a gift; you might as well have one of your own instead of using a hand-me-down. Besides, if it decides to eat the face of whoever puts it on, better your face than mine, right?"

"Gee, thanks," I said, but I was smiling. That didn't keep me from looking down at it nervously, though. "I _do_ want it, really. But…even beyond what it might do to me, wearing a Grimm Mask might send the wrong impression…"

"You're wearing one right now, idiot," Adam said and I was pretty sure he rolled his eyes again.

"What?" I asked, blinking at him. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think these are?" He replied, tapping his mask. "They're Grimm masks—or designed to look like them, at least."

I reached up to touch my own mask, the one Blake had given me.

"I thought they were for hiding our identities?"

"Most of us can't hide, even with masks," Adam said before pausing. "Us being Faunus, that is. Most of us have features that are too recognizable if anyone truly looks. If you're born with horns or a tail and someone sees them, they can generally trace it back to you, given time. Because Faunus can vary greatly in what animals they take after—and even in how a specific animals traits manifest—most of the time we can't even blend in around each other. The masks aren't about hiding, they're about showing; Humanity made us out to be monsters, hunted us, tried to cage us in. So we became monsters."

"Huh…" I said after a moment. I looked down at Lenore, toying with it in my hands. It was a beautifully crafted mask, if odd looking. Four eyeholes, the pair on each side connected by a smooth, red design with a short spear arcing out of the lower set of holes; the ones designed for a person's eyes. The other set would rest higher, near the temples, useless. Two more curved lines near the nose completed the mask, trailing down just enough to draw attention to the slight beak. "Still, I probably shouldn't wear it. Like you said, it might eat my face."

"I was joking about that; what kind of item would kill the wearer? It's more likely it'll just turn you into some kind of horrible monster," He said easily.

"Probably," I agreed. "I'll put it away for now."

I opened up my Status screen and put the Lien in my Money section, increasing it to fifty thousand one hundred. A push of an arrow took me to my Inventory and I stored the cloak and mask, before devouring the Far Strike book.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Far Strike.'**

Smiling slightly as the knowledge flowed through me, I was about to close the window when I remembered the titles I'd gained earlier and pressed the arrow again. The next page was a list of my skills; I figured it'd be in here, I just didn't have much use for it since I could call up the abilities I wanted to look at directly. Why bother going through the menu when you could use shortcuts? And it's not like I ever forgot about any of the skills I learned. I _obsessed_ over the things.

Except…there were two I didn't recognize.

"Hey, Adam, listen to this," I said, staring. "I was looking for my title page and I found something."

 **Gamer's Body (Passive) LV Max**

 **Grants a body that allows the user to live life like a Game.**

 **Gamer's Mind (Passive) LV Max**

 **Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows a peaceful state of mind. Grants Immunity to psychological status effects.**

"I knew about the former and I've been noticing the latter, too," I said after I finished reciting what I saw. "I was always calm, even when I probably should have been terrified. I guess that explains why, but…"

"I know," Adam said, apparently thinking the same thing. "If you're immune to status effects that touch your mind and you said you healed everything else every time you slept…"

I pressed the arrows again and found the title listing, made a mental note to come back to it, and then went on back to the Inventory, withdrawing the cloak and mask.

"Think I should try it?" I asked. "Doesn't really fit the martial arts look I've been working on, but what the hell, right?"

"Actually…" Adam mused. "I have an idea about that. Blake told me once that the best disguises come in layers."

I furrowed my eyebrows for a moment before understanding dawned and I had to sigh.

"Man," I complained. "At this rate, even _I'm_ not gonna know who I am when this is over."

"Actually…" Adam said, and there was something like vengeance in his smile. "What was that 'title' you mentioned earlier?"

"Grimm Slayer," I replied, absently flipping back towards the title section.

"No," He shook his head. "The other one."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV19**

 **HP: 1020/1020**

 **MP: 1500/1500**

 **STR: 31+14.9 (48%) = 45.9**

 **VIT: 33+15.8 (48%) = 48.8**

 **DEX: 29+13.9 (48%) = 42.9**

 **INT: 39+18.7 (48%) = 57.7**

 **WIS: 55+26.4 (48%) = 81.4**

 **LUK: 10**

 **Status: Metal Element Affinity 10, Air Element Affinity 10.**

 **POINTS: 31**

 **MONEY: 50100 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

3\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 15 - Checkpoint

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Checkpoint**

"Do you really think this will work?" I asked skeptically as I cleaned myself off by the river. Getting rid of the gunk on my armor was pretty easy, as Crocea just pulled some Metal magic and made the stuff run off, but the rest of me…

Well, I was filthy on a level that was hard to describe. Grimm spelunking will do that to you, I guess. I wanted to clean up before trying on the new suit.

"Probably," Adam mused after a moment, there to make sure no Grimm appeared while I was cleaning up. "At the very least, it'll leave everyone confused."

"I believe that," I admitted.

At its most basic level, Adam's plan was fairly simple, merely building off the groundwork Blake had already laid. Blake's design for my disguise had included a few changes in clothing and one of Adam's old masks as part of the image she wanted me to adopt. Adam's plan, then, was simply for that mask to actually _be_ a mask, a disguise over my disguise, guarding the secret that guarded my secret. Not merely the mask, but the entire role I was to play—that of the airship pilot and hacker and the White Fang member—would be another layer to the lie.

But…

"You want me to pretend to be the decedent of an ancient martial artist king—except you also want me to pretend I'm not?" I shook my head.

"Not necessarily a descendent," He replied. "We'll let them come up with their own explanations; most will probably go with that one, but I'm sure a few will wonder. Perhaps we should even call you Jian? It's similar enough to your real name that it might be easier to get used to and it will be amusing to watch people wonder."

"And what are you going to do when people ask you questions?"

Adam looked at me like I'd just said something unbelievably stupid.

"I'll say nothing," Adam said slowly, as if talking to a small child. "And stare at them until they go away."

"Oh," I said, remembering who I was talking to. "Right."

"Regardless, if you're concerned about questions, you risk them either way," He continued. "Ideally, no one will get close enough to see anything to wonder about—though I'm certain someone will question how someone learned to fly an experimental airship—but if you're forced to act…well, I'm certain you can think of a few issues that might draw attention, whether it's your martial arts or your ability to heal people. It's unlikely anyone will make a connection to Jaune Arc, but think of this as another layer of protection and a way of explaining away inconsistencies. It's not like you'll have to do much, either; we'll just put Bai Hu's symbol on your back, have you wear a cloak over it, and move on. If someone notices, give them a cryptic glance and say nothing."

He didn't say it out loud, but I heard the message beneath the words and nodded seriously. This wasn't just a measure against the Schnee or their soldiers, but also partially against the White Fang, if only by lessening questions.

"I still haven't mastered Bai Hu's technique, though," I reminded him, sighing. "I'm still grinding the lower stuff and there are two skills I don't even meet the prereqs for yet."

"And still you've come farther than anyone else who's tried to recreate the art," Adam reminded me. "You still have time to train your skills some more and your title helps too, right?"

 **The Tiger's Child**

 **Obtained by using all of the basic techniques of an ancient martial art in conjunction during a battle. You have become a true student of Bai Hu! Train hard to improve your mastery!**

 **20% increase the damage of White Tiger techniques.**

 **20% increase to the defense granted by White Tiger techniques.**

 **10% decrease in the cost of White Tiger techniques.**

"Yeah," I nodded gesturing towards what to Adam was empty space. "Even ignoring the other benefits, the decrease in cost adds up fast, because of how much MP the skills use. It'll help a lot later, though I have Grimm Slayer equipped right now, since it'll probably be more helpful while fighting out here. I'll switch over for the mission or at least parts of it."

 **Grimm Slayer**

 **Obtained by killing a major Grimm. You have slain a true beast of the darkness! Become a true hunter and continue to slay the enemies of Mankind!**

 **60% increase in damage against Grimm.**

 **60% increase in defense against Grimm.**

 **+10 to beneficial status effects while fighting Grimm.**

"Besides which, while _you_ may know your art is incomplete, you're also the resident expert. No one else has truly seen Bai Hu's style in action since…a long time ago. Since the techniques seem to be designed to work together and build off one another, I doubt anyone will notice that you aren't a master." Adam continued after giving me an acknowledging nod. "And if they do, so what? You're still far closer than anyone else. The ruse would still hold together."

"I guess so," I nodded. "And I _do_ intend to learn the rest of the style, when I can."

"How close are you on that front?" Adam asked, actually seeming interested.

"The penultimate technique requires STR 50, VIT 50, DEX 50, INT 60, and WIS 60. Currently, I have STR 31, VIT 33, DEX 29, INT 39, and WIS 55."

"But you also have…thirty-one points?" He asked and continued at my nod. "So you could raise Intelligence and Wisdom to sixty and still have fifteen points left over. You could get Vitality to forty-eight, perhaps, and then you'd just be nine levels from learning the technique."

I nodded but then shook my head.

"I could do it that way, but it'd be really wasteful," I explained. "No matter how high or low my stats are, I can always improve them by one with a stat point—but I only get five per level and leveling up gets harder and harder to do. Even if we assume that I only got an amount of experience equivalent to my contribution to the fight, that Nevermore was over level fifty and I only got about five levels off of him when I was level _fourteen_. At that rate…"

I shook my head again.

"Leveling up is going to get harder and harder. I'm going quickly now for the same reason it's easy with my skills early on—and because I keep running into enormously dangerous monsters—but I'll start slowing down soon, I'm sure. Since I can improve my stats without using points, I should do that as much as possible while I still can, unless something comes up."

"Makes sense," Adam shrugged. "But doesn't that get harder too, though?"

I sighed.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I mean…I had to increase my Intelligence to twenty-five to learn Soulforge Restoration—the healing thing—at which point I'd only just increase Vitality to twelve. But after a week of training, there's only about six points of difference between them, even when I was probably studying more than working out if you count the time I spent in the middle of the night. Eventually, it'll probably take weeks of effort to receive any improvement and using points might be more efficient again. But until then, every bit helps."

"How high do you think you can get them in the time we have left?"

"I honestly don't know," I admitted. "But I tripled the weight I'm using and we have about a week and a half left…if I train every chance I get, raising my physical stuff above forty should be possible, or maybe even…but I just don't know, really. Still, I don't want to spend any points on them until I get them as high as possible. Although…despite that, perhaps…"

I looked down at the water, sighing slightly as I debated with myself.

"Given how busy my schedule's going to be until the mission," I began slowly. "I don't think I'll have time to train my Intelligence as well. So…"

"You sure?" Adam asked slowly after the silence lingered. "The reasons you gave were good. Your points are a finite, valuable resource."

" _God_ , do I know that," I said, nodding. "And…they are, but…there are lives at stake for this mission, so I won't hold back. I mean, I'm not gonna waste points or act stupidly; if it's just a matter of improving my Vitality by ten points, I can do that any time and I'll get more bang for my buck if I train it first. However, raising my states above fifty is different. If Wisdom is anything to go by, I should get a powerful new skill for doing so—and given that Intelligence seems to be the magic stat, how every point in Intelligence also raises my MP by ten points, and what I got for Wisdom, I think I can make some guesses about what I might get. Given that we don't know what lies ahead and what's at stake, I'd rather do this now and have time to practice then regret not doing it later. If I could raise my other stats about fifty as well, maybe I'd do that, too—but since I can't, it's smarter to wait, I think. We'll see where I am at the end of training."

After a moment, Adam nodded, seeming to understand what I was struggling with.

"Then do it," He said.

I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed deeply.

"Goodbye my points…" I said, honestly saddened as I called up my Status Screen. "Your sacrifices will not be in vain."

I was a little surprised when Adam didn't say anything about that, but I focused on what I was about to do. Carefully, I placed eleven points in Intelligence, raising it from thirty-nine to fifty as a fact check. I paused for a moment to make sure nothing happened and then added a twelfth point, boosting it above the marker. I hadn't known about it before so I hadn't been able to check, but…it seemed that it really had to be _above_ fifty. Expected, given the message I'd gotten before, but still good to confirm.

Sure enough, a moment later a new screen appeared.

 **The skill Mana Affinity has been created through INT rising above 50.**

 **Mana Affinity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%**

 **Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, learned to draw upon the light of their souls to survive in an unforgiving world. This skill increases the user's sensitivity and control over that power, improving their affinity with Aura.**

 **10% Increase in Mana Recovery Rate.**

 **5% Increase in total MP.**

 **5% Increase to Magic Attack.**

 **5% Increase to Magic Defense.**

 **30% Increase to MP related skill effects.**

It's amazing how getting cool stuff can allay one's sadness, even if only temporarily.

"What is it?" Adam asked while I oh'd and ah'd over my new skill.

"The skill I got is called Mana Affinity. As I thought, it seems to make me better at using Aura and stuff and improves a lot of things," I said without looking at him, smiling to myself. "And if it's anything like what I got from Wisdom—no, actually, I bet this works well _with_ Nature Affinity, too. In fact…"

Adam just stared at me as I continued to ramble, but I paid him no heed, turning slightly away to test an idea again. Gathering my power as I pointed at a tree, I focused the power I'd normally put into Energy Bolt compressing it carefully at the tip of my finger. It resisted and tried to come apart as it had before, but this time I managed to keep ahold of it, forcing it down into the shape I desired.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with focused power, 'Mana Bullet.'**

"Heh," I said, smile widening. "I'm not done yet."

I took the song that seemed to hum constantly from my gauntlets—Crocea Mors' song—and channeled it into the glowing white sphere at the tip of my finger, aligning my Aura with the element of metal and forming it into a rigid shell around the energy to keep it focused, controlled.

And then I fired. A flickering marble of bright white light flashed across the river we'd found and pierced a glowing path straight through the heart of a tree before I lost track of it, making my laugh and clap my hands.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with focused elemental power, 'Magic Bullet.'**

 **Magic Bullet (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:10**

 **An attack skill that compresses Metal-aspected mana into a small form and fires it with great force. Power increases with INT, skill level, and Metal element affinity. Only possible for those talented in manipulating both mana and the elements.**

 **10% defense penetration.**

"Hah!" I shouted. "You see that!?"

"Yes," Adam said, frowning slightly. "You compressed your Aura into the form of a bullet and fired it?"

"Yup," I said with a smirk. "I tried it before and it didn't work but now _bam_!"

"Impressive," Adam mused. "There were experiments along those lines a long time ago, but the act of compressing and controlling ones Aura throughout was too difficult for most people—and the results were rendered obsolete by the creation of Dust rounds. In your case, though…hm, it might still lean in Dust's favor, but if you train it…"

"I will," I promised, practically hopping in place. "I'll grind it up over the next few days—and hey, if _power's_ the issue…"

I pointed at the same tree, drawing up the power with ease now that I had the skill—and then I kept drawing, pulling more and more power towards it. What started as a small marble grew quickly, spinning and lengthening as it was guiding by my hands and will until it was a lance of blazing white light floating between my fingers. I reared back and threw it with all my might at the tree.

Which it promptly tore in half. In fact, it carved a path of destruction through several more trees before disappearing from my sight as shattered trucks fell with the snapping of branched and thunderous impacts.

I turned both of my hands up, holding them out towards the destruction as I turned my head towards Adam, mouth open wide with smiling shock as I let out a choked, disbelieving laugh. Even _he_ looked surprised at the scene.

"What was _that_?" He asked, mouth slightly—very slightly—open.

I was about to laugh and say I had no idea when a window I'd never seen before popped up.

 **You've thought of a new skill. Would you like to name it?**

I paused for a moment, eyebrows furrowing, before smiling again.

"Magic Missile," I said.

 **Magic Missile (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:80**

 **A technique used to gather an immense amount of Metallic Mana in an elongated, spinning form which can be launched with great speed. Power increases with INT, skill level, and Metal element affinity. Only possible for those talented in manipulating both mana and the elements.**

 **40% defense penetration.**

 **400% damage increase.**

 **6 second charge time but can be charged for up to 12 seconds.**

 **There is an additional attack damage increase as charge time increases.**

"Impressive," Adam agreed after I explained it to him. "But also very distinctive."

"So?" I asked.

"So you can't use them as Jaune Arc or people will make the connection," He said. "You won't be able to use it later, so…I'm not really sure how to say this, but don't work yourself into a corner and throw away all your best techniques. What you use on this mission, you'll probably have to leave behind."

I snorted.

"Oh, is that what you're talking about?" I said, shrugging with a smile. "You don't have to worry about me, Adam, because my power's amazing. I have another ranged attack thanks to Far Strike, so I can develop that as well and I can use a lot of Bai Hu's techniques without fighting the same way, if I needed. Lenore and Dreary Midnight kind of stand out so it'd draw attention if I wore them as, well, me. Thanks to Nature Affinity and Mana Affinity, I can make plenty of techniques, so it's just a matter of deciding which of myselves gets what."

I paused for a beat and went over that last sentence before nodding to myself and continuing.

"Like, I could use this on the mission," I said, gesturing towards the broken tree line. "Or I could work on Far Strike and make a more powerful version of it. Or I could do something else, maybe? I can probably make a fireball spell if I get a Fire Affinity or I can play with Air or any number of things. No matter what I choose to do, I think I can grow a lot, so…it's okay. I can deal."

I smiled at him with a cheer I wasn't entirely certain I felt. What I said was true, but…

There was going to be a lot of things I would have to leave behind, huh? A lot of techniques, a lot of people, a lot of…

But I'd known that from the beginning and had accepted it. There were things that were more important.

"If you're sure," Adam said and though I was half-certain he knew the truth, he dropped the subject. "Are you ready then?"

I drew a towel out of my Inventory to finish drying off and nodded, taking out Dreary Midnight and Lenore.

I had to smile a bit, looking down at them, even if it didn't fit.

"So I guess this makes me a knight pretending to be a martial artist pretending to be a pirate, huh?" I asked, throwing the cloak over my shoulders. "I can deal with that, too."

I put on Lenore.

 **XxXXxX**

For a moment, the world seemed to drop away. Light and sound faded, as did the gentle wind on my face and the small dampness that remained from my bath. I could see or hear anything and even the scent of the forest faded away. All that was left to me was the feeling of falling—or maybe flying. For a moment I was bizarrely unsure of where or even _who_ I was. I was lost in the dark, uncertain of… _everything_. In that moment, all I wanted was to find something, anything, to cling to, to hold onto, to keep from slipping away, but all that was left was—

And then the moment passed and I was back where I was supposed to be, apparently having closed my eyes at some point. I opened them now and was surprised when four eyes opened, rather than two—a pair right where they were supposed to be and a set higher, on my temples. The other eyes on my mask.

I lifted a hand to touch my chin and felt human skin. Then I reached higher and made sure the mask had not somehow become a part of my face. That had been a serious concern, but it didn't seem to have some to pass.

But that brief moment in the dark had been…

"Everything alright?" Adam asked and I looked up to see him overlaid in light, bright red highlighting parts of him as I had only seen twice before, lights illuminating his hair and shining through the flesh of his chest to reveal a stead, beating core within. I could sense it, feel it, and for a brief moment before I regained myself completely, I wanted to find out what would happen if I took it out.

It wasn't just him, either—I could see light washing through the trees and grass, sparks in the air that I focused on quickly and saw to be insects. But I could also see patches and pools of…not quite light, but something that was nonetheless bright and clear. It took me a moment to recognize them because of how different they looked through my new eyes and even then I was only sure because of the pool growing from Adam's feet, casting his silhouette across the ground.

Shadows. Darkness. Except…it wasn't dark anymore, at least not to me.

I saw windows opening up before me, lots of them, but I looked down at myself before reading them, just to see what _I_ looked like. And I was…burning, white fire shining through what my dark cloak didn't cover, bright and gentle and pure—and shot through with trails of cold, empty black that I thought I could almost feel. My Aura was marked and scarred with it like veins or stripes and even before I followed them back to it, I knew the source.

"Jaune," Adam said again, more pressingly. "Are you okay? You look…"

"Yeah," I answered, still looking around with too many wide eyes. "It's just…weird. I can see your Aura, Adam—I can see everything's Aura. Is this how the Grimm see the world?"

"But there were no side effects?" Adam asked.

"Uh…" I hesitated, finally looked at the windows before me, and winced.

 **Status 'Ghastly Grimm and Stately Raven' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'**

 **Status 'Dirges of Hope' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'**

 **Status 'Nameless Here Forevermore' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'**

 **Status 'Terrors Never Felt Before' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'**

 **Status 'Soul and Shadow Floating on the Floor' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'**

 **Status 'Into the Tempest' has been granted by the item 'Dreary Midnight.'**

 **Set bonus! Status 'The Wind and Nothing More' has been granted by the simultaneous use of the items 'Dreary Midnight' and 'Lenore.'**

 **Status 'Nameless Here Forevermore' has been partially negated by the skill 'Gamer's Mind.'**

 **Status 'Terrors Never Felt Before' has been negated by the skill 'Gamer's Mind.'**

 **Status 'Soul and Shadow Floating on the Floor' has been negated by the skill 'Gamer's Mind.'**

Um.

I had no idea what…any of that meant, but I once more felt exceptional gratitude to the utter bullshit that was my power.

"Uh," I said. "Well, like we expected, my power seems to have blocked the bad stuff—of which there was a great deal, I mean _damn_ —but I'm not sure what any of this stuff does. Give me a second…"

I called up my Status Window and immediately frowned. What seemed almost like a thin layer of smoke covered the entire screen, gathered particularly hard near the top. Wherever I focused seemed to clear, but the rest…

"That's weird…" I murmured, frowning at it. "My status screen is hard to see."

" _You're_ hard to see," Adam said. "That's what I was trying to say before."

I blinked at him—and God, that was _still_ weird with four eyes—and looked down at myself again.

"Am I?" I wondered. "I can see myself just fine."

"You're…" Adam frowned. "It's hard to describe, honestly. I can see your mask, I can see the cloak, but _you_ are kind of hard to focus on…sort of? I can see you just fine, but if I didn't know it was you…"

He shook his head in irritation.

"Well…" I mused, touching Lenore. "It _is_ a mask. Not sure which ability would do this, though?"

I frowned at my screen, eyes gazing over it searchingly. There was…something up with my stats, a marking beside them in the shape of my mask, but I had not idea what that meant. My Air Affinity had increased greatly as well. The upper part of my screen was especially covered with the smoke, such that I could only see a twisted blur of my name and stuff, but…

I shook my head and just selected one of the new statuses randomly.

 **Dirges of Hope: ?**

"Goddamn it," I said, annoyed. "You're _still_ not gonna tell me?"

I tried again.

 **Nameless Here Forevermore: The dark smoke of the Grimm rises around your soul and conceals it from the eyes of man. Beware, however, of wandering in the night. This status effect hides your true self from mortal eyes and minds—including your own. Greatly increases the difficulty of identification attempts made towards the user, regardless of source. Partially disabled by Gamer's Mind.**

Um.

"Well, uh, I…dodged that bullet I guess," I stated before speaking to Adam. "It seems the mask has some powers I still can't see, so I'm not sure what they're doing. Or if they're working at all, really. Maybe I have to figure out what they are before I can use them or…maybe they require the negative effects to function properly."

"Could be," He shrugged. "It's really hard to draw upon examples in a case like this. But…you'd think that since it was your power that created it, it would be designed for your use in mind. Or at least your potential use. If the only way to use it was impossible for you, why would your power create it?"

"That makes sense, but I don't know," I shrugged, still browsing my statuses even though several windows were already open. "Honestly, I have no clue how or why my power does what it does. But yeah, you'd think that item drops would be for me. I guess I'll just have to level up Observe some more until I can see it or do this the hard way."

What I didn't say was that I'd had the same thought as Adam and that I had some support for it. I'd checked 'Into the Tempest' and then checked 'The Wind and Nothing More,' finding I could see both and that they served roughly the same purpose—increasing my Air Affinity—which was something that would undeniably come in handy in the mission ahead. In fact, it would be _so_ useful that it made me wonder.

Was that luck or design? It wasn't uncommon in games to need to get some item in order to make it through a specific dungeon and it was quite possibly these two items would save me in the skies, but…then, had my power somehow organized this, drawing me into place just in time to be attacked by a Nevermore? Or had it made the Nevermore attack me? Or, perhaps, had it truly just been luck—or Luck?—that had led to me being attacked and getting what I needed when I won?

Or maybe…had I done this? Had my power led me to what I wanted, what I needed? If this was my Semblance, a representation of my soul, was I somehow…and if not me then…

I looked at my other statuses, for now hidden from my sight, and wondered what that might mean for them if any of my suspicions were true. I could even, perhaps, take that further and wonder what that meant for anything that had happened to me. I'd given some thought to it before, to what had happened and how I'd so suddenly been involved with the White Fang and in over my head—I'd bemoaned my luck. But _was_ it luck? Had I just been in the right place at the right time and entered some enormous, sprawling side-quest that had gotten me into a quest chain?

Or, if this was a game, then was this the, or _a_ , plotline? If I thought about it, I had always wanted to be a great warrior, a hero like my parents. Maybe that was even, in a way, why I had always loved games so much—apparently enough to get this power. But if so…had it led me to this?

It was a concern I'd never voiced—about my power and about Luck, about how things seemed to come together. I don't know when I'd started to wonder and I'd avoided giving it more than a passing thought, but if I was a game character, if my power could access information I had no way of knowing and provide items that couldn't otherwise exist, if there were quests, if I had a stat that could literally effect the probability of what happened to me…

If I truly was able to live life as if it were a game…

Then who programs my game? Was it me? Was this all truly the work of my Semblance? An expression of my soul and what I wanted most? Had it known I wanted to help people and manipulated me towards a place where I could?

Was I just over thinking this?

And, most importantly, did it matter? Even if couldn't be sure how far the 'game' went, did it change how I wanted—how I should—change my life? Regardless of how I'd gotten here, there were still people who needed my help and I still _wanted_ to help them. Did it matter how or why I was able to, even if it meant letting my power guide me? Even, perhaps, pull my strings?

Yes, I thought. Why always matters. But if the reason why I could save people, why I could be a hero, why I could be here was because of my power or my wishes or whatever caused it…then I was grateful for the opportunity. Even if in the end it led me into danger—if, in the end, it maybe even resulted in my death—then still I was glad to be given an chance. If it was for this, for helping people…

Then I wasn't afraid. I was _born_ to do this.

I smiled then and felt like a weight had been removed from my heart. I looked at the water, at my reflection in the shifting river, and saw my white mask and hood hiding my face and more. But even if it meant hiding things or leaving them behind, if it was for this…it was okay. If it was my loss, if I was the one who needed to lock things away, and if in return I could set others free…

I shifted within my new cloak, closing it over my chest as light gleamed upon Crocea Mors from both the sun and my soul. I saw Crocea Mors within it, even, a light submerged in my own and in my darkness. But those things were in everyone, weren't they? It was simply a matter of understanding what that meant. I wasn't sure, even as I felt it flowing down into my weapons, white claws growing further into dark talons to better arm me against…what?

I guess I'd have to figure that out for myself, one way or another.

Though he was rarely one for words, I heard my sword whisper a reminder at the edge of my thoughts.

 _Whatever should happen, I will always protect you._

I closed my four eyes and nodded as the world went dark around me. I felt it now, like a touch on my skin—slight here in the day, but forever there, if only in the shadow trailing at my heels. I drew power from it now, breathing it in, and relaxed.

"Jaune?" Adam asked.

"Hm?" I looked at him, blinking. "Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought, I guess. But…I'm fine."

I shrugged one shoulder and smiled at him honestly.

"By the way, I forgot to ask…" I held my arms out to my sides and stood tall. "…How do I look?"

He stared at me for a long moment, considering—and then waggled his hand.

"You look like you're trying to hard, but it's not terrible," He said. "Could be worse."

I snorted.

"Well, I was about to tell you something cool," I said, turning and walking away. "But since you can't appreciate how awesome I am, I'm gonna go do stuff. Since Observe is being finicky, I'll just have to try and figure out what my mask does the old fashioned way. And I'll try and combine my wind affinity with stuff and see what I can come up with, too…"

"Meh," Adam said, following me.

"Yeah, I'm going to start with Far Strike. I wonder what happens if I over charge it? Oh! I wonder if I'll get to name another technique. If I do, I'll call it, uh…" I mulled over that for a bit before smiling. "Far Slayer. Or should I make it one word? Or maybe—"

I'm pretty sure Adam rolled his eyes again.

"Oh, shut up and tell me already."

I smirked at him.

"Well, I was thinking…if my Semblance can apply to stuff besides me…do you want to see if we can make a party?" I asked. "I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings for you and find you a place on Team Jaune. What do you say?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV19**

 **Title: Grimm Slayer**

 **HP: 1020/1020***

 **MP: 1830/1830***

 **STR: 31+19.2 (62%) = 50.2***

 **VIT: 33+20.5 (62%) = 53.5***

 **DEX: 29+18.9 (62%) = 47***

 **INT: 51+31.6 (62%) = 82.6***

 **WIS: 55+34.1 (62%) = 89.1***

 **LUK: 10***

 **Status: Metal Element Affinity 10, Air Element Affinity 35(?).**

 **POINTS: 19**

 **MONEY: 50100 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

4\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 16 - Party System

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Party System**

It turns out I _could_ make parties—and, yes, I really did name it Team Jaune. I'm the only one who can name it, which means I get to name it whatever I wanted, and I wanted Team Jaune. Really, Adam's just lucky I didn't name it something _embarrassing_.

"Invite Adam," I said clearly, a blue window suddenly appearing before the Faunus. He stared at it hard for a long minute before looking up at me as if to say 'really?' He still accepted, though, and thus was my first party made.

"What exactly is this supposed to accomplish?" He asked afterwards.

"It's mainly just to check to see if it works and what it does," I replied. "Let's see, first…Observe."

I brought up Adam's Status Screen and…well…

The dude was a monster, even for level forty-two. I mean, holy crap, if you add in the passive and active effects of Aura, all of his physical stats were over three digits, and closer to two hundred then not. I guess that's the type of thing you get when you're over level forty. Even if it had taken a lot out of him and half a minute to charge, he _had_ hit that Nevermore hard enough to do the equivalent of hundreds and hundreds of my own strikes in one attack.

I guess even now I still have a long way to go, huh?

"Can you see this?" I asked, gesturing at the screen and then called up my Status Screen. "Or this?"

"No," Adam said turning his head to look in that general direction, though he was off a few feet. "What are they?"

"I used my skill Observe to look at your status screen and pulled up my own," I explained. "But I guess you can't see it. Anything above my head?"

Adam glanced up and shook his head.

"Hm…" I said, frowning slightly. "Then…say 'Status Window.'"

"Status Window," He said, starting slightly when one appeared in front of him. "Huh. So this is really how you see the world, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much," I said. "When I want too, at least."

"All my stats are numbered and everything," He said, shaking his head slightly. I watched as he seemed to go down the list, occasionally nodding, titling his head to the side, or sighing. "I guess that makes sense. I'll keep these in mind while I'm training."

"Before that, though," I said. "Do you have an Inventory?"

He repeated the word but nothing appeared.

"Doesn't seem like it," He said, looking around.

"See if you can do anything with this, then," I reached into my own Inventory and drew out one of my spare skill books on driving. I tossed it to Adam, who caught it easy and appeared to wait for a second. I didn't see anything appear and it didn't seem like he did, either.

A part of me, an admittedly selfish and fairly large part, felt relieved at that, simply because if creating a party _had_ given him those powers, then given his existing skills and his level, I would be…

But on the other hand, it would have made this mission a breeze. I couldn't say I was upset that I couldn't give away the, well, the one thing that made me special, but I was aware of the situation as well. But if none of this worked, then…

"Interesting as it was to see my own stats," Adam began. "Making a party really doesn't seem to do much."

"Hold on a second," I said, frowning as I considered the possibilities. No, not possibilities—what I wanted were… "Party Options."

A new window appeared, with Adam's name filling one of the empty slots, along with the basic stuff like his HP, MP, and level. Below the slots were buttons for 'Settings,' 'Kick,' and 'Promote to Leader;' I had no interest in either of the latter, so I went to Settings. A glance at the options listed found me what I wanted and I tried to turn on 'Equal Distribution.'

 **Equal Distribution is not possible if your level difference is greater than 10.**

"Tch," I huffed. When I saw Adam, obviously with no clue what was going on, I explained. "I pulled up the option menu for our party and tried to turn on Equal Distribution so we'd each get half the experience from what we kill, but it says we can't do that if there's more than ten levels between us. I can't use it with Blake, either…stupid game balance."

I sighed.

"Well, there goes that plan."

"Plan?" Adam asked, tilting his head slightly before abruptly frowning. "Wait. Were you going to make me do all the work?"

"What?" I asked, scandalized. "No, no I would never—yes."

"And you were going to force me to fight a lot monsters while you…what? Stayed completely safe in the background and drank tea?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "I'd have provided emotional support. 'Go, Adam! Kill another thousand! You can do it!' That kind of thing."

"Oh, gee," He said. "So sad _that_ plan got ruined."

I chuckled.

"Yeah, well, me too," I said. "I guess now we have to go back to the original plan—I'll get into a lot of fights and you make sure to keep me nice and safe."

Adam grunted with displeasure.

"Hey, look on the Brightside," I shrugged, smiling. "You can probably get experience; if equal distribution was an option, you should get the normal amount when you kill Grimm on your own, exception that proves the rule and all. Given how high-leveled you are, you probably won't get much out of it, though, so save them for me unless you have to step in."

Adam grunted with what could have been either more _or_ less displeasure, but I ignored him this time.

"I have to wonder, though…if there's one for parties…" I pursed my lips. "Options."

I laughed loudly when a window appeared.

"Holy crap, I have an _Options_ Menu, Adam," I chuckled. "Let's see…'Gameplay,' 'Video,' 'Sound'…oh _God_."

I kept laughing as I looked over Gameplay. There wasn't a difficulty setting or anything like that, which was a little sad, but I guess there were limits even to powers as crazy as mine. However…

"Adam, say something," I demanded suddenly.

"What?"

I turned away from him, laughing my head off.

"I have _subtitles_ ," I managed to get out through my cackles.

"Seriously?" Adam said, sighing again, but I was busy bobbing my head to something only I could hear.

"Music, too," I said. "I guess it was on mute. It's not bad, though. Hm, but…yeah, I think I'll get tired of hearing it constantly. You ever get tired of the music in a game after thirty hours or so? Like that, but for me it would never stop. Could be useful, though. Subtitles, too, if it works on whispers and stuff. I wonder if my controls are in here somewhere? Could I make myself left-handed or something? Oh, or is there a third person option, maybe?"

"Jaune," Adam interrupted me before I could get too wrapped up in playing with my power. "Focus please."

I frowned at him but fixed my settings and closed the windows.

"Fine, fine, ruin my fun," I said, stretching slightly to get more comfortable in my armor. "Anyway, it's more limited then I might have hoped, but the party system is still pretty useful. Once I get strong enough, Blake and I can train together until we're close to your level, and then we can all benefit from it. Despite what you said, once we're all that strong farming Nevermore shouldn't be too horrible, right? I'll make a contract with an Air Elemental soon, so I should be able to ground the Nevermore more easily. If Blake and I run interference, buying you time to charge shouldn't be a problem and if I get _inside_ the Nevermore again, I should be able to just charge up a Magic Missile and poke a few holes in it. If Blake goes for the eyes and helps run it around, it shouldn't be _too_ hard to take it three on one, even if it's higher leveled. If it had more attack variety, that'd be one thing, but this is what happens when you've only got a few options, I guess. The Bigger they are—"

"Jaune," Adam stopped my rambling again, what was visible of his expression looking a tad grim.

I looked away, a part of me wishing I hadn't let go of the jovial atmosphere from before. I already knew what he was getting at. These were all long-term plans; even if I could fight Grimm regularly and trained as much as I could, I knew it would take a long time before I was at a high enough level for such a thing to be feasible. Depending on precisely how much this mission went to hell, I _might_ level up enough to partner with Blake, but getting up to level thirty-two was going to be a pain, I was sure. And this mission…it was getting closer all the time. Even accounting for the travel time and any delays that might occur, it would be over one way or another within two weeks.

And the sad part was that Adam and Blake were the closest things I'd had to friends since I'd been unable to follow anyone else to combat school. Not only that, but I'd told them both my secret and here they were making me as strong as they could. They had their own reasons for doing that, granted, and they were going to drag me into a world of danger now, but…it was also a fact that I wouldn't be this strong without them and I didn't regret helping them yet.

However, when this was over…

"What are you going to do after we save them?" I asked, looking up at the sky. The _night_ sky, I realized after a second; it was hard to tell with my mask and I hadn't even noticed the world getting darker.

"A bit early to talk like our victory's sure."

"You're right," I said, nodding without looking at him. "What are you going to do after this is over, assuming we don't die horribly at any of the dozens of times when we could."

Adam let out a chuckle but it died young.

"The same as before, I suppose."

"You don't think this will change anything?" I guessed, sighing.

"I think it'll change a great deal," He said. "I think it will save or improve the lives of many Faunus. I believe it will give hope to countless more. And I believe that's enough, or else I wouldn't be here. But do I think that this will change how the entire world treats us? That it will change the way those companies treat us? No."

"Because they don't care?" I said, remembering what he'd told me before.

"Because they don't care," He nodded. "But more than that, because they care more about other things. I'm sure countless people would find the actions of the Schnee Company and others like them horrible if you shoved it in their faces. But it's all but a world away, out of sight and out of mind with no effect on their lives except in a positive sense. People will speak about how horrible the treatment of the Faunus is on TV and online and too each other, but what will they _do_? What _can_ they do? In the end, I believe that, on the whole, people—and I mean _people_ , whether Human or Faunus—will do whatever makes their lives easier and better, just as companies will do whatever makes them the most profit."

He sighed deeply and seemed tired.

"And that's the problem. I told you before that I don't think most people hate Faunus; I'll extend that now. I don't even think most of the Schnee Dust Company hates Faunus. I don't even know if I believe the people in _charge_ of it hate Faunus. In fact, I think that if there was a way to make even more money that didn't involve the Faunus, the company would likely switch to that method in short order. Even on Atlas where the entire system seems set against the Faunus and where we're hated the most, I think that's mostly because the system was designed around it being profitable to businesses that supported Atlas in the aftermath of the Great War. They believe it's the best way to make more money. And the fact of the matter, the reasons why the peaceful protests and everything that was tried before didn't and won't work, is that they're right."

I listened quietly, a little surprised Adam was actually opening up about this. But I guess it must have been a sore subject for him—and maybe it was something he wanted to say while Blake wasn't around.

"Take the Schnee Company, for instance, since that's who we're up against. For so long, the White Fang attempted rallies and boycotts, but what did they hope to achieve? What did they believe a _boycott_ could do? Sure, the Schnee Company has its fingers in every pie, but in the end, their main product is Dust. Did they expect people to stop using _Dust_? When their homes are powered by it? When the food they eat is planted, grown, harvested, and made with machines that use it? When they drive in cars fueled by it, on roads made with its aid? When they can only even _have_ that because they live in a place where the Grimm were thrown back thanks to it? Even the _White Fang_ uses Dust, we just steal it sometimes instead of buying it. How do you boycott their product when _everything_ is made with their product? And if you could, would you want to?"

"No," I said, only because he paused long enough that I figured he expected a reply. "Life before Dust was…"

"Exactly. But then, what does it matter if you gather into crowds and hold up signs if, in the end, you're still giving them all your money? That's not going to stop anything, it's just going to be an annoying change in ambiance. That was the issue with the White Fang before—it didn't understand how things worked, not really. It tried it on a small scale and sometimes, yeah, sometimes it worked. But…restaurants that don't serve Faunus are a tiny symptom, at best, a product of larger factors, and such methods aren't going to work on groups that can ignore you out right. The fact of the matter is that the only way you're going to make people stop abusing Faunus is if you make it unprofitable, unacceptable, and inconvenient."

"That's why the White Fang turned to violence," I said, understanding. "As another way of increasing the cost of business. Places that didn't serve Faunus were faced with greater costs for rejecting them, so they let them in. Stealing and destroying the products of places that abused Faunus employees, raising costs. Because if the cost of doing business that way gets too high, people will find a cheaper method."

"Yes," Adam nodded. "All the protests in the world won't change companies like the Schnee, because you can say they're methods are horrible and immoral and heartless, but it doesn't matter unless you can say they don't work or that there's a way that'd work better. And you can say the White Fang's actions are awful and terrifying, but you can't say they haven't worked, either. People do treat Faunus better because of us."

"Because they fear you, not because they respect you," I said. "Wouldn't it be better if they changed because they wanted to? Because they believed you were truly their equals?"

"Yes," He said immediately. "But it's better than not being treated equally at all. People have treated us like animals for as long as anyone can remember. They tried to cast us out and lock us up in a place they even named 'Menagerie.' We fought a _War_ until we were promised equality and _still_ didn't get it. Being treated equally because people thought we should be would be ideal—but it hasn't happened yet and history suggests it won't happen any time soon. The White Fang…it's not a perfect solution, but it's the one we've got. What would you have done, if you'd been born a Faunus?"

I thought about it silently for several long seconds before closing my eyes with a sigh.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "I'd like to think I'd be able to find another way, but nothing springs to mind right now. But…I'd probably fight, if I could. If it was my family being treated that way, my friends, my people…I'd fight, like my parents would fight."

Adam just nodded easily.

"Blake wants to help people and she wants to change the White Fang," Adam said easily, like he'd known all along—which he probably had, actually. "She wants to find another way, a peaceful way, to set an example for others to follow and believe in. Even if she hates what humans do, she doesn't want to hurt them, either. And I'm glad that despite _everything_ , she can still hold onto that. I respect her for having beliefs and sticking to them and all the more so for those beliefs to be kind in a world that makes it so easy to be cruel. But I can't believe in what she does. I just don't think it will work. I think that the only way things will truly change is if we fight."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I just nodded.

"When this is over," I said. "I'll probably do the same thing as before, too. I want to get stronger. I'm going to become a Huntsman and protect people, Human and Faunus alike. That's why I'm here on this mission and…even if our paths diverge from here on, I'm glad I got to be friends with you, Blake, and Tukson—and I don't want to stop being friends just because we walk different paths. I'm glad that I could just talk about this with all of you, to have chance to understand. And I…while I can't refute what you said and I can't think of a solution yet, I _want_ to. So I'll keep looking for a way, even if it's naïve. Even if it seems hopeless, I'll fight for it as well. With my power…I'll get smarter and wiser and even luckier, until I can find a way. Even if there's a fight or a war, I'll…"

Adam smiled at me, tilting his head slightly my way.

"You'll need to be a lot stronger then you are now if you want to do something like that, idiot," He said, ruining both my cool speech and the moment.

"That's why I'm _training_ , dumbass," I replied, shaking my head and muttering under my breath.

"You're not training right now," Adam pointed out. "If you really want to get stronger, then _get to work_. I still owe you for that ride in the Bullhead."

 **XxXXxX**

The forests around Vale were home to a number of different types of monsters and I knew them all on sight. Being the son of two famous Hunters, I'd grown up hearing about the Grimm, even before I'd had to sit through lecture after lecture at school about it. I knew about the Beowolves and the Ursa, the Nevermore and the Boarbatusks, all of them—and I'd heard what must have been a thousand stories about how to fight them and kill them.

Nonetheless, my first day of fighting them myself proved to be a learning experience for me in a number of ways.

For instance, it was often wondered—in schoolyards, at least—which Grimm were the most dangerous. Kids would get together and talk about the Grimm and Hunters and the topic of who was strongest inevitably seemed to come up and I'd always been dragged into it because of my parents. And there were a lot of obvious answers for the former, mainly the greater creatures of Grimm far from civilization. But excluding the truly massive monsters that were thankfully rare this close to civilization as well as the uncommon monstrosities like the Giant Nevermore or the Deathstalekrs, who did you need to worry the most about while wandering the woods at night?

We'd never come to an agreement, but today I found out for myself. My usual luck had held true—leaving me to yet again wonder if it qualified as good or bad luck—and I'd stumbled across the Grimm shortly after Adam faded into the shadows, presumably to watch over me. The first creature I ran into was an Ursa, a powerfully built creature with a level in the upper-twenties and massive strength even for that level.

Yet there was another thing I'd realized about the Grimm. As creatures without souls, they had no Aura to protect them or give them strength—which was another way of saying that anything they did, they did with sheer strength, speed, and durability. That monstrous power was something to keep in mind when fighting them, especially when you're fighting them with your _hands_ like I was.

But despite all that, I'd torn that Ursa to pieces. Literally, to pieces. It had taken a lot of punishment before going down and it could hit hard, but it didn't have any special powers or amazing speed or any real range. I could Lunge in and out of its reach or withdraw and shoot at it from a distance until it went down and there was nothing it could do about it. It was the same story as the fallen Nevermore, really; so what if you're bigger than me and stronger than me if I can just kite you to death? If I can hit you and you can't hit me back, that pretty much means I win by default if I can actually keep it up.

Furthermore, most of the local Grimm hunted alone, without others of their kind to compensate for such weaknesses, at least most of the time. Ursa were usually solitary creatures and only rarely seen in groups of more than two, although even that was a relatively uncommon thing to see. The same was true of the Boarbatusk I'd found later and even of the King Taijitu—which I'd thankfully avoided, nonetheless—though I supposed they kept themselves company. Although there were murders of the Giant Nevermore in the harsh wilds and the Nemeans to the West, they were kept from approaching civilization in such large groups, which meant that most of the Grimm within a stone's throw of Vale were Lone Wolves.

Except for, ironically, the wolves—which was why I'd say that the Beowolves were the most dangerous of the lesser Grimm around Vale. They weren't as strong as an Ursa. They weren't as durable as a Boarbatusk. They couldn't run as fast as the Nevermore could fly. On the whole, they were probably among the weakest creatures of Grimm in this part of the world.

But they traveled in packs of twenty to forty.

I ran through the woods, the wolves at my heels. I was pretty sure I wasn't truly in any danger with Adam watching over me, but that didn't necessarily mean I was enjoying the experience. Despite their relative weakness—if you could even call thirty-six creatures from level seventeen to twenty-three being led by an Alpha at twenty-nine _weak_ —they moved like a well-oiled machine. If my mask hadn't made the night so clear, I wouldn't have even been able to see the creatures stalking me or even hear them. If not for my power and my training, I'd probably be dead by now, too. Individual 'weakness' aside, they had great strength in numbers.

I guess I admired that, a little bit. Now that I could create parties, I wanted one that could move that smoothly together—no, even more smoothly. But for now, I was being hunted by a group of monsters that moved swiftly, silently, and in eerie unison. I was pretty sure I was stronger than any one of them, including the Alpha, but I wasn't so sure it would matter if I let myself get caged in right.

I focused on what was ahead of me, relying on my other senses—and my skills—to keep track of my hunters. If nothing else, running for my life was a good way to train Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality, as well as develop my skills, old and new, such as Sense Danger and Detect Bloodthirst.

 **In response to sensing an overwhelming amount of bloodlust, you unlocked the skill 'Detect Bloodthirst.'**

 **Detect Bloodthirst (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%**

 **An instinctive ability to sense bloodlust directed at the user. Detects bloodlust within 30 meters of the users location and alerts the user to its origin.**

Detect Bloodthirst was one of the new ones—and one I was somewhat glad to develop, alongside Sense Danger. The abilities were similar and complimentary, though it had taken me awhile to truly get a feel for the distinction. Detect Danger told me when someone was attacking me; Detect Bloodthirst told me when someone _wanted_ to, within a certain range. Better yet, it alerted me to the location of the source, and if I kept track of it mentally, I could almost make a map in my head of where they were, even without looking. With my INT above fifty now, it was easy enough, especially since they were following me. By tracking bloodlust and responding to impending danger as I sensed it, I could keep ahead of the pack and monitor them.

The original range of the ability had been about thirty meters, but it was a passive ability, meaning I could train it by simply using it—such as, oh, by detecting the horde of monsters hunting me—and I'd been doing so a lot. Sense Danger improved, similarly, by sensing attacks. With my armor putting a constant strain on my body and the boost my Aura, itself boosted by Mana Affinity, gave to all my physical stats, I could train the two enormously useful abilities and my stats this way, while also getting experience. Though, honestly, I thought I deserved some Crafting experience for manufacturing my own silver lining, too.

I felt something stir—a rise in bloodlust, a flash of impending danger—and twisted out of the way as a rush of black and white came towards me, teeth and claws flashing at my face, my throat. If I hadn't had prior warning, it probably would have hit me, but instead I danced back a step, even as I felt other surges rise, the pack responding as one. The original attack meant to slow me for a moment, one way or another, followed by the others surrounding me, hedging me in. The first attacker overstretched; a sacrifice for the sake of the pack.

Even knowing that, I accepted it. I reached out and grasped its throat, felt flesh break and burst beneath my enhanced strength and slick blood flowing over Crocea Mors. In that moment, I calmly observed the forest around me and accepted it as probably the best I was going to get. I wasn't afraid of this fight, but I'd have preferred it to be in a situation where it'd be easier to withdraw and still have a clear shot at a distance. Instead, I was in the part of the forest where the trees remained close together, roots breaking the ground and leaving footing treacherous; yet another thing to watch out for.

If not for my mask, I wouldn't be able to move so freely in the forest at all, but even though I could see clearly, it just meant I could better see the set up the Beowolves were running. Besides the one who had attacked me, six others were in sight and closing in—clear dangers meant to surround me or, failing that, draw my attention. The rest moved through what would have been the shadows, using trees and cover to break lines of sight and attack as they further surround me, a trap closing in.

I considered that carefully, but briefly, drawing a deep breath.

Then I roared again, probably catching the attention of everything within a mile. But the wave of terrifying sound fulfilled its purpose and I sensed bloodlust flicker for just an instant, clear and sharp in my head—

 **By repeatedly instilling fear in others, you unlocked the skill 'Intimidate.'**

I ignored the window for now as the Beowolves, heartless creatures of Grimm, were only momentarily paused by the sound. I took advantage of it all the same, pointing a finger at the nearest.

"Magic Bullet," I said clearly and a white candle flame carved a hole in the fell creature's chest even as it tried to dodge. I followed behind it, Lunging into the creature as it attempted to flee the first attack, bladed fingers sinking deeply into the open wound. I slipped fingers between ribs, grabbed ahold, and tore a hole out of the front of the creature's chest with the Jaws of the Tiger. I sensed danger from three directions and turned towards the nearest, ducking low under a strike aimed for my head, grabbing the creature by the ankle and breaking it even as I pulled its leg out from under it, stepping away and dismissing it as an immediate threat.

The second attack came in the form of a charge, a blow aimed to knock me back and off balance rather than kill, which was to be left for another attacker. The Beowolves had reacted quickly to my counterattack, positions shifting at the edge of my thoughts, but I focused on the fight before me, right hand reaching out to touch the rushing creature's shoulder. I turned with the force spinning out of the way of the attack by using the creatures own power as a base, blades hissing against boney plates as the creature ended up rushing passed me. The third Grimm came on the heels of its brother, running upright. I sensed the attack before my eyes could even focus on it and jumped back from it, but the Beowolves weren't new to this and it jumped with me.

We met in midair and I felt claws slide up my armor and then across my face before catching it by its throat and tearing it out with the blunt fingers of my left hand. We hit the ground in a tangle of limbs as the Beowolf sought to hold me down even as its life's blood slipped away, dying to enable the rest of the pack. I fought against its death throes, throwing it free, but other Grimm were already upon me, claws and fangs coming down—

"Razor Wind," I snarled quickly, clawing at the air. There was a distortion, a shift, and the Grimm were flung. I came to my feet quickly, reaching out with my senses to find all the bloodlust being directed at me, checking it against my memory of the forest around me. A glance to the side showed me my MP bar, basic division told me how many attacks I had in me, and Wisdom and Intelligence together plotted a path.

I had to be careful both in situations like this and in what may be to come. Bai Hu's art gave me tremendous power—but only for a short time. The idea was to give yourself such power that you could destroy anything in your path in that time frame and maybe that had even been the case for Bai Hu, but for me…I had to make every blow count, stretch things out as much as possible, and use all of my advantages. With my power, I could make up for weaknesses with other strengths, like I was trying to do with Sense Danger and Detect Bloodthirst now and my other combat skills. Still using short bursts of power, but with precise application and between other attacks.

For now, this was the way I needed to fight, because it was the only method I could use to fight at this level. It should be enough as I shouldn't _need_ to fight if things went well—which they almost certainly wouldn't, granted—and all I needed to do was make it through whatever I was faced with until Adam and Blake could assist, if it came to that.

But since my luck was so amazing, I was trying to extend my fighting ability as much as possible. All I needed to do was buy time or escape or, if neither of those were possible, make an opening.

Kind of like this one.

Thirty-four targets, I thought even as I moved in a Lunge, landing atop one of the downed Beowolves. I slid the clawed finger of my right hand in at an angle, driving it deep under its ribcage, up towards a heart I seized tightly in my hands and tore free as I moved away, flipping in the air to land behind another creature that had been charging at me, before landing a smashing blow to the back of its neck and bearing down hard to crush it.

Six more were reachable in a single bound and died swiftly, but then it got more complicated. In ideal conditions, I could have gone from one to another in Lunge after Lunge. With the power of the White Tiger, the boosts from other skills, the Grimm Slayer title, and Crocea Mors making my claws diamond hard despite being razor thin, I could take down a Beowolf with one good hit, but conserving energy was the issue. With Razor Wind and Magic Bullet as they were now, it wasn't yet possible to kill opponents of this level with one hit yet, either, so I couldn't use them to cheaply slay hard to reach opponents until I trained more. I had to make do with conventional jumps or, when they didn't work, expensive Lunges.

In this case I had to use the latter to get in position fast enough. I bounced off one tree to make a normal leap to another before falling hard in the midst of eleven more of them, just a slight ways away from the Alpha. I roar again and the sound caused the Beowolves to reflexively draw away—and then they died, fast and brutally. I crushed and tore out organs, throats, and whatever else I could get a hold of, flying between them with the speed of my Air Aura as I ripped them to pieces. I kept an eye on my steadily depleting MP bar all the while, flashing between trees, back across to the other side, hunting the Grimm down one by one until my MP was close to depleted and only the Alpha remained.

I'd done the math and taken some guesses and I wasn't going to be able to take the much large Alpha down in one shot the normal way, but I had the choice of either killing him and leaving a dozen little Beowolves around or taking out all the small fries with maybe just enough left over for this. I'd put all the distance between us that I could and now I took a deep breath and gathered what I had left.

My Magic Missile began forming in my hands and I counted the seconds, feeling the bloodlust of the Alpha rising to a boil in the wake of his pack's slaughter—but he didn't back off. The Grimm weren't ones to run from a fight, even when they were outmatched; I didn't know why. Maybe they were too feral to. Maybe they were fanatics to whatever strange cause motivated them. Maybe they knew something I didn't. But I felt it moving, circling me slowly in the dark before acting, buying me a second.

But then it charged me. Again, I wasn't sure if it somehow knew I needed time to prepare my attack or if it had gone completely feral, but it didn't matter; it charged and I held my ground. I could take one hit, I was pretty sure, I just had to stand my ground and make the shot, whether before or after it attacked.

I met its eyes, drew back a hand, and readied myself as it closed the distance with inhuman speed. It approached with enough force that I could _feel_ its footsteps, but I didn't back down. I was at five seconds when it closed in upon me, swinging one massive arm at my head. I lifted my free arm to block reflexively and Crocea Mors held without a problem, but with the last of my Aura drawn into my next attack, I thought I felt my arm break down at the elbow, passed the covering material of my ancestral 'sword.'

I ignored that as unimportant and threw my attack, bolt of light tearing a hole larger then my head in the Grimm's chest right where its heart would be and then I threw myself back before it could hit me again in its death throes. It turned out there was no need, because it didn't so much as twitch, then, but looked at me with red eyes as I backed away, the bloodlust I'd been keeping track of all this time abruptly fading, even before it died. It watched me that way, in total, unreadable silence, as the last of its life fell away and I had no idea why.

But when it finally died, I exhaled and straightened, looking around.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **You have defeated 50 enemies with the ancient arts of Bai Hu! You've obtained the title 'The Tiger'!**

 **You have defeated 50 Grimm! You've obtained the title 'Amateur Huntsman'!**

"That was close," Adam said, abruptly behind me. My heart tried to jump out of my mouth before the Gamer's Mind put it back in its proper place. "I thought I was going to have to step in there at the end."

"I thought so, too," I said, looking over his shoulder with a shrug. "But it was a good test for me, so I know what needs to be improved. The little guys aren't a problem individually anymore, though, and the big guys I can play dirty against and kill in transit. It's just groups that are an issue and the ones strong enough to wear me out."

"Human opponents are different," He stated. "We have more options than they do, thanks to Aura and Dust, and that's how we drove them back in the Great War. You won't be able to win just by staying a few steps ahead or climbing a tree."

I shrugged and smiled at the barb—hey, so what if it wasn't the most dignified approach? It had worked on that Boarbatusk.

"I know," I said aloud. "Ranged attacks, Semblances, Dust…dealing monsters is easy, but dealing with people is hard, whether you're fighting or not, huh? But that's why I'm training, isn't it?"

Adam snorted.

I glanced up at the sky and judged that it was probably getting brighter outside, because it seemed to be getting darker to me. Then I looked down at myself, drenched with sweat in exhaustion that I couldn't use my Aura to ignore anymore.

"Give me a bit to see if they dropped anything and meditate and I'll get back to work," I said, shoulders hunching slightly at the weight I was only now truly feeling. "Let's give it another hour and head on back, okay?"

Adam didn't reply, looking over my shoulder quietly. I followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow at what I saw, walking over to my opponent's corpse.

"I'm pretty lucky today…maybe?" I wondered aloud. "I figured there'd probably be more, but none of the others dropped them…"

 **You have obtained 6000 Lien!**

 **You have obtained the item 'Lycaon.'**

 **By collecting two Grimm Masks, you have begun a quest!**

 **What Lies Beneath—What Is Hidden?**

 **Slay might examples of the creatures of Grimm to receive their fell Masks. Bring together all of the Masks to proceed. No time limit.**

 **Completion Reward: ?**

 **Failure: ?**

I frowned down at the Beowolf mask in my hands.

"Um," I said. "Maybe later."

 **XxXXxX**

5\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 17 - Checklist

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Checklist**

I landed the Bullhead in the same place we'd left from and it was only slightly worse for wear, which seemed kind of miraculous, all things considered. Blake was already there waiting for us, reading a book by the door to our acting headquarters on the docks.

"Welcome back," She said as we left the aircraft, closing and putting away the book. "I take it everything went well?"

"Can't complain," I said, walking passed her. She wrinkled her nose as I did, so I probably didn't smell so great. "Crashed the Bullhead into everything I could, got chased and eaten by a Giant Nevermore, fought some Grimm, was hunted by a pack of Beowolves, gained some levels. It was fun."

Blake stared at me, then at Adam.

"He's not joking," He said. "Except maybe about the fun part and even then I'm not sure. He's kind of insane."

Blake frowned, looking between the two of us. Adam didn't say anything more but I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.

Blake paused for a long moment before gritting her teeth and shaking her head, moving on.

"And his training?" Blake asked Adam, looking away from me. Adam gave me what I guessed was a pondering glance, frowning slightly.

"He's gotten stronger quickly," He said after a moment. "At this rate, it should be enough if—"

"When," I corrected.

Adam thought about that for a moment before nodding agreeably.

"— _When_ something goes wrong," He corrected. "There are still a few things that could use improvement, though. Pick up some books on boxing, dancing, sports, and any other martial arts books you can get. Anything that could create passive skills is worth the investment, even if it's not a huge improvement, and he could use more options for when he can't afford to use Bai Hu's techniques."

I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Blake.

"We don't have any other ancient magical martial arts if that's what you're wondering," She stated. "But it should be simple enough to get a hold of a few close combat books, though getting something you can absorb might take some looking. I'll handle it."

"Cool," I drew out the word and did some karate chops on the air while shifting my body as if to music, before stopping at the look Blake gave me and withdrawing my scroll from my Inventory. "I'll be lord of the battlefield _and_ lord of the dance—though I assure you, my moves don't need much help in that regard. You get what we needed, Blake?"

She looked at me impassively as I checked over her results, whistling appreciatively.

"Guess we aren't the only ones who brought home some treasure," I said. "Emails and passwords…you have time to check through them yet?"

"I saw a few emails that looked promising, but I didn't want to accidentally do something that'd give us away," She answered evenly. "I figured you'd know best if you saw what we wanted, besides."

"Shifting through emails unnoticed isn't that hard, actually; I'll show you later. But yeah, I'll look through it. Since it's unlikely they'll change email accounts anytime soon, we can use these to monitor the company for a while, too, though only what passes through these public emails. Still, as you can see, that's more than a bit." I replied absently as I flicked through pages, opening new tabs as needed. "It wasn't hard to get any of this, was it?"

Blake shook her head.

"The email accounts were easy to get into, since they had their passwords saved, though figuring out what their passwords actually were took a bit more effort. But usually, it was just a matter of figuring out one password and most of those," She nodded at my scroll. "Had files on their computers or notes. I'll go back and look at the others, if I have to."

"I'll show you a few more tricks if needed, but this should be enough," I mused. "Oh, there's even a list here about who to contact for what on the airship project."

Blake sighed.

"It's almost depressing how easy it was," She said scornfully. "Even more so because it would probably work on the White Fang, too."

I chuckled at that, shrugging.

"Hey, it's good for us, right?"

"Yes," She looked at me silently and then raised an eyebrow. "You said you found something as well?"

I grinned, reaching into my Inventory to withdraw Dreary Midnight and Lenore. I pulled them out with a swirl of the former, just for the sake of looking cool, slipping on the mask while my face was hidden and then settling the cloak around my bare shoulders and clasping it at my throat swiftly. As the cloak settled, I crossed my arms and stared at Blake with my four eyes, an awaiting eyebrow raised beneath my mask.

Blake tilted her head at me and furrowed her eyebrows, look surprised and confused by the two item and turned to Adam, apparently untouched by my transformation sequence.

"Is that a Nevermore Mask?"

"Yes," Adam said. "An _actual_ one, from the Giant Nevermore we killed and he has another from an Alpha Beowolf. His power can form items from defeated opponent, or at least Grimm—objects with magical powers and special effects. It's a game thing."

That last part was said in response to a confused, disbelieving look on Blake's face. She paused then, looking like she was about to say something, but then appeared to bit down upon it and shook her head.

"Money, too," I added, because she hadn't been impressed by my efforts. I drew the money out of nowhere and fanned Lien like playing cards so she could see. "We'll need to check if they're counterfeit, but I'm already pretty sure they're not."

Blake's bow twitched but Adam spoke before she could say anything.

"I suggested adding another layer to his disguise once we found out about it," He said. "And making some additions to your previous work."

Blake raised an eyebrow questioningly and Adam pointed a thumb at me.

"Jian," He said. "Symbol on the back."

She tilted her head, squinted at me, and then nodded.

"It could work," She agreed. "And if it did, it would make it that much harder to learn of his true identity, as well as divert attention from any inconsistencies that arise. If we stay silent on the matter, act right…but can he play the part?"

"I think so," Adam nodded. "He's been training all the related skills relentlessly and he's earned several titles recently as well, like 'The Tiger.' I'll explain that to you later, but effectively, it makes him better at using Bai Hu's style."

I nodded in agreement.

"'The Tiger' will help a lot," I said. "And I think there are further titles I can get, but they probably require mastering the other skills. I'm working towards the next one and I'll get there eventually, but I don't know if it'll be before or after this mess is over. Still, with the boosts I've gotten recently from my new skills and wardrobe, I think I can fake it pretty well. No one else knows the style as well as I do, after all, even if I'm far from mastering it."

 **The Tiger**

 **Obtained by defeating fifty opponents with the techniques of an ancient martial art. You have at last become a warrior of Bai Hu! Train hard to further improve your mastery!**

 **40% increase the damage of White Tiger techniques.**

 **40% increase to the defense granted by White Tiger techniques.**

 **20% decrease in the cost of White Tiger techniques.**

"You mentioned your…" She gestured vaguely at me. " _Items_ have powers, too? Are they infused with Dust?"

I shrugged.

"I don't think so?" I said. "I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we could get Dust drops from Grimm, but these things seem to be powered by…whatever powers the Grimm, maybe? I honestly have no idea how it works. But hey, it can still fit with the shirtless image thing, if I need it to. Look!"

I shifted how the cloak settled slightly and drew up the hood so that it and the mask hid most of my head but left it clear my upper body would have been bare, but for my armor.

"Since it doesn't have anything like sleeves, it's fairly easy to use it like a large cape," I said. "And I can also us my Inventory to do this—"

I took off the cloak and pushed it into to the equipment screen beside my Inventory, causing it to suddenly appear tied around my waist with a belt and falling down to brush my ankles and shins.

"For when I need to display my magnificent body," I finished gesturing at my chest, from which my armor had vanished. After the problems not being able to remove my armor on the fly had caused me, I'd realized a solution—it was equipment and I had an equipment screen. As such, it didn't matter if it would be _practical_ to put on or take off my items, did it? I wasn't certain I could do it _in_ battle, since some games didn't allow that, but shifting stuff to and from my Inventory or Equipment screens wasn't a problem.

Blake shifted her gaze from where it had faded into the air to where it now hung and stared.

"It should be longer than that," She stated, looking at the cloak that had covered my entire body moments before.

"One size fits all, Blake," I said, Adam nodding sagely. We could both see this irritated here. "In games, that is."

"And your armor…"

"Ah, Blake, game characters don't put on their pants," I said, shaking my head with a smile, Adam joining me. "They just equip them!"

I did just that, taking off my armored leggings by replacing them with my jeans.

"I can change my pants without even having to look down," I stated with proud superiority as she continued to stare. "Which makes me better then _all of you_ , by the way."

Blake took a deep breath and held it for several seconds before opening her mouth, shutting it with a click, and then slowly exhaling.

"Don't worry Blake, He's wrong about that part," Adam chimed in. "He loses any of the points he gets for that by owning and wearing a bunny onesie."

"No, see, _you're_ wrong—that makes me even _more_ superior!"

Adam shrugged at Blake.

"I told you," He said evenly. "Insane."

Blake was silent for another second, blinking once, twice.

"It's been a long, _long_ night," She said, turning away. "So I'm going to bed now. Goodbye."

"Wait, Blake," I said, becoming serious again. I gestured at her with the scroll when she looked back at me. "Thank you again for this. With this, we'll be able to move into the final stages of preparation. It's almost time so just hold on for a little longer and then we'll go save them. We'll _win_. I just need to handle a few more things, okay?"

One of Blake's hidden ears twitched and she nodded once before turning and continuing her walk. When she was gone, I took a deep breath and sighed, glancing up at the stars.

It wasn't a lie. The amount of time until the end of the mission hadn't changed, but from now on, it was just hard, repetitive work. We'd done what needed to be done, now we were just making last minute arrangements. The rest of my training would take some time and putting the finishing touches on our plan wouldn't be possible until we had all the information we needed, but really…this was it. We were going to do this and whether we would win or lose, return or die, I had no idea.

But we weren't going to turn back now. And I had no intention of losing. I'd stack the deck as far as I could in my favor and I'd keep my promises—to my father, to Blake, and to Adam. I'd _make_ what we had be enough, do everything I could, and come back home.

There were only a few things left to do now.

"Hey, Adam."

"Hm?"

"You wanna play some minigames?"

 **XxXXxX**

Since Blake seemed to have had enough of us and probably did need the sleep, Adam and I swung by Tukson's place which had just opened. Tukson had evidently gotten a full night's rest and looked upbeat, which seemed to irritate Adam on general principle, but I did the talking and told him what we'd need and he said he'd ask around. He had a few books on hand that were worthwhile and gave them to me, though, so I absorbed them and headed into battle.

Well, that's what I'd like to say. Something that could get a bit jarring once you did away with sleep is the fact that everyone else in the world kept on doing it and steadfastly refused to conform their schedules to your connivance at all hours of the day or night. As such, we scoped out the field of battle and it was closed, so we sat in the parking lot awkwardly for a minute and then went to my place, where Adam himself went to sleep. For my part, I did what I always did when I found myself alone and with nothing to do and went back into the woods to train. I did my thing while the sun crawled through the sky, shifted through the email accounts Blake had gotten, sent a message to her scroll, went out to Tukson's sometime after noon when Tukson messaged my scroll and told me he'd found some, went back to training, and waited for it to be time.

But _then_ , we rushed valiantly to the field of battle.

Which, admittedly, would have been more impressive if we hadn't done it in a kind of junky car the White Fang had supplied.

And if said field of battler hadn't been, well, a club.

"The Xiong family has a lot of power, here in Vale," Adam said calmly, for once without his mask. "The Mother and Father run the businesses—and the gang—but it's a family business of sorts and they've been providing their son with more and more responsibilities as of late."

"You know them?"

He shrugged.

"Somewhat, though mainly the parents," He elaborated. "But they get around and the family doesn't have any issues dealing with Faunus. Try and be polite and remember the rule."

"Which rule is that?" I asked. "There are a bunch of rules."

He pointed at me and spoke with a tone that was entirely serious, even as his lips twitched upwards.

"Sometimes the toes you step on today are connected to an ass you'll have to kiss tomorrow. The Xiong family has a lot of power and a lot of pull; if you find you need something, knowing how to ask could smooth things over. Give them cause to hate you, things could get more complicated in the future. Don't mess with them if you don't want to deal with it later and remember that there are three of them, each more dangerous than the last. They're like the Gruffs."

"Seriously?" I asked. " _You're_ telling _me_ that?"

Adam snorted.

"Just keep it in mind," He said. "It shouldn't be a problem for you one way or another given you're disguised, but it could cause the White Fang some trouble down the line."

I hummed my understanding, tugging at the collar of my borrowed shirt. Even beyond the theoretical risks of wearing my own clothes into such a place and possibly getting noticed somehow later, I just didn't really have a whole lot of dressy clothes. I'd given some money to Adam when it was my turn to take a shower, though, and he'd come back with a red shirt and black slacks pretty much exactly like his own—which I probably should have anticipated. They didn't fit right, either, but I shrugged and used my Equipment Screen to size them up and we'd headed out. More importantly then the clothing, it had confirmed the cash we'd gotten was, at the very least, not immediately recognizable as fake.

As for the rest of me, I was in a throw away disguise, with red hair and brown eyes. It was new, but easy to apply since I'd been grinding my Disguise skill constantly the last few days. Not only did it make my disguises better, but it reduced the time it took to apply them by a percentage—currently forty-seven percent—which was a godsend where using makeup and such was concerned. I had to wonder what would happen once, or if, the percentage reached one hundred, though.

"I got it. Anything else you want to tell me about before we go in there?" I asked.

"Drink responsibly," Adam replied immediately.

I snorted.

"I don't drink," I said. "I'm underage, remember? And driving."

"So?" Adam asked, opening the door and stepping outside before leaning down to look at me. "You could fake it easy enough and I'm a little doubtful Hei Xiong would care even if you couldn't. Besides, if we're talking about things you're not supposed to be doing, I think you have a few things you might want to worry about before you get down to 'drinking a year or two early,' not least of which being the fact that you're driving without a license. Besides, a week or two from now…"

I made a face at him as I followed him out of the car.

"I might be dead?" I asked. "To hell with that; I told you before that I wouldn't let that happen. We're all coming back fine— _all_ of us—so I'm not going to start drinking out of some fear that this might be it or something. Don't start worrying about stupid stuff now, idiot."

He chuckled.

"It was just a joke," He replied, gesturing dismissively as he walked towards the club. "Or an excuse if you wanted. And maybe I just want to see you drunk as hell."

"You _do_ realize that odds are good the first time I start drinking, I'll probably get some skill to resist the effects, right?" I pointed out sourly. "That's part of why I don't want to drink over something stupid."

"You'd rather celebrate?" He guessed.

I considered that before nodding slowly.

"Yeah," I said. "In fact, how about this—if you want to see me drunk, we'll come back after the mission to celebrate our victory. You, me, Blake, anyone who was involved and wants to come; we'll come here again to celebrate later, since this trip is for business."

"After we get back, we'll all need to lay low for a while," He said. "And it'll take time to integrate the…refugees into Vale."

"It doesn't have to be immediately," I shrugged. "But let's celebrate our victory at some point. It'll be fun; if you're lucky, maybe I'll let you bask in the brilliance of my killer dance moves."

"Another reason to stay alive, then," Adam snorted as we reached the club and entered. I felt the steady pulse of music almost before I heard it and saw lights flashing a moment later, and then we were walking down a staircase towards a tide of moving bodies and flashes. "I need to speak with Hei Xiong about a few things first so go do something."

"Like what?" I questioned skeptically, looking around.

"Even if you can't drink, you should at least be old enough to amuse yourself," He said, pushing me away. "Go work on your 'killer dance moves' or something."

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm an amazing dancer? My mom taught me," I shouted back over the music. It was hard to hear anything, but I'm pretty sure he laughed.

With my pride thusly wounded, I did go dancing just to show him, sliding deeper into the crowd until I found a place with some elbow room.

And then I started dancing and quickly felt eyes on me.

 **XxXXxX**

By the time Adam returned, the people on the dance floor had made a clearing around me and the poor fool who had decided to test me. By the time I noticed Adam's silent, expressionless presence at the edge of the circle, I was just wrapping things up. I slipped seamlessly from a series of windmills into one of flares, then air flares, before adding an extra hundred-eighty degrees to the turns to land on my shoulders instead of my hands, throwing myself back up into the air, before transitioning back into a normal air flare while using only one hand, before using it to throw myself fully into the air, spin, and land on my feet, just to be mean.

I walked away from my opponent without even looking back, staring hard at my friends.

"Hey," I said, nodding with a smile. "You finish what you needed?"

Adam frowned at me, seeming properly told as we followed one of Hei's men into the back of the club, but said nothing. I didn't look at him, but I was smiling smugly.

"I _told_ you I could dance," I said, feeling superior. "I haven't had many chances to dance lately, but I could have gotten that skill any time. The books helped, I admit, as did the skill—and I probably couldn't have done that last bit without my improved stats—but I am an _awesome_ dancer."

Adam shook his head before gesturing in concession.

"What was with the dance-off, though?" He asked.

"Uh…" I frowned and looked over my shoulder in the direction of the dance floor. "I honestly don't know. I think the guy was drunk and trying to impress a girl. Feel kind of bad for him, but if you step to an Arc on the dance floor, that's what you get. I will crush you and make you _cry_ if you challenge me."

Because for a long time, it'd been the only thing I was good at, I left unsaid.

Adam let that statement wash over him, face expressionless as he gave me a flat look, and then shook his head.

"Yeah, okay," He said and kept walking. "I spoke to Hei Xiong and cleared everything for you. Do you think this will work?"

"Well," I hesitated. "Maybe? You figure if anything would, it'd be this. The real question is, 'if it does work, what will happen?'"

Adam grunted as we finally reached the back, passing through after the man we were following passed the guard something—and it was like walking into a completely different world. We crossed over the threshold and the music from the dance floor was shut out instantly the moment the door closed. The bright, flashing, multicolored lights of the front were gone and the room was well lit and easy on the eyes, with comfortable looking seats and a variety of tables, each with at least one of Hei Xiong's suited men at them.

There were cards on the tables and chips and wheels. Along one wall were set a series of slot machines, with several seats occupied and colored lights flashing. There was the presence of low chatter all throughout the room, though it wasn't anywhere near packed this early in the evening. I saw a few people glance our way, but then their eyes slide right over us and they went back to their games. Only the men who worked here seemed interested at all and even then it was only absently so.

"Blake said she needed a few hours to get what you needed," Adam said and I nodded silently. I'd found must of what I needed in the emails but there were, as ever, a few fiddly bits. I'd been able to call up several employees and ask about some basic stuff like the scheduling, but Blake was out getting a few other things. "After that, she said she'd meet us here."

"Good," I said. "When she arrives, we'll start sketching out the basics of our plan. We have almost everything we need. I just figured…well, maybe there was one last thing we could use if we're gonna pull this off, just in case."

"A shitload of luck?" Adam supplied.

I shrugged, a tad embarrassed.

"Yeah, I guess," I answered.

He nodded.

"Little luck never hurts, but…" He glanced around, musing. "This could turn out to be a pretty expensive way to improve it, from what you told me. Sure you don't want to spend it on something a little more tangible?"

"I'm sure," I said, cracking my next. "Because if I get desperate and really need it, luck's the only thing I couldn't steal and pay back later."

He hummed in the back of his throat, conceding the point.

"Did you decide how you were going to do it, then?"

I turned to face him completely, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. With my back shielding me from sight, I pulled up my status window.

I had nineteen points. If I set my current goal as the prerequisites for the White Tiger's Five Hundred Years, I still had a ways to go and there was a lot I needed to work on still, but…I could do this.

I put nine points in Intelligence, bring it up to sixty. I placed another five in Wisdom, raising it to match, fulfilling the requirements for both stats. I'd debated with myself at length about what, if anything, I should do with my points, and I'd decided on this early on. Not only had both stats served me well, both were also highly applicable and already high enough that it was unlikely I'd be able to improve them much any other way in the time I had left. With those two where I wanted them, I would be able to focus on getting my other stats high enough.

Which was why I put the five remaining points in Luck. My concerns remained—that luck, by its very nature, was unreliable. That I wouldn't be able to measure it the way I could most of my other stats, seeing a simple, obvious point-by-point improvement. That, in the context of my power, I couldn't be sure what Luck would even _do_. And, more than anything else, that if my power could, did, warp probability around me, then…

But…I had a chance here and all my concerns aside, it was a logical thing to invest in when I had a chance to do so. Hopefully a five point increase would give me a proper footing to work on improving it the hard way, as had been the case with Intelligence and my physical stats. Odd were it would set me back a level, in terms of reaching the White Tiger's Five Hundred Years, but I had to remember the basic rule of my power—that things were easier to improve at lower levels.

With the money I had and the foundation I'd just given myself to work upon, it was possible—probable, even—that I could raise Luck twenty levels in the next week and a half, though I'd spend that same time struggling to get my physical abilities to forty. An improvement to my luck on that scale…it might be worth the setback.

If, ironically, I was lucky.

Adam slide back as I nodded to him, waiting by the door after putting on a pair of red shades he must have gotten from one of Hei's men while I walked over to the owner.

 **Little Black Bear**

 **LV31**

 **Hei Xiong**

"If it isn't the dancing machine. You're Jian?" The man who more commonly went by 'Junior' asked when I stood before him, looking me up and down. I nodded silently. "I've gotta ask—what are you? The White Fang's dance instructor?"

"Something like that," I nodded with a smile. "I prefer to be known as the Lord of the Dance, though."

Junior snorted and gave me a grin in return.

"It's rare that Adam Taurus does favors for people, so I had to admit I was interested. But I've gotta say I'm confused. Why gamble if you're just going to give the house back anything you win and everything you lose?"

"I just want to see if I'm lucky, I suppose," I said, scratching the side of my head. It felt odd to have Crocea Mors off after having it on my arms so long. "And if I win a lot, I wouldn't want you to throw me out, right?"

"Oh?" Junior asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you _feel_ lucky?"

"No," I admitted. "Not yet."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV20**

 **Title: The Tiger**

 **HP: 1100/1100**

 **MP: 1980/1980**

 **STR: 32+19.8 (62%) = 50.8**

 **VIT: 34+21.8 (62%) = 55**

 **DEX: 31+19.2 (62%) = 50.2**

 **INT: 60+37.2 (62%) = 97.2**

 **WIS: 60+37.2 (62%) = 97.2**

 **LUK: 15**

 **Status: Metal Element Affinity 10, Air Element Affinity 10.**

 **POINTS: 5**

 **MONEY: 57000 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

6\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 18 - Mission Start

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Mission Start**

Luck's a funny thing.

So is poker.

And my life, I guess, considering how the former led me to the latter.

A few hours after I started gambling, I'd found myself at a table being dealt cards. All around the table were older men in suits that made me feel young and underdressed. And, given how they all seemed aware of those facts as well, outnumbered.

I didn't start the night at the poker table, of course. I didn't even intend to go there at first. I didn't know precisely how Luck was trained in the beginning, so I started with the options that depended solely—or almost solely—on luck. I played some baccarat, craps, and took a few turns on the roulette wheel. I won some, I lost a few more, but I kept the individual bets small and in the end I didn't lose _too_ much money. Better yet, my Luck began leveling up gradually, improving as I won, which I did a lot more often than I thought I would, though that wasn't saying much.

But then, that's why I'd put five points into it, wasn't it? What had held true before held true again; if I needed to get lucky to improve Luck, I'd need some luck to build off of, first.

With that confirmation of how Luck improved, however, I'd started experimenting. I began with higher bets, going from a hundred lien to a thousand where I could and making the highest legal bet when the limit was lower. As I still lost the same number of times, that quickly dropped my cash from near sixty thousand to below forty in about an hour—more money than I had ever personally spent in my _life_ before today, down the drain like nothing. And yet, in that same time, I earned several levels of Luck, which itself began to show in my favor, though it wasn't enough to make me win more then I lost or even breakeven.

Then I'd started playing blackjack and counting the cards. That was the next thing I wanted to check, after all—if there were things other than luck involved, could it still be improved? The answer turned out to be 'it depends.' It was possible so long as luck still played a major role; that is, being good and lucky was fine, but there came a point where it wasn't really luck anymore. I could use Observe to see the cards I was about to be dealt or even those inside of the deck. I could also use it to read the dealer's emotions and many other things, to a point where I knew exactly what to expect and could plan around it.

But at that point, it wasn't really a question of Luck anymore and the stat didn't seem to improve.

There was, however, a balance. If I simply kept a running count of all the cards that had been played, thus giving me a fair idea on whether the remaining deck leaned towards high or low value cards…that was something else, sort of. I was shifting the odds in my favor, but I didn't know the specifics of each card, of each move. As long as I restrained myself, I couldn't be certain of winning or losing, and luck had its place.

However, the degree that Luck improved varied—I figured it depended on how much a specific win had to do with knowledge and skill compared to how lucky I was—and it made luck slow to improve, even if I could win far more often that way. I found it worked better if I played high-stakes games around the rest of the casino until I had been chiseled down to about half my funds and then winning them back with blackjack, again and again. Though the dealers had gotten suspicious and had seemed ready to complain or ban me from the games after a while, Junior had stepped in and that had ended that, leaving me to buckle-down and grind tediously.

At least until Junior himself had interrupted me with an offer to try my luck at what he referred to as 'the big boy's table.' I was understandably suspicious and about a hundred percent certain he was pulling something over on _someone_ , whether by trying to use me against the table or draw me in to get creamed.

I accepted anyway, simply because it had seemed like it might be a good opportunity and I was curious which had, in time, had led me to the side room, Adam following at my back. My first hour at the table had been…

Have you ever heard the saying that if you can't spot the sucker within the first half-hour, you _are_ the sucker? Yeah, well, I was the sucker. In that time, I'd dropped from near seventy thousand to barely hanging onto the edge of twenty. It had been pretty brutal—but also a learning experience, in several very literal senses. I'd learned that Poker was great when it came to improving Luck, as well as several different skills—including, unsurprisingly, the Poker skill I developed while doing it.

I also learned that, though I had no real attachment to the money I was spending, being made a fool of brought out the competitive side of me and all pretenses of fairness and mercy had spontaneously _evaporated_. I Observed their emotions, I counted the cards—which wasn't as effective as in Blackjack but still useful—and Intimidated them as best I could, and all around was an unabashed cheating cheater, allowing me to make a comeback and improve my skills.

But even if I could read people easily and was scarier then I should have been, Poker was just _weird_ sometimes, which was probably _why_ it was so good for Luck—alongside, I suspected, the nature of human competition, how it was a zero-sum game, and the probabilities involved due to the higher number of variables. It wasn't the merely game itself that was weird, though it had its fair share of oddness, it was just…

I'd climbed my way up to ninety thousand over the course of another hour, was dropped down to thirty half an hour later, went on a winning streak back up to seventy, got dragged down to forty, rose to over a hundred in a fairly amazing section of the game if I do say so myself, and fought every step of the way when they pulled be back to seventy again. It was just all over the place and in strange ways. It sounded really exciting when I spread it all out like that and it _was_ , in a way, but there were a lot of silences, a lot of waiting, holding, and folding, and a lot of watching and staring. Parts of the game were twist after twist and other were empty and tense.

I'd gotten pretty good at it. I think it's because most of that had grown a lot more applicable to my life lately; preparations and patience and numbers leading up to an attack, no way of knowing if you were about to be struck down, and getting by on masks and lies. Getting by on wits and sheer dumb luck, that was my new life in a nutshell. And slowly, as the night dragged on, the odds seemed to shift in my favor as my luck gradually improved.

And then it was over. People had spent the evening sliding in and out of the game, whether because they were cutting their losses or wanted to quit while they were ahead, but I hadn't truly noticed how much time had passed until Junior returned to close up. I waited for the others to leave, Adam leaning against the wall behind me.

"Pleasure doing business with you," I said to Junior, voice polite as I held out his due. I still wasn't certain if he'd seen some skill in me or just wanted to bring in a sucker, but he seemed pleased whatever the case.

The larger man snorted as he palmed the money.

"You're a weird kid, Jian," He said. "But if this is your idea of gambling, you're welcome back any time. And if you want a more permanent arrangement…come by again and we'll talk."

"I'll do that," I said, bowing my head slightly. "Have a nice day, Mr. Xiong. Adam?"

My higher-leveled friend pushed off the wall, adjusting the glasses that had slowly slipped down his nose as we left.

"You get what you needed?" He murmured as we walked out into the darkness.

"Hard to tell with Luck," I replied. "But I think so; I was doing better there, at the end. We'll have to test what it actually does, but…"

I was feeling lucky, I didn't say.

He nodded as if he understood anyway and then, somewhere between that step and the next, Blake was walking beside us, dropping down silently from above. Adam didn't react and, thanks to the Gamer's Mind, neither did I. She didn't question why we had been inside a casino or a club, though, so I assumed Adam had told her what we were doing when he informed her of our location. She passed me a pair of small booklets that I held onto until we were inside the car, at which point I promptly devoured it, closing my eyes as the knowledge flowed into me.

And then I flashed back to some superstitions about black cats as I suddenly _stopped_ feeling lucky.

I felt my face twitch down into a frown as I stewed in the new information for a time. I glanced at Adam and then back at Blake, exhaling slowly. I think both of them noticed the sudden change in me and though they didn't visibly react, there was a sudden tension in the air.

One of the books had been the schematics for the airship, if relatively brief, but I didn't need written details when my power gave me full understanding of everything written within. The other had, of course, been the driver's manual. We'd found the former in one of the email account Blake had gotten, emailed there by an employee that wanted to go some work at home, and she'd gotten the latter from the computer of one of the pilots, once we'd had their names. There was some overlap between the two, but to give ourselves the best chance, I'd asked she get and print off both—and _between_ both of them, I knew everything I needed. And it was…

"Give me a minute to think," I said, putting the car in gear and leaving the parking lot. Even this late, there were a fair number of people mulling about, but that's not why I was moving—as safe places to talk about stuff went, inside a locked car in a parking lot was actually fairly good. I just wanted to move and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have helped Adam and Blake's nerves if I spent a few minutes in brooding silence. I turned on the radio for the same reasons, shifting it absently until I found something tolerable.

I drove aimlessly for a little bit, though it may not have seemed that way since I'd memorized the streets, and simply mulled over the new information. Some of it was good, some of it was bad, but…

In time, I pulled over and finally sighed.

"It could be worse," I admitted, most because I didn't think they'd fall for a lie. "We can still do this, it'll just take a bit more work."

Reaching into my Inventory I drew out the schedule for the event and I took another glance over it to be sure I remembered it, filling in the blanks with the knowledge I now had. I pulled out my scroll next and placed it in my lap for the moment.

"Okay," I said, drawing out a pen and notepad as well and flipping the latter open to a blank page to start doodling. "The good news is, I can definitely fly the thing. I know everything it can do; I can put it through its paces. The bad news is that we're going to have a few things to deal with first, if we want to get it in the air."

I finished the drawing, sketching out a rough illustration of the airship's sleek design and marking out bits I thought were important, scrawling brief notes beside them.

"The first issue, we'd anticipated; there are several security measures on the airship itself. Most of them won't be an issue, because they'll need to be taken off for the presentation, but there are several that…" I shook my head. "There's software on the ship specifically for this show, to make sure nothing goes wrong, and it's both inside and outside the ship. The stuff inside won't be a problem since most of it was explained in the books, but…the outside controls will be a bit tougher."

I added another drawing off to the side, this one of a man in a room.

"This is the control station," I said, tapping the new picture. "It's mainly in case of emergencies and to avoid any incidents in the demonstration. Among other things, it can remotely lock and unlock the weapons systems on the Airship, largely to make sure no accidents happen within city limits, and if something happens, it can activate the emergency landing protocols even if the controls within the ship suffer damage, causing the ship to lower safely to the ground. Actually _flying_ the ship requires both a confirmation from within the ship and one from outside it to unlock everything."

"So they can shut us down any time?" Adam asked, tilting his head to the side. "That's what you're saying?"

"Yes…and no," I said, raising a hand to forestall them. "There's a few ways around it. It's all password or scroll activated, but if things are unlocked from both sides, I think I might be able to change _which_ passwords and scrolls. They've had to go through a number of pilots and technicians, so I know it's possible, we just need to figure out a few things first. This is primarily an issue of timing, since it'll be hard to do beforehand, but we can do it."

"How?" Blake asked, surprisingly calm. I guess she wasn't surprised that things had gotten a bit more difficult.

"I'll get inside the ship," I said. "You'll need to handle the control center, because it'll need to be done quickly and quietly. I'll need to know the specifics about the system they're using to be sure of anything, but I can sneak in and wait until at least the flight portion of the system is activated. You get into the control tower, we disable whoever we need to, we change everything we have to, and we're fine."

"You think you can do that?" Adam asked. "Get in and fix everything?"

"Probably," I said. "Maybe. Not enough information to say for sure, but it should be possible. If we walk in after they undo most of the defenses, it should let us by the rest just by being user friendly. Some of it depends on who controls what and how, admittedly. If they're paranoid enough, then no, it won't work—but people will do what's most convenient, right?"

He huffed out a tiny laugh, tilting his head my way.

"We still have the advantage, because for all these precautions, they aren't expecting something to happen," I said seriously. "These security measures are just to ensure they don't make fools of themselves at such a big event, not to defend against attackers, which was why they prepared three different pilots. They'll keep the security measures simple, I guarantee it, because anything they make us go through, they have to go through themselves. Remember that, however things seem. For example, I know I can get on the ship, because of the second issue, which simultaneously makes things easier and harder for us—the ship won't be armed until shortly after it makes its appearance."

"I'd hoped to steal it as soon as we knew its location…" Blake sighed. "Why are they doing it that way? Why not before hand?"

"Vanity, I think," I said, lifting the schedule. "Part of the pilot's manual was a schedule for flying and refueling it and if I compare it to the activity schedule, I can make some guesses. A hundred lien says that whoever's in charge will give some speech and the airship will fly into sight over a building or something and do some tricks in the sky or whatever—something to show it off early on before the presentation and the main event—but they don't want to take any chances, so they won't arm it until they start preparing for the flight along the Vytal trade route. It'll land and everyone will have a chance to marvel at it while the presenter hypes it up, and then it'll refuel, load, take off, and fly to Vacuo in record time for the other half of the demonstration, recording the flight."

Blake tilted her head to the side and her ears twitched.

"Ah," She said. "I see. That's when you'll sneak in."

I nodded.

"I should be able to sneak way and get on board, whether as cargo or one of the people refueling and loading. I'll lay low until it's time and we'll take things over from inside once they unlock things—which they should do about fifteen minutes to half an hour before they're scheduled to leave, to check things one last time. That gives me time to make sure they won't be able to shut us down with a push of a button and that should give _you_ a chance to get back."

"Where is the command station?" Blake asked, to which I shrugged.

"I don't know yet," I said. "But I'll find out. I _do_ know there's a range limit to the thing, though, and I can make some guesses."

"If I'm running late, don't wait up for me," She said, accepting that I _would_ find it.

"You want me to be the distraction, then?" Adam asked.

"God, no," I said, drawing another piece of paper out of my Inventory and tossing it at him. "Have you seen the guest list? Let's try and avoid a fight if at all possible. No, I need your help with something else."

Adam glanced over the list and grimaced, nodding. There were a bunch of people on it I was sure even _he_ didn'twant to deal with—like the current Headmaster of Beacon.

"Our main objective is to go unnoticed as long as possible," I said, opening up my scroll and bringing up a map of Vytal. Vale was already marked, but I used the draw function to create an arc to the east. "So long as we're proactive and they don't even know they're supposed to be reacting, we have the advantage. Even after that, we want to keep them on the defensive and guessing. Since they don't suspect anyone's going to _steal_ the ship—much less successfully _pilot_ it—it should take a while to form a real response; call it a five, ten minute delay on reinforcements once we get passed whoever's guarding the area. We have an advantage in that the airship we're going to steal is very fast for its size and designed to fly between the kingdoms, but there _are_ smaller craft designed for speed that may be able to catch up to us around here—unless something happened to delay them, of course."

Adam hummed, drumming his fingers on Wilt and Blush.

"If we can safely get passed here," I drew two arcs, one further out then the other. "We should be beyond their reach. And if we get over _here,_ it'll be too dangerous for them to risk following."

"That's not on the trade route," Adam noted, sighing.

I just grinned at him.

"You really think I'm making a detour for some stupid Grimm?" I asked. "Hell no—the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, whether a few monsters are two stupid to get out of the way or not. Besides, didn't I tell you? We want to keep them guessing. If we fly on the trade routes, yeah, we'll have to worry less about the Grimm, but they'll know which way we're going and we'll probably meet some resistance along the way. If we fly off and vanish though…well, who's to say where we're going? Where we'll appear? That we're even alive? And if a few tracking devices get shut off suddenly a while after we disappear…"

I shrugged.

"Here's the plan…"

 **XxXXxX**

The remaining week and a half was a blur of preparation and practice. I hadn't been kidding before when I said we had a massive advantage simply by virtue of being the ones planning the attack—because that meant we _were_ planning for the situation. Not only were they not expecting an attack like this, but the counter measures that the Schnee Company _was_ taking had to be spread out to cover everything, rather than focused on stopping the plan we were enacting. More than anything else, the fact that we could make decisions and focus our attack was our greatest advantage, followed closely by the time we had to prepare.

So we made plans and back up plans and contingencies. We examined the places we thought might be relevant while it was still mostly empty, checking out everything we could and making maps and marking short cuts and places good for disrupting pursuit. We found manuals and guides for me to eat and I used that knowledge to refine whatever I could. I practiced with Blake, sharpening my stealth and infiltration skills as much as possible, and I worked with Adam on my combat skills. I grinded my passive skills around the clock, now able to maintain them constantly thanks to the improved MP regeneration I gained from having more Aura and the improvement granted by Wisdom.

And, of course, we all trained, like we were doing now.

Adam and Blake flickered around the King Taijitu, blades cutting lightly into scales with each strike as they kept the beast distracted while I stood on the wayside wearing Lycaon. Both were members of the Party I'd made, partially for the passive benefits it offered and partially because the concept worked well with the Beowolf mask. We didn't say a word and we didn't have to, as used to this as we now were, so I simply stood back charging a Magic Missile as they kept both heads busy. Once I'd charged the attack fully, I slid into a throwing stance and paused for a beat.

Adam hit the white head with a sudden strike, knocking it into alignment while Blake shifted into a stream of images and flowing shadows that led the black head into my path and then was gone, my Magic Missile shooting through the space she'd inhabited mere moments before and driving deep into one of the dark creature's red eyes, through his head, out the back, and then into the skull of the _other_ head. The creature's massive body convulsed for a moment before falling slack, black smoke slowly rising from it.

"Thanks," I said, rolling my wristed absently. Adam grunted while Blake just looked silently on at the smoking corpse. They'd been helping me this way for some time now, occasionally distracting larger targets while I charged my best attacks, allowing me to gain experience more quickly by relying on my much higher level party members. Most of the time it wasn't needed and I just fought any Grimm I encountered, but when one of the more massive creatures of Grimm lurked out of the shadows…well, it was better safe than sorry. I'd already gained three more levels this way, bringing myself up to level twenty-three—not bad given I'd been level thirteen less than two weeks ago. Adam and Blake were still at forty-two and thirty-six, though Blake might be getting close to thirty-seven.

Either way, though, the two were monstrously strong and I was glad to have them at my side.

"You get anything this time?" Adam asked after a minute.

"This is the first time I killed a King Taijitu," I said. "So there should be something; a mask at the very least."

"There," Blake murmured and I followed her gaze to see, unsurprisingly, a mask on the ground, with a book underneath it and some lien to the side. Walking over, I picked up the mask—

 **You have obtained the item 'Janus.'**

—And placed it in my Inventory to experiment with later. Observation had turned up nothing but question marks, which didn't really surprise me, but considering that I could only wear one mask at a time, I'd stick to Lenore, as probably the strongest mask, and Lycaon, for its effect. Then I picked up the book and ate it.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Double Strike.'**

Cool, though sadly there wasn't time to truly train it before the mission. The downside of random item drops. I picked up the twenty thousand lien and tossed it to Blake, since I didn't really need it and they had done most of the work anyway.

"What next?" Adam asked.

"Home," I said, which seemed to surprise him. "I'd…"

I sighed.

"Well, I'd hoped to get to twenty-four, but…I guess that's not going to be possible before the mission. My stats probably won't improve in the time we have left, either. We've done all we could out here so let's go home and put you two to bed."

Adam cast me what was probably an annoyed glare.

"Just because _you_ don't have to—"

"Hey, it's not my fault you two aren't awesome enough to go without," I said, smiling even as I wrinkled my nose mockingly. "Such a waste of time. There's not supposed to be any rest for the wicked you know but there you guys are, whiling away the hours. _Lame._ "

Blake sighed, storing Gambol Shroud behind her back as she started walking back to the ship. Knowing from experience how this would end if we didn't shut up, we followed her.

"But seriously, you two should get some rest before the mission," I said. "Everyone's clear on what needs to be done, right?"

Adam and Blake didn't even justify that question with a response, not even glancing at me. Over the week, we'd gone over the game plan something like fifty million times to the point that the two of them were probably going to have _dreams_ about it. I lifted my hands placating at the utter lack of response.

"Once Blake does her thing, you two are gonna have ten, fifteen minutes to get to the ship before I finish reprograming everything. If you can't make it by then, I might have to leave without you," I said before pausing and looking at them both. "But seriously, make it there by then. I really, really don't want to have to do this alone. There's a little room for error, but if anything happens…"

"Prioritize the mission," Adam nodded. "Whatever happens, it'll be okay."

I shrugged at him, pretty sure that was a lie. If Adam and Blake didn't make it there in time, the only options I'd have were to abort the mission or go without them, at which point I'd be…well. I'd be flying solo. Which would be really bad, because a not insignificant part of the mission relied on them crushing anything that got in the way. If I didn't have my massively higher leveled friends along for the ride…

Well, I'd just have to hope it didn't come to that. We had a plan, we'd prepared for everything we could—hell, I'd leveled my luck up massively. I'd done everything in my power to make this plan go well, now all I could do was hope it would be enough.

And, of course, back hope up with everything I possibly could.

"Yeah," I said, nodding firmly as the Gamer's Mind kept me calm. "I'll wake you up when its time, okay? And hey, jokes aside, I'm thinking about catching a little sleep, too."

Adam gave me a slight frown but I saw understanding gleam in Blake's eyes as I sent the former a cryptic glance.

An hour and a half later, I stood in the woods by my house once more, black cloak around me, hood and mask covering my face. Dreary Midnight shifted slightly as a breeze rustled the branches and it felt fitting.

"I, Jaune Arc, call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee," I said. In my disguise, my voice shifted to something calmly, firmer, assisted further by the confidence and power I'd found and clad myself in. "I hope that you heed my call. Come, Air Elemental!"

In Crocea Mores, there had been only a shift in my reflection and a slight rattle, so I wasn't certain what to expect from my second summon every. Not what I got, certainly. For a moment, the forest continued to rustle in the wind before the sound grew suddenly louder as the air rushed forth to spin within the circle as a miniature cyclone that sent my cloak flapping back in the wind. The air spun faster and faster until I had to brace myself against it and—

And then it was gone, leaving behind a pretty little girl with white hair and a light green dress, almost visible currents of air writing around her.

By the way, when I said 'little girl,' I meant she was maybe fifteen centimeters tall, tops. Yeah.

Still, as someone who'd spent so much time disguising myself, I knew that appearances could be deceiving—meaningless, really. As such, I knelt smoothly by the edge of the circle and saw her smile up at me.

 _I am here._ She said and it actually took me a moment to realize she hadn't _actually_ spoke, he voice seemed so real. More than that, she spoke easily and normally, more so then Crocea Mors had been able to before we'd made our contract. I figured the shift had had something to do with the rest of the ritual and had suspected something similar from other Elementals, but…

Then again, she was an Air Elemental and sound was a vibration through a medium such as, well, _air_ , so perhaps it made sense.

I took a deep breath and felt something in that same moment, like something touching my lungs. It wasn't a physical sensation, thankfully, but it was still strange. I held the breath for a moment despite that and spoke.

"I'll begin in accordance to the ancient rituals. My real name is Jaune Arc. You have heard my true name; please tell me yours."

I came apart at the seams. I flew apart into a billion pieces—maybe a trillion pieces—each shifting and shaking wildly as I moved quickly. I rebound off of myself countless times in a dance that should have been, _was_ , chaotic and yet came together as something else. I was gliding over mountains and hills, through the forests and across the seas, and it was…

It was amazing.

For a moment, I was flying and it was almost indescribable. Like anyone born on Remnant, I knew there were limits to where I could go, what I could do. So much of the world was hostile and cruel and so little of it was safe. Before my first trip beyond the limits with Adam, I'd never left the safety of Vale before and I knew plenty of people who hadn't left it in their entire lives. That was just how the world worked. The Grimm were a constant threat, an ever present danger, and if you wandered too far from the kingdoms…well, there were worse things than Nevermore and Deathstalkers. What would you do if you ran into a Nemean or a Leviathan?

Die, in all likelihood. Especially if you ran into a _group_ of them.

We didn't let that stop us from living our lives. In the Great War, we had carved out civilization with Dust and Hunters and even now we could live in safety. With the trade routes and communication towers, we could reach out to other kingdoms, stand together against the darkness. Slowly but surely, we were growing, pushing the boundaries.

But…for now, we still had to stay within the kingdoms.

The wind, though, was free. Across skies beaten by massive dark wings, through fields stalked by beast like mountains that walked, and even in the Darklands to the North, the wind flew without a care for man or beast or the titans of Grimm. It feared nothing and went anywhere, _everywhere_.

For a moment, I was jealous but the feeling passed, because that freedom…it shared it with me.

I saw the circle, my body absent from its side. The trillion pieces of me began to drag slowly together, pulled back in by some terrifying gravity, and it _hurt_. Not so much the feeling of returning to freedom, though that was far from comfortable, but the loss that came with it was hard to describe. I felt like I'd been standing on top of the work and someone had decided to throw me off and see how far I'd fall. I fought against that pull, tried to resist it—

And then, there she was, standing on the back of my hand, forehead leaned against my arm. I was whole again, just like that, shrouded in the mask and hide of a Nevermore.

 _It's_ _okay_. She murmured and the feeling of simple, honest joy returned. I gasped for breath then, before my heart suddenly slowed. _I am here. My name is Levant. You are Jaune Arc?_

"Yes," I said, opening my eyes.

 _Let us fly together someday, Jaune Arc._

"Yeah. I'd like that." I told her. "Maybe even someday soon. You and me and Crocea Mors."

She looked up at me.

 _We are one, as the ancient contract dictates._

"Our souls are one."

 _I am Levant._

"I am Jaune Arc."

 _Until our souls meet their ends—_

"We will be forever one," I swore for the second time.

 _Call me and I will fly for you._ She said. _Even if_ —

I don't remember what else she said, because I was already falling. I slept in the grass that night and dreamt of storms washing across the world. It stirred the seas in its passing and left forests uprooted in its wake. Mountains were ground down—not all at once, but by time, by a hundred years or a thousand or more, each storm fading only to be reborn. I felt power there in the heavens, power I'd never even dreamt of before, and marveled at it whilst I flew on dark wings.

But when I woke up a short while later, I was ready.

 **XxXXxX**

"Just one?" The woman at the front desk asked.

"Yup, just me," I said, adjusting my cap. I was in disguise which I think, technically speaking, meant I was disguising the disguise that disguised the disguise that was disguising me, which I found amusing. I slide the woman some lien over the counter and took the ticket she offered me, as well as the currently empty name tag and printed schedule. "My friends are just gonna watch the flight."

She nodded absently, probably tired and bored and trying to pretend not to be. I felt a little bad for her, both for the tedious job and what was going to happen soon.

"Can I help you with anything else, sir?" She asked as I glanced over the schedule and the map on its back. She glanced at the map pinned to her desk. "If you'd like, I can direct you towards wherever you'd like to go. There are several presentations scheduled to start soon."

I pretended to think about it for a moment before shaking my head slowly.

"Nah, that won't be necessary. To be honest…" I said, tilting my head to the side. "I'm only interested in the ship."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV23**

 **Title: The Tiger**

 **HP: 1250/1250**

 **MP: 2150/2150**

 **STR: 41+26.7 (65%) = 67.7**

 **VIT: 42+27.3 (65%) = 69.3**

 **DEX: 41+26.7 (65%) = 67.7**

 **INT: 60+39 (65%) = 99**

 **WIS: 60+39 (65%) = 99**

 **LUK: 33**

 **Status: Metal Element Affinity 10, Air Element Affinity 10.**

 **POINTS: 20**

 **MONEY: 49800 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

7\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 19 - Objective

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Objective**

I sat idly by the side of the room, doing my best to be unobtrusive. On the stage, a man was giving a speech about the airship, but I knew more about the thing then _he_ did, so I only listened with half an ear until he got to the point.

"—We at the Schnee Dust Company are proud to present the next level of aerial transportation—the _White Whale_!" He said and it was the ship that dramatically broke through the clouds that drew my attention. And though I'd seen pictures of its constructions, diagrams…it was still a sight to behold. It was sleek, lacking any of the blocky, semi-rectangular look of most airships, and done largely in white but for the Schnee symbol on its belly. There was a massive viewing window at the front which I assumed was for VIP seating, letting them see the sky and stars. Along either upper side were three long rows of circular windows that looked tiny compared to the tremendous size of the rest of the construct, like dots poked on the sides with a needle. The lower half of the ship was blank and smooth, a massive compartment for anything and everything else it would be transporting. On the back end, beneath the stabilizers, was an enormous energy converter facing the jet at the curve of its belly.

With the retractable stand pulled in, it looked, more than anything, like a giant flying whale. It made people look like ants next to it due to its size and I could almost believe that one day, decades in the future, machines like this might enable regular contact between the Kingdoms. That someday you might be able to just buy a ticket whenever, get on a ship, and be in Atlas a few days later. Even a single ship like this could transport over a thousand and a half people and enormous amounts of materials. Given a few decades to refine the design…granted, this one had taken a _long_ time to build, but…

I wondered if I'd be alive to see the world machines like these could one day make.

I wondered if what I was doing now was standing in the way of that future. What would happen to this project because of my actions today? Would my actions here put a halt to the project?

Probably not. If anything, once they saw what I could do—maybe even in _response_ to it, depending on how things went down—they would probably invest in it even further.

"A miracle of innovation, made possible only by through the tireless work of Remnant's greatest minds, the White Whale is a symbol of unity and cooperation between the Kingdoms—and the first in a long line of new ties between the peoples of our world. A _sign_ that though we live far from each other, we stand together!"

Which didn't mean I wasn't going to piss of a lot of people by doing this.

Making one last run through the sky above the courtyard, the White Whale withdrew slightly to hover slowly to the ground, a hatch opening to release the massive robotic leg it used for a stand. Landing vertically on the massive space that had been emptied for it, I saw an enormous set of hydraulic stairs approach the vehicle, along with trucks that had their backs also set on lifts. Despite that, they'd need to use the system built into its stand to assist in loading and unloading it was so massive.

I looked around the room for a moment, scanning faces and the information above their heads. I had to suppress a sigh at the sight but began to draw away regardless. If things went well, it'd never come to a real fight. And if it did…

Well, let's hope it didn't come to that. If it did, we'd just have to improvise.

"But before we proceed, a few words from our guests of honor," The presenter's voice made me pause and released the sigh I'd held back, not really surprised. We'd discussed it in the planning after the possibility of their presence had come up. There hadn't been anything official, of course, because they couldn't very well advertise their presence at a given location in _advanced_ , now could they? Not when there was the very real possibility of an assassination attempt or something to that effect being prepared if given time.

But we'd considered it and had eventually agreed that there was a pretty good chance of them making an appearance—after all, despite the risks, both of them had a great deal of investment in this project and even more to benefit from it if all went well. And even with the potential dangers…

Well, even if I had a history like President Schnee's, I'd feel pretty safe standing between Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood. He stood between them, his usual guards absent, as if daring someone to try something—which, in fairness, no one in their right mind would. Even Adam hadn't suggested picking _that_ fight.

Still…it was unfortunate. I didn't know if the CEO himself would participate in the test flight—given the potential risks, I assumed not—but this was going to make things harder. I still doubted anyone was prepared for what I was going to do, but I was sure there were measures in place to keep the company president safe. Given what he had to go through, I'm sure paranoia got to be a way of life.

For better or worse, I empathized, which was why I wasn't caught off-guard by this situation—and had measures in place.

"Thank you, Kai," Schnee said as he took his place on stage with the general by his side, leaving Ozpin on the ground. I opened my scroll and snapped a picture of them before sending a message to Adam and Blake with it attached. Schnee gave a cool, easy smile as he brushed white hair back, looking calm. "But truly, without James and the brilliant minds of Remnant, none of this would have been possible. In the end, what am I but—"

And then I walked away, not waiting to listen to the rest. I saw several other people with scrolls open as well as several news reporters; if I wanted, I could probably catch the rest online later. In fact, I'd probably be able to catch my _theft_ online later, too. People would probably be talking about me for weeks, months, maybe even years, especially on the forums and stuff.

I wondered what they would say. I guess I'd find out.

I slipped inside and headed towards the changing rooms, drawing a bag out of my Inventory and switching my hat for a company version. There were two others inside, older men who paused in putting on their uniforms to look at me oddly. I just nodded back confidently, though.

"Cornelius, Lionel," I nodded, dropping the bag on a bench and unzipping it to withdraw my own uniform, a spare stolen several days. I paid no attention to the men as I stripped off my shirt and pants and got dressed. I saw them go back to changing as well and stretched slightly.

The thing about companies—groups, really—is that they tend to be big. A lot of the time in movies or shows, a guard will see a character, disguised or not, and instantly know he doesn't belong. But I'd be shocked if there was anyone in _any_ company who could remember _everyone_ employed by it off the top of their heads. At school, I have several different classes of twenty to forty students and I bet most of them wouldn't know the names of more than five or ten others if you put them on the spot, tops.

And why would they? Most of them never talk to each other, don't hang out, and have little reason to interact. Nobody remembers everyone in their group because they have no real reason to do so and I couldn't imagine companies being any different. And for a project like this where the Schnee had to draw upon over a hundred people for the loading and preparations _alone_ , memorizing everyone you work with is just unfeasible.

So if someone comes into the changing room confidently, looking completely unworried, and takes out your uniform, who are you to say he doesn't belong there? Especially when he's wearing a Schnee Company hat and uses your name.

That last part's especially important. Names are powerful things. I'm not talking about anything to do with Aura or whatever; I'm just talking about basic social interaction. Have you ever had someone come up to you and use your name when you had _no idea_ who they were? Whether they were classmates or whatever else, that's awkward. It means they know you, that they remembered your name, but you didn't bother doing the same. It's weird to find yourself in that position and its like, hey, you could _ask_ , but that's the same as admitting you forgot them completely.

Most people don't want to do that. They'll just avoid the subject entirely or else subtly try to steer you into mentioning it yourself. Cornelius and Lionel, named such by the signs above their heads, didn't break that trend.

"You gonna watch the trip after?" I said, finishing my stretch.

"Yeah," Lionel said after a beat. "Me and the Mrs. You?"

"Thinking about it," I replied. "Probably gonna turn in early and catch the end, you know? Maybe watch the highlights later."

"You think it will make it okay?" Cornelius said. "Lot of Grimm in that part of Vytal. Especially in the mountains and the desert…"

"Probably won't even go near them," I said honestly and then clarified. "You figure it's basically a straight line to Vacuo if you go over the sea, right? I figured that's what they'd probably do; stay high enough to avoid the squids and fishes, fly fast enough to avoid the birds."

"Could be," He mused. "Yeah, probably. I might try to catch the end too, then. Probably be pretty boring over the water, huh?"

"Hey, let's hope for boring, right?" I smiled. "It's gonna be a passenger ship someday. And if I was in that thing, well, I wouldn't mind a boring trip, you know?"

Lionel snort.

"Have a good one, guys," I finished, picking up my bag and heading out first. No one gave me a second glance as I headed out towards the trucks around the White Whale and I alternatively nodded or waved as I passed my fellows by. I went straight towards the truck who's back was slowly rising, peered up at it, and then tapped one of the metal parts with a finger.

"Summon Elemental," I said and saw a flash of Crocea Mors in my reflection before he was gone, rising up quickly. There wasn't much he could do in the forest except enhance my gauntlets, but here in the city…

I saw the raised truck connect with the lift system the White Whale used, creating a bridge for the Yellow Death, and then jerk slightly. I walked over to the truck's open window.

"Hey, Carlo, I think something's wrong," I said to the man frowning at his control. "I'm gonna head up and check, okay?"

Carlo grunted, tapping a few buttons.

I walked into the ship I was planning to steal through the front entrance and nobody so much as twitched.

 **XxXXxX**

Once I fixed the 'problem,' the unloading continued. Kind, generous person I was, I offered to chip in and help in the process and ended up rolling a carefully arranged cart of boxes down to one of the more distant storage compartments. After that was finished, though, I took a wrong turn down one of the ship many corridors and got lost.

A shame, that.

I walked through the White Whale's labyrinth of passageways, confidently pushing my cart of now empty boxes along as if I already knew where everything was—which I did. Crocea Mors moved silently beside me, an occasional shift in my reflection and nothing more, spreading and vanishing through the White Whale with silent ease. He'd changed in the last few weeks, his reflection body shifting to add more of me to it, or more of the person I was getting used to pretending to be. Levant walked by my side with a hand on my wrist while she looked around with curiosity in her eyes. I hadn't manifested her yet, so she was invisible to all but me, but she was bigger now, too, having grown to the size of a child with the creation of our contract.

The past two weeks had given me plenty of time to train Summon Elemental and the spell had grown mighty in that time, as had the spirits. Even manifesting both and keeping them that way constantly wasn't a problem for me anymore; a big change from when I'd first learn the skill. Between the two of them, I could keep track of everything going on within the ship, keeping an eye on the locations of everyone within a decent range through the metal of the ship and the very air they breathed. It was a vague feeling, taken secondhand, but it was still pretty cool.

There were a number of people on board still, mostly loading crews moving on and off periodically and putting everything in place, but I avoided all of them easily and made my way towards the front. Once I was close enough to the cockpit I stopped, leaned against a wall, fired off another message with my scroll, and tapped an ear lightly. Tugging on my wrist again, Levant floated easily into the air, coming up to rest on my shoulder. Placing one hand on my head and cupping her mouth with the other, she leaned down as if to whisper in my ear.

"Any changes?" I heard a man ask.

"Uh…nope, skies seem to be staying clear." Another voice replied, sounding a bit different, further away. I guessed that the first voice was the pilot and the second a man on the radio—probably the person in the control station. "A storm heading this way, but you'll probably be gone before it gets here. Sea looks fine and…yeah, Vacuo's forecasting good weather for the next we days. I was worried when I heard about the Grimm stuff, but apparently they shipped out some big name Hunters to clear out the area."

"And that was your last chance of getting rid of me before I became famous," The pilot said and I could hear the grin in his voice.

"It's sad on many levels, but I guess if I've put up with you this long…" The other mused.

"And if I got myself killed, you'd have to explain it to Ulku, right?"

"Let's add that to the list of reasons why you should do what I say, Kuffert," The second man said. "Can't have you going down in flames again, can we?"

Kuffert chuckled.

"It'll be fine," He said. "The weather's good, my flight path's clear, and I'll have escorts as soon as I reach land—not to mention the fact that I could probably fly into Grimm in this thing and not notice. My only real concern is that huge-ass window for the ones flying first class; I keep worrying that I'm gonna splatter Grimm all over it and get complaints as soon as I land."

I heard snorting laughter and then a ping.

"Oh, there we go," The unnamed man said. "Let's see…good, good, as expected, green, good, good, and…we're good. Need any help on your end?"

"Because I haven't done this fifty million times this week?" Kuffert asked. "Check, check, full, check, people running around in my beautiful ship wearing dirty shoes, check, I'm evidentially still in Vale, I got my coffee, I got my mask…yep, hasn't stopped working in the last five minutes. Does my bell still go ding?"

There was a small sound like, well, a bell.

"It dings. And—oh, _shit!"_

"What!?" The second voice asked immediately.

"Nothing, I'm just making sure you still work. Man, I still can't believe we're paying for a beaten up, outdated model like you." Kuffert sighed.

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny. Right back at you, you relic; _I_ can't believe their letting an oh-four-seven fly the White Whale. Why don't you go back to your flying box?"

"Ouch," Kuffert said, snorting. "That hurts, really. Anyway, all clear on this end. All fueled up and everything; just need to wait for everyone to finish loading up and—oh, well, there you go. Wanna finish up?"

"Mm," The other hummed.

The button at the center of my scroll flashed once and I put my hands back on the cart, but didn't act yet. I heard clicks and the occasional beep through Levant, but the two men were mostly silent. I didn't have a visual, so I just waited patiently. After a minute, it flashed again and I pushed the cart over to rest beside the door and then knocked loudly.

"Hey, uh…" I paused for a moment as if trying to recall his name. "Mr., er, Captain Kuffert! You in here? Sir?"

"One sec!" I heard footfalls before the door opened to reveal a tan, brown-haired man. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, my boss just wanted me to tell you that we're finishing up," I nodded at the cart as if to demonstrate. "Just gonna take the garbage out and organize some stuff and we're done."

"Yeah, I got the message," He said and I frowned.

"Then why'd he…?" I sighed. "Oh, whatever. Do you have anything you need me to take out?"

"Um," He tilted his head and then looked behind him. "No, I don't think so. Thanks, though."

"What about your….co-pilot?" I asked, peering passed him. I saw a screen in the center of a mess of controls, with the face of a dark-skinned man—though I was more interested in the shadow behind him, myself. I saw the captain frown, his back to the image, and glanced pasted me.

"He's not here yet," Kuffert murmured, more to himself then me it seemed. "Well, he still has some time but if he's not here soon, I'll have to switch him…"

I nodded understandingly, smiling at the words as if I'd had nothing to do with it.

"Well, sorry to take your time, sir," I apologized. "Good luck on flight. I need to get a few more things to take outside."

"Thanks," He said, turning away and pausing as he saw the now empty screen. "What—"

I came up behind him and silently put him in a chokehold. He was still for a moment, probably caught off guard, and then started struggling.

But only briefly. That's the thing about a chokehold; if you did it right, you can put someone in a few seconds. I did it right and I'd taken the man by complete surprise—even ignoring our level difference, he didn't have a chance. I watched him quietly as he went down and then calmly knelt beside him to administer the drugs the White Fang had provided me with, using my Medicine skill to make sure everything went well. Afterwards, I simply picked him up and placed him in the box on my cart before covering it, but for the holes I'd put in it to let him breath.

"Sorry," I said, sighing as I looked down at him. Double-checking to make sure no one was near, I walked into the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat, glancing at the screen that now showed Blake's focused face. I connected my scroll to the ship's computer and waited until Blake finished and gave me the nod.

Then I opened two pre-prepared files and set it down as a loading bar appeared.

"I handled the cameras on this end," Blake said. "And hid the technician. No one should notice until he doesn't show up in the main room for the show."

Call it ten, fifteen minutes, then.

"When you're done, break the computer the way I showed you," I replied. "And then leave a sticky note on the screen saying you had to move to the backup. Everyone loves sticky notes. Anyway, I'm downloading stuff over here. Pretty quickly, too. Uh…okay, let me just get these up and running in the background and…cool. I'll be right back."

I shut off the camera, left the room, and locked the door—it didn't really matter to me, since Crocea Mors could just open it for me, but it should keep any one from wandering in there if on the off chance they happened to come this way. I grabbed the cart and swung around to the pile I'd noticed the movers making before, loading mine up with a few more things from the now tiny pile. Sure enough, the airship was slowly emptying and I only saw one other person on my way out. I gave him a nod and took the trash and empty boxes out back, hiding Kuffert in the process. With only a few other things to carry out, I doubted anyone would spot him here one way or another, but I made an effort to conceal him well regardless. Then I swung into the building, poured a quick cup of coffee, and walked back towards the ship.

"What are you doing?" One of the other moving men asked as he spotted me.

"Practicing to be an errand boy, apparently," I said. "Ran into the pilot, he asked me to get him some more coffee, and…"

I shrugged and the man, Jered, sighed.

"Seriously?" He asked. "I swear, it's like they see us moving shit and something in their head goes 'Oh, hey, I'm sure they'd be happy to do whatever the hell I need right now while they're at it.'"

"Tell me about it," I said, shaking my head. "But, well, you know—he's gonna be a big name pilot when this is done."

"Probably shouldn't piss him off now," Jered agreed. "See you later, men."

I nodded and went back into the ship. Once I was inside the cockpit, I went about doing what I needed—mainly removing things entirely or replacing them with my own versions. None of the stuff involved in actually flying the thing, of course, but the security stuff? Yeah, I didn't need that.

And all the while I watched the clock. I knew Blake would be rushing this way and Adam had to be finishing up by now himself, but every second seemed like an eternity. Levant and Crocea Mors kept me silent company as I checked the ship, made sure everything was clear, and waited for things to finish. I'd checked before and the presentation had already gone inside; by the schedule, it'd be half an hour to an hour before passengers started getting on, but now that things were loaded, the rest of the flight crew would start funneling in soon enough, as well as people who'd probably want to get on early to get better seats for the maiden voyage. Realistically, I could probably keep it empty for another five or ten before I had to move.

That should be enough time for Adam and Blake to get here. They had their outfits if they needed them, had the plans and back up plans and everything. There was no real reason to be worried yet, especially with everything going so well, but…that was just it.

This was going _too_ well.

Could this be the result of my improved luck? Of good planning? Of something else? Maybe. But I couldn't shake the feeling of anticipation, like something was coming, and—

Oh, that was real.

I paused as Crocea Mors and Levant turned as one, feeling their thoughts in my head. Someone had just entered the ship. I could feel them—her?—distantly through the alien senses my spirits shared with me. A steady clicking vibrated through the floor as she walked, a displacement of air that was her body. Someone small, female, but to blurry to sense more than that.

For a moment, I entertained the possibility of fortune smiling upon me and it being Blake.

I opened my scroll and asked.

The reply was almost instant.

'No.' It said and was followed a moment later by. 'There's a problem.'

Perfect.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV23**

 **Title: The Tiger**

 **HP: 1250/1250**

 **MP: 2150/2150**

 **STR: 41+26.7 (65%) = 67.7**

 **VIT: 42+27.3 (65%) = 69.3**

 **DEX: 41+26.7 (65%) = 67.7**

 **INT: 60+39 (65%) = 99**

 **WIS: 60+39 (65%) = 99**

 **LUK: 33**

 **Status: Metal Element Affinity 10, Air Element Affinity 10.**

 **POINTS: 20**

 **MONEY: 49800 Lien**

 **XxXXxX**

8\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 20 - Noticed

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Noticed**

The simple fact of the matter was that you couldn't predict everything. You couldn't _plan_ for everything. This is especially true for when you're planning against someone else, because then you're dealing with the fact that a good chunk of whatever you come up with is dependent on someone who most likely wants you to fail and, possibly, to die in a fire. Of course, there are many ways to help deal with that because another fact is that we often _do_ go against one another, on many, many different scales and for countless reasons.

Personally, I'd been kind of hoping good old surprise would see me through. Surprise was a wonderful thing in any plan; sure, the other guy would try and stop you… _if_ he knew what you were doing, that is. As he does not, his ability to react to, and thus disrupt, your plan is comparatively limited. That's the easiest way to deal with opposition, if you can manage it— _don't_.

Sadly, many times, even often times, that just wasn't possible. The same thing that made surprise a wonderful asset made it a dire threat if used against you, so people worked hard to keep it from happening to them. Maybe that was what happened here; there'd been a layer of security we hadn't noticed before, a lie that didn't add up, and maybe even just bad luck. Whatever the case, a problem had occurred.

The bright side is that occurring in plans is what problems _did_ and people had been dealing with that for years, too. A lot of times, we try to plan ahead—the best way to never be caught off-guard is to simply be prepared for everything, after all. Rarely possible, unfortunately, but a nice thought and we do our best. Adam, Blake, and I had made a number of plans, though, and back up plans and more and while I wasn't arrogant enough to believe they covered everything, we'd covered what we could.

For that reason, I paused for a moment. With some unknown figure approaching, with Blake telling me we had a problem, with no idea what to expect, I calmly remained seated and thought things through.

A big part of planning ahead is, naturally, preparation—that being the very point of making a plan, after all. The same is true of contingencies and backups and, really, training of any kind. You make a lot of plans so you know what to do and how to react, if something happens, or to give yourself more options. A lot of the time, these are done in broad strokes out of necessity, because you just don't _know_ what will happen, but that same thing can reduce a plan's effectiveness because it's not built for a specific problem. At times like that, you need something better.

Which is why the hilarious truth about planning is that often times, you practice and prepare and think over and spend lots of time on it—and then some step gets really blurry all of a sudden and you just have to think on your feet since step three suddenly became 'figure out how to make it to step four.' You hear a lot of comparisons of battles and life and whatever to games like…well, like chess. Chess is a common one, used in all sorts of metaphors about wars and combats and strategy.

I didn't see it. I wasn't a veteran of battles by any means but I'd gotten some experience in the last three weeks or so and I honestly didn't see it. I mean, I guess if you tilted your head at it and squinted, chess might be like a battle. If you couldn't always see the pieces. And if there were more pieces. And if the pieces could move however they wanted, move themselves, leave the game, come back in, switch sides, and had thoughts, feelings, and opinions. So, yeah, not really like chess at all.

But that didn't necessarily mean you couldn't play the game.

'I'll handle my side, you handle yours,' I sent back to Blake as I stood. 'This isn't over yet.'

'Okay,' She replied a moment later.

This wasn't chess and Blake and Adam weren't my pieces. They were people, they're own people, and each probably had vastly more experience than I did in terms of things going wrong. I trusted them and I knew they could handle themselves in a situation; I didn't need to hold their hands in a fight. If anything, it was the other way around on that particular battlefield, so I banished that side of the problem from my mind completely and focused instead on my own. I had the most important job now—the ship—so I gave it my full attention.

First things first, I opened my Inventory. I was still in the uniform I'd used to sneak onboard the ship and now I needed a change. I looked at Crocea Mors, at Dreary Midnight and my masks, and they were tempting, so very tempting.

But no. See, everyone always hears about the dangers of underestimating an opponent—and that was true and you shouldn't. But something you hear about less often that's just as important? Don't _overestimate_ them, either.

It was easy to hear about the problem, to see that someone had entered the ship, and assume the worse. That my cover had been blown, that they knew everything, that they were coming for me. It's dangerously simple to see a problem and make connections that weren't there, to blame everything on someone else, to give in to sudden desperation and fear. Something goes wrong while you're plotting against someone; it's easy to assume they were responsible, that you underestimated them, that beneath it all everyone was some super genius.

But was that the case? Probably not. It was common enough to hear things like 'I don't believe in coincidences,' but then what _do_ you believe in when something random or unlikely happens. I had more reason to think that way than most, since I had a stat that might well be able to manipulate probability, but even then, I'd seen a fair amount of stuff I'd attribute to chance and had seen a fair number of plots in movies and games and stuff that made me go 'sorry, no; you'd have to be God to plan all that.'

Did I believe then, that we'd just fallen into an elaborate trap, that someone had known all along or else found out in time to set us up? That they'd allowed me to get this far just to catch me here and now? A part of me wanted to, wanted to point out that Adam and Blake had recently suffered difficulties and now _I_ was too, and wonder how they could have done it, but that didn't add up.

I wasn't certain what kind of trouble Adam and Blake had run into—I didn't hear any explosions yet, which I figured was a good sign—but whatever it was, if it had given me away, why send just one person? Maybe she was an expert Huntress like my mother, but if I was the one in charge of something this big and I suspected someone was attempting anything like _I_ was attempting, there would be more than a small, subtle response.

Furthermore, thinking about it with the calm granted by the Gamer's Mind, how would they know it was me? Ignoring the things I know I'd done out of sight, what could have given me away? Again, I could have given into the urge to believe I was dealing with super geniuses who could spot the slightest inconsistency, but I knew that wasn't true. Most of my plan had been _built_ on that not being true. Getting the information about the ship, getting onto the ship, and more, all proof of that people were people. I had gotten past some of the best security money could buy and then onto a cutting edge airship purely on that fact. So then, what had given me away?

Maybe, just maybe, nothing. In which case going out in a Grimm mask and a black cloak would blow my cover needlessly.

With one last glance at my items, I shifted my attention downwards and equipped the flight attendant suit I'd stolen beforehand and left the cockpit.

I followed the woman I sensed through the ship, careful to take a different route so we wouldn't meet until I wanted us to. To my relief, she hadn't even gone in the direction of the cockpit, but instead towards the passenger section. A passenger coming onboard even earlier than expected? I began thinking of explanations for why I'd need to remove her from the ship—

Which all went down the drain the moment I saw her.

She stood by one of the many windows, face expressionless and cold as she traced the glass with her fingernails. She was dressed in light blues and whites—dress, boots, and jacket all made to match in what must have been a custom design. A flash of red, stark against the rest of her ensemble, stood out brightly in her raised collar and drew attention from the pale colors, but even then, between light blue eyes, white hair, and pale skin, I looked at her and thought of snow.

Fitting, given the words written above her head.

 **The Loneliest of All**

 **LV31**

 **Weiss Schnee**

Wonderful. Just…wonderful.

I recovered quickly as I saw her turn my way with a start, adopting a smile.

"Ah," I said, thinking fast. "I hadn't realized we'd begun boarding yet. May I…"

I tilted my head to the side, trailing off.

"Oh! Ms. Schnee!" I said as if only just now recognizing her. "I apologize. I hadn't known you'd be flying with us today. Will your father be joining us as well?"

Please say no.

Weiss Schnee smiled at me for a moment, but something about it seemed just a bit off.

"No, no, neither of us will be flying today," She said pleasantly, but when I Observed her, I saw that she was anxious behind her fake smile. "I simply wanted to take a look at this beautiful ship before it departed."

Something about how she said that struck me as false, even without using Observe again. Maybe it was just the tip off of her title, but…

I bowed slightly at her, nodding minutely.

"Would you like me to escort you then, Ms. Schnee?" I asked. "I have finished with my duties for the moment and the ship is easy to get lost in."

I saw her expression become ever so slightly more strained and her emotions shifted slightly. As she nodded, I could see a bit of displeasure, but more resignation.

"That would be lovely, Mr.…"

"Hamelin," I said, drawing upon one of the fake names I'd made up as I gestured down the hallway with one arm. "This way, please."

She walked by without another look at me and I stood just a step behind, where I could move into her blind spot quickly if I had to.

I was hoping I wouldn't. Given her level—and the implied training she must have received—it was unlikely a quick takedown would be possible with here, to say nothing of her Aura. And if it came to a fight inside the ship…well, it would be dangerous, but more than that, it was likely to be noticeable and could cause damage to the ship. I needed time to think of a strategy, a way of getting her off the ship peacefully, if at all possible.

I looked her over again, Observing her closely. Her stats were biased in the direction of Intelligence and she possessed an impressive amount of MP. A similar glance at the sword by her side—and how did she get away with bringing that in here?—labeled it as 'Myrtenaster' and a 'Multi Action Dust Rapier.' I noted white, yellow, blue, red, light blue, and purple Dust set into what looked like a revolver chamber inside the rapier's guard, and between that and her family name, it seemed safe to assume she was a Dust user, though what that truly meant depended on how she chose to use it.

It was still good to know. Just in case.

"I apologize," I said, both to buy time think things through and to satisfy my curiosity.

"For what?" Weiss asked in return, but there was a type of tension in her voice. I considered my words carefully for a moment before answering.

"I got the impression that I may have interrupted something," I said truthfully. "And you seemed somewhat upset by my appearance—resigned, perhaps. And for that I apologize."

I saw her fingers twitch, but she said nothing. I was sure that if I'd been able to see her face, though, she would have been frowning.

I didn't speak again until I'd led her to the first class area and viewing deck. Here, the sun shined upon the opulence within through one of the largest windows I'd ever seen, displaying a room that looked like it was out of a movie, with plenty of open space, comfortable looking seats, personal screens for each, and much more.

More importantly to me, however, there was an easy pathway from here to one of the exits. If I was lucky, I'd be able to convince her to leave by the time I led her there. If not…well, I'd have to improvise. Either way, though, I needed to do this quickly, before other people started showing up. Or even before Blake and Adam got here, because I honestly wasn't sure how they'd react to the company heiress.

I wasn't even sure how _I_ was supposed to react to the company heiress. Should I take her hostage now? I _really_ didn't want to do that and even if I didn't find it uncomfortable morally, every way I could see that course of action ending looked bad, just some less than others. What I _really_ wanted was to get her off the ship without complicating this any further, but…

"It's not really my place," I began again after a minute of admiring the view, trying a different approach. "But does your father know you're here?"

"You're right," She said after a moment of silence. "It's not your place."

I fell silent at that, feeling a little bad even as I started thinking of ways to use it to get her off the ship. I was pretty sure I could, was the good news, but I kept thinking of her title, wondering what you had to do to get something like _that_ pasted above your head. I wondered about titles for other people in general, honestly—like, what did they mean? What did they even _do_? Could they change? I assumed they could, since I couldn't see Adam being _born_ 'The Beast', but if they changed…

I repressed a sigh, forcing myself to focus. I glanced around, thinking about my next words, but she spoke before I could.

"I wasn't going to run away." Weiss said firmly after several seconds of awkward silence. I stared at her quietly for a moment and then nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"I believe you," I said and when silence fell again, added. "You don't really seem like the type who'd run away. But it's interesting to consider sometimes, isn't it? Running away and leaving behind the expectations and…everything."

I thought I could almost _hear_ her teeth grinding and for just a moment I wondered if she'd start yelling at me. But when she answered, her voice was soft.

"Only a _coward_ runs away from their problems."

"Perhaps," I agreed. "That doesn't mean the brave don't consider it, though. I like to think that by having the option and choosing not to, we become brave."

She slowly stopped walking and looked down, hair covering her eyes. I stopped behind her and let her consider that for a moment before continuing.

"I don't have any right to talk about your problems, but…I used to think about it too, sometimes. When I was alone for weeks and…" I let myself trail off again, trying to strike the balance between making a connection and not telling her anything about myself. "And that's always what I thought, after. I don't know if it's really true and sometimes I wondered if it was just another way of being scared, but…it helped, I think. And I knew that my parents were…"

Weiss turned her head and looked back at me with irritation shining in her eyes.

"You don't know _anything_ ," She almost snarled. "I—"

She visibly cut herself off and turned away again.

I looked at her quietly and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder after some deliberation.

"I won't tell my boss I saw you," I said gently. "Or your father or anyone. So let's go, okay?"

I had her now, I thought. I had no idea how I felt about how easily I could manipulate someone's emotions, besides a little sick, but I _did_. I was pretty sure she'd let me lead her out if I asked. I wondered what she'd think we she figured out why I was actually here or if she'd think I was just another casualty of the White Fang, but for now, I could remove her from this ship before anything else went wrong—

I had to struggle to contain a scream of frustration when I heard explosions.

 **XxXXxX**

I barely held myself back from dashing to the window as fast as I could—because if I moved as fast as I could, if I reacted so quickly, it may well be enough to give me away, even if Weiss thoughts were probably focused elsewhere at the moment. Instead, I let her move first, following at a more normal pace to stand behind her, at which point I followed her gaze to the scene outside.

What I saw was as confusing as it was bizarre. It was…there wasn't any _order_ to the scene that I could see, nothing I could focus on and make sense of. One of the nearby buildings had apparently been destroyed, crashing down in a massive pile that had already begun to do up in flames. I saw what looked like the robots I'd fought several weeks ago, including one of the Spider Droids, moving through the grounds, guns firing rapidly in the direction of the crowds already streaming from the presentation hall, muted screams mixing with distant gunfire to make a bizarre backdrop to the strange sight.

I saw what must have been Hunters blurring between the firing robots and the crowds, deflecting fire with weapons of all kinds and making it look easy—but that didn't change the fact that they were being forced to remain where they were or else expose the crowds to lethal fire. Worse, the robots were arranged in such a way that the crowds didn't have anywhere to run _to_ and their terrified rush was halted by the Hunters themselves, keeping them where they were. I saw return fire from those who could spare the focus, saw robots collapse, but it scarcely seemed to matter as other machines merely stepped into place.

The Hunters could dodge the fire easily. Once they closed in, they'd slaughter the robots just as trivially. And yet, for all of that they had no choice but to stand their ground as bullet after bullet flashed through the air, because they couldn't risk the safety of those who couldn't. For all their power, they had to take everything the machine's dished out until they either ran out of bullets or something got through. And given the amount of robots, the number of people present, and how thinly the Hunters present needed to be spread to protect all of them…

I'd have bet on something getting through, if only because of the Spider Droid's charging beam cannon, but for one thing. A glimmer of hope that, strangely, came in the form of _Adam_. In a role I would not have expected from my older party member, he stood between the crowd and the hostile machines, cutting down all he could with flickering strikes that reached far further then his blade should have allowed. As the Spider Droid finished charging, I saw him move, bracing himself with gritted teeth as he interposed himself in front of the flashing streak of light.

I saw him get pushed back, grit his teeth, and withstand the rest of the attack before striking back in a flash of black and red, even as I heard another thunderous crash of fallen rubble as the burned pile abruptly shifted, the giant figure of another machine rising against the backdrop of the flames.

I'd like to say I understood what had happened at a glance, but that would have been a damn lie. The truth was that I had absolutely no clue what the hell was going on. Hell, if not for the Gamer's Mind, I would have stared at the scene before me in abject shock like Weiss was doing. Instead I remained calm and took things in as best I could and continued to observe the scene. It didn't suddenly start making sense, sadly, with Schnee or Atlasian or whatever robots attacking innocent people, _Adam_ fighting to protect them, and so much stuff on _fire_ , but that just meant I needed to think things through before getting involved with…this.

First things first, I had to find my friends. I saw Adam, but not Blake and since _she_ had been the one to message me beforehand…

With a whisper, I brought up my Map, glancing at it to see the colored dots indicating my party members and noted Adam's position before turning towards the other. Through the window on top of the elevated White Whale, I could see the rooftops all around, which was the only reason I was able to spot Blake at all. Atop a blocky red building off to the side, I saw her fighting a man I didn't recognize and could barely see from here. If I could put on Lenore…but no. I tried to squint, catch some details, but all I could see was red hair, what might have been a black hat, and a white coat or suit. I couldn't make out any more details about him, except for the fact that Blake was fighting him as hard as I'd ever seen and not instantly winning, which told me a lot all on its own.

There were other marks on my Map, scattered around the area, but now that I knew both of my teammates were alive I had more important things to do. Like…figuring out what to do.

Something had obviously gone horrible wrong somewhere, though I was beginning to suspect it had less to do with us and more to do with an unanticipated third party. I considered aborting as the mission had already gone half to hell, but…Knowing nothing else about them then that they were _here_ , it seemed safe to assume that the White Whale was their goal and motive. The reason for their presence could have been anything from stealing it like we'd planned to destroying it to just trying to take advantage of the crowds it'd drawn. There was no way of knowing with the information I had right now, but whatever the case…

Whatever the case, this could easily ruin everything. Whatever their motivations, whether they were successful or not, it was unlikely I'd be able to get to the White Whale again after this, at least with anywhere near the same amount of ease. If they destroyed it, that was it. If they got away with it and managed to get _it_ away from the people sent after it, that would probably be it, too. But if they were unsuccessful or if they were just trying to take advantage of the situation…either way, security would be increased tremendously, if this public demonstration wasn't called off _entirely_ which seemed more likely. It might not be _impossible_ to try again, but it would be a lot harder and there was no way of knowing when there'd be another chance.

I had to decide, here and now, whether to back out or keep going.

We _might_ be able to fight another day. If the White Whale wasn't destroyed, if it wasn't taken someplace we couldn't reach, if we were lucky, we could get another shot someday, maybe. It wouldn't be easy by any means, would be a lot harder than it was today, but the very nature of my power meant that time was on my side. Given another week, I could definitely gain a few more levels and learn the next skill in Bai Hu's lost art. Given a month to prepare, or two, or six, or a year, I didn't even know what I could do. I could get stronger, though, far stronger then I was now. I could grind my skills, prepare, struggle, and improve until I was up to the challenge. So could Adam and Blake, once I'd leveled up enough for us to really party.

Patience and time were on my side, whatever the situation. I could wait. I could _always_ wait.

But could the people I was trying to save? If nothing changed, if nothing was done, could _they_ wait? If it took me a year to get another chance to save them…what could happen to them in that time? How many would suffer in that time? How many innocent men and women and children would die in that time, if I backed out now?

I guess we'd never know.

I decided my next move before Weiss even spoke.

"They're after the ship!" She said, turning around in a flurry of white. "We have to tell the Captain to get this ship in the air!"

I nodded silently without even looking at her, having already come to the same conclusion—but it went without saying that I couldn't let her speak to the non-existent Captain. It wasn't an issue, though.

I closed my eyes, projecting an image to Crocea Mors—the cockpit as I'd last seen it. Then I changed the thought, giving basic instructions to go with it, and held on as the airship rattled and began to rise.

The White Whale, like most airships, could be flown by a single pilot, so long as he knew how. The second pilot was there for safety concerns and to split duties to make the flight easier, but either could manage the ship by themselves if needed. I intended to fly the White Whale that way, as the only member of my group who knew how to fly it—but I did have a co-pilot of sorts. Crocea Mors was in the metal of this ship, in the _controls_.

It wasn't the same as him being able to fly, sadly. If anything, it was like I was telling him how to play a video game, directing every button press and motion, and there was a limit to the range, too. But if it was just for something like this and with me this close…it was enough.

Weiss stumbled as the ship rose unevenly, falling back into my waiting arms while I braced myself on the window. She let out a little huff of expelled air as she rocked into me, but quickly steadied herself against my frame, waiting for the airship to stabilize.

But there was a problem with that, too. See, I was already thinking about the situation, where it was going, and how I could play into it. The people Adam and Blake were fighting…I knew nothing about them, but I could make educated guessed from their actions. Whatever they were doing, I assumed they must have put at least as much planning and preparation into it as we'd done for ours and I had to admit that as distractions went, a horde of reprogrammed robots was a pretty damn good one.

But that was all it was. A distraction and a way to buy time. So long as innocent lives were at stake, they could keep the Hunters preoccupied and pinned, but they couldn't beat them that way. If they shot enough bullets, some would get through and people would get hurt or even die, but the _Hunters_? When the bullets ran out, they'd just be angry at the guy behind it. He'd probably run, though, seeing as I'd ruined _his_ plan and stolen his prize.

We'd already won that battle, more or less.

But that didn't mean they'd be happy with _us_ , once it was over. When the gunfire faded, Adam—whose actions I wasn't certain on, but who I trusted and called a friend—would be stuck in the middle of a group of people who would probably be thankful for the assist, but hardly enough so to let us walk away with an airship. Or walk away at all, really, given that when this was over, Adam would be a White Fang member standing in the middle of a bunch of Hunters. Blake was far enough from the scene to maybe get away but—

No. Blake wouldn't leave Adam to his fate like that. She'd get involved just like I would. The difference was, I could actually get us out of this mess. Probably. If I could pull it off. No, more than that, if I could actually _do_ it.

I closed my eyes for a minute, thinking of why I was involved in this mess.

Yeah.

I could.

Weiss pushed away from me as the ship straightened at my command.

"Come on," She snapped impatiently, not even looking at me as she barked commands. "We still need to speak to the pilot. We'll need to—"

I'd already opened my Inventory, preparing myself.

 _I'm sorry_ , I thought and meant it. A part of me wanted to explain myself, regretting this already. But…for my friends, for the people I had to save…

I attacked.

 **XxXXxX**

9\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 21 - High-Value Target

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
High-Value Target**

I'm not going to lie and say I fought even remotely fairly. In fact, it probably went without saying, but the moment I attacked, I stacked the deck as far as physically possible in my favor. Yeah, part of it was because of the level difference, but I admit it—even if we'd been on equal footing or if she'd been weaker than me, I wouldn't have pulled any punches. I felt kind of bad about that on one level, but not enough to actually, you know, _not do it_. I had advantages and I exploited them ruthlessly, because I couldn't afford to lose.

The biggest one, of course, was Crocea Mors. Out in the woods, there were a lot of limits to what he could do as a Metal Elemental. Restricted to what he had available, I mainly used him to strengthen my own weapons, making even the fragile-looking blades on my fingers diamond hard. If we'd been fighting human opponents instead of Grimm, he might have been able to sense them by their weaponry and help guide my blows—perhaps even affect their weapons directly, to some extent—but he was still severely limited compared to, say, Levant.

But inside a ship that was _made_ of metal…well, that gave us a few more options. I mean, we didn't want to risk causing damage to the ship itself so we both had to restrain ourselves somewhat, but we still had loads of different ways to act, including ones that were arguably more effective than more overt uses, especially combined with my other assets.

For example, a relative simple act killed the lights. Like pretty much all modern windows, the viewing deck could be turned opaque pretty simply. The switch was in the control room to prevent people from abusing it, but it was still _there_ , as were similar controls for the internal lighting throughout the ship. It took barely a twitch of effort to push a few buttons and plunge the entire airship into darkness.

Or, in my case, 'darkness.' With Lenore, there was hardly a flicker as the world got, if anything, brighter. More than that, I could see _Weiss_ , bright white light glowing within her frame, flowing beneath her skin. As I crouched and time seemed to slow, my focus sharpened upon her. I saw muscles twitch beneath her skin, hair shift as she began to react—but unlike her, I wasn't reacting. I was already moving as the lights cut out, clawed gauntlets reaching, grabbing, _crushing_.

To her credit, the only delay between me taking ahold of her and her reacting was a single jerk. She didn't waste time, didn't say a word, she just drew her blade. I watched as the white light of her soul sheathed the blade, splitting into different colors as it reached the Dust in its guard. She reacted quickly and struck well—but also blindly. I saw the attack coming and shifted slightly out of the way. Had she been able to see me in the darkness, she could have compensated for that easily, but she couldn't and I completed the attack using Rip. I watched her HP bar decrease as her Aura withstood the attack and instead of tearing out a part of her, I dragged her by her right arm and threw her with all the force I could muster.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through the hurling of projectile weapons, the skill 'Throw' has been created!**

She twisted blindly in the air, settling against it suddenly in a crouch as a snowflake symbol appeared beneath her feet and halted her momentum. The symbol sent a flash of dim light through the area, nowhere near enough to truly illuminate things for her but enough to send shadows crawling and showing outlines in a way that I could see if I focused, overlaid with the bright world I now stalked. Normally, I wouldn't have bothered, but in this case it was probably worth it to know what _she_ could see.

I saw her eyes focus on me, widening at whatever she saw, but then the symbol turned black and I saw her angle her blade towards me, flying forward an instant later with blinding speed and power. But at the same time, her light faded and I moved to adjust to the attack. Speed is important, of course, but it's not the _only_ factor, and though Weiss moved with tremendous speed, she had to cover over ten meters to reach me, whereas I had to take a step out of the way to avoid the attack. She was fast, but she wasn't _that_ fast.

But I didn't stop there. I don't know if I could have done it alone, but I _wasn't_ alone. I had Crocea Mors and Levant beside me and the power within Dreary Midnight and Lenore bolstered my own. I felt my Air Aura surrounding me, granting me the speed of the wind as I moved, lifting hands guided as much by Crocea Mors as my own will—and together, we closed my fingers around the guard of Weiss sword and her left arm.

I bore down with crush and tried to tear away at her grip with Rip, but her momentum remained and I had to work with it. Bracing my feet, turned with the sudden force, dragging, straining, and then _flinging_ her back up in the opposite direction. She held onto her rapier, but I didn't let up on her, slashing quickly at the air to send a Razor Wind in her direction, throwing her back as she tried to stop in midair again and shattering her Glyph with a flash of light as I smashed her through it.

She let out a cry as her flight continued, but I was already upon her, using the White Tiger's Lunge to close the distance in an instant and smash her the rest of the way up to the ceiling, closing my right hand around her throat and my left around her wrist as my feet planted on the ceiling and I flung us both back down to the floor. I smashed her straight into the ground as hard as I could, leaving it to Crocea Mors to protect the ship as I clamped down as hard as I could.

Weiss didn't let go, probably understanding how this would go if I took both her sight _and_ her only weapon. Her free hand wrapped around my right arm, trying to pull it from her throat as her legs kicked, but through Crocea Mors' protective shell it did nothing. Abruptly, she stopped struggling and another of her Glyphs appeared beneath her, illuminating us both. For a moment, our eyes met and she looked at me—or at my mask. I saw her eyes widen further, a gasp dying at my grip, but then I was bounding away as ice shot towards the ceiling in the dying light.

I paused for a moment, watching her as she quickly forced herself to her feet, looking around rapidly with unseeing eyes. It was strange, watching her move blindly when I could see so well, even if it was the point. This was how the battle of Fort Castle had been won, a single weakness that sealed an entire army's fate. I took a step to the side, air gathering around my feet to silence the footfall as I circled her quietly, waiting.

After a moment, she snarled something unladylike, glaring into the darkness.

"Show yourself, you coward!" She spat, gesturing with her blade and sending a blast of blue light in a random direction. It was a candle flame in the cavernous darkness, but it brought back grasping shadows and vague outlines. I saw Weiss focus on me as the first light faded, attacking again in the same way—but I was already gone, leaping away. I was a shifting shadow against the profiles of high seats as she attacked, a shape that was never in the same place twice, moving around her and drawing closer with each dodged attack even as I let her waste her energy and grow frightened.

"What do you want?" She demanded. "Why are you here? Are you with the White Fang?"

I remained silent. Speaking would just give away my location and, perhaps even more importantly, I knew she was scared. I was glad for it, in fact, and I wanted her to stay that way, to start to panic and continue to strike out in fear. The more frightened she was, the better it was for me—at least, if done right. A part of me felt sick to the stomach at that fact, at the realization of what I was doing, but it was the truth. Fear and anger had their place in battle, but if you let them rule your thoughts, you'd pay for it as she was, MP slowly draining away.

So I said nothing, not giving her anything to attach to me, any knowledge of what she was facing in the dark. I moved quickly, staying close enough for her to see me, to react to my approach. I think…it might have been arrogant, especially given all the unfair advantages I had on my side, but I was pretty sure I had the edge in this fight. Weiss seemed powerful, but I got the impression that she didn't have as much experience as I did when it came to fighting and put in a situation where power alone didn't matter, I had her on the ropes.

It was just a matter of pushing her out of the ring.

I danced back a few rows and crouched down behind one of the chairs. I heard her move and wondered if she would try to escape or attempt to break the reinforced window, but it didn't matter. With a whisper, Levant began to appear, form twisting out of the air. She smiled at me and nudged my mask playfully before I drew away, dashing between cover as Weiss continued to attack futilely. From her perspective, she'd lost track of me in the darkness and now she was attacking wildly to try and find me again.

"How did you turn the lights off!?" She snarled and I could see droplets of sweat forming on her skin. "Where is Hamelin!? What did you do to the pilot!?"

The question gave me pause as a thought struck me. I debated whether or not to answer, to let her hear my voice and actually know what her enemy sounded like. After all, what was more frightening then the unknown, the unseen, something dreaded but approaching?

I thought about it and knew there was something. Part of it maybe have been personal bias, but…I could think of one thing that was more frightening when you knew about it and something made me think she would share the feeling. I managed to find it in myself to hate what I was doing a little bit more, even as I looked over and met Levant's eyes in the darkness, sending a thought her way.

She giggled and it was a sound that didn't come from her mouth, from a direction or a source. It was delicate sounding, joyous, and completely unfitting for the situation—and it came from all around us. I saw Weiss jerk, twist around once, twice, three times as if expect an attack from every direction but when she attacked again, nothing appeared.

And then I spoke. But though my mouth moved, the sound did not come from me.

"Have you not realized?" I said, my voice clam and clear and as polite as I could make it—and coming from right behind her. "You are alone."

She struck behind her with a jerk, hitting nothing but air, and jumped away with her guard raised. She was breathing hard already, blind eyes flickering rapidly as if to somehow see, but when I didn't attack, her mouth twisted and she spoke.

"You're lying!" She snarled fiercely—and yet, for all of that, I don't believe even she could believe that. "You really expect me to believe—"

"Take us higher," I ordered Crocea Mors and the airship began to rise again, silencing the heiress. "This ship is under my command now."

I saw her take a breath, swallowing slightly.

"What did you do to the pilot?" She asked. "To Hamelin?"

I considered remaining silent, letting her wonder. There were several ways I could take things from here and that was one, but…

I took a bracing breath and spoke.

"We are the only ones left on this ship," I said truthfully after a moment of silence, giving her imagination fuel and letting her fill in the blanks as she saw fit. Except…I knew what she would see, could guess her reaction easily. I was aware of exactly what I was doing to her.

It hurt. Nowhere near as much as I was hurting her—I wasn't that presumptuous—but it was hard to do this knowingly, even for a good cause, even knowing _why_.

"You _monster_ ," She said through gritted teeth. I could see the disgust on her face and when I Observed her, I could see deeper still, into the growing fear, the dawning panic. I could see very clearly what I was doing to her and I wanted nothing more to stop, to kick myself, to beg for forgiveness. But I remembered why I was doing this.

I knew the situation that was about to develop, if it hadn't done so already. The conflict outside would come to an end and when it did we, my team, would be put at a disadvantage. Adam would fight and so would Blake, but…it wouldn't be enough. Not nearly. Adam and Blake were strong even for their level, but against the opposition they'd have to face, they'd fail unless I did something.

That was part of why I was doing this. I needed Weiss for what I had in mind next, but I would need other things, too, and it was impossible to truly predict _what_ , though I had some guesses. My MP was a valuable resource I had to use carefully, because I had no idea what was coming next but I was sure, absolutely _sure_ , that I probably wasn't going to get a break to meditate for a while. I needed to defeat Weiss, a higher leveled and well trained opponent, but more than that I needed to be able to beat everything that came after her as well.

This was a battle of resources now, of how far I'd be able to get while spending the least amount of energy. And to do that, I had to be efficient before all else—and, more importantly, make Weiss be as inefficient as I could. It was the same as any other fight I'd been in, a matter of twisting the situation to my advantage, to find and exploit weak points to defeat an enemy that might otherwise crush me.

But I didn't see the pain within Grimm. I didn't see the fear within machines. This…this was different.

And the worst part was…it was still easy. However disgusting the idea seemed, it was easy to come up with this plan, it was easy to execute it. I looked at the young woman I was pushing into a corner and calmly considered the ways to fence her in further. I could see her looking for a way out, a way off the ship, but also hesitation.

"Why?" The question came at last, simple and complex at the same time. It was spoken quietly, but it carried in the silence of the room and for a moment I closed my eyes.

"For the ship, of course," I said, building the lie I was preparing on a truth. "No one else suspects a thing, yet. I'm sure you can imagine what we could do with a ship like this. Why, if it were to crash right now…"

I let my voice fade as Levant giggled again, the air in the room carrying a slight, musical tune.

"I'll stop you," Weiss said, lifting her voice and sword alike. A single sentence and all thoughts of escape had fled. If she'd had time to think, she might have tried to find a way out, turning this into a chase through darkened corridors. With my Elementals at my side, it was next to impossible that she'd succeed at losing me, but as her panic grew, she could cause damage to the ship, forcing me to drain my Aura to protect it—and if she figured out I _was_ protecting it, she could attack the ship instead of me. Maybe she'd even escape, unlikely as it was, but whatever the case, it could easily turn this battle into the kind of fight I wished to avoid.

But now, because of what she felt was at risk, _she_ wanted to protect the ship as much as I did. In fact, she wanted to protect it from _me_ , reversing our positions in her mind. And with the threat of what she thought could happen if I succeeded…

I could see was still scared, but she was also _resolved_ now. Determined to stay here, among the monsters in the dark, and face them. The hero fighting my villain.

However, that resolve was rooted in something deeper and it was just another type of fear. Fear was something that I knew from experience, both from games and real life, and there were many different kinds. There are flashing lights and sudden motions, jump scares and screams, and done right they can be terrifying, but there were many kinds of fear. There's the quiet wait at night, wondering if your parents are alive, the quiet expectation and dread outside a hospital for family friends who were wounded in battle, a quiet atmosphere of anticipation, fear of the unknown, and countless others. There was one in particular, though, that I knew better than any other—and I thought, just maybe, that Weiss knew it just as well, if perhaps in a different way.

The fear of failure. The dread that you might not succeed, that you might let others down, the constant wondering if you were good enough and, beneath it, a quiet voice whispering that you weren't. It was a quiet fear that walked into your mind and set up show in the back of your thoughts, growing with each reminder.

I knew what that was like. I knew what that uncertainty could do to you. And with the stakes as high as they were, I thought I knew what it could do to _Weiss_.

She crouched down after I didn't reply, another Glyph appearing beneath her feet even as her sword was encompassed with dim light. With a momentary shift of color, she was in the air, flipping to crouch upside-down in empty space. A slash of her sword sent half a dozen small blue snowflakes that fell in curving arcs before firing bright blue beams of light. They flew through the air blindly looking for me, but the moment Weiss moved, so had I. I Lunged straight up and landed silently on the ceiling, air swirling around me to literally push me up against the surface. I only stayed there for an instant, aiming, and then was off again.

I slammed feet first into Weiss Glyph, landing in a crouch again my feet almost touching Weiss's own. I saw her look down in sudden shock, seeing me standing there opposite her as if she were walking on some twisted mirror—and then the light faded as I broke through the already cracked Glyph with a fist, sending us both back into gravity's grasp.

Of course, we both had our tricks. After a moment of falling, another Glyph unfurled beneath Weiss' feet and she immediately turned her head to look for me—but Levant had already reached out to me. Air gripped me, spinning me upright and throwing me forward as I reached out for Weiss' throat. I saw her eyes widen before the Glyph's color changed and we were both went flying into the darkness by a rush of force. I don't think it was aimed except with the intent of putting distance between us—but she landed on another Glyph a second later, even as a rush of wind hurled me to the ground, back amongst silhouettes and shadows.

Weiss Glyph remained for a second before she jumped away, shifting position to another spot in the air. I timed another Lunge to cut across her vision in the dim light, a sudden rush of shadow that she sent flashes of light after without any true aim before leaping down to put her back to a wall. Her blade was sheathed in crimson light as she began to edge around the wall, guiding herself with one hand, but the sword only cast enough light to illuminate her immediate surroundings.

And it's amazing how hard it can be to remember to look up.

I hung on the ceiling, pressed up against it by Levant, and crawled after her on all fours. Levant and Crocea Mors made noise, sending doors shuttering open and closed, chairs creaking slightly, a breeze. Weiss reacted to the sounds, twisting this way and that in response, but I waited above her, timed my approach—and struck. I came down upon her with all the force I could muster, striking hard with grasping, curling claws. She went down with a scream, red light fading, and what came next was a scramble. I went for her weapon, her last line of defense, and this time tore it away and hurled it into the darkness.

There was an almost musical chatter as the blade skittered to a halt and Levant sent it echoing strangely so as to not reveal its location. I danced back out of her reach even before another Glyph appeared beneath her and flashed as it flung us both away again. I watched Weiss react, saw Glyphs flash in and out of existence as she moved, searching frantically for her weapon even as I retreated into the shadows and waited.

I didn't even have to do anything now, not really. I could see her MP bar draining swiftly as she wasted it looking, trying to stay a step ahead of a non-existent attacker. She was driven by a need to succeed, weighed down by the growing fear of failure, harried by my actions, and slowly but surely growing exhausted. All I had to do was wait and occasionally let her hear Myrtenaster shifting in the dark, sound directionless but keeping her fighting hard until her strength faded away.

I closed my eyes as she tried to call up another Glyph, tried to reach for light in the darkness, and failed.

She screamed once as I ended the chase and then fell silent.

I looked down at her silently for a moment, feeling horrible. Blue windows appeared before me, Intimidate leveling up rapidly along with a few new skills to remind me I was a horrible person.

"I'm sorry," I said meaninglessly her crumbled, words that changed nothing to a girl who couldn't hear them. It was a good plan, an efficient plan, and it had worked—but none of that justified what I'd done, not even what I was doing it for. I picked her up gently in the dark and carried her as the light returned. "I'll make it up to you someday."

The words tasted bitter as I spoke them, maybe because of how often I seemed to say them. But…no, more than that…I wasn't done with her yet. A glance out the window confirmed my fears.

I guess it was inevitable.

The villain always stole away the princess to use her against the king.

 **XxXXxX**

10\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 22 - Exchange

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Exchange**

I made it in the nick of time. When I looked out the window at the scene far below me, I saw the battle winding down as more and more Hunters began to go on the offensive and the machine's numbers dwindled. Adam was still there in the thick of it, but a glance at my Party Menu showed that his MP was running dangerously low and once others began taking over, he started using Wilt and Blush to keep himself upright instead of to fight.

Further away, the man Blake had been fighting seemed to be escaping on a Bullhead I hadn't noticed until now, Blake standing on the rooftop below him, watching him go while looking tense and ready. I put Weiss down, leaning her against the wall so I'd have my hands free to fetch my scroll from my Inventory, open it and send her a message.

'Dealt with my problem. Can see you. What happened?' I typed quickly, though she didn't react until the Bullhead had retreated far enough. After finally relaxing, she glanced up at my ship, looked around, and quickly got out of sight.

'Third party interfered. Things got bad. Adam intervened.' She messaged back a moment later.

I nodded to myself having figured it had been something along those lines. It didn't exactly tell me much about what had sent our whole plan straight to hell, but there'd be time to discuss the details later. For now, we had bigger concerns.

'I can see everything from my position,' I sent. 'Fight's dying down, but Adam's exhausted and surrounded. Good chance the Hunters will turn on him once they realize what he is.'

'Can you make a distraction?' Blake asked. 'If you buy us some time, I may be able to rescue him.'

'Too risky,' I said and meant it. There were too many unknowns; so many high level Hunters, each with unknown training, unknown Semblances, unknown weapons, and world famous Huntsmen like Ozpin and Ironwood nearby on top of that…it was a horrible idea. There was a reason pretty much my entire plan up to this point had been to go _around_ the enemy instead of _through_ them.

Maybe it could have worked—for all their power, Huntsmen were people, too. They weren't infallible or all-knowing; today had been pretty solid proof of that. Not one but _two_ different attempts on the White Whale had caught them off guard and though I didn't want to count my chickens before they hatched, one of them seemed to be going okay thus far. More than that, no one was good at everything. That was pretty much the sole reason I'd gotten this far; I hit my opponents where they were weak and I was strong. I'd fought the Nevermore on the ground and Weiss in the dark, using my skills and abilities to get every advantage I could and exploit their weaknesses. Everyone had things they were good at and bad at and that held true of people as much as it did of monsters. Hunters were an elite but diverse group; not every member was an espionage or intelligence expert and only a small fraction of even the local Hunter community would be attending an event like this in person. On top of all that, there was plenty of chaos all around us and I was getting pretty good at creating more on demand.

Given all that, I'd acknowledge that it was _possible_ to succeed in such a way. Blake and I could have charged head first into a large group of higher level opponents that were already on guard with absolutely no information and we might have succeeded in saving and escaping with Adam. And after we saved him, we might be able to get back to the ship unnoticed, take off, and make good on our plan without getting caught. It was _possible_.

But it was also possible that I'd win the lottery—and honestly, that seemed more likely at the moment. Already I could see people keeping an eye on Adam, gesturing and whispering subtly to one another as they finished the cleanup. They had him in their grasps for all intents and purposes, and I could recognize something in their movements as the combat slowly died down. They were wary of the unknown, slowly fencing him further in. If we did something obvious, if Adam tried to just run away now…he wasn't getting out of there. I don't think he'd die, but he wasn't escaping that way. If it came down to it, I'd rather risk a rescue operation from whatever hole they threw him into than charge into that fray, because it probably had a better chance of working.

We couldn't fight them. Not _all_ of them. Facing down the fullness of their power and overwhelming it had never been an option. The only thing we could do…was the same thing we'd _been_ doing. We had to find a battlefield where they couldn't exert that power.

'I have a plan,' I told her. 'Will use it if I have to. Need you to monitor what they're saying. Can you get close enough without getting caught?'

'Yes,' She said simply and I clipped my scroll to my waist, gathering Weiss up again as I got into position. Feeling a little guilty, I nabbed her fallen weapon as well as I walked passed it on my way into the hallway. If she was anything like I was with Crocea Mors, she would hate to lose it, but I couldn't risk her waking up at an inopportune time and stabbing me so I stowed it in my Inventory as moved through the ship towards the exit. Shifting Weiss so I could carry her over a shoulder, I checked my scroll as it beeped again.

'Thanking him, asking who he is. People suspicious of his power. Noting Faunus traits. Some people familiar? White Fang mentioned, accusations of involvement.' Blake said succinctly in a pair of messages, probably jolting down what stood out while listening carefully to the conversation. Other messages followed, with short pauses in between. 'Schnee robots used in the attack, confusion over who did what. Arguing over Adam's involvement. Saying there would have been casualties without him. Raising more questions. Accusing Adam, defending him. Wanting to know his intentions. Focus shifting to White Whale. Having trouble contacting the pilot. Schnee heiress missing, causing suspicion.'

'Is there any chance they'll let Adam go?' I typed back, scanning the messages. There was only so much she could write down while listening to what were probably dozens of confused, arguing people, but I trusted Blake to get everything important and I'd have to do my best to extrapolate the rest. I glanced over my shoulder where Levant followed silently and considered trying to boost the sound. I wasn't sure she could guide that many different voices that far, especially without giving something away, but…

I sighed. I knew the truth. Despite everything I'd done to Weiss, I hoped on one level that it was all for nothing. Maybe that was strange, to _want_ to have made a mistake, but I didn't really believe in the whole sunk cost thing. If I could stop now and not need to go any further, if I was _wrong_ , that would be…not good, considering what I'd done, but better then what would happen otherwise.

And yet, as much as I wanted it, I…

'Demands. The civilians are scared, panicking. Bigots making accusations, people trying to intervene causing more accusations. Adam waiting, saying nothing, getting ready. For us? Things getting bad, people trying to reach a compromise, talk of arrest pending investigation. Whatever you're doing, hurry.'

I already knew what would happen. That was probably the best result we could hope for—and yet, it was still a horrible result. Nothing was set in stone, but even assuming that they found nothing in Adam's background, which I rather doubted, Adam would probably take the fall for this, one way or another. Some of it could depend on who he got prosecuting him, on the judge and jury and biases towards Faunus, but just by being a member of the White Fang, he was probably doomed on that front even if the Schnee Dust Company didn't decide to take a hand in the proceedings. With the utter fiasco today, he'd be hung out to dry.

The worst part was, given the situation and the unknowns and everything that was going wrong, he'd probably take the heat for this even without a background if nothing was done. With the damage caused and the other party escaped, with what I'd done and would do…

But I'd known all that, too—and I wouldn't let it happen. I could make plenty of logical arguments, of how Adam's arrest under these circumstances could incite the White Fang, of the risk to innocent people when he struggled against what I'm sure he knew would lead towards imprisonment, and many other things. But in the end, something came before all that.

He was my friend.

I wasn't a fool. I knew that despite his reasons, despite his intentions and the logic within his beliefs, Adam had probably done his fair share of bad stuff. But he was my friend and I don't think that he was a bad person, truly.

Besides. I had just learned firsthand how easy it could be to do the wrong thing for what you felt were the right reasons. Could I have done what Adam did if I'd been in his shoes? I'd wondered and now I felt pretty sure the answer was yes. If it was for innocent people or for my friends…

So I opened the door and stepped onto the edge, leaning out into the wind that gentled into a slight breeze as it reached me. Far below me, Adam was surrounded, the crowd of people around him like ants from this far away, but just seeing them…I took a deep breath, partially to brace myself. I'd _known_ this was coming, even before I'd first struck at Weiss. Again, I was faced with the question of if I could do it—and again, I knew the answer was yes.

I threw my head back and roared, then, the sound louder than any I'd ever made. Levant stepped up behind me, grabbing fistfuls of my cloak—and the sound got louder and louder still, rising into the roar of a beast that could have shaken the pillars of the earth. Weiss woke with a start, blood beginning to trickle from her ears, but I'd already heaved her forward, leaning her out of the ship into the open air. She struggled at first and may have screamed, but if so it was a whisper drowned out by my voice and she froze in the face of that sound, in the face of the new nightmare she'd awoken into. She stood, powerless above over two hundred meters of empty space as the sound went on for a moment and finally died. I felt Weiss gripping my arm as tightly as she could, knuckles white and fingers shaking and wondered when I'd stop antagonizing this poor girl.

Not yet, evidently.

As my air ran out, I sucked in another breath and looked down, my vision impossibly sharp through Lenore's eyes. I saw people looking up at the sound, saw expressions of shock and fear and, on a rare few people, simple, focused attention. Whatever the case, all eyes were on me—and it was that, if anything, that made me speak again, Levant's power carrying my voice upon the winds.

"Schnee," I said, my voice calm, even casual. "I have your ship. I have your daughter. Let's talk."

If I hadn't had their attention before, I'd have had it now. For better or worse, there was no going back, no way out except to push forward. I didn't like it, I knew it would come back to bite me in the ass someday, and yet despite that…I did it. Because I couldn't see another way, not while staying true to what I'd promised myself.

But _God_ , I never saw myself holding a girl out of an airship in any of my dreams of being a hero. Never expected I'd be able to find it in myself to do something like this, much less as easily as I was doing now. And, I…soon, this would circulate, be seen by everyone. The entire _world_ would see me like this—my _parents_ would see me like this, even if they didn't recognize me. The mere thought of what that meant filled me with shame.

Yet even knowing that, I still didn't back down. I looked down upon them all and held firm, my heartbeat steady, stable. With one hand on the doorframe and the other holding Weiss into the sky, I kept going, unafraid.

This was the right move. Horrible, but the right move. I wasn't aiming for a hostage situation—at least, not a traditional one—for something drawn out wouldn't be in my favor. I just needed to make an opening, give myself options, and keep this from turning into a battle I couldn't win. I'd considered my choices and in the end this was what they'd all boiled down to.

I could lie, of course, and try to misdirect them. Attempt to frame the situation as Adam trying to work against me like in the movies—my sworn enemy or whatever. I could have tried to convince people he wasn't involved at all. I could have attempted to get Adam out of this situation with words and avoided terror tactics.

I didn't do that, simply because I didn't think it would work. I'd have been extraordinarily surprised if they bought that and outright _shocked_ if they honestly let him go even if they _did_. If nothing else, Adam was a very suspicious man at the scene of an even more suspicious crime. Even if I could somehow convince them all he was blameless and unconnected to the White Fang, they'd still want to bring him in for questioning, if nothing else—and questions were the last thing we wanted, because then something _would_ come up.

None of which mattered because I really, really doubted I could sell the lie; the situation was too incriminating for suspicions to be allayed that easily, especially with a plan I'm sure half the crowd had probably seen in a million different moves. Starting from the assumption that your enemies were stupid—not human and flawed and fallible but _stupid—_ was a really foolish thing to build a plan off of. Within their area of expertise, while alerted to a situation, people could be very smart, very skilled, and very dangerous. I was looking down at a bunch of Hunters ready for a fight and I was kind of doubting I'd pull one over on them unless I could make the lie really convincing.

Making a distraction had more potential, but short of actually attacking them with the ship I couldn't think of anything that would distract them enough get Adam out of there. Good as he was, I couldn't see him escaping on his own while exhausted and any attempts on Blake's part would not only have to get past a horde of Hunters, but get back out and then away with Adam weighing her down. If I could have gotten closer somehow, restored his MP…but that wasn't possible, so it didn't matter. It would be a handicapped Blake against who knows what. It was too risky.

I was pretty confident they'd see through anything but a really solid lie and while I liked to think I was good and I believed in my teammates, operating from the assumption that we were better than a large group of experienced experts we had no information on seemed foolhardy at best. That left me with negotiations—and threats.

I'd taken stock of what I'd had and in the end there were only two things that mattered here and now. I had Weiss and the White Whale and I couldn't give up the latter. That was okay, in theory—at first glance it seemed simple enough to trade one prisoner for another. The reality was more complicated, however, as one could see in the prisoner exchanges during the Revolution. There was the issue of relative value, the dangers of setting precedents, attempts to get as much as possible, lies and tricks, political showmanship, and much, much more.

Worse, there was the matter of power.

If I wanted to have any chance of this working, I needed to negotiate from a position of strength. I had to force my demands to be heard and obeyed—which was complicated somewhat by the fact that all I had was a good bluff. I could threaten Weiss or maybe threaten them with the White Whale, but I couldn't kill innocent people. Or, rather, I _wouldn't_ , however easy the Gamer's Mind could make it. The fact of the matter was, if they pushed this hard enough, there was only so far I could go.

So the only way this bluff was going to hold water was if I kept them _from_ pushing. Right now, they held all the cards. If you had all the facts and looked at it from a simple, logical standpoint, they had the Hunters and the government of Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company and who knows what else on their side. In truth, what they could bring to bear far exceeded what I was willing and able to.

But they _didn't_ have all the facts. _They_ didn't know how far _I_ was willing to go. And, in theory, I thought I could keep them from trying to test it.

A good lie was all about circumstance. In the end, it was about painting a picture that held up and in the right lighting, you could make just about anything seem believable. I couldn't convince them that Adam was uninvolved or unsuspicious because he was _obviously_ involved and _extremely_ suspicious, deserving of at least identification and some investigation. That lie wouldn't hold up any better than telling them the sky was green; it would fall apart at a glance.

So I began to paint an image that wouldn't. I started with what I wanted and figured out how to achieve them, taking into account likely responses as I would in any plan. The goal was simple; free Adam. The method was to trade Weiss for him. There were several issues with this.

The first was timing. I couldn't allow this to become prolonged transaction because time was definitely on their side—which was the same reason they would want to buy as much time as possible, once they realized what I was doing. I needed to instead put them on a time limit, forcing them to act quickly and, more importantly, the way I wanted them to. How could I achieve such a thing? Threats. I had two things to threaten them with; the ship and Weiss life.

I chose Weiss' life for two reasons, each cold as a glacier. The first was simply to save the best for last. That is, it gave me room to escalate if I needed, an ace in the hole. The second was to deal with the first—and possibly largest—issue with this trade. By its very nature, if I attempt to trade Weiss for Adam, I must consider them to be of equal value. This put us on even footing as a result, wherein I wanted something they had as much as they wanted what I had.

I couldn't let them believe that. I needed to have control of the situation, and I began by leaning Weiss out the door as if I didn't care if she lived or died.

And the worst part? That was just the beginning.

"James," I heard President Schnee whisper far below me, the sound distorted somewhat by Levant's power but still clear enough to hear. "Who is that?"

"Don't talk to him," I interrupted, Levant angling my voice to appear right behind them, as if I were whispering into their ears. I saw a few twitches from faces and hands, so I assumed it was as creepy as I imagined. "Talk to me. And yes, I _can_ hear you."

Schnee and Ironwood looked at one another silently for a moment before the latter nodded very slightly and moved back a step, eyes alert. Off to the side, Professor Ozpin—the man who's school I'd dreamed of going to since I was a child and I had no idea if that'd even be possible now—looked calmly up at me, sipping slowly from a cup he held idly in one hand. He didn't even look off put by the situation, seeming content to observe.

At last, Mr. Schnee took a look, slow breath and exhaled, lifting his eyes to my ship. Credit where it was due, his expression never faltered and he didn't break a sweat. If I hadn't known any better, I'd have thought him unaffected.

But I _did_ know better. I could see the emotions beneath the surface with Observe even if much of his profile was obscured—literally read the anger, fear, consideration off of him like he was a book. I couldn't read his mind, I didn't know him, but I had an advantage because of that and I'd play it as well as I could.

"Very well then," He spoke evenly. "I suppose you have some way of proving your claim?"

He was buying time, I saw. I was pretty sure he believed what I said, but he must have already had a plan. If I wanted to make this work, I was going to have to outthink him.

Thank God my power was bullshit.

I used Observe on General Ironwood and thought from what little I could see that, first of all, I _really_ didn't want to fight him. Scanning his profile quickly, though, I found what I needed. Another, more focused Observe told me everything.

"I know about the AM-320 implant you have, General Ironwood," I said casually. "Rude as it may be, I must insist on having your full attention. Tell Marci you'll call back later."

I saw the two of them pause at me words, the General suddenly looking hesitant, before his status shifted.

"Thank you," I said politely before reaching around the edge of the doorway to withdraw Myrtenaster from my Inventory. "As for your question, I'd say this situation rather proves I have the ship and if you can see it, I'm holding your daughter's weapon. I'd throw it down to you, but…so many things break if dropped from a height like this. You understand."

Schnee glanced at Ironwood again, who squinted up at me before nodding minutely.

"It seems we're at an impasse," Schnee said. "Have you found anything yet, James?"

General Ironwood took out his scroll and opening it. I don't think he'd even touched it before now, but it lit up with a picture of Adam's face as he was now and compared it to several other pictures—images from security cameras, maybe, or phones or who knows what else.

"I make a point of knowing who my enemies are," He said.

"Oh?" I asked. "Then who am I?"

He paused for a moment at that, which I used to check him and Ironwood again, monitoring their emotions and making sure Ironwood didn't try to make any more calls. I needed to handle this right.

"This Faunus is in our records," He said, apparently deciding to ignore my question. "I take he's your subordinate?"

I'd figured there was no real chance of them believing that Adam and I were unrelated, but it was good to have it confirmed. I just smiled at the words, unsure how many of them could see me but not willing to risk giving away the lie.

"Something like that."

"Then I assume you wish to trade?"

I made myself chuckle.

"Hm," I hummed amusedly, removing my hand from the doorframe again to put a finger to my lips and smiled wide. "Sure, why not? That seems interesting. But…"

I saw anticipation growing on Schnee's screen, saw him waiting for something. I looked at the crowd around him for a moment and chuckled again.

"Are you waiting for someone to activate the failsafe?" I asked. "I'm afraid you'll be waiting a rather long time. I dealt with your security already—this ship is mine."

I saw disbelief, stubbornness, and flexed the fingers of my free hand.

"It was embarrassing, how easy it was," I said. "It seems some things never change. But while I was busy, so much happened. I put work before pleasure, of course, but you…"

I directed that last part at Adam, sound of my voice shifting in his direction as I clicked my tongue.

"Something came up," He answered and I gestured dismissively.

"It doesn't really matter, I suppose," I said. "Did you have fun?"

He waggled a hand.

"That's too bad," I said empathically. "Well, it seems things will get a bit interesting now, so be patient, okay? Let's see…I missed all the fun, so I suppose I'll just have to make my own. You mentioned a trade, Schnee; my subordinate for your daughter. Hm…well, that's one option. Good help is so hard to find, after all, wouldn't you agree? And I do dislike the idea of leaving one of my men behind. But…"

I hummed to myself again for a moment, looking around. The skies were still clear, but who knows how long they'd stay that way. I had to move quickly but I couldn't rush, which was both tricky and aggravating.

"I already have what I came for," I mused aloud. "And I shouldn't waste _too_ much time here. Ah, perhaps I should just leave and take you with me, Ms. Schnee? We could continue this conversation at a later date. Would you like to fly with me?"

If I hadn't been holding her over empty air, I'm pretty sure she would have kicked me in the balls. I'm pretty sure I deserved it.

But I kept up my act and chuckled again at the look on her face.

"No? I suppose it's just as well. I'm afraid my associates don't like your family much; you probably wouldn't make it back in one piece. Then…what do you think?" I asked Adam. "I suppose you should help decide, considering. Would you like me to save you?"

"As opposed to leaving me here?" He wondered confusedly after a long pause.

"Well, that's one option," I nodded. "But since I've taken full control of the ship, I could just open fire."

I snapped my fingers and had Crocea Mors flip several switches in the cockpit, activating lights on the underbelly of the White Whale, weapons arming. I saw the shift in Schnee and Ironwood immediately, parts of it even making it to their faces.

"Oh," I drew the word out. "You didn't believe me? Well, I suppose you do now. Yes. This ship is mine. And there you are Mr. Schnee, right in the line of fire. It'd be rather ironic if you were to die to this ship, wouldn't it? I'd be lying if I said there wasn't any appeal to the thought. I can't say it was part of the plan, but now that I see the chance…my. Don't move now, Ironwood—if the pilot is as excited as I am, he might shoot if you make any sudden movements."

And at once, my casually spoken words brought silence, stillness—except from Adam. He looked around quietly, pondering, thinking my words over. For just a moment, I saw him look tempted. The President of the Schnee Dust Company, the General of Atlas, several dozen Hunters, and more. I could understand what he was thinking.

But Adam wasn't stupid. He was as cold and sharp as the blade he wielded. He knew I wouldn't be willing to fire, I was sure, but he must have also known what would have followed if I could have. On the ashes and destruction, the next Faunus War would have started the moment I pulled the trigger. Innocent people would have died and children—like Adam had once been—would have been swept away in the war.

I saw him consider it and then exhale.

"I do not fear death," He said dispassionately, looking relaxed and apathetic as he played along. "The decision is yours."

I laughed and shook my head again.

"Yes," I said. "Good help really is…so hard to find. Very well, Schnee; your daughter for my subordinate. I will trade with you, then."

In another situation, there may have been debate, argument, semantics—but I was pretty sure I'd played my part well enough. They looked tense, but they were still, two hundred people and no one said a word until Schnee nodded.

"Where and when?" He asked.

"Here and now," I said.

Now's where things get _tricky_.

 **XxXXxX**

11\. **Threadmark:** Chapter 23 - Transfer

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
Transfer**

With the deal established, there were still a few problems to be dealt with. The biggest issue in any trade like this—and in this case especially—was the exchange itself. There's an enormous risk in the simple process of handing things over, for several reasons.

The most obvious, of course, was that no one involved trusted one another. They didn't like each other, either. Indeed, one might go so far as to say they might wish to see the other die horribly. I didn't have any particularly strong feelings towards Schnee, except in that I hated what his business did to innocent people, but I was pretty sure _he_ was starting to hate _me_ , admittedly with good reason. Given that, it would have been pretty foolish of me not to expect treachery, should I give him the chance. As he had several dozen Hunters backing him up, any number of whom could likely have taken me in a fight, that was more than a bit problematic.

Luckily, I was aware of that and, hopefully, ready for it.

"Very well," Schnee said. "Come down."

"I think this conversation will go more smoothly if you don't assume that I'm an idiot," I said, sounding amused. "I don't think so."

He gestured to the people around him, a stalling motion.

"As you've said, you have us at a disadvantage," He said. "We aren't going to do anything, I swear on my life."

"But I don't care about your life," I replied. "I do, however, care about making it more difficult. No."

If he'd been less experienced, less professional, I'm pretty sure Schnee would have been grinding his teeth. Instead, he simply nodded, looking cool and collected once more.

"Then shall we arrange a location for the trade?" He asked. "We can each release our prisoners into the grasps of a representative, if you wish."

I hummed, smiling as I shook my head.

"Why waste time?" I asked, sending a message to Levant as I braced myself. "We're both busy men, after all. Let's make this quick and simple. You let _him_ go…and I'll let her go."

I released Weiss and she fell with a sudden shriek.

" _Weiss!"_ He shouted, jerking forward a step uselessly. I saw several Hunters tense, preparing for something—but all of a sudden, Weiss fall slowed and began to reverse, rising back up to eye level with me. Weiss stared at me with wide eyes, looking down at the enormous distance between her and the earth. Her scream continued for a moment before she seemed to remember to cut it short, but the sound off pure, honest terror in it made me feel nauseous. She was gasping now, horrified as she danged helplessly in the air, but she didn't say a word, didn't beg.

Despite how I felt, I looked at her with a smile, fingers gently splayed in her direction as I made it look easy. Behind me, hidden by my body and cloak, Levant leaned into me, resting her forehead against my back as she did all the work. Her small hands grasped fistfuls of my cloak at the effort and I sent her a mental apology.

"I'm sorry," I said truthfully, to Weiss and Levant both, and then elaborated on it with a lie. "That was ungentlemanly of me. I just wanted to see how you'd react, Mr. Schnee."

I dropped my gaze, scanning his face and status screen, and then lifted my eyes to Weiss' own.

"Your father must love you a great deal," I said, knowing the words would mean something to her. "If you could see his face…but there's still things to do before that, no? I'll send your daughter down to you now, Mr. Schnee, so keep _your_ end of the bargain and send him on his way."

The white-haired man snarled something unintelligible, gesturing sharply at the gathered Hunters. When Adam began to move, none of them reacted and Levant began to lower Weiss, slowing her descent rather than stopping it so that she seemed to be sinking through water. At my mental command, the White Whale began to slowly rise again.

"I'll withdraw somewhat to ease your worries," I told the people down below as I watched Weiss. She shook slightly as she dropped, but remained silent as she grit her teeth. "I'll even allow you to send someone up here to fetch her, though I encourage you not to try anything funny while your daughter's in the sky. No weapons, no Hunters, no Dust."

Without a word, I saw someone break free of the crowd, rushing towards a nearby Bullhead. I checked their level absently and didn't say a word as I went back to carefully watching Weiss.

The truth was, I needed someone to come up and get her. Levant didn't have the power or range to get her all the way to the ground, but I couldn't very well admit that, allow them to see weaknesses, limits—which meant I couldn't force them to do what I wanted. I could, however, make them _want_ what I wanted, and since I wanted Weiss somewhere safe, it wasn't even hard.

It just left me feeling sick. I didn't want to do this—not that that meant anything since I _had_ done it—but the truth was…

I took a step back, into the cover of the ship, and withdrew my scroll again.

'Can you get Adam to safety?' I asked Blake.

'Yes,' She replied simply.

I hesitated for a minute before writing a longer, more personal message.

'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I guess I failed, huh? I was supposed to help you prove that methods like this weren't needed, but…I couldn't let them take one of my friends or stop us now. I guess I really am…"

I sent the message without finishing it and there was a long pause before she replied.

'Where are you going to pick us up?'

'I'm sorry,' I sent again. 'But at the very least, I will save them.'

I closed my scroll and didn't open it even when it started flashing again. I went back to my vigil, looking at Weiss as we moved further and further apart, watching the people far below her to make sure nothing happened, and carefully monitoring the approach of the Bullhead, adjusting my speed accordingly to make sure he'd reach us in time.

The truth was…

I couldn't go down there. It was too dangerous; the moment I was on the ground and Weiss out of my clutches, they'd take action and put me down. That had been the real trap behind his words—they all involved me coming down.

And I just couldn't do that. The entire point of holding Weiss hostage and being up here was that it rendered the Hunter's tremendous offensive power meaningless. They couldn't strike at me from this range, _wouldn't_. So long as that was true, it didn't matter that half of them could bend me into a pretzel in a fight, but it should go without saying that the benefits of a hostage faded the moment you let that hostage go. Once the girl was safe and I was close enough for them to bring their full power to bear, none of Mr. Schnee's promises would mean anything.

Though, really, I was pretty sure they didn't mean anything to begin with, especially not to him, which was the only reason he'd made them. But the point was, if I landed the White Whale, there wasn't a chance in hell of me getting it back off the ground.

His second suggestion had a bit more merit on the surface, which just meant there were more dangers in it. If I landed on the ground at a place of my choice and met with a representative, I could check that person's level to make sure they were safe to approach, minimizing the danger.

From that one person, at least. The fact remained that I would be on the ground and I felt _certain_ that a bunch of Hunters would be just outside whatever they decided was a safe range, ready to rush me the moment the girl was safe. Perhaps even more dangerously, it would give them time to field plenty of other airships to intercept me even if I did get off the ground—and, more likely, to just bomb the White Whale to keep it from ever getting that far. It would also give them _time_ , which I couldn't allow, because every minute they had gave them more time to plan, to prepare, to call in more reinforcements.

If I dragged this out, if I went along with their plans, it would do nothing but hurt me. And I absolutely, positively could not touch the ground. I couldn't even get _near_ it, really, keeping in mind the powers Hunters had. If I did, I'd probably have a few of them jumping up and carving their way inside my ship and I'd be worse off than before.

Which begged the question; if I couldn't afford go near the ground, how could I get Adam and Blake onboard?

Simple. I couldn't. The same thing that kept any Hunters from reaching me would stop them as well. Levant couldn't lift someone that far, especially someone at the edge of her power instead of the center. The problem with picking them up here were obvious and I couldn't get them somewhere else because I knew that enemy aircraft would be on me to moment I was away from here. If I stopped and gave them time to organize and attack…

Worse, since this ship could fly faster than Blake and Adam could run, if I wanted to pick them up somewhere else, I'd need to slow down or wait—and since the White Whale was so big, there was basically no chance of losing pursuit unless I stuck to the original plan.

I was leaving them behind.

God.

I hadn't been kidding when I said I knew how terrifying it could be to be on your own. It's easiest to exploit fears that you yourself knew well and this was one I was more than familiar with. I'd thought I'd gotten over it, stopped being the kid waiting at home for mom and dad, but the thought of this, of being by myself while surrounded by enemies, of facing danger with no help or backup or safety net, without my most powerful allies…

It was scary, frightening even from a calm, logical standpoint. I wanted to run away.

But I'd meant the other thing I told Weiss, too—everyone wants to run away at some point. It's those who have the option and refuse to take it that are brave. There were people who needed me and I was going to save them. And…

I watched the Bullhead reach Weiss and closed the doors, turning away. A rush of windows appeared before my eyes, skills improving and being created—Bluff, Intimidate, that type of thing. In the midst of it all appeared a larger window, however, and I focused upon it.

 **A quest has been created!**

 **Atlesian Skies: Flying Solo.**

 **Escape from Vale alone in the stolen White Whale to continue your quest!**

 **Completion Reward: Exp 1000000.**

 **Failure: Capture or Death.**

"I was wondering when you'd show up," I muttered, accepting the sub-Quest. "Stupid quest, telling me stuff I already know. But you're wrong. I'm not alone."

Levant touched my hand and gave me a reassuring smile, even as a low, almost-inaudible tone rang through the ship. My Elemental spirits were always with me—but it was more than that. Even though I left them behind, I knew Blake and Adam would be waiting for me to return. And I still remembered—would never forget.

The people who had my back, the home I had to come back to, and the things I needed to stay alive to do.

I wouldn't give up any of those things.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm getting sick of this place too, guys. Let's fly."

 **XxXXxX**

We took off before I even reached the control room, Crocea Mors moving on ahead of me to get things started. The situation was far from ideal, sure, but I wasn't completely unprepared for it—taking off alone had been the last resort, but it _was_ something that had been on the table form the beginning. It made a few, or a _lot_ , of things harder, but I'd always been the one in charge of getting us to and from Mantle so this part didn't change all that much.

It was going to be more dangerous than I expected, granted, but that was starting to become the story of my life. By the time this was all over, I'd probably be able to write a book about it, or maybe an autobiography; 'Jaune Arc: It Was Worse than I Expected.' Originally, it was supposed to be a little more subtle, or as subtle as you could make the theft of a giant airship.

Which is probably more than you might think, again because of human nature. I'm sure the empty space where a colossal airship used to be would be noticed in short order, if not immediately, but there'd have been confusion, with most people probably wondering what the hell was going on and complaining or wandering off or whatever but generally deciding it wasn't their problem. Once it reached someone whose problem it _was_ , questions would arise that needed answering; what was the pilot doing? Can you contact him? No? Then what about the other pilots? The command center? Can someone force the ship to lower safely?

When all that failed, the reality of the situation would probably have settled in and they'd have contacted the right people, but at that point there were still infrastructural concerns. Whoever's at the desk needed to take the message, figure out what was going on from who was calling—and odds were there would be a _lot_ of people calling—and then pass that up the line to whoever was going to get their day ruined handling the job. Odds were that they weren't already strapped into their aircraft, so they'd need to suit up, get in, and take off.

All in all, between time wasted and time needed, confusion and disbelief, I'd have given myself…at least three, maybe five minutes before anyone knew what was happening and maybe up to twice that long before anyone mobilized a response. If everything had gone according to plan, I could have had a ten minute head start— _maybe_ fifteen. Even against fighter-craft, that's a hard difference to make up; I'd have been out of town by the time anyone figured out what I'd done and getting dangerously close to the danger zone by the time anyone caught up.

Under the circumstances, however, it seemed safe to assume that would not be the case here. In fact, I felt pretty sure that word of my actions had been circulating even before Weiss was safe, and that there were probably several pilots and ships on standby, which meant I'd have company a lot earlier than expected. Hell, if Ironwood wasn't calling in reinforcements right now, I'd be _stunned_.

I'd like to say I had a plan for how I was going to deal with that, but the truth was that it was a _bit_ of a work in progress. The basics remained—I still needed to get out of the city, over the mountains, and into Grimm territory. I just needed to do it under fire against much smaller, more mobile ships.

Easy-peasy.

I pushed the White Whale as hard as I could and felt gratified at its immediate response. I used Crocea Mors, still deep within the metal of the ship, to monitor it and was glad that everything seemed to be functioning as expected. Nature Affinity's passive boost to Dust effects seemed to be functioning as expected, improving the fuel efficiency, speed, and maneuverability of the ship to give me a much needed advantage. I still had a few of those to rely upon, thankfully—my Elementals, my skills, my location, and the situation.

The latter two were, initially, the most important. What I was doing now…it wasn't something anyone could have been prepared for, not really. Airborne enemies were hardly new to Remnant, but the cities defenses had been largely designed to keep them from getting to the most populated areas of the city, but the White Whale had been _stationed_ in the richer part of the Commercial District. I was now flying along its length with buildings far below me, Forever Fall some ways to my left and the Residential District some ways to my right. I had a little breathing room here because so long as I didn't attack—which I wouldn't—I could be relatively sure that they wouldn't try to start a fight, much less bring down the White Whale, over a populated area. They'd try to get people in position to watch me, monitor me, guide my path towards a place I could be safely disabled if they could, and even try to bring in specialized ships or even transport Hunters if possible—but they wouldn't want to start a fight where innocent people would get involved if they could avoid it.

Normally, that wouldn't be an issue because if, say, a murder of Giant Nevermore flocked to the area, they'd be seen far off and civilians would be sent into the shelters, but I'd effectively spawned inside the enemy base and while they were probably moving people as quickly as they could, you can't evacuate such a large area that quickly. Initially, at least, they'd _want_ me out of the city—it's just, they'd want me dead moments after that.

And yet…I still had the edge. Or I thought I might have it, at least, but the logic made sense. Again, I was pretty sure this was a new one for everyone involved and it wasn't a simple issue to deal with. If it's shooting the enemy down, that's one thing. If it's shooting the enemy down before they reach some location, that's harder but still doable.

But forcing a much larger ship to fly the way you _wanted_? Without attacking or even _touching_ it?

That's something completely different. It's a tactic that doesn't lend itself well to three-dimensional movement, because of basic geometry. If you imagined the volume of space above Vale as a sphere for the sake of simplicity, and you considered the White Whale as the center of that sphere, then my path to escape was the sphere's radius—a line from the center to any point outside of the city. I needed to take one of those paths to get out of the city, but I could choose almost any path, ignoring the ones heading in a direction I didn't want.

But they had no idea which one I would pick—how could they, when even _I_ wasn't sure now? To them, I could travel any route within that space, forcing them to guard the spheres area, its circumference. They had a much larger amount of manpower then I did, but they also had a far more difficult job. They'd _want_ to guide we towards a specific location, but the added dimensions of up and down meant that methods that worked on the ground tended to be completely ineffectual in the air, especially against an opponent as large and fast as me. They could try to predict me or spread out enough that at least some of them would be able to get to me, but in this first move, I had the advantage.

For a while. Once they could get Hunters aboard crafts that moved fast enough, they could literally just drop them on top of the White Whale and let them claw their ways in through the hull to get to me. Or sabotage the ship. Or both; it didn't really matter, because I'd be pretty screwed either way at that point.

I twitched once and then sighed.

Speak of the devil…

Crocea Mors continued to hum a warning, spotting something through his eyes in the ship's hull and alerting me of incoming ships. I closed my eyes for a moment, suppressed the urge to swear, and decided on my path, turning my behemoth of a ship a bit further South.

There was no way of telling if my pursuers had Hunters aboard, but the way my day, week, and life was headed lately, it seemed like a safe assumption to make. Given that and seeing as they were the greatest danger to me—at least until I left the bounds of the city—there was only one this I could really do.

What they didn't expect—and what they feared.

Levant placed a hand over mine and felt Crocea Mors hum beneath my fingers. The former gave me a reassuring smile as I closed my eyes and drew in a breath. I felt that same air in my lungs, felt more on my skin and beyond it, beyond the ship itself. I felt the ship humming beneath my feet, felt the parts and pieces that caused that feeling deeper yet, engines and tubes and more bright to my senses. My Aura, my soul, flowed through that immensity, guided along certain paths towards my decided purpose.

It'd tried this before, several times. Hadn't been able to make it work the way I wanted to, but…necessity was the mother of innovation. The design was different and so was the purpose, but it was easier to gather because I wasn't focused on making it small or focused or deadly. In fact, it wasn't anywhere close to what I'd been _trying_ to make, but…

"Close enough," I muttered as the seconds passed.

And then I pulled back hard, bringing the White Whale up into a turn that must have shocked anyone watching. I didn't have the time or patience for a larger turn, so I made it narrow, barely wider than the ship was long, pushing it beyond what its makers probably intended. As I reached the top of the circle I couldn't help but absently note that I could literally see my house from here.

The moment passed and I pulled the trigger.

"Fragarach," I named it as I unleashed the incomplete attack, a rush of air and steel combined clumsily into an attack that flashed across the sky, a mostly unsuccessful attempt to combine two affinities in one spell. A single bullet from the White Whale lashed out, curving in midair in a burring arc that lashed past—and just above—the wings of a ship before continuing its turn to approach another before puttering out. The first ship wobbled roughing and began going down, while the second shook for a second, as if facing turbulence, before steadying.

I watched the falling struggle for a moment, spinning, before recovering enough to hover in place for a moment, apparently a close save. I glanced at its fellows as I completed my turn, shifting my gaze to my Map to keep track of them.

"Prototype," I added with a sigh.

 **XxXXxX**

12\. **Threadmark:** First Interlude - James Ironwood

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ _ **Super Awesome Happy Fun Time**_

 **The Games We Play  
First Interlude – James Ironwood**

"What weapon was that?" He demanded at once, eyes focused on the feed they'd brought up. One of his assistants quickly flicked through a scroll, but he'd already crosschecked it himself as the White Whale flew on.

"It's not one of ours, sir," Pike said hesitantly. "Perhaps they modified the weapons?"

Ironwood didn't even bother pointing out the flaws with that statement—that they wouldn't have, or at least _shouldn't_ have, had the time to do such a thing, much less _unnoticed_ —and simply focused on his flying target. One of his more experienced aids brought up a copy of the unknown weapon being fired without needing to be prompted and he shifted his gaze to scan over it.

It was a normal round—well, 'normal' may have been a more accurate description, given the enormous weapons the White Whale used. However, it was standard fair for the ship itself, but for the whirlwind that seemed to follow in its wake and cloak it. A gesture changed the screen to display another image, this one of the round's effects on the pursuing craft. The ship's hull had been damaged by mere proximity, yet not enough to explain its sudden fall. It was almost like…

"What do you think?" Ozpin asked, returning. He'd broken away to direct evacuation and security, as well as to make sure the two VIPs were seen to safety. Coming back however, Ironwood couldn't help but find his demeanor…grating. He didn't expect the man to be shaken, really, for rare were the times when he'd seen the Head of Beacon less than unflappable. Indeed, he and countless others had drawn strength from that, over the years; however strange things got, however dire, Ozpin would all ways be the center that held.

And yet, sometimes he wished the man would react, at least a little. With an investment of countless Lien stolen, with one of the heads of the White Fang humiliating them with his escape, with a very important child having just been held hostage, even _still_ did Ozpin stand, casually drinking his coffee.

With the amount of caffeine the man consumed on a daily basis, you'd think he'd be a tad more _excitable_.

Still, situational irritation aside, he trusted and respected the man, so he answered the question even if it gave him the bizarre feeling of a child being called upon in class.

"It's a Monachus round," He said. "Somehow bolstered with a wind-based enhancement. When it hit the FM, the damage had nothing to do with its sudden descent—it'd hard to tell with just a glance, but I believe it must have altered the wind speeds above and below the craft's wings, directly interfering with its ability to fly. Generally, I'd assume it was making use of some kind of green Dust, but…"

"They shouldn't have had access to the ship long enough to make any major adjustments," Ozpin stated the obvious, peering at the screen. "And yet the ship itself seems rather more…agile than I anticipated."

Ironwood grimaced, unable to argue the point. The AS-WW was the first of its class, a cutting edge ship meant to introduce a whole new world of aerial travel. Despite its tremendous size, it was capable of speeds matching Vacuo's FCs, could carry hundreds of passengers from Vale to Vacuo in less than a day, and was armed enough that it should have been the safest way to travel between the kingdoms.

But there were things it wasn't equipped for, things that should have been impossible for it from a pure mechanical standpoint, and yet also things that it was doing regardless. Before his very eyes, it was far surpassing even the top speeds it had achieved testing and when the pursuing ships managed to approach close enough despite that, they were attacked with weaponry the ship shouldn't have had. More alarming than that, however, was the maneuverability of the ship itself. Revolutionary technology or not, the White Whale was a gigantic monstrosity ill-equipped for the stunts it was now performing.

As one of the men who'd had a direct hand in its development, if you'd told him yesterday that the AS-WW could perform a Bell Tailslide at high-speed to cause it's pursuers to overshoot, he'd have said it was impossible. And then maybe shown them the math for why it was literally, physically impossible.

But he also couldn't argue with what he saw—and he'd seen it, followed by another loop and a wingover and far too many other things that should have torn the ship apart. It left him uncertain whether the Hunter-bearing ships following it were honestly unable to approach or if they were just wondering what the hell they were looking at. It was hard to imagine something with the size and shape of the White Whale to be so…graceful, yet here it saw, flying through the sky as easily as a Leviathan claimed the seas.

And it worried him. As a general and a huntsman, he knew the worth of knowledge, which is why he'd participated in the wonder's construction, had seen it pushed to its limits. He'd wanted the machine to be as good as they could possibly make it—and it had been. To push the machine past that until it could do _this_ …

He didn't even know how it could be done. Literally didn't know. _They_ , the best minds in Atlas and from around the world, hadn't found a way, had thought it impossible with the technology currently at their disposal, but it was obvious someone had disagreed. And yet, to do this…

Bare minimum, it would have taken massive adjustment to the engines, jet, and converter. Extensive internal adjustment to the ship's structure to withstand the strain on such a scale or perhaps additional Dust converters situated throughout the design to aid in maintaining the ship—something to shield it from the G-forces involved, at the very least. It's most likely need a better computer to assist with the calculations that would no doubt be required, too, and much of the storage space might need to be requisitioned or removed entirely and—

It was all guesswork, theoretical. He couldn't say anything for sure what would be needed because he couldn't _be_ sure what would be needed—no one could. They couldn't build anything like that yet—not without an even more exurban amount of money, at least.

But obviously someone could. Someone _had_. Worse, they'd done it without them knowing, to a ship _they_ _owned_ , in a timeframe they could only speculate on. It should have been impossible. He wanted to say it _was_ impossible, but the evidence was all but laughing in his face.

How big of an operation _was_ this, if this was the result? How could such a thing happen without them knowing? He'd checked the ship himself just this morning to make sure everything was in order and everything had been normal. How…?

It didn't matter. In the end, no matter how much it bothered him, _it didn't matter_. He knew that sometimes he got hung up on the technology side of things, on the desire to learn, know, _improve_ , but there was a time and a place. Here, _now_ , his concern wasn't how the ship was flying, but how to make it _stop_. He could look through the _wreckage_ later, if so needed.

"Do we have anything like a positive ID on that man yet?" He asked his more experienced assistant.

Pine shifted the scroll in his hands and shook his head.

"Nothing yet, sir," He said. "He must have been laying low until now; we've never seen him before. Or if we have, we can't tell through his disguise."

He hated unknowns. _Hated_ them. But that also wasn't his concern right now; if he could be captured alive, they'd figure things out. If that wasn't possible…well, he'd live without knowing, he supposed. In this case, all he _needed_ to know was that there was a powerful member of the White Fang involved with what must have been a major operation. Unknown powers, unknown goals, unknown man—it didn't matter, because what they _did_ know was that he had to be stopped.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ozpin murmured as he raised his cup to his lips once more. At a sharp glance, the Headmaster of Beacon gestured vaguely at a screen with his cane. "Who's flying the ship? And, perhaps more importantly, _how_?"

It was a good question, he acknowledged, and one he'd skimmed over. The trained pilots and backup pilots were all accounted for, though they'd found their pilot of choice thrown out with the trash. Whoever was now flying the ship was an unknown, someone they _hadn't_ trained. No mean feat because the sheer size and complexity of the ship was such that they'd had to build a specialized cockpit for it. Later models were intended to have a more streamlined design, but it was difficult because of the simple amount of things the pilot needed to be able to control and the number of situations he had to be able to address—they'd barely managed to keep it flyable with one pilot and strongly recommended two. Even what controls _were_ the same were still commanding something very new and very _large_.

It wasn't something just anyone could hop into and expect to fly this well. That hadn't really stood out to him, though—still didn't, really—because it was a minor impossibility, relatively speaking. If they could rebuild the entire White Whale, then it wasn't hard to believe they could figure out how to fly the thing. Although…

"They'd need to know a lot about the ship," He mused aloud. "Both how to fly it and modify it—and to disable the security on it, of course. To do that…"

He didn't bother finishing, instead sending a message to the Schnee Company Headquarters and the Science division in Atlas, looking for any thefts, any leaks. Ozpin waited silently as he worked, watching the skies.

In the end, he snarled in annoyance.

"Nothing?" Ozpin asked, probably guessing what he'd done.

"Nothing," He confirmed, annoyed. "No reported thefts of anything related to the White Whale, here or abroad."

He wasn't surprised, honestly; if something big _had_ happened, he'd have been informed, after all. But…

"Not knowing you've been robbed isn't the same as not having had anything stolen," Ozpin noted.

"I know, but they covered their tracks well, whatever they did," He replied. "We'll conduct a more thorough investigation later. For now, though, it's a dead end. Still…"

He frowned, watching the ship on screen again. Several ships were arranging themselves around it—or at least, were trying to in-between more of those air shots. One tagged a nearby ship, causing it to fall suddenly behind, creating an opening for the White Whale. Before anyone could do anything, it rolled to the side, spiraled in the air for a moment before turning so that its belly faced the direction it had formerly been traveling. The aerial behemoth banked, flying downward as it turned hard to go a completely different direction. The whole maneuver had barely taken a breath and the mechanics of it made his head hurt.

"The Faunus boy we let go seemed to be the muscle," He said aloud. "And there was evidence he sabotaged some of our ships. Then there's that man with the Nevermore mask, who we assume is the leader. There must be a pilot and a programmer and maybe someone to steal the information about the ship, though that could have been one of the other ones. And an engineer, even if I still don't understand how they could have done this."

Ozpin said nothing, causing him to frown.

"Don't agree with me all at once now," He said. "Anything you'd like to add?"

"You always get wrapped up in your work, James," Ozpin said, though not really chidingly. Because it was Ozpin saying it, he wasn't sure if it was even connected to what he said next. "They're flying towards my cliff."

"…What?"

He focused on the screen again to see the White Whale flying on a collision course with the cliff Beacon was built upon. It sped towards it fearlessly, angling down sharply as it crossed over the river towards the towering cliff walls. Outside the limits of the city proper, its pursuers had already begun their attack, rounds hammering against its surface, and for an instant he wondered if they'd hit something, if the White Whale was falling—but no, the rounds didn't seem to do any meaningful damage.

The FMs in pursuit seemed as confused as he was, but continued the chase as the airship drew closer and closer to the cliff, most likely expecting a trick. But when the White Whale didn't pull up…

For a moment, he wondered if this was their goal, to cause damage to Beacon's foundations, to topple the Academy. With everything else they'd done, they couldn't assume anything. It was heavily reinforced in the case of natural or unnatural disaster, but maybe they knew something he didn't, had figured out a weakness they'd missed.

And yet, for all his concerns, Ozpin didn't so much as flinch, calmly watching the proceedings. As they drew closer, the pursuing ships ceased their fire and pulled up, evidentially realizing the White Whale wasn't going to stop. Was this an attempt to drag them down with him? Had they given up hope on escaping? Or, no, was this a—

At the very last second, the White Whale spun on its axis, momentarily exposing its belly to the sky as it pulled down so close to the cliff wall that for a moment Ironwood thought they were touching. Instead, however, the ship pulled away into a wide loop facing the direction opposite the way it came and then up wide until it hung upside-down just barely above the cliff. It spun smoothly on its axis again, righting itself as it rose up behind the ships that had formerly been on its tail.

Now, however, they were in front of it, having chosen to go over the cliff instead of following to the rocks. The glow of its weapon systems was ominous, a reminder that the Hunters had become the hunted.

—A trick, he completed the thought, staring at the maneuver. Even if the ship had been capable of withstanding the forces of the act itself, to fly that close to the wall…

"The students will be disappointed," Ozpin almost seemed to sigh. "Had he hit the cliff, I could have canceled tomorrow's classes."

He would have turned to stare at his friend if the White Whale had not opened fire, more of the strange rounds flashing out, even hitting ships. He saw shapes leap away, Hunters carrying pilots as the ships lost control and span down to earth. One smashed into the courtyard of the school and another into the grass, but a pair of ships smashed into one of the school buildings.

"Ah," He said, taking another sip of his drink. "Never mind, then."

Not for the first time, he wondered who had put his friend in charge of a school and what the hell they had been thinking at the time. Sure, his record of producing skilled Hunters was undeniable, but…

"How far out are reinforcements?" He demanded from his assistant instead of progressing further down that train of thought. Pine tapped quickly at his scroll, moving to a map like screen with a number of glowing dots.

"The group positioned at Forever Fall began to move in as soon as we confirmed the White Whale's trajectory," He said before hesitating for a moment. "They'll be in range shortly, but…none of them have any Hunters aboard, sir."

He knew what his assistant was saying, however much it grated—with the maneuvering capabilities the White Whale was displaying, with its unknown weaponry, and with the serious possibility that it had more tricks waiting up its sleeves, it was quite possible that aircraft alone would not be enough to take it down, even beyond the city limits. Their best chance, as before, was to get Hunters in position to infiltrate the White Whale and take it down from the inside once doing so wouldn't endanger lives. He could bring up the schematics, pick out all the places to target, and though he couldn't be certain of anything given the likely changes to the ship itself, he was pretty sure that he could tell them how to bring it down once they got into position.

But he didn't want to send them out there.

He didn't hate Hunters, not even remotely. Hell, he _was_ a Hunter, had fought in countless battles to protect people and happily sacrificed parts of his own body for the sake of his duty. He respected everyone who shared that same courage, that will to put everything on the line for the sake of their people, their _world_. Anybody who went through the training and stood against the terrors that faced humanity was a hero.

But heroes tend to die. He'd seen it countless times in the line of duty—men, women, and even _children_ at times, draw into the conflict when things got bad. He'd seen some of the greatest Hunters he'd ever known disappear without a trace, just leaving one day and never coming back. Sometimes, they'd been sent out on his order, dying to try and obey his commands. Sometimes he'd sent them out in full knowledge that they wouldn't return. He'd seen what he'd thought were the most brilliant lights in the world fade, one by one.

He'd watched as each year, the numbers of his former students dwindled. Class Reunions were rare among Hunter Academies for good reason; all they really did was show how many people had fallen. If he somehow got his own class back together, a group that would have once filled a lecture hall would now leave it all but empty.

That's the secret of being a Hunter—you swear to protect people even if it kills you and eventually it does. That's why he'd dedicated his life to removing soldiers from the battlefield as much as possible, equipping them as best he could when that wasn't possible. Yet it seemed that no matter what he did, he always had to send people into the fight, to risk their lives.

Hunters were their best bet for taking down the White Whale, but there was no way of knowing what they'd find in there. They had no way of knowing who or what was inside that ship, but based on how the Schnee Heiress had seemingly been easily defeated and based on the skill the Faunus they'd let go had displayed…there was a chance, as ever, that whoever went in there would not come back out.

And, as ever, there was someone who had to make the decision.

"With your permission, I would like to request the aid of Beacon's faculty," He asked his friend, polite but tired. Ozpin tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"It will delay your ships somewhat," He warned.

He didn't reply, busy writing and sending off a message to the soldiers and teachers in question. They'd be ready, he knew, turning to keep watching the screen as the White Whale flew on, rising easily above the Beacon that was the academy's namesake and flying into the forests beyond. For a moment, it flew unmolested as its followers stopped briefly at Beacon, several small figures leaping up into the ships before they continued their pursuit, approaching the AS-WW at a steady pace as the minutes passed.

And then the stolen ship surprised him again by opening fire. Not with the strange wind-rounds it had used before, nor even at the ships closing it, but upon the forest below, carving paths of destruction with anti-Grimm weaponry.

Perhaps fittingly, the Grimm responded. They rose in a sudden, startled cloud, countless black shapes rising from the trees at the destruction and noise. Nevermore, Terror Birds, and other types of flying Grimm took to the skies as they were disturbed.

The White Whale simply flew right passed, moving quickly through the skies above. Some of the figures gave chase anyway, the largest and fastest species, but most turned their sights on the prey that was approaching, rather that which sought to run away, and moved as one to intercept the approaching aircraft.

The response was thankfully immediate, dust rounds firing from the ships, Hunters moving into position as best they could. Storm clouds even seemed to gather above the ships, growing as they flew into the dark mass and spitting thunder and hail upon the monsters. Black shapes fell from the sky, slain quickly by the spells and arms of Hunters. It was a testament to the power of Humanity's defenders that monsters fell by the dozens in seconds.

And it was utterly pointless. As the ships were distracted, the White Whale sailed on and by the time they dealt with the hindrance, it had gained precious ground. As they approached, the massive ship merely tore more Grim from the forest below, forcing those on its tail to waste time putting down the demons it had called up. When they got too close despite that, they drew the attention of the larger fell creatures of Grimm, such as the Giant Nevermore that had given chase. And each time, it got that much further away.

"Where is it going?" He demanded, gritting his teeth. "It must have a destination, but the way it's going—"

"It's flying over the mountains," Ozpin said easily, stating the obvious. The White Whale showed no sign of shifting its course away from the mountain peaks.

Except…

"But if it does that, it will—"

"If it does that, it will be beyond our grasp," Ozpin cut off. "Or at least beyond those chasing it. As escape routes go, it's rather unorthodox, but the effectiveness in that regard would be undeniable. An interesting choice, I must admit."

The man sounded bizarrely like he was grading one of his student's tests. He could acknowledge the truth in the words, that beyond a certain point he would have to withdraw his men because it wouldn't be worth the risk, but…

"That's…that's like charging into a Deathstalker's den so the Beowolves will give up the chase," He replied. "You'd have to be desperate or insane to try that. What are they planning…?"

 **XxXXxX**


	3. Chapter 3

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Escape**

As was becoming a staple of my life, my plan was a work in progress. Thus far I had 'escape with my life' down as my end goal and a fair number of question marks between here and there, but I figured that the important part was that I had my priorities straight. Get out of here, get to Atlas, save the people, survive it all—I knew what I wanted to accomplish.

And all told, I'd say it was going pretty well, in a relative sort of way. Using their reluctance to fire over the city against them had gotten me to the limits of Vale and then some strategic thinking and careful flying had shaken them off my tail and given me a chance to take them down. I wasn't worried about firing at them over Beacon, because I knew the people onboard the ships would be fine thanks to the Hunter passengers I'd confirmed were onboard with Observe and the crashed ships themselves were unlikely to do any harm to the Hunters-in-training down below. That had bought me a fair amount of time to fly into the Emerald Forest before anyone else came along to continue the chase.

At that point, well…bringing the Grimm into the equation had been a calculated risk. Beacon had been built on the edge of the Emerald Forest long ago, a defense for an early Vale against the hostile creatures that lurked within, which was also why it was situated so close to Forever Fall. That wasn't to say the other untamed places that surrounded Vale weren't dangerous—it was an untamed place on Remnant and therefore _extremely_ hostile—but the worst breeds of Grimm had come from over what had long-since been nicknamed the Dread Mountains.

Since then, however, years of predation by hundreds of people training to be Hunters, as well as by the staff and alumni keeping things in order, had diminished the threat. Not enough to _remove_ it by any means or even make it less than extremely dangerous to the unprepared, but in comparison to the beasts that had once stalked Vale's borders…

These were nothing but an annoyance.

Which is good, because an annoyance was exactly what I needed until I could get far enough away to throw myself into horrific danger. I'd fired on the forest, carving a scar across it to disturb its inhuman inhabitants, and watched as the dark creatures had taken to the skies. It was often debated just how intelligent the Grimm were and no one could say for certain—sometimes they showed almost senselessly suicidal behavior, while on others they seemed to organize extremely intelligent, simultaneous attacks on vulnerabilities.

Whatever the case, though, they were definitely predators. Different from any other kind, to be sure, with no fear of death or danger, but predators nonetheless—and, as such, given the choice they would strike at the weakest link, the isolated, injured, small, and alone. They'd fearless strike at the powerful, too, but only if they didn't have something more fragile to devour first. And while I couldn't be _certain_ how they'd react when I drew them to battle, because I was being chased and I was weak compared to those who followed me…they didn't know that. Even though they had Hunters aboard, the pursuing craft were vastly smaller than the White Whale and I had displayed my power by wreaking havoc on their home. Given that, I figured they'd consider them a smaller threat and, sure enough, much of the dark flock directed its attention toward my hunters, buying me precious time to get further away.

And then I rose above the peaks that separated Vale from the horrors beyond and got my first, true glimpse of a world still untouched by man. Without so much as a glimmer of industrialization, of things shaped by muscle or machine, I saw an almost impossibly long slope of pure white snow, until it gave way at last to land in the distance. My first thought as I flew beyond for the first time was that it was a beautiful, remote place.

But it wasn't empty.

As we came over the peaks with shrieks and fire, we drew the attention of the beasts that lurked beyond civilization. Tyrant Scales rose from the mountain sides at the noise, taking to the air around us—massive beasts, at least as big as Giant Nevermore and even more dangerous. I'd seen them before, if only in my parent's gallery, but these creatures had scales of pure white Grimm bone without a trace of black flesh. Some of the beasts exhaled a mist-like fog that left ice forming in the air around it while others breathed fire that turned stone to slag. I felt lucky for the fact that I didn't see any with multiple heads as I flew past as quickly as I could, hoping not to give them time to regain their bearings.

Okay, I admit it, my plan at this point was to just run away really fast so the monsters couldn't be bothered to wreck my shit. I didn't even use any tricks or stunts or anything, but simply flew straight on with all the speed I could muster, trying to keep ahead. Not the bravest or most ingenious plan ever, but it seemed to be working for the moment and I was glad to stay out of the fighting if it meant getting the hell out of here.

All the while, however, I watched my Map carefully and kept an eye on my pursuers through my Elementals. Most of the ships on my tail had apparently decided to continue the chase a bit farther, with only a scarce few drawing back and away, withdrawing from the danger. I was a little disappointed, but sadly not surprised—I'd expected to need to go deeper into the Badlands to escape from Hunters. I was lucky, at least, in that the creatures swarming about me still seemed to find them a more appetizing target and I drew out others with chaos and noise as I flew boldly onwards. Between the passive bonuses of my flying skills and the boost from my Nature Affinity, I think I did pretty well, gliding over the snow covered fields while maintaining a steady distance from those chasing me. From here on out, so long as I aimed well and made sure any Grimm that rose did so closer to them than me, I should be okay, but I still needed to figure out a way to shake them off—

I paused mid-thought, looking at my Map carefully before looking back in front of me. Geological structures were etched accurately onto the screen, though the two-dimensional view wasn't ideal for a three-dimensional flight. That was mainly just me being greedy, though, and I compensated for that weakness somewhat with Crocea Mors and Levant—it was undeniable that my Map was a godsend when it came to stuff like this. It let me keep track of how many people were chasing me, where paths were, kept track of landmarks and notable things, and, when I needed it to, it could even draw me the fastest route between my current location and a destination. It was extraordinarily useful and I trusted it a great deal.

Which left me a bit confused, because according to it, the mountain I was flying towards was a lot smaller then it appeared to be—half the size, if that. I'd looked up everything I could about the Badlands before this mission, had drawn on pictures and paintings and everything I possibly could concerning it, just in case. I was flying towards the Anzu Mountain and it looked the same now as it had in Leopold's drawing over a hundred years ago. There was nothing wrong with it, that I could see and I wouldn't have paid it any mind if not for the attention I'd paid to my Map.

I wondered for a moment if it was simply wrong—and immediately dismissed the thought. I'd gotten to the point that I trusted what my power told me above my own eyes or even a hundred years of history. Besides which, I was nowhere near lucky enough for 'there was nothing wrong' to be a remotely plausible explanation to me anymore after noticing something was strange. Indeed, it seemed fairly safe to assume that if my power told me something didn't add up, it mean something bad for me.

I frowned down at my map for a moment, looking for any clues in the limited data it revealed to me. It didn't tell me anything about the structure itself—whether it was somehow an enemy unit, some kind of hologram, or what—but after a moment, I noticed that the Grimm which had once been harrying my pursuers were swiftly breaking away to hover at a respectable distance. Almost as if they were…waiting.

Suddenly shifting to flat-out worried, I ignored the ships that were now closing in and squinted at the mountain, Observing it. What returned to me was almost entirely hidden from my sight, but what little I could make out left my mouth slackened and my eyes wide.

 _No_ , I thought. _Please no_.

Lightning struck at my ship and hail rained down on it, jolts and impacts that briefly sent my heart hammered—not in fear of the attacks, though Levant and Crocea turned their focus to defense in my stead, but of what they might cause. It shouldn't have been an issue, not if at least a hundred years had passed to no effect, but I could feel dread rising in my belly even so. As I drew close, I began to Sense Danger, windows appearing to helpfully inform me of the skill's increasing level.

 _Please no, please no, please don't—_

I heard thunder rumble as Levant deflected lightning bolts, heard explosions and gunfire and shrieks of air. I didn't turn my gaze away from the Mountain, already shifting my course as best I could without letting my pursuers gain too much on me, hoping that I wasn't this unlucky.

Predictably, I was.

Stone suddenly cracked, a sound that dwarfed the thunder from before. Fields of snow fell loose as things shifted, an avalanche rushing abruptly down the mountain side.

Or rather, down the side of what we'd thought for so long was a mountain.

Wings spread suddenly, flapping wide in an irritated stretch as we disturbed their owners slumber. Before, they'd been curled around an actual mountain, leaning against the massive structure in their sleep, but now I could see what had, for perhaps hundreds of years, been hidden. A beast of Grimm that I _hadn't_ seen in my parent's gallery, but recognized nonetheless—a creature lost to the tides of history, recorded but unseen for so long it was thought half a myth. Some thought that it must have at last been killed by some great warrior, a feat many had claimed but none had proven. Others thought it was an exaggeration, born of fear superstitions in ages long past. Believers thought it might linger to the North, on the Fallen Continent where so many horrific creatures gathered.

In truth, it must have just been sleeping, right in front of our eyes.

 **?**

 **LV?**

 **Ziz**

Ziz, the lord of all the things that fly. Said to be a beast that could stand with its feet in the sea and scratch the sky with its brow, whose breath ended nations, whose wingbeats tore away forests. It stood before me now, a horrific amalgam of creatures—a head perhaps like a twisted, scaled Nevermore, the wings of a Tyrant Scale writ impossibly large. Both features slid down into a body that was at once furred, scaled, and leathered, patterned white and black. Here, I could see a resemblance to the insect monsters to the West, from the Blood Flies to the Sky Weavers. There, a strange resemblance to a Nemean. But all of it was massive, dangerous, unbelievable—enough so that even the twenty-story Goliaths that stalked the edge of the Kingdom would have seemed tiny and insignificant in comparison.

I was looking at a reminder of how unforgiving the world we lived in truly was. I was looking at a creature that had once been worshiped as a messenger of God, carrying word from on-high. Just one word, really, or so the story goes—'Begone.'

It rose sluggishly from its mountain side, dwarfing it easily as it stretching its wings wider yet—and then flapped them once.

Just once.

And a tornado erupted in the midst of the mountains and the plains. It wasn't aimed at me or my hunters or anything at all, really, but simply created in its wake. A terrifying cyclone of wind, a column of air that stretched from heaven to earth—and then it opened its mouth, fire erupting from its gullet to ignite the storm, such heat and light arising that I thought he'd set the sky aflame. I must have been nearly two kilometers away and still I felt the heat, saw steam and smoke rise in torrents towards the sky.

I stared for a moment at that casual display of power from a beast that didn't even deign to fully rise from its resting place. I wondered if it was luck or Luck that had resulted in this meeting. In a certain light, I was bearing witness to something unseen for generations, a display of godlike power that beggared description from a monster straight out of myth and legend. I was unspeakably luck just to see it, from that perspective. In fact, just thinking about the probability…it was like I'd stumbled across a one in a million secret boss on my first trip outside the Kingdoms. I must have beat some pretty damn long odds for this to have occurred.

I considered that for a moment, marveled at how unlikely it must have been to encounter such a rare opponent on accident. Especially given my Grimm Quest—or perhaps that played a role in this meeting. It wasn't uncommon to find enemies that couldn't be encountered unless you'd activated a specific quest. Perhaps that was what this was, my power telling me to slay another specimen of Grimm and retrieve its mask.

"God no," I said, turning my ship to run like hell. Those perusing me evidently agreed and had given up the chase to flee as Ziz rose from its mountain throne, scattering in every direction in the hopes of improving their chances. But before I could even fully turn the ship, I knew it wouldn't make a difference.

After all, it wasn't after them.

I felt the White Whale shake in a sudden bout of turbulence and had to struggle to keep it steady as Ziz took to the air, but I already knew it was too late to escape. With speed that was unfair for a creature so large, it closed the distance between us with a single flap of its wings, it's ten massive eyes gleaming with intelligence. There was something strange there, something familiar to what I'd seen in the Beowolf before, and the sight of it almost made me wonder if…

But I suppose it didn't matter, I thought as the White Whale shuddered, steel groaning as Ziz plucked it up in a single claw. It was over now.

 **XxXXxX**

Or maybe not.

"Why did I even bother investing in Luck?" I muttered to myself, sitting back with a sigh. "Should have just kept the damn points. I could have had Bai Hu's next technique by now, but _no_ —I had to push my literal goddamn luck. _Shit_."

It seemed that after snatching me up, Ziz had decided to stretch its wings a bit in a display that had filled me with terror. Despite how far I'd flown from Vale during the chase, we were all but in spitting distance of it for a creature of Ziz's size. If I'd woken the beast up, if I'd set it upon my town…I'd never forgive myself. I also probably wouldn't have had to worry about it for very long, granted, because I'd have probably died shortly thereafter—if it had attacked Vale, I'd have crawled out of the ship to face the beast, even knowing I'd probably accomplish nothing.

I sent off praises to every god I had ever heard of when it didn't fly in that direction, appearing apathetic to everything around it. I didn't even care, in that moment, that it had chosen to fly off with _me_ instead and had felt nothing but relief when the ship was rocked by the thunderous sound of its wings. It wasn't until later, after I was cut off from the light of the sun and plunged into darkness by the creature's titanic body and even larger wingspan, that I'd considered resisting and contemplated ways to try to run and escape. I didn't dare risk it until we were far enough away from the city that it wouldn't go search for more prey if I succeeded, but when I thought it safe to try, nothing I'd done had made Ziz's grasp so much as budge. When I'd put the whole of the ship's power into trying to slip loose and escape, it had accomplished nothing but making Ziz tighten its colossal grasp, causing the ship groan and warp.

I'd considered unloading all of my weaponry at the beast but hesitated, completely certain it would do absolutely nothing but maybe convince the creature to kill me that much more quickly. Purely out of a desire to prolong my life, I'd waited.

And waited.

And _waited_.

In Ziz's clutches, I watched the world go by beneath me. Despite its size—or perhaps because of it—it flew impossibly quickly, faster than anything I'd ever even heard of. In what seemed like minutes, land turned to sea, though it should have taken me an hour or two to get that far. I spent a while staring down at the shifting depths of the ocean, at the waves below, and it was…

Boring. Surprisingly peaceful, perhaps even beautiful, but after a while, really dull. The Gamer's Mind kept me calm in any situation, so fear was never anything more than a momentary distraction, blunting the terror of even such a creature's presence. Even beyond that, though…it sounds odd—or maybe even impressive—but it's like…it's like knowing someone is out there and any minute he could come in and kill you and there's no way for you to stop him or reason with him or do anything, _but he's taking his sweet-ass time about it_.

The first few minutes of that were really nerve-wracking, even calm as I was; the simple knowledge that my life was a toy in someone else's hand, to be crushed and discarded. Even if that didn't fog my thinking, didn't make me panic, didn't get to me directly, it was a fact that I knew, considered, and had no way of refuting.

Then half an hour had passed and still nothing had happened. I'd distracted myself and found things to do. I wrote a few things on my scroll that I realized I'd never gotten around to doing. I wrote a will, though I had no way of making it official and it was unlikely anyone would ever find it. I wrote letters, too, just on that off chance that someone did, apologies and last words to my friends and family. I sighed and ruefully wrote a list of the things I regretted not doing, just to keep them in mind, and then a list of things I would do if I somehow survived.

Then an _hour_ had passed and _still_ nothing had happened. Levant stayed by my side through it all, gaze more curious then frightened, whilst Crocea Mors was unshakable as ever. Between them and the Gamer's Mind…it's really hard to be worried while feeling calm and being surrounded by friends who just weren't. I browsed through my scroll even though I was far out of range. I read my emails, mostly stuff from Blake after our last exchange, and then played some games on it. None of them took me very long to complete, sadly, because of my enhanced Intelligence and Wisdom made the solutions rather obvious once I got the hang of it, but it was a good distraction. I kind of regretted not downloading any books onto it or anything but the built in games, really, but what can you do? Live and learn, I guess, though I wasn't sure that was applicable to this situation.

I looked up after the third hour, saw that I was still over the sea, and sighed. I probably should have abandoned ship the moment Ziz had seized me up and just walked back to Vale or something, but I'd been resolved, hopeful, stubborn. At first I hadn't wanted to do anything that might cause it to shift its attention and after I was sure that wasn't an issue, I'd still wanted to save those people so bad I'd tried to wrest the ship free instead of abandoning ship. Well, it had probably been too late even by that point, since I'd already been out at sea. And now…

Maybe if I climbed out I could swim somewhere? If I could get to shore or something, I should be able to contract with a Water Elemental with some effort. The mission would be a failure, but there was a chance I'd get home alive. Of course it was more likely I'd just be eaten by water-faring Grimm, but…

I checked my Map again to determine where we were and then looked to my World Map to try and make a rough guess as to where I was going. Southeast, roughly, though that could lead anywhere at the speed we were moving. With a sigh, I decided to wait in the hopes Ziz would hit land again—and hopefully not attack anyone. I considered going to sleep but…no, I'd rather be awake for this. Especially since there was an off chance of there being an opportunity to escape, however slim. I waited, relaxed as best I could, and watched the world go by.

And then we abruptly made landfall. Ziz set down suddenly on a shore I didn't recognize, walking inland with steps that must have shaken the world. I was about to rise, ready to leave and face…whatever was coming, but was knocked back into my seat before I could even do anything. The entire ship shook as a horrible ripping sound tore through it and I held my breath as if he might hear me. There was a long moment of silence, a tense moment as if I was being judged and—

Suddenly, I was flying. Not like Ziz had taken to the skies again or like I was flying the ship. Like I'd been _thrown_ , tossed aside like worthless trash. I lost my balance for a moment and slammed first into the ceiling and then a nearby wall before calling upon Levant's power to hold myself steady. Even then, it took me a moment to realize that was exactly what had happened and I scrambled for the controls, trying to control my flight and, more importantly, my descent. Half my controls didn't seem to work and the rest seemed sluggish to respond, but I managed to turn a chaotic tumble into a wobbling, uncontrolled landing and survive it with an exhausting use of Aura Crash. I was smashed around a fair bit as the ship tumbled and felt my MP drain as I tried to keep it together despite it all. When at last the ship settled and rocked to a halt, I just…sat for a moment, stunned and amazed that I was alive.

Then I got out of my seat to figure out what the hell had happened. Figuring that one out had turned out to be pretty easy, because it became evident to moment I walked out the door— _there was a giant hole in my ship_. I stared at it disbelievingly for a moment before Lunging my way up through the exposed bowels of the craft so I could take a look around outside.

Several kilometers away, Ziz rose into the air and flew a ways before diving into the sea in a move that flooded the beach he'd been on. I watched for a minute, but when he didn't emerge I turned my attention back to the mildly pressing issue of the _hole_ in my _ship._ Swearing to myself, I knelt down and put a hand to the hull, feeling Crocea Mors within it. I felt her map out the damage in my mind, compared it to the blueprints in my head, and—

Was torn from my thoughts as Ziz erupted from the sea with a deafening shriek. Clutched in its talons was a bleeding blue creature that would have been large if it hadn't been in Ziz's hands. It took me a minute to realize what I was looking at.

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking _kidding_ me!" I snarled—quietly, in fear that it might actually hear me. "You dragged me across the fucking world because you were hungry!? You don't even _need_ to eat!"

Ziz casually tore off the whale's head, scarfing it down absently before slicing the creature neatly open to draw out the softer squishier bits. I wasn't sure why it was bothering, since it couldn't possibly need it—even beyond the usual Grimm thing, there was no way a creature that size, or any of the larger Grimm, survived on conventional biology. Maybe it was bored or it was an Aura thing or it just liked watching large things die; I didn't know.

What I _did_ know was that I was pissed the hell off.

"Hey, here's an idea! Maybe you should have checked to make sure you liked to taste of steel before carrying me off to…where the fuck am I!?" I snarled again and stomped on the ship's hull. "You flying feathered _fuck_. We're gonna have words about this when I'm level a hundred!"

I growled to myself as I calmed unnaturally, well aware there was nothing I could do about the Grimm right now. For its part, Ziz had finished scarfing down the rest of its snack and was preparing itself to dive back into the ocean for more. I looked around and had no idea where I was. I looked down at my ship and had no idea if I could fix it.

And then I sat down on the hull of my ship and put my head in my hands.

" _Fuck_." I said, trying to put all my anger and frustration into that one word.

I gave myself a moment.

And then I got back to work.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
On Track**

The situation could have been a lot worse, I grudgingly admitted. Ignoring…everything even _remotely_ related to Ziz, I was unbelievably lucky.

Not because of the ship, even if things weren't as bad as they _could_ have been. The ship was horribly damaged, Ziz having skewered it with its beak to see if it was worth eating and punched a hole most of the way through it in the process. It had thankfully missed a lot of stuff that was _really_ irreplaceable, but it had still ripped through wires and metal and more; you couldn't inflict that much damage on an Airship and not hit _something_ important. It hadn't eaten the engine or anything, but it was still pretty bad.

Not really because of where I was, either. I was on Mantle now, which might have _seemed_ lucky, but as a continent, Mantle was kind of, uh, big. I was on one of the frigid islands to its west, which I wasn't even sure counted as part of Mantle proper, even if my quest had apparently accepted it—though I didn't even get a level out of it, which was making me start thinking I wasn't getting paid enough for this shit. I mean, I was used to annoying, dangerous quests for pretty shitty rewards, but that was in _actual_ games. Given that I was taking my life in my hands here, I figured I should get more meaningfully compensated.

Regardless, I was on Mantle, but though there were plenty of worse places to be I was still hundreds of miles away from my destination and without a ship I'd have to trek across an ungodly amount of ice and snow to reach my destination. So that wasn't the reason, either.

But the saving grace was that my power, as always, was bullshit. Because of it, I'd figured all of that out in less than a minute. With it, I thought the situation may not have been _completely_ hopeless. It was pretty much built for situations like this, honestly—situations where I had few solutions but a lot of time, because it's not like I was going anywhere without the White Whale.

The ship itself, I'd quickly realized, was fucked. I didn't have the skill to fix it and I didn't have the parts; it was beyond my ability to completely repair. Or rather, beyond my _current_ ability to repair. Since my power boiled the issue down to my skills being too low, however, I was better off than pretty much anyone else in the world would have been. I had the blueprints in my head, a full understanding of how the ship _should_ have worked, and I had _some_ of the materials and a way of actually working with them.

I'd turned everything off to keep from wasting power, gathered up some of the new scrap metal, and started grinding my Crafting skill, making simple things at first, then more complicated things, building them up and melting them down with Crocea Mors, again and again. The sun rose and set several times, and the skill improved until I could ply it roughly to my purpose and started repairing some of the damaged portions of the ship. A good amount of the damage was beyond me regardless of my efforts, for I simply didn't have the materials or a way of working with them, but the metal portions which made up most of the huge hole in the ship? That I could do something about and I did.

By noon on the third day, the obvious damage—the huge hole, primarily—was gone, though parts laid exposed for later repairs. I'd accomplished the work of heavy machinery and hundreds of men with just my brain, Aura, and Crocea Mors, fixing it up. It wasn't the _prettiest_ patch job ever, but that was fine because I wasn't trying to win a beauty contest with it.

But it still wouldn't fly. I'd mended the superficial bits but airships, like beauty, were more than skin deep. I couldn't fix all the damage on the ship by twisting metal alone, not with the damage to the wiring and various systems within it; getting the ship in the air again would have been, for anyone else, a hopeless prospect.

I wasn't anyone else, though. I was the Gamer—and I was stubborn as hell.

As another point of dubious luck, Ziz had chosen a more or less empty island. I'd explored it during my first day here and hadn't found any sign of human civilization, past or present. As far as I could tell, there were no Grimm on the Island, either—if there ever had been, they'd either left or ran away after Ziz's arrival and hadn't come back even after it curled around another mountain and went to sleep again. That was both good and bad; no Grimm to fight meant I couldn't level up but it also meant I didn't have to put up with the constant distraction of attacks, allowing me to focus on my current problem.

And maybe, just maybe, a possible solution.

I'd kept Levant and Crocea Mors manifested and by my side at all times. Part of that, of course, was to continue to train my Elemental skills—but a larger part was simply so I wouldn't be alone on this island, immediate danger or not. Either way, it was for the best, because of what I needed to do next.

I'd meant to do this for a while now, but had never had the time. The last few weeks had been a constant rush, an effort to get so many things done in too little time. But now, thanks to Ziz Airline's horrible flight, I had all the time in the world and a pretty pressing need.

"I, Jaune Arc, call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee," I said, standing before a trio of prepared circles, readying myself for one ritual after another. I wasn't certain this would work, but…nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? "I hope that you heed my call. Come, Fire Elemental!"

The makeshift fire I'd built in the first circle erupted suddenly, blazing higher than it should have. A small figure gathered at the center of the flame, bronze skin and blazing red hair. He was a diminutive figure but somehow cut an image of nobility despite that, garbed in cloth of shifting patterns in reds and blues. The cloth left half his chest bare in a fashion that seemed dimly familiar and he looked up at me with eyes that glowed like coals.

But I wasn't done yet.

"I, Jaune Arc, call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee," I spoke again, voice rising. "I hope that you heed my call. Come, Water Elemental!"

From a bowl I'd crafted and filled with sea water rose a small, beautiful figure. A formal gown of deep blue was trimmed in the white of sea foam—the same color as her hair, white trailed down her back like a waterfall. Her skin was light blue, darkening as it dropped lower to royal colors by her hips. Below that, her legs were amorphous, calling to mind both the liquidity of water and the scales of a snake or fish. Her eyes were solid black, like the depths of the ocean, glimmering slightly in the light.

"I, Jaune Arc, call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee," I spoke once more, exhaustion beginning to set in as my power was drained away. Nonetheless, I was determined to continue—and it would have been rude to stop now besides. "I hope that you heed my call! Come, Lightning Elemental!"

Lightning fell from the blue sky, reaching down to strike the circuit I'd made out of a few spare parts on the ship and some yellow Dust I'd set within the last circle. I hadn't been sure it would work, with the ritual predating the discovery of Dust, but Lightning was vital to my plans. Hell, I was glad this was working period—I'd prepared for it by meditating one the elements beforehand like I'd done with Crocea Mors, but even with my Nature Affinity, I hadn't been certain I'd succeed. I'd been relieved and overjoyed when I'd developed the necessary Affinities.

Nonetheless, I was extremely glad when no thunder followed the strike, though I was performing the ritual as far from Ziz's mountain as possible. Instead, the bolt gathered, congealing into a final figure. The only way to describe him was 'bright.' His flesh, his clothes, his hair—the entirety of his form was colored as if someone had trapped Lightning in a human form. Which, I suppose, I had. White cloth, white skin, white hair, white eyes, he seemed solid but only momentarily, shifting slightly between blinks of an eye. At times, he would flicker, momentarily facing another direction before facing me. I couldn't make out precisely what he was wearing, because it seemed to shift, merging with his body for an instant before tearing itself away in bizarre, twisting shapes.

 _You call upon the sea—_

 _The storm—_

 _The flame_ , Fire finished. _Why?_

I knelt and bowed, putting all the respect I could into the gesture. Whether because of their natures or my proficiency with Summoning Elementals, they seemed more eloquent, intelligent, and dangerous.

"I'll begin in accordance with the ancient rituals," I replied. "My name is Jaune Arc. You have heard my name; please tell me yours."

The three figures looked at me, tiny but judging, and for a moment all was silent. I wondered if I'd erred in summoning more than one, if I'd made a mistake or insulted them. There hadn't been anything about it in the knowledge I'd gotten about Summoning Elementals and I was pressed for time, but…

Suddenly, I was gone. I was torn away in a storm, drowning, burning, falling, and flying all at once. I flew apart in a million pieces and gathered, flashing into existence and fading. I grew and devoured, growing larger as I moved, wiping away all in my path. I covered the world, flowed through it, a power that was everywhere, enormous, and yet somehow unseen.

I saw myself and I was unravelling, coming apart in light and sound, unable to control where I was going, unable to remain. I lived and died between moments and yet in that moment I lit up the world.

I saw myself and I was burning, being devoured even as I devoured in turn. I grew, expanded, ignited, and consumed even as I lost my figure, my form, and became nothing more than heat and light—and I shared both with the world.

I saw myself and I was melting, liquefying in an instant and falling to the ground in a splash. I felt my pieces separate and recombine, was immobile even as I shifted and grew to be everywhere, in everything.

Abruptly, I was not alone. Three figures stood with me, or rather one figure did from three different perspectives. Even as I unraveled, I came together, racing through the sky to return to my body. Even as I burned, I found myself centered, the brightest flame at the core. Even as flowed away, I returned, rising from the earth and falling from the sky to return to the shape I knew.

I felt them and they felt me and we felt free.

 _My name is Vulturnus_ , the storm whispered.

 _I am Xihai,_ said the sea.

 _Know me as Suryasta_ , spoke the flame.

 _We are one as the ancient contract dictates._

"Our souls are one," I agreed.

 _I am Vulturnus._

 _I am Xihai._

 _I am Suryasta._

"I am Jaune Arc."

 _Until our souls meet their ends—_

"We will be forever one."

 _Then know; should the skies be torn through with light—_

 _Should the land fall beneath the sea—_

 _Should the whole of your world burn to ashes—_

 _Even then I will protect you._

The moment they finished speaking, I was gone, dropping into a deep sleep. I wasn't sure how long I slept, but the sky was dark when I woke. My dreams had been at once bizarrely joyous and troubled, of a world that was burning, drowning, and fading away, wrecked by titans of fire, water, and thunder. I stood amongst them, beside them, within them as they fought and felt at once like nothing but an insect and all but a god.

When I opened my eyes, I was not alone. I felt Crocea Mors humming in my gauntlets and Levant curled up at one side. Xihai rested at the other and Suryasta and Vulturnus at my head and feet respectively; far enough not to shock or burn, but close enough that I knew they were there. They didn't need to sleep, I knew, but they didn't want to leave me alone while I rested—and somehow, I'd held onto them even whilst sleeping.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through practice with many elements the skill 'Elemental Mastery' has been obtained!**

 **You've obtained the title 'Elementalist'!**

I huffed out a quiet breath as I sat back and waited, not wanting to wake them up. I'd let them sleep for now.

And then, we'd see if I could make a broken ship fly.

 **XxXXxX**

Later, I sat in the cockpit of the White Whale, my eyes closed in meditation. As I felt rivers of power flow, converge, and then separate in the world around me, the whole of the White Whale was revealed to my senses—as were my Elementals within it. Each stood at a different position within the ship, serving a different purpose as they sent tides of power flowing through the White Whale.

As ever, Crocea Mors moved through the ship itself, refining, hardening, and compensating for things around it. He made some parts harder, others more flexible, and strengthened the engine so it could hold up to the strain it was being put under. Suryasta and Levant stood within the belly of the ship, power mixing within the engine in a cooperative effort working to fuel, empower, and breathe life into the ship itself. Levant drew in air and, together with the ship's normal processes, Suryasta heated it, aiding the ship in generating thrust. Turbines spun while hot air expanded, aiding the White Whale's super jet. The two of them focused the result, keeping ahold of the expelled heat and air even as it fed directly into the energy converter.

There, Vulturnus was waiting. As wind energy was converted into electricity, he took ahold of it, bolstered it with his own strength, and feed it back into the system—and back into the engine itself. More than that, he guided it through the ship impossibly, sometimes between broken wires that I still needed to connect. I was already considering what alternatives I could make with Crocea Mors help; safer and more efficient replacements, if ones that wouldn't function without the aid of someone capable of manually controlling electricity. But for the moment this was just a test, a practice run to see where I stood and if it was possible.

And so far, it seemed to be working. Lights that should have been cut off from power turned on, parts of the ship that should have been inactive responded. Taking advantage of the systems already in place within the ship, of the loopholes and tricks a structure as massive as the White Whale used to soar, I thought I could do the same despite the damages. I wasn't powerful enough to make the ship fly solely on my own power—not yet, at least—but by combining my power and control with the processes the ship was designed around and the Dust it used for fuel…

It was possible. It _was_ possible. I was absolutely certain of that, even without rising from my meditation, because I could still _feel_ it. Despite all the reasons it shouldn't have been able to, this broken ship was flying, hovering just above the ground.

It was hard. I could feel my Elemental's focus, their concentration on their goals. I'd minimized the costs as much as possible to make it easier during my brief moments of lucidity, cutting corners where I could the save us all the effort. Systems that were unnecessary for now were checked once to confirm whether or not I _could_ use them and then deactivated. I'd stored all the perishables on the ship in my Inventory and shut off the lights, the air conditioning, everything else I could to conserve power. With nothing but the bare essentials, I focused entirely on the ship, stretching my power through it as I pushed myself to the limits.

We had been at this for days now. I'd scarcely broken my meditative vigil since we'd begun, so I wasn't entirely certain how much time had passed, but I was certain at least that much time had gone by. Xihai stood beside me, using her power to aid me however she could, whether to heal me or help restore my strength, but even with her help the first…long time had been hard, like an impossibly vast weight I couldn't put down. Even with the restorative power of my meditation, I'd quickly found my clothes soaked through with sweat; a distant, only mildly distracting sensation on my physical form, away from it as I was. The exhaustion that had caused it, however, was something I'd been extremely aware of with my enhanced perspective.

Raising the ship off the ground required constant, precise use of my different Elementals. The only reason I'd been able to maintain it at all in the beginning was _because_ of Soul of the World, of precisely how it worked and how far I'd leveled it. When I'd first gotten the skill, all I'd been able to do was fall into a deep trance to see the flows of energy through the world around me, focusing carefully on a precise flow to make it function as I wished. I brought the energy up through my body and back out, a careful, measured, _controlled_ change to the natural world as I became one with it.

And, really, that was still all I could do. While meditating, I had to focus almost entirely on a single, repetitive pattern.

It's just that in this case, the pattern was a little different.

I'd summoned up all my Elementals in their immaterial state before falling into my trance and then I'd focused on exactly what I needed, narrowing my view of the vast world. I'd imagined exactly what would need to happen, every shift in the engine, the motion caused by heat, every movement of the wind, every flow of electricity, every part of the process that governed the ship. I blotted out everything else until I was a machine dedicated to that single cycle, of imagining that one thing again and again and again to the exclusion of all else. My Elementals felt those thoughts through their link to me, and through _them_ I'd made it a reality.

The result was amazing even to me in the moments I could spare it attention; something only made possible through a number of different factors lining up. If my Elementals had not been capable of so accurately making my thoughts reality while immaterial, I couldn't have done it. If not for the MP regeneration my Wisdom granted, I wouldn't have had the power for it. If not for the tremendous focus I had while meditating, I couldn't have even successfully _thought_ it. And even with all of those things, I wasn't sure if it would have been feasible without my new skill and title.

Elementalist, the title I'd obtained by gaining five Elementals, simply increased all my Elemental Affinities by ten while I had it active, greatly increasing the power of all my elementals as a result. Elemental Mastery, the skill I'd received for apparently the same reason, was a bit more complicated in how it worked—but even more valuable. The first effect was similar to my physical Mastery skills; a percentage increase to attack and defense and such. Both seemed based on my Affinities as much as the skill's level, though, producing some interesting results and implications. I couldn't be sure, but if I got the skill to a hundred and an Affinity to a hundred…would I be immune to the Element in question? The multiplier I received towards attack was much greater than the damage reduction, but gaining immunity to specific elements wasn't unusual in games by any means. Generally there was a bit more balance, except with really powerful, hard to acquire items but…with my ability…well, I really wouldn't be surprised. Between that and Physical Endurance, I just had to shrug. Maybe I'd be immune to harm if I could get all my defensive skills maxed out, maybe not. I'd know the truth someday, probably, but I had a long, long way to go before then.

Its other ability, however, was what made it truly powerful—Elemental Mastery effected how the skill which had produced it functioned, improving Summon Elemental. Summon Elemental worked in a very specific way as it leveled up; rather than a percentage based increase per level, roughly every five or six levels I became able to summon another elemental. For example, when the skill had been level twenty, I'd been able to summon three Air Elementals. Instead of doing that, however, I could also just summon one, and it would have the power of all three combined. While there were situations where quantity surpassed quality and a small number of carefully positioned Elementals might be preferably, I generally just made the strongest ones I could because of the expansion to range, versatility, and power. Summoning different Elementals worked rather similarly, dependent on my 'pool.'

That is, when I summoned Crocea Mors and Levant to aid me with the White Whale, I'd had a pool of eight possible Elementals and had split that between them because I'd needed the skills of both. Generally, I made each level four, though depending on the situation I could go all in for one or the other or any combination of the two.

But Elemental Mastery changed that. Because of it, I could maintain completely different spells for individual Elementals, using multiple Summons that each allowed for a full 'pool', up to a limit determined by my Elemental Mastery. I couldn't use multiple castings to summon many versions of the _same_ Elemental, but I could summon Crocea Mors at full power with one spell and then Levant with another, paying the cost to maintain them separately—an added cost, perhaps, but one far below the additional benefit.

It was an amazing increase in the skill's power. Originally, I'd planned to use them while they weren't manifested, channeling my own power through them to use their Elements instead of summoning them to fight independently. I'd have split my power four ways between Metal, Air, Fire, and Lightning, calling each with two Elementals worth of power. Summoned that way, they would draw directly upon my MP, of which I had a great deal, to hopefully overcome their individual weakness.

But…it was an inefficient use of the skill, at least for something this prolonged. While they didn't draw power except when in use while not manifested, they required MP proportional to that use and focus to control the result. If I channeled my power through Suryasta, for example, and used it constantly for high-performance stuff like this, the cost in power and concentration would quickly become overwhelming and wasteful. It was the difference between a maintained skill and an Active one, with the former perhaps having a higher base cost but the latter needing to be paid with each and every use. Depending on what I was doing, one could be a better idea than the other, but for something of this magnitude…just lifting the White Whale like I was doing now cost well over two hundred MP a minute and I couldn't do anything else.

I'd figured that, honestly. That had been the real reason I'd summoned a Water Elemental…the truth was that I'd been all but completely certain splitting my power that way wouldn't be enough to accomplish anything. Four Elementals at two 'points' most likely wouldn't have even been enough to make the White Whale fly like this again, much less accomplish anything with it—but I'd wanted to be able to say I'd done everything in my power to try and succeed before returning home a failure. If that had happened, I'd have put my power in Xihai and tried to sail for land; I'd probably have tried to get to Atlas and then figured out a way home from there.

But five Elementals with the power of ten or more? That was something else entirely.

I'd grinded my skills relentlessly the moment I figured out how they worked, trying to raise Elemental Mastery as high as possible, so as to increase the number of Summons I could use at once. In the process, maintaining multiple Elementals had improved my Summoning skill, especially as I had done literally nothing but meditate, maintain, and use their power for literal days. The constant meditation had been good for training Soul of the World, though that skill insisted on being slow as all hell in improving, and it seemed that even just hovering helped improve my skill as a Pilot. With the latter's passive bonuses affecting the performance and efficiency of the ship…

I could feel my power growing, just as I could feel _their_ power doing the same. My Elementals strengthening as the days wore on, growing as my skill increased and then faster when I was able to maintain their existences. I wasn't certain how that worked exactly—if they were growing with me, if I was reaching out to grasp power that I couldn't touch before as represented by the Summon skill—but it didn't matter. One spell became two then three then four. I guided them fully with my mind at first, directing their power through the White Whale as we reached higher together, submerging myself in the flows of the world until I was nothing but a recording, playing the same image over and over. I concentrated wholly on that one goal to the point that I left my physical body completely in Xihai's care. I all but abandoned the material world in my concentration and it _worked_. The strain that had at first seemed unbearable had lessened and become something we all lifted together. I empowered my Elementals and they supported me until what had seemed impossible was in my grasp. My power grew as I struggled, stretching out to my allies, my _friends_ , and I _knew_.

If it was like this, I could do it. If it was like this, I wasn't alone—and together we were strong. I could still complete the mission and I _would_. It was too early to give up, too late to turn back, and time to move forward. We could do this, I know we could.

I took a deep breath and slowly drew myself from my trance, opening my eyes to watch the sun set far in the West. As my concentration eased and then faded, I felt my friends stepping into place to take up the burden.

The ship shuddered but did not fall.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Class: The Gamer**

 **Level: LV23**

 **Title: The Tiger**

 **HP: 1270/1270**

 **MP: 2230/2230**

 **STR: 41+26.7 (65%) = 67.7**

 **VIT: 44+28.6 (65%) = 72.6**

 **DEX: 41+26.7 (65%) = 67.7**

 **INT: 60+39 (65%) = 99**

 **WIS: 60+39 (65%) = 99**

 **LUK: 33**

 **Status: Metal Element Affinity 10, Air Element Affinity 10, Fire Element Affinity 10, Water Element Affinity 10, Lightning Element Affinity 10.**

 **POINTS: 20**

 **MONEY: 49800 Lien**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
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I gave myself a few more days of practice to be sure and then began to move. I was at once hesitant and eager—I wanted to get this done now, both to save the people I came all this way for and to get back home, but wisdom tempered that desire with caution. Whatever I wanted, I wouldn't help anyone if I screwed things up and I didn't come all this way to do this wrong and make everything that had happened pointless.

I still had the advantage in that everyone must have thought I was dead. I'd turned the tracking device off long ago, after I'd resolved to keep going with the mission despite the…unexpected detour. I'd left it on before then, so that people might know where Ziz had gone if I died, though it wouldn't have surprised me if the monster had flown us out of range. Regardless, I was pretty sure the whole faking my death strategy had been pretty successful and as far as I could tell, no one had seen fit to follow Ziz—or, at least, to come close enough to risk bothering it if they had. Everyone probably thought I was long gone.

I made a point of not dwelling on that too much. That had been the plan, of course, to vanish into the wilderness, lay low, and make it seem as though the White Whale had fallen before making a surprise reappearance, but I admitted that I hadn't planned for it to be quite this convincing. I was sure that the footage of my robbery—and, more importantly, of Ziz—had been shown all around the world and I cut off from civilization as I was, I could only speculate over what a mess _that_ must have been causing.

What I did know, however, was that I didn't have any way of contacting Adam or Blake and they'd probably last seen me flying off in the talons of a fairy tale monstrosity. We'd made contingencies for…well, for what we'd thought at the time to be the worst case scenarios, but getting tossed aside on some distant island hadn't meshed well with any of that and I hadn't been able to contact them yet.

That didn't bother me. Well, no, that was a lie; it bothered me quite a bit because I figured they'd be blaming themselves for this, but soon they'd find out I was back, I'd underplay it and act smug about how they'd thought they'd seen the last of me, we'd maybe argue, probably not mention a lot of stuff, and…it'd be okay.

My parents on the other hand…I'd already broken one promise to them, I was sure, because they'd probably rushed back home when word about Ziz got out—along with every other Hunter, in all likelihood. God, my whole family had probably come back to Vale to find out that I wasn't there. Worse, I hadn't come back or sent word or anything for days, a week, maybe longer with no word, no explanation.

I told myself I'd deal with that as I came to it and tried to ignore that I had absolutely no clue what I was going to do about that. But I _would_ deal with it because I _would_ come to it, I promised myself that. And even before then…

Still, there was too much on the line to rush in and just hope for the best. Even if I hadn't lacked any backup but what I could summon, discretion would have been the better part of valor—it just probably would have been Blake doing all this stuff. Circumstances change, though, and plans had to change with them and it was up to _people_ to notice and respond correctly.

I could probably assume a few things safely. Given Ziz's supposed awakening—and really, just the reminder that the world we live in is hostile to a degree that beggars the mind—odds were that border security had likely been increased, just in case it attacked or was spotted or whatever. At the moment, I may well be the only person aware that it had gone _back_ to sleep and even I wasn't sure that was a comfort. It was still an enormous super monster that could wake up again and if at that time it _did_ feel like attacking…

So border security had probably gone up. Up from the already impressive usual, that is, because even when there weren't creatures out of legend flying around, Grimm could and would take advantage of any opportunity they could to attack. There was a sincere risk of being spotted the moment I went over the line in the White Whale, which I'd need to in order to get to the company town; it was near the outskirts of the Kingdom of Atlas, set in an area found during one of its most recent expansions, but it _was_ in Atlas.

Given that I was flying a unique ship that had been stolen in what must be an extremely high-profile incident at this point, it seemed likely that there would be a response once I was noticed. Between the fact that I was flying a stolen Schnee Company super-ship and the fact that I'd last been seen in Ziz's claws…well, I'd need to move quickly once I started, because I was sure there'd be a lot of heavily-armed men and women who'd want to speak to me and I just didn't have the time.

The town itself probably wasn't changed much by the situation, relatively speaking, though they might have increased production. Statistically speaking, that's what Dust Mines did when there was a national or international emergency and, yeah, if I'd seen Ziz and I was the Atlesian military or whatever, I'd probably want more Dust, too. But while there _may_ be some additional personnel and perhaps adjustments to security, I doubted there had been time for any major changes yet. Infrastructure was hard to change quickly and I doubted a specific Dust mine was the _first_ priority, though Dust mines as a _whole_ were probably up there.

Still, before I did anything else, I needed to know what I was getting into. Adam and Blake had people inside, but even if I wasn't temporarily cut off from them…well, trust but verify.

Which was why I set the White Whale down about a hundred kilometers outside the border and ran the rest of the way there. I probably could have gotten closer if I was careful, but there was no sense in taking chances this early, especially when I didn't need to. The security out this far was more for detecting larger threats than small fry, because the simple truth of the matter was that if the entire military—robots included—was dedicated _solely_ to border control, they'd probably be spread out to the point of utter uselessness. Defending the kingdoms was more about applying what they had in the right places, with certain, careful lines of defense to protect important areas, rather than trying to constantly defend everything.

That's why an army trying to invade would be noticed pretty much instantly, but a single person like me could go border-hopping. It didn't help that the 'peace time' defenses weren't designed with the intention of keeping people _out_ of the Kingdoms. I crossed into Atlas—at least, the area known as Atlas on a map—with no trouble at all simply by walking over it.

Inside the Kingdom, I ran for a bit and used my Elementals to search for what I knew would be somewhere nearby. After a while running back and forth, I found the military base, still looking pretty new—which made sense, as I was pretty sure the most recent Breakthrough for Atlas had been…three years ago? The base couldn't have been in use too many years before that, assuming it hadn't been built afterwards. As a kid, I'd always thought of the Breakthroughs as something amazing, the forces of Humanity pushing back the Grimm in great battles to seize more of Remnant from the monsters.

Now that I was older and literally wiser, I was left with the depressing though that it actually had more to do with infrastructure; building roads and supply lines, getting power to new places, setting up communications, and so on, which must have been a pain when there were a bunch of monsters liable to come along and start breaking your hard work. The world was sounded so much cooler when I was a kid.

Military bases like this mainly existed to keep that from happening and partially to act as first responders, delaying a major problem that somehow got this far until the Hunters showed up. Thinking about it that way, it sounded like the type of job that was usually tedious and annoying, with rare bouts of utter terror. Most of the time you're probably standing around making sure no stupid monsters chew on your wires or something and then once in a blue moon, a Deathstalker comes along.

As someone getting used to experiencing shit like that, I empathized. I also didn't want to hurt any soldiers just trying to do their job, so I didn't. I did, however, swing by the back of a truck when no one was around, pop it open with Crocea Mors, and steal a spare uniform before slinking away. I ran the rest of the way to the mine in about three hours, found a good position, and just watched for the rest of the day, through the night, and into the morning. I stuck to the shadows, to the trees, and remained as far away as I could while still watch—which was pretty damn far.

I saw Faunus workers as the moved through the town, noted where they lived, where they went, and in what order. I watched the human employees as well, noting names, faces, roles. Liberal application of Observe told me the purpose of each of the different structures and Crocea Mors, Levant, and Vulturnus spread throughout the town, slipping through their respective elements to see what was hidden, to tell me exactly how things worked from both an infrastructure and personnel standpoint. Several times, I had to move to get a better look and I noted everything that I thought might be important as I went—exists, communication lines, names, faces, numbers, weak points, and more.

Because it was a Faunus town, activity did not stop during the night, so I didn't get a chance to enter the town itself and examine things directly, but everything I could do, I did.

And then I left and ran the rest of the way to Atlas. Between my Elementals and how quickly I recovered from exhaustion, I got there only shortly after night fall, found a place to take a bath with Xihai's help, and then found an alley to meditate in for the night.

When dawn came, I changed my clothes, disguised myself, and calmly walked into the CCT to make a call.

 **XxXXxX**

" _Hello! Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?"_

"Communications room, please," I requested.

" _Absolutely! Could you please place your scroll in the terminal to verify your identity?"_

I withdrew my scroll and scanned it casually.

Being terrorists made a lot of things more difficult for the White Fang, as one might expect. ID checks, for example, did not mesh well with terrorism—and anyone who wants to make a cross-continental call needs to have a scroll registered to them and have it scanned. The location of the call also needed to be stated, so who you were calling was an issue as well.

Luckily, the White Fang had long since adapted to such difficulties and as I was sort of with them for the time being, they'd showed me how—both in person and in the security books Blake and Tukson had fed me. The scroll that Blake had given me was registered to a false ID, though it was a bit more complicated than that due to what it took to keep things that way, both in the hard and software of the scroll and in terms of the infrastructure that supported them. The long and short of it was that if you knew how and you had a few things in the right places, you could make your scroll say what you wanted it too; an invaluable skill, if you knew how to use it, due to how much relied on Scrolls nowadays and what you could get on and off them with the right equipment.

And I'd gotten pretty good at doing it, as part of my Disguise and Theft skills.

" _Perfect,_ " The automated voice said once it was finished. " _Thank you, Mr. Younis."_

I waited patiently as the elevator took me up, a pleasant smile on my face. When the door opened, I walked up to the hologram manning the desk.

"Welcome to the Atlas Cross-Continental Transmit Center," She said, giving me a gentle smile. "How may I help you?"

"I need to make a call to Tukson's Book Trade in Vale, if possible," I said.

"Certainly," She replied. "If you could head over to terminal four, I'll patch you through."

"Thank you," I nodded at her politely. "Have a nice day, ma'am."

"You too, sir." She replied as I walked away.

I couldn't really take the credit for this next bit; most of it was having friends in the right places. A fake identity can get you through the door pretty easily, but once inside, all CCT transactions were recorded. This was an obstacle when you were, say, wanted criminals communicating across the globe, but only a minor one if you're properly prepared. Odds were good that Adam and Blake had changed IDs already, if not their scrolls, but that wasn't too uncommon among White Fang operatives on their level. It _could_ make them hard to reach in an emergency, however, because if something happens, suddenly they're someone else.

For that reason, the White Fang had a number of go-betweens who would take such messages and pass them up whatever line was needed to reach their destination. Tukson served such a role, at least in part, and Blake had told me to reach them through him if the mission went badly enough that we got separated and sent on the run. And yeah, it was yet another way spying was ruined by practicality. Secret messages, encryptions, and cyphers may have been cool, but it was amazing how far you could go with an answering machine and some common sense instead.

The screen beeped several times, trying to get the message through, but no one answered; I wasn't surprised, given the time zones involved, and it didn't matter. When it prompted me to leave a message, however, I spoke.

"Hey, it's Jonah," I said. "Sorry I couldn't make it; my flight got delayed and something came up. I just wanted to tell you I'd be there as soon as I could. I wanted to thank you and Bee again for the books. Can you tell the others I'm bringing back something? Just tell them to call the moving guys, okay? Talk to you when I get back."

I hesitated for a moment, finger hovering over the button that would end the message. He'd get the message, I was sure of that, and Blake and Adam call their friends at the town to help get things in order. That's all I really needed to do here and it'd be wise to leave—not because of any danger, but because of the temptation to do something _unwise_. I looked at my reflection in the table, watching as my smile faded, and wanted nothing more to make another call.

There were a lot of reasons that was a horrible idea. At this point, my mom—assuming she wasn't in prison for murdering my dad and hadn't escaped—must have been tearing Vale apart looking for me. If I sent her, or anyone else in my family, a message…I didn't doubt for a second that they'd do everything in their power to hunt me down. It'd be easy to figure out that the message had come from Atlas and I didn't put it passed her to come over here in person or, assuming the situation didn't allow for that, calling in all the favors she could to have me hunted down and express shipped back to Vale. I loved my mother, but she could be terrifying when she was angry and I was five million percent certain she was.

There was no situation in which calling my family was going to result in anything but more complications. The smart thing to do was say absolutely nothing, send the message, and walk away.

I tried to imagine how my family must be feeling right now, no idea where I was or if I was even alive. How my dad must feel knowing he might have facilitated my death. How my mother must be terrified and enraged. How my—

I closed my eyes and remembered all the times I'd been on that side of things. When mom didn't call back at night, when everyone left on missions and patrols, when duties and obligations had to come before family and convenience. I'd hated it, been worried and scared and mad and sick, even with my babysitters attempts to calm me down. Being alone in a house that just seemed to get emptier and emptier. Before, it hadn't been so bad, but…

The descendants of Julius were invincible—unstoppable warriors that would never fall, never fail to return. I knew that, had believed it with every fiber of my being since it had first been whispered to me in warm arms.

How could I not believe it when I'd told it to myself a thousand times on a thousand nights? If I didn't…

I wondered what my family would tell themselves and tried to imagine it before heaving a sigh.

Maybe…

"Also, if you get a chance to call my parents, tell them 'Sorry I'm late; I hope I didn't make anyone worry. Things are taking a little longer than expected, but I'll be home soon. Tell everyone I love them. Please don't ground me forever.' It's not an emergency, so…well, you know, I guess." I said, wondering what I was saying. "I'll try to be home in a day or two, but you probably won't be able to reach me for a bit. Just call the guys and don't have to move everything myself and be fine, though. So…yeah. See you later, alligator."

I sent the message and leaned forward, elbow on desk, mouth on hand. I hoped that wasn't a mistake. Tukson was smart; he wouldn't send the message while the mission could be jeopardized, even without my urging. Maybe he wouldn't send it at all or he'd send it while I was flying home or…I don't know. That wasn't the point; the point was that I'd spoken the message, had given it to him. It was a compromise between wisdom and guilt and I knew it, but…

"Yeah, I'll be home in a few days," I murmured, rising. I thanked the hologram again as I left the tower and walked back into town, towards the edge of the city and, beyond it, the edge of civilization.

As night fell, the White Whale glided across the border—a monster swimming in the night with its captain at the helm. If there was a response, I paid it no heed as I flew passed.

I'd always believed there were some lies you could make true.

If so, there was no stopping me now.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Invasion  
**

The White Whale flew smoothly through the night air, all but completely restored. I'd reconnected wires that had been cut—the metal parts, at least, though there was little I could do for the insulation; Vulturnus dealt with it regardless. Not much to say for the broken glass, either, though I'd cleaned up the shards and Levant used her power to shield the ship. After over a week of preparation, we were strong enough for it.

Nothing stopped me at the border, but then, I hadn't expected them to. I'm sure I was spotted pretty much instantly, though; I'd considered trying to make cover of some kind, like a massive sheet of mist, but given the effort it would take to create, maintain, and move such a thing such a vast distance, it just hadn't been worthwhile. And really, were they going to be _less_ suspicious of a giant cloud of mist covering vast distances while staying together in a climate that didn't really fit it? Probably not. I'd considered my options and had eventually just settled on flying as fast as I could. With any luck, I'd get in and out before anyone figured out where I was going and got to me.

And because, whatever my status screen claimed, I _didn't_ have any luck, I came dressed for a fight. Lenore covered my face even as my body was cloaked in Dreary Midnight, of course, but I'd also cleaned and redesigned my gauntlets with my higher Craft and Crocea's increased power. My Elementals were ready beside me, now so used to the ship's processes that they didn't even need to be on the spot. Together we watched the world roll by below us and after the time we'd spent together, it was a familiar, comfortable silence.

But as the White Whale rose over my target at last, I spoke.

"Levant, Vulturnus, Xihai," I said and the three raised their hands. What happened next was something even I couldn't see, an invisible play of molecules in the air to begin a process that Vulturnus assisted—or, perhaps more accurately, which assisted him. A moment later, lightning fell from the clear sky. Two more followed in quick succession, each directed towards a different place, a different weak point.

Even as the White Whale began to lower, the few remaining lights in the town flickered out and died. Here, on a clear night away from the city and light pollution, a million stars cloaked the skies in a display of natural beauty around the crown jewel of the moon. A cloudy night would have been more convenient, but I couldn't deny it was breathtaking to look at.

I doubted the human inhabitants of the town agreed, whichever ones were still awake. Even with the light of flickering stars and a waning moon, the night got _dark_ this far from civilization in a way that was hard to describe unless you could see it. People mocked others for being afraid of the dark, something easy to do in cities like Vale and Atlas where it never _got_ dark, not truly. There were always lights on in buildings, lamp posts, towers and beacons. However childish people claimed it was to fear the darkness, we did everything in our power to distance ourselves from it, to escape it.

After all, it wasn't that long ago when we couldn't. When we didn't have Dust and hadn't pushed the darkness back. And in a world without that, when the Grimm were so at home in the night…darkness was something to be feared, something synonymous with danger and death.

It still was, really—once all the lights went out.

I looked at Vulturnus who flickered and flashed beside me, looking in every direction, watching everything and everyone. He didn't look at me or even twitch at my attention, but I felt his shifting presence at the edge of my thoughts and there was an image drawn in it, made of sparks and circuits of light.

 _There are still many sparks,_ Vulturnus spoke into my head, a hum to the not-words. _Shall I snuff them out as well?_

"Kill any other lights you find and cut any communications that are still working," I said. "I'll meet you there."

There was a flash of glowing teeth in lightning's changing face and then he lost form entirely, dematerializing and rushed out of the ship. The few lights that had been on, mainly the ones near him, flickered out.

Suryasta and Levant handed the landing and the ship immediately died as they pulled away their power. Crocea Mors withdrew into my gauntlets as the others dematerialized as well, returning to a completely spiritual form.

It was…a questionable move, tactically speaking, but also one I'd thought about extensively. Unless I absolutely had to, I didn't want to reveal I could summon Elementals, because there was more at stake than just the battle. Part of that was, yes, because if people saw them while I was disguised, I'd never be able to summon them in my normal life…but that was honestly a relatively minor reason, simply because I wasn't sure I'd be able to summon them normally _anyways_ , because of the attention it would draw as a power out of a literal fairy tale. I was still unsure how I was going to make all my powers fly in my normal life, especially since after this I wouldn't want people to ask _too_ many questions about me. I could get away with a lot as a scion of the Arc family, but if I went crazy, people would eventually start going 'Wait, what?'

Since he was subtle while materialized, I could pass off most of what Crocea Mors did as a result of pure skill. Levant, Suryasta, Vulturnus, and Xihai represented wind, fire, lightning, and water, the four basic types of Dust, so I could pass off most of that as a talent with Dust while they were dematerialized. But if things out of a famous fairy tale followed me to school…well, People would ask questions I couldn't or wouldn't answer. I was fine with my friends knowing about my Semblance and I'd tell my family once I got home, but random people? My enemies? No thanks. If my mother didn't murder me when I got home, she might be able to think of a good explanation for what I did or cover for me or something, but for now…

So it wasn't really a desire to keep them from being seen, _per se_. A better reason was the element of surprise, to keep an ace in the hole. Inaccurate information, much like poor communication, tends to be bad for one's health, which is great when it's happening to your enemies. That was a pretty good reason and was why most people didn't advertise the precise nature of their Semblances.

But the _truth_ was that I just didn't want my friends known as terrorists. The fact that I wouldn't be able to use them as easily came in distantly second to that, a minor issue in comparison. I knew it probably wouldn't bother any of them in the slightest what people thought of them, but…

I shook my head, reaching up to tap a finger against Lenore. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it had something to do with how I got while wearing it, but…hm. It didn't matter, I thought as I left the ship, striding out into the night air. My arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by the Faunus of the town and I saw people moving hurriedly as I stepped into the open air and floated down from the White Whale. I got a lot of strange, fearful looks as I glided to the earth, as did the monstrosity behind me, but no one ran as I landed. I guess they thought the promise of a new life was worth the risk.

I cast my gaze over the crowd, scanning titles more than faces, and stopped on one in particular.

"Faraj," I murmured, using Levant's power to make my voice carry. I tilted my head at the White Fang member I'd seen a few days ago and gestured him forward with a finger. He was already dressed in a hood and mask, but he hesitated for a moment before approaching, probably off put by how easily I'd identified him despite his state of dress and having no memory of me. "I see word reached you."

"Yes, sir," He confirmed, uncertainty in his voice. "Just in time. We were about to, uh, pull out. Because of the video, I mean, we…well, we'd thought…"

"That I was dead," I answered with forced boredom.

"Um. Yes, sir," He replied. "You were…"

He dropped his voice, as if afraid to be overheard—whether by those around him or the beast in question.

"The Ziz," He whispered. "Was it really…?"

"Yes," I replied, tone unchanging.

"Then, uh…" He looked at me and then at the ship—the broken windows, the lightless depths, the superficial scars I hadn't wasted metal on repairing. "How…"

I huffed out a shallow breath and smiled very slightly, which made him fall silent.

"Ziz will not be an issue for the time being," I assured, gesturing dismissively to put a halt to his questions. It's all about image, about avoiding questions, about making people think you had the power and were in charge. "Now, if we may proceed…?"

Faraj stared at me for a moment, eyes hidden but probably widened, before bobbing his head.

"Yes, sir," He replied. "We were contacted this morning and told everyone to get ready. Most of them didn't have much to pack, so…well, here they are."

I scanned the crowd quietly for a minute and went down the mental list I'd made previously. My Intelligence was high enough to memorize something after seeing it once and I was pretty sure I'd seen most of the town. The list dwindled quickly as I looked over the crowd, but a few names remained. I waited for a moment as a few other people gathered near the ship, late arrivals, and struck them off the list.

"Where are Nyarai, Eavan, Edan, and Samual?" I asked. I saw surprise and confusion flicker across Faraj's face, along with even more hesitation, but he swallowed once and replied.

"I think Eavan asked her brother for help cleaning up," Faraj. "The other two may have come along to help; I was busy getting everyone in order."

I clicked my tongue once and felt Levant reaching outwards into the dancing air. What she sent back to we was a strange image, things seen through the air their displaced and breathed. I lifted my head and spoke.

"You four, stop wasting my time and get back to the ship. I'll handle the town," I said, voice reverberating strangely as it stretched out to distant ears. I felt them stop, saw them speak through how it moved through the air, and, finally, obey. I nodded to myself and looked back Faraj who swallowed again.

"All of you," I said and though I didn't lift my voice, I made it carry far. "You are free. I am here to take you away from this place, to the Kingdom of Vale where you can start new lives. Better lives. Come with me and I will give you a chance."

As speeches go, I don't think it was very impressive and it probably would have been better if it hadn't come from a dark figure standing in front of an even darker looking ship, but while I didn't get any applause, no one ran away. I called that a success.

"Lead them to their seats," I said to Faraj. "There are signs on the walls."

Then Levant lifted him suddenly into the air, raising him up to the ship's entrance as he gave a sudden yelp. Sadly, I didn't have any hydraulic stairs, so I had to make do.

"Form a line," I said to the crowd. "We'll leave as soon as everyone's aboard. Emil, keep things in order."

The other White Fang member—who must have been new because his title had been different a few days ago—started at being addressed but nodded quickly. He wasn't wearing the outfit or anything else indicating what he was. I saw him look at me, open his mouth, and then close it. He wanted to know, but didn't want to ask.

I watched for a moment to make sure everything was in order and then walked passed them into the town, leaving an invisible Levant behind. I already knew where the humans inside it were—hiding in their houses, mainly—but I ignored them, uninterested in 'cleaning up.' I was here to save the slaves, not punish the master, whatever their crimes. Maybe they _did_ deserve to be punished for what they'd done, but I'd done my fair share of horrible things these last few weeks and I didn't really want to add murder to the list. I was pretty sure Blake wouldn't have wanted that, either, even if I had probably ruined her plan already.

So instead, I found my way to the top of a large building, wondering when things would go wrong. I watched the skies with my four eyes, on the lookout for approaching danger, my Elementals stretching out their own senses to assist me. Vulturnus returned and joined me in watching the skies, Xihai sitting down beside me while Suryasta stood with closed eyes. Even with the occasional startled scream coming from the ship's direction, it was almost peaceful.

Then Vulturnus turned his face to the North and ruined it.

 _I see more lights._

I followed his gaze and then rose with a sigh.

"Yeah," I said. "Me, too. A little faster than expected, but…oh, whatever."

I wondered, in Levant's general direction, how the loading was going and sighed again at the image she returned. I'd need to buy some time, it seemed.

 _Seven lights,_ Vulturnus said as the ships in the sky continued their approach. _With more inside_.

More machines? Well, we _were_ in Atlas. If anything, hopefully we'd face nothing _but_ machines.

I glanced down at Xihai inquisitively and she blinked her shiny black eyes at me before shaking her head.

 _Empty._

"Hm…is it actually my lucky day, then?" I wondered. "That can't be right…what else do you see, Vulturnus?"

The Elemental watched the ships, surprisingly focused. He didn't shift or move, but watched it with interest.

 _Something bright inside,_ He said before pausing a moment as if searching for the words to explain. In the end, his expression flashed into a frown for a moment which I took as a failure. _And something bright inside_.

"I don't understand," I admitted.

He paused for a moment before giving up on words and showing me, letting the world unravel into circuits and charges, actions and reactions. I saw what he saw and understood.

There was something bright inside and it was bright inside.

"Still not my lucky day, I guess. Shocking," I murmured. "Just…shocking."

I snapped my fingers and a flash of lightning blew away the night.

 **XxXXxX**

Don't fight enemies that have control of the skies.

Just don't. If it's even remotely possible to avoid, do so. You do _not_ want any of that action. There are a lot of reasons for it, tactical and strategic—the advantages of mobility, supply lines, transportation, the conducting of otherwise impossible operations, information gathering, and many more. Most importantly in the immediate sense, however, is that a group who controls the skies can shoot a lot of shit at a group who doesn't. Whether bullets or bombs, it didn't really matter; you weren't going to enjoy it. If you had any way of dealing with that I suggest you employ it as quickly as possible, before they can get into position.

Which was why I shot them with lightning. Well, that's not quite true—the amount of energy required to _create_ lightning is…well, large. I could probably do it, but it'd likely be a, no pun intended, charged attack and a very costly one. When I had time, I'd practice it and see what I could do on that front, but in the meantime, I cheated.

This was another occasion where I was grateful for high Intelligence and Wisdom—and grateful for the fact that I studied a lot to increase the former. See, while it was difficult to create lightning directly, doing so _indirectly_ was another matter, if you knew how. It's a matter of charge separation, the collisions of water molecules in the air, and other facts; the many things that came together to create lightning in nature. With the power of Levant and Xihai, I drew water into the air, stirring it, cooling it, and occasionally heating it with Suryasta's aid. Vulturnus wielded his power at its most basic level, manipulating charges by repelling them or attracting them. Vulturnus and Levant can together to ionize air and create a conductive path in pretty much the opposite way that I'd once used Levant to _defend_ against lightning. I wielded my power carefully over the air, over my target, negative here, positive there, linked thusly—

And lightning was born, a flash of light that cut through the air for an instant before fading away. It would have been better if it had been a cloudy night—or, even better, an already stormy one—and my creation was only a fraction as fierce as it could have been.

But it was still lightning and in its wake rumbled the thunder. Worse yet, it was lightning controlled and directed by a human mind. I singled out the most dangerous ship—the one that ferried something which shined so brightly—and I created a path to a vulnerability. Like any aircraft nowadays, it had lightning protect, built to deal with the almost inevitable strikes they would create or receive over their course of use, but that was mainly designed to deal with the results of luck and chance. For something meant to strike out and sabotage…that takes something else.

Sadly, it didn't seem like Atlas had created any robots able to directly use yellow Dust yet.

Lightning struck the ship and lights flickered as the thunder rumbled. I saw, through Vulturnus' eyes, lights die out throughout and within the ship as it began to wobble before starting to careen towards the earth far away from me. Yet as I watched, the light that shined brightly within it did not so much as dim.

I guess that was too much to hope for. I didn't even know what it was, but I was pretty sure I wanted to keep it far, far away from me and told myself to be satisfied when it crashed in the forest, out of sight. Of course, being out of sight and surrounded by much taller objects made striking at it vastly more difficult, but I didn't need to _win_ , I just needed to keep them at bay.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and shifted my focus to the next ship. There were seven in all, a fairly major assault for what must have been short notice, but given everything that had happened I guess they were on high alert. Or maybe they'd just gone above and beyond to make me feel special.

Either way, I pointed a finger at the next one and focused, my Elementals, even distant Levant, doing the same. Air and water gathered and shifted and collided, heat flowed, charges repelled and attracted, electric fields strengthened, air ionized. Water, fire, air, and lightning, the four basic types of Dust, came together towards one purpose, a display of nature's power.

I tracked the ships course as seconds passed and power gathered—and then, with the twitch of a finger, it was falling. I paused for a moment to breath in the scent of a storm on the air and moved on the next, clearing the skies a ship at a time while the seconds ticked by and jagged lengths of light writhed in the skies.

It wasn't _fast_ , but it didn't have to be for this. One by one they fell, none even reaching the edge of the town even though they'd advanced fearlessly through the lightning I'd conjured. I watched dispassionately as the last crashed to earth nearby, falling with an echoing crash of groaning, tearing steel. I saw sparks, broken glass, and smoke, and glanced at Vulturnus with one set of eyes. His head flickered between watching the ship in sight and staring at something in the distance, so I shifted my gaze to match.

There was a rattle within the box like ship, followed by another groan of abused steel as a door came loose. A robot, one of the Atlesian Knights, walked from the wreckage, dragging a ruined leg behind him, and slowly his remaining fellows gathered, in similar states of repair. In the darkness of the ship, I could see twisted, broken forms laying still, but the defenders of Mantle had been created as fearless as they were relentless and were intent on completing their mission, however reduced their numbers.

I watched them for a moment before sighing slowly, scratching a cheek with my left hand before leaping down to the ground and walking slowly out of the town. I stopped when I stood before them all, nineteen total, and remembered my first real fight, the first time I got involved with the White Fang and fought these same machines. Looking back at it, it seemed like such a long time ago, but it was only about a month.

Back when I was level two.

"Intruder," Spoke the nearest machine. "You are under arrest for your crimes against the Schnee Dust Company and the Kingdom of Atlas. Surrender—"

I cracked my neck and looked at the head I held, the fingers of my right hand curled over its face. Behind me, its body crumbled to the ground with a dull rattle of steel. I mused at its head before letting it fall from my fingers and roll across the ground. Around me, the robots shifted at my sudden movement, some limbs responding more slowly than others. For a moment, I just stared back at them speculatively.

These things had been pretty dangerous when I was level two, I recalled.

But I'd come a long way since level two.

Limbs shifted into guns and opened fire, but I was already gone, reacting the moment I sensed danger and lunging away. Crocea Mors made their steel brittle at the touch, Vulturnus making machines fry, but I barely needed it. Even if I could wield my power easily over these Aura-less machines, it made no real difference one way or another. It was almost refreshing, really, to fight opponents that were legitimately, objectively far weaker then I was, and I tore into them as I had with the Grimm during my training. It was short and brutal, blurring motion, torn limbs, disemboweled circuitry. I tore them apart and brushed the remains off my hands when I was through.

It was short and brutal and easy—a reminder that however many horrible situations I got into, however many powerful opponents I faced, I _had_ gotten stronger. It felt almost like fate throwing me a bone.

So I felt rather justified feeling suspicious. Not because of my horrible luck—though, I admit it, that played a role—but because it didn't make much sense for Atlas to respond to a major threat with Atlesian Knights. They were meant to defend areas, fight minor threats like Beowolves or mob things like Ursa, combatting the little threats to buy time, protect low risk locations, or assist greater forces. Given what I'd done, what they had last seen of me, who I'd attacked, and what I stolen, it didn't make sense for them to respond to me as if I were a minor or even middling threat.

Or…perhaps what I'd originally thought of as a major operation was in fact the opposite? Could they be _understaffed_? It would make a sense, given what I already suspected about Ziz's recent appearance; Hunters would have been called back to Atlas and sent to reinforce and defend key areas. The larger machines, like the Spider Droids and such, would have been positioned similarly, layers of protection around places and people off import. The Gamer's Mind had muted my fear, but I was sure many people must have been in a panic at Ziz's reemergence, so there was also the matter of placating the public even in ways that weren't necessarily effective—even if a Droid placed near some district or town wouldn't so much as slow Ziz down, having something to look at an remind people of Atlas' protection could go a long ways towards keeping down panic.

But even more then dedicating its forces to border control, _that_ would stretch their forces thin. Given that, if something unexpected happened at a location that _wasn't_ major, I suppose it wasn't that strange if they'd had to cobble together whatever they could on short notice. A bunch of cannon fodder to assist a heavy hitter may well be all they could spare until they rearranged their forces elsewhere.

Frowning, I checked the ship and took count. Adding to the nineteen outside, there were about fifty of the machines in this one ship. Seven ships makes that over three hundred which I supposed was a pretty major investment given the situation, but…

I directed my attention to Vulturnus who was once more focus entirely on the forest and felt his mind slide over my own as the world dissolved into a portrait of charges and light. I saw some of those lights, other robots that had survived the crashes I assumed, coming towards me with variable speeds, but I focused my attention on the brightest of them all, the shining beacon of light that illuminated the Elemental's senses. Whatever it was, Xihai hadn't sensed enough water in its form for it to be human, which meant…I don't know.

Trouble, probably. Even if they were stretched thinly, they'd send _something_ big. If possible, I'd rather not find out what.

 _Levant,_ I reached out to check her progress. With nearly a thousand people needing to be transferred one by one into a small opening, it was slow going and not really something to be rushed, but…

I sighed at the image she returned and prepared myself. All my sustained skills were up and running and all my Elementals were out. I opened my status screen with a whisper and glanced over it, wondering if I should distribute my points now and, if so, how. I was very close but I still hadn't leveled up—which really seemed kind of unfair, but I could distribute my points to take two of my physical stats above fifty. I'd gotten some mild training in this last week, running to and from Atlas, but…the truth was that I didn't know what I'd get _or_ what I'd need. Should I go for Strength, Stamina, or Dexterity? I had no idea what skills my physical abilities would give me. Stamina would probably be something defensive, Strength would probably assist damage, Dexterity…could go either way or something in between. Without knowing the specifics of them or my opponent, though…

I decided to be patient and wait for my enemy to appear. When they stood before me, I'd Observe them, decide what I needed most, and make my choice.

Assuming I didn't die before I could, of course.

So I closed my eyes as the seconds passed by, feeling Levant moving passengers in the back of my mind as I watched the world through Vulturnus' eyes. I slid out of sight, into the shadows of a building, fists ready beneath my cloak even as the light reached the edge.

For a moment, there was silence as it—she—came into sight. A girl, my age or a bit younger, with short and curly orange-red hair. About half a foot shorter than me, maybe a little more, I saw freckles on her skin, beneath bright green eyes. A blouse and overalls, a collar and matching stockings, she looked…not at all like I expected.

But I didn't relax even as her eyes scanned the periphery and focused on me easily, though the shadows and partial cover. She smiled brightly at me and lifted a hand, but it did nothing to disarm me.

"Salutations!" She greeted. "I have been sent to apprehend you!"

However she seemed, appearances meant little to me. For floating in the air above her head…

 **A Real Girl  
LV59  
Penny Polendina**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Choice**

Whelp.

I was fucked. I was pretty sure of that when I saw her sign and just about certain of it when I Observed her. The difference between us was tremendous, whether based on levels, stats, or whatever else. In fact, going by pure physical abilities, she was by far the strongest person I'd ever been capable of Observing. This wasn't like fight Grimm or even like fighting the Nevermore; this was an intelligent, presumably trained individual with skill and versatility to back up her tremendous power.

Even so, I stayed calm. I'm not gonna lie—I owed that fact entirely to the Gamer's Mind—but I _did_ stay calm, analyzing the situation as I searched for a way out, a way through this. I recalled what I already knew and reminded myself that I didn't need to win this battle, I just needed to buy a little time.

Even if standing in front of a level fifty-nine opponent made it suddenly seemed like a _lot_ of time.

I considered my options quickly but before I even knew what I was doing, I'd stood up and walked fully into sight, standing before the young-looking girl beneath the moon and stars. A moment later, my brain caught up with my body and I almost nodded to myself—my cover had obviously been ineffective anyway and if the point was to buy time, this was probably my best bet. I'd have preferred to run, but even beyond the issue of defending the White Whale and the people being loaded into it, when it came to people significantly more powerful than me, my prospects for escape tended to be uncertain at the best of times. No, this was smarter; I was…well, doubtful I'd be lucky enough to make it through on this alone, but it could do nothing but help.

"Penny Polendina," I said clearly, thankful as always for how broken Observe was while I scanned her profile. "The first synthetic person capable generating of Aura; Dr. Polendina's daughter and masterpiece. I didn't expect to meet you so soon—but nonetheless, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Most people would have probably been off put by someone reciting hidden or private details of their life, but Penny just waved.

"That's me!" She said brightly. "I'm afraid I don't know your name though."

"I tend to avoid introductions, I'm afraid," I replied demurely. "You see, surrounded as I am by so many amazing individuals, I feel rather embarrassed doing so—who could possibly recognize my humble self?"

"I'm sure that's not true," Penny said kindly. "I've heard a great deal about you! You must be a very skilled criminal to have taken the AS-WW. People all over Remnant know about you!"

"It's kind of you to say so," I thanked her in the same tone. "Nonetheless, this is a good opportunity. Before the situation degenerates needlessly, may I speak with you, Penny?"

Penny tilted her head to the side and blinked at me with bright green eyes.

"You seem very polite, but I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," She said, shaking her head. "And also, it's very important that I apprehend you and return what you've stolen."

"Strangers?" I asked. "But didn't you just say you knew a lot about me?"

She blinked and nodded.

"So I did," She agreed. "But I don't even know your name. And part of what I do know about you is that you are a criminal. Which, considering it, I believe even trumps being strangers—though I am uncertain."

"That seems a fair assumption, Penny," I conceded politely, eyes narrowed considering as I began to find my stride. "Yet I would argue that circumstance forced my hand. In return for a moment of your time, I would explain. As for my name, however, I'm afraid that may still be an issue—for you see, I am wearing a mask, an item meant to conceal one's identity; a task I would be subverting if I then simply revealed it to you. I could remove the mask, but you see, it is much akin to military uniform and it would be tasteless—perhaps even insulting—to remove it in the line of duty. I can assure you that despite my fame, you would not recognize the face beneath, nor even my name, so I'd ask that you allow it to remain in my possession."

"Okay," Penny nodded, watching me. "You wish to confess then? I believe that's allowed, though I will still have to take you into custody afterwards."

I gestured at her noncommittally before continuing.

"Are you aware of where we are?"

"Becheur, a mining facility owned by the Schnee Dust Company in Southern Atlas, Seventh Ring," She answered promptly. "Or do you mean in terms latitude and longitude?"

"That won't be necessary. However, perhaps I should rephrase my question. Do you know what this town's _purpose_ is?"

"It's a mining facility owned by the Schnee Dust Company," Penny answered, blinking owlishly at me. "Presumably, it is a facility meant to mine Dust for the Schnee Dust Company."

Couldn't argue with that.

"But are you aware of the process through which this occurs?" I asked.

"I assume it is mined by miners, hence the name. Perhaps with the aid of mining equipment, also hence the name," She said and if she was being sarcastic, she hid it tremendously well.

"That's entirely accurate," I allowed. "But paints a false image. For you see, this is a company town, if you are familiar with the term. Everything in it is owned by the Schnee Dust Company, including, for all intents and purposes, the people. You may not be aware of it, but this mine is run almost entirely on Faunus labor and they are paid solely in company scrip—a form of currency that only holds value to the company that possesses it. They spend this scrip to buy their essentials from the Schnee Dust Company, but its value is entirely controlled by their employers for it has value nowhere else. They determine what can be purchased, when it's available, and how much it cost, determining not only how much their employees are paid but the worth of what they receive. Due to the state of Faunus on Mantle, they can get away with a great deal in this regard and it is effectively a legalized form of slavery."

"What?" Penny asked quietly. "But that's…"

"Horrible," I finished for her. "And the reason why I am here. The situation, you see, forced this result. I'm sure you would agree that I had to act, but my options were limited. I needed to transport a large number of people a vast distance, you see, and I had no means of acquiring an appropriate vessel except through the ignoble means of theft. Nonetheless, I had no choice but to act; you, if anyone, must understand why."

I was getting wordy, I realized, and it strangely brought back memories of school; trying desperately to hit the word limit on an assignment at the last minute by bloating things, meandering on the topic. Sadly, it also brought back another memory—of presentation day, when I'd found myself nearing the end of my speech with way too much time left. I could feel Levant working in the back of my mind, raising figures into the White Whale one by one—but _God_ it seemed to be taking forever. We'd practiced this and I knew she was keeping an amazing pace given her task, but…

"What?" Penny asked, looking surprised. "What do you mean?"

"At the risk of sounding cliché, I think you and I are rather similar," I said, refocusing in an instant. I honestly wasn't sure where I was going with any of this, yet; I was just doing my best to make the leap from thought to thought, to keep talking without sounding foolish or mad. As I came to an idea I thought had potential, I seized it and pressed onwards. "In the eyes of others, we are naught but an animal and a machine. Not _people_ , just tools to be used. Look around us."

I gestured encompassing—at the town, at the machine's broken on the field, at the world.

"Could there be a more fitting place for us to meet? A town where Faunus are enslaved and forced to work for human masters. A field of broken machines, sent to be destroyed by those same masters. It was my hand which ended them and I did so thoughtlessly, for which I must apologize, but it was they who sent them against me. And what does that mean for you, Penny? They don't even deserve to be compared to something as amazing as you, of course, please don't take the comparison as an insult—you are so much more than a machine, while these are simply programed to act in defined ways. They aren't alive and I felt no guilt in destroying them thusly, but…Faunus are alive and yet still used. Perhaps even treated _worse_ than simple machines. What can we expect, then, of those who might follow you, Penny? Of your brothers and sisters, of your children and kin? Will they be treated like us? Will they be forced to act as their master's desire, programmed to do so instead of being given life, choice? Will they ever get a chance to live like you, Penny, or will you be left alone?"

Penny seemed to shrink into herself at my words, a figure of tremendous, unbelievable power looking abruptly frightened, hesitant, confused—and I tried not to let that bother me, but I failed.

And yet, as with Weiss, I stood firm.

"You…you're wrong," She said. "I'm…I'm not a real girl. I'm not alive."

"If that's what you believe, then _you_ are wrong or else you've been lied to," I answered after a moment, looking her over. "I can see it so clearly. Emotions on your face, in your eyes. Innocence and uncertainty in every line of your body. I can see the light of Aura burning within you, Penny—the light of your _soul_. Only living things have an Aura, Penny, and that means _you're_ alive. It's plain to see that you are a real girl and anyone who disagrees is _blind_."

"I…" She tried, taking a step back, a step forward.

"We aren't enemies, Penny," I said soothingly. "Or we don't have to be. Let's not fight. I haven't killed anyone; the humans are still huddled quietly in their houses, waiting for this to be over. Just let me take the Faunus from this place and I'll leave, just like that. There's no need for senseless violence."

"…I can't," She said after a moment. "I…I'm…"

"Would they punish you, Penny?" I asked. "If you let slaves go free? What does that imply, then? For us…and you. For whom living and letting live is a crime. If that's how things truly are, perhaps you should question the world you know…and the people you think you do. Penny, you aren't anyone's property. You aren't owned or owed to _anyone_. You are a living, thinking being—a miracle of life and innovation both. And if they would punish you for that, try to control you, and then _they_ are wrong."

She was silent for a moment, blinking at me rapidly, lips forming silent words, but I kept going after only a moment's pause. I wondered a bit about my words, at how swiftly they could turn from a lie to buy time to something else, something I could put passion into—or was that part of the lie? Either way, I continued.

"Penny…you don't need to be afraid of anything. You're strong…and if you wished, I could take you away from this place. I could take you wherever you wanted to go—anywhere. If you wanted to escape and be free, I would do everything in my power to make it possible and protect you. You can come with me, if you want. Or you can stay and go home. Whatever you want, it's _your choice_. But let's not fight for _them_. I don't want to be your enemy. I'd rather be your friend."

I saw emotions on her face and more in her status screen—uncertainty, wonder, hesitation, fear, curiosity, worry, sadness—and realized how innocent this enormously powerful girl must have been. About life, about the world, about everything. Really, she was very much a child, hypocritical of me as it might have been to call her such.

And maybe that was where I'd made my mistake. Or perhaps, it had simply been inevitable. She was a child—uncertain and innocent and curious and afraid and everything else that could mean—and faced with all of that, she did what any child would do.

"No, this is…I can't. This is wrong," She shook her head. " _Something's_ wrong. There must be a mistake. You shouldn't have to…they shouldn't need to…something must be at work here. My father, he would know what to do…"

She turned to her parents.

I saw my only real hope dwindle before my eyes.

"You love him," I said, abruptly tired.

"He's my father," She said simply, extending a hand. "He and General Ironwood built me and…he's my father."

I nodded, understanding what she struggled to put into words. It didn't make this any easier.

"He told me to bring you in. There's an emergency—the White Whale, Ziz, it's…it's important," She said. "But we still don't have to fight. I can take you to him, let you explain. I'll vouch for you. I still want to be your friend. But I have to…"

"You have your duty," I finished for her. "I understand. And I still want to be your friend, too. But I can't go with you. I have my duty, as well. There are people relying on me, counting on me, and I won't let them down; I'm sure you get that. Are you sure you can't let me go? If it's about Ziz, I can tell you where it is."

"I…" She looked down. "Don't understand what's happening. I _know_ I don't understand what's happening. But I trust my father. He's not a bad person. Whatever's happening…I _trust_ him and I know he'll understand. So…I have my duty to the people of Atlas and of Remnant. Even if I want to be your friend, to believe you, I can't make any mistakes. I have to protect everyone. Please, come speak to my father, tell him what you told me and…"

I was silent for a long moment, more in an attempt to delay the inevitable than anything else. I couldn't go with her. Even if I had some way of know that her father could do what she wanted to believe, even if I _knew_ he had that much power and was a good person and would listen to me, I had too many lies that could be uncovered. And too many enemies. The Schnee, at the very least, would…

"I can't," I said at last. "I'll miss my flight. We have to do this, then?"

Penny looked down at the ground and nodded shallowly, looking miserable. I inhaled deeply.

"A pity," I said and meant it. "Such a pity."

For me, I couldn't help but think.

 **XxXXxX**

"I'll make this quick," She said and I barely saw the first attack before it hit me. I heard metal scraping and saw starlight gleam of a razor edge as a sword unfolded behind her, held by nothing and multiplying abruptly with a sharp sound—and then I was sent flying back. The White Tiger's Hide held under the impact for a moment before shattering, tearing apart with a rush of sensation that I felt against my very being as the blades bit further inwards. I felt my MP drain as my Aura took the hit, soaking it in place of my body, but didn't have time to check on any precise numbers as I was hurled back into a wall.

Or, more accurately, _through_ a wall.

And the one behind it and the one behind _that_. I felt cheap wood breaking under my body and I was flung into what seemed like a small work room, over several small desks or tables that I only noticed peripherally, out the other side into the street where I was sent for a rough tumble into the dirt, hit something like a curb, and was sent flying into a thin metal shutter of some kind. The door crumbled beneath me and I went rolling across a warehouse floor.

It hurt. A lot.

But only for a second before the pain faded, swept away by the Gamer's Body. Still, for a moment all I could do was lay there, stunned by the pain and the confirmation it had carried with it. I was strong and I had trained hard and I'd layers my defenses. Between me and any attack was the White Tiger's Hide which soaked a large amount of damage before failing, my Metal Aura which reduced any damage by a large fraction, and my Aura which made damage roll over to my MP before touching my HP, to say nothing of my Physical Endurance, which also reduced any source of damage by a large fraction. It was a powerful effect, taken altogether, especially with how highly I'd leveled all my skills; for someone my age, for someone who'd only trained for a month, it was an amazing defense.

And if not for all of that, this fight would have ended in that one blow. Penny had hit me with enough force that even with all of that, she'd still stripped away nearly half my MP—and I was pretty sure she was holding back, especially since I'd felt the blade draw away from me a second after impact. I wasn't surprising, really; I'd always known about the difference between me and some of the ridiculous opponents I fought. Hell, just earlier, I'd killed a bunch of robots a little less than half my level _effortlessly_ and the difference between Penny and I was a fair bit larger. Even if I hadn't gotten to experience it first hand, 'a hit from an opponent nearly forty levels above you would hurt like a bitch' went without saying.

So I wasn't surprised, really. I wasn't even scared, really, even ignoring the effect of the Gamer's Mind. As I lay on the warehouse floor for a second and just stared at the ceiling, I just…accepted it. She was vastly stronger than me and she had the speed and versatility to back it up. She was, in every sense of the word, above my level.

But I got up because that didn't change anything. I still had a job to do, I still had things to fight for, and I was still going home, somehow.

I tried to think of a plan. I considered trying to fly away or at least out of range but there were more than a few problems with the idea. Levant could lift and hold a single person fairly easily now, allowing me to walk on air or even carry me around. But…that wasn't quite the same as being able to fly _myself_. Ideally, Levant would be materialized and holding onto my back as she had during our practices, at which point I would either relay instructions to her or let her do what she thought best—and either way, the result was amazing but not ideal for a fight. In the former, there was a delay between thought and action, like telling someone how to drive in your place. It was a short delay since I could rely on Levant for most things, but if there was something precise or if I needed to dodge something fast, the fact remained that I wasn't doing it the moment I thought about it, I was thinking of it, telling someone else to do it, and waiting for them to.

Levant was amazing, but adding steps to a process like that was going to cause delays no matter how good you were. Leaving things to her was better—a lot smoother, certainly—but it had the problem of someone else being in control of my movements. Even if Levant didn't need to focus on evacuating the Faunus and could manifest and guide my flight, having another person effectively controlling my legs while I fought was not going to make this any easier. And if that first hit was any indication, if I made a mistake once, there were decent odds I wasn't going to get a chance to make another.

All of which was a moot point, I supposed, because of the situation. I couldn't be certain of the range on those blades of hers, but they hit fast and from what I'd seen, could be used without her touching them. Given that, I pondered what I would do if I were designing such a thing and figured they probably had a pretty huge reach. Being able to hit at a distance was rather the point of a ranged weapon, after all. Even if I could afford to draw Levant's attention away from evacuation—dealing with the effect splitting her power would have on both my mobility and the time it meant I'd have to buy—whether it'd be enough to save me was, ironically, up in the air.

If I was just trying to run away…maybe, but for this? No.

Stealth, perhaps? I'd leveled it up some, though it had never been a focus given the plan. Still, I might be able to lead her on a chase for a bit while remaining unseen—assuming that no one involved with the construction of a super robot had considered the numerous advantages of sensors and enhanced vision, which seemed rather unlikely. If you were creating a combat robot for…whatever reason, why would you stop at normal human capability for such a major thing? _I_ wouldn't have. Hell, if it was me, Penny would have been able to see Ultraviolet light bare minimum, and as much of the rest of the Electromagnetic Spectrum as I could manage. I didn't know the limits the top scientists in Atlas might have in that regard, but hell— _they'd created life_. Assuming they'd had fun thinking of ways to ruin things they sent their robot at seemed reasonable.

Can't talk, can't fight, can't run, can't hide, which kind of left me out to dry. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't think of anything that had a real chance of stopping Penny. Or slowing her down. Or doing more than momentarily inconveniencing her.

Which was worrisome, since I could feel her approaching.

I looked around, prioritizing quickly. Right now, I needed to survive long enough to figure out how to _keep_ surviving. I scanned the warehouse for a way out or anything useful—

I paused, suddenly realizing where I was. All around me were neatly arranged crates, boxes, and various other storage containers, all looking read for shipping. Given this town's purpose, it wasn't hard to guess what was inside them and a quick check with Observe confirming it regardless.

I was in a storage warehouse surrounded by tons and tons of Dust—all of it carefully stored and prepared but no less potentially explosive for that fact. If something happened to a warehouse like this…Well, assuming whoever was responsible for looking over my remains gave me a funeral, they'd be able to bury me in a _petri dish_. There was enough Dust in here to wipe away this whole town _easily_.

Maybe even enough to take down an unbelievably strong android, a cold—or maybe just frightened—part of me whispered before I hushed it. That was a horrible strategy no matter how I looked at it for many, many reasons. From a practical standpoint, while it may well have been enough to defeat even someone as powerful as Penny, uncontrolled close-proximity explosives did not lend themselves well to survivable strategies and there were a _lot_ of people who could be caught up in one as big as this. I would be endangering the very reason I came here on such a desperate strategy and I'd probably die pulling it off besides.

Just as importantly, if it _could_ take down Penny, it may very well kill her in the process. Desperate attempt to buy time or not, I'd meant the things I said and I couldn't do that. It seemed kind of unfair that I had to worry about the safety of my opponent as well as myself, but I couldn't endanger her like that. If I had a lot of time, full knowledge of Penny's abilities and limits, and had a lot of experience with using Dust in such a way, _maybe_ , but setting of a bunch of explosives and crossing my fingers? No.

Although…

It gave me an idea. Not a very good idea, unfortunately—it would have been more honest to call it a fool's hope, but that seemed self-defeating. But as the Gamer's Mind kept me calm and all my other options had run dry…

 _Vulturnus_ , I reached out to my Lightning Elemental and he was by my side in an instant. Though he was immaterial, I couldn't keep a shiver from going down my spine as I saw him standing in a room full of Dust, imagining it exploding. Vulturnus didn't even look at me at first, gaze focused towards where Penny must have been.

When I told him what I wanted, however, he shifted to look at me. The uniform color of his entire body made it hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure he was staring at me in disbelief.

 _You're my only hope,_ I told him seriously. _Go._

He remained as he was for an instant—and however long that must have been to a Lightning Elemental—and then was gone. I felt him in my mind, crossing my senses like the element he represents as he flashed towards Penny.

And as he moved right passed her, leaving he untouched and unaware of his presence.

 _I will return._ He whispered back as he stopped near the edge of my range. _Don't fade away._

Then, with a sound almost like static, he fell silent and my awareness of him slide to the back of my mind to join Levant.

I tried not to feel any less confident then I did already, but with Vulturnus gone I had one less Elemental by my side and I'd gotten used to their constant presence and support. Still, he'd be more useful where I'd put him then by my side, even if he was one of the best choices for facing this situation—which had probably been the reason for his unusual focus until now. He and Crocea Mors had the best chances of hurting Penny, after all.

But they wouldn't let me win this. If Penny was something else—if she was a Spider Droid or even a super Spider Droid—I would have any reason to fear her. If she was just as strong and a normal robot, I'd tear her apart regardless of our level difference. It might be difficult in a few ways and a tad dangerous in others, but I was almost certain I'd win such a fight. Crocea Mors could let me tear strips of metal from the White Whale's hull with about as much effort as lifting a bed sheet. Vulturnus could reach into and cause havoc on any electrical system, tearing up the power and letting it run loose. Between the two of them, I was _certain_ that if I had to face a Spider Droid or two or even three, I would win. Not so much because I was powerful, but because I could literally just reach inside them and turn them off.

But Penny _wasn't_ just a super advanced robot. She had an Aura, a soul—she was a real girl.

And that changed things. I couldn't reach into her and mess with things, even if I wanted to. I could _sense_ her, the metal and electricity that made her run, but I couldn't control it—or at least, not like I did with everything else. It was a matter of my Aura and hers and it would mean a clash that she'd almost certainly win. If I could touch her, fight it directly, and hold on for a while, _maybe_ I could do something, but I was pretty sure what would _actually_ happen was that my body would be introduced to realms of physical discomfort previously unheard of.

There was a serious risk of me dying in fact, now that I thought about it. Though I had no desire—and limited ability—to hurt Penny and doubted she really wished to injure me, as far as she'd be able to see, her attacks would seem ineffective because of the Gamer's Body. It was possibly that in her attempts to take me down, she might instead drive me to the grave because nothing would happen until I lost my last HP point.

I briefly entertained the idea of explaining that to her. My power was strange enough that I was sure I could buy a fair amount of time with _that_ explanation—but no. There was a better then good chance that anything I told Penny would find its way to the people above her, one way or another. It might save me from dying here, but if I was captured and they knew about my power…

I'd take my chances risking my life. Besides, seeming invulnerable gave me a psychological advantage, if one probably lost on Penny.

Instead, I tore open one of the boxes and palmed one of the Dust crystals. A yellow one, reminding me of Vulturnus.

"I'll buy you some time," I murmured to myself even as I opened my Status Screen in preparation. "Soulforge Restoration."

I felt power and vitality flow into me on the wings of strange sensations—a crispness to the air, a scent of the wind, hair standing up along my arms, water on my face, and the distant rumbling of thunder. I felt my HP and MP return to me and exhaled slowly, looking at the window that appeared before me.

 **The Status Effect, "Haste", has been created. Duration: 20 seconds.**

God, I hoped this worked.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Timed Battle**

The basic premise of my plan was simple and time-honored—I was going to heal myself liberally at the vaguest hint of danger to try and stay alive in a situation where I otherwise shouldn't. Countless fierce opponents had been slain through such clever and careful use of items and abilities to restore the brave warriors who fought them.

In games, that is. I'd done it myself a fair number of times, tackling much stronger enemies with a load out of potions and other restorative items to keep myself going while I whittled them down. It really _was_ a time-honored strategy in that regard and I'd beat a fair number of, in my opinion, amazing things that way.

Granted, I usually _died_ a few times before I did it right which was the type of thing that did little to reassure me when I couldn't push a button and go back like nothing happened. Whatever I did, the fact remained that Penny had kicked my ass with what amounted to a casual backhand—if I managed to survive more than two of her attacks in a row, I'd be absurdly lucky. Especially considering the _way_ she'd kicked my ass, knocking me down and tossing me halfway across the town. Once this battle really began and she realized that one hit wouldn't be enough to stop me on its own or if she put in more of an effort, if I went down again…

The margin for error here was very, very slight. _Too_ slight. Basic probability and simple observation made it pretty obvious that the odds were not in my favor here; I'd barely noticed that first attack, much less reacted to it. Now that I was on guard and had some grasp of the attack's nature, I might be able to take advantage of the brief warning Sense Danger gave me, but _never_ get hit? That seemed unlikely. The skill would strip away the advantage of a surprise attack if I kept my wits about me, but that wouldn't matter if she could still hit me anyway.

So I turned to my power, bullshit as it was.

Beyond healing, Soulforge Restoration had a few other powers when used with a Dust crystal—a restoration of MP among them. Because I'd leveled up the skill a fair bit, I could restore enough to make that _very_ useful—and to get me out of a sudden predicament, in the eventuality that I found myself in yet another bind.

Arguably just as useful were the…variable effects it could produce. A mere side note in the profile I had seen a month ago, I hadn't been able to test it until I'd begun training with Adam and Blake—but when I did, I'd understood.

Soulforge Restoration was, in the end, all about the transfer of Aura. It was more complicated than that—it took a great deal of precision, precise control, and careful direction to achieve the desired result, and many other things, but the base concept was that a person's Aura would attempt to protect and heal them. Or, arguably, to keep them in their normal state or return them to it. A person's Aura is an expression of their soul and a person's soul is an expression, or maybe reflection or embodiment or a number of other theories, of that person. If a person was wounded, their Aura would try to heal them back to normal, whatever 'normal' happened to be.

It was for this reason that healing was a relatively rare ability. You can't simply pour your Aura into another person to top them off and assist them at healing, because the answer to the question 'Who is Jaune Arc?' was different than 'Who is Adam Taurus?' or 'Who is Blake Belladonna?' In a fashion very similar to different blood types, a transfer from one person to another rarely took. The odds of it ending badly were far lower because people usually just shed Aura they wouldn't use, but there were rare cases that…well, hadn't ended well.

For a transfer to occur, one of two things had to be true. The target and recipient had to possess the same Aura—that is, be the same person—in which case there was no problem. When I healed myself, it was simply a matter of directing my Aura to its purpose; especially easy in my case because I didn't actually receive physical damage, I just lost HP. I just cast the spell and didn't even need to direct it to important areas like someone else might need to if they hurt themselves.

If you aren't capable of healing yourself effectively or lacked the Aura to do so, however, you're probably out of luck barring tremendously strange and unique circumstances. People were unique which meant you weren't going to stumble across a person capable of giving you a magic blood transfer easily. I was Type Jaune and I was the _only_ person who was Type Jaune.

Healing, however, remained possible. If you thought of different Auras as different blood types, you could think of healing as producing Type O blood, stripping away all the things that would cause another person to reject it and rendering it into a pure state that could be consumed and processed by anyone. Reducing it to a blank slate, effectively.

And using it with Dust was like shining light through a crystal, drawing up all the power within to color that energy, but not in a way that would cause a…reaction. Tricky to do, but Aura seemed to react with Dust in a number of unique ways and it would accept things from it that it wouldn't take from another person. And because Aura was all about trying to protect and maintain, if you added the power of yellow Dust—of _lightning_ —to your soul…well, suddenly the answer to the question 'Who am I?' became, in small part, 'lightning.'

I felt myself grow faster as the effect took hold, my heart beat feeling steady even though it pounded thunderously in my chest. The world around me seemed to actually slow as I moved, sharpening into sudden clarity as I quickened. I wasn't the only person would could do something like this by any means but using it directly on oneself was a rather archaic method of enhancement. Most people capable of it, like Weiss, channeled it through a weapon or some other item instead, but this was the only way I knew how to do it.

I drew out three other crystals—red, blue, and green for all three basic types of Dust. They were by far the most common types of Dust as well, at least in terms of what formed naturally, which is why they were all I found at a glance. Odds were that there were a few natural examples of other types somewhere in here, but I was in a rush.

 **The Status Effect, "Firepower", has been created. Duration: 20 seconds.**

 **The Status Effect, "Regeneration", has been created. Duration: 20 seconds.**

 **The Status Effect, "Feather Fall", has been created. Duration: 20 seconds.**

With each casting of the spell I felt more of my power returning and new power growing in leaving me feeling mighty and strong. Of them all, Firepower was probably the least useful as a general offensive boost. Haste's effect was obvious, as was Regeneration's; quickening me and improving my healing ability respectively. Feather Fall mainly just meant I wouldn't take damage from falls, but it worked on being thrown into stuff, too, which I thought would be depressingly handy soon. All told, though, they were tremendous boosts to my power and left me feeling almost giddy.

Beyond the quick tests I'd done, this was my first time really using this technique. This wasn't a tactic I made use of regularly—I couldn't afford to. There was no deeper meaning or moral explanation to that; I just literally couldn't afford to. Dust crystals were _expensive_ , selling for anywhere from over a thousand to five or ten thousand lien a pop, depending on size, weight, and type. The dust form was cheaper, but my power needed _crystals_ and I didn't want to draw attention by dropping a huge amount of money to empty out a shop, much less rob it. And for a twenty second boost for a single use…I wasn't made out of money. The White Fang had gotten me a set of crystals on short notice that I'd been saving for a particularly awful day.

Given that all this Dust had been mined with Faunus labor and slavery, though, I figured it was fine to steal some of it to help save them. I lifted the box with a sudden heave and poured it straight into my Inventory and considered going for seconds—but time was running short and I had another thing to do. I'd come back for more later, if I could.

I turned to my status screen and, with a series of rapid button pushes, raised both Vitality and Dexterity above fifty.

 **The skill 'Iron Body' has been created through VIT rising above 50.**

 **Iron Body (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those rare few born with surpassing vitality. The user possesses a body with great resistance to harm and unending strength to endure.  
50% Increase to Stamina recovery rate.  
20% Decrease in Damage from physical attacks.  
10% Increase to total HP amount.  
10% Increase to total Stamina amount.  
30% Increase to VIT related skill effects.**

 **The skill 'Amazing Grace' has been created through DEX rising above 50.**

 **Amazing Grace (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those with tremendous mastery of their own bodies. The user possesses refined control and coordination, displaying elegance in everything they do.  
50% Increase to Movement Speed.  
30% Increase to Attack Speed.  
10% Increase to Evasion.  
30% Increase to DEX related skill effects.**

I shuddered as the windows appeared, feeling my body shift and change as the power took hold, before suddenly relaxing with an exhale. Flexing my fingers, I looked down at my hand as I abandoned the improved defense of my Metal Aura and replaced it with Air. With Lenore, Dreary Midnight, and my Elementalist title, my Air Affinity was at forty-five, far higher than any of my others, but I'd gone with the reduced damage from Metal at first for the damage reduction since I didn't know what to expect.

But it wouldn't be enough to _reduce_ damage against Penny. I needed speed, needed to stay ahead if only for just a little while. With my Aura drawn around me, my body enhanced, and the power Dust giving me strength, I was as ready as I'd ever be.

Although, it really seemed kind of unfair that even with all of those advantages, I was _still_ going to be fighting an uphill battle. I was breaking out everything I'd kept up my sleeve just to try and stay alive for a little bit longer.

I suppressed a sigh before taking a deep, resolving breath and turning to face the entrance my body had made, for all appearances waiting calmly. Only seconds having passed since my impromptu entrance, but even that short pause meant Penny had taken her sweet time waiting for me and I wondered if she was dragging her feet or if she just knew I wasn't trying to run. Or perhaps she was just letting me stew in my thoughts, allowing the tension to build and wear me down following a display of her tremendous power. That seemed a bit manipulative for Penny to do consciously, but perhaps she was doing it without thinking, trying to get me to stop fighting without hurting me too bad.

When she stepped around the corner a moment later, I met her eyes, gauging her with my four eyes as she stared back at me. If not for my mask, the moonlight would have shadowed her figure and the silence lingered for a moment. I wonder what she saw when she looked at me and I smiled at her widely for lack of anything else to do, touching a hand to my chest.

"A fair first blow," I said with confidence I couldn't feel. "But perhaps a bit more care would be in order? What if I'd hit one of these containers? Dust can be quite…volatile."

Slowly, she turned to face me, expression a mixture of sorrow, revolve, and surprising ferocity.

"Do you surrender?" Penny asked at last.

I rushed her by way of replying.

 **XxXXxX**

She reacted quickly, the swords floating behind her whirling into place at a speed I'd scarcely been able to track before.

But that was before. They were still fast now, faster than I could move, but not too fast for me to _perceive_ —and there was more to battle then speed, however advantageous it might be. Distance, for example, was always a factor; even if the blades could strike faster than I could, I needed to cover less distance. As the blades struck like a many tailed scorpion, I danced back a step and jumped slightly to the left as the first sword bit deeply into the concrete. As it did, I caught sight of a glimmer in the air, light reflecting off of something very slight as it extended from the blade towards Penny.

Wires, I realized before abandoning the thought and continuing my evasion. It was good to know and something to keep in mind as another thing to navigate, but I was too preoccupied at the moment to take advantage of it. A moment after the first blade landed, the others adjusted, angles shortening even as tips turned. I crouched slightly to let the second flash past my face and skated a pair of steps back to let a third dig deeply into the floor in front of my feet. A moment later, I rose, a quick hop letting my plant my foot on the blade's pommel and I dodge the fourth and fifth with Lunges, a step taking me to rest neatly atop the first blade and then up into the air above.

In an instant, unblinking green eyes were on me, all but glowing as my danger sense rang out in warning. In an instant, her remaining blades came together like a whirling star set to cut me in half even as my left hand rose in defense. I couldn't hope to deflect the blow, I knew that, but I didn't _have_ to as long as I wasn't hit. At the last second, air gathered in my hand and around my body, turning me impossibly in midair as it changed my angle of descent. I watched as the spiral of blades rose passed me just inches from touching my hand's guiding fingers. I Lunged again as I touched the ceiling and hit the ground hands first.

A rush of air pushed me into a true handstand as Penny drew all her blades back to her, cutting edges going by just beside me as the hand stand turned into an assisted flip. The moment I was back on my feet, I Lunged after the returning blades, closing what distance I could to the android. The blades stopped to hover beside Penny again and I had another moment of warning before a larger pinwheel of swords came hurling towards me.

I went to my knees instantly, dropping into a slide as I leaned back as far as I could, watching the blades go by and focusing once more on the strings I had caught a glimpse off. I wondered for an instant if I might be able to cut them somehow, strip away her weapons, and so used Observe—before abandoning the notion with a grimace. That wasn't happening.

I hauled myself back to my feet with carefully controlled wind and felt another flash of danger a moment before Crocea Mors alerted me to the source. I flipped over backwards as hard as I could as the pinwheel suddenly halted and reversed, the claws of my left hand just barely scraping along a blades edge. I used the force to turn my uncontrolled jump into something with direction, and, with another touch of air manipulation, came back to my feet with barely a stumble.

Tossing myself forward, I kept my eyes on Penny even as the pinwheel broke back into ten blades and rushed at me in unison. Now that I was focused, I could see the strings by the Aura Penny channeled along and through them and I memorized their locations before leaping hard into the midst of the blades. As they came down upon where I'd stood, I was already passed them, rising into the air above Penny.

I kept an eye on her all the way through the leap, even as I felt my hands grasp the upper edge of the broken shutter door and swung myself down and up, flying high into the air as my abilities came together. In the end, I wound up upside-down in the air, looking back even as I held myself straight and flew high. It was an awkward position, but I let my Elementals guide me so I could keep my attention focused on the real threat—but Penny merely turned her head to look at me over one shoulder, drawing her blades back around her but not attacking even when I was forced to turn myself right side up to land.

The moment I touched the ground, however, I wished I hadn't. My senses rang out that I was in danger as the black pack on Penny's back flashed open, two more blades emerging and unfolding from within. I managed to rise out of the way of on, but at the price of taking the other to the chest. My Hide shattered again as I was knocked back into another building.

The good news was that secondary impact didn't hurt nor did I crash through the wall as I had before. Despite being hit by the same amount of force, Feather Fall meant I all but bounced off the wall and back to my feet. It saved me from the additional damage of plowing through the town, even if the hit itself had still taken its toll on me.

The bad news was that the blade I'd dodged had sunk into the ground and anchored itself as Penny jumped back and reeled herself in, coming to land far too close for comfort.

I summoned my Hide again as she came close, drawing it around me even as I swept a hand through my open status screen, palming another Dust crystal in an instant. In the brief moment I had left, I drained the crystal for life and power, resetting Haste's timer in the process.

Penny came at me an instant later, closing the distance with stunning speed, moving even faster than before. Her blade's rose again, but did not fire at me, instead floating just out of reach of her fingers. They trailed one another such that a single swing could mean many blows and I was pushed back by her first attack as the individual blades reached out further until the last struck out nearly four times as far as the first. I suddenly found myself being forced to retreat with each attack, because evading just one would leave me open to many others, yet as I fell back, she just pushed harder.

When I leapt away, she extended a pair of blades after me, driving them deeply into the ground before reeling herself after me. With the rest of her blades, she struck at me from a distance, raining blades down on me to keep me occupied dodging. It wasn't just the blades I needed to avoid but the wires which were thin and strong enough to serve as weapons all their own and which could curve and cross to almost make a maze in the air. I wound up wasting time trying to maneuver through it, giving her precious moments to catch up and force me into personal combat.

And I couldn't dodge everything. I tried, I even did well, but as we fought she began holding back less and less, coming at me harder because she thought I could take it. But I wasn't so sure I could, at least not for much longer. Even with my keen eyes and my hastened speed, keeping track of all of her blades, the strings, and a superior opponent was…more than difficult. At first she struck at me with sweeping gestures, attacking with a dozen blades of variable length and leaving me no hope but to get out of the way, but then she started playing hardball.

It began with her 'dual' wielding, splitting twelve blades into a pair of sixes. She struck at me with both arms then, one set of blades reaching out further if I dodged the other until the only way I could keep from getting hit was by Lunging away as fast as I could, reducing this from a defensive fight to full on running for my life. I'd managed to stay out of her reach, mostly, and heal what did get through, so she'd changed things up again. Now…

I danced back one step for the first two swords and a second for the next pair, four eyes watching closely, and hopped back a third to get away from the last one. Then she brought around her right arm and four more blades were swung my way, these ones stacked like an elongated staircase, the tip of one blade level with the hilt of another. I Lunged straight back to avoid them, already knowing what would happen—two blades flashed passed me, missing but leaving strings to either side. The two remaining blades came my way a moment later, lashing towards me with quick, alternating jabs that reminded me bizarrely of someone typing.

Now that she'd had time to take my measure, dodging in midair had got harder. It wasn't a matter of truly evading harm anymore, but of deciding which hits to take, what I could survive. After having been forced to do some testing, I'd determined I could take two hits in a row by soaking one with my Hide and Aura and the other with my HP, Iron Body, and Physical Endurance. Since Soulforge Restoration gave both HP and MP when used with Dust, I could stretch things out a bit further by carefully switching between them, but…

But the fact was I _had_ to, just to stay alive. I pretty much always took at least one hit after the longer sweep after she sent me running, hedged me in, and then started attacking. If I managed to dodge them, however, it scarcely mattered because she used the first two swords to pull herself right after me, shoving me straight back into melee, where she'd go back into her sweeping turns and attacks, blades following her limbs like sharpened after-images.

The worst part was that I could see the exact pattern, knew it all by heart, and there was still nothing I could do about it. Sure, sometimes she'd throw surprises in there to try and catch me—kicks or thrusts instead of sweeps, bladed pirouettes, more of those whirling stars—but on the whole she kept to her steps because she had no need to deviate from them. She was scoring blows, pushing me back, and there was nothing I could do to stop her or contribute. I knew the dance but I couldn't match her pace and I was steadily being pushed back. It _grated_.

I wondered what the hell was taking Vulturnus so long—and wondered even more if it was hopeless. I couldn't ignore the fact that it was completely possible that he just couldn't do what I needed; if so, that wasn't on him, but on the situation. Despite his power, if the pieces weren't in place, if there weren't enough guys left over…

I clamped down on the thought. I couldn't think that way. If he couldn't, he couldn't and I'd…do…something, I guess. But until I was beaten, I'd hold onto hope and faith and believe I just needed to buy him a little more time.

But I wasn't going to manage that this way. I couldn't last just by playing defense, because so long as she had no fear of a response, she could just wail on me until she battered through all my defenses or got lucky—and she'd do one or the other soon, I was sure. She was getting better as this fight went on, learning to match me even as I tried to match her. Blows came closer with each cycle and she was quicker to respond, to pursue. Eventually…

Well, I guess she'd cut my strings.

I needed to keep her at least a little wary, lighten the assault, but I only had one method I thought might actually work and it could be risky.

My back wasn't exactly breaking under the weight of my options, though, so I did it anyway, reaching into my Inventory to withdraw a blue Dust crystal to consume and a red one that I held tightly in my left hand. I looked up as I heard Penny zipping towards me and tried something.

For much the same reason I hadn't gotten to train much with my buffs, I didn't have much experience with using Dust. I couldn't very well train the ability up when it would take thousands of castings to do so and Dust crystals were so expensive. There was a surprising amount of difficulty finding training manuals for the more archaic methods, too—there were plenty of books about Dust, about how it was first used in its raw form, and so on, but ones that actually taught the art were uncommon. Possibly because it was so dangerous and easy to lose control, possibly because of the relatively quick shift to using rounds, I wasn't sure—all I knew was that of the three books Tukson had possessed on the subject, two had been about the theory, one had been a historical account, and none had qualified as skill books. Given the odds of blowing myself up, the noticeable nature of such a skill, and the severe expense, I'd laid off the skill.

But hey, I was already living dangerously—why not play with fire?

So that's exactly what I did. Fist clenched around it, I focused my will into the crystal. If I was honest, I'd wanted to try this for a long, long time; my Mana, Nature, and Elemental Affinities, my Elemental Mastery, and even my title all seemed built to help me with this, to make it stronger. I'd held back on using the crystals for anything but healing here since if I ran out before I got a chance to get more it'd be the death of me, but…well, if I didn't do something I'd die regardless. Firepower was my least useful buff—though, actually, it might help with _this_ —so I pulled out a red crystal, gathered my power, and called for help.

 _Suryasta,_ I said. _Please don't let this kill me. Thanks in advanced; you're awesome._

And then I unleashed the power, up at an angle to strike at Penny. I'd hoped for something like a stream of fire and I'd gotten that—sort of—but the power…it didn't go out of control, per se, but mostly because I never had it in control to begin with. It lashed out in a jagged burst towards the android, sprayed back at me through the gaps of my fingers, and quickly began to deteriorate from there. I felt Suryasta step in, calmly placing his fingers over my own, and helping to guide the power, keeping it from burning me _too_ badly. What got through before he got involved did little through my resistance and I took the opportunity to leap away before Penny crashed into the ground.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through the applied use of energy propellant, the skill 'Dust Mastery' has been created!**

I ignored the window, focusing on the smoke and making sure I was ready for whatever she tried next.

"Was that your first time using Dust in its raw form, by any chance?" Penny asked before the smoke even cleared, surprising me. "It was a bit…"

"Sloppy?" I suggested, trying to smile. Being less than competent didn't really fit with the all-knowing villain persona, but I tried to mask it as best I could. "Forgive me—no, I don't have much experience with Dust. But though I'm rather late to the trend, I like to consider myself a quick learner."

Drawing out another red crystal, I tried again—and this time it was far more streamlined and controlled, a result of both my new skill and Suryasta's skill. The flame flashed into the cloud, towards where I felt Penny and I heard something akin to an impact—

And then I saw Penny running straight through the blast. I aborted my attack, throwing myself to the side as she came, but her swords merged together, blade folding in half to form a gun. I saw a flash green hit the ground below me before an explosion sent me flying into another building. Feather Fall let my bounce off and I immediately started running, but she was already behind me. I felt her reaching out towards me and tried to duck, but she grabbed ahold of Dreary Midnight and with me pulling one way and her the other, it came free.

I nearly hesitated at that, but the Gamer's Mind kept me going, drawing a new crystal and throwing it at my feet, tossing myself boldly away with the resulting explosion. I came careening back to earth a building over and scrambled to keep moving, for whatever it was worth.

Penny's voice carried through the smoke.

"That was an amazing second try," She praised, sounding honestly happy as she congratulated me. I could feel her approaching through Crocea Mors and though it was probably pointless, I ducked behind a building. "You are very skilled at fighting, as well, and very tough, too. However, I have been pushing you back since this fight began. You should surrender now—no one can question your skill or loyalty for going this far for what you believe in, but please give up. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

I hummed thoughtfully, more to buy time then for anything else, but _shit._ My Air Affinity had dropped a fair bit when she removed Dreary Midnight and with it my speed. I'd meant to buy a little more time by fighting back, but all I'd done was make her go that tiny bit further to finally crush me. If we started fighting again, with my speed lowered…it would not end well. In fact, I felt pretty doomed.

And then my miracle came through.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

Vulturnus, lingering at the edge of town, had been crushing every machine that that managed to get near the town—all the surviving AK's. I figured that there had probably been something on the order of a hundred remaining, if the ship I'd seen was anything to go by and I'd _known_ I'd been close to leveling up. Really, really close. I'd fought Grimm back in Vale, gotten experience from quests, encountered a few more Grimm to and from Atlas, and had shot down a bunch of robot filled ships. I'd been _pissed off_ that I still hadn't gotten that one last level I needed.

Hoping Vulturnus would be able to get me that last little bit I needed wasn't the greatest plan I'd ever had— though I preferred to think of it as having faith, it had been nothing but a desperate hope, really. In fact, it _still_ was, because all that one level gave me were the points I needed to place my hopes on something else. But I figured and hoped and prayed that Luck would finally come through for me, given all the shit it put me through.

And really, it was the penultimate technique of the forgotten martial arts style of an ancient warrior king. It had to help _somehow_. And given the huge pre-requisites, there had to be _something_ great about it.

First things first, I opened my status screen and raised my Strength to fifty-one.

 **The skill 'Heroic Strength' has been created through STR rising above 50.**

 **Heroic Strength (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those blessed with tremendous power. The user possesses great physical strength, casually reaching beyond the limits of most men.  
50% Increase to Physical Attack Damage.  
50% Increase to STR related skill effects.**

And then I look out my book.

 **You've obtained the skill 'White Tiger's Five Hundred Years.'**

 **White Tiger's Five Hundred Years (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% HP: 500 MP: 500  
Legend tells that from five hundred years of war, a tiger rose to rule as king of all beasts. The penultimate technique the legendary Bai Hu, Lord of the West.  
500% Increase to Physical Attack Damage.  
500% Increase to Attack Speed.  
500% Increase to Movement Speed.  
Additional 500 HP used per minute.  
Additional 500 MP used per minute.**

I actually managed a real smile at that before raising my voice.

"Shall I take this a bit more seriously, then?" I bluffed, feeling just a little cocky.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Counter Attack**

It was hard to describe the rush of power that came over me. After a quick gesture to change my title, I drew upon Bai Hu's lost art, my life and power draining to fuel the flames as I burnt at both ends—though I was rather hoping I'd do better at lasting the night then a candle. It hurt for an instant, an agony like something was tearing me apart from the inside and eating me. After a moment, however, the bars on my status screen ceased their decline and I felt nothing but _power_. It flowed through me like blood and settled into my flesh and bones, reinforcing and empowering every aspect of the same body it had devoured for energy.

And yet, despite the cost, despite the pain…I felt amazing. I felt _strong_ , stronger now then I'd once even _dreamed_ of being, and I wanted to laugh out loud at the feel—or perhaps roar, declaring the might of Bai Hu's art for all the world to know. I restrained the urge calmly, but couldn't stop the smile that rose to my lips. It was like I'd felt that first time, when I'd put together Bai Hu's style in the forest outside my house; a rush of power that was at once humbling and uplifting, showing me how far I had to go but also giving me a taste of what it was like.

For a moment, I actually thought about winning. Honestly considered the idea that maybe it was possible—that I could beat Penny. It was so strange to even entertain the thought, but it lingered in my mind. It wasn't impossible, I allowed, considering it briefly. Not only that, but it was a lot more possible then it had been a minute ago. Unnecessary, too, of course; I didn't need to win, I just needed to buy time.

Although…how much longer? I wondered, thoughts turning slightly. With Dreary Midnight gone, it would probably take longer, as Levant's power would be greatly reduced without the cloak. Would it take five more minutes? Ten? Longer? That was a long time to run Penny around, especially with this style. Bai Hu's art wasn't about prolonged fights or wearing the opponent down—it was about crushing them, completely and utterly, in moments. It traded enormous amounts of power for brief surges of unstoppable might. It paid only passing heed to defense with the shield that could be removed and leave the fighting style otherwise the same, while all the other techniques built off of one another, pieces to a puzzle.

The White Tiger's Five Hundred Years was no different, making me run faster, hit harder and more frequently, but not making me any more durable, per se. It wasn't about withstanding attack, it was about evading them and putting the enemy down before it became an issue. I could rely on my natural defenses and Aura in addition to that, substituting durability and healing for a firmer defense; perhaps Bai Hu had done something similar. In a fight like this…

If I got to some more Dust, I might be able to last anyway, restoring myself heavily each minute. So long as Penny didn't hit me, I could drag this out, maybe. But…hadn't I already considered the disadvantages of a defensive battle? I was a bit better equipped for this fight now, but much of that still remained. No, more than that, it wasn't just loading the passengers I needed to be concerned with, was it? I had to escape with the ship itself, too, and with the reach of Penny's swords, she might make that difficult. It wasn't unfeasible—perhaps not even _unlikely_ —that she could get aboard or inside the White Whale itself as we tried to take off. I needed to do more than just buy time, I'd need to stop her from pursuing somehow. And, if it was at all possible, recover my cloak.

Or maybe I was just trying to justify things to myself.

Maybe I just really wanted to play with my new toy.

I dashed around the building, emerging into the street. Cold air brushed against my bare chest as my four eyes turned to the android. I saw her blades bobbing casually around her, watched as green eyes shifted to focus on me in turn—

And I was already closing the distance. I watched as her blades stiffened in midair, noticed them turn under her controlling strings, and saw them shift at last into motion. They were fast, still, even to my sharp eyes—but only about as fast as my body now was or maybe even a shade slower. As the first blade reached me, the knuckles of my left hand brushed against the flat of the blade, pushing hard. I didn't try resisting Penny's inhuman power directly, even with my new power, but I didn't have to. A little force shifted the angle of the blade a bit further left and it slide passed my face. My body leaned forward as I did, letting the second blade swing over my head, watching everything around me as much with Crocea Mors' senses as my eyes.

I leapt forward, extending my right hand as I did and settling it on the flat of the third blade as it flew parallel to the ground. Such was the force of Penny's weapons that even as I settled my whole weight upon the blade, it only sank slightly and I used that to my advantage. With the blade as my platform, I drew myself up and flipped into the air, feeling the fourth, fifth, and sixth blades pass through a target that was no longer there and settled my eyes on the next four.

As I reached the apex of my ascent, they rose up to meet me, each aiming to stab deeply into my flesh. Settling my weight on not-so-thin air, I grabbed the seventh by the hilt with my left hand and pulled myself down passed it, reaching out with my right to touch the eighth with my clawed fingers. There was a metallic sound as the blades slid along one another, but it was only so that I could push against it—and here, with us both in the air, I was the one to move. I slipped to the side as it stretched passed me, falling just a hair faster and further then I should have.

I rested my feet against the backs of nine and ten and Lunged the rest of my way to the ground, landing gently despite the force. An instant after touching the ground, I was rushing towards Penny again, speed boosted by Bai Hu's techniques. The final pair of blades hovered just above her hands. Dreary Midnight was grasped lightly in one of the hands and the other was held out at my, fingers twitching with short motions.

I lifted my eyes to meet slightly widened green ones, saw actual surprise covering Penny's face, but I didn't let it give me pause. Where before I had scurried in a desperate attempt to avoid it, I now stepped boldly into melee range with the mighty android. I felt a premonition of danger, felt her begin to move with Crocea Mors, and still didn't hesitate in my advance. When the right blade rose and struck out towards my eye with startling speed, I twitched my head to the side, letting the blade graze my cheek rather than stop. The left blade rose a fraction of a second later, driving towards me with that same speed, but I Lunged again, boosting my speed further as I closed in.

There was a sharp clang as my fist drove into her stomach. Touching her so, I felt her through Crocea Mors, felt vibration rock through her from the blow, and felt, more than anything, the sheer, massive weight of her.

But I still didn't back down. In that same moment, I used Double Strike for the first time in a real battle, two different blows connecting as one, each enhanced with Power Strike. I felt her rise to the tips of her toes and then off the ground completely, but I was already turning away from her, Lunging backwards to slam my back fully into her chest, lifting her ever so slightly higher. As I did, I reached back, on hand grasping her hair and the other her rising arm.

Then, with the full might of Heroic Strength, with Jaws and Rip, with the martial arts knowledge I'd gained from Tukson, I heaved with all my might, using my body as a pivot to bring her up, over, and then down to the ground. I sent her crashing into the concrete hard enough to send a spider web of cracks racing out in all directions and I still didn't let up. Before she could withdraw her blades, I descended on her again, fist pounding down into her face with another Doubled Power Strike, hammering it down like a nail until most of her head was below ground level with fissures stretching away from it.

As the blades spun back towards their master, however, I withdrew, free hand reaching out to snatch my cloak from the robot's fingers and she didn't try holding on. She didn't even try to stop me as I danced several meters away, though I saw brilliant green eyes follow my every move as I did before looking away. Above her, the twelve swords spun in a short circle, blades pointed down, ready to strike but waiting for something.

"Huh," Penny voiced at last, staring at the sky ponderingly for a moment, apparently paying me little heed. In fairness, I glanced away from her myself as a new window popped up and a cheery tune sounded in my ears.

 **You've received the title 'The White Tiger.'**

Glancing at Penny quickly, I bounded another dozen meters away before turning my back. I watched her like a hawk through Crocea Mors and felt certain she was doing the same to me somehow, but since she was giving me a moment's reprieve—likely preparing something of her own—it seemed foolish not to take advantage of it.

 **The White Tiger  
Obtained through the use of long lost power, the Tiger's tail has finally turned white. By incorporating the Five Hundred Years into Bai Hu's White Tiger, you have earned your position among his elite warriors! Train even harder to prove your skill further and uphold your title as Bai Hu's legacy!  
60% increase the damage of White Tiger techniques.  
60% increase to the defense granted by White Tiger techniques.  
30% decrease in the cost of White Tiger techniques.  
Status: White Tiger's Star [Low]**

As expected, an improvement on the Tiger and the Tiger's Child…I wasn't certain what the status did, but every bit helped so I changed my title—and had to keep myself from bowling over, a sudden flash of pain extending through me, fire running down the length of my body to gather behind my eyes, in my teeth, at my hands and feet and the top of my head, tingling through my hair. After a moment, it faded, except in my hands—until I felt Crocea Mors shift my gauntlets slightly, extending the claws as…

As my claws extended behind them.

I touched my fingers to my mouth even as I prodded sharpened teeth with a tongue and wiggled my toes slightly. Though I couldn't see my eyes, I glanced up at my open status screen, searching…and wasn't sure whether to laugh or sigh.

 **Race: Faunus**

So even stuff like this was…?

Well. It didn't really matter, did it? I guess this was a lie I'd made come true—and with any luck, it wouldn't be the only one.

"Are you alright?" I heard Penny ask and glance at her. She hadn't gotten off the ground, though she tilted her head back in its crater to look at me with concern. "You look…"

"Oh, nothing worth the mentioning," I gestured dismissively, drawing Dreary Midnight about my shoulders. I didn't offer any explanation because, really, why would I? And it's not like I understood, either. "And you, Penny? I'm sure I didn't hurt you…"

She blinked slowly at me before smiling again.

"I remain combat ready," She confirmed, still not getting up. "You surprised me, however, so I'm trying to think of a solution."

I suppressed another sigh and turned to face her fully.

"Oh?" I asked. "Did you come up with anything?"

Penny put her hands to the ground on either side of her head and half-flipped to her feet in an instant. Twelve blades became two before folding in half, returning to their more gun-like shapes.

And without another word, she opened fire.

I was already moving, alerted by Sense Danger, Crocea Mors, and Common Sense. I Lunged to the side, landed, and Lunged again with barely a moment's pause to determine my destination. Bullets flew past me, flickers of steel and light I could just barely make out as they flashed through the air.

It was easy to see Penny's plan—it was pretty much my plan turned against me, in a way. In the same way that I'd been able to dodge the swords when they'd moved faster than me simply by gauging where they were going and moving shorter distances, faced with my suddenly increased speed she had chosen to respond with an attack that required less movement. From this range, a small turn in her floating weapons could result in a vast change in the direction of bullets. Added to the speed of bullets…

It was a good plan. As far as Penny knew, I was a primarily close range fighter, after all, and she'd basically shrugged off my Dust attack like it wasn't even there. I'd proven that I could advance even against a tide of her blades so she was choosing a form of attack that she thought had a better chance of hitting me, changing her strategy from forcing me into melee to keeping me at a distance. Whether it was because she was a robot or very skilled or a combination of both, I knew that Penny could track my movements and plot out forms of attack with tremendous speed. There seemed to be limits, possibly because her body couldn't keep up and maybe also because calculating every possibility on a battlefield is pretty much impossible—but even as fast as I'd been suddenly moving, she'd been able to make slight adjustments to individual blades to try and get me.

A pair of guns aided by that same ability…minute adjustments made literally in-between shots as she guided the weapons towards me…I couldn't deny that it was a pretty frightening combination, not just to be the target of but even to bear witness to. In moments, what seemed like a hundred bullets cut through the air, each drawing closer than the last as she calculated and compensated. As I dashed and dove, bobbed and weaved, complete evasions became near misses. What started as almost random fire turned into something more controlled as she learned from success and failure both. The shots of one gun began leading into those of its partner, bullets started guiding my dodges towards other threats…

I suppose it shouldn't have been surprising, but Penny was a fast learner. All told, those weapons under her control…it was a good plan.

But not perfect. There was no such thing as a _perfect_ plan, not truly, and this one had a flaw. And it wasn't the person shooting as it might have been for someone else—it anything, Penny was the _strongest_ link in this combination.

It was her weapons.

That might have been a bit surprising for most people. There was a reason guns were such a common choice of weapon, after all; they were generally incorporated into pretty much all Hunter armaments in one form or another, even. And there were a lot of good reasons for that. Weak or strong, small or large, man or woman, anyone who could pull the trigger could fire a bullet. How well it was aimed could vary great, as well as a number of other factors such as rate of fire and reloading—but at its most basic level, anyone who pulled that trigger could fire that bullet. It might hit for one person and miss for another, fire rapidly for someone skilled and slowly for someone inexperienced, but given the same ammunition, the same weapon, and told to fire once, the result would be roughly the same no matter who you had firing. It wasn't dependent on strength or speed and, though it definitely had its place, even skill wasn't as big a concern as with earlier weaponry.

And in many ways, that was a virtue. If you gathered a thousand normal men, gave them guns, and trained them for a week or two, you could get a far greater result then if you did so with, say, bows. With the introduction of dust rounds especially, that was invaluable and had played a large role in much of Remnant's recent history, in the rise of the Kingdoms and the defense of Mankind. For the average man, there was no question that guns were by far the best choice of weapon.

But things got a bit murkier when Hunters got involved. It wasn't uncommon to see a Hunter parry bullets or evade them. While the adage of bringing a sword to a gun fight held true generally, if the swordsman was a trained Huntsman…well, I'd seen enough robots shredded to know how that went. Though there were many advantages to guns—hence why they carried them and incorporated them into everything under the sun—the same held true even between Hunters, in many ways. There were a lot of reasons for it, but in the end it boiled down to this: It didn't matter who held a gun. How fast you are, smart you are, _strong_ you are had no effect on the bullet once it was in flight. With the possible exception of me, I guess, depending on how the appropriate skills worked.

And while that was definitely an advantage for the majority of the planet, when you got into the outright insanity that defined most Hunters…

Penny's bullets were shot well, fired with inhuman accuracy and precision. She attacked carefully, a point to every bullet, a strategy unravelling. But though Penny was ungodly strong…that didn't make her bullets hit any harder than if she'd been anyone else in the world. Though a solid hit from her swords could send me flying and sheer away half my health…that didn't mean the same was true of these bullets.

So I did something that would have been insane for anyone without the abilities of a Hunter.

I advanced through the bullets.

Not in a straight line, of course; there was no point to making it _easy_ for her. I flickered between points, zigging and zagging with the Tiger's Lunge, my reenergized Air Aura bolstering my speed even more. There were two sources of the bullets—her two guns—and I kept a set of eyes on each even as I monitored them with my Elemental senses. With two lines of fire, it was hard to dodge them all.

So I didn't. I outpaced what I could, staying ahead by sensing the danger and noting where the bullets were aimed. Of the bullets that made it through, I blocked what I could with my left gauntlets; when that wasn't possible, I chose what hits to take and tried to minimize the damage. I was grazed a few times, bullets brushing the skin of my upper arms, shoulders, and legs. Other times, I was shot outright, not entirely physical bullets driving into my chest.

But I didn't go down. My defenses held, minimizing the damage, the Tiger's Hide even withstanding a pair of solid shots before breaking, and I closed the distance with speed that amazed even me. I leaned to the side to escape a bullet's path, bobbed my head once to evade another, leapt over a third, lowered my arm and then brought it back up to deflect a fourth and fifth, and Lunged forward, taking a sixth to the shoulder.

Penny brought her arms up defensively the moment she saw me closing in, crossing them over her face, but I went under her guard at first, driving a hand into a chest with Double and Power Strike aiding the blow to lift her just off her feet. Her Guns rotated in midair to point at me, opening fire again in an attempt to drive me off and push me back.

I ignored them completely. As my Hide broke under the first set of bullets, I drove Penny back with another set blows, pushing her higher and further. Crocea Mors sent flashes through my mind, images born from each stroke, and I sent a single thought back in return without letting up. I felt shots connecting, striking my Aura next, but still didn't break away. I rained blow after blow down on Penny, pushing her back through the air, across the street, into the wall of a building, and, because it seemed fair to return the favor, continued my assault to drive her straight _into_ it.

I kept an eye on my MP bar as it steadily drained, each blow biting into it swiftly even as I activated the Tiger Hide again and again to block a few extra shots—and then, once it reached the halfway mark, I turned my Aura _off_. The pain of the blows sharpened in an instant as the damage switched over to my HP bar, but I didn't let either fact stop me from smashing Penny out the other side of the building and into the streets once more. Grabbing her with my left hand, I drove firm blows into solar plexus, throat, and stomach even as I halted her flight with main strength and then grabbed her fully by the head and flipped her over onto the ground once more, turning my body into her chest to serve as a pivot.

She hit the concreate with a crash that drove her shoulders into the ground and sent cracks running out even further than before. I didn't stop, though, but came down astride her and began pounding down on her crossed arms with steady, lightning fast blows. While her bullets chewed through my health, I drove her deeper and deeper into the ground with resounding, metallic clangs, the images from Crocea Mors coming in quickening flashes with each hit. I beat her down until her entire upper body was below the concrete around her and still didn't stop.

I only hesitated when the bullets stopped coming—and it wasn't out of any worry for Penny. A glance revealed gun barrels glowing a bright green and my various skills—aided by my functioning brain—told me that was bad.

I leapt into the air a moment before they fired and green lasers drove large fissures into the ground on either side of Penny. A moment later, the android uncrossed her arms and placed them on either side of the hole I'd put her in. She rose from the ground as I landed, standing with the sound of breaking concrete and smiled at me.

"Well, that didn't work," She said, brushing off her arms and shoulders. Her sleeves had torn when she used her arms to defend herself and so had the false skin beneath, revealing now somewhat dirtied steel. I gave her a moment as she stood from the hole, mainly to take the chance to draw out and consuming another round of Dust crystals to heal the damage I'd received and restore my MP. "Maybe, hm…no, but…oh, but…I have another idea!"

"Oh?" I asked, bracing myself on the logical assumption that it wasn't good for me.

Penny grabbed the handle of one of her guns and it unfolded back into a sword again a moment before she leapt into the air. I saw bullets race down at me from her remaining gun, but it was the sword she threw that I dodged, dancing a step backwards as it slammed to the hilt into the ground. A moment later, I had to dance back another step as she reeled herself back to earth and slammed her free arm up to her elbow into the concrete even as the other grasped her sword and pulled it loose easily.

Without showing any sign of discomfort at the landing, she rose fully to her feet and ran towards me, sword in on hand, the other covered in powdered concrete, and a gun floating behind here.

It was the type of image a smart man probably would have run away from.

It probably said something about me that I returned Penny's smile, reactivated my Aura, and ran towards her instead.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play**  
 **Result**

The speed my new technique granted me was both a blessing and a curse and for similar reasons. Things happened, strangely, both more quickly and more slowly, in several different ways. On the Brightside, obviously, I attacked and moved much faster then I'd ever dreamed of doing, exchanging hundreds of blows, doing attacks that would have been too quick to see before, shifting through the chaos with an easy grace. Despite that speed, everything seemed slowed down to my eyes and mind, allowing me to think about, plan for, and react to things I might otherwise barely have noticed. All of that was tremendously useful and were literally lifesavers.

On the other hand, attacking five times faster meant spending energy five times faster, too. Even with my greater speed and attack power, truly matching or pushing back Penny required drawing on my other skills as well—Lunging at great speeds to close or create distance, Power Strike to strengthen my blows, using my Elementals to assist me in subtle ways, and much more. In fact, it was even worse than that, because of Double Strike, which effectively allowed me to hit twice with a single blow, but with each blow needing to be enhanced individually. The base damage of each hit was lower than a normal attack, but still high enough to make it advantageous, especially when I was leveling it up so quickly—none of which changed the fact that it drained MP like a _sieve_.

My entire strategy was enabled by my situation—on easy access to an effectively endless supply of restorative items. Any chance I had of victory was founded entirely on the fact that I was able to cheat like a son of a bitch, giving myself effectively infinite HP and MP so long as I didn't run out of items, didn't let my MP hit zero, and wasn't taken out by a single blow or quick series of hits. Without that, without the removed concern of how much damage I could take or power I could spend, I would have lost this fight very, very quickly. If I had been using solely my own power, I think I would have run myself dry in about a minute. Maybe less, _possibly_ a bit more.

I hit fast but tired fast, as was normal with all of Bai Hu's techniques. As it was, I needed to restore myself every twenty to thirty seconds and occasionally turn off my Aura to tank blows physically just to keep myself going. Things went fast and so did my power.

But they also happened painfully slowly. They had before, of course, as I'd known they would; with a ship as big as the White Whale, a lack of hydraulic stairs was a painfully serious issue. I'd worked to compensate with Levant, had trained to do it as quickly as possible, but I'd known it would take a while, just as I'd known that it was unlikely we'd get out before there was a response. If Levant moved at top speed, there were no complications on either side, and the passengers cooperated perfectly, she might have been able to get everyone loaded in about fifteen minutes. Realistically speaking, odds were better that it would have taken twenty, twenty-five minutes instead, allowing for difficulties and general stupidity. Far from ideal, but there's only so much you can do when you have to transport a large group of people while lacking a lot of infrastructure and under fire.

Given the circumstances, though…it might be pushing higher than that. I'd gotten back Dreary Midnight fairly quickly, but I'd also had to split her focus occasionally. Because of that, it may well push as high as thirty, though I held out hope I was highballing it. That's a lot of time to buy in any situation.

When your perceptions were enhanced as high as mine were, it was a length of time that seemed to drag on forever.

Penny and I traded blows beyond counting, metallic impacts filling the night air in a symphony that brought to mind the marching of soldiers and the hammering of drums. It was hard not to lose myself in the battle, simply because a large part of me _wanted_ to, wanted to let time flow past around us as we clashed—but I had to pay attention to the details and the moments, so it stretched on endlessly instead. I felt bullets beat a steady rhythm on my skin as we came together and heard metal ring as we parted. Every touch carried with it staccato images I perceived through Crocea Mors and Vulturnus, images that flickered and vanished in almost the same instant they were made, an instant of perception. I felt pain and power flow through me as I was wounded and healed, exhausted and invigorated, and Penny and I fought like tireless machines.

And all the while, I counted the glacial passage of seconds. I had to, needed to pay attention to every moment, focusing my thoughts towards their intended purpose even as I kept track of the slow boarding of passengers. I monitored the skies around me even as I watched every move Penny made, on constant alert for new threats regardless of source. Penny swung her blade in an arc I ducked under it, left arm coming up to brace itself against the androids reaching free arm even as I stuck a blow to it further up with my claws. Her sword stopped more abruptly then it should have been able to before it changed directions, coming back for another swing at my head that I stepped away from, driving a palm into her forearm as I went.

Penny followed, advancing as I retreated, never stopping or slowing. She swung her blade again, gun firing above her as her free fingers flexed. She was silent again, green eyes wide and almost glowing as she stared at me intently, taking everything in, processing it, reacting. At first, her swordsmanship had been very clean and precise, almost literally textbook, but also very basic—something I suspected may have been literally programmed into her. She was good at it, but not great, because every attack was _too_ exact, _too_ precise. Predictable and formulaic, responding to problems in the exact same way.

Within a minute, that had changed. She began to vary her attacks as they proved ineffective, incorporating things she'd tried before to improve it. In mid-swing, she released her blade, letting it fly from her fingers in a wide, sweeping arc that I ducked under. Almost the moment I did so, she moved forward, jumping forward and coming down with enough force to lift small slabs of concrete. I leapt into the air the moment Sense Danger alerted me and touched earth the same moment she drew her sword back to her hand and swung it over her, releasing it once more to bring it down on me. It bit deeply into the ground at my feet as I stepped back, but she just used that to reel _herself_ towards me.

An open-palmed strike passed through where my head had been a moment before as I ducked low, driving the heels of my palms into her knees and thighs in a series of quick blows before leaning back as she drew her sword from the concrete and brought it back up, tip arching just before my eyes. I turned the motion into a handspring, coming back to my feet as she took a step forward and swung her sword down again. I brought up both my hands, touching her forearm as I leveraged myself to the side before letting go. My right hand clenched into a fist and my open right covered it as I drove an elbow into her chest. Her other arm rose, outlined clearly to Crocea Mors and Vulturnus' senses as I touched her, and I dropped to a knee as it tried to seize me, guiding it over my head with a pair of gentle touches.

There was a moment's pause as I drew to the side, subtly palming a crystal from my inventory and consuming it to keep myself going as she turned to continue—and we were back in the fray.

All the while, I kept my attention on her, as she did to me. Every moment I looked for a way in or a way out, a way to strike or to defend. Penny was crushing power, unending strength, a machine that never tired or faltered, and yet, for all that, intelligent and methodical. Every mistake she made was corrected, plans were modified on the fly. Successes were noted and incorporated into further actions as she drove endlessly, relentlessly forward. Penny may have been innocent, but she wasn't stupid and she learned quickly. She drew ever closer with each attack, every failure building towards the hope of future success. I kept just ahead of her, slightly out of reach, and hit her a hundred times to seemingly no effect. I saw the damage it did, chipping away at her in almost meaninglessly minute amounts, and kept going anyway, deeming it unimportant. I was speed, precision, great power applied accurately, carefully, deliberately, all leading towards the same end, each blow making careful progress, however small—not trying to match her power or even compete with it, but aiming for something else.

We were different designs leading towards the same goals. I watched her grow stronger as we fought, learning and improvising with each moment. I did the same, skills improving quickly just to stay that one step ahead, considering her, predicting her, striking her as best I could to drive forward. We were like blades being tested against one another, being driven to our limits just to learn how to surpass them—and for a minute we seemed matched.

The battle ran on, through the streets, atop the sides of buildings. The gun floating behind Penny took to shifting, sprouting into six controlled swords again, attempting new tactics as she tested new things. For a moment, she moved through them, blades driving into the ground and walls to pull her this way and that, drawing her through the air and altering her path. I drew her into a building, engaging her in close quarters and evading a dozen swords as I continued to pound into her. They consolidated into another sword afterwards as we dueled in limited space and I weaved in between blades to get to her until she drove me back to—and through—a wall. The blade returned to its gun form in the streets as I had more room to dodge and maneuver, keeping on me with steady, mild damage as I drew closer again. We exchanged hundreds of blows as the minutes passed and still seemed matched.

We went up and down the streets, over and through the buildings, came together and parted a thousand times, and through it all seemed matched. Each of us was building towards something, drawing closer with every success and failure alike, yet seemed even through it all. To an outsider, it must have looked like it could go either way.

Looks can be deceiving. As the fight drew on, things slowly changed as planted seeds began to grow. I kept her in the center of my attention, but the nature of it began to change, shifting with every action as we drew closer and closer to the end. What started as a battle became more of a dance and I found my place in the dangerous, shifting steps and felt completely calm, with perhaps just a hint of something that might have been anticipation and might have been dread as the flow quickened and rose. All I had to do was—

"Let's stop," I said as we fell down to the streets, drawing away suddenly instead of stepping forward. "There's no point in taking this any further."

"What?" Penny asked, hesitating in her advance.

"There's no point to taking this any further," I repeated. "This fight's over."

Penny tilted her head to the side, blinking slowly.

"Are you surrendering?" She asked.

"I'm afraid not," I said. "I'm just winning. The ship will be loaded soon and I will depart. There's little reason to continue this fight anymore. It was fun playing with you Penny, but I'll need to leave soon, so let's end this here, okay?"

"I cannot allow that," She replied, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I still can't let you go."

"It's not a matter of allowing," I corrected. "I've already won and I'm going to leave now—I don't want to hurt you to do so, though, so please. For my sake. Stand aside. You've already lost."

"No, I haven't," She said. "I am combat ready—and I will never give up so long as I can still fight."

She took a step forward and then began to run, but I didn't move. I didn't turn away, I didn't back down, and I didn't flinch.

I just sighed quietly, stepped forward, and whispered just high enough to be sure she would catch it.

"Right arm," I said as I stepped just to the side of the blade, dodging along the outside of her arm. My left hand came up to grasp her wrist, my right her shoulder. With each hand, I used the Tiger's Jaws, doubled with Double Strike, multiplied with Power Strike, Rip, and Crush, pulling it back behind her with all my might.

But really, that was just the final blow, the straw that broke the camel's back. What happened next had been long in the coming. Penny and I had both been working towards something, trying to guide the battle in our favor—but the advantage had been mine, for I held the most powerful weapon of all.

Information. I knew, if roughly, what she was capable off, but there were many, many things she didn't know about me. Her plan had been to wear me down, to improve her strategies and plans to fence me in and push me back, all leading up to a final blow—but my plan had literally been built with every blow, every exchange, whenever I touched her. It had been in gentle touches, seemingly pointless strikes to her defending arms, to her legs, a work in progress from the very beginning striking at weak point she hadn't even known to defend.

So though I applied careful pressure and force, put my entire body into accomplishing on thing, and hammered, grasped, crushed, and _tore_ with all my might, what happened next wasn't a matter of my strength. No, that was a small part of it, in all honesty. In truth, it was a matter of careful build up, minute applications of Crocea Mors in a thousand instants of contact and flickering images, the buildup of many minor changes through her Aura as the minutes dragged on, all leading up to one moment, one final push, an instant of strain that even her soul couldn't compensate for.

And with a crack and a pop and a groan, with a small rain of bits of metal, with a sudden force giving way—with all of that, I tore off Penny's arm.

She stumbled then, as her body came free of her arm, and then fell. She tried to catch herself, realizing a moment too late that one of the arms she'd sought to do so with was absent, and then fell on her face.

"I'm sorry," I said honestly, looking at the arm for a moment before setting it down on the ground. "I'd hoped to avoid that. But with this, it should be clear. Your father can fix that when you're retrieved, so just sit this one out for now, okay? I've won, Penny."

Penny lay prone on the ground for a moment, not moving or saying a word. Ideally, she'd see this as a sign of overwhelming power and give up, or wonder how it was possible, or any number of other things but…after that moment of stillness passed, I saw her lift herself carefully with one arm, compensating for the absent one as if it were natural for her and slowly rising to stand.

"No," She said, looking at me with her green eyes. She didn't seem hurt or even scared—she didn't seem different at all, really. "I already told you, I will never give up so long as I'm able to fight. Something like this…it doesn't even hurt."

The sword in her dismembered hands grasp twitched once before withdrawing. I watched it return to the side of its mistress, floating in the air near where she would have held it, and sighed again.

"Penny, you are amazing," I told her. "To get up, despite that, to refuse to give up—you are simply amazing. But there is a difference between being brave and being reckless. There are times when you need to put everything on the line and fight, but for you…this shouldn't be one of them. Whether it hurts or not, don't put yourself at risk for something like this. This shouldn't be a battle you need to stake your life on. Accept your defeat."

"I haven't lost yet," She said stubbornly, striding forward more warily this time. "I won't accept defeat—no matter what, I will fight until my body is broken. For my father…I have to protect this world. I am ready… _I am._ So I won't lose to anyone."

I looked at her quietly, Observing her resolve, and exhaled slowly.

"This really means a lot to you," I noted. "I hope you father knows how proud he should be of you for that. But…you can't always win Penny. And if you tear yourself apart trying to anyway, imagine what that will do to the people who care about you. You're still a child; you don't have to protect the world by yourself. Walk away from this fight, get stronger, and we'll play again some other day. But give up, Penny. Sit down and watch me leave. This isn't a battle you can win; you should know that already."

"I know no such thing," She said, stump of an arm sparking. "It's only minor damage. I am still combat ready."

"You're missing an arm," I stated.

"I don't need my arms to fight," She reminded, twitching her strings. "And as long as I can keep fighting—"

"You won't give up," I said calmly, nodding as I stared her down. "You sure about that, though?"

Her float sword lashed out at my, flying through the air every bit as fast as before. I sidestepped, mind already shifting into action, focusing on the contingencies. I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this.

That didn't mean I didn't expect it.

"Left leg," I spoke.

I Lunged low, hand thrusting up into her chest, a series of blows that lifted her off her feet. I turned then, leg coming up to hammer into her stomach, driving her down into the concrete and then I grabbed her left leg as it was kicked into the air. With feet planted, I grabbed her hard, twisting with my entire body—and weakened metal came loose.

I dropped her leg to dodge out of the way of her returning sword, brushing off the bullets of her gun.

"There," I said, rising and turning away. "Even if you can fight without an arm, you shouldn't be able to follow me with just one leg. I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this, but…just wait here until your father comes to get you, okay?"

Instead of replying, her gun unfolded into six swords, driving themselves into the ground and surrounding buildings before pulling taunt, lifting Penny in the process. The sword she'd been using followed suit, giving her a full twelve blades, several of which moved to steady her, wires wrapping tightly around her upper body.

"You're incorrect. If needed, I can keep fighting without my arms or legs," She claimed.

I sighed, looking over my shoulder at her.

"Penny, don't be a sore loser," I said chidingly, trying a different tactic. "You lost fair and square, so sit down and wait for your father to come get you."

"I haven't lost," She insisted, sounding almost petulant.

I looked at her, frustrated, saddened, and, more than anything, tired. I wondered how likely it was that she'd actually try to follow me if I tore off her arms and legs—and how likely it was she'd succeed. Despite her words, there was little to be afraid of, though; with the amount of effort she had to spend to just stay upright now, she was no threat to me. Regardless of her level, with one arm and one leg, I wasn't worried.

Not about her actually stopping me, at least. How she was so stubborn that she'd literally tear herself to pieces before giving up, though…

And yeah, it may have been a bit hypocritical of me to be upset about that, but my body could actually take whatever I put it through—and I wouldn't risk my life unless there was a good reason. Penny was…

"Are you scared?" I asked suddenly, pieces coming together. "Of not being good enough to live up to their expectations? To be unable to fulfill your purpose?"

I saw her hesitate and suddenly wasn't sure what to do. I'd been on the other side of this issue before and I honestly had no idea how to resolve it. I didn't know what I could say or do to fix that—if there was anything, no one had ever told _me_ , certainly. But…

"Penny, you are a living being," I said. "You're your own person, whatever you were created for. But if it's that important to you to fight, then so be it. I have a few more minutes; I'll fight until you understand."

"I haven't been defeated." She insisted again.

I closed my eyes for a moment, opening them as I felt my body strum like a chord.

 **You've received the title 'Heir of the White Tiger.'**

 **Heir of the White Tiger**

 **By proving your might in battle, you have obtained a position above all others. By fighting under the effects of the White Tiger's Five Hundred Years for one thousand straight seconds, you have proven yourself worthy of carrying on your master's legacy! Even so, continue your training to obtain true mastery and stand above all as the White Tiger of the West!  
80% increase the damage of White Tiger techniques.  
80% increase to the defense granted by White Tiger techniques.  
40% decrease in the cost of White Tiger techniques.  
Status: White Tiger's Star [Intermediate]**

I looked down for a moment before swiping a finger.

"I'm sorry, Penny," I said as what felt like a bolt of lightning raced down my spine. "But you have."

 **XxXXxX**

"I lose, huh…?" Penny sighed, resting on the ground amidst her pieces. I patted her head reassuringly as it rested on my knee, idly brushing away the chips of concrete that had tangled in her hair over the course of the fight. As if in response to her admission, screens began to appear around me. I made mental notes of most of them and then ignored their presence, though several cause my attention briefly.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

"You fought well," I said after a moment, tail curling around my waist for want of anything better to do. "You went above and beyond what anyone could have expected or demanded. Do not be ashamed of being defeated, but consider it an experience to learn from. So long as you are alive, people can struggle on and improve themselves, going further and further despite the odds. So…don't throw your life away because you are too afraid to admit defeat. Your life is too important for that."

Penny was silent and still, though the latter probably had more to do with the general state of her body than anything else. I'd ripped off her other arm and leg shortly after the fight began and cast them aside. She'd tried to compensate with her blades and strings, suspending herself in the air, but though it had allowed her to keep fighting—after a fashion—it had also seriously limited her mobility and preoccupied a fair number of her weapons at any given time. With a serious limit on her ability to fight at both close and long range and a serious drop in her defensive capabilities due to her loss of limbs…this battle had been over before it had even started.

I'd known that. I was pretty sure she had, too, even before I'd pried open the mechanism on her back and tore her strings out.

That didn't make admitting it any easier to admit, much less accept. No, more than anything, I guess I knew—when you are weak, when you're not good enough, and when nothing you do is enough to change that…that's when its hardest to accept the truth. If anything, Penny was taking this far, far better than I had when I'd finally been forced to confront the fact that I was weak. She went silent and sad.

I'd cried.

It wasn't quite the same, of course; she was, after all, still an amazing person and a wonder of engineering, with tremendous skill in probably countless fields, whereas I'd been a failure at everything I'd truly wanted for such a long time. But whether you've lived a life of power or weakness, I suppose defeat was a bitter pill to swallow; perhaps even more so, for the knowledge that you still weren't up to the task.

"You'll get stronger," I continued. "You learnt a great deal in this fight and you'll learn more as you keep on living. That's what being alive is all about, Penny, and you still have a lifetime to grow and learn and improve. No, even more than that, you are unique, Penny; you're different from everyone else and that's not a bad thing. If there are things you want to protect, then repair your body, improve it, and grow stronger and stronger as a person until you can."

Her eyes fluttered closed and she nodded slightly, not looking assured, per se, but at least listening, taking things in.

"I'm surprised you're telling me this," She said when at last she spoke. "I'm surprised you're still here."

I taped an armored nail chidingly against her forehead but allowed the change in subject.

"Things that are important should be handled with care," I replied.

"I thought you were in a hurry?"

"My flight is in the last stages of its boarding," I answered. "But though important, that's not what I was referring to. Lives…children…It's worth it for you to learn these lessons now rather than destroy yourself pointlessly in the future."

I looked down at her for a moment, thoughtful and just a tad worried.

"Penny…does your father love you?" I asked.

She looked up at my, surprise in her eyes. Even so, she answered without hesitation.

"Yes," She said. "Very much."

"I see," I nodded slightly, deciding to trust her and shelves my concerns, hard as that was. I didn't see any signs of dishonesty or worry with Observe, so… "I guess he'll probably be terrified when he sees what happened to you."

"Yes," She said, eyes suddenly downcast. "He worries a lot, even though he knows I'm strong. When he found out I was being sent on this mission, he was so scared, and I…"

Had probably told him it would be fine. That she'd stay safe and be smart and that nothing would happen. Like I'd told my father.

I guess that made us both liars.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, closing my eyes. "I guess I'm causing you both a lot of trouble. But…that's why you need to understand, Penny. You can imagine it, right? How scared your father must be and how he'll feel when he finds out what happened? And if you died…"

She looked, if anything, even more miserable, but nodded again.

"Yes," She said simply, but one word was enough for this. I could hear it in her voice and see it with Observe—the sadness she felt, the honest sorrow at the pain she was causing someone she cared about.

I patted her head again, understanding completely.

"It's fine as long as you understand," I said. "But…since you got hurt because of me…"

I sighed slightly, musing as I palmed a blue Dust crystal. I…might have been able to heal her, though I wasn't certain of how Soulforge Restoration would interact with such extreme wounds, much less a robotic body. In fact…

"I suppose your Aura doesn't heal you normally, does it Penny?" I asked, look over her status screen. She had a fair number of status effects I'd never seen before, like 'Ex Machina,' which I assumed had some effect of preventing natural healing. Though she still had some Aura left, even her smaller wounds, like her torn skin, had yet to close. I suppose that shouldn't have been surprising given it was artificial skin—no, more than that, dismemberment wasn't something many people could recover from regardless of their Aura. The fact that Penny could get new arms was itself amazing and I knew she wasn't in pain. I could just leave her here and she'd most likely be fine.

On the other hand, it just felt wrong to tear off a girl's arms and legs and abandon her in the middle of nowhere with no way of doing anything until someone came to get her.

Gee, I wonder why.

"No," Penny replied. "Because I'm a machine."

I sighed slightly, feeling bad but still thinking.

"Something like that…" I mused.

I might have been able to heal her with Crocea Mors, though I wasn't completely confident in my Craft ability or knowledge of how she worked. I'd only caught glimpses after all, her Aura fighting my control and blurring my vision each time—but it was possible. Of course, then her limbs would be functional again, which was itself a potential problem—I didn't want to leave her wounded but if I healed her…she probably wouldn't continue the fight now, but even so…

However, that made me wonder. Even if it made sense for her to be unable to heal normally…no, rather, because of my power, even something like this…?

Yeah, after all, how many robotic teammates have I had in games? And healing spells always worked on them despite that, too. For me, whose powers worked off abstract things like HP rather than physical damage and biology, what did it matter if she was a robot? She had an HP bar, after all, and my skill didn't say it _couldn't_ be used on robots. The issue of her getting up remained, but if it was me…

I looked at my Dust crystal. I'd devoured dozens of the crystals while fighting Penny, drawing life and power from them to sustain myself. I'd felt the power within, used it to fuel my Aura and color it to change myself, again and again and again. Because I'd experienced it so many times, perhaps it was possible? Certainly, I'd done far stranger things—and I'd considered the idea, as the fight wore on.

I closed my eyes for a moment, falling into a trance in a moment, my senses focused on myself, the patterns of light that shot through my Aura, and the crystal that blazed like fire in the palm of my hand. I knew how the process worked, had experienced it so many times during the fight, and I knew how it _felt_. When I used a Dust Crystal as part of Soulforge Restoration, I drew the energy out of it to replenish my Aura and colored myself with its light in the process. The buff I received was a side-effect, really, if a very useful and powerful one.

But did it have to be that way?

I focused and felt my Aura change and it felt almost familiar—both because of how I'd felt something similar recently and because of Xihai. I guided my Aura along its course and watched as it came together, an imitation of what I'd seen and felt.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through the manipulation of Aura's form and nature, you have created the skill 'Regeneration'!**

 **Regeneration (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 100  
A skill to manipulate the body through the alteration of Aura. By imposing the element of Water, swift healing can be granted.  
+50 HP per minute.  
+50 SP per minute.  
Duration: 30 minutes.**

I drew in a deep breath, smugly self-satisfied. As expected of my bullshit power—the effect wasn't as quick as the status Soulforge granted which restore ten HP per second for twenty seconds, but as an effect with a much longer duration?

"Something like that," I said more confidently. "Means nothing to me."

I touched Penny's forehead and felt my power flow over her. Her eyes widened slightly at whatever she felt and my tail uncoiled from its place at my waist, wrapping around the arm I'd placed beside her body and bringing it closer to her stump—and smiled slightly when I same her HP go up a point after a second, metal edges twitching unnaturally. I did the same with her other limbs, reaching over her body to bring her legs closer, and then stood.

"I have a few things to take care of first, but it's about time I take my leave. It might take some time to heal, but you should be mostly healed in about half an hour," I said, brushing dust off my pants. "Until then, try not to do anything to aggravate your injuries—and remembered what you learned today, Penny."

"But…" Penny asked, looking honestly surprised for the first time. "How…?"

"It's the nature of the soul to try and return an altered body to normal," I said. "As the nature of your body kept your Aura from doing so, I gave it a little help."

"That's…impossible…" She said, lifting her head to look down at her still separated limbs with wide eyes.

"Impossible?" I asked. "Why would it be impossible for a real girl? Difficult, perhaps, but you have a soul like any other, Penny. Rather than something as small as this, remember that."

I smiled at her and turned to walk away.

"You never told me your name," She stopped me before I could go. "I…you already know it, but my name is Penny Polendina. What's yours?"

I paused in my stride for a moment, glancing over my shoulder contemplatively. I considered leaving her in silence, the mystery man who appeared and then vanished without a trace, or giving her a meaningless lie. I certainly wasn't going to tell her my real name, but…

The vague concern I'd felt niggled at me, a quiet, hopefully baseless thing.

She'd seen the fake tattoo on my back, I reasoned. Maybe. I had no idea _what_ she could truly see through Lenore's effect, or if it work on her, or what it's limits where. She'd probably seen my tail, at least, and she retained details about the fight. And, given the situation, would it do anything but strength the mask? Given I actually was a Faunus like this, the odds of people making the connection were…

I closed my eyes for a moment and chuckled slightly. No, more than any of that…

"Jian Bing," I said. "Should something ever happen, should they forget that you are a person rather than a weapon, search for that name. Goodbye, Penny, and fair thee well."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Return**

"You're unharmed, sir?" Faraj asked, waiting for me as I glided into the White Whale. I'd taken a quick trip through the town to make sure no one was being left behind before swinging into the Dust Warehouse to rob it blind. I felt a little bad about that, theft and all, but as it had been mined with what amounted to slavery and …well, the feeling passed pretty quickly. Was that a justification to make myself feel like I had the right to take it? Maybe, but whether for the return trip or once the refugees reached Vale, I was sure it'd come in handy.

I glanced at Faraj and then closed my eyes for a moment, smiling confidently. I still had my mask on, but my cloak was now around my waist, my upper body and tail 'revealed.' Faraj was the only one nearby, which made me wonder whether that meant the others were scared of me or if they were busy getting passengers in order. I could sense others nearby through Crocea Mors, drawing just close enough to peak glimpses at me, but the majority had withdrawn into the various seating areas in the dark bowels of the ship.

I didn't answer the question, partially because I didn't want to invent a response and partially because casual arrogance portrayed a more reassuring picture of strength. Being under the wing of someone who'd won effortlessly and thought nothing of it looked better than being under one who'd been thrown around, nearly got crushed, and only won thanks to bullshit and cheating, even if the latter was true. The funny thing about image—it was a powerful thing even if it was built out of lies. I was reminded of that just by looking into Faraj's eyes and seeing the awe there.

"We saw your fight," He said, following me as I walked past. "Against the Hunter. At least bits of it, when buildings weren't in the way. All of that and not a scratch…and when you won…"

"Is everyone in place?" I asked easily, smoothly interrupting him. A part of me, a big part, felt uncomfortable that they'd seen me tear Penny limb from limb. As far away as they had been, even Faunus probably hadn't been able to make out details which would hopefully preserve Penny's secret, but…I wondered what the people I was saving thought of me, having seen that fight. Were they uplifted by the image of a powerful protector or terrified that they'd climbed aboard a monsters ship.

I felt Crocea Mors hum through the ship, reminding me of where I stood—of broken windows and scarred metal, of barren steel and torn carpets and cloth. And the White Fang with them, bearing witness as I dismembered one of their enemies…it was hard to imagine a savior flying this monster of a ship.

"Um," Faraj said, stiffening as he got control of himself. "Yes, sir, or just about. I sent the others ahead to make sure everyone was seated. We're, uh, ready…"

He trailed off, sounding nervous, so I gave him my attention.

"Um, sir," He almost stuttered under my gaze. "I…I don't know if anyone else has noticed or how many, but…the ship…"

He gestured vaguely.

"It's…damaged, sir," He finished lamely. "I'm a pilot myself and, uh…I saw some damage so I checked and…it won't…"

He trailed off as I continued to look at him, swallowing slightly. I tilted my head, understanding what he meant, and then snapped my fingers.

The ship rumbled to life. After a moment, I felt it begin to move, systems shifting and aligning to lift the ship and slowly withdraw the landing gear. I waited patiently as my Elementals went through the well-practiced motions, power slowly draining to fuel their actions. I'd like to materialize them as soon as possible, but first things first.

"There is no need to concern yourself with the ship," I said simply and he nodded quickly, eyes wide. One of the things I had I admit I was going to miss when this was over? Not having to explain myself. As a dark, mysterious, _dangerous_ figure, no one asked me any questions—of _course_ I knew how to fly a ship, fight, heal, and any other skill I happened to require, however unlikely; no, there was no need to wonder how. I mean, what was I, a _normal_ person?

Supervillains—or superheroes or criminal masterminds or whatever it was I qualified as now—didn't need stuff like logical explanations. If a sixteen year old boy had snapped his fingers and made a massive, lifeless ship fly, there would have been questions, shock, confusion, demands for an explanation. But when the man in a Nevermore mask did it?

Faraj just accepted it.

"Return to the others and make sure that everything remains in order," I commanded calmly. "It's about time we left."

"Sir," The Faunus bowed, taking a step away before lifting his head and turning away.

I continued the rest of the way to the cockpit alone, drawing my Elementals around me as I closed the door. With a moment's effort and few things from my Inventory I'd given them form as well and felt the burden of the ship shift, settling on many shoulders instead of just my own. I cast one last look out the window, glancing over the town. With sharp eyes I spotted a small figure prone on the ground, Penny slowly beginning to move her limbs with quick twitches and jerks before going still. Even as she did, she looked up at me, green eyes bright.

Without another word, we were off.

 **XxXXxX**

The beginning of my voyage home was thankfully less…eventful then my trip away from it. We left before any new pursuers had arrived and flown full speed out of Atlas. I'd kept an eye out for trouble and done my best to make it as hard to follow me as possible, but for once it seemed I was lucky and I hadn't spotted anyone else in the skies—no one I hadn't left quickly behind, at least. Maybe it was just chance, maybe they were leery of devoting more resources to me than necessary with the potential threat of Ziz still on the horizon, I didn't know; no one attacked me, though, and I was fine with that.

It had been a long day.

I sat in the Captain's seat, eyes closed beneath my mask. I wasn't sleeping, of course—too wasteful and I couldn't afford it now—but I was unwinding within a trance, trusting my Elementals to keep us flying straight and trusting myself to notice if something arose. Meditating aboard a moving airship was a strange and beautiful experience, like watching the world turn from far above. The patterns of energy that made up the world changed as we flew across the sea, colors of energy rising and falling, spreading across the surface and gathering in the deep. Being able to just watch it was…relaxing.

So was the fact that the mission was almost done. For the better part of a month, every hour of every day had been devoted to somehow getting to Atlas, somehow saving them, being strong enough, being ready, fighting the unknown and the uncertainty with constant effort. But now that was…not quite done, but…soon…

I was going home, now.

I'd actually saved them.

It was almost hard to believe, after everything. Again and again, my attention would return to them, to the many tiny lights held in the sky by a cage of steel and thunder, wind and fire. I'd counted their numbers five times now, making sure they were all still there. Weiss and the White Whale, the chase and Ziz, Penny…all of that and somehow, I'd still done it. Though my mind's eye was cast out to the world, inevitably I'd find it wandering back to them, watching to make sure they really were all safe. I saw some lights darken and others brighten, some go still and others pace, each tiny light a life I'd saved, changing with every moment as they lived.

And I…

I drew myself back out of my trance and opened my eyes. I sat in a circle with my Elementals, one of five points with Crocea Mors at once in my hands and all around me, and looked at their faces before quietly leaving. I felt minds touch my own as I moved through the ship and touched them back gently, reassuring them as I made my way to the people above.

Conversations died as I entered the passenger section, eyes turning towards me. Other voices continued in low whispers, confused by the sudden quiet, until they noticed me as well, and the process continued, spreading like a plague until it was silent but for scattered whispers. I saw Faraj rise from a seat and then hesitate as the room hushed at my mere presence, casting glances at me that seemed uncertain, almost worried.

I looked over them for a moment, glancing from face to face before speaking.

"You must be hungry," I said, drawing food from my Inventory, the meals I'd emptied the White Wave of to prevent spoiling. Since food going bad wasn't a concern with my power, I'd heated them while training with Suryasta and then stored them again.

All at once, the looks changed and I almost chuckled before quirking a finger at Faraj, gesturing him to the front. In minutes, I was watching people move down the aisles, passing out food to hungry Faunus who'd probably eaten far too little for far too long. They seemed to enjoy the airplane food, which really said all you need to know, and I saw spirits lift as stomachs were filled. I watched, looking at the faces as watching as friends and families spoke to one another, filling the dead ship with lively chatter that faded into background noise. I leaned against the wall up front, drifting in and out of focus as I made sure nothing went wrong, inside or outside of the ship. When necessary, I withdrew more food, smiling at the looks I received and more so at thanks and kind words, but otherwise just…watched.

It was nice. Just seeing them act hopeful and enthusiastic, even happy, because of something I was doing…it was nice. I'd seen them in horrible pictures, in the midst of exhausting labor, but now I was watching them just be people. This was the reason behind everything I'd done and if so…that's okay, I think. Maybe.

…Kind of fragile though, I noted. It hadn't really been a priority when I noticed before, but there were a fair number who seemed sick, more who bore various injuries. The nature of the mines, I supposed. The boy in the fourth row had coughed thirty-eight times since I'd sat down; the young woman on the left side of the seventh was eating with a broken arm. I saw cuts and bruises, scratches and scars, crude bandages, various men and women I states of illness and malnutrition and worse.

It was a reminder that I was, hopefully, giving them better lives. I trusted Adam and Blake to see it through, once I'd delivered them to their destination. Still…I wanted to do everything I could. I just wasn't sure if I _should_.

I could heal them, of course— _would_ heal them. But there was one other thing I might have been able to do, maybe. I'd never done it before, but I knew the basics and I could probably do it easy enough, but the issue wasn't 'could,' it was 'should.' If I did, there was no way of knowing what they might do but I could still guess where a few of them were probably headed, just statistically speaking. Even so, should I withhold the opprotunity for a potential risk? Even knowing what could happen, wouldn't it be worth it for those that it could keep that much safer? And even if I didn't, they could find someone else if they wanted it enough, and I was sure a lot of the White Fang would be happy to help. Before that, shouldn't I give them a chance with no strings attached—at better, safer lives?

I closed my eyes for a moment and nodded to myself, rising. I made my way to the coughing boy, people moving out of the way as I did.

"That's quite a cold you have there," I said to him. "What's your name?"

"Fieval," He told me, though I'd already known, looking up at me with wide brown eyes as small ears twitched. His mother swallowed, putting a hand over her son's and holding tight. I smiled at her reassuringly—or as reassuringly as I could in a Nevermore mask—and placed a finger on his head. I felt my power shift and flow as the boy coughed loudly one more time and then seemed to breathe easily.

"There you go, Fieval," I said kindly. "That should be better. Now you're not sick anymore."

His hand went to his lips as seconds passed and nothing happened, his mother and those around us turning to stare in awe.

"How…?" He asked.

"Do you know what Aura is?" I answered his question with another, kneeling to look him in the eye as he shook his head. Around us, I saw understanding on some faces, confusion on others, and smiled slightly, remembering. I closed my eyes for a moment, not that he could see beneath my mask, and found what I was looking for. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality…"

 **XxXXxX**

We took a winding course back to Vytal. With my Aura-supported fuel economy, taking a little longer wasn't an issue and there was no point in taking any chances. I flew us down between the continents and then around the unpopulated coast of Vytal, keeping far out to sea. We didn't have any major issues, my luck finally seeming to take a turn for the better—there were the occasional Grimm, of course, but nothing truly nightmarish. With my Elemental's assistance, I generally spotted them first and just flew widely around anything I didn't like the look of. So what if it added a few dozen kilometers to how far we needed to go when fuel wasn't an issue? It was a lot better than risking any of my passengers.

But besides the occasional change in direction and a few minor incidents with persistent Grimm that needed a hint, it was smooth sailing. Once everything in the cockpit was set up, it was mainly a matter of sticking to the course, beyond the occasional adjustments. Barring very rare exceptions or a screw up, there wasn't anything but Grimm to run into in the sky and the route I was taking wasn't near anything; even the relatively rare inter-Kingdom flights wouldn't so much as cross my path, much less at such a time that it might realistically endanger anything. With the amount of practice I had with the ship, it wasn't too difficult to fly the plane even outside the cockpit.

So as I brought the White Whale around the underside of Vytal, avoiding any paths common to man and treading carefully around the Grimm, I did it among the people I had saved, drawing out the lights of their souls.

Throughout history, there were a lot of different ideas and opinions about awakening Aura, many schools of thoughts, and countless different methods stemming back as far anyone could remember—to say nothing of the myths about where it came from—and the commonality of it varied throughout history. At times, powerful users of Aura had lorded its use over others, rising to power on the protection they could provide people from the Grimm and demanding payment in return, while in several cultures, one's Aura could literally decide their role in life very early on. The nature of Semblances had further resulted in many traditions believed to influence them, some quite barbaric if arguably historically successful.

Depending on how far back you go in Remnant's history, you could find children being taken away from their families at a young age to be trained, marriages between peasants and kings based on the nature of Aura, physical and mental brutality meant to influence the development of Semblances in what were deemed useful ways, and countless experiments and forms of governance all surrounding it. No matter what age, however, the size and quality of ones Aura was important and it had been a power sought and wielded by countless heroes and villains, shaping the world into what we knew today.

There were dozens of ways to awaken one's own Aura and countless more suspensions and myths about the process. The Ice Lords of ancient Mantle had used done it through a shockingly well documented process involving careful administration of medicines, areas that were later found to be above Dust deposits, now worn machinery believed to be a primitive ways of channeling the trace energy below, and _horrifyingly_ specific forms of sacrifice to cause a reaction using the dormant Aura within living things—and maintain it for several hours for the sake of Mantle's oldest confirmed Aura users. There were the monks that trained themselves for years to achieve it, grasping the power within through enlightenment. The oldest records of Mistral told of ritual battles being fought to awaken the participants Aura as well as of the greatest libraries of the ancient world, with warrior sages fighting their ways across the continent to receive it. Vacuo had stories of the King of Forty Flames; supposedly an exile stripped bare and sent into the desert to fend for himself, yet who returned with great power.

They'd found the King's tomb several decades ago, with carvings to match the stories and his honor guard all in place, proving the truth of his existence, if not necessarily the truth of his story. Remnant's history was often like that, with it being neigh impossibly to separate fact and fiction because a nation had succumbed to the Grimm or war or countless other things. There was no way of confirming if the Ice Lords had based their experiments on earlier methods because the documents they referenced—the _cities_ they referenced—had been destroyed. There was no real way of saying if the Prometheans had merely stolen the art from another society, because both were dust. And whether it had come to Vytal in one of the Freeing Queen's thousand and one stories…well, only about three dozen had definitively survived.

Every kingdom and culture had its history and legends and tales, but…the reason we called our world Remnant was because it was all that remained. We couldn't even say where Dust had come from or if the simultaneous emergence of different methods had been the result of independent study or somehow related.

But there was one thing that was agreed no matter where you were—the easiest way of awakening your Aura was to have someone else do it for you. We didn't know where _that_ method came from, either, but what few records we had seemed to imply that there had been a wide-spread shift to the method somewhere between one and three thousand years and knew for sure that it was considered the common method in Anserini's texts five hundred years ago. At some point, pretty much everyone had shifted to the method and for good reason; it removed the complexity of the experience and just made it difficult.

There was a process to it, of course, some tricks and methods and even a few risks, but if done properly, anyone can have their Aura awoken—because everyone _had_ soul and that's all you truly needed for the ability. Certainly, the quality and quantity of Aura could vary tremendously based on God only knows what; Semblances, the expression of who you are as a person, even more so. But the basic act of using Aura was within the grasp of anyone who had a soul, given a proper push.

Well. It was a bit more complicated than that, granted. But mainly because you had to push _really hard_. But in the end…

 **Awaken Aura (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 2000  
A skill to draw out the potential of others, enflaming one soul with another. Through the granting of great power, sweep away the lies that hide the light within, releasing a soul kept bound by mortal flesh.  
Effect: Awakens the Aura of another living being.**

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality; through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." I spoke again, power rising as my soul shined through base matter, burning brightly in the dark room. I felt it touch another, completely different in nature and shape yet undeniably like my own. It seemed trapped within something, blinded and deafened and bound. Alone, it struggled futilely.

But I set it free with a warm touch and bright power, breaking chains and giving light to unseeing eyes.

In the end, Aura was one of those things that was easier given then grasped on one's own. A lot of important things were like that; faith, love, happiness. The process was exhausting even after it had started leveling, my most expensive skill by far in terms of MP even if it was a one-time expenditure, and yet…

I happily cast it again and again. I could afford to, thanks to the Dust I'd taken from the town—and though it was costly in terms of the crystals, somehow this seemed like the most fitting use for them and though there was a part of me saddened by the loss of resources I could have used in other ways, there was a much larger part that was simply…pleased. As I saw lights rise up in countless colors and intensities, I felt quiet doubts dwindle away, felt more sure that they'd be safe when they left. If this was it, if the only impact I'd have on their lives was to save them once and bring out their own power, I thought I'd be content with having given them a chance.

"Done," I said kindly as the navy blue Aura receded into his skin. "Be sure to take care of Zora, Bosko. Next."

"Lord Jian," He returned, bowing lowly as he withdrew, something that had started early on. Even as he did, I saw him looking down at his hands in wonder and could remember the rush of power I'd felt such a short time ago. He retreated to his Daughter's side, a small girl with dirt-smudged cheeks who I'd healed first and then enlightened. Many of the miners had minor wounds or illnesses of one type or another and in-between consuming crystals I generally had a moment to fix them. With any luck, it'd fix some of the damage and avoid later complications.

As he did, he passed Faraj, who stood with the other White Fang members and just watched me in muted disbelief as I'd enlightened five people in a row—and gone on to ten, a hundred, and now nearly a thousand times, something that should have been—was, honestly—too exhausting for anyone to do. With only someone powerful and experienced capable of it in the first place, given the cost…well, it wasn't something that could be done casually. Generally, there was about a month or so at the Academies like Signal where Hunters gathered from volunteered and worked in shifts to pass it on to the new crop of students.

To be able to do it this quickly…even I was amazed and I was the guy blatantly cheating to do it.

"Raisa," I said, turning to the woman next in line before pausing and raising a finger. I followed the touch on my mind outwards, images flitting across my vision. "Ah, it seems we've made good time."

I rose smoothly and looked over the remainder—less than a hundred Faunus, now, perhaps another hour and a half of work or a bit more.

"I apologize, but I'll need to speak with my companions below," I said, honestly sorry. "We'll continue after, however, as I'm sure it will take quite some time to get everything organized. Please forgive this delay."

As I spoke, I heard mutters go through the crowd as people pressed up against windows, eager to catch a glimpse of what was outside. I kept my eyes focused on Raisa and the men and women behind, and saw her eyes widen as she realized I was actually asking for her forgiveness.

"Yes," She blurted and then flushed slightly in embarrassment. "I mean, of course, Lord Jian. I, uh…we understand and, uh…"

I inclined my head at her slightly smiling.

"Don't leave until we get another chance to speak, okay?" I asked.

"Sir!" She nearly stuttered. "Yes, sir."

I was already walking away, moving towards the nearest broken window and sliding out into the open air. I fell for a minute and then felt the air catch me, letting me float my way slowly to the ground below. As I did, my smile widened and at once became something simpler.

"Hey," I said as I floated close enough for them to hear. "Long time no see. Do anything fun while I was away?"

Adam and Blake watched me as I descended.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Reunion**

I looked around discretely as we landed, glancing at the long empty buildings. We were in what had once been a town outside the Kingdom of Vale, up until everyone inside of it disappeared never to be seen again, as towns outside the Kingdom's were wont to do. Since then, it had apparently be decommissioned into the occasional training camp and rendezvous point for the White Fang. I saw about two dozen uniformed men staring at me through their masks, standing beside smaller ships, including a small fleet of Bullheads and large, heavily modified shipping crates. With a gesture, I had Levant tighten the air around us to make sure we could talk freely, and then focused fully on my friends.

Adam spoke first, looking me carefully up and down.

"You took your time getting back," He said, as if I'd just run to the store for some milk, playing it off like it hadn't been anything major. Even so, I could see the smile on his lips and didn't believe for a second that he hadn't decided in advanced how to greet me. "Something come up?"

"Mm, yeah," I answered in kind. "You guys missed your flight, I caught the wrong one, and it was all downhill from there. JBA's Radical Vacation Adventure died young."

"The good always do," He shook his head and then looked at me quietly for a moment, smile fading into seriousness. "I'm glad you're okay. I still owe you that drink."

"Yeah, well," I shrugged like it wasn't even a thing, smile on my lips. "You know me, always flying into danger, sort of crashing my way back out—"

"I'm sorry," Blake interrupted, voice quiet. "You shouldn't have had to do this alone."

I looked at her—which was hard, with the deep bags under her eyes making it obvious that things had been hard for her. It wasn't hard to guess why, when last she'd seen me I'd been in death's clutches, stolen away by a mythological monster for a mission she'd brought me in on—thinking, most likely, that she killed me even while probably on the run from whatever attention had fallen upon her and Adam. Even if it had only been a week…

Adam had a mask to hide if he'd been affected, but it hurt to look at Blake.

I could only imagine how much more it'd hurt to look at my family.

"Why?" I asked her reasonably even if reason didn't have much to do with guilt. "None of what happened was your fault or anything we could have prepared for."

"I knew how horribly the odds were," Blake denied and I could see that her eyes were red. "I knew this mission was doomed to failure but I saw your power and I just…I just guilted you into it despite that, because I needed your power. You didn't have anything to do with it, but I—"

"Did nothing but ask," I interrupted her gently. "I could have backed out. I probably knew the risks even better then you did, even if I didn't see any of this coming. I accepted because it was the right thing to do and I don't regret that—and I certainly don't blame _you_ for things you didn't have any control over. Hell, if there was anything at work here, it would probably have _my_ fault because of my Luck stat, and while that may have _influenced_ things, I don't think it was the _cause_ of anything. And, in fairness, I was lucky enough to make it back, apparently, so I'll call it even."

I shrugged easily, maintaining the smile.

"Let's face it; there were factors involved that we didn't know about and couldn't have planned for," I continued seriously. "I don't know what happened on your guys' end—"

"A local named Torchwick interfered, working on something else," Adam put in. "I had to interfere to stop him before he ruined everything; I'll tell you about it later."

"—But a lot of that stuff would have happened one way or another," I said, nodding at Adam. "The specifics might have been different but there's no way of knowing if they'd have been better or worse if not for my luck or our actions or whatever. I've complained about it a lot, and probably always will, but there's no way of measuring what my luck did or didn't do and that applies to everything—the road not traveled and all that. We'll never know if things would have been better or worse if they'd been different. But what I do know is that if not for you, this mission never would have gotten off the ground and I never would have been able to save those people up there."

A saw her look up at the White Whale and pressed on.

"If not for what we did—and I never would have made it if not for the books and training you guys gave me—over a thousand people wouldn't be here right now, wouldn't get a chance to start new lives. Rather than how dangerous it was, I'd prefer to think that all's well that ends well. And in my eyes, this ended pretty well."

"…Yeah," She said, at once seeming to agree and sound unconvinced. I saw her nearly smile before the expression became strained and faded slightly. "Thank you for…everything. I mean it. You didn't have to…but…"

"No problem," I shrugged, smile becoming honest again and I gazed at the White Whale. "I was glad to do it. Really."

"I'm…" She began before stopping herself and starting again. "Thanks. For helping me. And them. If there's anything…"

"Well…" I mused looking back at her. "I'm level thirty now…if you're up to it and my mother doesn't murder me, I wouldn't mind making a party and killing some Grimm together. I'm a lot stronger now, so we can try our hand at some bigger targets, split the experience fifty-fifty, and gain some levels. What do you say?"

"Somehow, I'm completely unsurprised," Adam shook his head. "You've got a one track mind. Be on the lookout, Blake; you've seen what kind of insanity follows him around. I wish you luck."

"Hey, don't think you're getting off light, either," I told him, pointing at him with a mock glare. "I only have a few levels to go before I'm within ten levels of you and then we're _all_ gonna have fun. I learnt the next of Bai Hu's techniques and let's just say I think we can make our Giant Nevermore strategy even _more_ fun."

"Oh joy," He replied. "Oh fucking rapture."

"The ship, boys," Blake reminded, still looking exhausted and sad but somewhat less of the latter. "There's still work to do."

"One sec, wanted to give you the heads up and talk about a few things before we take care of them," I paused, looking around the small town. "You can take care of them all, right?"

"Yes. We're still waiting on several ships and it's taking a bit longer to get everything in place because of Ziz," Blake said, pausing for a moment in midsentence to close her eyes, apparently struggling to get her thoughts in order.

"Everyone's on guard so it's harder but we'll manage." Adam clarified.

"Okay," I nodded, deciding where to begin. It wasn't a hard choice, because there was something I wanted to put off. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you I woke up the Aura's of the Faunus onboard."

There was a moment of silence as they looked at me, staring.

"When you say you woke their Auras…" Adama began. "How many do you mean?"

"Uh," I said. "Over nine hundred. I told the rest I'd need to speak with you guys before finishing the job, but I'll get the rest later."

The silence returned.

"Yeah," Adam said after a minute, Blake looking like she had a headache or at least a worse one then she'd had before. "I assume this is the result of some application of bullshit but I'm still going to need an explanation for this one."

"I figured they'd be safer if I woke up their Aura, considering the world we live in and how Faunus are treated. I knew the general concept from the books I've eaten and read, so I figured I'd try it at least, give them the best odds I could," I explained. "It worked, too, but the thing cost two thousand MP each time I used it, at least initially. Thankfully, when I was at the mine I stole the local store of Dust—probably a day's worth or so. I told you the healing skill I used could restore MP, right? I used it to restore myself between castings. Did it about a thousand times or so."

"…I reiterate," He said. " _Bullshit_. That's…"

He paused for a moment, frowning slightly to himself as he began mouthing what seemed like numbers to himself, probably calculating the effective cost, before shaking his head in irritation.

"Has it been improving?" Blake asked and I nodded.

"Pretty quickly, too…sorta," I said. "For an Active technique, it's gone up pretty fast relative to the number of castings; as an example, most of my Active skills take between twenty-five and forty castings to reach level two and then go up quickly from there. For this, I reached the second level after ten…but it took about as many minutes and twenty thousand MP. Each level reduces the cost by about twenty MP, which would be really amazing if it wasn't such a ruthless bitch to begin with. I'm almost at level twenty now, though, which…still leaves it exhausting."

"Still, to draw out the Aura of nearly a thousand people in a day…that's amazing," She said. "If you could somehow get it low enough to cast at a reasonable rate or if you had a steady supply of Dust…no, if you could get the skill to a hundred…"

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "I know. It's cool, even just thinking about it. If I could train it enough to use it easily…it'd take an enormous number of castings or a huge amount of Dust, but…I want to. Be able to enlighten people easily. If I could do it to a thousand people in a day at this level then in a few years or however long it takes…"

I shook my head.

"I just…" I chucked slightly, not even entirely sure what I wanted to say. "Could I do it to a whole city? To everyone I met? If I could do that…"

"How are you going to train it, though?" Adam asked. "The math is kind of against you. How many more Dust crystals do you have if you used a thousand?"

"A fair few," I said. "Enough to have some on hand after this is over. You're right though, on its own it's not gonna cut it, not even if I keep improving Soulforge. I'm still working on how to handle that, even with the lower number of castings needed. I'll use it whenever I can, but it'll take a long time to level up that way. If I want to make headway any time soon, I'd need either a lot of money, a lot of Dust, or an even more absurd way of restoring my MP. For now…if I survive my triumphant return home, I'll practice it nearby."

"You'll draw a lot of attention that way," Blake warned. "People who awake others under the table always do."

"I know," I said. "Thinking about if I even want to do it that way; it'd be a good way to make money, I mean, and I'm sure Junior could hook me up, but…the type of people I'd be awakening that way would probably not be the cleanest of characters. I could do it for free, but that'd draw a lot of attention…maybe not in a bad way, though? But for now, I think I'll stick to practicing it on animals."

"Animals?" Adam complained. "Really? I mean, is Vale not weird enough _without_ a population of super animals?"

I shrugged, still smiling.

"It's an easy way to practice subtly, if I'm careful," I said. "And I always feel bad for things in the wild who have to survive among the Grimm; that must be tough as hell. I'll try to keep it far enough from the city to avoid a horde of fire-breathing squirrels or something and I'm sure I have some animal related skills, but…"

I shrugged again.

"Yeah," I said. "Anyway, getting back to the point—I unlocked their Aura's and healed their illnesses and injuries, so they should be fine on that note. I just wanted you know so you weren't surprised later. Anyway, I'll stick around to finish up the remainder, stick around long enough to see everyone off safely, and then probably head home, I guess. Besides that…what I really wanted to ask was…did you, uh…"

"Get your message, through?" Blake asked quietly and I nodded, feeling nervous and guilty and worried. "Yes. We sent it anonymously after we were sure you'd be in the clear. They should have gotten it by now."

"Okay," I nodded. "Right, yeah. Okay. That's…that's good."

"It's good you messaged us when you did," Adam said, continuing even after Blake shot him a glare. "Before you called, we'd been discussing how to deliver the news of your death to family. We were gonna have to speak at your funeral and everything—and trust me, you wouldn't want that; it doesn't end very well when we have to write speeches."

"That _is_ good," I said. "If you'd told them how I died, you'd have joined me shortly after."

Adam snorted.

"Still might have to go to your funeral, huh?" He asked. "Do me a favor? Just go ahead and leave me everything in your will to make up for the inconvenience."

"Do me a favor?" I returned. "Go fuck yourself off a building. I'm bringing the ship down."

 **XxXXxX**

I watched the Bullheads rise slowly, lifting the shipping crates into the air. I'd bid goodbye to the Faunus aboard, made sure they were all safely seated, and even used Observe on everyone flying the ships to glimpse their motives and intentions, just in case. Now, I watched them go, off towards new, hopefully better lives in Vale. With any luck, I'd see some of them around town, be able to keep an eye on them, and make sure they weren't having any problems. Maybe even lend a hand now and then, if anything happened. Of course, there'd be no way of truly knowing where any of them would end up until after the White Fang's work on that front was finished, but I could probably arrange things with Adam and Blake…

I sighed. I knew what I was doing.

I was looking for ways to stall. Now that I was so close, I found myself dreading the idea of going home, even as I wanted it more than ever. I'd resolved early on to tell my parents about my power eventually. I loved and trusted them and knew they felt the same way towards me, so I hadn't really worried about them knowing my secret. On top of that, I knew how strong they were and knew that they could help me grow stronger, too, so it only made sense to tell them eventually and ask for assistance.

However, more than anything…I knew from the beginning that I'd tell them eventually because I wanted them to be proud of me. It was strange, in a way, how that worked; I'd kept it from them initially for no other reason than the fact that I'd still been weak. I'd wanted to strengthen myself, prove my worth, and rise to the challenges I'd failed before first, prove that I could do it—even if I knew I didn't need to be strong to earn their respect or approval, I still…

But now I was strong. I still had a ways to go, still had higher to climb, but I knew how much stronger I was than before. Some of the things I'd done had been due to luck, but not all of it. I'd stolen the White Whale and made it fly because of my own power and skill. I'd fought stronger opponents and braved the lands beyond the Kingdom, trained myself around the clock, mastered skills, and _won_. I knew how extraordinary some of the things I'd done were, had seen it in the eyes and faces of hundreds of people now. Yeah, I'd cheated a lot to make it happen, but against the odds I'd faced, who could blame me? It was still impressive as all hell and I'd have been glad to have told my parents about it.

If not for the whole terrorist thing.

As expected of any plan, when theory met reality, things had gotten a little complicated. When I'd stolen the White Whale, when I'd awoke Ziz, when I'd been stranded, when I'd reached the town—stuff had happened that I hadn't planned for. That was unsurprising, because you couldn't plan for everything; the unfortunate truth about strategy and, really, life was that stuff just happened sometimes and you had to deal with it. I'd known from the very start that I wouldn't be prepared for all the things I'd face. I knew that for all the planning I'd done, all the effort we'd put into preparation, in the end something would catch me off-guard.

Nonetheless, knowing you could be caught off-guard was not actually a defense against being caught off-guard. Things had happened and I'd been forced to think on my feet, roll with the punches, and try to make it through. I liked to think I'd did pretty well on that front, what with surviving and all, but I couldn't much had gone according to plan.

Originally, we were supposed to take off together, remain unseen, and get a massive head start on any pursuers. Instead I had to antagonize and harm someone who'd done nothing to me, organize a hostage situation in broad daylight, and act the part of a villain. Then, instead of getting to the 'safety' of the Grimmlands, I'd woken up an ancient super monster and been whisked away. When I'd finally made my way to the mine after a huge delay, instead of hanging back while Adam and Blake dealt with anything that came up, I fought an amazingly powerful robot and ended up tearing her limb from limb.

I had no idea if what I'd done in Atlas had circulated yet, but it barely mattered, I knew the picture my actions must have painted of me. I didn't regret what I'd done—well, no, I regretted that it had been necessary to do those things. But the fact that I'd saved these people? Never.

But I did have to wonder what my parents would think, when I told them everything. Would they see it the same way? Would what I fought for matter in their eyes? Would it seem worth it to them, justify my actions and crimes? Or would they be disappointed? Angry? I'd saved a thousand Faunus from captivity and reintroduced the world to Ziz in the process. I'd liberated the enslaved and held a young woman hostage, defeating her and wielding her against her father. I'd threatened and bluffed, but who could tell what was truth or lie. Would they believe I wouldn't have hurt Weiss or the people around the airport? Would believing me matter?

I think it said a lot that I wasn't worried very much about the repercussions of them disapproving. Even in the worst case scenario, I knew they wouldn't kill me or anything. I'd probably find myself in jail in short order which, honestly, was fine. I mean, the nature of my power meant that I could improve my skills by struggling with something, so if I found myself in prison I'd just grind my skills for getting out or meditate or whatever until it wasn't an issue. With my Elementals, odds were good I could probably escape wherever they put me anyway, at least the first time I got arrested, and Adam and Blake would probably try to help, too.

It'd make things harder, crush most of my plans for the future, and generally ruin things for me…but honestly, even _that_ didn't worry me too much. It was almost odd how little it worried me, really. I guess it was because, even if becoming a Hunter had been what I'd dreamed of my whole life, I was smart enough—or perhaps wise enough—to know I could help people in countless other ways, Hunter or not. I could heal people, fight to defend them, awaken Auras, and countless other things. If I found myself a known fugitive and forced to run and hide…I could deal with that pretty easily to, I thought.

But if my parents thought I deserved it, if I'd really let them down that much, if I'd enraged them, if I could never go home again…

I closed my eyes.

I was over thinking things. I'd wasted all the time I'd reasonably could. I'd unlocked the Aura's of the remaining Faunus, stood guard over the town with Adam and Blake, and seen the people I worked to protect away safely. My mind supplied other things I could do to put things off, some of them rather strange—but it was time.

Even if, thinking about, I _did_ have to wonder what, if anything, would happen if I awoke the Aura of a plant.

"Jaune," Blake said, evidently noticing my discomfort and guessing its source. "You don't need to go back yet, if you don't want to. They'd have only just gotten your letter. You've done more than enough to earn a break if…"

Adam grunted in agreement and I smiled at them both.

"Nah," I said. "I don't sleep and I'd rather not dwell on this longer than I have to. Really…I shouldn't be worried; my parents are awesome. I guess I'm just worried about disappointing them but…at the same time, I want to see them a lot. It's stupid."

"No," Blake said, shaking her head slowly.

But there was a lot of weight to that one word.

Adam looked over at her and actually smiled—at her and then at me.

"No," He agreed without any sarcastic remarks.

My smile became a little sadder, a little more real.

"Yeah." I agreed quietly.

"Do you want us to come?" Blake asked.

I chuckled.

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"No," She said. "But we'll do it anyway, if you need us to."

I looked at them both for a moment before chuckling again, looking down.

"Thanks," I said. "That means a lot. But no; I want to talk to them alone."

I removed Dreary Midnight and stored it in my Inventory, Lenore joining it a moment later. I stretched, tail uncurling from my waist, and then dropped my arms.

"I guess I'll stash the White Whale somewhere for now," I said with a sigh as I floated upwards. "Until we can make sure no evidence has been left behind, at least. One thing at a time, I guess. I'll see you guys later, though; don't forget, you owe me training and drinks. And just…keep in touch."

For a moment, they just watched me go silently. It made me feel cool and dramatic.

"Wait, what's with the tail?" Adam ruined the moment as Blake tilted her head to the side.

A little annoyed by the interruption, I said nothing and continued my ascent.

 **XxXXxX**

After stashing the White Whale in a safe, out-of-the-way place—or as safe as any place outside the Kingdoms could be, that is—I ran the rest of the way to Vale, getting there a few hours later.

Tailless, of course.

I felt a little self-conscious, sweaty and dirty as I was, but I ignored the part of me that wanted to put things off just that little bit further and take a bath. Instead, I unlocked the door to my house and walked in, taking a deep breath. And though I'd thought about it extensively…there was really only one way to return home.

"I'm back!" I shouted. "Sorry I'm late!"

There was a moment of silence that was promptly broken by the sound of motion. I barely saw what grabbed me and lifted me into the air, but I was already laughing.

"There you are!" My dad said, doing much the same. "You're okay!"

"You're _alive_!" I said, hugging him back.

He pushed me away a moment later, hands on my shoulders, expression darkening.

"Boy, you don't even _know_ what you put me through," He said severely. "When we got called back and you were gone and Ziz—I thought I was going to _die_. And then you took a whole _week_ to tell us you were okay? _Really_?"

"I was busy," I defended. "It was important!"

"More important than your father's life!?" He demanded incredulously. "Boy, when this is over, you and I—"

"Jack, shut up."

At that voice, we both went silent, turning to face my Mother. I hadn't even noticed her approach, but in the face of her severe expression my senses warned me of danger. I stood my ground as she approached, literally pushing my father out of the way.

"Jaune, what were you _thinking_?" She demanded. "Do you have any _idea—_ "

Her voice broke off into a sudden snarl as grabbed me and pulled me close in a hug that felt warm. It may have just been the burning wrath of her ire, but I preferred to think of it as the soothing warmth of home that was temporarily keeping that inferno at bay.

Either way, I hugged her back with everything I had.

"We were so worried," She continued, voice no less furious despite how closely she held me. "When we came back and you were gone…everything was going crazy because of what happened and you—"

"Mom," I interrupted, more than a tad regretfully. "I know. I was there. I need to tell you what happened."

"—Then you have impeccable timing, Mr. Arc," A voice I didn't recognize made me go still. "We were just talking about you."

I looked up to see him standing there, cane in one hand, mug in the other. He was dressed all in green but for his black shoes; suit, vest, scarf, and pants. Against all of that, his grey hair stood out starkly—and while I didn't recognize the voice, I recognized the man.

I looked to my father who shrugged helplessly.

"I had to ask _somebody_ to keep an eye on you while I was away, especially when you said you might be going into danger," He said in defense. "It's not _my_ fault you went above and beyond."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Second Interlude – Penny Polendina**

She closed her eyes and listened, the sense going far beyond the limits of a human being as she shifted her internal workings. She knew she shouldn't, but…she had to.

"How could you let this happen!?" She heard her father rage, even far away as he was. "I told you she wasn't ready! She could have _died_ —"

"Enough, Polendina," The General interrupted, voice tight. "I am well aware of the error on my part but it was an emergency. She was the only person available for the job that we thought might actually be successful and it was not something that could be left alone. I sent the best person I could with all the resources I had available and hoped it would be enough—it wasn't but you know full well I had no possible way of knowing that. What would you have had me done?"

"Go yourself!" Her father said. "Rearrange your forces, send someone more experienced! Anything but send my daughter into harm's way!"

"She is my daughter, too!" She heard a hand slam against a desk, perhaps the general rising. "Don't you dare speak to me like I wanted this, like this was easy! But I know her! And I told her _everything_ I knew! I told her about the situation, the dangers, the risks, and gave her the choice to make for _herself_! It would have taken too long any other way!"

"She's just a _child_ ," Dr. Polendina returned.

"She is a _Huntress_ ," Ironwood stated. "The only Huntress we had available!"

"She is _not_ a Huntress," Polendina snarled back. "Not yet. And she was only available because she _wasn't ready to fight_! If this _clusterfuck_ is proof of _anything_ it's _that_!"

It occurred to her that this may have been the first time she'd ever heard her father swear. And considering _why_ he was swearing…

She curled slightly into herself, touching the damage on her arms, her legs. The signs that proved what her father had said—that she had been defeated.

That she wasn't good enough.

"If that's what you think after seeing Penny's fight, you are a fool!" Ironwood returned sounding just as angry, startling her. "She fought with everything she had, with the strength and will of any Huntress—that she was defeated speaks only of the strength of her opponent, not of her weakness. She has the character, will, and _heart_ I'd want in any Hunter."

"Heart? There's more to victory than _heart_! We've always known that Penny had a heart worth of anyone—but heart didn't keep her _limbs_ attached, Ironwood! I told you it would be _years_ before all her combat systems were complete!"

"Then complete them," Ironwood said, calming suddenly. "She came home safely, Polendina, and she tested her strength, will, and mind. She learnt more from this one fight then the last three hundred simulations and improved herself with tremendous speed. That she was defeated speaks only of the inadequacy of the tools with which she was provided."

"You son of a _bitch_. You have the gall to blame _me_ for this?"

"No," The General answered, remaining calm. "The fault is just as much my own—we've all failed to make a body that can keep pace with the life we've created. But remember, _that_ is the only reason she lost. Don't shift the blame onto _her_ for not being able to win."

She could all but hear her father seething.

"I don't," He said after a minute, sounding a little bit more controlled. "I know that this was not Penny's fault. She is…has _always_ been perfect. I would never blame her for not winning. But I blame _you_ for sending her into a fight she couldn't win."

"As do I," Ironwood said quietly. "It won't happen again. Because of the recording of her battle—what parts of it I shared, at least—we've already received significantly more funding for the project, especially from the Schnee Dust Company. You should have all you need to finish your work and ensure that next time, she'll return safely."

" _Schnee_ ," Her father must have sneered, focusing on a part of the statement. "He's the _cause_ of all this. I've told you before—"

"And I've told _you_ before," Ironwood cut off. "That things are more complicated than that. The economics of the situation—"

"I _know_ the economics of the situation!" Her father interrupted in turn. "And all knowing has done is make me more cynical!"

"Yes, well. Economics will do that from time to time," The General tried to jest before sighing at something. "But you should know full well why I can't just snap my fingers and make all the socioeconomic problems in the world go away! As horrible as it is, it's not something that can just be done away with—and the SDC is not even _close_ to the only group involved in this matter. Even if I could make it so that every Faunus miner was paid as befits their labor, that wouldn't make things better. The company's profits will plummet and a basic cost/benefit analysis will result in most of them being laid off and they'll be shoved into the streets again, where they'll either be forced to work for a competing company or into an even more reprehensible situation. I do what I _can_."

"And I'm sure that comes as a great comfort to the children who live in bondage and watch their parents die in mining accidents."

"It must be at least as comforting as it is for the children who watch their parents forced into whorehouses and servitude to try to get by, knowing they'd grow up to do the same. Both options are horrible but I'm sorry, I just can't wave my magic wand and make hundreds of years of problems go away! They're in a horrible situation that breeds from a horrible environment and that's not something quickly changed, especially amidst other problems, and the only quick cures would be worse than the disease! Tell me, Polendina, what would you have me do to fix it? Would you like me to overthrow the Council and reign as a Tyrant, making everyone obey my demands? Do you think it will make things better if I plunge Atlas into war and slay thousands to retain my power even as threats _surround_ us? Or do you have a quick solution you've neglected to inform me of? Because I'd _love_ to hear it."

"I know that the problem is not simple," Dr. Polendina said. "They never are. But you sent Penny to _defend_ it?"

"I sent Penny to apprehend a wanted criminal who's proven to know _far_ too much and who's been the cause of some of the biggest problems we've faced in _decades_. The awakening of Ziz alone…he is a problem that can't be ignored, made even worse by the fact that we knew nothing about him until he threw the whole _world_ into chaos!"

She heard a beep and briefly wished she had video as well as audio.

"You weren't there for the initial meeting after Penny returned, so I doubt you've seen all of this," Ironwood said. "Even if you have, I cut out a fair amount of it for Penny's safety."

"That's him?" Her father asked. "Are we sure it's the same man as in Vale? It's…"

"That's the distortion effect that surrounds him," Ironwood explained. "And it makes identification rather difficult, yes—but we've been cleaning the image as best we can, both from Penny's footage and my own, and I'm as sure as I can be. Body type is the same, height appears to be about the same, comparable physical features seem identical, with some room for error due to the cleaning process. He identified himself as 'Jian Bing,' to Penny."

"So? He's far from the first to take the White Tiger's name," Dr. Polendina replied, though there was a musing quality to his voice. "No?"

She was confused by the word for a moment before realizing it must have been a reply to something she couldn't see.

"It's definitely possible he's just another person taking the name, but I went over the footage several times and I'm not so certain. Watch this."

It was quiet for a minute and she assumed the video was silenced, leaving her to wonder what they were looking at.

Apparently she wasn't the only one.

"Am I looking for something specific?" He father asked, but he did sound like he was focused. "If you want an opinion on his fighting style, there are better people to ask than me."

"As a matter of fact, yes, there are—which is why I asked them," Ironwood answered. "Something about his style seemed familiar, so I sent the footage to a friend in Vacuo, who passed it onto Dr. Mfalme, the head researcher of Bai Hu's relics. Apparently, he was both amazed and excited by it, confirming that it possessed many similarities to how they expected Bai Hu's style would have looked, even going so far as to say it may have been a more accurate depiction then their current theory and that he'd like more data to further clarify things."

"You suspect him of being a student of the style, then, taking the name of the master? Or perhaps a descendant assuming an ancestor's family name?" Dr. Polendina asked, sounding intrigued. "Strange but…it's not unheard of for such a thing to occur; Humanity's lost so much, it's only natural that we'd occasional find things. Granted, it's a bit unusual for it to do so in this manner, but some families keep their secrets well. They could have been outside the Kingdoms or lain low through the wars, perhaps? I'm not sure what this has to do with me."

"Those are all possibilities—perhaps even the most likely possibilities—but a more worrying idea came up," The General said. "Look at these pictures? Notice any differences?"

"…It's not unusually for a Faunus to have retractable claws or fangs. Relatively uncommon, perhaps, but—"

"And this? Watch closely."

"…Did he…did he _grow_ a tail?" Her father asked, sounding more uncertain.

"Yes," Ironwood said. "Note these images. This one was from when Penny removed his cloak. This one was from when he took it back. And this one was from just before he ended the fight. Even with the difficulty resulting from the distortion effect, he definitely had four limbs in the first two pictures and five in the last. Taking his other physical changes into account…"

"A Semblance?" Her father mused. "Physical alterations are relatively rare, as are effects that grow stronger over time or because of some variable, but neither is _unheard_ of. If we assume he's a student or descendent dedicated to living up to the name…if that drive was defining enough, it _could_ result in a Semblance that changes his body accordingly. It's…it's mostly guesswork, but I wouldn't say it's _impossible_ for a Semblance to manifest in such a way. Though really, you can never truly say what is and isn't possible for them because they're so variable."

"I considered something similar," Ironwood agreed. "But at this point, we've attributed so many things to his Semblance we might as well admit we have no idea how he's doing what he does and the features didn't some any obvious signs of fading. Another theory came up during review and…it's out there, but I sadly can't say that it's impossible so I want you to be informed of it. Listen."

This time, there was audio and she recognized it instantly.

 _"Something like that," He had said. "Means nothing to me."_

 _The lifeless steel of her writhed strangely, moving without her input. She'd felt it shift and flow and…and_ grow _. Impossible, she'd thought as she'd felt it._

 _Her body had started to heal._

 _As if she were alive._

She almost missed the next words, lost in the vivid memory.

"So he really…" She heard her father sitting down. "You checked?"

"I did. The wounds healed. Not entirely—the effect eventually wore off—but most of the damage was gone by the time she was reached. And it was new material, things that hadn't been in place before; not just steel but new wiring that hadn't been in her body before and more. She _healed_."

"How…?"

Instead of replying, Ironwood continued the video.

 _"It's the nature of the soul to try and return an altered body to normal," The man said. "As the nature of your body kept your Aura from doing so, I gave it a little help."_

"I called in several of the experts we'd consulted in the past to discuss the matter. They were dumbfounded and said they'd need to modify their theories accordingly, because they had no idea how he'd done it—but when I had them watch several parts of the video, they came up with several different hypothesis. Initial testing hasn't yielded many results, but…well, you know them. They're excited. What interested me, however, was a related possibility they raised about Jian Bing."

"They…" Her father began slowly, apparently guessing what he was getting at. "You can't be serious. They think he might actually be Jian Bing?"

"It's nothing but a guess," Ironwood dismissed. "Unfortunately, it may be the worst case scenario as well and I can't immediately shoot it down."

"The hell you can't. Bai Hu lived and died a long, long time ago. Do you really think he's some immortal warrior? And if he was, do you really think he'd only appear _now_?"

"Of course not; it doesn't make sense for him to have been alive all this time and only just get involved, instead of during, say, the War. But his words were true, possibly to a greater extent than we'd ever realized—the nature of Aura works to restore a body to the state it finds natural. If this is something that is true even of something inorganic…do you remember? Everybody who awakens their Aura hears it at least once, so you must have."

Her father was abruptly silent so after a minute, the General continued.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," He said. "Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee…It's strange; we've been saying those words as long as anyone remembers and we don't even know why. Where did they come from? What do they _mean_? Immortal, infinite in distance and unbound by death…I'd never really thought about it before today and now I can't _stop_ thinking about it."

"…Even so, it's a ridiculous theory," Her father said.

"It is," Ironwood agreed. "At least as ridiculous as the idea that a soul could be created within a machine, I'd say. I wouldn't have thought you a skeptic, my friend."

"That was…" He father paused before admitting. "Yeah, okay, granted. Still…"

"It's only a theory—one of many and probably untrue. But…he knows too much and we too little. He was a complete unknown until recently, someone we'd never even caught hint of, and after appearing, look what he did. He flew straight towards Ziz as soon as he escaped Vale and somehow escaped after it seized him. He played with Penny until his business was done and then tore her limb from limb. He trivially did something with Aura that experts I pay hundreds of thousands of Lien a year did not even know was _possible_ until after he'd done it. The list of things he's done in the short time we've known he's _existed_ might as well be titled 'Wait, how?' It's possible, even probably, that any theories we come up with will be wrong because we have no idea how he's managed _any_ of this. But we still need to be ready and prepared."

"…What _do_ we know? For sure?"

"He goes by the name Jian Bing. He uses a style an expert agrees is probably the real thing. He's strong enough to fight Penny easily for a prolonged period of time without injury and then crush her quickly when he's done. Over the course of that fight, he began to develop more obvious Faunus traits which, if not permanent, did not fade in the recorded aftermath of the battle, and seemed visually reminiscent of a feline. Immediately afterwards, he displayed a tremendous ability with Aura, accomplishing what was believed impossible with the explanation that Aura attempted to restore a person's to their proper form. He is a powerful member of the White Fang." Ironwood recited. "Beyond that…little. But whether he's a student or a copycat or a reincarnation or God knows what else…I don't really care. I just want you aware of the possibilities and prepare for them. Because if they fight again…make sure he doesn't win."

"…Okay." He said. "Then…we should…"

"We need to speak with Penny," The General said. "She deserves explanations from both of us."

She opened her eyes.

 **XxXXxX**

It took a minute to recognize what she was feeling, it was so new her. Nervousness, uncertainty…she wasn't accustomed to such things. Yet as she waited and the seconds passed so slowly by, she felt certain that had she possessed a heart, it would have pounded in her chest. Her fingers, still moving a bit clumsily, twitched slightly without her consciously asking them to, clicking slightly against the chair. She was more aware then ever of the world around her and the slow approach of her creators—and, at the same time, more unsure of what to do than she had ever been.

When the door opened, the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"It's true, then? What he said?" She asked, her voice sounding strange, colored by emotion she hadn't heard in it before. Sadness, fear, confusion, anger…she wasn't sure. All of them? None of them?

Dr. Polendina looked at her and sighed, not seeming surprised or upset but merely tired.

"Penny," He chided gently. "We've talked about this. You shouldn't eavesdrop on the conversations of others—"

"Yes," General Ironwood interrupted with blunt honesty, barreling passed his friend's attempts at a lesson, as he was wont to do. "And no—though more of the former then the latter, perhaps, so…yes."

As Polendina put his head in his hands and sighed, the General sat down in the chair next to her.

"Penny…" He said, shaking his head. "Your father and I didn't want it to come to this. We had hoped to shield you from this for at least a while longer. We'd tell you when you were older, we said, though we never could decide when you'd be old enough—in truth, I think we didn't want to tell you at all. That if we could, we'd hide this fact and keep it secret for as long as possible. But Penny…you deserve to know, and it would be hypocritical of me to treat you as both a Huntress to be sent into danger and a child to be protected and deceived. The truth is…this world we live in…it's as terrible as it is beautiful."

"What do you mean?" She asked though she was starting to think she knew. Her creators glanced at one another and Dr. Polendina sighed again, nodding slightly before the General continued.

"There are reasons," He said. "And excuses. And often times, one is hard to distinguish from the other. The predations of the Grimm, the unforgiving nature of this world…Humanity has done a lot of things to survive. The awful truth behind the world we live in now is that it was all built upon someone else's pain. Our nations were built upon suffering and a history of atrocities going back far before the Kingdoms. Where the dangers of the Grimm met the terror and desperation of Mankind…"

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Horrible things have happened throughout our history. Sometimes there were reasons, other times people looking for those to blame or to use, but a lot of the time…I'd say we've come a long way and it'd be true, but it doesn't change how far we've yet to go. It's hard to truly explain the tragedies in our history simply looking back; perhaps it is because we've lost so much of our history that we now cling to the few remnants we have left, however awful. The prejudice against the Faunus is an old hatred, so deeply rooted that it's hard to even begin to extract."

"What about the Council?" She asked. "Couldn't they change things? They're…"

"Yes, perhaps," He answered, shaking his head tiredly. "Yet the Council is nothing but a representation of the wills of the people. Some of them hate the Faunus or fear them—while others merely hate and fear change. Some know the numbers and worry because of them and others know only what they are told. Some are intent to preserve their power, their way of life, their…world. But others are different. They try and fight, to change things. As is, Mankind as a whole still does not accept the Faunus but…slowly, I think we are taking steps towards being able to."

"Is it enough?" She asked, images rising to her mind, of the building she'd explored after the White Whale departed. "Does taking small steps matter when things are so bad?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" He wondered, as much to himself as to her. "I wish I could say I knew. I hope so, not just for the Faunus but for everything—I work as both General and Headmaster to try and protect and improve our way of life, to keep things safe even as I hope things change. However much work it is, it's my hope that with the power those positions offer, my friends and I might be able to make things better. That's what I've worked for, _hoped_ for, since I was a young man, even if the goals have shifted over the years. But do we do enough? Can we protect enough? I don't know. I honestly don't know if I do enough to matter…but I do my best and hope it's enough. Penny…I've always wanted to be able to give you the answers, but here…I just don't know."

"Are they right then?" She asked, laying her hands flat on her lap to stop them from trembling, long since unsure how she felt. "The White Fang? I researched them when I returned and they…aren't they the bad guys? I read about what they've done and it's…but if they're really…then aren't they…? I thought we were…"

She tripped and stumbled over the words, uncertainty leaving her tongue clumsy, her mind uncertain—but the meaning behind them still seemed to go through. The General and her father looked at her sadly, as if watching something beautiful fade, and her father moved to take the seat on her other side, each placing a hand over one of her own.

"I'm sorry, Penny, but that question doesn't have a good answer, either," Ironwood said, raising the side of a fist to his mouth. "They do horrible things. They kill, destroy, and terrorize…but they're angry and hurt and scared. For so long, the Faunus have been subjugated and abused and no matter how hard they fought things scarcely seemed to improve; can they be blamed then, for fighting for their people? Before, the White Fang was a peaceful organization and yet accomplished so little—can I honestly blame them, then, for using the tactics that proved to work when so much is on the line? Can I decry them for refusing to protest ineffectually? How can I blame people for fighting against their oppression the only way they can? And yet…how can I stand aside, when their actions hurt others? I can't do either."

He moved a hand on her shoulder, pulling her closer and she let him, resting her head against him.

"Penny…I'm sorry," The General said. "More than anything, I want to do the right thing, to be an example for you to look up to…but knowing what the right thing to do is can often be the hardest thing in life. And I…I can't tell you how to find the answers. Sometimes, it's not even there to begin with. I don't have any easy solutions, Penny; I just try to help as many people as possible…even though helping people often means hurting others. Some days…Penny, some days I hope I'm the hero. And other days…I just hope I'm not the villain. And that…the worst part is, that's probably the legacy I'm going to leave to you. I don't want you to have to face decisions that have no answer, or do things while knowing it'll hurt people; I wish I could make things easy for you and give you a happy life and simple decisions, but…"

"What about me?" She asked and had she been able, she might have needed to blink away tears. "Is what he said about me true, too? Isn't that why you keep me hidden? If people know that I'm a machine, will they—"

"You are _not_ a machine," The General said, drawing her fully into a hug. "If anything he said was true, it was _that_. You are a person, Penny, and as good a one as anyone I've ever met. A better person, even, then me. Don't forget that's true, even if people get scared or angry at you; you're real and you're a _hero_ , Penny. I've worried since the day you were born what people would think of you, what world I was preparing you for, but I believe in you from the bottom of my heart. I can't lie and say your life will be easy or that there won't be people who hate you, but I believe that you are someone beautiful and special, that you're something new and unique, and you'll change things. I hope that others will see that, too; that with you as an example, we might avert the tragedies of the past, that those come after you might find a better world awaiting them."

"But I," She blinked rapidly, meaninglessly. "I don't, I can't, I…"

"Shhh," He said quiet, resting his chin on her head. "I know. And I'm here."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Random Encounter**

I remained calm thanks to my power and looked at the man without flinching or paling, which should have earned me a medal.

He knew about me, I was certain of that. But how? And how much? What had he seen? He couldn't have been aboard the White Whale—not only would I have been shocked if he could evade all my senses for such a prolonged period of time, but I'd seen him on the ground when I left. I hadn't paid him that much mind at the time, which I regretted slightly even if I _had_ been more focused on other matters, but he'd _been_ there. He couldn't have been on the ground _and_ in the ship.

Unless it was his Semblance, somehow? Or some planted bug I'd missed? The latter was unlikely when I had both Crocea Mors and Vulturnus, but the former…there was really no way to know. This was Professor _Ozpin_ , he could—

No, I stopped myself calmly.

I knew the power of a well-crafted reputation—I only had to look at the one that had formed around me. It was something that had very real power.

But that wasn't the same as it _being_ real.

I knew, if somewhat vaguely, about Ozpin. He was famous, a legendary Hunter and trainer of Hunters, a man even my parents looked up to who'd looked after Vale for decades and had friends and allies everywhere. It would have been easy to fall prey to that, to assume he knew everything, had seen everything, that he'd lurked beside me the whole time and somehow kept me unawares—but that didn't make sense for a lot of reasons. While there _was_ the possibility of him having a Semblance that allowed him to know all and see all, there was nothing to _support_ that possibility but awe and fear. If I excluded unsupported fear, what did that leave me?

Logic.

He couldn't have been on the ship; it didn't make sense and if he _had_ been, he'd have needed to stay with me for the entire duration of my trip even when things were going to hell. It meant not revealing himself even when it would have been wise to do so, not stopping me and making me turn the ship around at any number of points, not reacting to Ziz, not…it didn't make sense and I couldn't see an easy way for him to do it. Any time after that and I'd probably been off the grid.

What about before the theft? That opened up a few more possibilities. It wasn't impossible, or even unlikely, that a man with Ozpin's power and influence could keep track of me while I was in or near Vale if given cause to do so. If I put myself in his shoes…I could think of a few ways to do it pretty easily. Maybe not _everywhere_ I went, depending on a number of factors, but the stuff at home? He could have seen that with some cameras, maybe, or an informant positioned nearby. Though I had no way of knowing how good his intelligence was, he could easily cover a lot of the stuff in town, too; he'd just need to follow the car, see where I went, and respond appropriately. Depending on how prepared he was and what he'd set up over his decades protecting Vale, he could monitor everything from my house to…who knows. I couldn't let myself assume he was all-powerful, but I _could_ see him being aware of many of the things leading up to the mission. If dad had given him a heads up and a reason to actively look…yeah, I could see it.

And if he knew that, all it would really take were some friends in Atlas to know what I'd done over there—like, say, the General. I needed to avoid overestimating him, but he was a very old, experienced Huntsman with a lot of friends and I couldn't _underestimate_ that either, especially when I wasn't sure what resources he had available. Hell, maybe he _did_ have some secret camera network.

The question, then, was what to say. Even if he didn't know the specifics of everything I'd done, he probably had enough to peg me as the criminal even if I said nothing, so actually lying to him probably wasn't feasible. On the other hand, he wasn't arresting me right now, so…

"Professor Ozpin, isn't it?" I asked. "It's an honor to meet you, sir, though I can't say I expected it."

"Likewise, Mr. Arc," He replied, taking a sip from his mug. "You had us all worried with your abrupt departure."

I scratched the back of my head, giving a fake rueful smile. I saw my mom open her mouth to speak but Ozpin shifted his gaze slightly and she hesitated, looked like she was going to say it anyway, and then bit down upon it. I saw her look over my head at my father, but whatever they communicated, I didn't see anything when I turned to face him. Feeling somewhat left out of the silent conversation, I looked my dad in the eye and tilted my head very slightly in the Headmaster's direction. My dad glanced to the side and I was pretty sure that he communicated something with Ozpin as well before he gave me a very shallow nod.

There were so many people not-talking in here, I mused, that it was a wonder I could hear myself think.

"In the interests of saving us all a lot of time and effort," I said, turning back to Ozpin. "Shall we cut right to the chase?"

I heard my mom sigh and saw her pinch the bridge of her nose. She moved to speak again, but halted again as Ozpin raised his cup in acknowledgement.

"What would you like to know first?" I asked, just to make sure that he knew what I thought he knew. Even if I was pretty sure, well…it would be really embarrassing if he actually knew nothing and just tricked me into thinking he did.

He gave me a knowing look—which may or may not have meant anything. I could give a pretty mean knowing look myself because pretending you already knew something was a surprisingly good way to learn things you didn't know. I waited patiently as he took another sip of coffee, making sure he saw me completely at ease.

"Generally, one should start at the beginning when telling a story," He said and I gave serious thought to starting with my birth just to be a sarcastic twit before he smiled and shook his head slightly. "But as you said, in the interests of saving time, let's begin with what happened after Ziz flew off with you. I must admit, I was rather worried for your life, Mr. Arc, especially after your extended silence. Your family was quite distraught."

I remained focused and passive, even as I felt the guilt rise up. Though I could only see her out of the corner of my eye, I could see enough of her expression to tell we weren't done talking about that, but after what I'd put them all through….I deserved it.

Even so, I had to focus. I could take his words as confirmation that he knew everything up to the White Whale—maybe. Unless he wanted me to think that—no, simplest explanation for the moment.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Ziz made things…complicated." I said, watching him carefully even as I considered what to say. He didn't react so I made sure not to, either. "Last I saw, it was back to sleep, by the way; I can show you where on a map, if you need me to."

"Good news," Ozpin mused, looking down into his cup. "Certainly, that would help matters. There's been rather a panic over its whereabouts lately; we'll need to arrange an explanation for how we came by the information, but…"

I shrugged.

"If needed, I can send a message," I said, not elaborating. He looked at me obliquely for a moment, taking another sip of his drink.

"I suppose you could." He acknowledge as if we were talking about the weather. "Your story, then, Mr. Arc?"

"Well, it's a long story so forgive me if I summarize a little bit, but…Ziz carried me off to an island south of Atlas and tore the White Whale apart," I answered promptly, having put my story in order. I'd decided to tell the truth, but I didn't want to let any major details slip in front of someone I didn't even know, so I abridged things slightly. "I fixed the ship and flew up towards Atlas itself to do some stuff, which was when I sent the message. A few days later, I hit the mining town, fought some people they sent after me, won, and flew off with about a thousand Faunus that were being kept as slaves. I came back, dropped them off, and went home."

I shrugged and gestured at myself.

" _Jaune_ ," My mother spoke up at last, sounding simultaneously tired and annoyed. "Good God, that's _not_ how you give a report."

"Don't listen to her son," Dad disagreed. "The only thing that happens when you give good reports is that people make you give _more_. Your mother's had to give every report for our team in the last…uh…twenty… _three_ years? Since the Vacuo embassy thing."

"Shut up, Jack," She said, sounding even more tired.

For his part, Ozpin just nodded in acceptance. I wasn't sure if he'd learnt everything he'd needed from that or if he just didn't care.

"A rather remarkable adventure you've had, Mr. Arc," He said evenly. "Perhaps there will be time for more details later. Nonetheless, I'd say you've performed rather remarkably given the circumstances. A number of your actions were questionable, but…well, I imagine such matters would be best left for your mother to address. Isabelle?"

"Oh, _yes, sir_ ," She said in a tone dark enough to blot out the son. I figured whatever she'd done to dad must have taken the edge off.

I sighed.

"I love you, Mommy," I told her resignedly. Honestly, I wasn't even scared or upset. Considering everything…

"I love you, too, sweetie," She answered, patting my shoulder with a kind, gentle smile. Dad and I shared a look and I acknowledge that it was my turn to take responsibility for my actions.

"You're not going to arrest me," I stated, refocusing on Ozpin as I took a guess. "But you still want something, right?"

"I'm afraid I merely came to inform your parents of the news I'd received from Atlas," Ozpin said, adjusting his glasses slightly. He let that statement linger for all of a heartbeat before ruining it. "Although, now that you're here…I could think of something for you to do."

"Oz," My dad sighed.

"Me," I asked. "Or _me_?"

"You, naturally," Ozpin answered without missing a beat. "Though should you so desire, you may turn to yourself for aid."

"Ozpin, he only just got back," Isabelle Arc stated firmly. " _There are things that take priority_."

The Headmaster of Beacon chuckled slightly, gesturing with his mug in acknowledgement.

"Merely a joke on my part," He said. "I wouldn't dream of sending him away from you before even receiving his punishment, much less so soon after such an ordeal. It's nothing urgent—just some whispers in Mistral. Now then, I should leave you to your reunion. Jacques, Isabelle."

He nodded to each of my parents as he walked by, before pausing a moment to put a hand on my shoulder.

"We'll talk again soon," He said with such quiet surety that I just accepted it as true and nodded. "Good luck, Mr. Arc."

As the door closed behind him, I heard my mother sigh.

"That man…" She said, shaking her head.

"Hm?" I hummed inquisitively, not sure exactly which part she was referring to.

"Never you mind," She said, pinning me with a look. "Now then…he left so we could speak privately. I think you owe me an explanation, young man."

"Yeah," I nodded. "I do."

 **XxXXxX**

I told them everything.

They were my parents; I was allowed.

I started, of course, with my power, giving them the longer explanation I'd promised Dad. I'd explained the reasons I'd gone on the mission, how things had broken down and eventually escalated, my actions onboard the White Whale and in the mining town—I told them everything I'd considered mine to tell. I was pretty sure they'd been able to make the connect between Tukson and the White Fang, seeing how they'd met him right before I got involved with all this, and from there it wasn't a huge stretch to the rest, but…

But I told them. How my world had changed literally and metaphorically, why I'd associated with a terrorist organization, why I'd caused them so much worry and pain.

They listened silently until I finished, not saying a word but reacting differently. My Dad occasionally nodded, raised his eyebrows, or frowned, depending on the subject, at first standing by the counter as he waited on the coffee machine. When it finished, he poured a cup for himself, one for mom, and brought both over to the table where he sat beside me.

I was aware of this mainly because I was trying not to focus on what my mom was doing; namely, writing something down on a notepad she'd produced from a drawer. I was tempted to use Observe on it, but it was like…I wanted to know, but I _didn't_ want to know.

"You're right," My dad said at last, finally breaking the silence that followed the end of my speech. "Your power _is_ bullshit."

"I know, right?" I nodded quickly, smiling hesitantly for a moment before doing so more fully as he gave me a sure grin.

"Life as a game," He mused. "Not a Semblance I'd have thought of off the top of my head, but if you think about it…"

"It's amazing," I agreed wholeheartedly. "I mean, it took we awhile to figure out how to use it right and all, but once it did…well, I don't mean to boast, but I can throw a pretty mean punch if I need to."

"Pretty good at infiltration, too, sounds like," He said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table, fingers wrapped around his mug. "You know, a lot of people don't believe it, but I used to be pretty good at some of that stuff myself."

I took a moment to imagine it and laughed.

"Bars?" I guessed.

"It's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it," He shrugged, smirk growing. "A lot of people don't think about that type of thing when it comes to getting information out of people, but—"

"I _know_ ," I nodded. "It was almost disappointing when I realized how easy it was."

"A lot of things are like that," He cracked his neck before resting his chin on the palm of a hand. "They seem really amazing and difficult, but it's really just a matter of knowing what you're doing and practicing it. Well, I'm sure the people who make robots probably think that, too…"

I hummed an agreement as he looked at me ponderingly.

"You know," He mused. "And don't take this the wrong way, because I'm not trying to knock your fighting skills or anything—but you would make a pretty amazing doctor. I always thought healers were pretty amazing. I mean, don't get me wrong, being able to slaughter monsters with a stick is pretty awesome, but there's a lot of times…well, I wouldn't have minded having someone there to heal people. Maybe not the most glorious job, but saving lives with a touch…pretty amazing. I'm not trying to sell anything but…"

"Yeah," I said, understanding. "I know. I haven't…well, life's been hectic, but I've thought about it, too. I mean, I definitely want to get as strong as I can at…everything and become a Hunter, but healing the sick and the wounded…I have the power, right? And there's a lot of people I could help, if I keep training the skill."

"Nothing wrong with saving lives," Jacques said. "We could brag about our son the doctor. Right, honey?"

Mom looked up from her writings to give him a glance and shallow nod before returning to her work. I watched her drum her fingers, waiting for her say something, but it never came. After an awkward moment, my Dad continued talking, apparently trying to brush over the lack of response.

"Yeah," He said forcefully. "Really, you've got plenty of options. That Regeneration thing you mentioned was from blue Dust, right? Think you could do it with the other types? If you can heal, empower, _and_ fight, you'd make a great addition to any team."

"I'm pretty sure I could do it with at least red, yellow, and green Dust," I said. "I'll have to test with the other types, but…still, Haste is great and Feather Fall turned out to be surprisingly useful. It's really nice to not get smashed into stuff, you know?"

"Trust me, I know. I've been through some walls in my day. And rocks. And trees. It's not fun." He shook his head. "Healing, supporting, awakening Auras…not bad, son."

"Thanks," I fiddled with my drink absently, not really paying it any attention. "Still need to train them all, especially the Aura one, but…it's cool. Not sure how I could explain any of it, but…"

My dad gestured dismissively.

"Some of it will be hard, but I'm sure Oz will think of something for the basics. Trust me, the guy writes enough fiction to be a novelist and it'd be great to have at least an emergency healer on standby. You know…I could probably get Oz to bend some rules and bring you with me on a few missions, if you want?"

"Yeah?" I asked, eyebrows going up. "Me?"

Dad shrugged like it was nothing.

"Sure. Let me tell you, if you know the guy, it's really not hard to get Oz to bend the rules. Nothing major," He said, seeing my look. "No offense, but I wouldn't bring you along on the type of Search and Destroy missions I get sent on—but there's some Village Security stuff and such that could work. A lot of places like that have their fair share of sick and wounded. My team could deal with the actual security while you healed them. Might not be the most glamourous or exciting mission, but it could save some lives and I'm sure there's some way of making it fly as extra credit or something. You could make some friends along the way, some connections…I mean, if you want."

"Please," I said immediately, just…imagining it. Going on a mission with my father, if as the medic. "I'd love to."

He smiled.

"I'll talk to him, then," The Arc Patriarch said. "Maybe it'll even count as one of your Quest things?"

"Maybe," I nodded, not even sure I cared. He seemed satisfied with the answer regardless.

"Any thoughts on what you're gonna do next, then?"

"Uh…" I tilted my head to the side. "Probably just keep training. Working out for my physical states, reading books for my Intelligence, that type of thing. I want to hone some of my new skills, too, like awakening Aura's. I figured I'd start small, though, in the hopes nothing goes wrong."

"Oh?" He asked. "What'd you have in mind?"

"I was thinking about starting a garden, honestly," I admitted. "I don't know how well it'll work, but maybe awaken some flowers or trees to start with. I figure the odds of things going catastrophically wrong will be lower than if I start with animals. After I know what's liable to happen and am confident I can handle it, I'll upgrade to some goldfish or something, and then advance up to stuff like dogs. I can probably get a skill to train them, too, so…"

"Could work," He agreed. "It takes a fair amount of training to bring out their full potential, but good Hunting dogs are invaluable. There's plenty of stuff you can work on if you're interested. Let's see…I saw one guy who'd trained a falcon like that awhile back and a few other animals. Plants…there've always been a fair number of experiments along that vein for crops and such, but I don't really know much about it. They never really implemented anything that I know of, but I don't know if they had problems or if the issue of awakening enough crops to actually matter just made it unfeasible. For something we grow just to eat…I don't know. You can probably find something on that, though."

"Huh," I said. "I'll look into that. I hadn't heard anything about that."

"Like I said, I don't know how that's worked out for them; never really thought about it until now." He paused. "Well, there was this one time, but it turned out to just be a guy who could make plant minions with his Semblance."

"What was that like?" I asked, somewhat surprised I'd never heard this story. Dad's brow furrowed.

"Surprisingly horrifying. It's easy to make fun of a cabbage until it unfolds into layers and layers of teeth," He shook his head. "Naturally, we ended up fighting the guy in the middle of a forest, too, and at night. It was…"

He exhaled loudly.

"…Something." He took a sip of his coffee, blowing away the last remnants of steam. "It shouldn't be an issue for you though. I know a few people down in the Agricultural District if you're looking for anything in particular, though."

"I'll have to look into it," I said. "I never even considered the idea until today. I could just start with the trees and plants around here but…it's something to look into. Maybe see if I can awaken seeds and test them against normal versions of the plants, see if different breeds react in specific ways…it's neat to think about. I'll look into it."

My dad chuckled.

"My son the botanist," He said. "And the doctor and the captain."

He was silent for a moment.

"I'm proud of you, you know," He murmured. "Despite the danger and what happened…I won't say everything you did was flawless and you scared a lot of people, but I know why you did it. And despite the risks, you saw it through, even when you were alone and no one could have blamed you for turning back. I wish you'd called, that you'd told us, that…I wish a lot of things. But I get why, even as scary as it had been, and I'm proud that you saved those people, Jaune. You did good, son."

I ducked my head but was pretty sure it didn't fully hide my smile. For someone who was probably an internationally wanted supervillain, I couldn't keep from lighting up at my father's praise. He shifted slightly to bump me with a shoulder and I laughed a bit before sobering and looking up.

"Mom's been quiet," I whispered.

Dad sighed slowly and nodded.

"You about done, dear?" He asked. She flipped a page in the notebook to scrawl something and then clicked her pen.

"More or less," She said, pushing her chair back and rising. "Come with me, Jaune."

I rose and came around the table with a nod.

"Where are we going?" I asked. After a moment's pause, I continued. "Did you decide on my punishment?"

"I'm not going to punish you, Jaune, I'm going to teach you something," She answered calmly. "Which is why we're going into the forest to train. Follow me."

I nodded wordlessly, casting a glance back at my father, who saluted me with his coffee mug. I knew she wasn't really mad—or not mad about the things I feared, at least—and given everything I'd done…

This was fine. I'd take my medicine like a man.

It's not like I feared pain or effort anymore.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Shift**

The pain faded after a moment, but I laid there breathing hard, body pushed to exhaustion. I could already feel Regeneration working to alleviate that, though, and I healed myself to hasten the process, clamoring to my feet just moments after going down. As long as I was alive, as long as I had power to fuel my skills, what happened to my body was almost irrelevant, so I pushed on through, looking at my opponent.

"You've gotten stronger," My mother praised, waiting patiently as I rose. We stood together in the clearing I'd made during my training back… _wow_ , sometimes it was hard to remember that it was really not all that long ago. It was only a week or two ago that I'd been wasting away some time out here, training myself for the mission. I wasn't sure when she'd found this place, though it probably hadn't taken long after finding out I was missing. I wonder what she'd thought when she saw it? She must have known I came out here to practice, but what'd she think when she saw the pockmarks I'd left behind beside the disturbingly pristine trees I'd healed? Did she see something in the marks, go over them again and again trying to discern some hint as to my whereabouts?

I didn't know and it made me feel guilty again. But now I was…

Well, getting my ass kicked, honestly. She'd brought me out here to train, asking about my skills to begin with. I'd given her a rundown of what I could do, where I could give specifics—the MP costs, my MP and HP bars, how regain my SP and HP by healing myself, how I replenished HP and MP at a rate of one percent a minute prior to other modifiers, and the general stuff about the Gamer's Mind and Body—all of which she'd dutifully noted down in her notebook. I'd even listed my exact stats and given the general descriptions of most of my skills, though a lot of those things were more relative. As a result, I wasn't surprised in the slightest when she'd demanded a sparring match to test my strength. I wasn't surprised when she asked I show her my full power, either, though I'd warned her.

Not about any danger to _her_ , of course, because that'd just be silly. I still couldn't see her level which meant she must have been…I wasn't sure, but at least level seventy-something. I had neither fear for her safety, nor any delusions of victory. What I'd warned her about had been, quite simply, about the costs of the White Tiger's Five Hundred Years and that just because the Gamer's Body and my various skills made it _look_ like I was invincible didn't mean I wasn't taking damage. I didn't want her to splatter me on accident or something, so I made sure she knew my limits and that I might need to heal myself periodically.

She'd nodded in acceptance and told me it wouldn't be an issue.

It hadn't been. She'd just put me down hard and then let me scrape myself off the ground before going again. Even with my vastly enhanced speed, she kept up with me without a single wasted movement. Her eyes were alert and her face expressionless as she calmly parried each of my strikes with her sword—probably more to test my strength than anything else.

"You used your fists as your weapon on your mission?" She asked as we fell into what probably counted as a relaxed rhythm when your level was in the stratosphere.

I went to nod but aborted it to shake my head.

"I had gauntlets," I said, hands on the restored Crocea Mors as I tried with all my might to push her back. I wouldn't succeed, but that wasn't the point of the exercise.

"Even so," She said, take a step closer with no apparent effort, pushing my feet back along the ground. I couldn't use Observe on her, so I wasn't sure how her strength compared to Penny's, but she wielded it with an ease and grace that set her apart. There was strength and surety in every motion, a silent confident in her casual stride as she pushed back. "Is that your weapon of choice now?"

I half-shrugged, trying to stay upright and braced against the immense weight.

"I needed a fighting style that was different from my own," I explained distractedly. "Fell a little behind because I trained my martial arts so much, but the type of weapon doesn't really matter. I wanted to work on my swordsmanship some, though."

She hummed and made a gesture like she was shaking something off her sword.

I went flying again, barely managing to get my feet beneath me and bounce off the tree.

"Not that I don't enjoy this—because I do," I said honestly. "But you're not trying to show me that there are bigger fish or something, are you? Because boy, do I know. Half my plan was trying to avoid getting into fights against people I could lose again. I can use Observe, too, and see peoples levels and stats and such, so…well, I know where I stand with most of the people around me. Even if I _can't_ see their levels and stuff, that just means they're out of my league. It's pretty hard to me to underestimate people, honestly. I mean, I'll fight them anyway if I have to, but…"

"Good," She said, coming to my side with that same casual serenity. She presumably passed through all the points between point A and B to get there, but I couldn't confirm that—I just reacted to my Danger Sense and brought up my shield in defense. Parrying even an absent attack sent shocks of pain through my arm and hammered me down hard enough that I felt dirt brush my ankles. "Knowing where you stand is vital to any battle. Knowing when you have to fight and when you can avoid it, perhaps even more so. Your ability makes such things easier for you than most and that's _good_. If you had fought the wrong person…"

I heard worry color her voice a moment before the pressure on me lightened. I didn't relax, still aware of the danger, but instead brought up my shield. She flicked her blade several meters away and threw me back.

"You did well, Jaune," She said, voice steady once more. "I know something of the opponents you had to fight, the odds you had to face, and you did very well. And I won't insult you by saying you got lucky—"

"Nah, luck had a fair amount to do with it," I shook my head. If I'd fought Penny anywhere but a Dust mining town…

"Because I can see how far you've come," She continued as if I hadn't said anything. "But it's precisely because you've come so far that this is necessary. You've decided, haven't you?"

I knew what she was asking and the answer was obvious—but I saw the gravity of her expression and knew how serious this question was, so I considered it silently for a moment. There were a lot of arguments to be made either way, but even so, the answer was still…

"Yes," I said at last. "I want to help people. Hunter, healer, it doesn't matter—but this is who I want to be. It's all I ever wanted."

She nodded, looking at once saddened and proud.

"Then, if your mind's made up, I will train you," She replied. "You don't need anyone to tell you that stronger opponents exist; you know that better than most your age. Your heart is in the right place and, though we'll discuss your actions later, I trust it and I trust you. Though you've made some choices I consider foolish, you made them for reasons I can see and understand and you took my words to heart when it came to the value of wisdom. Granted, if I had known how deeply such words would shape you…well, it doesn't matter, does it? You turned out well, Jaune. However…"

She turned her face away, looking up at the sky. I don't know what she saw there, but it probably wasn't just the stars.

"You probably know this, too," She said quietly. "But we live in an unforgiving world. It's cruel to the innocent and the weak—and crueler still to those who'd fight to defend them. If you make a mistake out there, I can't promise you'll ever get a chance to make another one…and the awful truth is that we all make mistakes. I…"

Her lips tried to form words but couldn't seem to give them breath. After a moment, she closed her mouth, apparently changing her mind.

"I'm glad that I got to see you grow up," She said. "All of you. I had friends who never got to do so for their children…and others who died too young to even consider having them. A lot of Hunters simply disappear one day; go out on a mission that no one knew was special and just…never come back. Sometimes they leave behind bodies, sometimes…sometimes we don't even know until a week becomes a month. Your father and I have avoided that thus far, as have your sisters, but…someday…"

"Yeah," I said quietly, looking at the ground, remembering a child's fears, a sister's words, lies we all hoped were true. "I…I know."

"I've seen a lot of good men and women go," She continued after a moment. "Some of them…maybe stronger than me. That I'm here and they aren't was only because of…luck? Skill? Maybe a mixture? I don't know. But…I do know that strength alone isn't always enough. Nor skill, nor even luck. The odds are against us, because we can win a thousand times, but we only have to lose _once_ and it _doesn't_ —"

She cut herself off for a moment, closing her eyes before continuing.

"Maybe that's why," She said, shaking her head. "I didn't…I didn't want this. I'm sorry, I told myself I wouldn't stop you and I won't—but I didn't want this life for any of you. But your sisters…one by one, they _excelled_. What I've seen others struggle with for years came to them so easily and they were each so different but from the moment they could answer it was like…"

She shook her head.

"They all wanted to be Huntresses. They never wanted to be anything else and everyone knew they would be great. One day, I knew they'd all surpass me. And some days I thought…God, some days I wondered if it was a punishment for…for living where others died, to send my children away to fight one by one. I'd never thought about it, even when I left home to do the same, but…and then you were born and I saw how much it hurt you every time you struggled and it was _horrible_ of me, but at the same time I thought that maybe, if you…"

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"No," She said, shaking her head. "Don't be. I'm proud of you and I'm proud of them. But I'm also scared for you all. And when you didn't come back, I thought that maybe this was it. The first. But you came back."

"I did," I agreed awkwardly. "And we'll…they're all strong, so we'll…"

"Yes," She agreed. "They were all so strong…maybe it was inevitable that this would happen, too. I always expected it, really, that one day you'd find your way—and I wouldn't stand in it. But even if you're strong, strength isn't always enough to let you win. So I trained all of your sisters, when they decided what they really wanted. As best I could, I made sure they'd be safe."

"Is that why…?" I hesitated, unable to finish the question.

"Why they hate me?" She asked calmly.

"They don't _hate_ you," I protested immediately, even though I'd raised the topic. "They just…don't like coming home…"

I trailed off lamely.

"They probably don't hate me, not really," She shook her head. "Though if they did, I wouldn't blame them. I certainly hated my teacher, even if I owe her my life. I trained them hard, even when things came so easily to them, and I didn't let up. I told them what I told you, about the risks they'd face as Hunters, and then I did my utmost to prepare them for it. I want to protect you all, but the truth is…I can't. So I'll make sure you can protect yourselves, even if you hate me for it. For you especially…I know what you can withstand and I wouldn't go easy on you, not when the things I teach you might save your life. Knowing that, is this still what you want?"

"Of course," I said instantly. "I'm not afraid. This body of mine will keep going no matter how badly I get hurt and I don't sleep and I barely get tired. I heal quickly no matter what happens and I learn fast. Whatever it is, I'm ready—but I want you to know, I won't hate you."

She looked me up and down, sighing slightly.

"We'll see," She said gently.

 **XxXXxX**

Unsurprisingly, my mother chose to focus on training the skills she deemed most important, in addition to my more general training. Which was good, really; I had a fair number of skills I considered useful, but which were hard to train for whatever reason—Physically Endurance, for example, though undoubtedly usefully, was at once tedious to train and slow to improve, especially when I spent so much time training myself _not_ to get hurt, if possible. Even with the training I'd underwent with Adam, and though I'd gotten a few extra levels in the stat during my fight with Penny, the stat was fairly low level in the mid-twenties.

However, my mom was pretty good at getting past a lot of those difficulties in her drive to help me improve.

Which is to say she'd started our training by lighting me on fire and it had steadily progressed downhill from there. Apparently content with the evidence I'd provided as to the effectiveness of the Gamer's Body, she'd shown no hesitation in hurting me badly and had quickly gotten creative.

I got hurt repeatedly. Incessantly, even, with only my healing ability letting me withstand it all. She'd experimented at first, asking me calm and probing questions even as she twisted the sometimes-literal knife. She was systematic about it, even drawing up a chart that took into account my MP regeneration, how much HP I had, and the cost of Soulforge Restoration to produce a very detailed chart of precisely when she could hurt me and how badly, periodically updating it as the skill's improved and almost absently testing if there was a relation between physical pain and the rate of improvement. After she'd had time to accurately test it, she quickly set a tightly controlled pace and forced me to abide by it.

I was cut, I healed, and was cut again—and it was almost frightening how tight of a grasp she obviously had over her own strength. Once she'd finished testing me, she hit me for exactly a thousand damage, with the next blow doing the exact same amount. Whenever I told her the skills had improved, she modified her blows accordingly without even needing to test it, probably keeping track of the trends in the skills mentally.

Over the course of twenty minutes, I had to heal myself over five hundred times, maintaining my Elementals all the while. When my MP was all but drained, she produced a blindfold, secured it tightly around my head, and sent me stumbling into the forest blindly with orders not to use my Elementals to see. She'd then proceeded to attack me more times than I could count, even as I was tripping over roots and walking into trees, all to improve my ability to Sense Danger and respond accurately too it.

When I failed to do so, I got stabbed. My reward for evading properly was _not_ getting stabbed. She gave me more time to breath then when we'd trained, but I wasn't entirely sure whether it was to let me recover MP or to throw me off. There was no pattern to her attacks in timing, direction, or form, no rhythm to find and stick to—nothing to go off of but my remaining senses and my advanced warning of danger.

It wasn't much to go off of with no experience, especially with surroundings as confusing as a forest could be, but she made me adapt and keep going through literally thousands of attacks. They were just slow enough that if I reacted quickly, I could evade them, so I knew she was holding back tremendously, but if I messed up she wouldn't stop the attack. I couldn't improve my ability to sense bloodlust because she didn't _want_ to hurt me—but she wouldn't _keep_ from hurting me, either.

I knew what she was doing, of course. Physical Endurance and Sense Danger were two of my most useful skills, at least potentially, as well as the most likely to keep me alive if something happens. Reducing the amount of damage I took by a percentage…notifying me of threats…I knew exactly why she was helping me train them both. Before anything else, she trained me to survive and come back home, to endure the same things that had ended so many Huntsmen.

"We'll do this first thing, every day," She'd said when she removed my blindfold. "At least for the time being. Three hours of survival training before we get to work."

After that, we'd started training other things—focusing on my body, for now. It was basically what I'd been doing before, but more extreme. Mom led the way to one of the training rooms in the basement and set me to lifting weights and such, though that might have been underselling it.

"Since it's the first day, let's start with ten thousand reps." She said as she loaded more and more weight onto the bar—which had to be heavily reinforced to not bend under that much weight. Even so, she lifted it with one hand and passed it too me, an experience that nearly bowled me over. "That should be fine with a body like yours. I'll work on a more complete workout schedule in the coming days, but we'll focus on Strength for now."

I'd grunted an agreement as best I could beneath the massive load that had been set on the bar, getting to work without complaint. There were many times I thought I pulled things and even more where I felt things tear. Once, my arms pretty much gave out and I felt them break under the strain—but as she'd said, with my body this was nothing. The pain faded after a moment and left me unharmed, so I just healed the damage to my HP, and struggled my way back into position, continuing where I'd left off. She watched me silently for a while before moving over to a machine herself and we worked in silence but for my occasional grunts of effort and pain.

At least until dad interrupted.

"Hard at work, huh?" He said, a bag in one hand and a drink in the other. He sipped from it idly like an asshole as I struggled breathlessly with each rep. He must have seen the look I sent him because he smiled brilliantly and lifted it to brush condensation across his forehead, briefly closing his eyes in contentment. "I'd join you, but I'm already done for the day. Right, dear?"

"If you got what I asked for, leave it and go," She said without looking away from the ceiling. "Don't antagonize him."

"Just watching my lovely family trying their best, my love," He said, setting the bag down beside my bench and patting my head. He held the car above my face, little drops of water occasionally falling to my face, brushing little streaks of moisture across it with a thumb. "This was nothing compared to what I had to go through when you were gone, just so you know; I didn't get off with just a work out. That's why you're getting off so light—she vented all her rage at me."

"Jack," Mom said serenely, still not looking at him.

"It's really not that bad," I said, half to him and half to mom. "It's just hard, but for me…it's not a problem, as long as I don't die. What'd you get?"

"Swung out to pick up some stuff from a friend at the University," He said, reaching into the bag to draw out a book as he took a seat on the edge of the bench. "He said he'd ship most of them later, but these should keep you entertained for a few days."

His fingers covered a word—a name?—but I read the rest of the front cover upside-down.

"Theory of Games?" I spoke the incomplete title aloud. "Is that a textbook?"

"Yeah," He chuckled, thumbing through it. "I saw it and I knew I had to get you this one. It's not as fun as it sounds, though."

"Shocking," I said, tilting my head for a minute. "My Intelligence?"

"There's no point in just training your body if we can train your mind as well. You said you could increase it by studying, right?" My mom asked. "Then we'll make sure you have plenty to study. I'll set aside specific times for it later, but for now, you can just do so through the night."

I nodded in acceptance.

"What about school?" I asked. "I usually studied there, before…you know."

"Canceled, still," Dad said, closing the book and squinting at the back cover. "Because of Ziz. City's on alert in case it needs to evac, so school's closed until the situation drops a class or two. Probably have a week or two before Ozpin gets everything fixed."

I mulled over that for a bit before wondering aloud.

"Should I even bother going back?" I asked after a moment's hesitation. "It's kind of a waste of time now, isn't it? And I don't need to finish to get into Beacon, do I?"

"Not much point now," Dad agreed absently. "You'll be done with the material and then some soon, anyway."

"I already finished reading all my school books, actually," I said.

He snorted.

" _Nerd_ ," He drew the word out for several seconds, ruffling my hair. "I'll handle it and I rather doubt it'll matter once we get you some street cred."

"Please stop," I asked, smiling at him. "Another step closer, huh?"

"Mm," He replied nodding as he put the book away. "Keep taking steps like you have been and it won't be long now. How long do you plan on training him, dear?"

I followed his gaze to my mother, curious myself. She was silent for a minute before putting up the bar and looking our way.

"However long it takes until he needs to fight Grimm to advance further," She said. "What level do your stats need to be to learn Bai Hu's final technique?"

"Physicals at seventy, mentals at ninety," I answered promptly. "I can probably get the physical stuff up that high in a month or two. Should be able to raise my Intelligence to seventy or so in that time, as well, if I have enough books. Beyond that, though…I don't know how long it'll take to keep improving. I'll stick at it, but improving them gets harder and harder. Raising them to a hundred naturally could take most of a year."

"Then until his physical abilities and Intelligence are at seventy," She said calmly. "It'll take some time to get everything in order, but we'll train his physical abilities and important skills by day and he can study and practice on his own at night, until they reach that point. Improving Wisdom and raising Intelligence beyond that is likely better done through leveling up, so after that we'll start taking him hunting; he has thirty points already so he'd just need four levels."

"Sounds good," I said, starting to pant a little again. "I think I'll get something good once I raise my skills past a hundred, too, though."

"Eight levels, then" She corrected. "After that…we'll see."

Dad nodded.

"Two months or so for the basic stuff though, huh?" He mused and chuckled, ruffling my hair again just because he could. "Pretty lucky timing. If you get done on time…"

"What?" I asked, pausing for a moment as I brought the bar down. My dad smirked and opened his mouth to say something—probably not an answer but something—when my mom spoke again.

"Jack, don't distract him," She said. "Jaune, keep working."

"You heard her," Dad said cheerfully, already at the door. "Goodbye, my nerdy son and beautiful wife. Don't train too long or I'll order your favorite foods and come down here to eat them in front of you."

"You'd probably die doing that," I informed him though quick breaths, giving him a nod as he went. "I would have neither the ability nor desire to prevent your murder."

He chuckled and closed the door. I made a note to ask him about his words again later and went back to work. I did another hundred thirty reps before Mom spoke up.

"Jaune," She said. "You're father's right; the timing is good. If we get done in time…Ozpin asked me to look into something, as somewhat of an expert. If we get done in time and it's safe, would you like come with me back to my homeland?"

"To Mistral?" I asked and saw her nod out of the corner of my eye.

"It'd be just in time for the festivals," She said. "It's…I think you would like it. Do you…?"

"Of course," I said. "I'll make sure to work hard."

 **XxXXxX**


	4. Chapter 4

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Materials**

The next two weeks passed in a blur of focused effort. I didn't need sleep and thus my mother's schedule left no time for me to rest. I trained in a cycle of focused mental and physical effort that never stopped, merely growing as my mother added to it, expanding to new skills as others grew.

I bore it all without complaint, even when my body felt like it had been broken. I never stopped, never gave up, but merely rose again to keep going, stronger than before. The world almost seemed to slip away in the midst of it all, stripped down to the need to improve, the need to continue, until things like the time or the date just didn't seem to matter—but in time, life intervened. When duty called my parents to the city, they brought me along to give me a reprieve, an hour or two off from work, and let me wander the city and relax; a reward for working so hard, perhaps.

Or maybe they were just worried about the strain they were putting upon me, afraid I might break. If so, I didn't share the fear, but taking a little time off didn't seem too bad, though it probably said something about me that I didn't waste it. After a quick trip to the market, I went to address something I'd been unable to until now.

"Jaune?" Tukson asked, seeming surprised when he came to the front desk and saw me perusing his wares.

"Hey, Tukson," I greeted, looking up from what I was Observing a book, a shopping bag in one hand. Looking up at my elder friend, I rested the bag carefully atop a bookshelf. "You been doing okay?"

"I was going to ask _you_ that," He replied, shoulders sagging after a minute as he seemed to take in that I was really here. "With…everything that happened. Blake told me you got back okay, but…things got pretty bad, huh? I'm…well, I'm sorry. I didn't think…"

"Nah, don't worry about it," I cut him off with a smile. "It's no problem. Your books saved my life a few times, you know? And you got my messages through, too, so…thanks. I wanted to come tell you that earlier, but well…things have been busy."

"With your family, right?" He asked, seeming somewhat cheered by my reassurances, though his brow furrowed slightly. "Everything go okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Better then I'd hoped. My parents were really cool and understanding. I mean, I knew that before, but it's like…well, you know."

"I do," He nodded, going quiet as he looked down at something on his desk. "They're your family. You want to make them proud, even when…especially when it's hard, right?"

We were silent for a moment of semi-awkward mutual understanding before he lifted his head and gave me a smile.

"Must be difficult, huh?" He asked, brushing the moment aside. "I…that homecoming must have been something. I mean, when I first went to your house and realized who your parents were…Don't take this the wrong way, but after Ziz, I, uh, took a brief vacation to one of the White Fang's hideouts. Mostly because of the horrific monster, but, not gonna lie, there was a part of me worried about getting murdered when your parents made the connection. I came back to deliver your message and stayed to help the newcomers, but, well…it's still kind of nerve-wracking."

I hummed understandingly.

"I don't blame you," I told him, pretty sure it had been a good move. If he'd stayed…well, it probably wouldn't have ended well for him. "I tried leaving the stuff about you guys out when I explained things to them, but…"

"But I came over just awhile before you vanished," He finished, nodding. "Not the hardest connection to make, but I figured you'd smooth that over when you came back. And hey, no police here, right? That's pretty good, all things considered."

"Definitely," I agreed. "But I meant it when I said your books and such saved me. I'm…I'm sorry I couldn't do things as peacefully as we'd hoped, though. Things got…"

"Hectic?" He suggested, sighing as he rested his hands on the counter. "I…yeah, I know. I saw some of it. Between Torchwick and Adam getting surrounded…I get it. The people still got saved, though, right? That's the important thing. We wanted to give new beginnings and…well, all told, we had about a thousand successes. Compared to that…"

He trailed of, shrugging a shoulder. His words were reassuring, probably because I agreed with them, but I had to wonder if _he_ did. In the end, we'd all had our own reasons. For me, it had always been about the people who needed my help and who didn't have anyone else to save them—but for Tukson and Blake, it had been about even more than that. They wanted to show the White Fang another way, show them that things didn't have to end in violence and bloodshed, and had recruited me to help them prove it.

And I'd held a girl hostage, threatened people, fired on my pursuers, drawn out the Grimm, accidentally awoke Ziz, and all around brutally crushed anyone who stood between me and rescuing the miners, even when it meant tearing someone limb from limb. There was more too it then that, I hadn't wanted or meant for it to happen, and I'd avoided hurting people as much as possible—but I'd also succeeded. At stealing a super ship out from under the nose of some of the most powerful men on Remnant, at the most high-profile theft and rescue in recent memory, in every fight, I'd _succeeded_. What message did _that_ send?

And the worst part was…I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I regretted the necessity of the actions, yet I was proud of the result. I felt bad for failing Blake and Tukson, but…Adam had told me outright that he didn't think the peaceful methods Blake desired would work, that they _hadn't_ worked, for social and political and economic reasons that were kind of depressing. Was he right? Or, more worryingly, did I _think_ he was right?

I hoped he wasn't, I was sure of that much. I hoped Blake was correct and there was some peaceful way to deal with all of this. I didn't want it to come to violence and I couldn't support the things the White Fang did.

But with their situation so bad, with what I'd seen, with the countless other examples throughout the world, with all that happened to the Faunus…I couldn't condemn them, either. I couldn't hate them for fighting what was done to them, even if I could hate the bloodshed it led to. I couldn't loathe them for picking methods that seemed to work, even if I was saddened by the methods that had failed.

More than anything else, I wanted there to be a better way, but I couldn't think of one. I wanted to be able to do something, but I didn't know how. A part of me wondered if I'd know when my Wisdom reached a hundred, but an even larger part worried that there just wasn't an answer to be found. It was easy to say the world had problems that needed to be fixed, but evidence would seem to support the conclusion that no one had actually done it yet.

I sighed.

"You mentioned the newcomers were moving in. Is everything going okay? Any trouble with housing or jobs or…?" I tried to change the subject, attempting to pull myself from the thoughts.

"It's difficult getting that many people situated," He admitted. "But all things considered, it's going pretty well. Things are better for Faunus here in Vale."

Maybe it was because of what we'd just talked about, but a pessimistic part of me wondered if that was true and things really were better—or if they were just closer to people who'd firebomb your house for bigotry.

"Thanks to some help from locals, a lot of them have already found work," Tukson continued, oblivious to my thoughts. "There's always stuff to be done in the Agricultural District and it's a pretty good way to get by if you're new in town—speaking from experience. It's a lot of hard work, but it pays pretty well and after what _they've_ all been through…well, I think they find that a pretty novel concept."

"Probably," I agreed, brightening a tad at the words. "I awakened their Auras so they should be okay. Actually, this sort of leads into why I'm here."

Tukson squinted at me for a moment.

"You looking for another part time job?" He asked. "Because with your track record, I don't know if the Agricultural District would survive employing you. Please, think of all the Faunus who need the work and all the people who need the food."

"Hah," I laughed tonelessly. "Very funny, but no. I'm just looking for some books on the subject; I'm working on something."

"Yeah?" He asked, coming around the desk and down a line of shelves. He paused for a moment, fingertips brushing spines, and frowned. "What kind of something? And do you want gardening or farming?"

"I honestly don't know the difference," I admitted. "Both, I guess, because why not? I'm gonna try awakening the Auras of plants."

Tukson paused, blinking as he turned to face me.

"What?" He asked. "Why?"

"To see what happens, I guess," I answered honestly. "And to train myself but, honestly, at this point I just really want to know what'll happen. A lot of people down in Ag have tried it and had a lot of trouble, so I kind of want to know how it'll work if I try. If I get a skill out of it, it should tell me exactly what it does—and even if it doesn't, Observe should show me the results. I had the idea weeks ago but was so busy…it's been bothering me, you know?"

He considered that for a minute before passing me the books.

"Now _I'm_ curious," Tukson shook his head, taking the money I withdrew from my Inventory. "But also kind of hoping that future generations won't condemn me for whatever happens."

"We all worry about that sometimes," I assured, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No we don't," He denied. "Well, maybe you do, but I mainly just worry about my books and sales. Need anything else?"

I chuckled a bit but checked the clock.

"Not today, I don't think," I said, shaking my head. "I'll need to get back to my parents in just a bit here and this should keep me busy enough for now. I don't suppose there's been any word from Adam and Blake?"

He shook his head.

"Not for a while now," He shook his head. "They volunteered to protect the refugees while they were moved around Vytal, so they're probably busy. It'll take some time to make sure everything's settled."

"Ah," I said, not surprised but a little disappointed nonetheless. It didn't make a lot of difference since it'd be quite some time before I had time enough to do anything—and I couldn't imagine life with the White Fang left them with idle hands, either—but… "Could you message me if anything comes up?"

"Will do," He promised, waving at me slightly. "Good luck with your plants. Try not to create anything that'll get me remembered as the cause of the end times."

"No worries; you'll be a minor footnote in Jaune Arc's Plant Apocalypse, tops," I grinned as I turned to go before pausing. "Though actually…if you're curious, do you want to watch?"

His eyebrows went up.

"What?"

I pulled down the sides of the bag to reveal a simple red rose, planted in a small cup of soil. I'd picked up several different packets of seeds at the market, which I'd test and grow over several weeks to compare to any grown flowers I awakened, but for my first attempt…

It was a little silly, but I wanted the first plant I ever awakened to be something beautiful.

"You interested?" I asked Tukson. "Actually being present would upgrade you to at least accomplice in the case of any foliage-based Doomsday scenario. Do you really want to just be _tangentially_ related to the rise of the plant monsters?"

"Gee," He said woodenly, pun intended. "When you say it like that, how can I refuse?"

But despite his words, he was smiling as he leaned to rest his forearms on the counter top, and I returned it with a wide grin, locking the door before laying the tip of a finger on the rose's petals.

"For it is in passing," I began, closing my eyes and falling swiftly into a trance. "That we achieve immortality."

 **XxXXxX**

I barely paid attention to the words I was speaking as the world unraveled into patterns of light and darkness. I saw Tukson, a body of color contained within a dim mortal shell. I saw the store around us, left marked by traces of the many lives that had passed through its door, however briefly. Light and power bubbled up from the ground beneath us and streamed down from the skies above, immense patterns painted on the sky, remnants of God only knows what.

And I felt the rose beneath my touch. It was a small and simple thing, a slowly growing light. It wasn't large and seemed unlikely to ever become so on its own—no, it was a rose out of season, grown only for its beauty and doomed from the start. A morbid thought, yet already I could feel the growing touch of death upon it, from its roots to its crimson blossom.

I looked past that, beyond the traces left on its physical form into what lay beneath. It was alive, of course, but in a way the felt different from how Tukson was alive—only natural, I suppose, due to the differences between plants and animals. Still, it _was_ alive and I could feel the light of it growing throughout its form, itself something strange yet familiar. I touched that light with my own, power flooding out of my and setting the structures of the rose alight with the bright color of my Aura, shining brightly even as it pooled somewhere deep within, filling it even as it burnt away what concealed its own light. In a sudden flood, red light flashed throughout its form, leaving it bright to senses and when I opened my eyes I saw that light sheathing its form for a moment before being draw back within.

 **Left Blooming Alone  
LV. 1  
?**

"Oh," I said after a moment. "It has a level and a title now."

For a moment, we were silent, as if waiting for something to happen. With the red light of its Aura drawn back within its mortal frame, the rose was left looking…exactly the same as before. I wasn't entirely sure what I was expecting, as simply awakening one's Aura didn't generally change who you are or what you looked like, but…

"Kind of anti-climactic," Tukson said, scratching an ear.

I was about to open my mouth to agree when I was distracted.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By connecting deeply with the living creatures of the world, the skill 'Natural Bond' has been created!**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By promoting life within plants, the skill 'Green Thumb' has been created!**

 **Natural Bond (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
By developing a connection with forms of life around you, a bond has been formed with the natural world. Only possible for those closely attuned to nature.  
Increase the effectiveness of Survival and Stealth by 10% in natural surroundings.  
Increase HP regeneration by 10 per minute in natural surroundings.  
Increase MP regeneration by 10 per minute in natural surroundings.  
Slightly increased closeness with natural life.  
Slightly increased resistance to natural poisons and diseases.  
Reduce all penalties from natural surroundings by 30%.**

 **Green Thumb (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The ability to promote life within plants through the usage of Aura (MP). By converting Aura into a usable form, plants can be made to grow and thrive. Only possible for those closely attuned to nature.  
Spend 1 MP to gift 1 Experience Point to target plant.  
Enhanced plants regain an additional 10 HP regeneration per hour after use for a number of hours equal to the skill's level.  
Increased closeness with plants.  
Cannot enhance plants beyond user's level.**

"—Oh," I mused, furrowing my brows.

"Something wrong?" Tukson asked as he noticed my expression.

"I…" I paused. "I have no idea. I got some new skills and…Give me a second."

Ignoring the fact that I _still_ didn't really know how the Hell 'closeness' worked—much less with _plants_ —the skills were pretty straightforward. Natural Bond seemed like a pretty damn good Passive technique, if one limited to, I assumed, places that weren't urbanized. Still, it wasn't hard to find places where the natural world reigned supreme in Remnant and as a Hunter especially, I was more than happy with the bonuses. As something that I didn't have to pay anything for, it was pretty great.

Green Thumb, however, left me a bit more confused. I mean, I _guess_ it made a certain kind of sense? I'd never actually considered how magically causing a plant to grow would manifest in terms of my power, but if we considered experience the trait of growing up, I supposed maybe it wasn't that odd? Presumably, causing some form of permanent growth in an unnatural way would take the form of either stat boosts or else leveling and I wasn't sure how stat boosts would be represent, since it would depend a great deal on the plant. Leveling as one grew up made sense with what I knew as well, even if I'd never considered it in such a way before; it certainly seemed to be the case with, at least, small children.

Except…to be honest, I had no idea what leveling up meant for anyone who wasn't me or a member of my party. _I_ gained five points every time I leveled up, in addition to a boost to my HP and MP, because I was a game character. I'd started at level one for presumably the same reason, even if that was 'usually' the level of babies and small children.

But other people didn't suddenly get points they could distribute however they wanted to improve themselves. No, more than that, they didn't truly have 'levels' to begin with; those were just markers that my power ascribed to them based on…what? Power? I wasn't sure. It might have had some relation to stats, but I didn't think that was all there was too it; if it did, and I assumed five stat points per level was the norm, then Adam should be far higher than the low forties. No, even beyond his stats, in the right situations Adam's power allowed him to hit far above his weight class, such as when he'd wiped out most of the Giant Nevermore's health in one hit. There was a charge time, but in terms of both stats and threat level, he was…

So I wouldn't say level was just because of stats, nor would I say it was solely because of how big a threat someone was—and the latter especially was something complex and situational, besides. Similarly, people besides me couldn't increase their levels solely by killing things and getting experience, so when they leveled up like Blake and Adam both had, what it meant was…

…I had no idea. The entire system was weird. It made a certain kind of sense when applied to _me_ , but for other people? Adam, Blake, and even _Penny_ all seemed stronger than their levels alone might indicate, but that could have just been because I had _no idea_ what their levels indicated.

So what the hell would it mean for a _plant_? Would it just make it grow to adulthood? What if I kept using it? If it reached adulthood at level, say, two, what would happen if I raised it to level ten? Or even higher?

Beyond that, converting MP directly to experience sounded really amazing—and it was, to an extent. But at level thirty, I now required _millions and millions_ of experience points to go up a level, which translated to…well, a lot of MP. The skill was only level one so the conversion ratio might change, but…

Well, even so, I was surprised by the existence of such a skill. Was it limited to plants? Balance-wise, I guess it would make sense if the use of such a skill was limited to things that were normally immobile and mindless, but…my power wasn't usually balanced. Still, I certainly hadn't found a way to use such a skill on myself…did that mean anything? Or…

I sighed and shook my head. I loved my power, truly I did, but sometimes I wished it came with an instruction manual or something.

Still, instead of wondering pointlessly, why not just see for myself? First off…

"Observe," I said focusing on the plant.

 **Race: Rose  
Sex: N/A  
Level: 1 Next LV: 00.0  
Age: 1  
STR: 0 DEX: 0  
VIT: 2 INT: 0  
WIS: 1 LUCK: 15  
Specials: Animasynthesis (Passive).  
Points: 0**

Not really surprising for a rose, I guessed, except for the Luck. The only thing that stood out about it was…

I tapped its special ability.

 **Animasynthesis (Passive)  
The absorption of shed Aura (MP) as a form of sustenance. For every point of Aura spent nearby, gain one experience point.  
Range: 1 meter.**

"Huh…" I mused, frowning. "But is that a Semblance or just something normal for awakened plants…"

Either way…would that mean it'd get double experience for each point I gave it? Already, I was thinking of ways to make use of such an ability—because I certainly spent enough MP to make such an ability useful. A meter wasn't that great range-wise, but there were ways around that. If I perhaps _wore_ the plant…I'd need to set it up carefully, but I could heal and sustain it, so there should be a way…perhaps if I attached it to my armor? If it absorbed the MP I burnt on a daily basis, it'd grow very quickly indeed. I had no idea what growing would _do_ for it, but it was a tempting idea. In a normal game, I'd assume there'd be some benefit, like some hidden bonus reward to getting it high enough or some special power. Here…I had no way of knowing and the skill itself didn't give an ability to actually _control_ plants, but I could make use of this somehow, I was sure. An Elemental, perhaps, or maybe…

I was getting ahead of myself. I shook my head again, focusing as I reached out to touch it and feed it my power—and then hesitated once more.

"No," I murmured. "If I'm going to do this, then why not…"

Why not go all the way? Or at least _try_ to? I could test the alternative later, but why not see how ridiculous this ability could be?

"Create Party," I said, continuing once the window had appeared. "Invite Rose."

I was sure if 'Rose' would be enough, but a window appeared in front of the plant, fading an instant later as the rose entered my party. I guess creatures that couldn't make the choice for themselves automatically consented to party invites?

And with it in my party…

"Green Thumb," I said, pouring most of my remaining MP into the rose. It shook for a moment before suddenly sprouting, twisting, and growing larger and larger. Roots speared through the plastic cup around it and shifted the bag as flowers blossomed and spread. Thorny stems fell to hang from the shelf, reaching—almost grasping—but finding little else to cling to.

 **Left Blooming Alone  
LV. 2  
?**

I looked at its profile again and smiled in satisfaction.

"Okay," Tukson mused. "Mildly less anticlimactic. Still kind of disappointing, though."

"Just wait," I said, smiling as I pulled the bag up around the plant's sides. It was far too big to fit completely inside of it anymore, but it made carrying it a bit easier even though I had to channel aura to keep it from punching holes through it. "I'm _interested_ , now. I've got no idea what this _means_ , much less what it could do, and I want to find out."

Tukson sighed.

"Just…tell me if it starts eating people so I have a chance to run away, okay?" He asked.

"Bah," I said. "You'd never escape. Before long, it'll be a higher level then you are."

"Wait, what?" Tukson asked, suddenly frowning. " _No_. What? You're joking, right?"

I chuckled and picked up my new project before turning to go.

"We'll get you to level twelve in no time, baby," I told it, smiling down at it. "See you later, Tukson."

The book trader sighed loudly, shaking his head, but he waved goodbye as I unlocked the door and left.

"I'll call you if I hear anything from our friends," He said, lifting his voice as I went.

"Thanks!" I shouted back, closing the door with a foot. My hands were full of the thorny plant, but looking down at it, I couldn't keep my smile from widening. "Left blooming alone, huh?"

My voice was softer now, gentle even though it probably couldn't understand anything I said.

"That's a pretty sad title for such a beautiful flower," I continued. "But I guess it's not the season for you, is it? Still, instead of being alone…why not spend some time with me? And maybe…let's see if we can find some more friends, okay?"

The rose shifted slightly, even though there was no wind.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Touch**

My parents were still busy with Hunter business when I went to the tower, so I concerned myself with my own matters. The rose was too large to carry comfortable in a bag anymore, so I addressed that first. Recalling the idea I'd had earlier, I equipped the armor I'd used while training with Adam and curled the plant around me. With another feeding to assist the process and some help from Crocea Mors to shape the metal into place, I was left with a number of 'metallic' shoots and stems curled decoratively around my armor, all leading to living roses around my collar and shoulders. Some healing here, feeding there, and liberal use of my power in its presence and it didn't seem bothered by being effectively planted in metal. Later, maybe I could design something more suited to the purpose, but for now, it seemed to work—and though I'd never really considered wearing flowers before, but seeing myself in it, I thought the rose armor was as least as cool as my onesie. My sisters would probably have liked it, at least.

That problem temporarily handled, I moved on to the next matter. I'd bought packages of most of the seed types they'd had available, if with more of a focus on the flowers then the fruit-bearing plants. The fact of the matter was that I just wasn't sure how Aura would mess with things and given that fruits were designed to be eaten—if not by people then by animals—I was wary of starting with them. With flowers, there was still the potential issue of pollination, but it seemed like a lesser risk compared to the possible ingestion of altered fruits.

Still, I'd have to keep a close eye on it, maybe build a greenhouse to act as a contained setting. I already had ideas in mind on what to test; I'd start by comparing different versions of the plants—there would need to be comparisons between ones enhanced early on, ones awakened in adulthood, those awakened young and grown artificially with Green Thumb, those grown with Green Thumb and then enhanced, on and on. I'd need to compare to a baseline, of course, but in time germination, pollination, and fertilization would all need to be tested and the effects on different plants compared.

For now, though, I mainly focused on precisely which seeds to begin with, taking out a few of several different types and storing the rest away in my inventory, before refocusing on my current project. My MP was running low from the awakening and the growth I incited, so I found a quiet place to get comfortable and meditated for a short time, even as I called up a number of skills to burn Aura for the roses. Crocea Mors remained alert in the metal of my armor, shifting it in response to new growth, both allowing it room and gently guiding it.

I noticed some oddities in the plant in the process as it seemed to grow accordingly, bits and pieces of it that should have been in the way shifted—or even shrinking—as it curled around me. Even normally important parts seemed to change…but then, it didn't truly _need_ any form of sustenance but me, did it? Absorbing the cast off light of my soul and profiting from my occasional healings, even systems that should have been vital were unneeded as it curled further and further around me in shifting steel designs. Then, was it growing that way deliberately?

Noting those changes and even more curious, I put off awakening another plant to grow the rose further, letting the steel around me writhe. I guided it away from places that might inhibit my movements and the plant itself seemed to respond to that, paths of growth shifting slightly—not like it was moving a limb, truly, but more like the directions it grew weren't random. I felt prickles as thorns grew, but my armor simply shifted to compensate and between my Vitality, Aura, and various skills, it didn't hurt much to begin with. Getting out of the armor would be a bit tricky, but I could still untangle the vines, stems, and branches. For now, I was just curious to see how much the rose would grow—and how much it _could_ grow.

But I held myself back. Now wasn't the time or place for pushing that particular limit, much as the question cried out to be answered, so I lay the matter somewhat reluctantly aside and moved on. Since the armor's weight was negligible to me now, I drew out some spare metal from my Inventory and drew it over me, hiding the thorns while letting the flowers remain. There was probably a joke or comparison to be taken from that, but I didn't bother, and with the most attention drawing features of my armor gone, I just…

Well. I just sort of wandered, keeping to my thoughts

It actually took me a minute to realize I had nothing else to do. I'd thanked and touched based with Tukson, begun my desired experiment, and…that's pretty much all I'd had planned for my day in Vale. Without room to experiment, I just didn't have a lot else to do, much less on short notice. Tukson was busy, Blake and Adam were gone, and my parents were preoccupied, which left me more or less friendless and alone. I didn't really know anyone else in town, except maybe Junior, and even that was mainly just a business arrangement. I knew the Faunus I'd saved, I supposed, but I couldn't risk drawing attention to them by meeting them as Jian Bing and they wouldn't recognize Jaune Arc.

I guess I just didn't know a lot of people anymore. I didn't really think of myself as cold or unsociable—socially _awkward_ , maybe, but that was different—and I certainly didn't mind people; my mom had always told me that strangers were just friends I hadn't met yet and I'd tried to live by that. It's just…I…I was _busy_. My power allowed me to train around the clock so…I did. I hadn't had a lot of _close_ friends before, admittedly, but I'd been friendly enough with my classmates—but when I'd gained this power, it had simply taken priority. I mean, this was my dream come true. Could anyone blame me for giving it my full attention? Would anyone else have done differently?

I liked having friends, of course; I mean, who didn't? I was kind of proud that I'd managed to reach out to Blake and Adam, to the people I'd saved, even to _Penny_. It's just that I didn't mind being alone anymore, either, because I could always train, could always improve myself. For me, someone who'd always been weak…I was fine working constantly for two weeks or two months or even two _years_. And if someone came up to me or I came across them, I would reach out—but that didn't happen a whole lot while running around a forest. Even with the people I was friends with, it didn't really bother me if Adam and Blake went off to do something and left me behind. I didn't like being _truly_ alone, but in the same way I knew that my parent's and sister's frequent absences didn't mean they didn't love me, I understood that there was more to friendship then proximity. Added to the fact that I had my Elementals to keep me company and I was never really alone anyway.

Did that make me seem distant? I knew I'd kind of blown off a lot of my school life when my powers had set in and I'd be dropping out of school soon, too, but I really didn't _mind_ anybody and I'd never be against making friends. If I saw some of my classmates, or even people on the street, wounded, I'd heal them. If I saw someone looking sad, I'd ask what was wrong. I just got…wrapped up in things. May parents understood that. So had Blake and Adam.

Right?

I sighed. This is why I prefer keeping busy. I don't know if it was just me or a result of being an INT and WIS focused character, but my thoughts just tended to wander.

Screw it.

"Levant, Suryasta, Xihai, Vulturnus," I murmured quietly and calling my Elementals to my side. I didn't manifest them, but I didn't need to in order to see them when they appeared, reclining in various states of ease on the surround architecture. I didn't say anything and I didn't have to, but as I continued my walk through the city, I saw them whenever I looked up. Not necessarily nearby, oftentimes just looking at the city or the people in it, but always there and that put me at ease. When my aimless wanderings took me down a dark alley and through one of the worse parts of town, it didn't both me for a moment. In fact, I just found a place to sit and watched people pass me by.

Oddly enough, even the few people walking the darkening streets didn't come near me.

It was probably the roses, I thought with a smile, cheek resting on a fist as I rolled a seed between the thumb and forefinger of my other hand. I pondered it absently, noting it was a Zinnia, and chuckled to myself. Since no one else was around and the armor covered my face besides…

"To absent friends," I said, lifting it a tad as it grew into a small flower, roots curled about my covered fingers. I coaxed them away, draw the flower up to the blossom into my armor gently touched the white petals with a finger, quietly falling into a trance as I worked to draw out the light within it. It was glowing a gentle white as I opened my eyes to check on it before returning to my meditation, drawing in power. I saw the rose, roots and stems growing through my armor in a color distinct from both my own and the new flower. After a moment though, I felt something shift and change, like…like a drop of coloring diluting in water, except upwards. The dim white of the new flower mixed with brighter red of the rose, starting a shift where they touched that grew out from their connection, quickening as Crocea Mors shifted to make room.

I drew myself from my focus carefully, looking down at the new plant with a slight frown. Already, it's coloring—it very _shape_ —was shifting closer towards…a rose? Something new?

I looked above it and then at my rose, finding the same words above both.

 **Who Would Inhabit This Bleak World Alone?  
LV 4  
?**

 **Race: Plant Amalgam  
Sex: N/A  
Level: 4 Next LV: 37.2  
Age: 1  
STR: 2 DEX: 1  
VIT: 3 INT: 2  
WIS: 5 LUCK: 15  
Specials: Animasynthesis LV. 5 (Passive), Green Binder LV. 1 (Active & Passive)  
Points: 15**

"Well," I mused, pondering the plant—plants?-thoughtfully. " _You're_ good at making friends, obviously."

I reached out to check the changed skills when a whisper of wind touched my face. I looked up to see Levant suddenly sitting next to me, eyes staring down the street.

"Levant?" I asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

She turned her gaze back to me, float up to my ear with no other motion. When she spoke, it wasn't with her mental voice but as actual sound, carried on the wind. I looked up to see Vulturnus stretched idly atop a lamppost, unbothered by it being a Hologram. Xihai stood at the edge of a drain, eyes closed as water rushed beneath her. Suryasta stood behind me when I looked back, his demeanor at once reminiscent of a fire about to start and the works mankind had drawn from the flames—dangerously and restrained.

"Okay," I said, patting Levant's head as I rose. She smiled slightly, a simple, gentle expression not at all fitting with the sounds that had come from her lips. "Let's go see, then."

 **XxXXxX**

It probably went without saying that cities were noisy. With thousands and thousands and thousands of people living their lives, it was only natural for it to be loud. Even beyond what was immediately audible, though, there was a lot to be heard in even out of the way places, if your ears were good enough.

Levant's were. Or rather, as an Air Elemental, she didn't need ears to begin with. Because all the air within a rather large volume was under her influence, she could 'hear' things simply by the vibrations they left in the medium. She could _feel_ sound in a way far beyond all but the most exceptional creatures or machines could perceive.

Granted, a lot of the things she heard, she probably just ignored. As I said, in a place like a city, there were a lot sounds and most of them probably didn't mean anything to her. Levant was the wind, old beyond reckoning despite her young appearance, and, in her 'life' before becoming my Elemental, had probably born witness to the rise and fall of empires, great loves and betrayals, and countless acts of heroism and depravity alike—but what did any of those things matter to the wind?

Hell, from the perspective of the Elements, Mankind was a new fad—and, between the Grimm and ourselves, probably not one that would stick around too much longer. Even if the wind somehow _did_ have a mind of its own, some strange form of awareness independent of its summoning, what reason did it have to care if we laughed or cried, suffered or rejoiced?

But I cared about those things. And Levant cared that I cared.

So when she heard, amidst the countless noises of the city, the sound of people suffering, she whispered them to me—and I acted. It wasn't a single sound, not even close; the sad truth was that in a city as large as Vale, there were countless people suffering in ways _beyond_ counting. There were people weeping over broken hearts, people drinking to numb the pain, addicts shaking and wasting away in back alleys, sounds of violence, the results of accidents, sickness, poverty, hunger—

There were a lot of people in pain. I knew mentally that it was nothing in the grand scheme of things, that only a tiny fraction of the population was suffering at any given time—but _a_ fraction was suffering _all_ the time. The faces changed, the reasons changed, but someone was always getting hurt, whether by others or themselves or things that no one could control. And there…there were so many. Another horrible truth was that you couldn't save everyone; you couldn't even _help_ everyone. There were lots of reasons, from situational factors to opportunity costs to countless other things, but you couldn't. You couldn't even come _close_. I knew that the moment I heard a hundred voices in pain, listened to a wave of suffering so immense that individuals were dragged under and erased. There was nothing I could do to help them all.

But not being able to help everyone, I reckoned, was no reason not to try to help as many as you could, nor did it lessen the value _of_ helping people.

So I tried. From sound alone, much less the wash of different voices Levant brought to my ears, it was impossible to determine who was most in need or where they were or who should be helped in what order. This was, I realized a bit belatedly, my first time truly out in the city with Levant, to say nothing of the first time she was doing this. She was trying to help but I don't think she really knew _how_ ; she knew that people were in pain, but I wasn't certain she completely understood the concept and I, her main link to the human experience, probably wasn't the best example to learn from in that regard. Neither Levant or I would be bothered, or even truly wounded, by say…a few bullets or a car wreck, so what did either of those things mean to Levant? She wasn't truly alien, she was intelligent and capable of learning, but this…this was something she'd had neither experience with nor use for.

So instead, she just relayed _everything_ , knowing I didn't like it when people were in pain. And that told me a lot, but not really what I needed to do something about it. Later, perhaps, I could teach Levant how to distinguish between and decide the value of targets, but for now…for lack of any better option, I just asked her to cut down her range, limiting the number of voices to those closest before letting her guide me to specific voices. I spent a moment listening and heard something very…familiar, picking it out amidst the noise.

She pointed and I followed.

 _There,_ She spoke into my mind, distant and gentle at once. Even without her words, I could hear the sounds of crying from within the alley and it seemed like I wasn't the only one—but I meet the severe looking man's eyes calmly and said nothing as I continued forward, making him hesitate.

Level six, I noted absently as I stopped before him, skimming his profile with a moment's focus. A past record and some time…I'd like to hope for the best from those around me, but given the circumstances…

"Leave, Ecru," I said with a sigh, gesturing dismissively as I dropped his name. "You don't even want to try."

And then, just in case, I added.

"I'll handle this."

The man paused at my words and gave me a once over—but I couldn't imagine the streets of Vale were especially kind to those inclined to harass a strangely dressed passerby. He saw the armor, the roses, and how I held myself and wordlessly decided to be elsewhere. I watched him leave calmly and then walked down the alleyway.

"Hello?" I said, though I knew full well where they were. "Are you okay?"

The crying went belatedly silent, dropping into frightened, shaking breaths. I gave them a moment before moving with slow steps into their view. Curled together beside a cardboard box someone had put in the alley were a boy and girl, hands and faces smudged and dirtied with the general grim of this part of the city. Matching blonde hair and brown eyes made me think they were related, which I confirmed with a glance above their heads. Twins of some kind, most likely; though the sister looked a fair bit taller, she'd probably just hit a growth spurt already.

"Hello," I said again, tone gentle as I crouched slowly. I made sure to stay far enough away that they weren't in easy reach, trying to allay their worries. "Are you okay?"

Neither said a word, clinging tighter to one another as they watched me with wary, fearful eyes. It seemed like a rather extreme reaction; I'd have figured the flowers would have allayed _some_ of their suspicion. It worried me enough to press a bit harder.

"You're Johannes and Margaret Wild, right?" I asked, taking a chance by saying their names. "Your parents must be worried sick."

"You know us?" Johannes asked before his sister hushed him.

"No they aren't," She said venomously. "She _left_ us here."

I frowned.

"Did she now?" I murmured. That…what that implied made this more complicated. Beyond what I could easily deal with, honestly, but… "Then it's worse than I thought. Still, you can't very well stay _here_. This isn't much of a place for children; if someone besides me had found you…"

And someone almost had, I thought. I wasn't sure if they were lucky or if _I_ was, but I couldn't leave them here.

"And _who_ are _you_?" Margaret nearly sneered, a surprising amount of bitterness in her voice.

I only hesitated for a moment before shifting my armor subtly with Crocea Mors and lifting my helmet.

"The name's Jaune Arc," I said, smiling at them. "I'm a Hunter. Er, well, I'm training to be one. I help people. Like…like this. Here, I won't hurt you."

I lifted a hand for them to see before slowly extending it toward, just one finger extended. I paused as they cringed away slightly, halting until they relaxed, before gently poking the boy and healing my. Minor scratches and bruises closed and a bit of color returned to his cheeks. He let out a little sound of astonishment, his sister staring at him with wide, astonished eyes. I smiled at her warmly and held out a hand to her, waiting as she deliberated before touching her fingers to my own, healing her when she did.

"See?" I said, trying to sound cheerful to distract them from the situation. "Good as new, right?"

"I…" Margaret hesitated for a moment before drawing her hand back to her chest, looking nervous. "It…it doesn't matter…"

It was hard to remain smiling hearing her say that, the dejected quality in her voice nearly dragging it from my face—but I pressed on, trying to look calm and kind and serene.

"Sure it does," I said. "We don't want you or your brother getting hurt now, do we?"

"It doesn't _matter_ ," She insisted, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "We're—"

"It'll be okay," I said soothingly. I wanted to reach out and pat her head, but no—I kept out of her space, kept my hands still and where she could see them. "I promise. I'll handle it."

" _You,_ " She demanded. "What are you going to do about _this_?"

She gestured vaguely. At what, I had no idea. As it happened, I didn't really know what to do about this situation, either, besides taking it to the police. I mean, sure, there was a part of me that wanted to go hero of justice and track down the parents that had apparently abandoned their child, but that wouldn't actually _help_ the kids—and there was a chance, however slight, that this was a misunderstanding. Either way, though, the wise thing to do would be to take this to the VPD, which is what I intended to do.

But…should I just pick them up and haul them to the police? I could probably do it pretty easily and it'd be the fastest way—but I didn't want to. Looking at them, seeing how they'd reacted to my presence, I could see how alone and scared they were and I wanted to…

"Well, I'll help you, of course," I claimed. "I may look a bit odd, but I'm a bit of a hero, you see. Like…like…"

I searched for an example they'd recognize and smiled.

"Like X-ray," I said.

"But you don't even look as strong as Vav," Johannes said with innocent skepticism that made me flinch. His eyes widened. "Wait, I'm sorry!"

"It's…" I sighed to myself as I slouched. "It's okay. I…I guess it was kind of arrogant of me to compare myself to X-ray in the first place…"

Johannes looked sad for me, to the point that I thought he might cry again. Margaret just looked at me like she thought I was very, very sad.

"But…" I continued, pulling myself together. "Believe it or not, I really try my best to help people. I found you that way, you know; I was patrolling for those in need."

" _Really_ ," Johannes asked, amazed.

"Really," I said solemnly. "I keep on the lookout for anyone I can help."

"Prove it," Margaret said, seemingly on the verge of rolling her eyes.

"Uh," I said before thinking for a moment. "Okay. I actually detected several other distress signals in the nearby vicinity. There's even one…"

I paused to glance at Levant.

"Over _there_ ," I pointed in the same direction as her, standing to hurry towards it. Johannes scurried quickly after me, causing Margaret to rise in alarm and swear like _sailor_.

But she followed both of us out of the alley and into another one a ways down the other side of the street. I paused at the entryway, scanning the filthy but seemingly empty alley with a slight frown.

"…There's no one here," Margaret said, panting just a bit as she caught up to us and looked around. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

I ignored that, listening as Levant amplified the sound of paining breathing. She'd made it loud enough that I hadn't realized it before, but I probably should have guessed, given what Levant was doing—and if I followed the direction…

I got down on my belly and peered under the old dumpster, squinting against the shadows.

"Hey, little guy," I cooed, Observing it. It was a small dog, hidden in the shadows and the filth and looking…awful. Filthy, hungry, sick, wounded…he looked terrible. I think he was one of the Atlesian breeds, maybe a husky or something, but I didn't have much of an eye for dogs. It could have been a mutt, too, I guess, but whatever it was it must have been on the streets for a while now though it barely looked capable of taking care of itself. A glance at its status effects…

Definitely sick. The injuries it had taken fighting…whatever it had fought were infected, as were its ears and parts of its skin. It had worms, fleas—the list went on and on and got worse as it did. I was honestly amazed it had survived this long—it must have been really lucky, especially to have lasted long enough to meet me.

Or, I wondered not for the first time, was this _my_ Luck.

It didn't matter. I placed a hand on the underside of the dumpster and lifted it absently so I could see under it better, making the children gasp—at me or the dog I wasn't sure—and causing the puppy to growl, a surprisingly fierce sound, if one full of pain.

"Shh," I said soothingly. "It's okay. It's okay."

I lifted a hand, reaching towards it but its growl merely got louder. It didn't try to move or run, probably incapable at this point, but it didn't stop, either.

"You're a fighter, huh?" I said in the same voice, pausing as I reached out. The armor had been designed with Crocea Mors' gauntlets in mind and without them, my hands were bare.

Probably for the best, I thought as I turned off my Metal Aura and Hide. If my hands had been armored, it might hurt itself.

I reached out to touch the dog and was unsurprisingly bitten—but it was so weak it didn't really hurt even without several of my defenses. As it held onto me, I gently brushed its snout with a thumb and began healing it. I stayed like that for a moment, supporting the dumpster and gently stroking the dog as it healed, but after a moment it let go of me on its own, allowing me to scratch its muzzle and then its ears. After a moment, I was even able to gently coax it out and lower the dumpster again.

The little dog sniffed my face once and began licking it as I finished up the last of its healing, looking healthy again, if still dirty and missing a lot of hair. Even so, as I picked it up and cradled it gently, I saw some of the hardness in Margaret's expression melt away.

"Fine," She admitted, grudgingly. "I guess it hard to believe you're a complete asshole when you've got roses and puppies."

I smiled at that, scratching the dog's belly absently even as I wondered when a prepubescent girl learned to swear so easily. I probably wouldn't like the answer.

"Do you do this all the time?" Johannes asked, looking exceedingly impressed. "Save kids and puppies?"

"Not all the time," I admitted honestly after a moment of thought. "But whenever I can, I suppose."

"Are you…" Margaret asked, looking abruptly uncertain. "Are you going to take us back to our parents?"

I looked at her for a moment, judging her reactions.

"No," I said. "Not if they left you here. But I'll take you to people who can help you. Will you go with me to the police?"

She was still for a moment before nodding, moving so I could walk passed her, following me with her bother in hand a moment later.

"Hey, Mr.," Johannes said after a moment. "Does your radar pick up anyone else who needs saving?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Detect**

An hour or so later, I was waiting in the police office lobby with a lap full of dog. Healthy or not, he shook and panted hard, frightened by the presence of so many people, and probably would have reacted violently had I not continued to pet it and whisper softly. As long as I did that, he seemed content to stay put, though I had to keep petting him to stop him from growling—and I was thus left sitting with a dog on top of me. He wasn't _heavy_ or anything, but he did seem pretty certain that there was no justifiable excuse for me not petting him or moving or anything.

We weren't alone, of course. The kids sat beside me, legs swinging freely, and then there were a few others in seats throughout the room. After picking up Johannes, Margaret, and the dog, I'd meandered in the general direction of the closest police station, pausing somewhat frequently to address anything Levant alerted me to. Because Levant didn't distinguish based on the degree—or even _species_ —that meant progress had been fairly slow, but…

Well, I helped a fair amount of people, I think. I'd seen a lot, too—from a man suffering from arthritis have trouble walking down the street to a domestic dispute I'd interrupted. I'd healed the man and he'd been on his way, but in the latter case…well, things like that were more complicated.

I'd broken and entered, kind of. Well, really, I'd just sort of unlocked the door with Crocea Mors and opened it to get a good look at what was going on, interrupted with a pretty lame 'I guess it was unlocked,' and taken some pictures with my scroll. Nothing huge or anything, but I made it clear I knew what was going on and didn't like it and having someone barge in like that…well, that changes things. I hadn't shouted or threatened or thrown a punch—this really was a matter for the police, after all, and such a thing would just complicate things for them legally—but I'd stood my ground calmly. When I'd seen the thought of threatening me or beating me down cross his mind, I stared at him until he thought twice.

Then I'd left with the victim, talked to her about coming with me to face the police, and had eventually brought her along. Things had continued along that vein; Levant led me to a cat with a broken leg and I healed it. She led me to a minor car accident and I'd fixed a small concussion. There was a drunken man getting sick outside a bar who I'd done my best to fix up and get sober before letting him go on his way. Besides the abandoned children and domestic abuse, there had been a few other things that seemed important, but a lot of them weren't really the type of thing I thought I should interfere with directly, especially at such a time. I'd tell the police about a building I was pretty sure was being used by dealers, because if I went in myself I'd probably make legal action harder. There were a few other places I'd noted but…

Well, maybe a part of Wisdom was knowing not just how to act but _when_ to act? That's what I thought, at least.

Regardless, with a few exceptions most of it was fairly small stuff, especially in comparison to the White Whale incident—but I still thought of it as pretty important to help people in need, even if they weren't being held slaves.

Still…as worthwhile as it had been, my actions today had been inefficient. I'd never really considered its use for this particular purpose before, but my power was well-equipped to handle stuff like this, I just lacked any experience doing so—something I'd need to correct. But really, between my Elemental's senses, Observe, and my other abilities, I could pretty easily help people this way as well. No, even beyond that, just my ability to see people's titles…

I supposed it wasn't really surprising given the nature of my power, but sometimes it still surprised me a little how many ways I had to help people. With my ability to adapt and excel in any situation given enough time…it was really more of a question of what I _should_ do then what I _could_ do. Though I'd dismissed them as empty words before gaining this power, my Mom had always said I could become whatever I wanted. Now, I guess that was factually accurate. It wouldn't be immediate, but if I dedicated myself to something hard enough for long enough, my skills should let me become a master in any field. The only question was _which_ field.

What I wanted more than anything else, what I'd always wanted, was to be a Hunter and defend the world for the monsters at our door—and that was a good choice in a lot of ways, I thought, because our history was all too full of nations that had succumbed to the darkness. In time, I could become a legendary warrior, push back the beasts, and slay even the most deadly of monsters as I helped further the borders of Mankind. I had no idea what my limits were in the long run—in a year, two years, a decade…when I was my father's age, what would I be capable of? I couldn't even guess. But being the slayer of monsters and defender of the innocent was a good choice and one that let me go further by gaining experience quickly.

But there were other problems in the world besides the monsters, and I…I could fight them, too. I could become an investigator easily, even with just my passive skills; I could Observe the details on evidence, gauge suspects, watch out for titles, and hunt down the monsters _inside_ the system. As a healer, if I continued on this path I'd be able to cure any disease, close any wound, save countless lives with but a touch. I could probably develop some sort of political skill, too, if I figured out how; perhaps I could even help unite the Humans and the Faunus. Or maybe I could build technological wonders if I focused on Craft, advance Mankind that way.

I could become _any_ of those things. Maybe _all_ of those things. But what was the right choice? Even if I could do everything, I couldn't do everything at the same time, so what should I focus on and when. I had the chance, especially while I was still at relatively low levels, to shape my entire destiny, but into what? I knew that I was far from the only sixteen year old with uncertainty about the future—but with power like mine, the choices I made could affect so many…

I sighed quietly.

But even with my Wisdom high as it was, I wasn't certain about all the choices I was making for my _own_ life; I don't think I was up to weighing the implications all of my actions and decisions might have far in the future—and if even the short time since I gained my powers had proven anything, it was that I had no idea what the future held, for me or anyone else. For now, I should just—

"Jaune Arc, right?"

I looked up to see a man in a neat suit with salt and pepper hair. Several officers, detectives, and lawyers had filed in and out since I reported what happened to people I'd brought in, but this one was new and…familiar, maybe?

"That's me," I said, patting the dog to indicate why I didn't stand. I looked at him inquisitively for a moment, trying to place his face. "Do I know you, sir?"

"I…think we met once or twice, yeah," He said with a smile, leaning against the side table to my left. "Name's Delrick Albion; I worked with your mom and dad a few times. Last time was about…a year and a half ago, I suppose? They invited me over a few times so we might have seen one another. To be honest, though, I recognized you because you look a lot like your father. Your parents know you're here?"

"Already sent them a message," I nodded. "Kind of surprised they aren't here yet, actually, but they got called in for something earlier. Must have turned out bigger than they expected."

"That happens, yeah," Albion said, looking over me closely. He didn't comment on the armor or the roses, but if he'd worked with my parents, he'd probably seen weirder. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, sir," I replied. "Just here for emotional support, really."

"Yeah?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow as he looked over my little group. Sini drew away, looking elsewhere, while Levi—a young man I'd picked up who seemed to be having problems with his life in general—stared at him nervously.

Margaret, in contrast, looked really bored, her brother already sleeping in the chair next to her.

"Our mom left us in an alley," She said, the words slightly bitter but otherwise without inflection. She could have been talking about a sudden rain shower for all it colored her tone with annoyance.

Albion raised an eyebrow at that, glancing at me as I sighed. I nodded at him in confirmation.

"One sec," He said, pushing off the wall to wander off for a minute. When he returned, he was idly flipping through something, brow furrowed. He must have been a fast reader, though, because he finished the rest of it in a few more seconds, and then sighed. "Busy day, huh?"

I shrugged.

"What were you doing that close to the FF, anyway?" He questioned. "The HQ is in midtown."

"Keeping busy while my parents were held up," I said honestly. "Ended up wandering."

"Up North?" He asked, eyebrow going up again. It didn't really look like he was suspicious but more…well, more like he was looking at a member of my family.

"Mom's been training me, lately," I said defensively. "There wasn't a whole lot else to do on short notice."

"Ah," His expression cleared as if the words explained everything, though he looked at me with enough worry that I assume he knew my mother. "Well, whatever the case, it's a good thing you were there. Your parents will probably be here—"

"Woo!" I heard my dad shout, door slamming wide open to reveal his grinning face. "If it isn't DA the DA! How you doing, Rick?"

Mr. Albion rolled his eyes but smiled a tad fondly.

"Jack," He said. "I was just telling your boy here that he did a good job. It seems he spent his day actually being a productive member of society."

"Ugh, _why_?" My dad asked, expression pulling back. "I'd heard you were downtown and hoped you'd had _fun_ or something."

"Helping people _is_ fun, Dad," I chided.

He snorted, but gave me a smile as he rustled my hair, sending the dog in my lap growling.

"Oh," He said, looking down at it. "You pick up a puppy, Jaune?"

He reached towards it and was promptly bitten for the attempt, which did nothing but amuse him further.

"What is it?" He asked. "An Atlesian?"

"I think so," I shrugged. "Don't know a lot about dogs, though."

"It is," Albion said surely, not even giving the dog another glance. He'd shifted his attention to look at each of the people I'd brought in in turn, observing them closely.

"It likes you a lot, whatever the case," My dad continued, glancing over my armor with a small smile. "You heal it?"

I glanced at Mr. Albion, a bit surprised he'd bring that up here. I mean, I wasn't really hiding it since I'd used it liberally, but…

He probably knew what he was doing, I thought, trusting him.

"Yeah," I said and saw Albion's eyebrows go up. "He was in a pretty sorry state when I found him."

"My son's been practicing to be a healer," My dad bragged to his friend easily. "Gonna be the best in Vale before you know it. How bad?"

I hesitated for a moment before rattling off a quick list of what he'd suffered from, making my Dad's smug grin widen.

"You got the flowers too, I see." He noted, surprising me again. "You want me to talk to your mother about keeping the dog?"

"Uh," I said, brow furrowing as I looked down at the puppy. I was surprised he would bring up something like this here, but…

I scratched the dog's ears and it panted happily, lifting a paw to pant it against my chest.

"Sure," I said at least. "I mean…yeah. Um, but…"

My dad snorted.

"Rick's got good eyes," He said meaningfully—or perhaps _warningly_? "It's why he's so good at what he does."

"Why thank you," Albion said, bright green eyes fading abruptly to a more worn color. "I was going to mind my own business, though, Jack."

" _You_?" Jacques Arc laughed. "And nah, I was gonna speak to you at some point, anyway. Wanted to talk to you about my boy here."

"Oh?" Albion said, casting an easy glance around. "Shall we talk in my office, then?"

 **XxXXxX**

"You'll be okay?" I asked, kneeling beside the children. "You're sure?"

Margaret almost rolled her eyes. My dad and Mr. Albion had left to discuss matters in the latter's office, so I'd remained with what I considered my charges. Well, really, all I'd been able to do was sit beside them and wait as the police did their jobs, giving reassuring nods when they were called into offices to speak in private. Sini had been called in first, thankfully, and after all the physical evidence was recorded I was finally allowed to heal her. She gave her statements, handed over all her contact information, and had her relatives were contacted, one of whom swung by to pick her up. Levi's issues were…well, more complicated due to both his own history and that of his family, but I vouched for him as best I was able.

All in all, though, they were private matters and I wasn't allowed to listen to what went on behind closed doors—and, more than that, _didn't_ listen out of respect for their privacy and the sensitivity of the issue. I trusted the police to be able to handle it and to do all they could.

Except…

Well, given the circumstances it came as no surprise but Johannes and Margaret had their parent's called in for the investigation. Naturally, stories would need to be taken, evidence gathered, social workers would probably be involved, among who knows what else—I understood it was a complex issue made even more complex by the apparently conflicting claims of the parents. But…it was still worrying, that they were being asked to enter the same room as their parents now. I knew mentally that nothing would happen in a police office and the officer who'd come to speak to Margaret had made it clear she didn't have to face them yet if she didn't want to, but…

"It's nothing," She said confidently, sounding for all the world like she meant it despite the somewhat nervous motions of her fingers. "I ain't scared."

"Do you need me to—" I began to offer before she _did_ roll her eyes.

" _Go_ ," She insisted and I rose hesitantly, still carrying the now sleeping puppy.

"I'll ask my Dad and Mr. Albion if I can call later and make sure you're okay," I promised as I shifted Johannes into a more comfortable looking position where he slept beside his sister.

"Whatever," She said, though it almost sounded like a thank you. I sighed quietly and nodded at her before leaving.

I barely made it out of the waiting room before I heard my name.

"Jaune," My Dad smiled. "You done?"

I scratched my head and nodded, if a tad uncertainly. My dad laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Don't worry; I'm sure they'll be fine," He said. "You did good, son."

"Mr. Albion told you?" I asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"Rick told me what you did, yeah," He said, bobbing his head. "But you gotta understand—sometimes you have to do the best you can and trust others to do the same. You knew your limits and that's good, so leave this to the VPD, okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…" I struggled to find the words.

"I know," He said, understanding as I knew he would. "As a Hunter, Jaune…the future's always uncertain; you know that as well as people twice your age."

I nodded.

"But we face it, even if it looks bleak and it seems hard to find the light," He continued. "We face the unknown, fight the monsters, and risk our lives; that's what being a Hunter _means_. But we do it all for the sake of others, to protect people and try to create a brighter future for them. Facing danger and uncertainty for that…how could we _not_? When it's something for us to bear in place of others, we'll face danger proudly. And yet…sometimes it's not. Sometimes we _can't_ protect them—and even when we can, we can't protect them _forever_. You can spend a month guarding a village and slay any Grimm that comes close, but what will happen after you leave them behind and go protect someplace else?"

"There's no way of knowing," I said quietly.

He nodded.

"So we do the only thing we can," My father said. "We do _everything_ we can. We fight hard and we protect them with our lives and work together and we hold onto hope even when it's hard. And it can get _very_ hard, son; no matter what anyone says, it's not easy to believe, much less to trust people you don't even know with the lives of people you _do_."

He nodded back in the direction of the children and at the police that must have been with them now.

"But even if we don't know each other, so long as we share the same goals and hopes and dreams, that's enough. No matter where we come from or what brought us together, whether we're Hunters or Soldiers or Policemen, we fight to protect people. When you grow up and have to fight, when lives are on the line and you stand beside people you barely know, remember that it doesn't matter how they got here, only why they came. And that applies here, too. You're worried about them, about their parents and their futures and it's scarier than facing danger yourself because you can protect yourself and they can't. But you brought them to the police for a reason and you can trust them to handle things, right? Being a Huntsman means you've gotta be strong, but it doesn't mean you have to be able to do everything yourself. That's why we work in teams."

I nodded but stayed silent for a minute.

"Is that why you spoke to Mr. Albion?" I asked, looking at him closely. "Because you want me to work with them? I…well, I don't mind, but…"

I didn't mention that I'd worked with Blake and Adam, because I was pretty sure I didn't have to. My Dad's lips twitched.

"Nah, that's something different," He said before giving me a meaningful glance. "Though getting some experience working with the police and making friends wouldn't hurt. Neither would some experience with this kind of business."

I nodded, understanding.

"But I'm not too worried about you in that regard," He said, ruffling my hair. "It's just important for us all to be reminded now and then—it's okay to worry, but it's okay to have faith, too. For those of us who are powerful especially, it can be hard to remember that just because you can stand alone doesn't mean you have to. Even if we have gotten told a thousand times already, _God_."

I chuckled a little at that, smiling up at my old man.

"Not an issue for me," I said. "I know I've got a long, long way to go."

"Maybe, kid," He shrugged at me, lips twitching. "But you'll get there eventually. Just remember you don't have to protect everyone by yourself. "

I nodded and we were both silent for a minute as we walked through the darkened streets.

"I want to do more than just protect people," I said suddenly. "Because I know I can't be everywhere, can't save everyone. I know nothing I do will ever truly change that fact, too. But…if they'll be safe only because I'm there and be in danger if I'm gone, that's stupid, isn't it? I know I'll be gone eventually, so…I want to help keep them safe, even if I'm gone. That's why…"

He chuckled and put a hand on my head without ruffling it.

"I know. But that's gonna be a lot of work, even when you do get it cheap enough and it won't fix anywhere close to everything. And just getting that far…you told me how hard it would be." He said seriously before suddenly pulling me close with an arm. I had to adjust the dog in my arms to keep him from being squished between us and he let out a chuffing breath in his sleep. "Well, but…I know you'll do it eventually, Jaune, even if it is difficult."

I huffed a bit from beneath his arm, though I wasn't really upset.

"Of course, Dad," I asked. "I already know I can do it, so why would I ever give up?"

He laughed, messing with my hair again.

"That's the spirit," He said. "Anyway, I talked to Rick and…hm. Am I getting you to help him or him to help you?"

He seemed to muse over that for a moment before shrugging with a smile.

"Well, I arranged for you two to help each other, how about that?" He asked. "You should be able to learn a fair bit from him; fighting's not really his specialty, but there's a reason he was put in charge of so much stuff. I was gonna talk to him eventually but since you were here anyway…Well, you're old enough for some of the work and he can pull a few strings. It'll get you some experience or, you know, explain a few things."

I nodded.

"Although," He mused. "It'll have to wait until after your Mother's done with you. And Mistral, of course. And I said I'd bring you along on a mission or two. Your mother will probably think of something else for you to do, too…wow, I guess you're pretty busy, huh, Jaune?"

"You say it as if it had nothing to do with you…" I shook my head but didn't both trying to fight the smile. "It's fine, though."

I let the silence return for a moment before sighing deeply.

"So," I said at last. "How are we gonna explain the dog to mom?"

"I figured you'd just awaken its Aura, bring it home, and not even acknowledge that anything was different," My dad replied like it was nothing. "They say it's better to beg for forgiveness then ask for permission, right? Personally, I never saw a lot of point in apologizing unless you made things worse, though. And really, if there were explosives wired throughout the entire building, odds were it was gonna end up exploding eventually, anyway."

I looked at him for a long moment and then sighed again.

That explained a few things, but…

"Yeah, okay," I said, looking down at the sleeping bundle in my arms.

 **Just A Dog  
LV 1  
?**

I laid a hand on the dog's head and closed my eyes, reaching out to the light trapped within him with now long-since practiced ease. I muttered the words under my breath but barely heard them as light flared and burst forth, shining trails outlining a weakened mortal form and feeding it power. It shone brightly beside my own and felt…different from a humans, more tactile in a way I wasn't entirely sure how to describe. But I drew myself away from it, drawing a deep breath as I looked at the somewhat startled looking pooch, who let out tiny squeaking barks as his head swiveled and he looked around. I scratched him behind the ears to calm him down and he immediately quieted.

I gave him another once over.

 **Mystic Dog  
LV 1  
?**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through close bonds and a steady hand, the skill 'Beast Tamer' has been created!**

"Not bad," My dad said. "By the way…does he have a name?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Pets**

My mom pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You named it after the Tiangou?" She asked, looking down at the tiny dog that now panted up at her happily. It sneezed, the act shaking its entire body, and then looked around in confusion—which seemed to simultaneous fill my mom with disapproval and nearly make her laugh. When I'd brought him home, she'd greeted him with a poke, apparently trying to confirm what she was seeing, and had received a now nearly customary bite in response. She'd watched it nibble on her finger for a moment and then flicked him hard enough to send him sliding across the floor. She'd picked him up after he'd lain there for a moment and had watched him careful, both of them having apparently accepting that she was the boss with that gesture.

"He'll grow into it," I said, thinking of his namesake. A legend in Vacuo—though after Ziz, who was I to say whether it had or hadn't been real—the Tiangou had terrorized the lands and skies of the West long ago, possible even before the days of Zhao Zheng. Descriptions varied and may or may not have been exaggerated, but…well, it had been one of the monsters that had gone down in myth alongside the Ziz, and had left a legacy of countless tales behind it. A beast who'd sundered the land and darkened the skies, it was one of the most famous and fearsome monsters of Western legend.

In comparison, the puppy I'd named after it could be lifted comfortably with one hand and found its attempts at aggression met with amused laughter.

I'd chosen the name for several reasons, most of them pretty simple. I thought it was a cool name, for one thing; I mean, given that we were all still alive, the Tiangou probably hadn't _actually_ blotted out, much less _eaten_ , the Sun, but it made for a neat tale and a funny name to give to a tiny puppy. I'd considered naming it after a famous hunting dog, of course, such as the legendary Laelaps or the loyal Argos, some of the most famous hounds in Mistral's history—but it was shocking difficult to find one that hadn't died horribly or tragically. Then again, it was hard to find legendary _Hunters_ that didn't end up dying horribly or tragically in the line of duty, pretty much for the same reason.

Still, while naming it after something that died in an awful manner may have been respectful of their sacrifice, I had luck enough that I didn't want to risk it. The Tiangou had supposedly been driven off, but it was one of the few dog like creatures who'd walked away from everything thrown at it. Yeah, it may have been a horrifically destructive monster, but that was no reason not to think positively about the situation.

And…well, it was stupid, but perhaps a name from the West just seemed fitting, for something weak looking to become strong. After all, I…

"You can just call him Gou, though," I continued. "That's what I call him, isn't that right, Gou?"

He barked, looking at me upside-down with a panting, puppy dog grin. My Mom just shook her head.

"You do realize that Gou means _dog_ , right?" She asked.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, wondering what her point was.

My mom rolled her eyes and checked the dog's teeth, ears, and fur, even as it panted happily in her arms.

"You'll take care of him, feed him, and train him yourself," She said almost absently. It wasn't a question, but I answered it regardless.

"I intended to," I replied. "I already awakened his Aura and I got an animal training skill out of it, too. I'll train him up in no time."

"Good," She said, a little more sternly. "It doesn't matter if he does it to _us_ , but if he persists in biting anyone who comes close, someone _will_ get hurt— _especially_ with an Aura. Make sure that doesn't happen."

I nodded.

"He won't interfere with your training, either," She stated in the same tone. "We missed today—and that's my fault more than yours, but we _did_ and we _will_ make up for it. We have a long way to go still, especially with your new friends in the mix."

"No problem," I said. "I was going to get back to work anyway. The flowers are fine, too?"

She frowned again, looking me over carefully. Even after spending hours in solid metal, the flowers remained vibrant and continued to grow. The traits from the two flowers that had been a part of it had begun mixing more and more as the day went on, whether as a result of time or the plants continued growth.

Either way, I couldn't deny that the possibilities intrigued me. In the midst of everything that happened, there hadn't been time to check precisely how the process worked, but if it could merge with other plants, draw them in to the create a greater whole…

It was just a flower now and there were probably limiting factors, but it wasn't impossible to imagine a living, sentient forest.

There was no way of knowing how the specifics worked without testing it, of course—so I would. Before long, I'd add some new plants to the amalgam—maybe some lilies or lotuses at first, simple and beautiful things. I'd need to define the precise limits and carefully control its growth, keep it from running out of control, but the _idea_ of it all…I wanted to see it _grow_. After all, it was…

"Be careful, Jaune," My mother said, echoing my earlier thoughts. "You said it gained Intelligence and Dexterity as it leveled…I trust you Jaune and I know you're smart, but however fascinating this might be, you have to be careful with this. In a way, you've created _life_ , Jaune. You've crafted a mind that can live and grow who knows how far—and you have to be responsible for it. I'm not…"

She frowned, seeming to search for the words.

"I'm not telling you to stop it," She said slowly. "Or even to _limit_ it, necessarily. But the creation and care of another life is something that needs to be done with wisdom and understanding—and you have those, but…Jaune, whatever you do with the life you now hold will shape its future. The choices you make for it, how you raise it…it's not easy to tend to another and it's not a role you can put on and then discard. Even beyond that, you may have started something huge and if anything were to go wrong…You need to be smart about this."

"I know," I said, immediately becoming serious. I had to admit, this really wasn't a conversation I'd expected to have with my mother for…a long, _long_ time and it was weird as hell, but I gave it the attention it deserved. "I will. I mean, I want to make it grow, but…that's because I want _it_ to grow and I want to watch what it grow _into_. I get that I've made something new—not just a new life but a new _form_ or life—and that there are obligations that go with that, even beyond making sure it doesn't grow up to eat people. I need to keep it safe and…I get it. I do. And I will, because…wow, it's…it's amazing, isn't it?"

She looked at my face for a long moment, possibly wondering about the series of life choices that had resulted in her becoming the sort of grandmother to a sort of plant baby, but then nodded.

"It's different from a normal child," She warned. "That'll make things both easier and harder for you. I'm sure it will grow fast under your care, but make sure it does so properly."

"Also," My Dad said, wandering back in after raiding the fridge for a sandwich and a drink. "Remember that 'I am your creator!' is not an effective argument or defense with babies, nor does it make them obey. Speaking from experience."

My Mom turned and gave him a look that could have melted the skin off a lesser man.

"Jack," She all but growled. "This is _serious_."

"So am I," He said, glancing around at the non-humans in the room. "Sup, dog. Sup, flowers."

Gou panted happily, mouth dropping open in an ever wider grin as he came over to pet it and then pat the flowers.

"Anyway, we talked about what we'd do if he ended up making an AI or something," He shrugged. "This is kind of like that. I'll go buy you some of the classics so you know what _not_ to do. And don't worry, I'll swear of mowing the lawn and stuff."

My mom closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. From how long she remained that way, I thought she might have been counting to ten.

"Anyway, are you gonna keep carrying her around like that?" My dad nodded at my armor. "From what you told me, she might be getting pretty big. You'll need to figure something out for that."

I reached up to touch the blossoms on my chest and nodded.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that, too," I said. "But I'd like to keep her close, too. I've been thinking about what could be done if she merged with trees and such, but…"

"It can be hard, watching them grow up," Dad shook his head before pausing. "I mean, granted, she's growing a bit faster than your sisters, but…"

"Jaune," Mom said at last, staring a hole in the back of my dad's head. "Start training."

I nodded and rose from my seat.

"Come on, Gou," I said, moving to the door. "Let's go get some exercise."

Gou barked and ran after me when my mom put him down. As I opened the door, my mom stopped me again.

"Wait, Jaune…" She said, pausing for a moment before asking her question. "What's her name?"

I was silent for a moment, tilting my head to the side. Coming up with a name for Gou had been easy enough, since there were plenty of good examples to draw from. I didn't want to give either of them stupid or silly names; I wanted them to _mean_ something, even if _they_ didn't understand what they meant. It was something that _mattered_ , like how I'd been named after my mother's teacher, the Hatchet. For Gou, a tiny dog I'd found near death, it was at once something to strive for and a promise. But…

Well, there were a lot more famous dogs then there were famous plants—or maybe I just had more knowledge about the former. It was just as well, I supposed; I _wanted_ to think about them, to show that I'd given it serious thought instead of granting them dismissively. I didn't want to say the same thing for the flowers as I had with Gou, either, but…

Left blooming alone, I thought, looking down at the petals of the flowers and their many brilliant shades. Out of season, a rose born to be beautiful and then die—but it hadn't. Then, if it had survived the Summer…

"How about Autumn?" I said, smiling as the question mark faded from the sign above the rose.

 **XxXXxX**

With my business done and my parent's filled in, I threw myself back into my training, redoubling my efforts to improve myself. Though I called Margaret periodically to check up on her as I'd promised, I largely fell back into the routine of my schedule, training both my body and my mind. Sometimes, it almost felt as if nothing had changed, that the break had never occurred—but that was just the repetitiveness of my days talking. This stage of my training was all about honing my fundamentals, creating something to build upon through repeated effort. Training my stats was a lot harder than training my skills, but they tied into everything and even a slight boost to strength could be multiplied many times over when I called upon my powers.

So I ran and I lifted and I studied the days away. It was kind of funny in its own way, how whatever happened, I always seemed to come back to this. What was that old saying? Before Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water. Even when I could scarcely believe how much some things had changed, I was amazed by how other things just hadn't. Hell, sometimes I imagined myself ten or twenty years from now, training for months to get one more level or grinding some new skill.

Granted, my new companions necessitated a bit of a shift—but even _they_ didn't really _change_ things. With Autumn and Gou in my party and my power thus extended to cover them, I mainly just went about my days with them at my side, keeping an eye on them and helping them improve where I could with my new abilities. The skill I'd gotten while awakening Gou—Beast Tamer—facilitated attempts to train animals in a way similar to Green Thumb…except not really?

 **Beast Tamer (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 100  
The power to hasten the training and growth of an animal through a resonance of souls. Only possible for those attuned to both animals and nature.  
Increase the effectiveness of training on enhanced Animals by 100%.  
Increase the HP and SP regeneration of enhanced animals by 100%.  
Increased closeness with animals.  
Additional 50 MP used per minute.  
Enhanced animals cannot be trained beyond the abilities of the user.**

As usual, my power wasn't very clear, but…essentially, it allowed animals to improve their abilities—that is, what my ability translated as stats, skills, and possibly even levels—more quickly under my care. I'm never quite sure when it came to stuff like experience and levels and other things that really only applied to me, but I'm pretty sure it amounted to gaining double experience.

Whether it was or not, though, Gou trained beside me all the time, running with me day and night. When he got tired, I restored his stamina with a quick heal, gave him some food and water, and we got back to work. Most days we'd run around Vale a few times in the mornings and evenings and he'd spend the rest of the day by my side, either sitting near my feet or playing around like the puppy he was, though I trained him in other things during what free time I had—mainly just basic dog stuff I'd looked up on my Scroll. He was still a puppy and a long way from being a hunting dog, but I kept a close eye on him and watched him grow both larger and stronger as time went on.

Someday, when he was ready, I'd take him out to hunt Grimm and improve his level as well as his stats. I was nervous about allowing a level one dog fight monsters—but I also knew well that there were more to fights than what my power interpreted as levels. He was growing quickly, physical stats rising as he trained beside me, and eventually…I was worried about putting him in danger, but I knew that by the time I did, he'd be more than up to facing it.

As for my 'daughter'…In many ways, Autumn was the opposite of Gou, growing fairly quickly in level but very slowly in stats. Because of the amount of MP I burnt in a day, she'd quickly fulfilled my claim and surpassed Tukson, growing until she could no longer easily be carried by me. She grew in twisted loops and thorny vines, sustained more by my Aura than any other form of sustenance and growing to reflect that as she grew further and further from a normal plant. A tad sadly, I'd finally crafted the armor and some other spare metal into something between a baby carriage and a rickshaw and begun to pull her along behind me—I tried to think of it as just another form of strength training, but it still left me feeling oddly disappointed.

But I didn't stop her from growing, even when it made it harder to keep her close; I _assisted_ it, at least where I felt right doing so. Though her Vitality had improved a fair bit as she'd gotten bigger, things like her Dexterity and Intelligence improved much more slowly. Though she'd built up a number of points through leveling as a member of my party, without true sapience and mobility she had no way of spending them. It was possible I could have found a way around that, somehow, perhaps spent the points for her. I hadn't found anything when I checked, but that didn't mean there _wasn't_ one. Perhaps I could control her somehow, call up her screen, and make her increase the appropriate stats—

And yet, I waited patiently instead, allowing her to grow on her own. Because for all I wanted to speed the process, that was just my own impatience at work—I knew that she'd gain Intelligence in time, knew that she was becoming slowly more mobile, and so I didn't want to interfere. Because each of those points…I knew well their value and as much as I wanted to spend them _for_ her, it was nothing compared to how much I wanted her to be able to spend them for _herself_ , to choose how she'd grow and develop. Regardless of what I wanted or suspected or desired, I wanted it to be her own choices that defined her, so the points were a…birthday present of sorts, for the life I had created.

Which isn't to say I did _nothing_. I helped her grow in every way I could, shedding massive amounts of Aura when I had some to spare and—though she didn't truly _need_ them—I nonetheless made sure she had water, nutrients, and light. I even researched some studies on plants and music and followed them.

And, of course, I brought her other plants. I didn't force her in that regard, either, but I didn't have to; in the same way that the Rose and the Zinnia had melded without my input, Autumn naturally sought to reach out to other plants. I simply assisted her by awakening more flowers and leaving them for her to meld with—for with each plant that joined the Amalgam, she grew. Her flowers blossomed in increasingly varied shapes and colors, roots and branches shifting in both shape and function as they did. She took in lotuses and lilies, sunflowers and hydrangea, irises and carnations and more until, in time, she seemed more an cloak of petals then a coil of thorns. And with each, she grew a tiny bit stronger, a tiny bit smarter. Hundreds of flowers came together and then some to create a being that was still more than the sum of its parts.

And yet…

I sighed as I rose from my meditative state, knowing it was time. I'd felt it, seen it for weeks now, and I knew what I had to do.

"I guess you can't grow much more that way, can you, girl?" I said, Gou's ears perking up as I finally rose, brushing a hand through the flowers in the rickshaw. I'd gotten more than a few strange looks around town for running with it and my dog, but that didn't matter to me, compared to this. I'd kept her close to my side for nearly a month and a half now, letting her gaining experience with each point of MP I spent—and I spent a _lot_ of MP. Every day, I burnt tens of thousands of MP, shedding it and swiftly refueling in a trance. In this relatively short time, I must have spent several million MP; probably not even enough to raise me up a single level anymore, but for Autumn…

 **Who Would Inhabit This Bleak World Alone?  
LV 19  
Autumn Rose**

I felt the blossoms and branches shift slightly at my touch, a definite reaction to contact, to my presence. She'd come a long way, such that even with the addition of many flowers a day, she couldn't grow very quickly anymore. Each flower gave her power, mass, experience, but at this point it was a negligible addition. She needed something larger now, so it was time to try something bigger again.

Slowly, carefully, I lifted the thorny length of a branch, Levant assisting with a buoying winds to support more and more of her. I'd needed to reinforce and enlarge the rickshaw several times as Autumn had grown and all told, she was at least a thousand kilograms of plant. Even with the modifications I'd made, the rickshaw was only able to hold up because of Crocea Mors' assistance, and pulling her around had become my main form of strength training of late.

And I wound the totality of that slowly around the large tree I'd been resting under, curling it around the branches and trunk. It looked, more than anything, like a many-limbed creature was trying to devoured the tree, with dozens of impossibly long and flexible branches rising out of Autumn's main body on the ground—a tiny little thing, compared to the branches and roots that grew so unbelievably. Then, when I was done, I laid a hand on the ash tree's trunk and took a breath, leaning my forehead against it as I closed my eyes.

By now, the ritual was long since routine to me. My soul flowed into the Ash, starting at the roots and rising up towards the sky through the trunk and the branches. All but leafless in the fall, the barren branches grasped at the sky and I felt them as I could feel my own limbs. The light within the tree was concealed by the muck of material existence, but that concealing detritus cracked in a moment under my touch and it shed its restraints as easily as it had its leaves.

I exhaled slowly and stepped away from the tree's murky green light, kneeling beside Ash and Autumn. When the light faded, nothing had changed—it was still an ash tree decorated in Autumn's coils. Not surprising, honestly; this wasn't the first time Autumn had sought to meld with a tree and failed. The difference in size and relative power between her and a tree interfered with her Green Binder and no amount of slow struggling on her seemed enough to change that. Eventually, she'd give up and I'd return her to her carriage.

But today, things were different. My training was nearing its end, with less than a week until Mistral. My physical stats now lingered near seventy, close enough to rectify before the tournament—but my Intelligence…

Having started nearly ten levels higher, it went without saying that it was the first to reach the benchmark. It had taken just a little over five weeks of training, in fact, with the rest spent trying to improve it yet further in the time that remained. Yet…with it now over seventy and my physical stats still trailing a bit behind, I'd spoken to my mother and she'd agreed; I'd be spending the remaining days focuses on my body instead of my mind. Even just taking into account the time it had taken to reach seventy-one…it wasn't worth it, comparatively.

Especially when I could do this instead.

I brought my status screen up and made my changes, inhaling deeply as I did.

 **By raising INT above 100, you have gained a random ability related to your brain functions.**

 **The skill 'Clairvoyance' was created.**

 **By raising INT above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Medium Mana.'**

 **By raising INT above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Mana Regeneration.'**

I smiled, looking down at my hand as I flexed my fingers.

"Let's try this again, dear," I said, touching her roots. "Green Thumb."

Even more flowers bloomed across Autumn's limbs until the Ash was all but hidden beneath their bulk, but it wasn't enough.

Not yet.

"It's fine," I murmured. "I can do this all night."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Alerts**

Once skeletal branches were now adorned in leaves and flowers of every color, blossoms growing on bark and branch as much as anywhere else. Standing out against it were deep discolorations where Autumn had once been wrapped around the tree, marking where the organic material of the two plants had melded together to create something new. Though once an Ash tree, the plant amalgam seemed unable to decide what it would be now and its structure and design varied from branch to branch, the bulk of its truck shuddering and shifting occasionally as it followed suit. Around the lesion-like remnants of their fusion, the tree's bark seemed to ripple in slow motion, setting down patterns and colors and even the occasional half-formed image as it changed. In one place it might be smooth, in another covered by almost scale-like patterns, though some of the oddity was hidden by the growth of the even stranger flowers.

Before, the flowers had been varied, the result of many different plants coming together. A lotus might burn with the colors of fall or a carnation might slowly take on more aspects of a lily, slowly creating something distinct and different and new in each blossom—but all leading back to some recognizable source, if you knew what to look for. A specific flower might combine a shape with a strange color or a find a middle point between two extremes, but you could still see where it came from.

But Autumn had grown beyond such things now. Flowers I couldn't identify grew from the wood of the tree or rose from the dirt around it, reaching up from the roots. A flower would fall away and something more vibrant rise in its place, white petals catching the light strangely and sending it back in opalescent shades. A fern-like leaf would twitch once and close, as if growing in reverse. Vines would fall from branches and twitch occasionally, curling oddly. I could recognize it all, ascribe traits to plants I'd seen and studied and knew existed—but they weren't plants I'd given to Autumn.

It was strange. What had once been a simple tree now seemed almost alien, something unreal. Beautiful in some ways, but also something that put you on edge, something that looked _wrong_. And yet…

"You've grown a lot," I said, smiling. Though someone else might have been frightened or alarmed, I wasn't off put in the slightest by Autumn's changes. Part of that may have been the Gamer's Mind, part of it might have been that I knew my own power—and part of it might have simply been that I was feeling bizarrely…hopeful. And to the extent that I felt nervous, it was for a different reason. "I've said it before, but…my name's Jaune Arc. I was the one who…well, who woke you up. I'm kind of your father, you could say. I, uh, I even gave you a name. Autumn, because you survived the Summer and because you have such beautiful leaves…do you know what Summer is? Or what, um….can you understand what I'm saying, now?"

Autumn's branches creaked slightly as they moved, shifting unnaturally in the windless night. There was the sound of leaves moving and brushing together, but even that seemed…off. Deliberate, maybe?

But she reacted to my words. She'd _moved_. It was still slow, cautious, and careful, but she'd _reacted_. I'd spent all night Observing her closely as I urged her to grow just a bit more. I'd leveled up Green Thumb greatly in the last few weeks and I knew Autumn's own skills had improved as she'd grown, but _this_ …

I'd actually done it. Before I left for Mistral, I'd wanted to do at least this much, to guarantee nothing went wrong in my absence. As she'd grown ever bigger, I'd known that taking her with me would be unfeasible, but I needed to ensure that she'd be okay. In the body of an ancient tree with roots set firmly down, supported by the many plants she'd made a part of herself, I knew that she'd survive—and if I'd gotten her far enough to be able to understand what I was saying and react to my words…

It was thanks to my new skills, I thought with a fierce grin. I'd strongly suspected that reaching a hundred would give me something good, but _three_ skills? That had surprised even _me_.

 **Medium Mana Capacity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to the few mana users that are born with an exceptional ability to handle mana.  
Mana-based attacks are 15% stronger.  
10% less MP used for all attacks.**

 **Mana Regeneration (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those with a special heritage that allows for faster recovery of MP.  
MP regeneration increased by 100%.**

 **Clairvoyance (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 50  
An ability given to those with the natural ability to clearly perceive the world through forms of Extrasensory Perception. Takes the form of enhanced visual acuity and perception beyond the limits of normal eyesight, as well as optical interpretation of information. Range, breadth, and visual processing increase with skill level, INT, and through related abilities.  
Additional 50 MP used per minute.**

All three were powerful skills even separately. _Together_ , though? They were something else, both for what they said and what they _didn't_ say. Medium Mana Capacity, even beyond the cost reduction to my other skills, seemed to have…well, increased my Mana Capacity, despite nothing indicating it. I wasn't sure why that was the case—perhaps it was a set amount that did not change as the skill improved?—but it was and it meant I suddenly had a lot more MP to work with, especially with Mana Regeneration assisting it. Boosting my passive MP regeneration from one percent to two percent on _top_ of my increased MP meant I could maintain far more skills than before, as well as restore my full power much more quickly.

Clairvoyance, the random ability I'd gotten for going over a hundred INT, didn't play into that combination _directly_ , but made up for it by simply being an amazing ability all around—so much so that I had to wonder if it was truly a random selection at all. Had I gotten lucky or had I gotten Lucky? Either way, I'd struck gold when I received it. At its most basic level, it improved my sight, allowing me to see far further and more clearly then I had with even Lenore—but then my Affinities and Skills came into play.

I wasn't sure if it was because I was a game character, but…really, it reminded me a great deal of some of the games I played. Sonar vision from Levant, thermal from Suryasta, what I assumed was EMF from either Vulturnus or Crocea Mors—or perhaps both—the list went on and on. For a long time, I'd used them to perceive such things for me and notify me in abstract was, but now…now I could see it for myself.

And it didn't stop there. Perhaps it was because of my meditation or past experiences, but…surrounding Autumn, Gou, myself, and everything around us…I could see Auras as clearly as if I was wearing Lenore, if not more so. When I'd used my power on Autumn, encouraged her growth with my own energy, I'd been able to see it with my eyes as well as feel it. When it came to applying Aura, the addition of 'sight' to what had formerly been only 'touch'…

Gou barked, drawing me out of my thoughts and self-praise. He stood beside Autumn, front paws on the tree's truck and head stretched back to look at me. I saw patterns of dark colored Aura ripple and pulse around him, colliding with Autumn's own in a prismatic display as the tree continued to shift.

I frowned.

"Autumn?" I said again, watching her continue to sway her limbs, brows furrowing in concern as I approached carefully. Of course, she didn't reply except perhaps by shifting herself in my direction a bit more than others. Almost as if… "Oh. Oh, no. _Shit_."

I continued my approach until I touched the tree as Gou had, hands flat against the truck. The movement of her branches halted as we touched—or rather, as my Aura touched her own.

God damn it…

"I'd hoped that as you grew, with so many plants and such a high level…" I sighed quietly, the happiness I'd felt at my power and success draining swiftly away. "But of course, you can't see, can you? The way you perceive the world is…"

I reached out beyond her trunk, Aura extending to grasp her own. I held her like that for a moment, watching the light of my soul surround her own as she calmed, quieting slowly at the contact. I'd just been thinking of how much of a difference even one additional sense made when it came to Aura, but Autumn…Autumn was blind. And deaf and numb and—  
"I…dammit," I whispered, suddenly feeling exhausted and awful. "It's…I just…"

I wondered to do. I mean…the life I'd created had suddenly gained awareness of the world, not merely as a plant but as a truly sapient creature—and one locked within a body that could not see or hear or feel, but for the touch of another's Aura. Something like that…

It was a problem I had to make a priority. In comparison, the trip to Mistral was effectively meaningless; I couldn't leave her alone and scared for days or weeks, even if she could survive without me. If she'd been able to see and hear…that might have been different. I could have left her with my father, if I couldn't find another solution, or made plans, or…but…

No, I told myself. First of all, none of that mattered. I shoved it from my thoughts and _focused_ , gathering my power. As I touched her Aura with my own, I shifted my power in a careful pattern, tracing slowly.

"Can you hear me?" I said pointlessly. I wasn't communicating with her through sound, but through the touch of my Aura—and not in the form of words, either, for what grasp would she have of language? Instead, I tried to give a feeling, to express something without words to someone who wouldn't understand anything I said. Really, what I was trying to do was something ridiculous, akin to teaching a language I didn't know to a newborn. If it was possible at all, it'd take years of trial and error to slowly establish meaning between us, but…

But if it was me…

"Please…" I said quietly, repeating the message carefully, again and again and again. "Please…"

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through the repeated connection of souls, the skill 'Floral Communion' has been created to speak with plant life!**

 **Floral Communion (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 40  
The ability to comprehend and communicate with plants. At this level, simple communication with an appropriate target is possible, limited by the target's Intelligence and sense of its surroundings, as well as their ability to respond to stimuli.  
Increased closeness with plants.  
Duration: 30 minutes.**

" _Yes_!" I near shouted, smiling again. "Hell yes! Thank you!"

Of course, with my ability, something like this was nothing. Really, I've done way crazier things, this was just—

I used the skill and tried again, 'speaking' slowly to make sure I was understood. It wasn't much at all like talking, but it was _something_ , and I was able to tell the nascent mind within the tree that I was here for her, who I was, and what was happening. I was able to connect my mind to hers slowly and hear her respond, however sluggishly. And so I tried to explain and allay her fears, keeping things simple as I did, even as I used the skill frequently to try and improve it. With my improved MP and Mana Regeneration, and with the skill's duration…I cast it until I had almost no MP, and while the skill lingered, regained MP to cast it even more.

As the skill improved, I tried to explain things to her, though I wasn't sure how much she truly grasped. I explained that I'd created her and how and why, told her about the world around her and tried to paint it in a way that she could understand. More than that, I tried to explain my power as the Gamer, tried to somehow convey what it meant. My power, the party system, the points she had…was that the solution? It might well have been, but how did I _explain_ that to someone who had no reference point?

Perhaps I should try something else. An Elemental, perhaps? I wasn't sure if it would work for this, but I could certainly try. Or, if not for me, then perhaps _she_ could use an Elemental? The Affinity required for the skill and how difficult such a thing was to get for anyone who wasn't me rendered the ability pretty much impossible for me to teach to others—but if anyone was likely to have a…Plant Affinity, one would imagine it would be a _sentient plant_. I had options, was the point, I just had to figure out—

A screen appeared before me so suddenly that I nearly stumbled back. It was one I didn't recognize, yellow in color, and I would have sworn at it if the Gamer's Mind hadn't calmed me. Instead, I look a deep breath and looked at it, figuring it might actually be important.

I stared.

 **You have 1 new message!**

"What…?" I murmured, looking around as if I might find a message box somewhere. I had a new message? What _kind_ of message? From _who_? And _how_? The only messages I got were from—

I paused before reaching into my Inventory with one hand, fishing out my scroll. Sure enough, the light was blinking, indicating that I had a new message.

I eyed it strangely. I suppose it wasn't _that_ odd, relatively speaking. In games where you had scrolls and such, it wasn't uncommon for you to get an alert when you got something—except _I_ never had, even when I'd gotten messages in the past, so what was going on? Had my power changed somehow or…

No, I thought as something occurred to me. This was something new and it just so happened that I had just _gotten_ something new. I'd turned off most of my abilities to maximize my MP regeneration, but I'd left several on for being useful—including my new Clairvoyance. I'd kept it because being able to see my Aura made 'speaking' with it that much easier, but…

It had interacted with my Elemental Affinities, I mused. Could it be interacting with…I suppose it would be the Gamer's Body? It wasn't that hard to believe; the information I got from Observe appeared to me in the form of a pop-up window, so I knew stuff _could_ work like that, but I hadn't…

It didn't matter, I thought. Though a part of me was tempted to just ignore the damn thing, only a few people had my number, none of whom would call me for no reason—especially at this time of night. So I opened it, keeping one had on Autumn's trunk reassuringly, and checked my messages. It was from Adam, I noticed with a bit of surprise.

 **We need to talk. Meet me at the shop.**

I pondered the terse message with a slight frown, musing over it. 'The shop' meant Tukson's, of course, but for Adam to call me and request a meeting…

"He probably just wants to hang out," I said to myself. "Get me that drink he owes me."

I waited for a moment to see if I believed that and shook my head. Even though I'd sent some messages to Ozpin and things were beginning to calm down a bit, they were still very much on the edge and Adam—Jian Bing's most well-known accomplice—probably wouldn't risk meeting here in Vale just to hang out. I'd figured we wouldn't meet each other for another few months, in fact. For him to call me this early meant…I had no idea what it meant.

Trouble, I guess. And if it was trouble, Adam either needed my help, in which case it must have been very dangerous, or else wanted to _warn_ me about something, in which case it must have been _catastrophically_ dangerous. Either way, I should go see what he had to say.

But…with Autumn still in this state…leaving would probably mean abandoning her for hours. Maybe longer, if things were bad, and possibly a _lot_ longer if things were really, really bad. A part of me wanted to swear, because good _God_ , nearly two months of peace and things choose to pop up _now?_

I considered asking him to meet me here instead, but would that have been too risky? Adam _was_ a wanted criminal, while I was…well, an even _more_ wanted criminal, but better hidden. Walking around when he didn't have to, coming to my house…logic and wisdom said I shouldn't risk it, but…

I nearly growled when I heard something that made me turn around; the sound of another screen appearing—

And again, I stared. It would have been a normal status screen, if not for the fact that it was completely blank and released a strange, alternating hum.

"What the…?" I muttered, frowning as I tilted my head. What was this supposed to mean? Was it another new window caused by my Clairvoyance? And if so, what was it trying to tell me? Or—

I looked up at Autumn.

"Is this yours?" I asked, both aloud and with my power.

For a moment, there was no reply.

And then she started melting, branches beginning to droop under their own weight as bark liquefied and droplets of plant matter fell to the ground.

"What the _fuck_!?" I swore, immediately trying to heal her. I used Soulforge first, pulling out a Dust crystal when it did nothing. When that didn't work either, I tried Regeneration and Green Thumb, but neither made a difference. I started panicking—

I exhaled slowly and used Observe. Her HP was full, I noted in relief, so whatever was happening wasn't hurting her in _that_ sense. I skimmed her stats quickly on my way to her statuses—

My gaze snapped back up as I caught something, mouth opening.

 **WIS: 111**

As I stared, Autumn shuddered once before abruptly falling to the ground in a splash of liquid plant matter that sent Gou running back, whining in distress. I swallowed once, Observing her again—she was alive but…

The puddle stirred as something began to rise from it. For a moment, it was a misshaped blob of gleaming fluid, but it quickly seemed to solidify into something…I wasn't sure how to describe it. Like a snake, perhaps, but not; tough-looking green flesh in place of scales, a flat expanse where the eyes should be, and a mouth with teeth as long as my hand—

It fell back into a puddle an instant later and rose anew, forming something that could have been the upper body of a human, if a human had no head and four arms and was made of intertwining branches—but again, it liquefied and returned to the ground.

For a moment, the fluid was still enough that I considered approaching, but in a sudden flurry of motion it rose into a spiked expanse of whites and red, like a giant starfish made out of barbs and thorns. It held that form for a moment and I had a sudden feeling that I was being watched, even though there was nothing indicating eyes. But then that too fell away and it returned to a quicksilver expanse.

After a moment, it began to shift and swirl like a whirlpool, fluid rushing towards the center even as it shrunk in size—

And all of a sudden, there was a rose, rising serenely from the dirt. Not a bush, even, but more like something one might find in a vase, dismissing the fact that it seemed to have roots.

I hesitated for a moment and then approached, kneeling beside it to touch the stem with a finger.

"Autumn?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

The rose shifted, blossom turning to face me, even turning it in a gesture that reminded me bizarrely of someone tilting their head.

I exhaled harded, shaking my head.

"I…" I searched for the words and couldn't find them, but at last settled on a smile. "Hello. Hello, Autumn. I'm Jaune."

 **XxXXxX**

I couldn't actually say I had the slightest clue what had just happened or how I was supposed to react to it. I mean, I could make a pretty educated guess that in raising her Wisdom over a hundred, Autumn had either gained a new skill or greatly increased the effect of one she already had, but…wow. I had not seen this coming and it was…something.

But if there was anything I was becoming really good at, it was rolling with the punches, literally or metaphorically. I took a moment to process the situation and accepted it as strange, important, and _definitely_ in need of further investigation—but also helpful in solving what had previously been a major problem. Given the situation, I was willing to put it aside for a time, until other matters could be addressed.

Which was how I ended up walking through Vale in the dim light of morning. Looped around the wrist of my left hand was a leash that connected to Gou's collar, the dog trotting happily along by my side with a panting, doggy grin. Autumn was curled around my right arm.

And I meant curled. When I'd picked her up, her stem had shimmered momentarily before bifurcating up to the blossom, both ends stretching and curling around my forearm in a crisscrossing pattern that left me with a bracer of binding stems leading up to a flower that sat atop my wrist like a liking watch. More alarming were the inch-long thorns it sprouted, more reminiscent of an Atlesian Blackberry then a rose, but I was fortunately very durable. I stretched my Aura to cloak Autumn as well and allowed my Vitality and Physical Endurance to reduce the damage from the vines to almost nothing, with a bit of Regeneration and some periodic healing taking care of the rest.

Still, I'd need to sit down and talk to her about it as soon as possible. While it didn't bother me any more than Gou's bites had before it, someone without the durability of a hunter could find themselves seriously hurt by it. Worse, it seemed like it was only a matter of time until she learned the tricks of one of the many, many, many poisonous plants that inhabited Remnant, at which point she might honestly kill people. Right now, she was still just a mostly blind child holding onto her father and dawning her defense mechanisms in preparation of a potential threat, but…

I pat her reassuringly as she squeezed my arm rhythmically—probably more to feel the vibrations caused by my heart beat than anything else—and was once more reminded that someone without the training and defenses of a Hunter would be dying very quickly right now, bleeding out through dozens of deep cuts.

Then again, I'd spent an alarming amount of time in situations that would have killed me…huh; a little over three months ago, now. And it was quite possible that I was about to add another mark to that particular tally. As just, I felt justified in being cautious.

As I turned down the street towards Tukson's book trade and slowed my pace to cast my gaze over the street once with my normal eyes before calling upon my Clairvoyance, causing the world to shift. It was hard to describe how things looked when my skill made them clear, not because the effects weren't obvious—because good God were they hard to miss—but because…it was like…

It was hard to describe. Human sight is trichromatic. That is, we perceive three 'types' of color, mixed in thousands and thousands of different ways to paint the world we see. It's more complicated than that and there are a bunch of factors that can affect it, but that's the basic idea. However…if you've ever seen a picture of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, the section for visible light is just this tiny sliver.

What if you could see a bit more? What if, instead of three primary colors, you saw the world with four? Or five? Or even _more_?

I wasn't sure how many I was seeing right now, but it must have been quite a few. Color swirled for a moment before settling and…I could still see everything the same way on one level, but on another…Something that should have been black glowed with neon light. Things that had long since faded from human sight marked the world in splatters and streaks while color hummed throughout everything, rising into the air. And…I made it sound like those were separate things, but they _weren't_. They were all happening at the same time. To _everything_.

That's the world under the full power of my Clairvoyance—my so called 'clear sight.' And it was clear, in a way, like I was seeing through a window that was smeared with mud for everyone else. But that _much_ clarity…it was like a light that illuminated to the point of blindness. I had to focus to make any sense of it, draw individual forms of perception from the chaos. Maybe later, when the skill was leveled after weeks or months of use, I'd be able to look the whole picture, but as it was now I had to take glimpses.

But even so, a tiny fraction of what Clairvoyance could show me was still more than most people would believe. With the store technically closed and business afoot, the windows of Tukson's store were opaque, hiding everything inside.

I peered through them from several hundred feet away, looking into the front of the shop and then through the parted curtain of the back as I switched my sight, seeing two people. One was Adam, the other Tukson.

Drawing back, I kept walking, glancing around a bit to see if anything else was afoot. I was cautious—or, I preferred to think, smart—but I wasn't worried about them betraying me or anything. I mean, I wasn't _stupid_ ; I knew Adam's loyalty was to his people first and foremost. But I _also_ knew that we were still friends and that in the short time we'd known each other, we'd gone through a lot. He knew I wasn't prejudiced against the Faunus and that I'd risk my life to protect them if I had to. Even if I assumed that he was cold enough to just call a friend out somewhere and kill them for being in the way, which really didn't seem to be the case, I was pretty sure he had no reason to do so to _me_. Tukson, one of the more peaceful members of the White Fang, I especially couldn't see going along with it without dropping _some_ hint of warning. And even beyond that…I trusted both of them.

That did not, however, mean I was completely at ease. In fact, _because_ I trusted Adam, I treated this seriously, making sure I didn't see anything unusual. After confirming that Adam and Tukson were alone and there were no suspicious individuals eavesdropping, I made sure nothing else stood out. No strange men stood nearby, no oddly placed electronics, nothing. The area seemed clean. The only question was…

I felt my lips twitch as something caught my eye, colored brightly in the light only I could see. I checked around again to make sure no one was watching, that I wouldn't give anything away—and then waved at one of the nearby rooftops. There was no reply, but I saw her react.

It was possibly, vaguely, vaguely possible that I was using caution as an excuse to play with my new toy, but _God_ , I felt like a secret agent. A movie secret agent, that is; not one that shifts through people's trash and makes phone calls, fun as that could sometimes be.

"If only I had a suit," I lamented to Gou, who looked up at me with delighted incomprehension.

I walked down to Tukson's store and entered with barely a knock.

"Sup, Adam, Tukson," I said even before they came into sight, simply because it made me feel cool. "We gonna leave Blake out in the cold?"

Adam brushed the curtain and looked me up and down, not seeming impressed by my remark, much less off put.

"What's with the rose?" Adam asked, immediately assailing the foundation of my suaveness.

"It's my daughter," I said a bit curtly.

At that, he actually did pause. He looked at me silently for a moment, watching me with a blank expression before replying.

"I don't know how to process that," He said at last, to which I shrugged. He opened his mouth and raised a finger, preparing to ask something—and then seemed to change his mind at the last second, pointing to Gou instead. "You got a dog, huh?"

"Yup," I replied easily. "His name's Gou. But seriously, is this guy's night or something?"

"It is now, I guess," He mused, shrugging at my glance and elaborating. "Blake doesn't like dogs."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that kind of…cliché?" I asked, trying not to smile.

"Underneath Blake's poised exterior lays a very grumpy cat," Adam said solemnly before smirking ever so slightly and kneeling to scratch Gou's ears. Where a month ago, that would have gotten him a probably-meaningless bite, now the dog allowed the contact, sniffing Adam's hand. "Tail's gone?"

"Took off the title," I answered, looking down at him. It struck me suddenly that Adam was beating around the bush.

Wow. This must have been pretty bad if _Adam_ was hesitant to address it. I mean, if we were talking about cliché's, Adam was the bull in a…well, book shop, currently, but the fact remained. He could be subtle, careful, even cautious, but given the choice…

In fact…

Several thoughts connected all at once and I looked over my shoulder.

"Blake might not like dogs," I said, feeling the thought out. "But she was out there before I showed up. I thought maybe she was on watch, but…if you thought there was a chance you were being followed, you wouldn't be here, would you?"

"No," Adam said, light gleaming off his mask. "I wouldn't."

"Then why…?"

"Because it's White Fang business," He said, standing. "And above her pay grade."

Maybe that was true, I thought. But it seemed safe to assume it also meant 'she wouldn't approve.'

"White Fang stuff," I said aloud. "Stuff you can't even tell Blake? Then why tell _me_? Is this about Jian Bing?"

"No," He shook his head before pausing. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know."

"That covers just about everything," I nodded.

"There's something going on in Mistral," Adam said, ignoring my remark. "A deal that's been in the works for a while, maybe pushed forward by…you know what. The White Fang's putting the finishing touches on negotiations with…someone."

"And I'm going to Mistral," I nodded, absently wondering how he knew that. "But, uh…if this is big White Fang stuff, why not just…not tell me? I mean, you know I'm not gonna rat you out or anything, but it doesn't have a lot to do with me, either. So…why tell me about something you wouldn't tell Blake?"

"Because, you'll be in Mistral," He answered. "And I have _zero_ faith in your ability to keep from getting wrapped up in this somehow."

That seemed fair, I acknowledged, but…

"That's not all," I said, belief the words firming as I gave them voice. "There's more at stake here…you said this was pushed ahead by what I did? Do they want me to…?"

"Yes," He said and then. "And no. It's complicated."

"I can tell." I frowned.

"After word got out about your name and success…it got a lot of attention and interest," Adam shrugged. "A lot of people want to meet you, bring you in on things, get you involved. But at the same time…"

"No one knows a thing about me," I guessed. "Or what I think about things or what I intend to do. It's like a lot of people want to listen to me, but no one can guess what I'll say. Right?"

"Basically," He said, making me squint at him.

"And if she knew, Blake would want me to say one thing," I said. "And you and the leaders of the White Fang would want me to say something else. Right?"

"Basically," He repeated, sighing.

I cracked my neck.

"You should know already," I said. "I don't have a solution to the White Fang's problem. I can't appear and tell everyone to lay down their arms and embrace tactics that almost certainly won't work…but I can't truly support the things they do, either. If you're worried or hoping I'll make an appearance…"

He nodded, unsurprised.

"I know," He said. "I already told the others you probably won't attend, but I figured you should at least know about it. Like I said, with your luck, there's a real chance of you getting involved somehow and I really don't want you to stumble into this blind."

'The others.'

I occurred to me that I never _did_ find out what exactly Adam _did_ in the White Fang, beyond break faces. I mean, I'd had my suspicions, of course—I didn't want to stereotype because everyone has a hobby, but his grasp of socioeconomics and politics was a bit better than I would have expected from, say, an enforcer. And now he was apparently playing the role of emissary to Jian Bing with everyone just accepting it…

In fact, thinking about it, I never found out what role _Blake_ played, either. Really, the only member whose purposes I actually knew was Tukson's.

I glanced at the store owner who toiled in the back room as we talked. He kept his head down and stayed out of the way—but I noted that he _was_ still inside, despite Blake being kicked out.

 _Maybe_ , I appended. _Maybe_ I knew what Tukson did.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for the heads up. I take it that means you'll be in Mistral, then?"

Adam shrugged. I took it as a yes.

"Blake coming, too?" I wondered.

He grunted. I took that as a yes, too.

"Maybe I'll see you guys there, then."

"Hopefully not," He said, giving me a half smirk. "But probably yes. See you later."

He stepped passed me, reaching for the door.

"Hey," I stopped him suddenly and saw him turn his head slightly to show he was listening. "Can I ask you something? Well, two things, really?"

"Eh," He said, but didn't leave.

"Out of curiosity, how'd you know I was going to Mistral?"

"Maybe we were keeping tabs on you," He said, sounding amusing.

"My mom's been training me," I answered.

Adam clicked his tongue.

"Poor you."

"She's spent the last two months nearby." I continued, though I smiled at his words. I guess she had a reputation. "You weren't keeping tabs on me."

He chuckled.

"Fair enough," He said. "But you already know, don't you? How paperwork falls in all sorts of hands…"

"Ouch," I said, trying to keep from smiling even as I felt a little concerned. "You would use my own spy magic against me?"

"Absolutely," He smirked. "Though I only saw it by accident. I recommend not being obvious about it if you don't want a lot of attention drawn you way, but you might want to look into why you're mother's going to Mistral in the first place."

"I'll do that," I nodded. "And…again, out of curiosity—and yeah, actually, you probably shouldn't tell me even if I won't say anything, but…who are the White Fang negotiating with?"

"You're right," Adam said, opening the door. "I shouldn't tell you."

As he turned around to close the door, though, he stopped for a moment and shrugged.

"A human," He said.

"A human," I repeated. "Like me?"

"No," Adam shook his head, closing the door. "Not like you."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Flight**

I lingered in the store for a time, both to give Adam and Blake a chance to leave and to give myself time to absorb it all. I frowned slightly, looking out at the slowly brightening sky, just…not sure how to feel.

I had a lot of questions and few ways of getting answers—or, rather, I wasn't even sure if I should _try_ to get answers. The easiest way to satisfy my curiosity would be to ask my parent's but…would that be too suspicious? I hadn't asked her why we were going to Mistral, trusting her to tell me if I needed to know, but Adam's words had forced a tiny spark to _burn_.

I knew, of course, that she was going there for a reason. More than that, if Ozpin was sending a Huntress of my mother's caliber, it must have been at least potentially serious. He'd want someone who could handle herself in a fight if it came to it.

But on the other hand…she was considering bringing me along. And I knew she loved me and knew I wasn't _weak_ , but would she drag me unknowingly into a situation that might erupt into major league violence? It seemed unlikely, which implied…

What? That it was serious, but not necessarily dangerous? That there was some way of keeping me _out_ of danger? That there was something else at work? It could have been anything.

But I thought back to the words Ozpin had spoken months ago, about hearing whispers of something in Mistral. Had it just been said in jest or was there some truth to it? Was he sending my mother to investigate and find the source of such rumors? Could such whispers actually be of the White Fang and their new partner? Would they send my mother if it was?

I thought about it. I could see it, maybe; if it was something that was…suspicious, something that _might_ have been big but had nothing definite, sending someone to investigate was only natural. But if it _did_ turn out to be real, it would need to be someone strong enough to fight her way out, too, and bring that information home. To maximize the chances of success, someone who knew the area well would be preferable; someone who was familiar with local groups, who had a reputation and maybe an excuse to be there, someone that might not be immediately suspected of an investigative role…I could see it. From a coldly logical point of view, it might have even made _my_ presence make sense; a high-ranked Huntress travelling alone would draw more suspicion then a mother travelling with her son, showing him her homeland. Even if said mother _was_ a huntress; it was all about perception, framing.

But the addition of another person, someone unassociated with the mission, would make things more difficult. Wouldn't it?

"A festival," I murmured to myself, looking at my reflection in the window. That seemed important, somehow. It was a festival. A _major_ festival at that, the first one after the chaos cause by Ziz was beginning to wind down some.

No, I thought. After the chaos _I'd_ caused was beginning to die down. It was more than just Ziz, after all—this was something bigger. A legendary monster awakened near Vale, on the continent of Vytal. A major terrorist attack on the Schnee Dust Company and an invasion of its home country, Atlas, on the continent of Mantle. Two Kingdom's rocked in short order, while Mistral weathered the storm untouched.

I wonder if anyone had given thought to taking a vacation there. Travel between the kingdom's was so rare because the only way to do so with guaranteed safety was to travel in a large group; a single ship, barring something cutting edge like the White Whale, faced serious risks in venturing beyond the Kingdoms, but twenty ships? Fifty? A _hundred_? With a military escort?

That was a different matter.

It also wasn't worth the cost, except very, very rarely. While it may have reduced the threat of opportunistic Grimm, flying that many ships…unless there was a huge demand, it was far too expensive. But there _were_ occasions that made it worthwhile—like the Vytal festival.

And Mistral…Mistral had this. An event big enough, famous enough, that it would be worth the cost to mobilize a fleet of transporters—several of them even, from the different kingdoms.

That's a lot of traffic, I thought. Enough to hide the movements of a terrorist organization or two. It'd be pretty easy for a person to just happen to get lost in a crowd that big, too. And while they're lost, well, who's to say? An excuse to keep me away from danger—and really, all it'd take was one of about fifty million attractions—and boom! Goodbye, Wonder Mom; hello, Super Spy.

Of course, I reminded myself, all this was conjecture. There was nothing to truly support any of it; I mean, the pieces may have fit, but I was _making_ them fit, constructing a situation that fit what I wanted to see. There was nothing saying I was right about my baseless conjectures; in fact, I was probably wrong.

All I'd need to do was ask my mom a question or two and I could prove it, a treacherous part of me whispered, all the more insidious for being completely right. Because, yeah; I could ask my Mom what the mission was about. She might tell me the details, she might not, but either way I'd probably learn something. It'd be way more productive than letting my brain run itself away on a hamster wheel.

But…

Maybe I _was_ constructing a situation based on a couple vague hints; I couldn't deny it was _possible_. I didn't mind that, even, in and of itself; my mom was a busy woman. She was a _Huntress_ , for God's sake—it wasn't surprising that she'd need to work some while away. Hell, even if she only had the idea of bringing me along because it was useful to the mission, I knew she loved me and I was sure that it had been at least partially intended as a reward. She wasn't forcing me to come or anything, either. I wouldn't get mad at her if it turned out she had more than one reason for making the suggestion.

Besides, even if she _did_ intend to bring me to the festival and leave me to my devises while she worked—and it was completely possible she _didn't_ —there was still a pretty awesome part where I got to go to the festival. I was fine with that.

My mom was a Hunter and had to keep secrets sometimes. I was fine with that, too; hell, I'd kept a lot of my own.

But…but if I asked her and she answered, if she confirmed my probably made up suspicions…then that put me between my mother and my friends. It would mean I'd know something she was looking for and was keeping it from her, if I said nothing—and mean betraying my friends if I spoke.

And I…if that happened…

But if I said nothing…then really, it was just me and my over active imagination, wasn't it? Even if…

I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the glass.

Damn it.

"So…" Tukson said a few minutes later, probably watching me just stand there. "Are you gonna buy anything, or…?"

 **XxXXxX**

In the end, I chose to say nothing. I was afraid of what might happen if I spoke, so I just stayed quiet and tried not to think about it—to run away from the possibility, if I was being honest. I got back home before my mom finished her morning routine and let my trip pass without comment, returning to my training as if nothing had ever happened. Because I trained so often and frequently ran around the city early in the morning, I doubted my mother had even noticed anything odd. I went about my day as normal and got back to my training.

And so my last few days of training came to an end.

Our blades clashed and, though she held me off easily, she seemed pleased with how I'd improved. The nature of my power was such that even a small difference in stats was multiplied enormously and with all my physical abilities nearly twenty points higher…well, it added up to a pretty massive change. Even if I knew she was still holding back, she was fighting on a higher level then she had when she first brought me out here to train, allowing me to compare and contrast and…

I felt stronger. Despite myself, I couldn't keep a smile off my face and she matched me for it as she struggled to push me back instead of casually sending me flying.

"See? You've gotten stronger, Jaune," My mother praised, sounding delighted as she bore down upon me.

"Thanks to your training," I said, ending the words with a quiet grunt as I fought against her before suddenly backing off as I sensed danger. I'd shifted Autumn to my left arm, concealing her under Crocea Mors' protective shield. I fought with Power Attacks and Double Strikes, enhancing myself many times over with the skills of the White Tiger, and hit her again and again with all the power that entailed. I kept it to a sword fight, leaving my Elementals to watch on the side lines, but other than that I held nothing back.

"The hardest part of training is always conditioning the body," My mother lectured as she took slow, deliberate steps forward, walking through the strength I brought to bear to the sound of ringing steel, parrying blows methodically. "Getting it ready for what you'll put it through. But with your power…when we return, we'll go Hunting together, Jaune. We'll begin your training in earnest—and your father will want to take you out on missions as well, I suppose."

I absently hummed my agreement.

"What are we going to Hunt?" I asked after the silence lingered for a few second, partially because I was interested and partially because talking was a distraction. Not that it made much of a difference, granted, but it was the thought that counted.

"Anything we can," She said. "Whatever you're up to fighting. Just eight more levels and then you'll be able to master Bai Hu's art?"

She phrased it as a question so I nodded, feeling droplets of sweat bead on my brow. I came in to swing once at neck level and then once at each knee, before backing off again as she parried each blow. I shifted to a defensive strategy as my senses screamed out in warning. I'd held my own so far, but I knew from experience that this was when she'd break out all the stops and try to end things quickly.

Well, I said 'try' optimistically, as if she wouldn't succeed if she wanted to.

"Reaching that level should be enough for now," She continued, suddenly up in my face. With speed that somehow _still_ managed to surprise me, she knocked me off balance and smashed me to the ground with a mighty, hammering blow. "With all of your stats that high, prerequisites shouldn't be an issue either, right?"

"I guess," I grunted, using my shield to assist with a roll, Autumn's thorns prickling my skin as I did.

"Then you should be able to broaden your skillset as needed," She smiled as she stopped my attempted evasion with a boot to my shield, pushing down hard enough that my upper body sank a few inches into the dirt. "You've come a long way, Jaune. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom," I said with a hint of strain as she literally ground me into the dirt. Using her foot to help brace myself, I kicked at her from my prone position, not really expecting to accomplish anything—and was a tad surprised when she even bothered dodging. In a motion like walking backwards up a staircase, she stepped up onto my rising leg and back off on the other side.

Almost casually, she grabbed that same leg and lifted my entire body, swinging me up over her head and straight into the ground. I slammed into it once, twice, and then flew through the air as she gave me a toss.

Really, though; I _did_ feel stronger.

I felt her put a knee into the center of my back almost as soon as I hit the ground, sword slipping neatly under my neck as I arched up in response. She held me that way for a moment, grasping my hair to help hold me off of the ground.

I took two short breathes before speaking.

"Elementals, now?"

She chuckled and patted my head affectionately.

"Not today, sweetie," She said, removing her sword and rising off me so I could push myself to my feet. I hadn't bothered wearing a shirt, simply because they tended to get ruined whenever we trained like this. So did my pants, granted, but I felt a bit less comfortable without _them_ on—though at this rate, I might not have a lot of choice in the matter. "Looking forward to the big day tomorrow?"

I was silent for a moment as Xihai gathered water to me and helped me scrub away some of the mud, kindly splashing cool water over my face in the process.

"Yeah," I answered at last, brushing my hair into a rough semblance of my usual style as I did. "I finally get to see Mistral after hearing so much about it. Are you looking forward to going back, Mom?"

She smiled at me, the action a little off.

"I suppose," She lied, making me frown slightly in concern.

"Bad memories?" I guessed after spending a moment wondering if I should even bring it up.

"Not all of them," She said after a moment of silence, sounding like she was mulling the thought over even as she spoke it aloud. "Some are good, too. But yes, there are a lot of bad ones."

I waited for a moment before nodding in acceptance when she didn't offer anything else.

"Should we…" I trailed off immediately, not sure why I even bothered giving it voice to begin with. I already knew the answer and so did she.

Still, she smiled.

"Its fine," She answered what went unspoken. "I go back every now and then, to check on things and fulfill my duties. It's just…I get a bit melancholic, I suppose, remembering…"

She exhaled slowly, looking past me and far away.

"But…" She mused, an odd expression on her face. "The festival is always so beautiful. I think you'll love it. Truly."

I nodded, moving to her said with a bit of uncertainty. The words seemed to at once cheer her and sadden her further, leaving me wondering what she was recalling. My parents had always told me stories about their lives as Hunters, enough so that at times I felt like I had been there alongside them—only to be inevitably reminded that there were parts I had no knowledge of whatsoever. When you'd heard a thousand stories and grown up listening to them every night, it was easy to think you'd heard all there was, but for Hunters a thousand adventures was nothing. My mother didn't talk a lot about her life in Mistral, back when she was Isabelle Roma. I knew some of it, of course, like about my grandmother, but the rest…

Well, I suppose could guess, given her maiden name. The Children of the Wolves had a bit of a reputation when it came to…everything.

"Any plans for what we're gonna do at the festival?" I asked, trying to distract her while also carefully tiptoeing around the mission. "Are we going to meet anyone there?"

It seemed to work because she made another face, as if she'd bitten into a lemon with a tongue covered in paper cuts.

"I guess we'll have to go see _her_ while we're nearby," She said, sounding like the words were being forced out of her. "If we don't, she'll find out eventually and that'll only make it worse."

She made it sound like it would be something torturous, which really cut down the possibilities.

"Grandma?" I wondered, trying to keep my lips from twitching.

My mother's scowl deepened at the sound of the word, probably not liking the implication that they were related. I'd never gotten the whole story about _that_ , either; I mean, there must have been something interesting to how I ended up getting named after a woman my mother claimed she hated.

I didn't mind visiting Grandma Jeanne, personally, but I should probably keep that to myself. Mom had always seemed kind of morally outraged that all of us liked our grandmother.

"After that…" She mused, seeming to put the thought of her old teacher behind her through sheer force of will. "Let's see, there's the fireworks, the parade, the hunt…"

"Are we gonna watch the games?" I asked, not-so-subtly moving the conversation toward the reason why the Olympia festival was so famous. It might have been a little late to get tickets for the good stuff, but I could just find a tall building and watch with Clairvoyance if I had to, doing away with the crowds in the process. Still it'd be more fun to watch it with family and friends then to do so alone, even if my mom would probably just find it amusing.

I wondered if Adam and Blake were gonna watch it.

My mother was silent for a moment, looking at me before slowly exhaling. She opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, and then continued more firmly.

"Actually," She said. "I've been thinking about that, too. How…how would like to fight in one of the tournaments?"

I tilted my head the side.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You're certainly strong enough," She continued. "And I figured you might enjoy—"

"Yeah," I nodded quickly. "Yeah, no, yeah. I mean, it sounds _cool_ ; it's just…isn't it a little late now? Don't you kind of have to schedule those kind of things in advanced?"

"A month in advanced, minimum," She nodded before taking a deep breath. "Which is why I called one of my old friends shortly after you came back from your trip. I—you don't have to, or anything; I'm not trying to force you to do anything, but…but if you were interested, I wanted you to have the option. We can still cancel, but I thought it might be a good experience for you and a chance to have fun. You can fight with people your own age in a relatively safe setting, test yourself against people with other Semblances without fear of the consequences, and maybe practice some of your own skills. Now that your training's over, I thought it might be a good chance to push your limits and see how far you can go."

A dark part of me whispered that it would also be a good way to get rid of me for a few hours while also making sure I was somewhere safe.

I looked that voice in a box and threw it away, nodding my head quickly.

"Yeah," I said. "I could…I don't know. Do you think I could win?"

"Yes?" She shrugged, smiling slightly. "Maybe? I don't really know, but it doesn't really matter, does it?"

And that's what I meant about finding it amusing. Though, in fairness, it _didn't_ matter, not really—cool as it was, it's not like I'd really lose anything if I was defeated. I cared about the rewards and publicity about as much as my mom did and while I guess it was a chance to prove myself, I'd already done so to everyone whose opinion actually mattered to me. Thinking about it that way, whether I won or lost really wasn't all that important, but…

But it _cool_. Dumb in a lot of ways, sure, but still cool—something mom and I could laugh about at its worst, celebrate at its best, but probably remember fondly one way or another. And maybe I was growing cynic, but there was a part of me that remembered about Adam's words and worried about my mother's mission and thought that maybe, just _maybe_ , this trip would need something to smile about afterwards.

"No," I told her. "It doesn't. Let's do it."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Registration**

When the Sun rose the next morning, we were flying over Mistral. Gou sat in my lap, seeming understandably confused with life as he gazed out the window of the aircraft while Autumn was on my wrist, understandably apathetic about it all. Bringing them a long hadn't been difficult; when someone had questioned Gou's presence, my mother had said it was fine and that had apparently settled the matter—I suppose you probably saw weirder things, shuttling Hunters around.

As for why they were with us to begin with, my father was to blame; when we were preparing to leave, he had declared the house his sole dominion until mother returned and had shoved Gou into my arms to get him out of the way. What my father intended to do while we were away, I wasn't entirely sure, but I'd given up arguing when he'd started to simultaneously take off his pants and make nachos while in the process of telling me why Gou had to go.

And yes, he used those precise words frequently. Indeed, the majority of his argument had consisted of repeating those words with great emphasis. Nonetheless, he'd _won_ the argument despite my mother's stares of disapproval and so Gou had been off to see the world.

I had…mixed feelings about that. Autumn, still mostly insensate and unable to communicate with anyone but me, I'd intended to bring with me since she returned to her rose form, but Gou…I didn't _mind_ bringing him with me, _per se_ , but I wasn't sure what to do with him during the festivities. I'd be busy a fair amount of the time as would my mom—one way or the other—and neither of us would be in situations fitting for a puppy. Hopefully, Grandmother would be willing to keep an eye on him; I'd tell her dad was being weird again and she'd understand.

Maybe, at least. I wasn't sure _I_ understood, because my father, while often strange, wasn't stupid. Further, my mother hadn't _stopped_ his strangeness, meaning…they both wanted me to keep the dog with me? I wasn't sure, but…well, it didn't matter.

I scratched Gou's ears absently, causing his tail to wag despite his expression of profound concentration, putting aside my thoughts to see the view. Mistral gleamed in the sunlight, thousands of buildings in as many styles unfolding in every direction with seemingly no regard for shape or age. Where Vale had once failed in its attempts to expand outwards, Mistral had achieved some success by growing _up_ , even as they tried to preserve their pasts. As a result, ancient marble temples sat in the middle of a park surrounded by gleaming high-rises, monuments beside shopping districts. Where space was an issue, the people of Mistral reached higher _,_ connecting large towers that sometimes ran across smaller structures, all of it forming a web of shining steel in the air, contrasting sharply with the monuments that made sure not to cross. 'Completed' buildings appeared strange, ready for further construction in the future when additional levels were required. There were massive structures where different buildings had risen so high, they'd needed to be linked together to keep from falling.

It added up to something at once chaotically deranged and artistically beautiful. That seemed…fitting, honestly.

Mistral was a gathering point for countless cultures, home to people of every size, shape, and color—one of the last remaining havens of Remnant's history. It was home to the remains of nations long gone, a display of Remnant's architectural history and diversity, and the home of Alexandria's great library which held onto some of the oldest texts in the world, one of the few insights we still had into our past and those who came before—

Because Mistral had taken those things from the nation's it had crushed. The arts and books, taken from the towns and towers of fallen enemies. The diversity, born from slaves brought home from war. The music, beauty, and knowledge weaved together from the things they took from the defeated. With its boot on the throat of the continent and its back to one of the most hostile environments on Remnant, it had reached out and devoured countries and kingdoms until it was all that remains—the shining jewel of the East, a pillar of art and industry and taste.

Of course, that had all happened a long time ago and things had changed a lot since the War, but…well, its rulers had made violently ruining the lives of everyone in their vicinity into something of an art form for about a thousand years, building one of the most successful Kingdom's in Remnant's history in the process. From Alexandria and the Romas to the Khans and the Carthans, the kingdom and its leader's had a reputation for military excellence, profound success against horrible odds, and a complete and utter lack of mercy.

It seemed odd, to think about that and know I was related to them—to the kings and queens of Mistral. That's a lot less impressive then it sounds, granted, as said rulers had a tendency to really get around, but it was true enough that my sisters and I had pretended to be princes and princesses and war leaders and fought to conquer Mistral or Remnant or just to decide who had to do the sucky chores. It always ended up being me, of course, but it had still been fun.

Still, looking down at the ancestral home of my family—both sides of it, if you go back far enough—I felt…odd. For all the games we'd played as children, it hadn't been until I'd started training my Intelligence that I really understood what all those tales of conquest and war meant, not just for Mistral, but for all the Kingdoms. Even with the Grimm, even with the world like it was, our history had been a bloody one. To the extent that Mistral's was the worst of all four, it was only because its campaigns had been the most successful.

Worse, I knew that without all those things…

I sighed, the sound drowned out by the ship landing.

"Home, sweet home," My mother said, raising the moment we were on the ground. I followed her out of the airship, carrying Gou which seemed to make him happy. We got to travel first class, thanks to Mom's mission and some company policies, and we were on the ground before anyone else left the plane. There were already hundreds gathered before Arch of Triumph, the legendary gates of the city; though it would have been faster to land inside, it was customary to enter Mistral through the arch when attending the festivals, owing back to its earliest days. The arch towered high, decorated in sculptures and engravings featuring thousands of faces and figures—maybe tens of thousands. Thought the opening itself was relatively small, the structure itself was at least a hundred meters tall, nearly twice as wide, and a quarter-kilometer long, expanded by generation after generation of Mistral's monarchs.

Immediately above the small entrance rested a simple looking plaque, the words on it long since faded away even though the message was clear. I turned my Clairvoyance upon it regardless and translated the revealed words carefully.

 _Many have stood before us;  
Go now and look for them._

I couldn't help but laugh at that, smiling at the audacity of the words—before pausing, lifting my gaze yet higher. I hadn't noticed with my normal eyesight, but the sharpened clarity my skill bestowed showed me clearly.

"Mom, why are there soldiers on top of the wall?" I asked with a frown, causing her to stop and look at me. She followed my gaze, tracking upwards to the top of the arch, frowned for a moment, and then scowled, probably improving her own eyes somehow.

"Damn it," She grumbled. "Just…let's just get inside, okay? There are a thousand people out here, it's—"

But I'd already seen it—in fact, I'd probably noticed it first, since I'd already been looking. And so I crouched near to the ground, made sure I had a tight grip on Gou, and _jumped_. I put all my strength into it, multiplied many times over my Jumping skill and a quick call to Levant, and was rising into the air by the time my mother spoke.

Oops, I thought when I heard her words, a snarled curse following on their heels. But since I was already up hear and it would have been both embarrassing and hard to explain if I suddenly changed directions, I kept going until I was over the top of the arch, landing with one foot on what seemed like some sort of portable guardrail. The darkly uniformed figures on top reacted immediately, weapons drawn in an instant and poised to attack—

"—Stop." A calm, cold voice said, halting everyone. I hopped down from the guard rail as the uniformed men parted, revealing a woman seated in the midst of them. Even with hair white with age and a face that was leathery and wrinkled, her eyes remained as I remembered them, an almost shockingly bright blue. She was small, relatively speaking; about five-three, five-four, but she had enough presence that I'd seen her in the middle of a crowd of taller men and women.

Granted, much of that presence was in the massive, two-meter-and-change halberd she rested casually against a shoulder.

For a moment, she looked the way I always saw her in pictures, expression remote, eyes at once alert and distant. She looked fearless and deadly, uncaring whether she was attacked or fled from—there was a simple confidence to her that was so immense and yet so basic that you just accepted that she was one lethal little lady.

And then she smiled at me, something unlike the smiles she gave for cameras and addresses—something warm that light up her face and made her seem like a lethal little lady who was also a kind old grandmother.

"Jaune," She said happily, opening her arms. "I'm surprised to see you! It's been too long."

"Grandma," I reaching out to hug her fiercely.

"What brings you to Mistral?" She asked unworriedly, releasing me. "Does your mother know you're here?"

"Uh, yeah; she's down there," I said, turning to peer over the edge. There didn't seem to have been much reaction to my jump—not that I expected one from a group of people here to see Hunter's fight—but I was surprised to find a small circle cleared around her as she stared up at me. But was it fear, awe, or…no, did they…? "I think she's mad at me now though. I don't think I was supposed to talk to you."

"Mm," Jeanne the Halberd smiled, resting her elbows on the railing and cupping her chin with her hands. "Perhaps not. Really, she gets worked up over the smallest things…have you been planning to visit long?"

I scratched my head with an embarrassed smile, guessing what she was really asking and saying nothing even though it made no difference.

"No matter," She continued after a moment, voice bright and cheerful. "I'm sure her letter just got lost in the mail. It happens. Shall we go talk to her?"

"Um, ma'am," One of the men in uniform interrupted. "We—"

"Fuck off, Pech," She said in exactly the same tone. "I'm too fucking old for this bullshit, anyway. Come along now, Jaune."

She adjusted her halberd and leapt over the railing. I made to follow but paused for a minute to look back.

"Sorry," I told the man. "She does that sometimes."

And then I followed my grandmother down to the ground below.

 **XxXXxX**

When we returned to the ground, the demeanors of many of those around us abruptly changed—partially because of my grandmother's recognizable presence, but mostly for what it _signified_. The multitude of foreigners merely glanced at us in fascination, if that, but for those who lived in Mistral…

After the War ended and the continents were truly connected to one another, there had been a lot of pressure for the nations to adopt the Council-based governance system, laying aside the Monarchies and Oligarchies that had made them 'Kingdoms' in the first place. Given the nature of the War itself and those who had caused it, it was only natural for people to shy away from such things—and some places, often owing to the ruin the War itself had left in its wake, went along with the shift relatively easily. Vale, for instance, found a change in its ruling body rather simple, as the War had left it entirely without one, and so settled fairly easily into the new way of things. There were holdovers, of course, with laws and traditions owing back to the times of princes and lords and kings, but on the whole it had been an easy transition.

Not so much with Mistral. Having fought hard for the cause of individuality and stood firmly against those who sought the destruction of Alexandria's famed library, the lords and ladies of Mistral had considered the suggestion to step down both insulting and ungrateful and had reject the demands outright. They'd remained unshaken in the face of resulting political pressures, as well, refusing to submit to such tactics. Supported by its allies in Vacuo, there had once been a real chance of another War over the matter.

Mistral went to war with itself, instead. During the course of the war, many had fled their homes and sought safe haven in the city and more had followed when it had remained one of the least damaged in the aftermath. With Vale and Atlas putting themselves back together, the two remaining Kingdoms had been the natural choice for those seeking safety from Remnant's threats, but those same people weren't happy with being ruled again, either—and the descendants of long conquered peoples began to take issue as well. Things had gotten tense as a result, something which had drawn more and more Grimm to the nation until things got bad and fingers were pointed. Finally breaking down around forty years ago, the Kingdom had very nearly torn itself apart in a Civil War. The war had lasted longer than anyone expected, degenerating as it did as the ideologies and sides broke down and it because worse and worse, but in the end, the rebels won.

Except not really. As far as official statements went, the old way of doing things has been abolished and Mistral was now governed by elected officials; it was pure coincidence that said figures happened to be pretty much the same people as before. The Nobility of Mistral had made concessions and agreed to accept the changing times peacefully for the betterment of the nation—and so the Council was made.

With an iron gauntlet clamped firmly around its neck. Indeed, Mistral's lords and ladies had set aside their literal crowns and metaphorical swords to become upright members in society—a society they had all but _owned_ , in the end. Despite the many famous battles, the Civil War had truly been won through socioeconomics, with the Noble's banding together to buy up what was, at the time, worthless property. Laws had been laid down concerning the treatment and ransom of prisoners, such that even great men could be set free with an at the time humble offering of fallen businesses and valueless land, as opposed to other, higher costs. It hadn't seemed to matter at the time, when no one really cared who God or the law said owned what and both sides seemed intent on uprooting the other.

But then the battles had become peace talks and all the more dangerous for it, the Noble's having a firm position legally and militarily. In the negotiations that followed, the rebel leaders had been careful to include clauses pertaining to the ownership of such land and how it could be taxed, used, and so on. Employees were protected, as were those who lived on the land and used it, trying to keep it from screwing them over without being able to deny the Noble's claims directly. These places needed to be maintained for historical reasons, these businesses had to be kept profitable, or else ownership reverts to etc.

And the Nobles had accepted it, in return for conditions of their own, uninterested in petty vengeance. They'd quietly stayed back and profited from the cash inflow for most of a decade, quietly toiling behind the scenes and stay out of sight and out of mind except when they needed to act to support their investments. For years, they allowed Mistral to flourish, and then—moving as a unified group—had _acted_.

They didn't conquer Mistral or enslave its people or reap cold vengeance on their enemies, but they seized _power_ —economically, politically. The richest families of Mistral acting in concert struck hard and fast in what would have been an amazing display had anyone even noticed at the time. Instead, it wasn't until weeks or months later that any even caught on. They were subtle about it, especially at first; taking over businesses through many accounts, working together to reach what they couldn't separately, making it look like nothing was even really happening until after they were in too far to remove once people understood.

And they'd been around ever since, something in the background to most people but affecting everything. Not as a single person or even a family, but many different families tied together despite their clashing methods and beliefs, working together when no one thought they could. The Children of Khagan, of the brothers, of Alexandria and Barca and many more—united. Each, a number of different, interrelated families. Together…honestly, they were more like a mafia. A mafia so large, so entrenched, that it wasn't even really illegal anymore.

Which didn't mean they were necessarily well liked. As I stood beside my grandmother, I immediately received looks—some of them acknowledging, like between colleagues. Others seemed considering, looking for something. Most of the Mistral crowd paid us little heed, recognizing my grandmother but then moving on, uncaring of who owned what.

But a few, I Detected before I even saw, such was their intensity. It wasn't everyone, it wasn't even most people, but among those watching us were players, those who fought against the group that had once been nobles in confrontations that could be economic or violent. They knew who my grandmother was, what she had done, and they hated her, just as they hated me for standing beside her.

This was Mistral, now; the city famed for standing united in the War, divided three ways. Or was it four ways? It could have been five, depending on who you counted; maybe even more. Whatever the case, there were interests and enemies, politics and schemes, positions and territories—things that most people who lived there didn't pay any mind, but things that happened beneath there city's surface. The people staring at me with hostility enough to burn…they could have been anyone; criminals, police, or businessmen who remembered the Civil War and had been wronged or defeated.

And yet, standing there amidst all that, my grandmother smiled very slightly, looking utterly at ease. I followed her lead, letting the serenity of the Gamer's Mind brush aware the unnerving stares and I walked just a step behind my grandmother, showing deference to the head of my mother's family. I didn't move closer or back away, but stayed relaxed and unruffled even as I kept my senses sharp.

"Grandmother," I whispered quietly as I picked out some particular intense hatred coming from a calm-looking, balding man in his forties. "Thirty-seven meters to your right."

She didn't so much as twitch, that I could see, nor was there even the slightest change in her pace.

"I see him," She said an instant after I finished. "Don't worry, dearie."

I nodded and dismissed him from my thoughts, trusting her. Even without being able to see her face, I thought she must have been smiling.

"You've gotten stronger, Jaune," She said. "And taller, too. You're lucky, you know; you look just like your grandfather."

I was pretty sure she meant on my father's side, but didn't ask as I stared calmly ahead, making sure I was out of her way, just in case someone tried something. I came to a stop as we reached my mother, absently watching the crowds give us a wide birth, even though we were in the way.

"Isabelle," Grandmother said, a warm, gentle sound to the word. "It's been too long. I meant to come down last year, but…well, I am such a busy little bee. Something came up that had to be dealt with and it needed a woman's touch. Please forgive me."

"It's not a problem," Mother answered, her voice bizarrely quiet. Her eyes, though, sought my face and there was a demand in them. I hesitated more an instant before starting to move to her side, halting at a touch from my grandmother's hand.

"Now, now," She clicked her tongue. "Don't be too hard on the boy; he hasn't seen his grandmother in years. You're sixteen now, aren't you, Jaune?"

"Yes, Grandmother," I answered, glancing from her hand to my mom's face and shrugging helplessly.

"Sixteen," She sighed. "And only now seeing Mistral. But you started his training, didn't you Isabelle?"

My mother said nothing at that, so Jeanne turned to look at me, expression expectant.

"Yes, ma'am," I answered. "I've been working hard to get into Beacon, Grandmother."

"Bah," She said, but she was smiling. " _Beacon_. Is that dusty old wizard still alive?"

"Professor Ozpin is doing well, Jeanne," Mother answered with forced patience. "He sends his regards."

Grandmother laughed.

"I'm sure he does," She smiled and for a moment it looked sharp enough to cut. "How sad; it seems everyone is too busy to visit their old friends. It must be because I'm so wrinkled, nowadays."

"Ridiculous," I stated immediately. "You look even younger then when I saw you last, Grandmother. _I'll_ be wrinkled before you are."

"Aw," She replied, never taking her eyes off my mother. "That's sweet of you to say, Jaune; actually, I _have_ been moisturizing lately. Still, I'm certain I'd look younger still if I didn't spend so much time worried about my little girl and my tiny grandchildren."

Mom grit her teeth but said nothing again, so my grandmother glanced my way, secretive smile on her lips.

"I asked her to send your sisters to Haven, you know, so they could come visit this poor old women," She told me. "But your mother wouldn't have it. What about you, Jaune? A bit young, but you seem strong enough now. Would you like me to speak to the Headmaster for you?"

"Uh…" I blinked.

"That won't be necessary, Jeanne," My mother cut in. "We've our own business to take care of."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Grandmother replied, turning the smile on her. I saw my mother's face twitched and wondered if my grandmother knew why we were here—thinking about it, she hadn't seemed all that surprised to see me. "But please, a moment to catch up. Do you mind, Jaune?"

I glanced between my mother's flat gaze and my grandmother's smiling face and picked the least dangerous option.

"I don't mind," I said.

"Wonderful," She answered, clapping her hands lightly. "But let's not stand out here all day. Shall we go home, Isabelle?"

I saw my mother's mouth twitch, her fingers flex, but she nodded.

"It's been a long time," She said quietly, looking like she wanted to say something more.

"Good, good," Grandmother said. "It's about time you saw it, Jaune—all your sisters already have."

Mom froze, expressionless, while I blinked in surprise.

"My sisters were here?" I asked. "When was this?"

"Oh, now and then," She gestured. "They stop by to visit whenever business brings them this way and keep an old woman company. It's nothing special, but it reminds me they care."

I saw my mother's hands shake slightly and quickly changed the subject.

"This is Gou, by the way," I said, jostling the dog lightly. He wiggled in my grasp, tongue lolling out as he enjoyed being carried. Grandmother absently scratched his ears, looking him over.

"Gou?" She said, sounding amused. "A good name for a dog, I suppose."

"Why thank you," I smiled, offering her my arm to try and steer us towards the house.

"Are you going to train him?" My grandmother asked, taking it and beginning to guide me. "I've always been partial to local breeds, myself, but an Atlesian isn't a bad choice, either."

"I've already started," I told her as I followed. "I already awakened his aura. It'll take a while before I feel comfortable taking him into the field, but…"

"Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to do well," She advised. "Patience is a virtue, believe you me."

I nodded.

"I take it from your words that you've been in the field yourself, though?" She continued, smiling when I nodded. "Another thing I've missed; you'll have to tell me all about it. Anything else?"

"A few things," I admitted, though I only lifted the wrist Autumn clung to. I saw my grandmother glance at it speculatively. "I'll tell you later, though."

"Fair enough," She said. "I suppose you're here for a reason, then, I suppose?"

I thought that might have been directed at mom, but I figured she wouldn't want to talk about her business—or at least not _here_ —so I nodded and spoke instead.

"The festival, mainly," I said. "I've never seen it."

"And what a crime that is," Grandmother sighed. "Don't worry, dear; I'll make sure you see what you've missed."

I nodded with a smile.

"Besides that…" I said, shrugging a little. "It's a little silly, but I thought it might be fun to compete in the tournament. Mom signed me up in advanced."

"Oh?" My grandmother quirked an eyebrow, lips twitching. "Those things _are_ silly, but they're fun as well. They can even be entertaining to watch, betimes."

"Do you think they will be this year?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, perhaps," She mused, glancing up at the sky. "But I'm hoping for more than just that. Luckily, this has been a year for interesting things, so far. Even the forecast seems good."

I followed her gaze to the dark clouds in the distance and felt something stir in me, Vulturus rousing from his slumber at the sight.

"Storm clouds," I mused.

"Yes," She said, smile on her lips. "And I do so love a good storm."

"Grandmother, when you say things like that, they sound really ominous," I sighed. "But well…"

I pondered the cloud just as lightning flashed in the distance.

"I guess I do, too, though," I admitted as the thunder rumbled under my feet.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Acceptance**

"Ah, I see," Grandmother nodded in acceptance, sipping her tea. "Then this flower is my great granddaughter. My, how time flies…"

We sat at the dining room table of my Grandmother's huge house, drinking from cups that must have been of Vacuo make. Mom had barely gone inside before leaving again, off to handle business I assumed. Gou had sniffed around curiously for several minutes, exploring the new place until my grandmother's own dogs had walked in, massive hulking beasts that were several times the growing puppy's size. Despite that, they had played around the room, prancing around until Gou's adventures lead him out the open door and into the rain outside, immediately drawing his attention. Currently, he seemed to be engaged in battle with it.

He also appeared to be losing. I suppose it was fine so long as he had a good time of it, though.

Autumn, on the other hand, now rested within a pot of soil Grandmother had had one of her men fetch from outside. At a touch, Autumn had unwound herself from my wrist and taken root in the soil, transforming quickly to appear the same as any other rose. My grandmother had watched the process with interest as she'd listened to my explanation.

"Truly though, she's amazing," She continued, blowing gently on her drink. "There have been many experiments over the years, but I've never seen an awakened plant grow so advanced. The most I've ever even heard of was a plant capable of limited motion, but they were unable to get any definite responses to signify intelligence."

"They probably just couldn't communicate with it," I mused, hands around Autumn's pot. "I encountered something similar; when Autumn first became self-aware, she was blind, deaf, and numb to the world. I ended up connecting us through Aura, in the end, but…"

I shook my head, imagining those other plants, who'd never had someone to bring them out of the dark. I hoped…well, I wasn't even sure what I hoped for. That they'd found peace somehow, I suppose.

"Remarkable," Was all my grandmother said, stroking one of Autumn's petals. There was a reaction, after a moment, but I don't think she'd been able to speak to Autumn as such, merely draw her attention with her Aura. "Truly, my granddaughter is quite amazing, isn't she? And very beautiful, as well."

There was a kind smile on her face as she spoke the words and I translated them for Autumn, giving her a rough understanding of the context as well. Autumn reacted by changing her face, blossom shifting somewhat in both color and shape as it opened. I'd explained to Autumn how humans considered her flowers beautiful and she'd used them as one of her many forms of response ever since.

"A Middlemist," My grandmother breathed. The name of the flower, I supposed? I didn't recognize it. "It has been a very long time since I've had the pleasure, Autumn."

She tapped her blossom again, a gentle contact with a single finger, and then looked up at me.

"You said she could consume plants, as well?" She asked. "That's how she grows?"

"I think it's more complicated than that," I replied. "It seems more like a melding of minds then a consumption of them—but yeah, that's one of the ways she grows. She's gotten to the point where she can consume entire trees. She feeds on Aura spent around her, as well."

Grandmother smiled at me gently, so her next words were a tad jarring.

"Have you given her anything poisonous yet?" She asked.

"Not yet," I shook my head after a moment's pause. "Issues with when to use it, mainly; she tends to keep her natural defenses up at all times. Until recently, she would cover herself with Atlesian Blackberry thorns, even while wrapped around me—and sometimes she still does, if something frightens her. She…"

I paused, trying to put the thought into words before my grandmother did it for me.

"She's blind and deaf and numb. Trapped in a silent, lightless world, surrounded by strangers," She said calmly, smile momentarily fading. "It's only natural that she'd get scared."

"Exactly," I agreed. "But even so, a lot of people could get hurt if she reacts the wrong way. I've been working on that with her, but…well, it's something that needs to be done right."

"Then see that it is," She inclined her head towards me. "But once she is prepared, do you have any plans?"

"A few," I shrugged. "The merging seems to have greater results when used on another awakened plant and there are a few good ones I can get to easily. Ranunculus, Aconite, and Oleander seem like good places to start."

"Ah," She said fondly. "A good place to start indeed. But don't be afraid to aim your sights a little higher—Abrus and Brugmansia, Conium and Cicuta and old Cerbera and dear, sweet Manchineel. At the very least, you should have no trouble finding Ricinus in Vale, should you so need. But if I might make a suggestion?"

I tilted my head to the side, not recognizing all of the names—and somewhat worried that my grandmother _did_. Even so, I raised an eyebrow inquisitively, bizarrely curious.

"Menagerie is quite famous for its…inhabitants," She said, lips quirking slightly upwards. "If its dangerous plants you intend to look for, I'd recommend you aim for the top and research the matter. There's a species of Heracleum that has a fascinating poison; I've seen men fine one minute and blister and burn as they walked back into the sunlight. There's another I'm familiar with, a rather spectacular Dendrocnide, which stings those who touch its leaves, injecting them with a toxin so agonizing and persistent that most chose commit suicide to escape the pain. There's a distantly related tree called the Urtica, though _that's_ native to the north-east, and its one of the few plants I've known to have killed people who simply made the mistake of walking into it. There's also a very poisonous breed of plant by the name of Daphne, though you may know it better as a Spurge-laurel, though it's neither a spurge nor a laurel; regardless, those who eat it tend to meet rather horrible deaths."

She made the words sound conversational.

"These are all on the Kingdomless Continents?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Most of them," She shrugged. "It's among the many reasons _why_ they're that way, though a bit down the list. Still, some have been taken away and grown successfully elsewhere, throughout Remnant's history. Mistral has quite a record of making use of such poisons. I've done some research on that topic myself, as you might have guessed."

I could guess _why_ , too.

"As you grow older, you'll find that all manner of skills can prove useful," She continued. "I and several of my old friends developed some small skill at knitting while at school and it's seen us all a ways. That's where I first met your grandfather, you know, though we didn't get to know one another until sometime after that."

"I've found a number of odd skills useful myself," I admitted. "I can believe it."

She reached over to pat my hand gently.

"Will you be going out tonight, then?" She changed the subject. "If you wish, I'll take you to see the festivities tomorrow."

"Thank you, Grandmother," I replied. "I'd love to. But I do think I'll take a look around some, since I'm new in town and all. I don't need to do anything for the tournament tomorrow, right?"

"Not tomorrow, no," She shook her head. "Preliminaries will start the day after, however."

"Then I'll go for a walk, if that's all right with you, Grandmother."

"I don't mind," She said. "I'll send Grigio with you to make sure you don't get lost."

It wasn't a request, but I didn't mind anyway. I really did just want to take a look around—and, okay, maybe scope out the city so I knew where everything was if, against all odds, something happened to go catastrophically wrong in my proximity. Unlikely as it seemed, I felt it might be wise to prepare myself anyway.

Still, a guide could only help with that.

"Okay," I agreed. "Would you be okay with looking after Gou or should I take him with me."

"It's fine if he stays," She answered with closed eyes.

I nodded once, even though she couldn't see me, and then picked up Autumn and rose to leave—but I stopped when she spoke again.

"Jaune," She said. "If you're going into town, you may want to leave Autumn here, as well."

"Oh? Why?" I asked, frowning. I wasn't suspicious of my grandmother—okay, no, that was a lie. I wasn't an idiot; I was totally suspicious of my grandmother. But I was sure she wouldn't harm me or Autumn. But if she wanted me to leave Autumn here… "You know that without me…"

"I know," Grandmother said, opening an eye to look at me. "But…it's your first day in town, Jaune."

I tilted my head to the side and said nothing for a moment.

"You're talking about the others, aren't you?" I said at last; there was no need to clarify who I was talking about.

"If I was with you…" She sighed slowly. "But no, it may be better this way. Word must have spread by now and they'll want to get a look at you. It should be fine but…just in case, leave Autumn here."

I said nothing, frowning down at the pot I held.

"You're strong enough to stand on your own, aren't you?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"I can't say, without any knowledge of who I might be standing before," I replied, unafraid. "But _you_ think I'm ready or else it wouldn't matter."

She smiled at that.

"You're ready," She stated. "But I don't know if Autumn is. Could you protect her?"

Could I? There was really no way of knowing yet. I thought I could; I knew I had a long way to go, but I was still strong now. Autumn herself had a fair number of tricks up her sleeves. I was pretty sure we could handle whatever came up.

The better question was 'would I bet Autumn on that'?

No, I thought. Not if I didn't have to. Not if there was a safer way. She was…

But…

"Should I stay here, then?" I wondered aloud. "She's still so…"

My grandmother chuckled sadly.

"You remind me of myself, Jaune," She said, her smile briefly sad. "But perhaps you should ask her first?"

I looked down at Autumn, Aura shifting invisibly around me.

"Are you sure?" I whispered after a moment and then looked up. "Is this important, Grandmother? Or should I stay?"

"It might be important," She said. "Or it might not even come up. But…in my experience, problems don't go away just because you ignore them; they just get bigger. I advise dealing with such matters quickly and thoroughly."

She looked at me steadily.

"She can sense Aura, can she not?" Grandmother asked. "She'll know she's not alone. Tell her I'll keep her safe until you return."

I was silent for a minute and then nodded.

"Gou," I said and my dog immediately stopped playing in the rain to rush inside. I winced slightly at the mud and water he trailed in but knelt beside the happily panting puppy regardless and lifted Autumn from her pot. A silent whisper and her shape changed, stem splitting to tie loosely around Gou's neck in a second collar, flower on the back of his neck. Gou continued to pant in what seemed like approval, so I scratched his ears before touching Autumn one last time. I knew she'd be safe here—possibly safer then she'd be anywhere else, but…I suppose this was the first time we'd been a part since she woke up and…I…

 _I'll be back soon_.

For a moment, she rippled with patterns of white and red crystal and I knew she could see me as I rose.

"Stay here boy," I told Gou. "Keep an eye on her, okay?"

He panted in acceptance of his important mission before bouncing back into the rain to continue his efforts to conquer it. Through it all, my grandmother's dogs sat patiently on the porch, just watching the puppy play. I imagined them wondering 'what is this idiot doing?'

After a few moments in the rain, however, Autumn stirred around Gou's neck, blossom rising on an extending stalk, growing swiftly larger as large leaves grew around it to help catch the rain for her to drink. Below the organic umbrella, Gou was struck by profound confusion as he continued to run around for a moment, before apparently coming to the conclusion that he had succeeded in defeating his sworn enemy. He sat down and gave me a doggie grin.

"I'll be back soon," I said.

 **XxXXxX**

I walked through the rain, unbothered by the downpour. In Xihai's invisible embrace, the water ran off me quickly, and all it took was a thought for Suryasta kept my clothes warm as well. My grandmother's subordinate walked a step behind me, not commenting on that if he even noticed. He'd offered to hold an umbrella above me when we left, but had nodded easily in acceptance when I'd chosen to stand in the storm instead, appearing used to it.

The man, Grigio, was dressed in a neat, charcoal suit. He looked more like an accountant then a bodyguard, what with his pocket protector, wire-rim glasses, and slowly graying hair, but the symbols above his head made it obvious he was more than he seemed. At level forty-one and with a title like The Garrote, he probably did more than handle finances in his free time.

Well, unless accounting was a significantly more cutthroat business than I'd been lead to believe, which was always possible. How would I know?

"Where do you recommend we go first, Grigio?" I asked absently, keeping my senses focused on my surrounding. With my Clairvoyance, I saw the city for how it really was, beneath the veil of visible light—splatters and colors and remnants of things long gone, spilt blood and worse on the streets and the walls, the swiftly fading traces Aura caused by the daily motions of countless lives and the more vibrant colors on living people. Even without the holographic streetlights, the darkness did nothing to inhibit my sight, and I watched the roads, the rooftops, and any place people might be able to hide.

It wasn't just my Clairvoyance. I kept watch might my other senses, too, waiting for the slightest hint of danger. Occasionally, I felt the stirrings of hostility and hatred from the people we passed on the street and thought I remained relaxed, I'd been prepared in case anything had happened. Crocea Mors had already slide into the blade at my hip and my Elementals hovered invisibly around me, ready to act at a moment's notice. I drew most of my persistent abilities around me, strengthening myself for what was to come.

What could I say? My grandmother had given me a warning; it would have been stupid not to take heed.

"Most people who are new to Mistral try to see the Wonders at least once," The manservant said after a moment's pause. "It's famous for the survival of so many ancient wonders, after all."

"I should probably keep my distance, then," I said, half-jokingly.

"Your grandmother often says the same," Grigio stated, nodding minutely. "Should I suggest something more modern, then? The Cyber Coliseum has finished construction and there's always someone fighting there, if you'd like to see. It has a connection to Hellenistic Gaming, as well, if you wish to entertain yourself. Large shipments always come in during the Olympia festival, due to the relative safety and large consumer base, so there should be a variety of new games to play; as I understand it, the newest installment of the Lost Kingdom saga has been selling very well."

"Oh?" I asked, looking over a shoulder at him to give a curious glance.

He shrugged a shoulder.

"It's a joint venture," He said by way of explanation. "Between us and Alexandria."

"Ah," I nodded, considering it. So Nine had already come out, then? I'd forgotten about it, during my training—it and who knows how many other games. The Lost Kingdom series had always been good, except for maybe three and five, but…I hadn't really played a lot of games since I'd gotten this power. I mean, my _life_ was a game now. Like I'd told Adam, I had different things to focus on now and playing games had fallen to the wayside.

And maybe it was the fact that I was in a city known for ancient history or maybe it was the rain, but thinking about it…that was a little sad. Those games—Lost Kingdom, Grimm Nights, Blackblood, and the Wild Hunt, especially—had gotten me through a lot. I'd perfected all of them, knew them from start to finish, and had had a lot of fun. A lot of my childhood was in those games that I never played anymore. There was a part of me that wanted to go back and play them again, for old times' sake. Even if it was pointless, maybe even a waste of time, I…

But at the same time…was it stupid that I was honestly worried that I wouldn't enjoy them anymore? That the possibility that I wouldn't like them anymore seemed like an honest concern?

"I…" I sighed and shake my head. "It's rather sad, but I seem to have fallen out of games, recently. I think I'd rather curl up with a good book."

"As you say, sir," Grigio nodded calmly. "And if so, you've come to the right place. Alexandria's library is the largest on Remnant. When asked how many books she wanted to see within it, Alexandria once said 'if possible, all the books in the world,' and ever since, the first of any book that's come into Mistral's possession, whether by conquest or trade or theft, has been stored in the library, with a copy being given back if necessary. The only library that was ever considered able to compete with it was Vacuo's House of Wisdom, but when Vacuo was under siege during the War, they transported countless books to Mistral to have copies made, should the worst come to pass. Now, hundreds of millions of books have been stored within the library over the millennia, accounting for duplicate copies, and its keepers now seek to store all of those books in a web format, though progress is relatively slow."

"Amazing," I said, smiling slightly at how passionate he sounded. A part of me wondered how he and my Grandmother would react if they knew about my ability to consume skillbooks for knowledge. When it came to the ancient wisdom within the library, would they be horrified at the potential destruction or intrigued by what I could learn?

Well, I hadn't intended to destroy the priceless artifacts within the library in the first place, but it was good to know that copies were being transcribed.

"How many of the books can be read?" I asked, curiously. "That is, how many are open to the public and how many have been translated?"

"It's hard to say," Grigio shook his head. "Though the connections between the Kingdoms has done much to increase the library's size, much of it came from the conquest of nearby nations over the millennia or from the transcription of ancient texts. In its totality, it's believed the library contains books in over two thousand languages, very few spoken today. With the issues of syntax, culture, translation and transcription…it's hard to say, but decrypting many of the works held within the Library is a major goal of its keepers. The vast majority can be read, however, and the access of that majority will not be an issue."

"Oh?" I asked. "Do we…?"

"It is maintained and funded by the Alexandria and Roma families, with some aid from the Khagan, but the library is not owned, as such," Grigio shook his head. "It strives to be an open source of knowledge for all of Mankind, supported by deals and agreements old and new. Even during the Civil War, the library was agreed to be off limits for its 'enterprises of service to all Mankind.'"

He gestured to indicate the quotation and I nodded, remembering the words.

"It's this way, sir, if you're interested," He said, pointing down the street as we reached the intersection. "If we cut across Ashina, we can head towards Primus fairly easily."

"Sure," I smiled. "One second, though; would you mind checking my notes? On the people following us, I mean."

"Not at all, sir." Grigio assured.

"I count a girl down the street, trying to stay out of sight, that guy we've seen leaning against, like, seven different walls, and that guy who's not even trying to hide. There were a few people who watched us closely when we were nearby, but didn't follow us—I figure they just reported back to someone else—though I'm more worried about the guy way over there, watching us on top of the tower." I said calmly, like I was mentioning the weather. Like so many times before, I knew appearances would matter greatly here, so staying composed was important. Grigio, for his part, didn't even twitch until I mentioned the last one, at which point his eyes flicked to follow my gaze and he couldn't stop himself from frowning.

"You're Grandmother mentioned that you had good eyes," He said. "My apologies, sir; I had missed that last one. His name is Swart; he works for the Barca family. He's…"

Grigio frowned, seeming displeased.

"How bad is it?" I asked him.

"…I hesitate to say," He murmured. "He's not _armed_ , but it's what his presence implies that's worrisome. If you'll allow it, I'll address the matter later, sir. For the moment, it may be best to pretend he isn't there while keeping him in mind."

I nodded at him and watched him closely.

"Since you're more experienced at this than I am, how do you think I should handle this?" I asked. "Directly or indirectly?"

"The ones following us are of the younger generation," Grigio said after a moment of thought. "The heirs and one of their close companions—they want to get a feel for you and where you stand, most likely with their parents' permission. For them…I feel a direct reproach would be best. Just remember that first impression are important."

I nodded, already thinking the same thing.

"Ulaan Khagan," I said, raising my voice even as I kept my back turned. "Kyanos Alexandria. Melania Delphos. Do you need something?"

I saw Grigio glance at me sharply at that but didn't flinch, didn't even turn around until I heard footsteps come near—and when I did, I made sure it was slow and casual. I looked over them almost absently. Ulaan, the large guy who'd leaned on a few walls and watched me openly, was a large, tanned man in red and white. Kyanos hadn't even bothered with that much and had openly tailed us, wearing a green T-shirt and jeans. Melania had stayed in the shadows, which I'm pretty sure had darkened around her, but when she stepped out she was wearing pastels and a floppy hat.

"It's Melanie," She said. "Only my mom calls me Melania."

"Didn't see you there, Melania," Kyanos said despite her words, smiling at her. "You worried about me?"

"Well, you're an idiot, Kyanos." She answered. "Of course I'm worried."

While they were speaking, I looked at Ulaan, the one with the highest level. He was big, so much so that he towered nearly half a foot over me, but more than that he was _calm_. He looked me over and did the same to him. After a moment, he nodded at me in acknowledgement.

"Jaune Roma," He said at last. "Welcome to Mistral."

"It's good to be here, thank you," I replied, not correcting him. I wasn't a Roma, but then, he probably wasn't a Khagan; whichever family was in power held those names in Mistral. That he extended that name to me was an act of respect—if probably more to my grandmother than to me. "I'm surprised to see you so soon, though."

"No, you're not," He answered.

"No," I said, smiling a bit at that. "I'm not. Still, it's good to see you, I hope. I take it you're here to get to know me better?"

"Something like that," Kyanos smiled widely, showing his teeth. "Itri was too busy being an asshole to come, but you'll see him around eventually. He's like a cold—everyone has to put up with him eventually. Look forward to it."

"I will," I replied, thinking he may have already sent a representative. "So then, what should we do?"

"Well…" He seemed to ponder that for a moment. "Originally, I was gonna pick up some porn, explosives, and beer so we could all go up to the catapults and have a nice male-bonding experience—"

"Don't ask," Ulaan murmured as I raised an eyebrow.

"—But Melanie's blown that plan all to hell with her damn cooties and boobs," He shook his head and sighed. "God, what a bitch."

Melanie leaned back without the slightest change in expression and kicked him in the ass. He stumbled forward a few steps but recovered quickly and continued without comment, ignoring her interruption but for a widening of his smile.

"Well, she's my friend so I have to put up with her, however much she sucks, so try to do the same, okay? I'll make it up to you later," He said, sidestepping another kick in the pants without even looking at her and placing a finger to his lips thoughtfully. "Let's see, though, what could we do to get to know each other…"

He smiled suddenly and pointed in the opposite direction of the library.

"I guess we could play some games?" He said. "We can hang out with some of my friends. What do you say?"

I looked at them all carefully.

 **Heir of the Scourge  
LV37  
Ulaan Khagan**

 **Heir of the Conqueror  
LV34  
Kyanos Alexandria**

 **Nymph's Shadow  
LV31  
Melania Delphos**

"You sure you want to?" I said, pretty sure I knew what he had in mind. "Because I'm…pretty good at games."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Competitive**

Kyanos laughed, obviously enjoying every second of this, and even Ulaan had a fierce grin on his face. They honestly thought this was fun.

In fairness, so did I. We were at the Cyber Coliseum, a reconstruction of one of Mistral's ancient landmarks with a new and modern twist. Fighter's would compete year round for people's entertainment, battling in dozens of leagues and tournaments for prizes and sponsorships and more, stemming back from an ancient Mistral tradition meant to keep people's spirits up in dark times and ward away the Grimm. The fights were broadcast on several channels but tickets could be bought to see it in person for major fight—most notably the ones in the Olympia Games. Generally speaking, however, fighting within the Coliseum itself was restricted to those who were supposed to be there.

Which apparently included _us_ , because we'd been allowed into a private arena with nary a word. There, we played our game—and I'd say I was surprised that it descended immediately into outright violence, but I really wasn't. The games my sisters and I played growing up had pretty much always turned into fights, if ones that I'd been mostly left out of as the youngest; I figured the other Families of Mistral probably grew up in similar conditions.

I blocked Ulaan's sabre with one hand, even as I forced his spear away with my shield, planting my feet to strain against the larger man. It was a battle of strength, a simple struggle to see who had more physical power, and I fought against him without using any tricks.

Well. Without any tricks he could _see_ , that is. For the sake of fairness, we were all using practice weapons provided by the arena, for what little that meant—well, 'practice weapons'; they were still sharp, but they didn't transform into rocket launchers or machineguns or have the crafting of a Hunter's weapons. Which really wasn't fair as it did nothing to affect _me,_ but which was a handicap on their part which I was more than willing to exploit. Besides which, Crocea Mors was always by my side, in whichever weapon I chose to wield. That gave me a fierce edge from the very beginning, though I was happy to take advantage of whatever I could.

After a moment of struggle, my senses alerted me of danger and I broke off, dancing quickly to the side as another spear flashed through the space I'd inhabited moments before, thrusting into Ulaan hard enough to draw a grunt from the boy. I spun, lashing out with my shield to smash it into Kyanos's chest, boosting my strength with both Power and Double Strike to send him skidding several meters back. Ulaan swung his spear in an arc that ducked neatly under before forcing me to parry a sword strike as I rose. Held briefly still, he thrust his spear forward that even bracing myself and blocking with my shield _I_ was sent sliding back.

He didn't stop there, of course, but continued with a series of mighty blows, never even allowing me to stop. He lashed out so quickly with each attack that the sound of one impact slide right into the sound of the next and if not for Crocea Mors, each strike would have left dents deep in the steel of my shield.

In the end, I cheated, sliding just a bit further with the help of Levant, such that his next blow had to reach ever so slightly further, took a fraction of a second longer—and yet, it was enough. I turned aside the spear head by angling me shield, pushing it aside even as I turned the motion into a spin and slammed the edge of my sword hard into his upper arm, sending him into the ground a meter away. To his credit, he turned what should have been an uncontrolled fall into a well-practiced roll and kept ahold of his weapons.

To _my_ credit, I kept on him and didn't give him time to get up. I came down on him from a high leap, sword arcing down with thunderous force behind a magically sharpened edge. He lifted his weapons to block, crossing sword and spear to try and halt my blade—and if he'd been using his actual weapons, it probably would have worked. But these practice weapons?

I had an Elemental to make even cheap steel hard as diamond.

He didn't.

The haft and blade of his weapons splintered and shattered and my sword continued down the smash into his chest. The Coliseum floor around him cracked slightly as he gave a coughing exhalation and I lifted my sword to strike again—

And leapt up, out of the way of a sudden blue-green blur as Kyanos raced across the arena in shroud of his own Aura. Flashing towards the opposite wall, he seemed to rebound off something invisible before hitting it, bouncing away at an angle to change position and come back my way. Once again alerted by Sense Danger, I'd moved before the second ricochet, striding neatly out of the way of his advance. He drew passed me, changing direction again before returning my way, only to find me once again out of his path. Even if he could move fast enough to seem like a blur to normal eyes, he still traveled in a straight line, so an early warning was all I needed to get _out_ of that line.

Except…the second attack had been faster than the first and the third faster still. When he came my way again, he continued the trend and got that much closer, the time between Sense Danger's warning smaller and smaller until it turned into a steady alarm between the tenth and eleventh. I continued my evasion, never stopping for even a moment, but he came closer and closer as his speed increased. Would he just keep getting faster until he hit me?

No, I thought, Observing him. His MP was dropping quickly with each attack, the rate of descent rising alongside his speed. This ability— _Chariot_ —wasn't something he could keep up forever.

The question was if he could keep it up longer then I could evade it?

I wanted to find out. I already had Haste activated, the skill I'd drawn from yellow Dust giving a more muted increase in speed in exchange for a vastly increased duration, as well as the White Tiger's Tread. I could still go faster if I had to, but before I did that…

I took a chance and stepped aside, turning neatly to take another step and another and another still. Sense Danger gave me an advanced warning, but here I needed something else, something to gauge the individual strikes not just the fact that I was in the line of fire.

Luckily, I had just the thing. I watched him closely, turning to keep him always in sight, and focused on him with my Clairvoyance. With my clear sight, even his steadily increasing speed wasn't enough to escape my eyes—it was just a matter of keeping pace with my body. I could see every moment of his approach, I just needed to dodge early enough to get out of the way, to compensate for his acceleration, to move early enough to avoid danger but also late enough to keep him from reacting.

The opening for doing so shrank steadily as he raced across the area like lightning, leaving cyan streaks in the air as a mark of his passing, but I dodged and danced between the blows, using the smallest possible movements to evade, centimeters to his meters—and through it all, I waited for his MP to drop.

But apparently, they had been waiting, too. All of a sudden, the world around me shifted, like a screen had fallen over my eyes and darkened my sight. Melanie, I realized as I saw her in the periphery, using her power to block the lights. She wasn't making darkness, per se, because the lights were still there, still glowing where they had been positioned.

I knew, because I could _see_ them. Whatever she was doing, it didn't stop my Clairvoyance—or rather, it didn't stop _all_ of it. Even cut off from visible light, I could clearly see everything around me with just a slight shift in perspective—and as I did, I saw what they were trying to do.

Kyanos couldn't see in the dark, but he didn't need to. Moving as fast as he was and in straight lines, all it would take was a moment's hesitation on my part, a sudden uncertainty, and he'd crash right into me. And that's what this darkness was meant to do, to make me uncertain, to interfere at a crucial moment even if it meant sacrificing Kyanos' own sight. It struck me as a trained maneuver, something practiced extensively and which had probably worked many times.

But it didn't work here, because I wasn't uncertain and I didn't hesitate. I saw him coming, moving as fast as he could—for what better time for this trick then near his top speed—and at the very last moment, Lunged aside. Just a meter or so; enough to get out of the way and continue my turn, but enough to send him by me one last time.

To his credit, even blind he stopped before hitting the wall, rebounding one last to skid to a halt before crashing.

To mine, I Lunged after him the moment I was out of the way, smashing into his back like a cannonball and shoving him part of the way _into_ the wall.

"Kyanos!" Melanie shouted, apparently still able to see in the darkness. I glanced at her and saw her running towards me, a pair of knives in her hands.

Well, 'running.' Compared to what Kyanos had done, to what I could do, she might as well have been walking. I could see, both with my eyes and Observe, that she was a skilled fighter—as expected of anyone at level thirty-one, really—but fighting a face to face confrontation wasn't her role; she was more suited to darkening an area and picking off enemies one by one. As someone who'd done the same before, I could acknowledge and respect that, as well as recognize its power.

But that just wasn't gonna work here.

I stepped away from Kyanos and another Lunge took me to Melanie. I landed slightly crouched but already swinging my sword up at her, my closeness to the ground causing it to carve a furrow in the stadium floor as I slammed her with a power attack that sent her flying into the air. She landed some five meters away and stayed on the ground, the darkness fading around us as she went still, though a quick Observation said she was okay. I'd heal her afterwards.

"Melanie!" Kyanos shouted, rising from the dirt as he panted hard. He still had his spear in hand, but he glanced at it once and threw it away. "Ulaan!"

The Khagan boy fell from the air right in the path of the spear, snatching it out of midair even as he tossed what looked like another short sword—probably plucked from the nearby armories—towards Kyanos. The pair turned to me as one and rushed at me, blue-green and violet-red.

I stood still and welcomed their charge. My shield came up and met the spear's haft, my sword parrying its mirror. They drew back and struck again, barely a moment between blows, and I still didn't retreat. I pushed aside the force of Ulaan's strikes, met those of Kyanos with yet greater force, and refused to budge—and then I started to push back. I ducked under a strike toward my eyes and used my shield to push aside the spear again, this time using it as a pivot, turning to shove a shoulder into Ulaan, sending him a grunting step back. I completed my turn to face Kyanos fully and struck his defending sword aside to send him sprawling with a bash from my shield.

I turned again to face Ulaan and, instead of pushing his spear aside, surprised him by letting it pass under my arm and then caught it against my side. A moment later, I cut through the shaft of the weapon with another Doubled Power Attack. Even with his Aura reinforcing it, these weapons were fragile compared to a Hunter's, and the wood cut easily.

Our eyes met and I saw him sigh slightly before I smacked him across the face with my shield, sending him prone. I turned again and strode quickly closer to Kyanos as he rose, blade going to his throat.

He looked up at me for a moment and laughed.

"Okay, okay, we get it," He said. "You're a beast. I give."

I smiled a bit at that and lowered the sword, giving him a hand up, healing him as I did.

"Oh, that's a neat trick," He said, glancing down. "We haven't had a healer in the blood for a while now. You mind?"

He nodded in the direction of the other two who I went to heal with a nod.

"I guess your grandmother must have ridden you hard, huh?" Kyanos asked, absently rubbing an arm. "All the families do, but I guess your gran has a reputation for a reason."

"Oh?" I asked, looking at him.

"Your mom and all, I mean," He said, as if that should explain it. Which I guess it did, honestly.

"Ah," I nodded. "I see. I actually trained with my mom, though."

"God, it's a family thing?" He shook his head. "We'll compare notes some time on the awful things our parents do to us, yeah?"

"Sure," I said, watching Melanie's eyes open. Kyanos moved to stand over us, shaking his head.

"Some bodyguard you turned out to be," He said. "I got my _ass_ kicked, Mel."

"It's not my fault he can see in the dark, you idiot," She said bitterly, but accepted my offered hand. When Kyanos glanced my way, I shrugged and said nothing, moving to heal Ulaan next. The heir and his friend bickered behind me, but I fixed the damage to the Khagan easily and waited for his eyes to open.

He glanced at me and frowned slightly before nodding.

"You fight well," He said.

"Thank you," I replied, helping him rise. "You do, too."

"It's my loss," He sighed. "Even three-on-one, you won…your grandmother will be pleased. My father will not."

I wasn't really sure how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry," I said at last, a bit awkwardly.

"Don't be," He said, shaking his head. "You should never be sorry for proving yourself. I look forward to working with you in the future, Jaune Roma."

He turned to leave solemnly before Kyanos ruined it.

"Hey, Ulaan, where are you going?" He shouted.

"Home," He answered with another sigh. "It's getting late."

"No, it isn't," Kyanos disagreed. "It's not even _seven_."

"True," Ulaan nodded in acceptance before looking over his shoulder. "Allow me to rephrase; I find you annoying, Kyanos."

"Aw, _dude_ ," The Alexandrian replied. "Is that anyway to speak to your friend?"

Ulaan just kept walking, making Kyanos laugh again.

"You're lucky I'm so nice, Ulaan," He said. "I guess that blow to the head knocked something loose. Did you forget what day it is?"

Ulaan stopped.

"Oh," He said.

"What?" I asked, looking at Kyanos, who only grinned.

"Since you're new in town and you won the fight, why don't I show you something cool?" He asked. "We've got a special guest in Arena Three. If you want, I'll get you her autograph."

"If _you_ ask her, she'll break your face again," Ulaan said, but didn't seem interested in leaving anymore. He eyed me for a moment, ponderingly. "Are you tired?"

"Not really," I shrugged after a moment's hesitation, wondering if that was rude to say after a fight. "Why? Who's there?"

 **XxXXxX**

"Pyrrha Nikos." Kyanos said, nodding his head towards the fighter sparring in the arena. "Three time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament looking to break the record with a fourth. She's an old friend of mine."

"Old friend?" I asked Melanie without taking my eyes off the fight. She fought several opponents at once, much as I had, but for her it was four against one, rather than three.

"She hates him," She explained, sounding bored.

"Why?"

"I honestly don't remember," Kyanos mused, frowning. "It was something about…something?"

"Informative," Ulaan grunted.

"You hurt one of her friends in her first tournament," Melanie reminded, though Kyanos' face was blank. "Third round? That one guy?"

"Need I remind you who made it to the finals?" He asked, shrugging at my look. "There were a lot of guys who got their asses kicked."

"You…" Melanie waved her hand irritated, going quiet for a moment. At last, she suggested. "Broke his arms? Or maybe his legs?"

"You're gonna need to be more specific," He said, again shrugging under my gaze. "You fight in the big league tournaments, that type of thing happens. You lose when your Aura drops into the red, right? Because that means its low enough that you might get hurt if you continue, you see?"

"Yeah," I said when he seemed to be waiting for a reply.

"But the thing is, all that stuff's relative," He continued. "It's based on percentage—how much of your total Aura you have and all that. And that's all well and good if it's between two equals and such, but if it's between someone on their way to Haven and some newbie…well, it's not that hard to knock someone from half-full to empty in one hit. Nikos down there knocked, like, three—"

"Four," Melanie corrected, pursing her lips.

"Four people out of her first tournament like that," Kyanos corrected before pausing to consider it. "Though they were kind of losers, from what I remember. Still, if you knock someone to empty, the rest of the force hits their bodies, so injuries aren't uncommon, even if they suck. You're expected not to hurt anyone _too_ badly, but nobody makes a fuss over some broken arms."

"They made a fuss over this," She shook her head. "There was a lot of news about the Champion's injured friend for a while, remember?"

" _No_ , I don't remember," Kyanos sounded annoyed. "How is it you remember what happened to…whoever, but don't remember what she did to me? You don't see _me_ holding a grudge."

"Well, your father called in a healer to put you back together. Even with the delays, you were up and walking again in a _week_ ," Melanie shrugged. "He wasn't. There were complications because of… _something_ and he took a while to heal. I think he might have missed a year?"

"Yeah?" He frowned to himself, looking down before shaking his head in irritation. "God, I still don't remember."

"That's probably why she hates you," I noted and Melanie nodded in agreement.

"It was _one guy_ ," He said. "Just some dude from the third round of one tournament I competed in four years ago! And I had a _concussion_ by the time that thing was over! Hell, do either of _you_ remember his name? Or who _you_ fought in the third round?"

"No," Ulaan said, doing his best to ignore the conversation and watch the fight. Kyanos looked vindicated by his words nonetheless.

"Of course I do," Melanie said—probably just to be contradictory, as she fell silent immediately after. Under Kyanos' expectant gaze, her mouth twitched once, twice, before she blurted. "It started with a 'P.'"

Kyanos snickered at that, before looking back at the area and sighing.

"So something like that happened, huh?" He sighed. "God, I feel old saying it, but four years seems like so long ago now. Four years ago, I hadn't even gotten into Sanctum."

Four years ago, I hadn't even failed to get into Signal. He was right; four years _did_ seem like a long time ago. Hell, four _months_ seemed like a long time ago, now, but back then…most of my sisters had still come by home from time to time—checking in on me, they said, though in hindsight they'd probably just been worried that I would be starting Mom's training soon. Of course, that had never happened, because I wasn't…I hadn't been…

God, the memories were so vivid, the feelings they invoked so real, yet that could have been another life it felt so far away. Not even four months and look how much I'd changed, how far I'd come, what I'd done…

Maybe that was why I nudged Kyanos.

"If it bothers you, why don't you apologize?" I asked, the words at once optimistic and vaguely sad. "Even if it's just words and she doesn't forgive you, you can still try, right?"

He sighed, leaning against the railing.

"I guess," He mused. "I'm not used to apologizing for kicking ass, though."

"Think of it as apologizing for making _her_ kick _your_ ass," Ulaan suggested. "Repeatedly. In front of thousands of people. Being in such close proximity to the embarrassment you made of yourself must have been agonizing for her."

"Patty…" Melanie murmured. "No, not…Patrick? Pre…per…? Damn it, I know this!"

"Wow," Kyanos shook his head. "Sometimes I forget how _horrible_ all my friends are. You guy's _suck_. In fact, you know what? Screw both of you. Jaune, you're my _new_ friend, okay?"

"Uh," I said. "Sure?"

"Cool," He said, even as he frowned to himself, looking concerned. "Also, you can just heal me if she breaks my arm again, so it's fine, right?"

"I suppose," I nodded hesitantly as I looked at him. "Although, you…might want to wait until you remember the guy's name."

"Yeah," He nodded slowly. "It's waited four years, it can wait another day or two. Right? Right."

"Prasino!" Melanie blurted. "His name was Prasino, I'm sure of it!"

She furrowed her eyebrows, frowning.

"Probably."

"Probably?" Kyanos asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Melanie's expression shifted to one of annoyance almost instantly.

"It was four goddamn years ago and I never even met the guy," She sniffed. " _I'm_ pretty sure his name was Prasino and _you_ don't remember a damn thing, so you can go fuck yourself. Go get the shit kicked out of you by Nikos again for all I care."

He nodded quietly, considering her.

"Yeah," He said, drawing the word out. "I think I'll wait to look it up. But speaking of getting broken by Nikos!"

He turned to face me with a smile, pointing at me with a lazy gesture.

"You want to try your luck against the reigning champ, Roma?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What?" I asked, blinking.

He nodded at the arena. In the time it had taken us to finish talking, the red haired girl had finished off her opponents without taking a scratch and looked no different than she had when she first entered the ring.

"I figured, hey, you're a pretty good fighter; want to try your luck against the champ?"

"Here?" I wondered, though Kyanos just waved the concerns away.

"Everyone knows Pyrrha will take on all comers—if you're brave or stupid enough to want to fight her, she'll gladly kick your ass."

"Even when her tournament's so soon?" I asked. "If she's going for four in a row, wouldn't she want to be fresh?"

He snorted.

"Who knows?" He said. "Personally, I doubt she really cares one way or another. What about you?"

I looked down at the ring. Even though I'd been a bit distracted by the conversation, I'd seen enough of the battle—if you could even call such a one-sided fight a _battle_ —to know she was good. In fact, if she'd won three times, it was safe to assume she'd be the strongest fighter in the tournament. So really…there was no point wasting time, when I could just fight the champion. Winning the tournament didn't mean anything to me, apart from the fun it could bring—but if I could just skip to the best part…

"Sure," I said, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the railing. I nodded to myself after a moment, deciding. "Yeah, sounds like fun. It's really okay, right?"

"Um," Said Kyanos, smiling brightly before looking suddenly uncertain even as Ulaan just smirked, unsurprised. "…You sure, dude? Because, like…I want to see this. A lot. But as your newly appointed friend, I feel like I should warn you before letting you run headlong into danger. Because I got my ass kicked by both of you, but she kicked it a lot harder."

"So you were gonna just throw him to the wolves before?" Melanie asked, rolling her eyes.

"Nah, I like him," Kyanos said, punching my shoulder. "I'd have given him fair warning before setting up the camera and placing bets—but you've gotta get pounded into the ground by Nikos at least _once_. It's _tradition_."

Ulaan and Melanie both frowned at the apparent reminder.

"Besides, I can't very well throw a _wolf_ to the wolves, can I, Roma?" He asked, looking at my again and glancing me up and down. "Yeah—you're a healer; you'll be fine. And you were holding back some, right?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe a little bit," I said.

"That's the spirit," He nudged me again. "The sons of the Families can't coast through life on our stunning good looks alone, right?"

"That is sadly true," Ulaan admitted, lifting a hand in concession.

I smiled a bit at that, even while Melanie rolled her eyes.

"But you're sure?" Kyanos asked me.

I looked out into the area, contemplatively.

 **The Invincible Girl  
LV47  
Pyrrha Nikos**

"Yeah," I said. "I'm sure."

He looked me over one more time and nodded sharply.

"Hey, Nikos!" He suddenly shouted before extending his hands as if to present me. "A challenger has appeared!"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Cooperative**

I rolled my eyes at my new friend's antics and stepped up onto the railing, allowing myself to fall down into the ring. I landed lightly and strode forward with confidence, drawing closer to the three-time champion. Pyrrha's eyes focused on the trio behind me for a moment—or perhaps just Kyanos, I didn't bother checking—and then shifted to me, watch me draw nearer. I meet her gaze and nodded in acknowledgement when I'd drawn near enough.

"Hello," I greeted, waving slightly. "Jaune Arc, at your service."

"Pyrrha Nikos," She replied, giving me a small smile. Her heart didn't seem to be in it, however, and it faded quickly. She glanced over my head again before looking at me, contemplatively. A tad belatedly, she added. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I nodded in thanks and waited for her to continue. I could see the question in her eyes, but waited for her to give it voice.

"So," She finally asked, voice wryly. "How'd you get dragged into this? If they're making you fight…"

"Ah," I said, casting a look over my shoulder before explaining calmly. "It's nothing like that. I'm just looking to have a good time. It's my first night in Mistral and they're…showing me around? Well, something like that."

"You're here for the tournament?" She asked, looking at me a bit differently.

"Yeah, sort of," I said, shrugging a shoulder. "I'm not really the tournament type, but I was gonna be in town with my mom anyway and it seemed like fun, you know? But then they told me you were the champion the last three times and that you were accepting challenges. Aren't you?"

"I am," She confirmed, before hesitating. "If you understand what it means."

"That you're the champion for a reason?" I asked, shrugging. "I get it. Well, I only signed up for the tournament for the memories, you know? But if I could fight the champ instead, that'd be even better, is kind of what I was thinking."

She seemed to consider that for a moment before accepting it.

"I won't hold back," She warned. "Are you sure?"

"That's cool," I shrugged again, looking around before putting a hand to Crocea Mors, where it hung at my side. "It's just for fun, right? So let's have fun."

At that, she gave me an honest smile.

"Very well," She said. "I would be happy to be your opponent."

"Practice weapons or live?" I asked. Practice weapons were the norm for…well, practice, as they lacked the horrific lethality that tended to characterize the instruments of Hunters and combat schools—that is to say, they minimized the chances of someone dying if something went wrong. However, it wasn't uncommon for Hunters to spar against one another with their actual weapons; it was sort of the norm, even. To apply Kyanos' words, I suppose it worked for those who were strong enough not to be knocked out instantly and, hopefully, smart enough to surrender before running out of Aura. Kyanos, Melanie, Ulaan, and I could probably have spared that way, it was just that they'd come to meet me unarmed, so as not to seem threatening. I'd put aside Crocea Mors to make things a bit more even, but for a fight like this…

She opened a hand towards me, wordlessly giving me the choice.

I smiled a bit at that and drew Crocea Mors, letting the sheath unfold into a shield as she silently brought her own weapons to her hands. A gleaming Dipylon shield and a xiphos, if I recalled correctly, both colored red and gold. She held her shield between us, lifted high enough for her to be able to move it into a blocking position swiftly, but not high enough to impede her field of vision. Her sword was held…not at ease, per se, for it was obviously at the ready, but her stance…

If I had to guess from how she was standing, I'd say she'd probably lead with her shield, whether by defending to make an opening that her sword would exploit or using it to knock me back. In its own way, her stance was like a mirror of mine; I held my shield close, ready to defend if needed, but I lead with my sword—regardless of what jokes that probably left me open to. I could take a hit thanks to my layered defenses and healing ability, while Bai Hu's art had gotten me used to being on the offensive. I was better suited for it, besides.

So when she didn't make the first move, my instinctual reaction was to attack. Going by her stance, it seemed safe to assume she'd attempt to block instead of dodge, hoping to tie up my weapon for a moment and strike. But if I stacked enough skills behind a single attack, hit her hard enough to throw her off balance…

Assuming I _could_ hit her hard enough to throw her off balance. It would be foolish to assume nobody had ever thought of that before, but here she was, three-time champ. If she'd built her fighting style at least partially around a shield, it seemed likely she'd probably invested some time and effort into actually using it. In fact, the simple fact that she _wasn't_ going on the offensive implied a lot. It was possible—maybe even likely—that she was going easy on me despite her words, but I didn't think that'd make her fight stupidly. If she was doing this, there was a reason.

I took a step to the side, watching her react to the sound—or, rather, her lack of reaction to the sound. I relaxed as I walked a slow quarter-circle around her, lowering my shield slightly and shifting my grip on my sword. It was a confident stride, an inviting one, opening me to an attack.

But she didn't take it. She held her position for the slow seconds that I moved, ready to attack but not doing so. She wanted _me_ to attack first. A trap? A test? I wasn't sure, but basic logic said that if your enemy wanted you to do something, it probably wasn't to your benefit to oblige her. It would be better to draw things out, to let minutes pass and force her to make the first move; if needed, I was pretty sure I had the patience to outlast pretty much anyone. Or perhaps I should try a ranged attack and see how she responded.

Instead, I attacked her, exactly how she wanted. Part of it was curiosity; if it was a trap, then springing it would probably reveal something about how she fought. Another part thought that it would be good to determine early on how much she could withstand, to build further plans off of. But the biggest part? It wanted to test my strength against hers, to see how I compared. Remembered that this was just a sparring match, just a game, and wanted to have fun.

Perhaps an instant after I started forward, she moved, rushing to meet me in the middle. I brought down Crocea Mors a bit earlier then I planned and the sword rang against her shield, a shockingly loud sound as my skills multiplied the force over and over again. I saw her arm sink slightly beneath the force of the blow, but I was moving before the blow even truly connected, senses crying out in warning. As she blocked the blow from above, Pyrrha herself had gone below, sliding under her shield to swing at my legs. I tried to step back, but the sword suddenly extended into a javelin that she used to sweep my feet out from under me.

Fortunately, my brain was moving faster than my body. A last minute adjustment with Levant turned a fall into a flip and I landed on my shield, rolled to one knee, and blocked a thrust of her javelin that sent me skidding back. As it did, I moved with the force, sliding to my feet as I came to a halt and immediately pressing forward as Pyrrha spun with the blow. I caught it on my shield again and spun with it myself, turning to bring a blow up at her head. She caught it on her shield and shrink her weapon back down to a sword she tried to stab me with, which I shielded against in turn.

For a moment, we strained against one another, a simple battle of strength. I thought her base physical strength was probably greater than my own, but was pretty sure my passive skills gave me better increases—whatever the case, I stalemated her long enough to brace myself with Levant and try to kick at her legs.

An instant later, my senses were screaming in warning again. I felt a sharp point and sudden weight on my thigh as she literally stepped onto me, but saw the true source of danger as her sword shifted neatly into a new shape—and it was only by all but falling backwards that I avoided looking down the barrel of a rifle. She fired a shot that chipped away at the floor a few feet from my head, but I lifted my shield to cover my head and chest before she could adjust her aim. Three shots rang out in such quick succession that I was only able to distinguish them by the impacts on my shield, even as I lifted my blade to stab at her leg.

By then, she was already in a flip of her own, an arc that I caught only a glimpse of as my danger sense gave me a moment's reprieve and I moved my shield. I pushed away from the ground with one arm, Levant all but pulling me to my feet in a motion that ended with me swinging down at Pyrrha as she landed in a crouch. She brought up her shield in another ringing block and swept her sword at my feet again—but this time I was prepared. I jumped the moment my senses alerted me, a short hop that used my blade as a pivot and the force behind her defense to flip neatly over her, turned midair to land facing her back, and swung down at her head.

Without even looking, she brought her shield up behind her head, but she was on one knee and defending from an awkward position—she had to brace herself against the ground with her sword arm, pommel of the blade against the floor.

She used that to steady it when the blade suddenly expanded back into a spear, length pushing it past her shield and towards the center of my chest. I caught it with my shield again, but with the floor on the other side she leveraged me back, rising with the action to push harder. I planted my feet, shifting to the side to angle the blow away. She didn't even bother pulling the spear back, simply shrinking the blade back to its sword form as she bashed her shield against mine. I spun, caught her blade on my own, and managed to plant my feet quickly enough to push against her while she was still extended, shoving her back. As she pulled her sword closer, I closed in myself and swung hard down at my head.

But what she did next surprised me.

As my sword came down, she raised her shield in an instant and caught my strike as I expected her to—but she blocked it with both arms, releasing her sword at her side in doing so. With my Clairvoyance, I saw it all—how she let go of the weapon, how it spun almost idle circles through the air, how her now free hand came up to grasp the inward curving edge of her shield and help force my attack aside, even how my reflection gleamed in the shield over the course of each passing moment. As steel brushed steel and I tried to pull back, I even saw the fingers of her free hand brush the flat of my blade. Light glimmered against steel, shining from a thousand sources throughout the arena yet seeming suspended as I focused.

Then the moment passed and she spun, using her shield to push away from my blade, retrieving her discarded sword before it even touched the ground and striding away.

I didn't follow. That maneuver had been…beautiful, certainly, and undeniably graceful, but…what surprised me was one simply thing, the moment when she'd let go of her sword to brace her shield with a hand. She'd let it spin through the air for a moment before drawing it back, but…there'd been no true _need_ to let go of it, not really. She could have braced her defense with a sword in hand as easily as without, yet…

It was strange. Something tiny and without any apparent meaning, over in an instant, and yet it seemed so out of place. Pointless, compared to everything else; a needlessly showy addition that stood out starkly compared to the whole. Maybe it was only because I noticed everything in such vibrant detail—

Vibrant detail, I thought, noticing something. In the dozens of lights that glittered on the surface of my weapons, there were four out of place. Off-color, they stayed in the same place no matter how the blade moved, markings on the steel.

Four points of light on the flat of Crocea Mors, where Pyrrha's fingers had touched them.

"What…?" I whispered, but didn't have even a second to think about it because Pyrrha was suddenly on the attack. I raised my shield to counter a bash from hers, sliding back a pace as I readied my sword. She came at me shield first again, but I braced myself better this time and though I slide again, I wasn't pushed _away_. Shield to shield, we both raised our blades, striking around them even as we pulled back our defenses.

Again, I saw every moment—how she slid her shield across mine to raise a defense, the knuckles of her hand dragging across Crocea Mors' surface and leaving trails of light in their wake. How rippling patterns of light appeared in the air, spreading from her hands to the small space between us. Dim Aura marks flashed brightly at their touch.

She shouldn't have been able to bring her shield up quickly enough to block, but my sword seemed to shift ever so slightly as it passed through those waves and she did anyway, stopping the attack even as her own sank into my upper arm. There was a flash of pain before she jerked it back, sword extending into a spear again as she swept my legs out from under me, neither my sword nor shield moving precisely how I wanted them.

I landed flat on my back and I was thinking about it the whole way down. It was subtle—so subtle I couldn't even _feel_ it—but I'd seen it with my Clairvoyance. Given the possibilities of my different forms of sight and what had been affected…

"Magnetism," I breathed quietly as she drew a step away, going back to a defensive stance. She stopped at my words, looking at me in surprise. "Right?"

I rose to my feet and she didn't stop me. I was breathing hard, I noticed absently. It wasn't important, not really, and it faded as I healed myself besides. As I recovered, though, I looked at her face. She didn't look upset or worried, merely…surprised. Even so…

"Did I see something I shouldn't have?" I asked quietly, leaning closer.

She seemed to consider that.

"No, no; it's not really a _secret_ , I suppose," She mused aloud after a moment. "It's simply that its best uses are subtle and I don't talk about it much. You're simply the first to notice."

"Yeah, sorry," I said. "I have really good eyes. It's not a problem, is it? For you, I mean."

"I don't see why it would be," She said. "If you noticed here, you'd have noticed it later."

"I suppose so," I agreed. "Still, I only noticed outside the tournament because you were willing to fight me, so I feel a little bad? Well, if you want, I'll drop out of the tournament and we'll call it even."

"Oh?" She asked, looking surprised again. It was easy enough to guess why.

I shrugged and smiled.

"It doesn't really matter," I said. "I'm more interested in fighting you anyway."

"That's not necessary," She shook her head after a moment, frowning. "We're both learning things from this battle; if you've noticed more, than that's simply because you're more observant. There's no need to apologize for such a thing. Shall we continue?"

I shrugged, accepting her words, and then nodded. Glancing down at Crocea Mors, I considered my options. If her power was based on magnetism, there were several solutions. For a long time now, people had made jokes concerning how magnets work, but actually it's pretty simple. Generally speaking, it's a result of aligned magnetic dipoles, which meant there were several ways to _demagnetize_ something that I could try. Whether they'd work or not would need testing, though, since Aura could work in strange ways. It was up in the air whether any of those methods would stop her, though I could try. With my Elementals and my powers, I could probably figure something out.

But for this…

I sheathed Crocea Mors and placed him back at my side, sending him an apology as I did so.

"I'm sorry, but since you've already marked him," I shrugged with a smile.

"Are you giving up?" She asked, sounding disappointed. "Or do you intend to fight unarmed?"

"Neither," I said. "Do you mind if I try something new?"

"By all means," She said.

I smiled at her gratefully—and then focused power in my hands.

I felt my Aura taking form in my thoughts even as it gathered before my eyes. The part that was visible, that glowed like a shaft of white light to the naked eye, was just a small part of it—most of the power I channeled into it spilt off in other ways, only visible to me because of my Clairvoyance. It was sloppy and wasteful—which really wasn't all that surprising from a first attempt, I suppose—but I peered through the shed energy and wasted power, glimpsing the core held within. The various forms of Clairvoyance came with different effects and benefits and this one, the basic ability to see Aura, gave bonuses to attempts to shape and work with the energy directly; presumably my abilities way of representing me being able to actually _see_ what I was doing instead of grasping for it blindly.

And I saw. I started with something familiar, forming my Magic Missile, and then shrank it carefully into a more compact shape. I'd gotten the idea from Pyrrha's own weapon, but the leap from concept to practice was a tricky one. While I'd lengthened the energy within Magic Missile, I needed something different here and went a different direction. It was hard to describe what it was like to shape _energy_ , but I compressed and folded the power, even if it may not have been obvious from the result, forming both an exterior matrix for the power to fill and an interior lattice of support. On its own, I knew it wouldn't remain in such a state for very long—I could literally see the energy seeping away, after all—but that's why I drew upon Crocea Mors help, matching the pattern of my sheathed blade with my own soul to reinforce the structures with the enduring stability of Metal.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created the skill to form magical weapons, 'Vorpal Sword.'**

I exhaled, allowing the somewhat misshaped creation to fade and crafted a new one as I took a breath. The result, as expected, was a much smoother length of pure white energy, if not precisely how I'd envisioned an energy sword—in the center of the wildly radiating energy around its length, it appeared more like a cylinder topped with a cone-like point then a flat plane, which didn't seem precisely optimal when it came to a _blade_. Nonetheless, I trusted my power not to lead me astray and promptly created a second one in my other hand. I'd never tried dual-wielding swords and there were many reasons why it wasn't a great choice in really life, but hell; I was a game character. If nothing else, I'd probably get a dual-wielding skill at some point, so there was no reason _not_ to. I had MP to _burn_ , after all.

Through it all, Pyrrha watched me closely, the barest hint of a furrow on her brow.

"I learn fast," I said, shrugging under her gaze before her words surprised me.

"You said you had good eyes, too," She mused. "What exactly is it that you see?"

"…Who knows?" I shrugged at last, giving her a flight smile. "Various things, I suppose."

She nodded once, seeming to accept that as…something, and lifted her weapon again.

"Shall we continue, then?" She asked.

I attacked her by way of reply, a slow, telegraphed move that she defended against with her sword even after moving her body out of the way, positioning it as a test we both wanted to see the results of. Her sword blocked the attack as if it were from any other blade, which was a bit pity. On the other hand, the blades themselves didn't shatter in the process or anything, which was nice. They seemed to function like normal blades, despite their appearance, though I'd need to read the profile later.

With that confirmed, we began in earnest. I swept my right sword in an arc, leaving a glowing flash through the space it traveled as I did. She came forward, shield pushing the blow aside even as she stabbed upwards with her sword, but I defended in turn by swiftly reversing my grip on the left blade by letting go of it and turning it around with a thought. Holding it backwards, it was close to the skin of my arm and I pushed her sword aside, evading the strike and the follow up when it turned back into a spear.

Even so, my senses cried out in warning and I was stepping back even as Pyrrha shifted her footing, drawing back her spear and thrusting it rapidly in a series of half a dozen strikes in a brief moment. I strode back a step, but it wasn't enough to fully counter the reach of her weapon so I took the hit and used its own force, assisted by Levant, to hurl myself out of the way of its fellows. Landing like a feather, I saw that she'd already shifted from spear to rifle and was aiming at me down the sights.

This time I returned in kind, extending the fingers of my left hand her way, releasing the nonexistent hilt of my new sword and leaving it to float by my forearm. We shot together and Pyrrha had to quickly leap to the side as the ground on which she'd been standing abruptly splintered under the force of my Cannonball. Her shots hit me in the chest, but with my defenses and Crocea Mors still hardening my armor I dismissed it as unimportant and remained focused on her as she rolled over her shield and to one knee, bringing up her rifle to rest the stock against one shoulder. She began firing in a steady, practiced rhythm that sent flashes of pain through me, but I raised a finger and returned fire with Magic Bullets. She immediately brought her shield up to cover almost the entirety of her body, rifle rested on the inward curving portion of the shield. Her body jerked slightly with each impact on the shield, but she didn't back down and she didn't stop shooting.

I switched to Cannonball again, trading ineffective penetration for impact to send her skidding back, releasing the sword in my right hand as well. With my blades hovering in easy reach but both hands free, I struck her again and again, my arms working steadily as if I were throwing the blasts at her—but credit where credit was do, Pyrrha took each blow with a jerk of her shield and little else, pumping bullets into me. I took the hits to my HP, letting them _through_ my Aura now that I'd had time to figure out how, and let them chip away at it while I struck back. But even once Pyrrha had her back to a wall, she took the blows and pushed through them with her iron defense.

Pausing in my attack in annoyance, I healed myself and accepted that I wasn't simply hammering through that guard. I needed something else. Something bigger? Magic Missile might do the trick, but it was risky to use—partially because charging it would take a while, during which she'd probably take notice and either try to stop me or make it really hard to score a hit, but also because if it somehow _did_ hit, I wasn't sure what would happen. I hadn't exactly designed it for use in friendly sparring matches or for upon opponents that I didn't want dead and it tended to punch through anything in its way. It wasn't so much a matter of its _power_ , but…No, it too risky; I needed something different, new.

Or maybe…

 _Suryasta_ , I thought. _You and I haven't had many opportunities to fight together. Do you want to have some fun now?_

The Fire Elemental didn't reply with words, but his spiritual form flickered once, shifting from his place in the stands to right by my side in a fashion similar to looking at something with one eye and shifting to the other. In an instant, the flames I felt from him were calm, the image his presence against my mind invoked one of a beautiful, thriving forest full of potential.

Potential to burn. All it needed was a spark in the right place.

I smashed Pyrrha with another Cannonball, just to make it seem like I was sticking to the pattern, and then called one of my blades to my hand, swiping it at the stadium floor to send up a small wave of tiny, insignificant sparks.

They should have died immediately.

They didn't.

I released the sword in almost the same instant I'd drawn it, lifting a hand to gather power into an Elemental Bolt—but not one of Metal, not a Cannonball. Instead, it was a Fireball that slammed into Pyrrha's shield, the impact minute but scattering flames around her, heating metal. I saw surprise glimmer in her eyes and wasted no time in taking advantage of it. The same hand that I'd extended in her direction swept down in a half circle that left my palm face up and I thrust it upwards as Suryasta's eyes flashed, a column of fire rising in a sudden rush.

Pyrrha was already in the air, leaping away at the first sign of danger—and in doing so, left the literal frying pan for the metaphorical fire.

 _Levant._

I flipped my hand over so the palm faced the ground as my Air Elemental appeared out of…well, thin air. Another Elemental Bolt formed, an invisible gathering of force that rose above Pyrrha with little more than a shimmer of the air and then knocked her roughly back down to earth. The moment she slammed into the ground, my other hand came up, a sudden Cannonball throwing the off-balance warrior hard into the wall. I didn't let up or show mercy, but followed it immediately with a pair of Fireballs that set the area around her on fire.

My fingers curled as if grasping the air or pulling something invisible together. Flames brightened as air gathered, feeding them until—

Boom. The flames rose into an explosion in a flood of heat, light, and noise that I felt even ten meters away. For the person at the center of it, I could only imagine.

No sooner had that thought crossed my mind then a spear—Pyrrha's spear—flew from the flames. I reacted even before I saw it, senses alerting me to danger before I saw it, and in an instant my blades were in hand and rising to my defense.

It wasn't enough. As if to mock the attempt, the spear suddenly quickened in midflight, as if to remind me that being unable to affect my weapons didn't stop her from manipulating her own. It slid smoothly past my defenses, hammering into my chest hard enough to throw me from the center of the arena to the opposite wall and very nearly pound me into it. What seemed like mere moments after, the shield followed, thrown from the still fading smoke like a discus to hammer my head up to my ears in the stone behind me. I jerked once in pain and immediately tried to stand upright, knowing what was coming—

Pyrrha landed less than three meters in front of me, catching her shield as it rebounded even as her other hand snatched up her spear with a minor use of her power ensuring both returns to her. She spun as she grasped the weapon, twirling it quickly to slam it hard into the side of my head, sending me straight to the ground in pain.

But pain fades, especially for me. I hit the ground; I got right back up, weapons still in hand. As she came at me again, blows hastened by her power, I met her full force. Aware that her blows could change in speed and direction, I didn't bother to block, shifting completely to offense just to get some room. She ducked beneath a swing while my other hand released my sword, open hand extending towards her chest. Her shield arm came up so fast she must have dragged it with her control of the metal, slamming hard against my wrist as her spear came across my face and then back across my chest. She braced herself against a sudden wind I called, giving me only a fraction of a second to act, but when I sent a pair of Fireballs her way, she bounced her shield off my head as she leapt back, rifle coming up to shoot me in the face as well.

I fell backwards, knocked off my feet, but as I did so I kicked out with a leg and Pyrrha's trajectory abruptly shifted as she was knocked higher. My left hand moved as if to break my fall, but it never touched the floor and neither did I, buoying air gathering beneath me to raise me back to my feet in an instant. The same hand came up to smash Pyrrha even higher with a Cannonball and then another as I tried to juggle her, keep her off the ground. I went for a third strike, but she just twisted in the air—pulling herself by her armor, most likely—and threw her spear at me hard.

I knew I couldn't dodge, so I continued the attack and hit her one more time before I was thrown head over heels across the arena. I was stopped by a wall and rose immediately, pain fading thanks to the Gamer's Body; I healed myself as quickly as I could and refocused on my opponent as she landed a bit early then she should have. As she did, I struck her with another Cannonball but with her feet on the ground again, she just withstood it, and I had to Lunge away before she could retaliate. I left my swords hovering by my arms and leapt swiftly from point to point, pausing only long enough to attack once before moving again. In contrast, she stayed in position in the center, moving her shield to counter each time, unless I sent a Fireball her way. She quickly adapted to my movements in my pattern around the arena and began to strike back, rifle firing in short, controlled bursts each time I paused and before long, she was hitting more than she missed, bullets curving slightly in the air to strike me.

New plan, I thought, abruptly stopping to lift both hands. I gathered my power again and gave it shape, first in my thoughts and then in reality. Suryasta appeared without needing to be called, smiling serenely. He lifted his hands in a mirror to my own, guiding what I was creation. I remembered the first time I'd done something like this, on a whim beside a river, but this was different from Magic Missile—had to be different, because of its very nature. The control and structure I'd created with Metal wouldn't work with Fire, so I took a different approach.

It started as a sphere about the same size as any of my Fireballs and Pyrrha immediately dodged, but nothing came her way. Instead, it swelled, growing swiftly until it was as wide across as I was tall—and it _kept_ growing, rising like the sun above my head. The lighting in the room changed in moments, shadows spiraling away from the massive new source of light as the temperature skyrocketed until even _I_ began to sweat.

To my Clairvoyance, such a thing meant a rush of colors and shapes through swaths of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, but even through all that, I saw Pyrrha, face shocked and alarmed. She drew her rifle and shot me steadily, guiding the bullets towards me, but I ignored them now, dismissing the pain. Levant congealed in front of me, pleasant smile on her invisible face even as she rose to my defense. Suddenly, the bullets started missing me or hitting more defended areas, Crocea Mors working to shore up such defenses. A second passed, two, and then her rifle shifted into a spear again. She looked ready to throw it for a moment and Vulturnus joined my side, ready to aid my defense, but in the end she just glanced above me and mouthed something before charging right at me.

She probably thought I wouldn't risk using such a technique in close proximity.

I laughed at the very thought and brought it down on us both.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Stage**

The flames swept across the arena floor and surged up the walls, kept in the ring only by my will. They clung unnaturally to every surface, refusing to fade despite the lack of fuel, as I kept them burning on the lingering power of the spell and my Elementals. Maintaining such an enormous quantity of flames would have taken a massive amount of MP if I kept them going with Suryasta alone, but I didn't bother—instead, I kept the flames alive with Suryasta and set Levant to the task of fanning them higher, keeping the stadium floor a raging inferno.

 _Flare_ , I named it for old times' sake, like Magic Missile—a way of remembering the games I'd loved before. The flames roared around and over me as I walked through them, feeling their scorching heat but in a distant way—like touching a wall with fire on the side instead of actually burning. With my Elementalist title equipped and Elemental Mastery and Suryasta protecting me, I stood within the flames and was unburned.

The flames should have been blinding—and were, on several levels. Even with very little smoke rising from the stone, the sheer amount of fire, of _light_ , left me unable to see with my normal eyes. The amount of heat cast off further reduced my thermal vision to uselessness. But I had other forms of sight, ones that _did_ work, and used them to compensate. In the crowd around us, the people who'd come to watch the champion practice were on their feet, making enough noise to mess with my sonar vision as well. Shouting?

I reached out to Levant and the air shifted, sounds reaching me over the roar of the flames.

Not shouting, I realized then. Cheering.

They were cheering for me. My perspective shifted and I could make out faces, if with the colors all wrong. I scanned the crowd and heard the applause, saw their expressions, even Observed them to make sure what I was seeing was parsing correctly—but no matter how I looked at it, they were cheering for me, for us. Most of them were shocked, stunned, disbelieving, but they applauded the battle nonetheless, enjoying the scene they were being treated to. The stands were set high, to compensate for the sheer destruction battles between hunters could cause, and still very few people sat near the front rows of seats, but those few who did seemed all the more enthused by it. Hunters or trainees, they probably saw the fight for what it was, could watch and analyze the exchange of blows thanks to years of experience, and they _cheered_.

There were people recording the fight on their scrolls, as well, though a strangely excited part of me recalled what Grigio said, about the fights being broadcast. Would that apply to something like this, a simple training match? I had no idea, but maybe…

My hearing shifted and I heard different voices as Levant's attention was drawn to the only people in the crowd actually saying my name. Kyanos did most of the work, but his energy was infectious, enough so that he spread to the others around him and the people above him in the stands began to slowly use my name as well. Melanie and Ulaan stood beside him, expressions focused, and though neither seemed much like the cheering type, Levant carried whispers of support to me.

I laughed again, celebrating in the flames simple because _they_ were celebrating for _me_. This fight wasn't over yet, I knew that, but this was…new. And nice.

Suddenly, the cheers increased in volume and I turned to see Pyrrha standing in the center of the flames, a figure of light and dark shades beneath my sight. She looked more than a bit ruffled now, her pony tail coming partially undone, but she appeared unharmed, thanks to the defensive effect of her Aura, but a quick Observe showed how much that blast had taken out of her. It'd taken a lot out of me, as well, to say nothing of maintaining it, but even beyond the attack's initial damage, I could see her Aura steadily, slowly declining in the flames.

Even so, she didn't back down. She could have run from the area, escaping to higher ground, but she stayed in the ring, prepared to fight.

"Shall we continue, Pyrrha?" I asked, stepping closer in the flames and letting them arc and lick around me. To my human eyes, she was nothing but a barely visible shadow and I doubted she could see me any better, but I didn't want to play keep away until her Aura ran out, not with _this_. I didn't even really care if I won or lost, but this fight…

Without a moment's hesitation, Pyrrha turned and cast her shield at me. Grinning fiercely, I didn't try to dodge or block—I attacked in turn. A Cannonball connected with the shield midair, sending it careening back towards its master, who caught it easily as she charged fearlessly towards me. I thrust my hand towards her, refusing to back down, and the flames before me suddenly intensified as a rush of wind streamed over them. The gust barely made her slowdown, but the flames crested over her like a wave, something she couldn't fully block with her shield. While her vision was even further obstructed, I hit her with a Cannonball, intending to push her back.

Instead, the ground beneath her feet cracked as she braced herself against the blow, halting for a minute before continuing her advance. Her spear came up and when she threw it, her aim was true for all that she could only barely see me. I saw her squint against the light of the flames, extend her arm with the throw, and knew that though she was all but blind, I still probably couldn't dodge.

Once again, I didn't even bother trying. With all of her strength behind it, the spear drove me off my feet, to the ground, and then carved a furrow in the arena's floor as it pushed me back. Her strength and control over magnetism became a force that even I couldn't stand against as I was now—I slammed full force into the back wall, barely slowing down on the way.

It didn't matter, I thought, quickly healing myself. She might have been trying to distract me, to keep me out of the fight until she could close in and try to end it, but if so, it wouldn't work. I wasn't alone in this fight—I was _never_ alone.

Not bothering to cross the space in-between, Suryasta appeared to stand guard over me, gesturing with a hand. The flames right beneath Pyrrha's feet suddenly erupted upwards, throwing her into the air. Floating ten meters above the direct center of the arena, Levant started laughing, an echoing sound unheard by anyone but me. She extended her hands before her, as if reaching out for something, and the wind swirled on the ground below to catch the fire and send it swirling upwards in a storm that quickly took shape. In moments, two massive, burning hands extended from the ground below, Pyrrha hanging neatly between them.

Expression gleeful, the Air Elemental clapped her hands and the massive constructs followed suit.

Pyrrha mouthed something again, expression almost upset, and changed direction at the last second, falling faster than gravity alone should have allowed. She just barely fell below the hands, only to be thrown fiercely back to earth by the thunderous shockwave—a wave of wind and sound empowered by Levant. Pyrrha came quickly to her feet and started moving faster then I'd have expected from her—fast enough to surprise me until I noticed her skimming several inches off the ground as she 'ran.' Even so, Levant's fake hands did not fade, nor was my second spirit content to stop with something so small. From their base on the ground, the arms began to spiral up, into the still connected hands even as they began to loss shape and come together. In seconds, the arms had been absorbed into a massive sphere that hung above the arena like a giant star before suddenly falling towards Pyrrha, adjusting as she ran.

The warrior's expression tightened, but fear was evidentially a foreign concept to her, as she merely adjusted her stride slightly to keep ahead as she ran towards me. I rose as she came near, swords coming to hand once again and she drew back her spear and prepared to smash me into the ground. I knew my efforts wouldn't be quick enough to _keep_ her from hammering me down, but I wasn't one to back down either. Before she could hit me though, Suryasta snarled—a strange, inhuman sound, between the roar of a tiger and of a massive fireplace. He reached out invisible to catch Pyrrha's face with an intangible hand, something that should have done nothing, yet which sent the redhead stumbling suddenly back.

As she moved, I was able to see why. Though he still had no form of his own, he'd formed a glove of sorts, overlapping the same space as his hand. He stepped forward as Pyrrha retreated, more flames rising up his legs, giving him a pseudo-manifestation. As it formed, it didn't look like him, though—or like a human, needless to say, though I thought I saw some subtle traces of myself in the design he chose. Instead, he chose to make something more impressive for his first real fight, rising into a form well over two meters in height, with four arms and a massive, bulky body as if he were someone wearing armor, though the flames all blended together. Mostly shapeless flames roared where his hair might have been, but some of it rose inconsistently into the shapes of horns, altering between those reminiscent of demons and animals. In each of his four hands, he formed a sword, each blade jutting straight out of a palm.

Barely hesitating, Pyrrha slammed her spear through his head, but with no material form to speak of, he wasn't the target. Dancing back a step, Pyrrha seemed to realize that, too, and attempted to dance around him and strike at me, Levant's burning orb getting closer.

In response, Suryasta…opened was the only word I could think of to describe it, lines across his body yawning wide as he opened straight down his body like a bizarre suit of armor waiting to be stepped into. Or maybe a mouth was a better example, as he lines the evidentially hollow interior of his shell with blow-torch like 'teeth.' He stepped closer to Pyrrha, trying to draw her in, and even _she_ gave him a wide berth—and a rather ineffective blow to the head, of course.

Levant's sphere lowered, preparing to fall upon Pyrrha if she continued her advance and—having experienced firsthand my willingness to bring such a thing down upon myself—fell back a step with an aggrieved frown. As she did so, tube-like streams rose from Suryasta's back, rising up to connect with the sphere above him, causing both flames to brighten even as the effort on me lightened.

I exhaled quietly, rolling at last to my feet. I was pushing Pyrrha, I knew that—hell, I could _see_ it, watch her MP bar slowly decrease—but doing so many things at once was a heavy strain on me, as well. I could just restore my MP with a Dust crystal, but I didn't really _want_ too; I wanted to see how far I could get without such a thing, to know how far I could go purely on my own power and skills, as Jaune Arc.

Suryasta and Levant were doing an amazing job keeping her busy, but they couldn't get a decisive hit through her solid defense. I'd managed a few good hits here and there, but to win this without trying to draw this out, I'd need to be able to hit her for real—possibly several times. But how?

Levant lowered her sphere yet further, drawing it down to float only just above Suryasta's head as the Fire Elemental fought. Pyrrha kept her distance, edging around the sphere's motions and occasionally taking potshots at me. When she shot me in the face between a pair of rolls, Suryasta swung an arm at her, stretching it out to reach at her. She leapt over it, but Suryasta just extended his other arms as well, creating beams of flame out to the arena's wall and using them to chase Pyrrha.

It gave me an idea. _Several_ , actually.

Releasing my swords again, I gathered power to my fingers. By this point, I had a lot of experience with manipulating Aura—gathering it, throwing it, compressing it, spinning it, changing it from one thing to another, the works.

Even so, this was new. I gathered the mana to my hands, forming a rough sphere above my palm. After quivering for a moment, it separated into three streamers of energy that I stretched and coiled tightly around one another, compressing it as I did.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to create a rope through application of mana, 'Mana Rope,' has been created!**

I smiled fiercely as I dismissed the rope, glad that it had worked. And it that was possible…

I called my swords to my hands and took a deep breath.

And then I began to twist. I sank my thoughts and power both into the structure of the weapon, easing the Metal aura that gave it structure. As it loosened and became more fluid, I coiled the blades around one another, summoning another blade when I needed more. I gathered my power within the structure, causing it to grow even as I kept its image distinct. Once it had roughly the form I wanted, I reaffirmed its structural integrity with Metal, making it stable once more if in a bit of a…different way.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to cut down the enemy at range, 'Vorpal Lash,' has been created through the combination of Vorpal Sword and Mana Rope!**

"Vorpal Lash, huh?" I smiled, releasing my creation and summoning my swords anew. The skill must have improved, because a single application summon a pair of blades. "Interesting. Let's try this again."

I extended a hand and my swords swiftly floating in front of it, spiraling together quickly into something new—a twisted, bladed chain leading up to a merged point. The chain floated casually in the air around my arm, looping around it many times over in a way that reminded me of Autumn. Who, thinking about it, I _was_ glad wasn't here for this fight, given how everything was presently on fire.

I shook the thought away and focused my attention fully on Pyrrha as she ducked, rolled, bobbed, and weaved, doing her utmost to stay ahead of my pursuing Elementals. Credit where it was do, Pyrrha was amazing; I had all the advantages in this fight, with dozens of different powers and the ability to make more on the fly, Elementals to outnumber her with and assail her, healing, a huge amount of MP, battlefield control, and much more, but she fought on with nothing but her weapons and some subtle uses of Magnetism. Granted, I was holding a few things back because this _was_ just a sparring match, but to stay this composed and fight on in the middle of a burning arena…

Because of that, even if I was wasting MP quickly, I didn't mind—I was just happy to be having this fight. I was glad I'd decided to follow Kyanos, because it had led to _this_. Whether I won or lost didn't matter, so long as I could see things through, I'd be satisfied.

So I stepped things up a notch. Pyrrha ran, slid, and rolled to avoid the horizontal pillars of fire, kept in constant motion to stay ahead of the pursuing sphere, skated around Suryasta's semi-materialized form, and _still_ had both the time and thought to spare me a few potshots, so I knew she could take it. Casting my hand forward, I swept my arm counter to Suryasta's beams, cutting through them and his false form both. The burning figure he'd created didn't so much as pause as it was cut through, continuing its stomping approach towards Pyrrha, four beams arranged so that at least one was always harassing the warrior while keeping me out of the line of…well, fire. My Vorpal Lash extended almost fully across the arena in an instant, cutting across it almost as quickly when it kept pace with the swinging of my arm.

I saw Pyrrha's eyes widen in the brief instant of warning she had before she leapt into the air, curving in a way that couldn't have been possible without her control of magnetism to rise fully over the lash and immediately back to the ground. She barely missed a step, all told, but even that little pause was enough to give one of Suryasta's beams time to close in. She had to raise her shield against one, but the Fire Elemental immediately turned all four hands upon her, combining them into a massive, luminous column. For all the advantages Pyrrha's metal equipment gave her, I couldn't imagine it made _that_ pleasant, especially when I sought to help matters with a hammering blow from above while she was pinned.

Nonetheless, Pyrrha handled such difficulties with grace, tossing her spear straight through Suryasta to strike me into a wall, rolling aside as she did to avoid my Vorpal Lash. She crouched as she evaded, using the nearly circular nature of her shield to her advantage to defend herself as she rolled, which proved necessary as Suryasta immediately refocused upon her. She was charging almost before she rose, nothing but her no doubt scalding shield between her and an oncoming tide of flames, and yet pushed through to beam towards Suryasta. When she stood face to face with his chosen form, she rolled again instead of charging through it as I nearly expected. Using proximity to her advantage, she stayed just ahead of Suryasta's hands and the blasts he extended from them. When I moved to make things even _more_ interesting for her, she threw her shield at me as well and I was momentarily distracted by it slamming my head into a wall.

When I recovered a moment later, I saw my Elementals pressing their advantage against the now unarmed girl. Suryasta halted his beams and instead lifted thick walls of fire, leading up to Levant's now falling sphere, trying to trap her inside, dissolving into them as he did so. When Pyrrha came too close, parts of his crafted form would erupt and try to assail her, attempting to push her deeper into the cage, but with the only alternative being the descending sphere—

Pyrrha reached the same conclusion I did and charged through the wall, Suryasta and all. Perhaps even more impressively, she kept enough of her wits about her to charge in _my_ direction, rushing straight towards me to try and end things. I didn't bother trying to keep her weapons away from her and she'd rather proven how well I did against her in close quarters when she brought her magnetism into play, but…

I was a game character, so this should work; it was part of my inspiration for the idea, after all. As Pyrrha drew near, I extended my Vorpal Lash—not at her, but at an angle _away_ from her. It struck out across the arena, burying itself in the wall.

And then I reeled myself in, all but flying across the arena as I pulled _myself_ towards the hook, instead of the other way around. I laughed, partially in wonder, partially in simple glee that it had worked. Well, of course there were things like this in all sorts of games, so there was no reason for it _not_ to work, but…this wasn't Levant and it wasn't quite flying, but it was _me_ doing this. I pulled myself out of Pyrrha's path before she could attempt to catch me in a series of blows, landing easily by a wall nearly a third of the arena's circumference away.

But I didn't stop there and neither did my Elementals. This time, Levant's sphere didn't follow Pyrrha, but fell upon the suddenly stationary Suryasta, expanding into a larger dome as its volume shifted. For a moment, there was nothing but a smooth looking hemisphere in the center of the ring, but I would have been shocked if Pyrrha was surprised when it didn't stay that way. The top suddenly shifted, like something was moving beneath the surface and then Suryasta rose from the flames anew.

His form had shifted again, becoming something at once closer to and further from human. Most of his inhuman features, such as the horns above his head, had faded away—along with his entire face, leaving nothing but a blank surface a bit too long to be a person's anyway. He was larger now, too; though only his upper body emerged from the hemisphere, he must have been a good four meters in height now, and his arms were much too large for his body and far too long. Though they were roughly human in shape, if he'd had a proportionally sized lower body, they still would have been able to touch the ground, at a guess. I was mildly surprised he'd abandoned a pair of them, though; had he had trouble coordinating four? And where was…?

Ah, I thought as the hemisphere stirred again, another massive shape rising from it. Back to back with Suryasta, the new form might have been a bit more feminine, but I might have been projecting Levant onto the image. Roughly the same base design as Suryasta, its form seemed more fluid—though they must have been coordinating on the maneuver, Suryasta's favored the flames a bit more while Levant favored the air, and it showed through though both seemed like burning storms in the rough shape of giants.

Really, those two. They were certainly spending my MP freely, though I'd kind of given them permission to do so. Still, I'd spent most of my MP already and something like four-fifth of it had been on them. Well, I suppose it was fine if they were having fun, though.

Pyrrha moved to follow me, but Suryasta lifted a gigantic hand and the flames around her exploded. She managed to dodge at the last second—probably used to the fact that anything my Elementals did meant trouble for her—but some of the blast still caught her, throwing her aside. Levant mimicked him, even facing away from Pyrrha, and little tornados of wind no more than a cubic meter in size began to form.

A lot of them.

Needless to say, they all made a beeline for Pyrrha, even as Suryasta and Levant tried to swat her with their massive hands.

The three-time champion tried to ignore both the attacks and the twin giants who made them—which must have been pretty damn hard, considering—and continue on her path towards me. I respected that; even with everything going on around her, she'd picked me out as the source of the threat and remained focused on dealing with me no matter what distractions arose. I thought that was kind of amazing.

Which is not to say I was having _any_ of it.

I leapt as hard as I could and struck out above me with my Lash. Focusing slightly, I summoned another for my free hand, a pair of blades appearing with the casting and swimming together into a single shape. Sending my second weapon in the same direction as the first, I pulled myself higher and higher and then flipped over. Pulling against it with my arms and pushing with my feet, I 'stood' on the dome of the Coliseum and looked down at the sight below.

Now far beneath me, Pyrrha took a deep breath, nodded her head, and kept moving, shifting her focus to trying to stay ahead of both the seeker tornados and the explosions Suryasta would build beneath her while probably also attempting to come up with a plan. Even in a situation like this where she couldn't harm her main attackers and the entire arena was against her, she refused to surrender, kept looking for a way to win.

And maybe she'd find it, yet. Even moment in the flames, every defense and attack, everything she did below slowly ate away at her Aura—but every second of keeping this going did the same for _my_ MP, draining it perhaps even faster. I had so much of it, we were still close, but…

I pushed harder. The chains that kept me latched onto the ceiling loosened just enough for me to raise my hands above—below?—me. I called power to my hands and rained attacks down on Pyrrha; more distractions, more things to deal with. I fired Cannonballs at her first, blasts of stone shattering force to add to her troubles, adding Fireballs and Magic Bullets shortly after. She raised her shield above her head like an umbrella, hiding her face from me as bore the assault. I called upon my Mana Rope next, casting it down to try and bind her limbs, succeeding for a moment before she tore through it with sheer strength. The moment's pause gave my Elementals a chance to draw nearer, though, and so I cast it again and again.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to tie the enemy up with rope, 'Bind,' has been created through continuous application of Mana Rope!**

Switching instantly to the new technique, restrictive energy raced from my hands. I was curious as to how I might combine the skill with my Elements or with Vorpal Lash, but first—

The ropes pulled tight around Pyrrha, snaking around her arms, her legs, even around her throat and mouth, pulling tight in an instant. The Champion stumbled, but was on guard from my previous attempts and whether with skill or magnetism, managed to trap her blade between flesh and rope, and she used her power to cut the edge swiftly. Even something like that only bought a _second_ against her.

But a second could be enough; a bunch of seconds, even more so. In that brief pause, wind and fire had drawn nearer and I could just hit her with it again and again until they caught her and ended it. Eventually, she wouldn't escape quickly enough, would take a hit or series of hits, and it'd be over. I knew that instantly from that one brief pause—and I knew that _she_ knew as well.

The only question was how she'd deal with it—and it _was_ a question.

 _Can you do it?_ I wondered. _Can you push this even further? Or is it my win, Pyrrha?_

I saw her look up at me for a second.

I saw her make her decision.

She changed directions suddenly, hurling herself towards a yet burning wall, surmounting it quickly and leaping from the top. In midair, she aimed her spear up towards me and I thought for a minute that she'd throw it again.

Instead, she did something much more impressive. As she planted a foot at the base of the spear, fire spurted from the end and she rose like a rocket, magnetism lightening her load. She flew towards me, surfing her spear high into the air, and if thoughts of giving up had ever crossed her mind, I couldn't tell.

I smiled, then—and laughed in joy, amazement, even a little astonishment. My Lashes released their hold on the ceiling and I began to fall, but it could have been in slow motion compared to her rise. I reached out and the Lash around one arm struck out at the arena wall far below, swiftly reeling me towards it.

It wouldn't be enough, I knew before I even saw her response—and sure enough, it wasn't. As I fell past her, Pyrrha pulled down, the spear arching high as it curved to follow me back down to earth. I'd known I couldn't escape her like this.

Or at least, not _just_ like this. With the first shot having moved me enough to the side to escape her original trajectory, I pulled it back even as my other arm Lashed out. The second chain sank deeply into the burning sphere below and began pulling me into the inferno.

I looked above me at the woman on my tail and our eyes met.

She knew I wasn't bluffing.

I knew she wasn't running.

And in that moment, as we fell towards the flames, I was pretty sure I was smiling just as widely as she was. This was it. This would decide it. We—

"—That's enough."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Interruption**

The flames in the arena dissipated in an instant, snuffed out against my will by a…I wasn't even sure how to describe it, but they just seemed to slip through my fingers, washed away on contact with a ripple of blue-green light I assumed only I could see. An instant after it passed over me, I felt arms wrap around me before I found myself being carried swiftly out of the arena. I stiffened, reflexively preparing myself to fight—before just as quickly relaxing, catching sight of the Aura of my captor and recognizing it.

"Mom," I said. "You can put me down now."

She did, setting down on my feet in one of the Coliseum's halls, right beside the locker rooms. A quick glance showed that we were not alone. Just a short ways down the hall was a woman walking our way, casual for all that she held Pyrrha bridal style. When she saw me looking, she smiled gently and set Pyrrha back on her feet, standing right behind her. The three-time champion didn't complain about the treatment or even say a word while the smiling woman gently straightened Pyrrha's hair, bringing it back to its orderly ponytail and combing it with her fingers. Almost absently, she brushed dust and dirt off the Champion's armor, licked a thumb to wipe away a smudge on her face, and then gently embracing her from behind, resting her face against Pyrrha's.

"Thetis," My mother greeted the serene-looking woman, probably for my sake though I could see her name hanging in the air above her blue hair. "Your daughter fights as well as you said."

"It's kind of you to say so," Her expression didn't change as her eyes moved slowly towards me. "I'd like to say the same of your son, but you appear to have forgotten to mention a few things. Jaune, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "Are you Mrs. Nikos, then?"

"I am," She nodded towards me. "My, but you two caused a stir—and before the tournament, as well. It was just a spar, but this is the first time in years I've worried about my Pyrrha in battle."

"Mother…" The Champion said, falling silent as Thetis drummed a finger on her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"But perhaps it's for the best. Much as I hate to worry, things have been quite tedious for my daughter, lately," She continued as Pyrrha went quiet. "It's good to have some excitement in your life, isn't that right, Isabelle?"

My mother snorted out a breath and I assumed it was some type of in-joke between them.

"Did you have fun together?" She asked, turning her attention back to the two of us. I nodded, as did Pyrrha, making her smile widen even further. "That's good. I hope you'll entertain one another in the tournament as well. Speaking of which…"

She shook her head and sighed.

"My, but what a hard act that will be to follow," She said ruefully. "Everyone who'd been looking forward to the tournament up 'til now will find the first few rounds rather disappointing, I think. Your mother and I saw you in the square, you know, on one of the big screens. And how it was advertised…whether it was a preview or meant to get people excited for the matches or part of the first day's celebrations, it must be hard for all the other participants, to be written off so early on."

My mom frowned at me.

"What were you even doing here, anyway?" She asked. "I thought you were with…I thought you were going to stay at home."

"I was going to take a walk and see Mistral," I said, shrugging. "But Grandma gave me some advice about meeting people."

Mom's face twisted.

"That explains _far_ too much," She spoke as if she'd just tasted something awful. "I thought those children looked familiar. What were their names…Kyanos and Ulaan?"

She directed the question at Thetis, but I nodded anyway.

"And Melanie," I added, before tilting my head to the side. "What does it explain, exactly?"

"Did she send you out here alone?" Mom demanded fiercely, ignoring the question.

I was curious, but…

"No," I said. "She sent a man named Grigio with me."

"Grigio," She nearly spat. "Of course she'd send you out with Bigio's boy. What is she…no, I know exactly what she's thinking. You should have stayed at home, Jaune."

I glanced over at Pyrrha and saw the sudden concern in her eyes, though she remained silent at her mother's side. I looked back at my own, glancing over her face. She wasn't upset about the fighting, I was pretty sure—and I doubted she minded me showing my powers, either, given the all the planning and training we'd done—but…

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked. "If I did, I'm sorry."

After a moment, my mother sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"No," She said. "It's nothing you did—nothing you could have avoided, really. I'm sorry, it's just…at times like this, I remember why I avoid coming home. Should we meet up again tomorrow, Thetis?"

She nodded easily.

"Peleus will want to address this soon, anyway," She mused.

"Jeanne and Cynosarges will get to it first," My mom shook her head. "It won't be that simple."

Thetis seemed to concede that, nodding slightly in my mother's direction.

"Even so, he'll wish to speak to Cynosarges," She replied. "Despite everything that's happened, he stood beside the man for years. Maybe still does, in his own way."

Mom made a face at that but nodded in acceptance.

"It was good to meet you, Jaune," Thetis said, smiling at me. "I wish you luck in the tournament."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said, smiling at her. "Goodbye, Pyrrha. I'm sorry we have to leave it at this, but I'll look forward to fighting you again."

The Invincible Girl looked between her mother and mine, as if putting pieces together, but looked at me when a spoke and nodded resolutely with a smile.

"And I as well, Jaune," She said. "I'll hope to meet you again in the tournament; we'll continue where we left off."

Thetis patted her daughter's shoulder once and then gently tugged her away, waving at us one last time. As she did, though, I couldn't keep from glancing up at her title one last time.

 **The Terror of the Sea of Monsters  
LV71  
Thetis Nikos**

With a title like that, I had to wonder…

But I didn't ask. As Pyrrha and her mother walked away, I waited silently beside my mom and didn't say a word. Only once they were gone did I look at her and speak. I didn't ask who her friends were or who they had been, what she was doing, or even what was going on, even though I wanted to. I trusted my mother just as I trusted her to tell me those things if I needed to know; until then, I trusted her with her secrets, as well. But there was something I did need to know.

"Mom?" I asked. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," She said. "Except what you were supposed to, I suppose. It doesn't matter; none of this is your fault."

I nodded at that, accepting it even if I didn't understand.

"Did Grandmother do something, then?" I asked. "You're mad at her."

"Damn right, I'm mad at her," She growled. "She…there's things happening in Mistral right now, but she…she just tells you to go off and fight and when you do well, she throws it up for all the world to see. Does she even know what could be happening?"

As a person who absolutely didn't, I had to force myself past that. When I did, though, I tilted my head to the side and thought about it.

"I've never considered Grandmother the type to not know exactly what was going on," I mused. "Now whether she _cares_ or not, I couldn't say."

Mom nearly snarled at that observation, kicking a wall. She didn't knock it down, though, so she couldn't have been all _that_ upset.

"Of course," She said. "Of _course_ she knows; what am I saying. So she shows everyone what you can do and _dares_ them to try. And if they _do_ , she'll chop them up, put them in a box, and just label it _Return to Sender_. Even at a time like this, she'll just flip off _everyone_ and—"

She cut herself off and took a deep breath, turning to lean her forehead against the wall. For my part, I kind of had to wonder if she was speaking from experience.

"I'm sorry, Jaune," She said after a moment. "To act this way. I should be congratulating you—your first day here and you went toe to toe with the regional champion. Don't tell Thetis, but I know you would have won, even fighting like that. And _everyone_ …you should have seen it; entire streets stopping just to look at you fight. Even…even _I_ was surprised, Jaune, at some of the things you managed to do. You did amazingly well. I'm proud of you, Jaune."

She turned around and immediately pulled me into a hug that I returned after a moment of surprise.

"But I…" Her voice almost shook before she went silent for second. When she began again, though, it was steady, stable. "There's a lot I can't tell you, Jaune, and I know you can handle yourself, but Mistral is…it's not like Vale. Go home for tonight, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed instantly, holding her. "Should I get Grigio?"

"No," She said with a sudden flicker of…something. "Grigio is…he's…"

I furrowed my eyebrows in concern at that, even though I knew she couldn't see it.

"Grandma wouldn't send me out with someone she didn't trust," I said, certain of that much. "And Grigio was very polite."

"Yes," She said, her voice still strange. "Of course he is, just like his father. He's courteous and intelligent and loyal and so polite that he'd apologize to you for the necessity of hanging you up by your entrails. I'd rather you walk home alone then with _him_."

There was a part of me, beyond everything that mental image incited, that wanted to point out that if there _was_ something dangerous going on, having a guy who'd eviscerate anyone who tried anything in creative ways at your back was probably not completely without merit. But there was a larger part of me that thought saying that out loud might not be the best idea.

So I nodded instead.

"Okay," I said. "I'll head back now, then?"

"Please," She said, stepping back enough to kiss me on the forehead. "Be safe, Jaune. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom," I said, letting go. "I'll see you later."

So I left. I felt kind of rude doing so without saying goodbye to any of my other new friends or without even telling Grigio where I was going, but I figured I could apologize to them later and left the Coliseum. I retraced my steps back towards Grandmother's house, staying alert just in case. All around me, on the massive screens of the city of Mistral, my fight with Pyrrha was playing and I got to see some of what my mom had meant. Though much of the initial shock and awe had faded, people still stopped to watch the battle, to chat about it and cheer.

There was a part of me that felt proud about that, that wanted to go over to one of them and just say 'That's me.' But instead I put my hood up and kept walking, trying not to draw attention while also trying to be aware of everything around me, on guard for any threats.

Which was why I was out of the way the moment Sense Danger alerted me to a threat. The instant I felt it, my other senses focused on the source and I felt it before I saw it. Immediately calm, I analyzed the projectile as it sailed through the air—a simple rock to all of my many senses—and I caught it out of the air just so it wouldn't accidently hurt someone else.

Then I just followed it back to its source with my eyes. It came from an alleyway, at the very back where the city lights faded and shadows covered everything. Of course, none of that did anything before _my_ sight, and I simple peered through the darkness. There was a part of me that honestly considered that it might just be an accident or perhaps a disgruntled fan of Pyrrha's; something minor and meaningless and nothing more, which I'd be able to just walk right past and dismiss.

But it was a small part. Microscopic, really.

As such, I couldn't say I was all that surprised when instead I saw Adam, mask-less and disguised and still obviously him to someone who could see his Aura and his name above his head. He looked at me from his cover, eyes meeting my own, and nodded at me while gesturing me closer.

I sighed slowly, closing my eyes for a moment. My mom had told me to go home. Sure, I could rules lawyer that trivially, say that she hadn't specified _when_ or _how_ or whatever, but the message had been pretty obvious; she wanted me to go straight home and be safe. Whatever Adam had to tell me in a dark alley when I knew full well he had a lot of reasons not to want to be anywhere near me right now was probably not going to be conductive to that plan.

Which didn't change the fact that he almost certainly had something important to say.

Casting a quick glance around the rest of the street just to be safe, I walked into the alley.

"You don't waste time when it comes to getting in trouble," He said by way of a greeting. "We need to talk."

"Right now?" I asked, making a futile effort for my mom's sake.

"Yes," He said, looking me up and down. "How fast can you change suits?"

Shit, I thought, knowing what he was really saying.

"Fast," I said aloud. "Why? I thought you said…"

"No plan survives contact with the enemy," He said. "Or you. Come on."

I exhaled loudly through my nose but nodded, trusting him.

It was ironic, though, I couldn't help but muse. I'd just gotten out of a literal fire.

Now I was jumping into a different on.

"Okay," I said. "Just tell me when to put my mascara on."

 **XxXXxX**

"You didn't tell me you were a Roma," Adam said as we took a winding course through the city.

I nearly asked why it mattered, but I supposed I could guess. Each of the different countries had their own history with the Faunus, each complicated in their own ways. On Mistral especially, things had been…it was hard to describe. Oftentimes, Mistral was held up as a historical example of equality between Man and Faunus, with some of the best known examples of Faunus in positions of power within a non-Faunus community. But if you look a bit deeper, beneath the cartoon specials and speeches and such, and get into the real history of Mistral, it…well, Faunus were treated equally, yeah.

Equally _badly_ , by and large. Mistral would roll over a Faunus village in its path and force them into servitude. They'd crush resistance and crucify them around towns so that the negativity would draw Grimm to devour others. They'd extort and exploit and devour everything they had.

They'd just do the same to the human village down the street, too.

In fairness, Mistral had had policies that were both progressive and barbaric. The reason Faunus could rise above their situations and obtain such famous positions was because Mistral had implemented a system wherein slaves could rise from their positions and become citizens…it's just they had still taken them slaves. There was a lot of stuff like that, in all of the Kingdom's histories; amazing things and terrible things and contexts. And after thousands of years of development, of change, those things eventually resulted in what we have today.

Which, thinking about it, was as good as it was bad. Mistral's practices in the past had eventually led to it being such a place of diversity, but its history of empires and conquests and rulers had been the source of how it now functioned, too. And though those two things may have seemed unrelated, they weren't and they tied into everything else.

Maybe even the White Fang.

"I didn't think it was important," I said, shrugging. "My mom doesn't really like that part of our family and I only get to see grandma rarely. I guess she keeps busy."

Adam grunted in agreement without looking my way.

"You know why the Roma are called the Children of the Wolves, right?" He asked.

"Because Remus and Romulus might have been Wolf Faunus," I nodded. "Or might have been adopted and raised _by_ a Wolf Faunus; the records aren't completely clear on that front. It was a long time ago, even for Remnant. If you're asking if I have any Faunus blood in me, then almost certainly. I've never really looked into it, but statistically speaking most people have _some_ Faunus blood, especially those descended from Mistral. A lot of the time the traits won't pass on and most of the time all that matters is how you look. So I might be related to a Wolf Faunus if you go back far enough, but you can probably trace me back to something more recent, because if you were hot enough, Mistral's kings and queens didn't usually care if you were human or Faunus or married or…well, you know. Go back a few hundred or thousand years and we'd probably find some Faunus wife or concubine or slave I'm descended from."

Adam grunted again and I shrugged.

"It's stupid, I know," I said. "Humans and Faunus can interbreed and have a lot—and everything that's happened is just the result of which genes line up, what's dominant and what's recessive. A huge amount of people, including the ones that hate the Faunus the most, probably have Faunus ancestry somewhere down the line, but they mated with a human and the traits just didn't pass on. Some…would it be insulting if I used the term breeds? Some breeds of Faunus shine through more than others, but a lot just vanish. Genetics didn't really come into until relatively recently, beyond a generation or so, and even now, it's usually appearances that matter. It's shallow, but…"

"But true," He finished. "Pretty much no one is pure Faunus or pure Human, not after thousands of years together, and yet…"

I nodded understandingly, even though he probably wasn't looking.

"I know," I agreed. "I'm just saying that, however true it may be and whoever I may be related to, the 'We're not so different, you and I' argument is probably not going to work. I didn't think old blood really mattered."

"It doesn't," He sighed. "It doesn't mean a thing. But it's…politics…"

"Ah," I said, musingly. "The White Fang is looking to _set up_ in Mistral? I…can't imagine that going over well, Adam."

"It didn't," He stopped as we reached a street, letting cars roll by. "It's…the White Fang tried before, back when it first got started; Mistral was the natural choice, given its position as…well, one of the more accepting Kingdom's, at least. But the leadership in Mistral doesn't abide competition or dissent. It didn't go well and the White Fang focused its attentions on Vytal instead. But still…things are better for the Faunus here in some ways, worse in others."

"That's Mistral, for you," I shrugged a shoulder, waiting patiently for the lights to change. "Land of the highs and lows."

He conceded with a snort, turning to look at me out of the corner of an eye. He'd put on some sunglasses, despite it being nighttime—which looked kind of silly, but I guess he could see fine that way so…

"The Families can all trace their lines back to some Faunus, whether they were descended from one, taught by them, married them, or whatever," He continued. "Most of it long enough ago that it doesn't matter genealogically—but _historically_ , they were famous people, remembered in myths and legends, so it _does_ matter. After all, people _know_ they're related to Faunus, so it's not like they could hide or distance themselves from the fact. As a result, the Families have taken to a policy of, at the very least, _neutrality_ towards the Faunus, which is both good and bad. On one hand, the rulers of Mistral are not prejudiced _against_ Faunus and so official discrimination. On the _other_ hand, the rulers of Mistral…aren't very nice people."

"Ah," I said, looking down a bit. "Yeah."

"Because the people who most publically support and are related to the Faunus are…how shall we say… _criminal scum_ ," Adam nodded towards me as if as an example. Which I guess I was, sort of, but it was kind of hypocritical coming from him. "The view of Faunus in Mistral has been altered accordingly and such perceptions often force them into the roles because of discrimination against them in their daily lives."

I eyed me friend a tad disbelievingly, looking him up and down.

"Um," I said. "No, offense Adam, but if you want to make people stop thinking of the Faunus as criminals…well, I'm not sure the White Fang are the best people for the job, is all?"

"I fucking know, right?" He actually laughed. "Anyway, that's the official explanation and its true—it's probably even on the agenda, somewhere down the line. But…well, that's not why we're here; why the White Fang wants to set up shop, I mean. Changing all that…that's long term stuff, something that's not gonna be fixed except over decades. Ideally, the White Fang wants official backing and support from Mistral but it's largely been content with things on that front for a while now. Since the change in management, we've even done a few odd jobs for the Families in exchange for…considerations, let's say. But the Families control most everything and are willing to keep things positive, so we've largely focused our efforts elsewhere. Everything else can be handled later."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here," I noted, frowning.

"Things have apparently changed," He said, looking up. I got the feeling he had closed his eyes. "We've…I don't know what's happening, not really, but I'm getting the feeling that the schedule's been moved up. For whatever reason, they think things will start to change very soon. Things that shouldn't matter for another few decades are getting brought up. The guys in charge…there's…there's been talk. They're expecting something soon."

"How soon?"

He shrugged a shoulder, the set of his mouth making him look uncertain.

"A year?" He guessed. "Maybe two? Not _right now_ or anything, but for something as big as this…"

It was too fast, I finished the thought, frowning slightly. I couldn't really argue with him there—if he was talking about cultural change on the scale I thought he was, it just wasn't something that could happen quickly, not without heavy resistance. If the White Fang suddenly thought they had a realistic chance of pushing something like that through anyway…then this was something big. Really, really big.

Quite possibly big enough to warrant getting my mother involved in. Which meant I was walking into the situation I wanted to avoid, potentially putting myself between my family and friends—which was somewhere I _really_ didn't want to stand. And…

"What's this have to do with me?" I asked before putting several pieces together. "And why'd you bring up that I was a Roma?"

Adam just looked at my calmly and I pursed my lips, abruptly wanting to react. Even so, the Gamer's Mind kept me calm and I took a deep breath, considering things. Silence could speak as loudly as words and I knew what his was hinting at.

"The Families," I said at last. "They're involved?"

"Of course they are," He replied. "However good a time the Olympia Festival may be for meetings like this, nothing goes on in this city without the knowledge and consent of at least one Family. I'm not sure how much or why, but…"

I nodded, accepting that even as I swallowed down words.

"And _my_ Family?" I asked. "My grandmother? Does she know what's going on?"

If…if my grandmother came down on one side of this and my mother on the other…and if my sister's got involved, too, the rest of my family…if this was—

Careful, Jaune, I thought to myself as I forced my mind away from the thoughts, the implications, my sudden concerns for the future. Baby steps.

"I don't know," Adam said at last—or, at least, it felt like I'd been waiting on his answer for ages. In reality, maybe he'd answered promptly. "But…I thought you should be aware. Of what you're getting into."

I nodded, accepting that calmly.

"And the White Fang," I continued. "You don't know what they're planning?"

This time, Adam _did_ hesitate, pausing for a minute as he looked at me and remained quiet. At that moment, there was a part of me that wanted to demand the answers, take them, _make_ him tell me—but I didn't. That was fear talking; a very logical, quiet, _steady_ concern that hardly felt like an emotion at all, but which set up shop in the back of my head and showed little sign of moving. I was aware of it, felt it even, but I thought through it with my power and waited patiently. It didn't control me.

"No," Adam said finally. "They're keeping things quiet and they're working with someone—who's working for someone who's working for someone else, from what it sounds like. Distancing things."

I looked over his face for a minute before nodding slowly.

"Okay," I said. "Thank you. For telling me, I mean. I…didn't want to know this, but maybe I needed to. So thank you; I know what you must be risking for this."

He grunted at that, a bit uncomfortably, and shrugged like it was nothing.

"You're not the only one who has reason to worry," He said and I wondered if he meant himself or Blake.

"But," I proceeded regardless. "I need more information."

"Yeah." He agreed.

"And you know what I have to do to get it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I nodded again and looked forward, organizing things in my thoughts. My mom, my grandmother, Autumn and Gou, the situation in Mistral, the White Fang and the Families, there was…

God, how do I get wrapped up in so much, so quickly?

"Okay," I said aloud. "What first?"

"First," He replied. "We need to make sure everyone believes it's _you_."

I assumed he meant Jian Bing and glanced his way.

"Have there been imposters?" I asked.

"Imposters, crazy people, the usual," He shrugged. "Nothing major, but we'll need to deal with it now."

"What do you propose? I can use some of my powers, but I'm not sure what they'd recognize, considering. The White Whale is kind of noticeable and also on another continent. The mask and cloak?" I shook my head in irritation. "Can't you just vouch for me? You were _there_."

"My presence will do a lot to prove your identity," He nodded. "But a few people might be suspicious about you abruptly turning up. Just in case, it'd be best to avoid questions. It doesn't need to be _unquestionable_ or anything, just enough to _stall_ any questions. From there…well, improvise."

"A show of power?" I guessed.

He blew out an exhausted sounding breath and nodded.

"A lot of Grimm always gather where the White Fang does," He said. "Negativity and all. They need to be dealt with regularly to avoid drawing attention, but things tend to get troublesome after a while, as more and more come. But for this, they should work fine. So…God, I'm regretting this already, but…let's go Hunting, Jaune."

 **XxXXxX**


	5. Chapter 5

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Horde**

Back again, I thought as I donned my disguise. It was a simple matter now, both because I'd improved my disguise skill so much last time and because of the physical alterations of Heir of the White Tiger. I swept my finger across my status screen once we were somewhere appropriately out of the way and just like I began to change.

It was a bit odd to think about, but I hadn't really had many chances to take in the differences last time, having been busy and all—first with Penny, then with flying the White Whale, and then with the passengers on board. After that, I'd taken off the title and put it aside for two months, resuming my normal life. For all that I'd undergone something so major as to change my _species_ , it hadn't been something I'd had many chances to take _notice_ of.

Now, though…

Before I began applying my make up, I looked at myself, taking the alterations in. Without my mask to hide my face or my cloak shielding my body, I could see the differences clear as day as the change took hold. My hair whitened—which was useful, I supposed, since it meant I could skip the dyes—and it seemed to lengthen just a tad. Without my gauntlets in the way, I could see my claws growing in, almost delicate looking growths that belied their deadliness. My teeth shifted position in my mouth which was an unusual experience to say the least, and several grew further, sharper. The difference in my eyes wasn't as extreme as I might have expected, remaining blue though they lightened a fair number of shades and changed shape a bit.

And of course, there was the tail. A new appendage, a length of black and white just suddenly growing out of me, and it…

It looked kind of silly. Well, maybe I was a bit biased against it; it _felt_ weird, having a fifth limb, especially one I could control so easily. It wasn't like the tail of a tiger _should_ have been, meant to aid in balance and such more than anything else—I could move it, use it as dexterously as the prehensile tail of a monkey if not more so. It felt a lot like a third arm, just…growing out of my back. It was strange.

I wondered why I could use it that way so easily. Was it a Faunus thing? I'd never met a tailed Faunus before—I got the feeling such traits were pretty rare—but maybe it was normal for their tails to be prehensile. I mean, most animals couldn't use their tails that way, but most Faunus could see in the dark, regardless of the animal they appeared related to. Maybe this was something like that? Or maybe it was _me_ , a result of my high Dexterity rating manifesting. Or _maybe_ it was a status effect thing, a result of the White Tiger's Star that changed me into a Faunus and made my features more closely resemble those of Bai Hu; another form of natural weaponry like my claws and fangs. Who knows?

There were other changes, of course, minor shifts in my appearance that were more subtle—around the nose, the eyes, maybe even a bit around the jaw, the mouth. A small shift in tone, maybe a slightly different set of my shoulders…small things, really, but it was surprising how quickly they added up. Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt abruptly odd.

"I knew you had a tail last time," Adam said, standing behind me as I looked at myself. "Tiger, I guess? Did you…?"

I shrugged a shoulder, not looking away even as I wrapped the limb around my waist. Later, maybe I'd get used to it, but for now I felt more comfortable using it as a makeshift belt—I had to leave the ones I usually wore behind for this, after all. I withdrew several items from my Inventory, did some touching up and minor changes. I could leave out a few things, now that I could rely on being an actual Faunus to help my disguise go through, but I still put my hair in order, combing it into a different style before making some minor adjustments to other things.

"Title," I said at last, storing the items. My Disguise skill was high enough to reduce the time needed to a miniscule fraction of what it should have been. That done, I withdrew Dreary Midnight and Lenore, watching as the world came into even sharper focus with another pair of eyes. This, on top of my Clairvoyance, was…

"Ah," Adam said. "That's…three titles for the Bai Hu's stuff?"

"Four," I corrected as I shrugged into the cloak. "I got two in a row up in Atlas. I'll probably get at least one more when I master the thing."

"How far are you from that?"

"Six levels. I need to raise Wisdom, still, but everything else is ready," I said as I rose, fully Jian Bing once more. "Speaking of which…"

"Follow me," Adam said, turning to walk away. The moment he was sure I was following, he began to pick up speed and before long we were both running through the forests around Mistral. The darkness didn't bother either of us, nor did the terrain, and though I got the feeling that our destination was a ways out, this level of exertion wasn't enough to even make us breath heavily.

Even so, given my luck, I stayed on guard, many senses at the ready. With Lenore on, my sight was almost impossible sharp and I made sure I was ready to react the moment my senses detected danger or bloodlust. I couldn't say I minded having Adam at my back, either—I mean, if nothing else he was probably such a repressed ball of negativity that he'd draw Grimm for miles.

I felt my lips twitch upwards at the thought before Adam interrupted it.

"I saw your fight," Adam said after several minutes of running in silence.

"Against Pyrrha?" I asked, absently wondering information about what had happened in Atlas had spread. I hadn't seen any actual footage of the fight on the little TV I watched, but I kept myself busy. Well, obviously things were vague enough for people to try and impersonate the guy I was pretending to be. Given how much had been out of the way, how much had been seen at distance, and how much must have sounded plainly ludicrous, it probably wouldn't have been _too_ hard—some planted speakers, a microphone, some smoke and mirrors…it really depended on who knew the specifics of what, but the general idea might have been easy to get across…

Adam grunted, which I took to be a yes as I refocused on him.

"What did you think?" I asked, smiling a little. "On a scale of one to ten?"

He raised one finger and I rolled my eyes without letting the smile fade.

"You've gotten stronger." He continued. "We didn't get a chance to catch up, but before the mission…well, I guess you must have gone through a lot."

"Getting whisked away on a magical Ziz ride will do that," I nearly shrugged before pausing, looking at my friend's back. After a moment, I nodded though I knew he couldn't see it. "A lot has changed. A lot _had_ to change. Stuff happened and I had to face it alone. But I managed—I fought, I won, I came back. It's fine."

Adam hummed a noncommittal note. I thought that was the end of it when he didn't say anything. I hadn't really considered it until now, but I guess I still didn't know how much Blake and Adam knew—about Atlas, I mean. We'd gotten separated in pretty insane circumstances and when I returned we'd only got to chat for a little bit before separating again. I never did tell them what happened and I think they might have avoided the topic intentionally. He didn't know about what Ziz had done to the White Whale, how I'd gotten it up and running, probably not even about Penny. The only sources of information they'd have had would have been some White Fang members that would have had no idea what was going on, a few awed civilians that might have glimpsed the fight, and maybe a few stolen reports. All told, not a lot to go on.

And then I waltz back in and go crazy in an arena, fighting the regional champ to a standstill. Might have been enough to make someone wonder exactly what happened to me.

Or maybe this was something else. If the White Fang really _was_ interested in Mistral and _did_ have some relation to the families, then what did that display mean for them? Had my grandmother been showing me off as a warning? A reminder? An advertisement? Something else?

I knew as well as anyone the power of perception—had exploited it viciously whenever I could, letting people see me as dangerous, powerful, all-knowing, mysterious, and whatever else. Even so, I found myself abruptly wondering how I looked in the eyes of the people closest to me. What had Adam and Blake thought when a monster rose from a burning sphere to assault my enemies? What about my mother and grandmother? It was only a matter of time before my sister's saw, maybe even some of the folks back home who'd known me once, back when I was nothing. What would they think of me now?

Food for thought.

"Oh, are you done whining about it?" Adam said at last, breaking the growing silence with an evasion. "I was just saying you'd gotten stronger; I didn't expect you to get _emotional_ about it. I guess not _that_ much has changed."

I snorted but allowed it.

"Yeah, I'm stronger now," I said, going along with it with my own twist. "Everything from the mission and then two month's training with mom…I spent a lot of points and got a few skills. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I mean, I don't like to _brag_ or anything, but _damn_ I'm awesome. Like, if you'd been there…man, it was amazing. And just think, a thousand years from now maybe they'll remember you as that one guy I knew from that thing."

I'm pretty sure Adam rolled his eyes at that and I took that as a victory.

"So," I continued after a pause. "Any idea what we're gonna do first?"

Adam was silent for a moment at that and then shook his head as he began laughing quietly under his breath.

"Should I take that as a yes?" I wondered, eying him as we suddenly came to a halt. He tilted his head back and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

"I was just thinking…" He mused, surprising me with an honest smile. "It's a little stupid, but since it's here anyway…want to try this again? For old times' sake?"

I looked past him and immediately saw what he was referring to. He'd stopped us quite a ways away, far enough off to avoid notice for now even if we hadn't been hidden by the trees. From here, it probably couldn't see us.

Too bad. I could see it even if it should have been little more than a speck in the distance.

I snorted once and then it turned into a chuckle of my own; I could still see the half-smile on Adam's face as well, looking a little worried and a lot excited.

"I didn't take you for the sentimental type," I mused, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow. "You sure?"

"I'm sure," He said. "If it's like this I can just imagine I'm stabbing _you_ in the face."

"We did that before, as I recall." I noted.

"Yeah—but this might actually be fun."

"Fun," I said, nodding at the word. "Fun. Yeah…maybe just a bit."

"You come a long way, you said," He remained. "You up for this?"

"Oh," I smiled. "Absolutely."

In the distance, the Giant Nevermore soared high above the forest, black wings on dark air.

 **XxXXxX**

Two and a half months ago, when I was first attacked by a Giant Nevermore, it had been the most terrifying experience of my life. I'd kept calm thanks to the Gamer's Mind and won with some quick thinking, my skills, Adam's help, and, I could admit it, a lot of luck. I'd burnt my power on Bai Hu's techniques, spending it freely to try and overcome what I found myself facing, but even literally _hundreds_ of blows had barely managed to do a thing until I'd put myself at risk and jumped down it's throat. In fairness to myself, it had only been my second time really fighting, and I'd been massively under leveled. Even so, I'd managed to scrape out a win despite the odds, using its own weaknesses against it; if not for that, I would probably have died.

That was then.

This is now.

"Levant," I said, lips turning up into a fierce, anticipating smile. The dematerialized Elemental appeared before me, bright smile on her face as my power gathered. I hadn't had her with me last time, but now she was here, wielding power over the very air itself. Better yet, equipment bonuses combined with months of training to make her stronger then she'd ever been.

Without another word, I ran, skills activating to hasten my approach. I rushed towards my target, all but flying through the woods; with my Air Aura, Haste, and the White Tiger's Tread all activated, even Adam had to push himself to keep up—and I was just getting started.

"We got a plan?" He grunted, a step behind me.

"Bring it down, tear it apart," I said promptly.

"It as the benefit of simplicity," Adam acknowledged with a sigh. "Do you want to bring it down or should I?"

I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at him, relying on my enhanced peripheral vision to avoid obstacles.

"I never did get a chance to show it to you, did I?" I asked. "The White Tiger's Five Hundred Years."

I activated the skill as I spoke the words and left my friend quickly behind. Power surged through me along with pain, the world coming into a vicious sort of clarity. I could _feel_ the effect on my HP and MP both, as the technique devoured an enormous amount of power to hasten me ever onwards. I knew logically that if not for the Gamer's Body, each use of the skill would result in horrible consequences to my body, but for me…for me it was simply a major initial cost followed by a steady payment over time. Even so, I couldn't deny that the effect was exhausting, despite all the training I'd done with it.

Which made it no less awesome to experience. As the switch flipped, the world around me changed, almost slowing down as if halting to let me pass. With Lenore and my Clairvoyance boosting my ability to perceive and process even further, it was difficult to describe how the world changed. I felt power in my limbs, giving me this amazing speed even as it seemed to wait for a target to rip to shreds. With every step, with every moment, I felt the power I had drawn out of the history books and it felt _amazing_. My normal self, even with all the training I'd done, felt feeble and clumsy in comparison.

I couldn't deny I missed this, a little bit. Being disguised, becoming someone else. Like this, it didn't matter what I did—I didn't have to pay heed to any limits. I was the guy who could do anything, after all; the mysterious and amazing supervillain genius fighter. That was a complete lie, granted, but people thought it was true so it didn't matter what I could explain, what I could do.

Sometimes lies could be as powerful as truths, after all. Other times, maybe even more powerful.

So I ran. I spotted other creatures of Grimm as I did so, rushing by Beowolves and Ursa with their noses down as they tracked something. I remained focused on my target, but nonetheless reached out as I passed them by, grabbing a Beowolf in one hand and an Ursa in the other and letting whiplash do the rest. I dropped the corpses after several paces and kept moving as snarls and howls erupted behind me and the creatures gave chase.

As I moved further into the woods, the Grimms' numbers increased, until there seemed to be several in sight at all times, just a step away no matter how far I went. I slaughtered whichever ones happened to be in easy reach, ending them without distinction as I went by just to get their attention, to make them follow me. For them to be here in such numbers, and in so many different species, the White Fang's base must have been nearby, drawing them in. If so, it was better that _I_ drew their attention, wasn't it?

Beyond that, though, I paid them little mind as I kept my eyes on the prize and came to a halt when I deemed myself close enough. I didn't have to look to know that Levant was beside me again the moment I stopped, forming from the air that touched on everything—just as I didn't need to say a word for her to know what I wanted. Giggling joyously, she cast a hand up at the air, sending invisible currents shifting above us. I didn't have a handy Bullhead this time around, but I didn't need one, either.

I already had everything I needed for this. It hadn't been the crash that had brought down the Giant Nevermore the first time, after all, but my Aura, used in such a way that it countered the most basic principles of flight. And now…now I had something even better. Levant moved her hands like she was shaping something or playing an instrument, power gathering like a storm as she did—and in seconds, the air struck out at the creature that flew upon it.

It was a quiet thing—for that first instant, at least. There was nothing visible to the process, nothing that draw attention. No lights, not even any real sound, just a shift in invisible air, above and below a set of wings. And yet the Nevermore, a might expression of the creatures of Grimm, fell from the sky with an ear-piercing shriek, as surely as if a massive blade and cleaved away both its wings. It flapped them desperately, trying to fly again, but to no avail.

But as it fell, I _rose_. I launched myself high into the air, a great Lunging leap assisted further by more of Levant's power until I almost _flew_ , and at the apex of my climb I met the beast with a smile. Matching eyes met from matching masks, and I felt its attention upon me.

It didn't matter. This creature, a monster that had once seemed so frightening, was…nothing to me now. I'd seen what Penny could do and Pyrrha—even glimpsed the power of my mother, in small part. I'd received a, heh, grim reminder of how horrifying this world could be when I saw Ziz, a being that could have erased me on _accident_ , had I been a bit more unlucky. This thing, a giant bird with two forms of attack that I could easily deny it…it was strictly little league, compared to that.

And though once its power might have been intimidating…that was a long, long time ago. But I still wanted a rematch.

So I grasped its beak in one hand, flashed it a smile, and pulled myself into its open mouth. Its shriek muffled and died as I slide into its gullet and stopped my descent towards its stomach with a grasping claw.

Then, with my free hand, I punched through the wall of its esophagus. That was one of the many things about me that was different now—over _two hundred_ points distributed among all my stats. Only about forty of those had gone into Strength, granted, but that still meant that my rating in the stat had more than _doubled_ since that fight. And that was just the _base_ stat, before any bonuses came into play.

And there were a _lot_ of bonuses.

I felt the Nevermore begin to struggle around me, trying to escape from a threat it had no way to avoid. I tore my hand free and then went wild within the beast, my claws raking, ripping, shredding the vulnerable flesh within it as I tore myself free from its throat and then out of its body altogether. I climbed out of it after slitting its throat from within, grasping ahold of wet, staining feathers as the Nevermore tumbled through the air in its death throes. I gave it a glance over, just to be sure, and then left it to die, leaping away from its falling, fighting body.

I came down hard on the back of an Ursa, things snapping beneath my feet as it was crushed. I stepped off of it in almost the same instant, a kick to the head putting an end to its feeble struggles, and placed my hand on the head of the Ursa beside it as the creature turned towards me at last. I pushed it down with main strength, until its chin touched the ground—and kept pushing until things broke, liquids welling between my fingers. I shook them clean as I righted myself and walked past a Beowolf, taking its head with me as I did, and absently looked around for the next target.

A whisper tickled my ears, carried on the wind by Levant, and I turned my focus in that direction. A Boarbatusk charged me as I did, but I grasped it by a tusk and hauled it up so my other hand could tear through its soft belly and pulverize whatever counted as a heart inside it. Jumping up to a tree branch, I pulled the wings off a flock of Nevermore as I passed, tossing the remains aside as I moved through the trees, before coming down at the edge of by far the largest crowd of Grimm I'd ever seen—so large in fact, that it hid what they were gathered around.

Not that I couldn't guess, I supposed.

I Lunged into it without hesitation, cleaving my way through the horde with successive bounds that took me further and further in. I scythed down half a pack of Beowolves, beheaded another pair of Ursa, flicked arching blades towards the flying Nevermore, and kept going until I reached the center. A group of four guards stood by what a quick Observation revealed to be a hidden passage, trying to hold back the assault with guns and doing pretty well, all things considered. Still, the Grimm were advancing and their sheer number countered the guard's efforts. I saw one with an open scroll, who another Observation confirmed to be panicking, while the others were firing wildly into the advancing crowd.

Fear breeding fear. What had once probably been under control now anything but as the guards own emotions worked against them, drawing more monsters. In all likelihood, one had gotten scared first and then the rising wave of Grimm had sparked the feeling in another until it snowballed. It wasn't an uncommon problem for town and village guardsmen, or so I'd head, but it _was_ a problem. They were probably calling for help right now, but…

I came up beside a Beowolf charging one of the guards, backhanding its side hard enough to crush its ribcage. Four steps took me into the path of a rushing Boarbatusk who I kicked in the face hard enough to lift fully off the ground and then punched in the chest hard enough that bits of it spewed from around the wound. Stepping away to put the guardsmen all roughly behind me, I planted my feet and flicked my wrist once, twice, ten times, and then a hundred and more. Each strike took shape as a Far Strike, a quick expression of razor sharp power that severed heads, limbs, leaving the monsters dead or broken in their wake. They fell in waves as I worked, dropping where they'd stood until they stretched out in an arc around us as the last of them went down.

Only then did I stop, letting Bai Hu's penultimate technique run its course and then finally fade. In the distance, I heard the Giant Nevermore crash to earth, struggles ending as it finally died.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

I took a deep breath and exhaled as I felt my health and power get restored by the increase in level. I shook my fingers again to shake loose what now clung to them, but then decided it was pointless. My skin, my hair, my cloak—my entire body had been stained by the things I'd killed and I dripped with it. Behind me, I could feel the shift in the guardsmen, mixed relief and terror taking hold as they waited in silence, refusing to speak lest they draw my attention. I was quiet for a minute myself, waiting, until…

"Adam," I said, Levant carrying the words strangely as they rippled outwards, not loud but carrying unnaturally despite that. My friend came into sight a few seconds later, absently cleaning his sword. "You're late."

The words were almost teasing, but the tone was completely serious, focus.

Adam looked around and then at me, staring hard at me. He'd already put his mask back on, so I couldn't see it but…I could guess what his expression was probably like.

At last, he nodded to acknowledge the words.

"You move fast," He admitted, but there was a weight to the word that I didn't miss. From someone else, it might not have meant anything, but from Adam…there was amazement in the word—and sadness and something else.

I nodded once in return, getting it, and turned around to look at the guardsmen as Adam came to my side. Again, I was silent, expectant. They stared at me, fear giving slowly away to awe as the reality of the situation sank in.

"This is—" Adam began to say as the silence stretched on, but I cut him off for the sake of appearances.

"They know who I am," I said without emotion, as if it were a simple statement of fact. "Or they ought to."

The guards stiffened suddenly at my words, looking at me again.

"Sir!" They said, scrambling into a salute.

I gave them an acknowledging glance and then stepped into the White Fang base, unquestioned.

"Showoff," I heard Adam mutter as we left the guard's behind, voice quite enough that I wouldn't have heard but for Levant.

"Hey, I'm always fighting people fifteen or twenty or whatever levels above me who are stronger then they look," I answered in the same way, my Air Elemental making sure only he could hear them. "Let me enjoy this while I can."

It was like revisiting the old levels of a game, remembering how hard things had been, how easy they were now—it was fun, cathartic even. But…after you're done…the game continues. I didn't need any magical senses to tell me I was walking into something very delicate and dangerous.

But they helped.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Headquarters**

As I trekked deeper in the White Fang's hideout, I drew some stares—which was to be expected, I supposed, given the gore liberally painted over my skin. Before long, wisps of smoke began to rise from the Grimm remains, the last of their bodies slowly evaporating and leaving behind little more than clinging soot. I could imagine the image I presented, walking through the halls looking like _that_.

But I rolled with it, stalking my way through the complex as if I owned the place. I didn't make any sign of noticing my current state, much less being bothered by it, and though there were whispers…well, no one stopped me as I progressed further into the site. I assumed they recognized me.

I kept an eye out the entire way down. My senses, altered by the nature of my power, were one of my greatest advantages. I could read people's levels and names at a glance, pick up what should have been impossible to know details with a longer look, and spot signs of things long past from the invisible marks they left behind—and I put all of it to use. Home solely to the Faunus, there were no lights in the abandoned facility, but that didn't mean there was any less to be seen.

I memorized the names of those I passed so I would remember if I saw them elsewhere. Anyone with an unusually high rating got more focused attention as I skimmed their profiles for what made them stand out and whether or not I should be wary. The building offered up a great deal of information all its own; it was an abandoned facility from the time of the war that had fallen first to enemy forces and then to the creatures of Grimm. At some point, the White Fang had cleaned it out and put it to a new purpose—and not recently, either. This was something older, something established; I could tell at a glance that though they left most of them off, the base's systems were not just in working order, but far beyond what it would have had at the time of its creation. It had been refurbished and kept up to date since its reclamation.

And that…was a bit worrying. Though not right next to it, the base was still in relatively close proximity to the city and something like this, remodeling a fallen military base, would have taken a lot of time, effort, and, of course, money. The White Fang being capable of such a thing without drawing attention to themselves was concerning; all the more so for the vastly more likely explanation. That someone _had_ noticed—had seen what was being done and _hid_ it. Or perhaps even _assisted_ it, funding the operation. That was easier to imagine but if so, it confirmed that someone in Mistral who had a lot of power had taken a role in ensuring things went smoothly.

There was a pretty short list of people it could be. I couldn't say I'd honestly doubted Adam when he claimed that the Families were involved—whatever else he may be, the man wasn't stupid—but this all but confirmed it. I didn't know enough about the internal politics of the White Fang or of Mistral, but…

Without a doubt, I needed to talk to my grandmother.

I didn't let any of those thoughts show on my face, staying calm and distant as I strode forward until I reached what seemed to be a heavily modified assembly hall or storage room; it was hard to tell, after the fact, but whatever it had been it now served as…

A very large but otherwise surprisingly mundane common room. Maybe it was a bit weird of me to never have thought about it, given that I'd assisted them before and all, but I'd never truly given much thought to what the White Fang did in their free time. I mean, I'd known logically that even people like Blake and Adam, highly trained operatives that were no doubt kept busy jumping from one mission to the next, couldn't work _all_ of the time. Adam may have been content in his apparent lack of a life, but Blake at least had time to read occasionally, if he comments and actions were anything to go by. It stood to reason that other members of the White Fang would also have time to themselves—probably _more_ time, if they weren't Hunter level fighters kept endlessly busy.

Nonetheless, the sight that welcomed me underneath the White Fang's hideout still felt bizarre. There were many pieces of mismatched furniture that looked like they'd been bought cheap or used, seemingly arranged with no rhyme or reason. Mats and rugs mimicked the trend, all but hiding the concrete floor in patterns for the garishly ugly to worn but beautiful. A fair number of lawn chairs were arranged unevenly around nearly two dozen tables of various shapes and sizes, covered in everything from the expected to the strangely mundane. Next to a table covered in guns and ammunition was one whose surface was nearly hidden by magazines with titles like 'The Fairest' and 'Ms. Mistral.' Set against the back wall was a set of roughly level tables that held up rows of water coolers and coffee pots, sandwiched on either end by two large refrigerators.

I walked into the room and just stared for a moment, feeling just a bit silly. To my left was a table with three muscular men and a young girl playing a board game of some kind, with cards and pieces and a map of Remnant—I didn't recognize it. Board games in my house had a tendency to devolve quickly into fighting games to the point that my only experience with chess was as a full contact sport. To my right was a semicircle of random loveseats and couches, arrayed around a large television beside a shelf of movies. Not too far away a girl with a handheld game was talking to a young woman doing her nails, both of whom seemed to be getting ignored by a third girl wearing headphones.

I could admit it; whatever I'd expected to find the White Fang doing in their downtime, it wasn't this.

"Surprised?" Adam whispered.

Of course, just because I could admit it to _myself_ didn't mean I felt any need to do so _out loud_.

"Actually, this explains a lot about the White Fang." I mused back at him, looking around contemplatively. Adam snorted behind me.

"Oh, Mr. Taurus!" I heard a voice say and turned to find a scraggly looking guy with watery eyes staring at us. I could tell because he'd apparently pushed his mask up to put on some reading glasses and open a book. He blinked at us once and squinted at me before his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say…something. Whatever it was, what he actually said was 'Um. _Um_.'

I felt a little mean thinking it, but I couldn't help but wonder if Adam's 'become the monsters they'd made us out to be' explanation wasn't entirely accurate. I mean it sounded good, but looking at the young man in front of me—who _looked_ young, for all that he was probably a few years older than me, and had a bad case of ache to prove it—if _maybe_ the intimidation factor didn't have something to do with it. Because looking around, at the men and women with their uniforms off and their masks raised…they just looked like people.

Then again, I suppose that was what they were.

The young man, Beige, blinked owlishly at me for a few more seconds, feathered hair twitching as his gaze turned towards Adam.

"Um," He said. "Did something happen, sir? I mean, sirs."

"There was a problem outside," Adam said gruffly, but since he nodded in greeting towards Beige instead of dismissing him, I figured there was a story of some kind there.

"Um," He said again. Around us, I could see other people begin to look our way, the knowledge of our arrival rippling outwards until everyone knew. "Could you define problem?"

"Grimm," Adam replied bluntly, scanning the crowd.

"Oh," Beige said. "Right. Problem. Are they, uh…?"

He trailed off as Adam left, making a bee line for someone—Blake, I saw after a moment. Beige glanced at me, apparently considering asking, before thinking better of it.

"Do not be concerned," I told him. "It's dealt with."

He looked me over, probably noting the stains, and nodded quickly. I returned the gesture more calmly and then followed my friend at a sedate pace. Other members of the White Fang saw me and tracked me as I crossed the floor, some almost rising to greet me, some almost shrinking away, but none approaching me. In the end, that was probably for the best, here and now—that I be a distant, mysterious figure, but one who's image represented confidence and power.

Because that's what it always seemed to boil down to, wasn't it? Image, identity, resemblance, and _expression_. I was the tiger, king of the jungle—untouched for all that I was soaked in blood. But it was their _enemy's_ blood and that was what mattered. That they knew there was nothing to fear out there. That they understood they were safe, behind a mighty, invincible warrior.

And if that was a lie, it was a lie that had protected the people of Remnant for generations. It wasn't enough to push back the assaults of the Grimm, for that the seeds of dread and fear would only draw more—you had to _crush_ them, cut them down like stalks of wheat and make it obvious you could do it a thousand times. And if that was a lie? Then you lied, because telling the truth was far worse.

"Adam," I heard Blake say as she looked up from her book. "Where did you—"

She cut herself off, lifting her gaze to look at me. She stared hard for a moment before shifting to look towards Adam for a second, mouth twisting with a desire to say something about it—but she hesitated. She wouldn't risk making a scene and saying the wrong thing here in front of a crowd of people and Adam knew it. For a moment, I thought she wouldn't say anything at all, that she'd let things pass begrudgingly, but her lips twitched once and she met Adam's hidden eyes.

"You shouldn't have brought him into this," She whispered and I muffled the sound further with Levant to keep things private, just in case. "Not again."

Adam shrugged one shoulder in reply, not flinching.

"I did anyway," He said. "If something's happening, he deserves to know. Especially if…"

"Know what?" I asked him through Levant, not bothering to move my lips. I saw his ear twitch once at the sound, but his face turned slightly so that he was looking towards a door set off to the side of the room.

"I'm not sure," Adam said, keeping his voice low enough that only Levant should be able to pick it up. Blake closed her eyes and looked away. "But when you fought, there was a reaction—more than there should have been. Whatever's happening has something to do with you and your family, Jaune. And it's something big, something…I don't know what you'll find or what will happen afterwards. But I figured you deserved the chance to find out. You can still back out."

"Meh," I replied distractedly as Levant's power expanded through the space around us, mixing with the air as it came under her influence and crept swiftly towards the door. "Leave now? It's just getting interesting."

Adam snorted again, a bull-like sound and I made my 'tone' more serious.

"Thanks," I said. "For the heads up."

"Can you hear them?" He asked after a moment. "The room's soundproof."

"Noticed," I muttered back as Levant detected barely anything from the door—and with what could have been a shrug, promptly reached out to grasp the air on the other side. The voices came to me immediately, filling my ears as Levant mirrored them on this side of the wall. "Not a problem."

 _"—His name is Jaune Arc."_

There was a short silence I used to fill the other side of the room with Levant's power, making the sound clearer. Stripping off my still dirty cloak, I took a seat in the chair beside Blake's, mind focused elsewhere as my body went through the motions. I heard something that might have been a click and then the voice continued.

 _"Yes," Another voice said impatiently. "But is he…?"_

 _"The son of Jacques and_ Isabelle _Arc. Yes."_

Someone exhaled slowly.

 _"You're sure she's Isabelle Roma?"_

 _"As sure as I possibly can be. It was hidden well and she never made a fuss about it in public, but…yes. There's evidence to support it and it's unlikely to be a coincidence."_

 _"Do we know who hid it?"_ A third voice inquired.

 _"Does it matter?"_ Asked a forth.

 _"Possibly. It could tell us something about her allies and how powerful. Whoever they are, they've kept this hidden for quite some time."_

 _"There was chaos during and after Mistral's Civil War, especially when it was followed so swiftly by Menagerie. Countless people moved between the Kingdoms to escape for conflict; moving a single girl would have taken no great effort—and there were bigger concerns then making sure every single refugee was who the claimed to be. Remember…what was his name? The serial killer that moved to Vacuo?"_

 _"William Blut,"_ A voice answered. " _But the situations differ. He was quiet for a long, long time and when he resumed his…activities, well, he was caught in short order, wasn't he? Going unnoticed among thousands upon thousands of other refugees is one thing, especially when the situation is chaotic._ Staying _that way for a long period of time is quite another. If she were living in some village off the edge of Vale, you might have a point, but she was a_ Hunter _. A_ famous _Hunter, active for_ decades _across the Kingdoms, without so much as changing her first name—an_ old _name, at that. Certainly, many have begun to stray from the color trend nowadays, but go back…twenty? Thirty? Thirty years and a name like Isabelle would have stood out, however famous Lady Elizabeth had been. Yet no one made the connection? Or do you believe_ he _doesn't know?"  
_  
There was another pause, but I felt motion through Levant. Someone shaking their head? Making some kind of gesture at least. There were less people in the room then there were voices, so I assumed that some of them were communicating electronically. I could feel a few things I thought might have been hologram sets, but that didn't allow me to judge their body language. I made do with what I could feel, focusing on those in the room itself. __

 _"No, you're right," A voice said. "At the very least, we can assume that Ozpin knows. The girl, Isabelle, would she have…would she have already attended Haven? If not, she'd have been on a team in Vale for at least four years; that's a lot of time to keep secrets and most children grow to trust one another, given time. That's probably at least four more. And her husband surely knows and the children…who else? Family friends? Past lovers? More? And yet we only find out about this now. I think we're all aware of how…fun it is to keep secrets after telling large amounts of people, so it occurs to me that going unnoticed for decades might have been difficult."_

 _"And that's assuming that no one else found out. Knowledge tends to spread, however hard people fight to resist—yet this did not? No…fan boy or girl invested absurd amounts of time into examining every aspect of her history? Unlikely. There are forces at work; an extraordinarily good cover, at the very least, and probably someone silencing things for a time, one way or the other. In the aftermath of the Revolution, things could have been buried more definitely, but before that…"_

 _"There was definitely something keeping her hidden. Hopefully, it was simply the Lupa, but given their reputation, we must at least consider the possibility that Ozpin was involved, in which case…"_

 _"…There's not enough information to say yet. It was most likely Jeanne Roma's work, but we'll keep in mind the possibility. More importantly, what does this mean for us? How much does this change things for us?"_

 _"It's…concerning,"_ One of them admitted. " _Perhaps a great deal; potentially not at all. Though her mother has ruled as long as anyone remembers, Isabelle Arc is the technical heir of the Roma family."_

 _"And absent from it for decades and purportedly despises her mother," Another reminded dismissively. "What loyalty would any of them have for her?"_

 _"And yet, here she is, staying in her mother's house—and her son certainly seemed close enough to his grandmother."_

 _"But she left quickly, leaving her son behind. The fight was halted by her as well, implying it occurred without her knowledge or consent. I don't think her presence in the She-wolf's house should be taken as an implication of closeness—at least, not between the two of them."_

 _"Yes,"_ A firm voice interrupted. _"Isabelle Roma is, by all appearances, loyal to Ozpin and opposed to her mother. While it could be fabricated, evidence supports their being conflict between them even before she disappeared. She may be the 'heir,' but it's nothing but a word if it's not supported by reality. Given that, I think we can write her off as the primary threat in this regard. The issue is the grandchildren."_

 _"The many, many grandchildren." Another added, voice wry._

 _"What was it? Seven granddaughters in addition to this grandson?"_

 _"Yes. Hunters, all of them, and close to their grandmother. We didn't know their relationship until now, but looking back…they all spent significant time in the area, working under or near her. Now, her grandson appears to fight in the tournament, beginning with a display of power that should be far beyond someone who hasn't even attended a Hunter's Academy—who'd failed to gain entry into a combat school, even."  
_  
There were several disbelieving sounds in response to that. I took to chance to return my attention to my body and glance around absently. I was leaning forward, on elbow on a knee, while Blake and Adam positioned themselves to talk quietly beside me, making it look as though I were listening to them absently. No one else deigned to approach us, though several had wandered in our direction, taking seats positioned such that they were nearby without actually being close before returning to their own activities.  
 _  
"She must have been planning this for a long time. Keeping them a secret, preparing them…"_

 _"It's hardly a surprise in hindsight. We knew from the beginning that she wouldn't just sit idly by while her powerbase deteriorated. That she had grandchildren in play…it changes things, but it's not complete unexpected. What we need to ask ourselves is 'Why here?' and 'why now?' If she's been preparing her grandchildren for this, she wouldn't reveal that fact unless she was ready to see things through. The question is, what is she planning?"_

 _"A power play?"_

 _"At a time like this? It seems…"_

 _"No, you're right; there's no reason for her to do such a thing now, considering—"_

 _"A statement, then? In comparison, Cynosarges's grandson…even his goddaughter was matched by her youngest. With seven already trained as Huntresses, this generation would seem to favor the wolves. Since the Civil War, Alexandria has been in charge, but with this…"_

 _"That's long term, though."_

 _"Is it? Times are changing and she knows it better than anyone. As things are now, with such a display of power…"_

 _"Worse, if Jeanne decides on a path, Cynosarges will support her—the wolf and the lion hunt together."  
_  
There were mutters of agreement at that, drawing back to the point.  
 _  
"What matters then, as before, is what this means for us." A voice brought them back on topic."How bad will it be? How bad could it be? Will it be bad at all?"_

 _"…If we assume that she will pick a new heir from amongst her grandchildren, perhaps not. We don't have enough information on them to tell yet, but Jeanne wouldn't choose a fool to lead the Family, nor one who she believed would ruin what she worked for. If this is a show of power, it's possible it was not meant for us—or, if it was, meant as nothing more than a reminder of who we're dealing with. But we hadn't forgotten, had we?"  
_  
There was a murmur of agreement.  
 _  
"What do you propose, then?"_

 _"Patience. Caution. Whether it's a warning, a threat, or simply a display, there does not seem to be any reason for her to betray us—therefore, I would recommend we wait and see. There's no benefit in doing something rash, especially when it's needless, so why do anything without further information. She has her affairs and we have ours; if she chooses to elect a successor, we'll trust her judgment and support her decision, at least for now. If this is something more than that and she wishes to move…well, we can't very well decide what we'd do in that case without anything to go on, can we? But she wouldn't ruin something that benefits her."_

 _"Yes; we can trust in that, if nothing else. We'll be polite, then?"_

 _"Like civilized human beings."  
_  
Those words got a quiet chuckle from the hidden room.  
 _  
"We'll meet with her soon, regardless. Should circumstances allow, we'll make an inquiry. In the meantime, there's still much for us to do."_

 _"Yes. What's next on the agenda? Finances or advertising?"  
_  
There was a quiet shifting a cloth and a quiet beep.  
 _  
"—Ah. A moment, my friends. She's messaged me."_

 _"Oh?"_ One of the voices seemed worried. _"Is it…"_

 _"No, nothing so dire. Rather—"  
_  
There was silence for a second.  
 _  
"She's here,"_ The voice said. " _And so is Jian Bing."  
_  
I returned to myself in an instant but didn't react otherwise, didn't look up. Instead, without even moving, my senses expanded outwards. I drew up all my Elementals, let light and color swim freely across my vision beneath the full, disorienting might on my Clairvoyance, and drew the entirety of my combat power around me. Invisible currents of air, flows of heat, water vapor, and electromagnetism stood out bright and clear in my mind's eyes, even as time slowed to a crawl around me.

There were things that could hide themselves well—that could become invisible and mask their scent and more. Done right and too the right person, all of a human's senses could be fooled.

But I had a few more than that.

I didn't even twitch as that happened—I stayed as I was, leaning slightly forward, resting an arm on a leg as I looked at Adam as he told his story about some mission or other. It was a short thing that he didn't go to detail on, so he swiftly reached the end of the tale, but each sentence seemed to drag out endlessly. Even so, I waited until he was done.

Then, I spoke, moving nothing but my mouth.

"There's no need for you to stand there, friend. Come sit with us." I spoke to the woman behind me, who hadn't been there until after the words were finished. There was a shift in the air behind me, a sudden access to air that hadn't been there before, and what seemed like everyone in the room suddenly turned to look behind me.

Everyone but me. I wanted to, but appearances were more important, so even as…whatever the hell was going on behind me happened, I stayed as I was, not moving until…

"Hello," A woman's voice said. "Jian Bing."

When she addressed me, I turned to look her way. I was calm and casual as I did so, going so far as to put an arm over the back of the chair as I glanced the woman over.

What I saw surprised me, though I didn't show it. Most of it, I noticed only in the periphery of my vision—long black hair and clothes in red and black; miniskirt and thigh-high boots and a strange looking weapon at her hip—because my eyes were drawn immediately to her face.

Or rather, to the mask covering her face.

"Hello," I replied. "Raven Branwen."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Ties**

The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant, sharpening enough that for a moment I thought I could _feel_ it as her attention fell solely on me. She took a step around the chair, four eyes focusing hard on my hidden face, her body language almost threatening.

I didn't back down. I didn't dare to—didn't dare reveal I was anything but confident and powerful, especially after the move I'd just pulled. I stood my ground and watched her approach, forcing an amused twist to my lips as I waited casually in my chair, sitting as she stood and trying to look like I was in control.

"No one has called me by that name in a long, long time," She said, something lurking beneath the words. A warning? A threat? Whatever it was, it faded quickly back into seeming apathy—but it had been there. She'd been surprised that I'd known her name, had been…something. She'd reacted to the words Levant had whispered in her ear and I felt abruptly glad I'd had Levant carry the words to her ear and no one else's. "You know a great deal, Jian Bing."

"Oh, was it a secret?" I chuckled quietly, unable to muster up much mirth. "My apologies, then, friend. I hadn't noticed."

I brought up a leg, resting an ankle on a knee, a knee on an armrest, an elbow on a knee. I rested my face in my open hand, expression amused and relaxed as I gazed up at her.

 **?  
LV?  
Raven Branwen**

I had to be careful. Right off, I could be sure of several things. From past observation, I was pretty sure I could see the information of those up to fifty levels above me—that I could not see this woman's put her, bare minimum, at eighty-two. Probably higher, I mused, judging her. Just standing in front of her prickled at my danger sense fiercely, warning me of a threat. Except…it wasn't like someone was about to shoot me—that was a sharp, sudden warning, like an alarm going off in my head. It wasn't even that she might have been angry, though that increased the sensation. Instead…this was something more subdued, more prolonged; an indication of _potential_ danger. Simply standing in front of this woman was hazardous to my health.

Even so, I didn't back down or show fear; I met her eyes as if I were her equal, however certain I was that she wasn't. I had to. A simply glance was all I needed to be sure that this woman was dangerous beyond words—even if levels were, at their most basic level, _extremely_ uninformative, a difference this large…

If this came to a fight, I couldn't imagine enjoying it. If she was as strong as my mother—or, worse, _stronger_ —than fighting would end badly. And yet, in a situation like this, backing down or submitting probably wouldn't end much better. It was strange, but I didn't dare risk running from a fight I couldn't win. But if I couldn't fly and couldn't fight, what did that leave me?

Nothing.

Except my image.

Her mask covered the whole of her face my mine left my mouth visible and so I smiled. I played my role like it was my only line of defense—not just for Raven, but for the crowd gathered around us, watching every move. I stayed seated to avoid looking like the aggressor, but remained confident to avoid looking weak as I returned her stare. Four to four, our eyes met from behind stark white masks, the red standing out like blood against them. A Grimm mask, like a hundred others in the room, but far more elaborate—a sign of rank, I assumed. I wasn't sure how the White Fang used the things, but I'd seen the difference in design between prospective and actual members, as well as between members and…whatever the hell Adam counted as. I'd seen one or two other masks of a similar style, always in the possession of people with higher levels than those around them. Lieutenants and leaders, I imagined, marked such by masks that truly resembled the Grimm.

But _her_ mask…

Whatever the case, ours looked similar, in their own way—thankfully. It gave the completely false impression that I fit into the ranks, that we were peers. Raven probably knew better, but those around us…and she couldn't very well reveal that I _wasn't_ a part of the White Fang as such, could she? No, not after everything I'd done for it, what I'd done. Failure could be decried, but success? That was somewhat harder. But then, what would I do?

"Teacher," Adam said, standing as I did my utmost not to look his way. Instead, I remained focused on the woman in front of me, unchanging even as she slowly drew her eyes away from me and looked at my friend.

"We didn't expect you," Raven said at last. "In fact, we'd been informed you would be busy."

"Oh?" I asked, chuckling softly. "Well, I suppose that was true. But things have a tendency to resolve themselves around me—I was lucky enough to wrap things up in time."

"And quickly enough to travel all the way to Mistral," She noted.

"I like to consider myself an expert on intercontinental transport," I said and smiled slightly as the words drew a few chuckles from the younger members—chuckles that quickly died, assassinated by the atmosphere in the room. Or maybe they were just scared by where they stood—between someone I assumed to be one of the higher ranking members of the White Fang and the internationally infamous Jian Bing. I could see the anticipation on their faces with my alarmingly sharp peripheral vision, the interest and wonder and fear. Who were we? Did we know one another? Were we friends? Enemies? And, perhaps most importantly of all, were we about to fight?

God, I hoped not. I couldn't imagine _that_ going well for me right now—I mean, God, had I seen this coming or what? I'd _told_ Adam.

"So I've heard," Raven said, feathers—heh—unruffled as she turned back to me. "And exterminating pests, evidently."

"You had a bit of an infestation," I replied, brushing Grimm ash from a pectoral. "I happened to notice several of our fellows having trouble dealing with it and offered a hand."

"What a gentleman," She said.

"Oh?" I asked, closing my eyes as I stood at complete and utter ease. "Really…I wouldn't say that. It was nothing worth mentioning. Right?"

Unlike my own, her mask hid the whole of her face—but a part of me suspected she might have smiled very, very slightly at that. The tingling warning against me senses deepened.

She glanced Adam's way and he stepped aside allowing her to take a seat beside me.

"Not remotely," She answered as she reclined easily, at ease. Adam stood between us, uncomfortably if the pulsing vein at his jaw was anything to go by. She lifted a hand and sent everyone back to their seats with a snap of her fingers, though all eyes were still on us. She knew that as well as I did, so she didn't want privacy for this, per se…but then what was she planning? I could have silenced the area around us with Levant, but for now, at least, I benefited from the audience as well. "Whatever the case, I'm glad you could make it, Jian. Your timing is impeccable."

I gestured at her dismissively and looked at Adam and Blake out of the corner of my eye, watching them react to the words—a nearly simultaneous twitch of the lips and ears, a tightening of Blake's mouth.

"Just lucky," I replied, tilting my head slightly in my friends' direction. "Thank you, as always, for lending me your student's talents. He's been lending me his assistance in this regard as well."

I had no idea what 'this regard' was, but Raven nodded shallowly in acceptance.

"I should thank you, as well," She replied. "It seems you had to pull him out of trouble."

Adam grunted, sounding annoyed, but he swallowed it at a glance from his apparent teacher.

"You've done a lot to assist your brothers in the White Fang and outside it. Given your presence, I take it you will be assisting us again?"

Ah. Of course. She was trying to trap me the same way I had trapped her, binding me with the expectations of the crowd. Reputation was something that could cut both ways, serving as both a burden and a weapon, but she…

Off to the side, I saw Blake close her eyes, expression pained but resigned. Adam, for his part, gave me a long look I could interpreted until I Observed him and understood what he was trying to say.

I chuckled, refusing to let my composure fade, and she nodded once, apparently satisfied, and rose as the door to the sound-proofed room opened. A tall, tanned man with golden eyes peered at us with a frown.

"We'll be working together, then?" I asked her with a smile. "The Tiger and the Raven?"

"Of course," She said as a swirling red gate whirled into existence beside her. "I'll be in touch, Jian."

 _We have a lot to talk about._ The words reached me, as if whispered in my ear, but I knew she didn't say them out loud.

That was _my_ trick, I thought a bit petulantly, though I didn't so much as twitch at the words. Instead, I waved her goodbye from my chair and smiled, though I had to struggle to keep my smile in place when a quest window appeared in front of me—the first in a long time and I could already tell it was gonna _suck_.

 **A quest has been created!  
The Vanguard of the White Fang: The Dogs of Mistral!  
Establish the power of the White Fang within the Kingdom of Mistral! Time Limit: One week.  
Completion Reward: 20000000, Increased closeness with the White Fang, Increased closeness with Blake Belladonna, Increased closeness with Adam Taurus, Increased closeness with Raven Branwen, Increased closeness with Jeanne Roma, ?  
Failure: Penalties dependent on time of failure, Decreased closeness with the White Fang..**

I scanned the vague quest, took a breath, and nodded slightly to myself. I considered my options quickly before rising in turn, all eyes on me. I wish I could say I was surprised things had gotten so complicated so quickly, but I really wasn't. Still, I knew I needed to act both quickly and intelligently—and I knew where to start. Raven's…interruption aside, one thing stood out from the conversation I'd listened to, and it made the oddity on the quest sheet standout all the more so.

I needed to know more before I did anything.

I needed to talk to my grandmother.

 **XxXXxX**

I left the White Fang compound immediately, cloak sweeping around me once more. Gazes stayed on me and murmurs followed wherever I went as speculation abounded and spread like wildfire. I could see them wonder and whisper about what had just occurred, what we were doing, and what might happen next. They were curious, of course; excited. Raven must have expected that after what she'd done, especially her entrance and exit—and if she _expected_ it and _allowed_ it, did she _plan_ for it? Was this part of her scheme, whatever it was?

There was no way of knowing yet, but I walked through the compound with fearless confidence, staring forward with an anticipatory smile on my lips. Whatever happened, I had to look the part of Jian Bing and show my best face to the onlookers, so I did. Even if…

I was nervous. I could admit that easily enough, even if it didn't fog my thoughts—I had gotten wrapped up in something big again, something I could barely grasp the full extent of. The White Fang and Raven, the Families and my grandmother, Ozpin and my mother, and there was still an unknown party at work behind the scenes. Things were happening in Mistral that were just…

 _Goddamn_. This city.

The only way I was going to get out of this was by being smart and cautious—which was really the same thing, in this case. There was too much I didn't know, too much I couldn't know, too much I feared; there was too much for me to handle by myself. God, I didn't even know where to _start_ with this mess.

I needed help. If I was going to get through this, I needed help.

Fortunately, I had some. Without a word, Adam and Blake followed my lead as I departed, staying on my heels. I knew without asking that they had my back, whatever happened—we may not have known each other long, may not have even spent that much of that time together, but we'd gone through a lot. I wouldn't say they'd do anything for me, but they were my friends and they'd follow me into danger. I wasn't doing this alone.

Unfortunately, they weren't the kind of help I _needed_ right now. I mean, it was always nice to have some backup ready and willing to kick someone's teeth in if they offered me violence and Adam and Blake were good for that, generally speaking. They also had plenty of skills of their own to help me on other fronts, but…I had a sneaking suspicion that if this situation devolved into violence—which it very well might, given how generally _awful_ it seemed to be—they wouldn't accomplish anything but dying beside me. We were getting involved in something a bit above our pay grade here; I couldn't even _see_ the levels of most of the major players involved. As strong as I was now, as competent as my friends were, if this degenerated, there wouldn't be enough left of us to fill a _lunchbox_.

I needed the help of someone with the power to change that. My mother sprang instantly to mind—but just as quickly fell away. What were the odds that with everything going on, Mom's mission was completely unrelated to this? Pretty goddamn low, I figured; odds were that if this wasn't the focus of her trip, it was at least a major aspect of it. Given that the mission had likely come from Ozpin, it seemed fairly safe to assume that she was sent to either spy on or put an end to whatever was happening. If I told her what was going on, she'd check things out and get involved.

There were a few problems with that, though. If she knew the White Fang were involved—and it seemed pretty safe to assume she did; with an organization as large as the White Fang, I struggled to believe _no one_ had given _anything_ away—then that meant she hadn't told me despite the amount of sway she knew I had with the White Fang; she didn't want to involve me or put me in danger. I understood that completely, especially given what I'd just seen. I even _appreciated_ it. In all honesty, the idea of calling in a rescue from Super Mom was pretty tempting. But…

I wasn't going to lie. Loyalty was a part of it. I couldn't simply betray the White Fang at the drop of a hat, after everything I'd seen—not with my friend's involved and so little knowledge of what was going on. Even if there was a part of me that wanted to and another part pointing out the merits of the idea, I couldn't just sic my mom on this. That had probably been another part of her motivation in keeping me uninvolved, even beyond the personal danger—she didn't want to force me to choose. And I…the White Fang did a lot of things, many of them horrible. It did things I couldn't support. It even did things that, if I was there, I would stop. But at the same time, I understood why they did those things and could see the results. Even if there were things I couldn't condone, I couldn't condemn the organization as a whole, either. Without any idea what was happening, I didn't feel comfortable making that decision.

So yeah, my divided loyalties were definitely part of it. That was why I'd originally avoided prying into my mom's business, after all. But beyond that…if my Mom got involved directly, acted on what I told her…

I wasn't sure she could defeat Raven.

That was a bit of a new feeling for me. I mean, I'd known logically that she wasn't the strongest person in the world or anything, but I was used to seeing her and Dad as unbeatable, believing they weren't in any danger. A lot of that was a child's _need_ to believe that, I knew now, but that didn't make it any less true. But the reality of the situation was that they risked their lives for a living. If Ozpin had sent her, if this was as big as I thought and she decided it was worth the risk of getting involved…

My mom was strong, but when I'd first seen Raven …I hadn't known who she was or what she could do, but the _feeling_ I'd gotten off of her…

Call it instinct or observation, but I'd known she wasn't someone to be messed with lightly.

It got worse the more I learnt about her, too. I didn't pretend to know the full extent of Raven's abilities, but even what little I'd seen was enough to make me really, really worried. She'd created _portals_. She'd spied on me through them, apparently invisible to everyone but me, watching everything that happened—and _I'd_ only noticed thanks to the extreme nature of my many senses _and_ a hint to start looking. But now I had to wonder…Had she spied on me before? Had she seen something? What did she know? What were the limits to that ability?

I had no idea, which was rather terrifying. I wouldn't be able to tell until, bare minimum, I was within fifty levels of her and could Observe it—something I was now making a _major_ priority. Whatever happened, I wasn't going to be able to rest easily until I could be sure she wasn't watching my every move. Even now, I was unleashing the full breadth of my senses constantly, painful as it was, just to make sure she wasn't there. At the very least, if she did spy on me, I'd know.

But my mom…

It was hard to believe _I_ would ever have to protect _her_ , but…God, it wasn't hard to imagine what Raven could do if she wanted to. Even if my mom could win a fight with her, which I wasn't sure she could, all it would take was a portal into her bedroom while she was asleep and…

I couldn't tell my mom. If I did and she got involved, if something drew attention her way…

My hand clenched into a fist. I knew what was happening and was well aware of the irony of the situation—wondering about the limits of a mysterious person's powers and worrying about the implications. Even so…I had to be wary of Raven. I couldn't risk my mom becoming a target, even if I knew she was good at her job. If something went wrong, I'd never forgive myself.

So I went to my grandmother instead.

I wasn't blind. I loved my grandmother, there was no doubt about that. Whatever her past, whatever her flaws, she had always loved me unconditionally and been kind to me. But I knew what she did for a living—what she _had_ done, what she _could_ do. I'd also gotten a glimpse of how… _complicated_ the situation in Mistral was, granted, but…

But my grandmother was a very scary woman. Smart, ruthless, pragmatic, and scary.

Which was exactly what I needed. I could be sure that if I told her about Raven—if she didn't already know—she'd be appropriately cautious, wouldn't risk her life for a mission or beliefs. She had a lot more power and authority in Mistral than my mother did, too; reach, options, and a history of…a lot of things. Perhaps even more so, she was already involved in this and I needed to warn her if I could. I'd like to warn my mom, too, but I wasn't sure how to do so without risking her getting involved. If I told grandmother, though, then perhaps she could waylay her without tipping her off.

I had to believe that.

And so over the river and through the woods, to grandma's house I went.

"Wait here," I said as we came to the outskirts of my grandmother's property. "Try not to cause any trouble, either; there's a lot of security, even if you can't see it."

Adam grunted and leaned back against a tree even as Blake found a place on a tree branch above. I gave them a glance to make sure they were safe, removed my title to return to normal, and then circled the property to enter through the front door. A pair of guards watched me silently, the twin's eyes glowing eerily as they identified me. But they didn't say anything, nor did they stop me as I entered, so I just nodded at them once and searched for my grandmother.

She wasn't in the dining room, where I'd last seen her. I didn't find her in the living room or her office as I walked by, either, but I followed the prints my Clairvoyance revealed, tracking her down the hall and a flight of stairs.

From there, I could just…follow the noises. I found her in what seemed like a…I had no idea what it was, to be honest. There were what seemed to be extra-large grow lights, sprinklers, some kind of strange, indoor irrigation system, hooks, freezers, various bladed instruments, and more, like someone had decided to convert a slaughterhouse into a garden. The situation I walked in on seemed to support this.

"—Ah, you're back, Jaune. Did you have a nice trip?" My grandmother asked as she blinked sleepily at me, rubbing an eye with the back of a hand. The other held a long skewer impaled through a slab of still oozing meat that she held above the large ceramic pot that housed Autumn.

She'd changed since I'd last seen her, though that wasn't that unusual for a shape-shifting plant hybrid. Admittedly, the form she'd adopted now, I'd only seen once before—and even then, it had only been a glimpse, back when she'd first experimented with her ability to transform. A serpentine form leading smoothly up to an eyeless head with a mouth filled with enormous, wicked teeth, four of which were especially pronounced and jutted out like tusks even when her mouth closed.

Except last time, she hadn't had _seven_ of them.

Autumn's heads rose up to the bloody slab of meat, sinking dagger-like teeth into its side and hooking tusks between and under ribs before _pulling_ , struggling hard for a moment before ripping loose mouthfuls of flesh and bone. Jaws strained and bones cracked, scattering blood and chunks of meat, before scarfing down the rest in a fit of wild chewing. Occasionally, a head literally bit off more than they could chew and another head would come to its aid, biting into the piece so they could tear it apart by main force.

Beneath the hungry display, Gou stood on his back legs, front paws on the edge of Autumn's pot as he panted happily up at her. Occasionally, one of the blind heads would find their way down to him and open their mouth wide—wide enough to swallow the puppy whole, if it wanted to. And yet, without the slightest trace of fear, Gou would stick his own head into that mouth, worrying at the strips of ragged flesh caught between enormous teeth. Autumn's head would wait patiently until he was through and then return to the feast. Sometimes, the ravenous heads would even discard small bones instead of devouring them, casting them aside for Gou to chase and gather proudly into a little pile.

I just…stared at that for a moment.

"Um," I said, abruptly filled with doubts.

"She was hungry," My grandmother said, which I was _certain_ was nowhere near the whole story. Through it all, she held the skewer perfectly still as seven heads tore it to pieces, reducing it to spare bits of meat clinging to a stick. When the heads proceeded to try to chew on the stick as well, she put a hand on one of the heads and Autumn stilled before reverting to her rose form. Gou sniffed at her eagerly. "Did something happen? You were gone longer than I expected. Grigio said your mother spoke to him as well, but she hasn't come back yet, either."

I looked at her for a moment longer before nodding to myself and putting the sight before me aside for the moment. I took a deep breath and allowed myself a moment more for doubts. I loved my grandmother, but…well, the reason for the 'but' was rather self-evident. Nonetheless…

I scanned the room quickly with my many senses—and _wow_ , learned a lot of things about this room I'd rather have not—before exhaling slowly when it seemed clear.

"Have you ever heard of a woman named Raven Branwen?"

My grandmother froze.

My _grandmother_. _Froze._

"Where did you hear that name?" She demanded, voice going low.

"I met her," I said before taking a bracing breath. "Grandmother…I'm Jian Bing."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Alarm**

My grandmother just looked at me then, watching as I swept a finger across my status screen and became a Faunus. Of all the poker faces I'd seen in the past few months, I'd say hers was the best; in the face of what must have been an extraordinarily shocking revelation, she reacted only with slight twitches of the lips and eyebrows, by all appearances taking it in stride. My grandmother wasn't stupid, either—from that single piece of information, I saw her start to put things together, making connections. She didn't even react with disbelief or shock as she stared at me, simply staying silent.

But the look in her eyes had changed, becoming something calculating, contemplative, and…something else. She glanced down at the stained skewer in her hands and cast it aside dismissively, the clattering of it against the floor an almost deafening noise after the quiet—but I stood still and said nothing, allowing her time to think and consider.

At last she spoke.

"Does your mother know?" Was her first question, eyes locked on my face.

"Yes," I answered immediately, nodding slightly. "I told her."

"Before or after?" She asked without specifying—not that she had to, I suppose.

"After," I said. "I promised Mom and Dad I'd explain everything after I came back, but there was something I had to do."

"The mining town up in Atlas," She stated.

"Yes."

"That was reckless of you," She continued. "Foolish. Did you have any idea what you were getting into at the time?"

I hesitated before shaking my head.

"I…I thought I did, at the time," I said. "But…no. No, I didn't. But I had to."

"'But you had to,'" She echoed, voice growing heated. "'But you had to.' Stupid boy, don't you realize that it doesn't matter what you _have_ to do if you fail? If you'd died, nothing would have changed. _Nothing_. Your sacrifice would have been utterly _meaningless_."

"I didn't die," I replied. "I didn't lose. I went there to save them and I did."

"And it was that simple, was it?" She sneered. "You walked in and won easily, without any danger or risk, did you? You survived—wonderful. But how close did you come to failing? How many times?"

I was silent for a moment at that, bearing her words unflinchingly. My grandmother had never yelled at me before and seeing her do so now…it hurt, but…

"Very close," I said back. "And many times. You're right; there were a lot of times I could have lost, could have _died_. But thousands of lives were on the line, grandmother—and I was the only one who could have saved them. What else could I have done?"

"Walked away!" She snarled at me. "Left and fought a different battle. Thousands of lives are on the line _every second of every day_ —that's not a reason to throw your life away pointlessly!"

"I couldn't do _nothing_!"

"And why not?" She demanded but didn't give me a chance to reply. "Because it would have been cowardly? Because it would have been dishonorable? Oh, or let me guess; because you couldn't live with yourself if you _didn't_? Well let me tell you something, _boy_. If you throw your life away pointlessly because you can't accept a world where you aren't _perfect_ , where you can't save _everyone_ , that doesn't make you _brave_. It doesn't make you _honorable_. And it doesn't make you a _hero_. It makes you an even _bigger_ coward, for choosing to die instead of face the world—and in dying, you sacrifice all the lives you could have saved otherwise. That's not heroic; it's _foolish_. Do you have any idea what you were risking, you _ignorant child_? Do you have any idea what your life is _worth_?"

I looked down at that, unable to meet my grandmother's eyes—partially because they'd turned a misty, glowing white, but mostly because of the feeling her words incited.

"I…" I trailed off before I could even give the words voice. It was probably for the best, because I wasn't sure what to say to that.

"And oh, and I bet Isabelle and her fool husband praised you for it, too," My grandmother laughed cruelly. "So proud to see their little boy risk his life for what he believes in and nearly get himself _killed_. That's just like her—all her talk of preparing you for what's ahead, of teaching you how to stay alive, but does she teach you anything important? Does she teach you when to walk away or run? When to compromise or give up? No; she just tries to make you strong. But you'll find no victory in _strength_ , Jaune. No matter how strong you _think_ you are, no matter how well prepared you _believe_ yourself to be, you can't always win. You get outmatched, you get unlucky, you lose, and you _die_. So you pick the battles you _can_ win and run from the ones you _can't_. If she _really_ wanted you to survive, she'd teach you _that_. Because _that's_ how you live in this world, Jaune; not by pointlessly risking your life for every fool thing!"

"It wasn't pointless—" I barely kept my tone indignant, indignant at the words towards my parents, but she cut me off before I could get any further.

"Oh?" She questioned. "Then you accomplished what? After all, you risked your life countless times, alarmed the entire world by waking Ziz, held a young girl from a _very_ powerful family hostage, and stole _countless_ Lien worth of property, so you managed to do _something_ , right? You made Jian Bing infamous the world over? You improved the power, standing, and image of the White Fang? Oh, and wow, you saved a thousand Faunus from some _mine_ somewhere? Congratulations—now, did you accomplish anything of _value_ in the midst of all that? Or do you honestly believe that mine wasn't full again in a week? You scared people and, in time, that'll cause ripples throughout the Dust and Airship Industries, raising costs, prices, and security. But what did you manage to _do_? You went there to save the Faunus, right? Do you think that by doing all of this, you have _improved_ their situation? That the lives of the countless Faunus in a hundred or a thousand _other_ mines have been _helped_ by your actions?"

That kind of took the wind out of my sails. After all, I…

I already knew…

"I…" I looked at my hands and then back up at her as she strode towards me, cupping my head in her hands.

"Jaune," She said. "You have to understand what your life is worth. It's not something you should throw away or put on the line for every little thing. I understand how you must have felt; every Hunter stands where you stood eventually, in their own ways. We all face that choice eventually, find ourselves facing horrible odds on one side and an awful choice on the other. But however horrible it may be, you have to _think_. I know it's awful, but when you find yourself facing a battle you can't win, just _walk away_. Whether it's an army or the Grimm, if you die, it'll make no difference; they'll keep going as if you'd never been there. It's only by living that we can accomplish anything, Jaune—and that's why living is harder than dying. But you keep going, Jaune; you have to. I've seen dozens of villages die, whether to tooth and claw or to the sword. I stood back and watched, because I knew I couldn't win. And you know what?

"What?" I asked, pretty unenthusiastically.

"I went on to save thousands more," She answered. "Because I was alive to save them, instead of dead in a ditch. I saved more lives than everyone in my graduating class at Haven _combined_ , because I chose to live when I could have died, Jaune. And people have said it was the easy way out, but it's _not_ , Jaune; life is _never_ easy. It's terrifying and painful and beautiful and sometimes it hurts so much it makes you think you _are_ dying. There are times when it'll hurt so much it'll make you laugh and is so wonderful it'll make you cry, because you lose things and you gain them, again and again and again. And you're young, Jaune, but I want you to know what that's like—I want you to live to see it for yourself. So I need you to _understand_ what you risk giving up. You can live, Jaune, and you can fight, too, but _understand_. If you can save lives, save them, but if you can't, then isn't that a big enough tragedy without adding onto it?"

She dropped her hands from my face to my shoulders, looking at me steadily as she waited. I closed my eyes silently and took the words in, hard as it was—I'd long since known my grandmother wasn't one for saying what people _wanted_ to hear, but it'd never been directed my way before now. And now that it had been, now that I'd heard what she had to say…it wasn't easy to take in.

But after a minute, I nodded. My grandmother wasn't one for saying what people wanted to hear, but whenever people had complained about it, I'd always thought that that didn't change the merit of her words. Maybe I should take my own advice, even if it left me feeling sick at the implications. But then, from the very beginning…

"I'm sorry," I said when I opened my eyes to see the honest concern on her face. I felt off, suddenly; uncertain. "I've done a lot of stupid things and I've caused a lot of trouble along the way. I know that and…I'm sorry. I wanted to save those people so much but…maybe you _are_ right. Maybe it was for _my_ sake that I did that, at least in part. I knew…I knew it probably wouldn't change anything in the end, but I thought that if I could save them, I…I'm sorry, Grandmother, and you're right. I'll do better next time."

"There's nothing wrong with saving people, Jaune," She said, pulling me close. "But as with all things, if you're gonna do it, do it well. You're a smart boy, Jaune, but if you want to do the right thing, you have to do things right."

"Yes, Grandmother. I will." I said, hugging her back slowly. "I promise."

She inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly.

"At least you're still young enough to learn," She said. "You stop learning, you start dying—remember that, too."

I nearly smiled at the words. That, at least, wasn't something I had to worry about too much.

"Yes, Grandmother."

"What's done is done," She declared firmly. "We'll just have to live with this. Who else knows your identity, besides your parents?"

"Three friends I can trust with my life," I said.

"White Fang," She guessed and sighed when I nodded. "I'd like to meet them. Anyone else?"

"Ozpin," I said after a moment. "Dad had him looking after me, though I didn't know it at the time. He figured it out somehow."

"Of course he did, that old voyeur," She snorted and caught my look. "The old bastard has cameras all over Vale and much of the forests surrounding it. Be careful with what you do there; it's only paranoia if they _aren't_ constantly watching you."

"That's been going around," I said, frowning. "Grandmother, I need to speak to you about what I saw today. Raven Branwen…who is she?"

My grandmother exhaled slowly at that, looking away.

"You met Raven Branwen?" She asked. "You're sure? It couldn't have been a trick or imposter?"

"I'll tell you everything about my power in just a sec," I promised. "But trust me, it's her."

She was silent for a minute before nodding.

"She was a Hunter from Vale," She said. "One of their best, at the time, along with the rest of her team. She disappeared a long time ago, though, around when you were born. She's back, I take it? She's working for the White Fang?"

I nodded before pausing, considering that.

"Working for them…" I mused before shaking my head. "I can't be sure—my power has limits I'll tell you about—but…I listened in on the leaders and the way they mentioned her…I don't think she's working _for_ them."

"Shit," She said before mouthing something to herself and shaking her head in annoyance. "I never would have associated them, but…that makes sense. Sixteen years ago—the revolution and the White Fang…I can see it, damn it."

"She can make _portals_ , Grandmother," I continued urgently. "I don't know what limits there are to it, either. Not yet, at least."

"I know," She nodded. "She's always been able to do that. It's a very dangerous ability and part of why she was so successful, but—"

"She can use them to spy on people, too," I interrupted to add. "Without any of that glowing stuff, either—as far as I know, I was the only who noticed, and it was only because I got tipped off to look with my powers."

" _Fuck_ ," My grandmother swore after a beat of silence. "Damn it, but that explains a lot, too. They always did seem to know a bit too much, but if she could do that…"

She looked around, almost nervously.

"We're clear here," I said. "I'm sure of that much at least. But this…"

"This changes things," She agreed. "You better tell me everything."

 **XxXXxX**

I did. I broke it down pretty quickly—how my ability worked, what types of things it had led me into, and so on—but I told her everything I thought might be important. When it came to the possibility of someone who could be watching us at any time and who may very well be able to bypass all of our defenses…well, I wasn't taking any chances.

"The Gamer," She repeated, tilting her head at me with a slight frown. Shifting her tea cup ideally, she considered me for a moment before taking a sip. "A rather strange power, but an undeniably useful one."

I nodded, sipping from my own cup. I wasn't all that surprised at how calmly she took it, given that the outburst I'd just witnessed was pretty much the only time I'd ever seen her get truly emotional. Still…

"Have you ever seen anything like it?" I asked curiously. Semblances were so personal—and thus so varied—that it was hard to take an account of such things, but I thought that if anyone knew, it was probably her.

"Mm…maybe once," She said. "Julius had an ability that was similar…in a way. A Semblance called 'Emperor;' he gained power from his followers and those loyal to him. The larger his army, the more power he could draw, until he began manifesting all sorts of strange powers. His power was very group focused, but…I saw him once, when he returned to Mistral with his army. It was…"

She shook her head and sighed slowly.

"Even compared to that, the way _your_ ability manifested is still unusual," She continued. "If you can keep yourself alive, you'll be very, very strong someday. You're potential is perhaps the greatest I've ever seen—just don't forget that it won't matter how strong you _could_ become if you die before you do."

I weathered the pointed words silently, acknowledging them but not reacting. I already knew that, after all.

"Raven's our biggest threat, at least for now," I said instead. "I've heard there's at least one unknown party negotiating with the White Fang—unless that's the Families?"

"We're always negotiating, but it's almost certainly not us," She answered. "While we'll deal with the White Fang in return for services rendered, we've little to profit from allying with them officially. If they were a little more…"

She clicked her tongue, pausing to think.

"You may already be aware, but the White Fang has two faces. Much of it is simply composed of desperate or angry Faunus united under a famous banner, who take orders from those higher in the organization…in theory, at least. In practice, it's more of a _movement_ than an organization, and anyone can take up the name and go bomb a store or something. In that regard, asking what the White Fang stands for is largely meaningless; it has as many answers as it does members. With a hundred 'branches' in a hundred places, it's a group of upset people standing up for their individual beliefs, which can create very…contradicting results. Most of the time, it's a joke to accuse the White Fang of doing something—more often, a father sees his daughter get beaten for her ears, gets a mask, and takes revenge under the excuse of doing it for…whatever they happen to think the White Fang stands for. The thing is, that's pretty much working as intended."

I frowned at her and she smiled at the look before continuing.

"You've seen the _other_ side of the White Fang, though," She said. "The part that _isn't_ disorganized, which has some very powerful members—apparently more than even I'd believed. _That_ part does things for a reason, planning things out, and striking where they think it can do the most damage. They quietly encourage the actions of the first 'group,' because it gives the impression that _anyone_ can be a member of the White Fang…which is completely true, as all it requires is a mask. And because _any_ Faunus could be in the White Fang, or join it at any time…"

"People get scared," I finished, understanding. "They worry about what could happen, about who they might be offending. And since the White Fang seems to be everywhere and appears to be enormous…well, who even knows? What the White Fang _is_ is so vague, attempts to target it inevitably splash over onto Faunus as a whole—and in doing so, pushes them towards the White Fang. The leaders might step in and give a little guidance here, get some resources there, and generally fan the flames until something big happens, but…"

I shrugged.

"It's an action that has advantages and disadvantages. Certainly, it makes any attempts to 'war' with the White Fang difficult at best, as they could be any Faunus. But on the other hand, publicly _allying_ with such a group…" She shook her head. "No. I'll check to make sure none of the others are doing anything foolish, but there's more to lost then gained by standing with them—especially with the hatred of the Dust Companies."

"Then there's at least one unknown involved here," I said, frown deepening until I shook my head. "We'll have to handle that as we come to it, but for now, let's focus on the monster at our door. What else can you tell me about Raven?"

"Little," She shrugged. "We only met a few times and didn't do much talking. Swords seem to be her preference—a mix of Vacuo and Valian design, at least back then—and they always had a very long reach. Fast, strong, smart; what you'd expect from a Huntress, only more so. She was part of a team, like I said, but it broke up."

"What happened?" I asked. "Do you think it has anything to do with…well, what she's doing now?"

"Almost certainly, but I don't know any specifics. I remember thinking that they'd kept it suspiciously quiet, but then the Rights Revolution kicked off and there were more pressing concerns. Her team…" My Grandmother closed her eyes for a minute, recalling something. "I only saw them all together once, but I remember one of them even better than I do her. Her brother, Qrow."

"A brother?" I blinked in surprise—I'd never really considered that the supervillain might have _siblings_. Which was probably silly of me, thinking about it; after all, Jian Bing technically had seven sisters. "Is he…?"

"No," She answered before I finished. "Or if he is, then he's done a _remarkable_ job keeping it quiet. Qrow is one of Ozpin's most trusted allies, with ties to many other powerful man—the Headmasters and Generals of Atlas and Vacuo just being a few. If he _was_ in league with his sister…"

She let that thought linger for a moment.

"Still, while treachery is surprising by its very nature, I'd be shocked if he'd been a traitor for years and Ozpin had never noticed. More than that, if he was a traitor, he'd likely had a fair number of chances to ruin everything, given his position. I think it's more likely they've gone their separate ways, but you may need to be the judge of that." She continued, tapping her lips. "You can Observe them if they're within fifty levels of you, no? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't levels in most games go up to ninety-nine or a hundred?"

"It varies, but generally, yeah." I said. "My power does what it wants, though."

"Assuming for a moment that it is," She said. "If you were level fifty, you would be able to see anyone, correct?"

"Unless there's something I don't know, yeah. I can't make any guarantees about what I'll find, but it should be enough to tell one way or another. At the very least, I should be able to figure out the limits on Raven's portals at that point, which would be really nice. Keeping my senses on max all the time is…uncomfortable."

The HP damage was easy to fix, at least. The rest…I'd live.

My grandmother nodded.

"Then you'll need to train," She said. "I assume your mother was going to take you Hunting at some point?"

"When we got back, yeah," I said.

My grandmother snorted.

"You'll come with me, instead. From what you said, it's uncertain how many levels you'll be able to gain in the time we have, but if killing a Giant Nevermore and some foot soldiers was enough to get you two…" She said. "We'll leave once we're done here and make up an excuse for your mother."

I hesitated before reminding myself that this was to keep her safe and nodded.

"What about the rest of Raven's team?" I asked.

"Taiyang Xiaolong now serves as a teacher at Signal alongside Qrow, if I recall correctly. If I read them right, I believe he and Raven were sweet on one another at the time. Something might have come from it; we'll both want to check. The other was a woman named Summer Rose, who went missing on a mission six or seven years after Raven disappeared and was presumed dead. I vaguely remember some kind of confirmation, but given the circumstances, I would look into that as well."

I paused, zeroing in on a name, thoughts suddenly going elsewhere. Summer Rose?

I looked down at my wrist, upon which Autumn—Autumn _Rose_ , according to her title, rather than Arc—once again clung to. If it was that long ago, it was probably just a strange coincidence, but…I couldn't help but think of why I'd named her Autumn and Observed my little flower.

Nothing. Of course, what was I thinking? Stupid.

Still…it was strange. The kind of strange that bore looking into.

"Yeah," I said aloud a little belatedly. "Will do. But wow, two members gone, the other two retired…assuming this isn't some huge scheme, that's pretty unlucky."

"Not really," Grandmother shrugged a shoulder casually. "They were the best team of their generation and accomplished things that should have been far beyond them. Unfortunately, the reward for _good_ work is _more_ work, and because they could deal with dangerous situations, they were sent into more of them. Do that long enough and the laws of probability will get you eventually—what surprises _me_ is that at least three are definitely _alive_. Even if two largely retired and one ran away, that's doing pretty good for an elite team, in the grand scheme of things."

I wanted to say something about that, but thinking about it…I tried to remember how many adult teams I remembered seeing without missing members. Actually, I didn't even _know_ what teams most of the Hunters I knew had been on—which probably said something in and of itself.

To distract myself from that unpleasant thought, I looked back at my grandmother as she calmly drank her tea and then glanced down at my own. It was cooling, I noted, both from the steam that had nearly stopped rising from it and from the shifting Infrared colors. Thinking of that reminded me of the scalpel in my brain that I was trying to ignore and something akin to static washed over my vision for a moment, visible light going briefly grey.

It hurt, but honestly, it was more annoying than anything else. It reminded me of how much I _hated_ when things messed with my screen in games.

I grabbed the cup and downed the whole thing with three swift swallows. Cooling or not, it was still hot enough to burn taken that way, but _that_ pain faded in a moment and the sudden input from another sense distracted me briefly. I healed myself, just to be sure.

"Anything else?" She prompted after giving me a moment, not commenting on my actions.

"Yeah," I said, refusing to rub my temples however foreign lasting pain seemed to me now. "I told you about skill books."

She nodded, understanding as easily as I thought she would.

"There are many books in the Library of Alexandria and I'm certain a fair number qualify," She said. "Given how quickly you learn and grow, there should be some skills that should be of use to you. Hopefully."

"Bai Hu's techniques proved pretty amazing," I said before tilting my head to the side. "But I know what you mean."

Bai Hu's art had been lost for a reason, alongside the other martial arts Tukson had spoken of—primarily time and convenience. For most people, getting as far into the style as I had would likely take _decades_ of training, if they managed it at all. Going solely by my titles, merely learning the penultimate technique made me one of the elite, which implied most didn't get that far. And while the style was _awesome_ , it achieved that power by trading tremendous amounts of Aura for short bursts of enormous power, exhausting the user quickly, to say nothing of the long term effects it probably wrought on the body. For people who weren't me, against an opponent as endless as the Grimm…

There was a reason they'd fallen out of favor with the discovery of Dust and the rise of better weaponry. It just wasn't practical in comparison. It stood to reason then, that any other 'lost' skills I found would have fallen to the way side for similar reasons—long training times, high costs, weaknesses, requirements, alternatives, and so on. At the very least, the librarians must have searched for ancient secrets of power at some point, and whatever they'd found evidentially hadn't revolutionized the world.

It could change things for _me_ , though. I could learn things instantly, improve them by simple repetition, even learn related things in the process, so what was inefficient and wasteful for others could be invaluable to me. There were limits to what I was likely to find trawling through the books and scrolls that Mistral had pried from the cold dead fingers of other nations—none of them had kept them from dying, after all—but that didn't make it any less invaluable.

"Even if there aren't any secret God techniques, it's still a good thing to check," I said, partially to my grandmother and partially to myself. "Hell, I'd settle for something to make it a little harder for Raven to Scry-and-Die us."

She gave me a look at the terminology but then I saw her consider it, frowning. She shook her head slowly, whatever she was thinking of.

"Some kind of barrier, maybe?" I threw out. "Just some way of make a house or bedroom a bit safer? I might be able to work something out or level it up from there."

"A safe place," She mused and I saw her latch onto the thought. "A Haven. Or…a _Sanctum_."

She rose abruptly and nodded.

"Follow me," She said.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Stronghold**

After sending several of her men off to the library and contacting a librarian, my grandmother had arranged the trip and I'd followed quietly. I'd checked on Blake to tell her what was happening, to find that Adam had already left to deal with something. I wasn't sure what that meant, but in the end, Blake decided to go deal with business of her own instead of taking my offer to wait inside. Maybe it was because of all the dogs.

Either way, I trusted both of my friends to handle themselves, and so focused on my own tasks. My grandmother had called…someone, and arranged a private airship to ferry us around the city come dawn. Evidently, we had several stops to make before it was time to train.

If I'd been in better straights, I'd have probably admired the scenery as we travelled, from the architecture in the city to the grand spires, but the steadily pounding pain in my head was bringing down my mood. The Gamer's Body caused pain to fade quickly, but the side-effects of my Clairvoyance had become a persistent and constant source of damage, such that one throbbing moment led smoothly into to the next. Nonetheless, I bore it silently, keeping constant watch over our surroundings and everything in them as my perceptions expanded in every direction. However much it hurt, I knew it wasn't doing any permanent damage, just as I knew that I'd be able to level it up enough to make the pain stop long before my brain gave out, even if it took weeks or months.

For now, I soldiered on and just tried to ignore the occasional disruptive shifts in my vision.

It didn't strike me until we'd reached our destination that this was the first time I'd ever truly laid eyes on a combat school. I'd seen pictures of Signal, of course, both inside and out, but I'd taken my evaluations in Vale and had never gotten to go there myself. I'd dreamed of a place like this since I'd been a young boy—at first with hope and later with sadness—but my trip to Sanctum was the first time I'd ever gotten the chance to truly see one.

"Do you know why the schools in Vale are named as they are, Jaune?" My grandmother spoke up at last, sounding conversational as we rose over the school. It was undeniably beautiful, a grand series of temples that at once stood apart and melded into a greater whole. The buildings represented the many different cultures and belief systems of the continent, if partially because Mistral had a history of stealing religious artifacts and placing them on the so-called Tower of Gods back in the day. With my painfully sharp eyesight, I could make out carvings in the walls around it, inlaid with images and scenes of myth and legend—or perhaps history; who knows—drawn in carvings and colors both. Thousands of years of culture and art came together in a beautiful display, such that an ancient carving of a many limbed god, accented by weapons set _into_ the walls, could do battle with a three-dimensional portrait of another and not look out of place.

Having one's works held up on the Tower of Gods was said to be one of the greatest honors one could achieve as an artist. It was a tribute to the many religions of Mistral, illustrating the many beliefs that had helped keep people warm in their darkest hours.

At least, that was how it was considered _now_. Anyone who could fish out a history book could tell you it was _really_ meant as a highly artistic form of mockery towards the people who'd prayed to their gods for safety in the face of Mistral's marching armies and found none. That it was set on the highest mountain overlooking the city was merely so they didn't need to make room as more gods were added—and enough had been that they wound a spiraling course over halfway down the mountain. Millennia of conquest had seen too it that there were enough temples on the mountain to house a large number of the city's inhabitants.

They knew from experience. Alongside the ziggurat which housed Haven and the catacombs beneath the city, the mountain served as a shelter in emergencies. Where the people would be taken depended on precisely what _kind_ of emergency.

"Signal and Beacon, you mean?" I asked, at last tearing my eyes from the artistic wonder and historic tragedy.

My grandmother simply nodded, eyes on buildings below and we skipped the normal means of entry, flying right to the top.

"Yeah," I said, turning back to the sight as I lifted an arm to rest my forearm on the glass. It was cold, thanks to how high up we were, but the chill felt soothing when I rested my forehead against it. "The First Insurgence, right? After the Vytalian War, the Grimm tried to invade again and nearly destroyed Vale. Much of the city fell, but the Hunters bought enough time to evacuate the civilians to Patch before the battle started. The tower that's now at the center of Beacon used to be some kind of lighthouse to guide people to Vale. The Hunters kept the tower lit, as a sign that they were still fighting, and it never went out once in the seventeen days it took to push the Grimm back completely. It's said that without the hope given by the tower's light, Vale would have been destroyed."

"And Signal?"

"There was a similar tower on Patch, though not as big. Back before we had the communications we do now, people would use the lights in the tower to transmit important messages. During the Insurgence, the people on Signal used the tower to send words of hope and encouragement back to the mainland. After it was over, Beacon was built up around the tower while Signal became the first combat school in Vale, taking the place of the apprenticeships used before. Probably because of the number of casualties in the battle and the need to train more warriors quickly."

"Very good," Grandmother said, tapping the glass. "And do you know the stories of Sanctum and Haven?"

I hesitated for a moment, uncertain. I knew the histories of Signal and Beacon because of the amount of interest I'd had in both, but I was less sure about the other schools. Still, I thought I'd heard…

"It was something similar, wasn't it?" I asked. "Another invasion during the Breaking. The civilians withdrew to fortified locations, protected by the army and Hunters. Alexandria's Library was one and the places that became Haven and Sanctum were two others."

"Yes," She said as the ship slowly landed on one of the platforms carved into the mountain. "The Library was built to withstand an assault, so it was an obvious choice, but even something as large as it could not house all of Mistral. Most of the city was forced to retreat up the mountain and into the many temples, or else into the ziggurat. As the attack was thrown back, those three places stood firm and that is, in part, why they are named Sanctum and Haven—and why the Library is also called Fortress."

"But that's not the only reason?" I guessed obligingly, giving her my arm to be polite as we touched down—the arm without Autumn wrapped around it, of course. She took it, giving me a small smile.

"Indeed not," She said. "Unlike Signal and Beacon, Sanctum and Haven are within Mistral itself and thus were open to attack when the Grimm overcame the defenses. Hunters were sent to protect them, of course, but they were also needed to push back the assault and could not be completely tied up in defending the populace. As such, other measures were taken."

She gestured around vaguely as we exited the airship, but I was pretty sure I knew what she meant. With the way my sight was blending together, I wasn't sure if it was visible to the naked eye, but there were pathways along the ground, looking faded enough that I might have thought them several weeks or months old—if not for the size. Gigantic, just barely luminous lines spread across the ground like veins, completely circling the structure, and even the smallest was as wide as my shoulders.

The amount of power needed to leave something of this scale across an area this big…I dialed the timeframe up a bit.

"I can see it," I confirmed at her look, nodding slightly. "There are lines all over the ground. The remnants of something old and big."

I saw her relax a bit at that, nodding to herself.

"I've never seen it," She said. "It was an archaic method even back then. But there were several…I suppose we could call them defense grids, built into major areas at the time. Used properly, they could erect a defense barrier capable of warding off even an army of Grimm."

My eyebrows went up at that, surprised. She saw my look and chuckled.

"It sounds amazing, doesn't it?" She asked. "And it is, I suppose. But…"

"There's a catch?"

"The cost is prohibitive," She nodded at me and then at the ground. "Sets of Hunters—eight to a set, positioned at the cardinal and ordinal points. The number of sets was dependent on the area to be protected, as well; Haven, it seems, needed three. The mountain, however, required at least _five_ ; forty Hunters dedicating their full power to the task, and records show they could exhaust themselves quickly. From the instructions, it was recommend they be replaced hourly or semi-hourly, in circumstances that warrant the defense at all. It's believed that even in such a situation, the barriers were only kept up long enough to remove the largest threats; the flying Grimm for Sanctum and the most dangerous ground enemies for Haven. After they were defeated, superior position and raw power were used to do the rest, and in time the Grimm were defeated. Much like in Vale, the ziggurat and the top of the mountain were then remodeled to train warriors."

"Impressive," I said after a short pause. I was silent again for a moment before continuing. "I'm strong and I've got a lot of power. But I don't think I can match forty Hunters, or even twenty-four. If I can level the ability up a lot, _maybe_ , but if it's that costly, I don't know if I could even _activate_ it."

"You don't need to defend an entire mountain, either," She replied. "Nor do you need to hold off an army. If you can just defend a few rooms enough to shield them from Raven's sight and push that up to a house over time…"

I nodded, looking up at Sanctum. Once an enormous temple—the throne of Mistral's gods, set above the rest of the mountain—the school retained many signs of its previous nature, if bearing a modern touch from its frequent updates. Now it stood, a spire of marble and steel that literally rose above the clouds. Like the rest of Mistral, it had withstood the test of time and weathered the storm with grace, pushing back any threat no matter how fierce.

Standing here seemed…strange, yet also comforting. Whatever its makers original intentions, the people now held the mountain to be a tower of faith and unity, leading up to the training grounds of Humanity's defenders. Even if it wasn't the school I'd dreamt of, even if I wasn't here for the _reasons_ I dreamt of…it felt good to stand here. I wouldn't let anything as minor as a killer headache and horrible situation take that from me.

Still, I had to ask…

"I was the one who suggested it, so maybe I shouldn't voice any doubts, but…do you think it'll actually be able to do something like that?" I voiced the concerns I had aloud. I'd thrown the idea out there in the hopes of striking gold eventually, but for something as strange and obscure as Raven's power…

"It's possible," She mused. "And we lose nothing by trying. Recall that it's only relatively recently that we had the technology to create fortifications that could actually hinder the Grimm—and even now, problems arise. Though we largely discarded them in pursuit of more…sustainable methods, there was a time when such techniques were the only way for a society to defend themselves. There are countless methods from around the world; there's a decent chance that at least a few will do something. I told my boys what I was looking for, so…we'll see. It's not impossible, at least, and I'll take what I can get."

I sighed.

"Honestly, if it could just inconvenience her, I'd be happy," I murmured. "But I guess beggars can't be choosers, can they? They know what else to look for, right?"

My grandmother nodded calmly, tapping the veins of my wrist with a finger. I blew out a breath and tried not to be impatient. I'd have preferred to go myself, of course, since I was the only one who could really tell what counted as skill books. Not just anything counted, after all, but…I also understood that with a library that had hundreds of millions of books in it, going through it with nothing but Observe and my hands would have been unfeasible. Even if I went through it at a book a second, there were just so _many_ that I'd be looking for _years_. Trusting a librarian to do the work instead was the smart thing to do.

Which didn't explain why we were _here_ , though.

"Patience, dear," She murmured, though I was sure my expression hadn't changed. "There's still much to do, but it must be done well."

She turned her face abruptly and smiled, drawing my full attention immediately.

"There you are, Cynosarges," She said. "You're late."

I focused on the man immediately, picking him out of the crowd the moment my grandmother mentioned his name. It wouldn't have taken long to find the man, even if the angle of my grandmother's face hadn't tipped me off—it was only the fact that I hadn't been looking for anyone that allowed him to escape my attention, given his appearance.

Which is to say that he was big. Real big. As in, I was around two meters tall and barely came up to his _chest_ he was so huge, and his shoulders were broad enough that he could probably bear hug an _actual_ bear and have it trying to escape. He had a broadsword strapped to his back and it was large even relative to him—three meters long from point to tip, even with its odd design. It looked like an older weapon, if not as much as Crocea Mors, but…

Well, there was a quiver strapped to his thigh, gleaming in the light as he turned. A closer look at his sword revealed its true nature as a, well, bow-sword. I assumed the arrows were modified with Dust; bows weren't as easy to use as guns, but the size difference between the ammunition might have given him some more room to work with. Enough strength—which I doubted was an issue for the man—and it might have evened out. It was something to consider.

I then slide my focus to his right, looking at the young woman he was standing beside.

"—Oh," Pyrrha said as her godfather rested an arm on top of her head as if the tall girl were an armrest. She ignored the action, apparently used to it, and waved at me. "Hello again, Jaune!"

The mountain of a man beside her grunted loudly before I could reply, squinting down at me and my grandmother. I couldn't tell what he was thinking from his expression—at least not through the shifting haze of my sight—and he was too high leveled to Observe. Perhaps he just needed glasses to see us from up there, I don't know.

"Jeannie," He rumbled after a moment and I paused in the midst of formulating a reply to Pyrrha. "Be glad I came at all on such short notice, you wrinkled old bitch. I'm not your fucking dog."

If he hadn't had my full attention for having the audacity to call my grandmother 'Jeannie,' he'd have certainly claimed it then. I looked up at him with wide-eyes, but despite the words they both smiled. I gave him a closer look, looking over what little else I could easily see; long white hair, a short, neatly trimmed beard, and heavily bronzed skin. He wore armor that I thought to be vaguely like Pyrrha's, but closer to gold and engraved with a symbol like a lion's head. It looked heavy and otherwise built solely for function, but he wore it with the attention one might give to a T-Shirt.

But then, I guess that was to be expected from the head of one of the Families.

 **?  
LV?  
Cynosarges Alexandria**

"Godfather," Pyrrha sighed, looking up at him aggrieved. "We're in public."

He just grunted dismissively, turning to look at me.

"So you're the boy who gave my little ankle-biter an actual fight, eh?" He asked, moving his arm so his hand rested in her hair. If he'd tried, he might have been able to wrap his fingers fully around it, like a child with a doll.

"Uh," I said, meeting his gaze. After a moment, I shrugged. "I guess so."

He snorted again, the sound more like that of a bull than a man.

"It's about time, I suppose," He snorted. "None of these runts have been able to give her a challenge in years—God knows Kyanos doesn't. It's good for her to have someone her own age to play with. Speaking of which."

He removed his hand to clap Pyrrha on the back in an action that probably would have sent anyone else sprawling. Pyrrha, however, merely stumbled a step forward and recovered fast enough that it almost looked like it was of her own volition.

"The hag and I need to talk shop for a bit," He said. "You two go do something; I don't care what, as long as you don't wreck anything I can't collect insurance money from. Jeannie?"

"After you, you dumb oaf," She replied, taking a proffered monster movie hand and allowing the giant of a man to sweep her up to one shoulder, giving me a meaningful glance as she did. After allowing her a moment to get properly situated and to look around for…whatever the hell you could see from up there, he leapt away, jumping what must have been at least halfway down the mountain in a single bound. It was far away, but not out of my range, so I made sure Raven wasn't watching them as grandmother had silently asked, though otherwise leaving them to talk privately.

Which left Pyrrha and I to watch them go in silence, left standing there as they went to do crazy, scary old people things.

"Hi," I said belatedly, remembering that I'd never answered her greeting. "Everything going okay?"

"Oh, certainly," She replied, looking away from her godfather's wake to glance at me in surprise. "As well as ever, I suppose. You?"

"As well as ever," I repeated, nearly sighing at the somewhat grain of truth in that lie. While it wasn't completely true, I was beginning to accept that my life was becoming a series of moments of unbelievable danger separated by long stretches of repetitive training.

She nodded and if she noticed the lack of enthusiasm in my words, she allowed it to pass without comment. I did the same for the traces of doubt I'd noticed in hers out of reciprocity.

"What brings you up to Sanctum?" She asked. "Are you…?"

I understood what she was asking and shook my head.

"No, I'm just following my grandmother around today," I said honestly. "I'm not going to combat school at the moment; I'm just gonna study on my own for the rest of the year and test into Beacon. I live with my mother and father in Vale, you see."

"Ah," She nodded slightly in understanding.

"What about you?" I asked. "Heading for Haven, I take it?"

"Haven…" She mused, closing her eyes. "Perhaps. I'm not certain where I'll end up, to be honest."

I looked her over quietly at then, catching something in her words that made me pause. I hadn't thought much about it, especially as the two I'd heard it from—Kyanos and Melanie—hadn't seemed to care, but…if I thought about it logically, things must have been difficult for Pyrrha. Not just because of her power and fame, two things that would follow her everywhere she went, but also because of what those things meant, especially taken with everything else. A girl so powerful her victory was all but accepted before the fight even began, who'd crushed Kyanos, the heir presumptive of Alexandria, and who seemed to be doted upon by her godfather, in his own way.

In Mistral, where things like the head of house were decided not by blood but by the eligibility of the heir…Kyanos didn't seem to care—or perhaps didn't realize it—but I had to wonder what his father, Cynosarges's son, must have thought about the girl who'd crushed his son. Even more than that, I had to wonder what Pyrrha had to deal with. Mistral had a history when it came to contentions over succession, after all, and a lot of it had been written in blood. Most of that wouldn't fly in the modern day and I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't stand for anything overt towards her, but…

I opened my mouth and then turned away, not sure what to say to her. Nothing I came up with sounded right in my head; it came off as too pushy, too invasive, too…

I wasn't sure what to tell her. So in the end, I just talked.

"I think I understand," I said at last. "I'm…well, to be honest, there's a lot I'm not sure of, either. I plan things out but they always seem to just…surprise me. But even beyond that, I'm really just not sure what to do; everything I try always seems more complex than I expected and it's like…I don't know. I thought things would get easier, but…they didn't. Not the important things, at least. They're complicated and confusing and sometimes I'm not sure if there even _is_ a good choice."

I thought of my mother and grandmother, of Ozpin and the White Fang, and then continued.

"A lot of the time, I just keep going, no matter what comes up, and…it works. Has worked so far, I mean. I don't know—I know I can't do that with everything, but…sometimes it seems like the right thing to do, even when it's a bad idea. But then I look back and, well, hindsight's twenty-twenty but I don't like what I see, you know?"

"Yes," She whispered.

"And it's like…I'm heading for Beacon, because I've always been heading to Beacon—and I guess it's fitting, because the place is sort of like a lighthouse, right? But with the way everything's going…with how it always seems to go…" I shook my head, thinking about the things I'd done and might do, and for whom. "I don't know what I'll find when I get there or what I'll do next. Because…maybe it's just me, but it's hard to imagine sometimes. I'll be seventeen when I enroll and it's four years, right? But thinking about it…four years is a long time. If those four years are anything like this one's been so far, well, damn. And sometimes I wonder if I should do something else, too; it's been my goal for so long, but sometimes I wonder if it's only my goal _because_ of that. I was so sure I knew exactly what I was doing before, but as time goes on…I know I'm smarter now, so why am I so much less sure about everything?"

"I…" Pyrrha said after a minute of silence before pausing and tilting her head. "I think it's normal. When you're young—"

"We are young," I muttered and she smiled at me slightly.

"When you're younger," She corrected. "Everything seems so certain and clear, but as you grow up, you find that things are more complicated then you thought. That—"

She cut herself off abruptly, falling silent before finishing the words. I didn't press her, but simply nodded at her with a smile. When she said nothing for several seconds, I took over.

"I think you're right," I said. "Or at least, I hope it's not just us. So don't feel bad if you're not sure about everything, because…I'm not sure of _anything_. If you're ever feeling down, just remember that _I_ had to pick a place with a giant glowing light as my destination so I wouldn't get too lost. I'm sure you can do way better."

Pyrrha laughed, and it was almost as if the sound came as a surprise to her.

"I wouldn't be so sure," She said, smiling brilliantly. "Once, when we were training on the Inbound Sea, my entire class was scattered by a storm and it took—"

There was a sound like a sharp, clear bell and Pyrrha cut herself off, looking up.

"Class?" I guessed and she nodded, looking at me apologetically.

"With the tournament tomorrow, not much will happen today, but…" She trailed off, looking torn.

"I understand," I said. "I'll see you later?"

"I'm sure of it," She replied. "I'll see you at the tournament, Jaune."

I hesitated but she was gone before I could truly answer.

"Right," I murmured. "The tournament."

With things the way they were…I'd been looking forward to it, but I wasn't sure if going was an option any more—work before pleasure and all that.

Then again, it was always possible I was _really_ unlucky and this whole mess with the White Fang would _involve_ the tournament. Really, given the timing, I'd be shocked if it didn't have at least _something_ to do with the festival. Fun, fun, fun.

I sighed to myself and sat down to wait for my grandmother's return, watching the city of Mistral far below, countless tiny shapes going about their daily lives. With nothing to distract me, my head began to pulse and throb, but I ignored it, unwilling to drop my enhanced perceptions even here. Though my sight cycled and flickered routinely, it was better than being caught off-guard, or allowing my grandmother to be—of course, that just led me to worrying about my mom, who hadn't come home. My mind was happy to provide me plenty of possible explanations, most of them bad, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it right now and tried to focus on the city instead.

That was why I saw the ship coming long before it arrived; a small transport exactly like the one Grandmother and I had used to fly up here, down to the markings. A bit curious, I welcomed something to focus on and watched the ship as it made its trip out of the city and up the mountain. When it at last it landed beside our own ship, the pair of twins I'd seen guarding my Grandmother's house exited. Their black hair and grey suits were the same, but they'd apparently added sunglasses to hide the strangeness of their eyes.

"Hugo," I said, remembering the names. "Enzo. Is something wrong?"

They were silent for a minute, scanning the area careful. Enzo held a decently sized bag of books in one hand while his brother paced around the area, making sure nothing was hidden from his sight. After a moment, they locked eyes with one another, nodded, and looked at me.

"Red," Enzo said, his brother keeping a look out. He offered me the bag and I took it, frowning slightly at him.

"Is that good or bad?" I asked. Generally, red meant the latter, but neither of them seemed nervous.

"Red is good," He said. "Violet is bad."

I nodded at him considering before just Observing him, and then nodded again in understanding. They could both see danger in the forms of color—Enzo seeing how dangerous something _was_ and Hugo seeing how much danger they were _in_. Well, that explained why my Grandmother employed them, at least.

"If you're here to speak with my grandmother, she'll be right here," I said as I looked back down at the bag. Sure enough, my grandmother and her friend leapt up into sight, landing softly beside us.

"Hugo, Enzo," She said as she hopped down from Cynosarges's shoulder, giving each a nod before glancing at my books. "Ah, good. Thank you for your hard work. Keep an eye out for me."

They gave a nod in unison, Enzo taking position in front of her and Hugo behind. At a gesture, the Alexandrian Patriarch and I stepped into place beside my Grandmother and she started walking.

"Everything go okay?" I asked.

"Quite so," She said. "You'll be happy to know we've acquired some dumb muscle."

Cynosarges gave a snort, casting her an amused glance, but I could see the change in his demeanor—a sudden wariness. He knew about Raven now, I guessed, and was justifiably worried. Playful insults aside, I knew full well that he wasn't dumb and I couldn't say I minded having him on our side. Still, best to be sure…

"He knows?" I asked my grandmother, carefully not specifying what I meant.

"He knows," She confirmed.

"I know." He agreed, shaking his head. "All you whippersnappers and your crazy powers."

"Thickheaded as he is, I trust him," She said and I nodded. I'd already extended trust to Adam on Blake's word; this was no different. If anything, the fact that she trusted him enough to tell him was reassuring. My grandmother went silent then, watching our surroundings carefully as we walked through Sanctum, at least until she came to a stop by a door. "Here. Do you see anything?"

I glanced it and nodded, seeing the still bright lights all but glowing on its surface.

"Yeah," I said. "This is the place, then?"

"Yes," She hummed, pushing the door open. "Boys, guard the door, please."

The twins took up position on either side of it without a word as we entered, closing the door behind us. When it was shut, Grandmother nodded to herself and went over to a small bookshelf to the side, idly traced several scrolls before drawing loose a journal and flipping through it. Smiling, she tossed it to me, glancing at me out of the corner of an eye as I caught it.

"Now then," She said. "Shall we begin?"

A twitch of a finger and the book unraveled into light.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Treasure**

Instantly, I felt the knowledge and power contained in the book rush through me. Ideas so distinct they briefly seemed like memories bloomed in my mind, giving shape to new concepts as easily as if I'd studied for years. In that moment, I understood completely what I'd taken into myself—and it was such a rush to truly know something.

I exhaled slowly as windows appeared before me.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Sanctum.'**

 **Sanctum (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:1000  
One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill for surrounding a volume of space with a barrier, preventing both entry and exit. The power of the barrier increases with skill level and INT; stronger barriers may be created at higher levels.  
Range: 1000 cubic meters.  
Additional 1000 MP used per hour.**

"Interesting," I murmured to myself.

"You get what we need?" Cynosarges asked. I flexed my fingers slightly, frowning slight before I shook my head.

"Not quite," I said. "I'm not sure what it'll be able to do at higher levels, but for now it's just a barrier over an area."

"You can use it, though?" My grandmother asked, looking calm and unsurprised by the failed attempt.

"Yeah," I said. "If it's just a thousand MP an hour, it's nothing. At the very least, I should be able to cover important areas of the house, it's just…"

I shook my head.

"I'll practice," I promised. "See if I can't level it up some, find out what it can do. What next?"

"Open the bag," My Grandmother commanded and I obliged, finding the books I'd expected. Some were unmarked, looking like their insides had been copied down by hand, but others looked like more modern copies. Without me having to ask, my grandmother explained. "I had Hugo and Enzo retrieve these; just a few books that stood out to me. I thought you might find them useful."

"Thank you, Grandmother," I said distractedly as I fished out the topmost book—impressively titled 'Guardians of the Ziggurat', though some librarian has attached a note somewhat less impressively scrawled with 'Instruction Guide to Haven's Emergency Defense System #3' with several directions about where to put it—and clicked the button prompt that appeared.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Safe Haven.'**

 **Safe Haven (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:1000  
One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill to establish a degree of control over a volume of space to ward away evil. Criteria may be set with the activation of the skill which then effects those within accordingly. Degree of change increases with skill level and INT; additional status effects may be created at higher levels.  
Increase or decrease the status of all within range by up to 10% according to pre-established criteria.  
Range: 1000 cubic meters.  
Additional 1000 MP used per hour.**

I scratched my head, both intrigued and confused. It was as vague as always, but I thought I understood what it meant. So I could sort of say 'No Grimm allowed' and any that entered would be weakened? Or I could to the opposite and empower the defending soldiers? From what I received from the book, that seemed to be how it had been used, helping or hindering in battle, sort of like that one sort of card-law system thing from Grimm Nights IV.

I had to wonder how broad the criteria could be. Could I target based on loyalties? Gender? Species? And what type of status effects could it inflict at higher levels? Could I make something like those boss battles where you start poisoned or under some other status effect?

The possibilities were intriguing and demanded experimentation—later. For now, as interesting as it was, it still wasn't what I was looking for.

I pulled out another book, shaking my head at my grandmother's inquisitive glance, and glanced at the title that appeared in front of me. A guide for priests? Or perhaps medics? It seemed to be somewhere in between, which confused me briefly—but thinking about it, I vaguely recalled something about warrior priests in Mistral. Well, it had been a unit in a civilization building game, so I wasn't sure how that translated to…anything founded in _reality_ , but…well, whatever, I suppose. My grandmother would have known and she had it fetched for me, so I guess it didn't matter.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Temple.'**

 **Temple (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:2500  
One of the ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, a skill to cast a benediction over a volume of space, blessing all within. Strength of effect increases with skill level and INT; additional beneficial effects may be created at higher levels.  
Increase HP regeneration by 50% within area.  
Increase MP regeneration by 50% within area.  
Increase Stamina regeneration by 50% within area.  
Range: 1000 cubic meters.  
Additional 2500 MP used per hour.**

I whistled.

"Find something?" Pyrrha's godfather asked again, raising an eyebrow at me.

"No, no," I said and then paused in consideration. "Well, I mean. Sort of? It's not what we're looking for, but it's still pretty impressive. Just…kind of expensive. Not enough to be a problem or anything, but still…"

I rummaged through the bag, glancing at the windows that appeared before me with a frown and then looked up at my grandmother.

"Are there any more books about defending areas, Grandmother?" I asked.

She sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"These were the ones I remembered," She said. "The protections on Haven, Sanctum, and Fortress. If those aren't enough to do it…well, I suppose dealing with this matter easily was too much to hope for. We'll have to keep searching."

I nodded, not really that off put. I hadn't expected much, given what we were trying to deal with, but what I'd gotten out of it…I couldn't complain.

"Can you show us?" Cynosarges asked suddenly, drawing my attention before I could move onto the next book.

"Um…my new skills, you mean?" I checked to make sure and he nodded.

"I've never seen such a thing in action," He admitted. "Or, at least, not done by a _person_. So I'm kind of curious. Aren't you, Jeannie?"

She rolled her eyes but didn't deny it.

"There, see?" Cynosarges seemed to take that as a full agreement. "Do you have enough juice for it?"

I scratched my head and then nodded with a shrug.

"Yeah; they cost a lot, but with an hourly upkeep, it's really not that bad," I said. "Especially with the boost from Temple. I don't know how noticeable it'll be, but I should be able to limit it to this room, so…yeah, it should be fine. Give me a sec."

I put down the bag and held out my hands, inhaling deeply. My Aura rose to my call, rising around me in an invisible storm as it pulsed outwards from me, leaving markings and patterns on the walls as the skill's shaped a foundation and a framework. Taken separately, each of the skills would have been the most complex working of Aura I'd ever performed, draining an enormous amount of power from me as it created something from the world around us, shaping simple space into something more.

It was difficult, perhaps even more so then I expected it to be—similar to awakening Aura's somehow, as if I was fighting against something. I wasn't sure how to describe it, wasn't even sure what I was thinking, but that's how I felt. Like…

"Sanctum," I intoned, putting the thought aside for a moment. "Safe Haven. Temple."

The skills came together around the framework, like buildings but with energy patterns instead of supports and altered space instead of walls. And invisible. And intangible.

So really not like buildings at all, I guess.

"—Oho," Cynosarges suddenly said, flexing the fingers of a hand. I'd set Safe Haven to support life and between that and Temple…well, I wasn't sure how he felt, but I felt pretty great. "Not bad, kid; I could get used to this. Set it up around the hot tub, get massaged—it'd be pretty sweet. If only, right?"

He sighed, but I was only listening to him with half an ear, frowning as I looked over my handiwork. I'd done everything right, but…

It was inefficient, I thought. A mess, really. It was like I'd built three separate buildings in the exact same space—except, of course, not really at all like that—weaving beams, plumbing, wires, and walls around and throughout each to make everything work anyway. And it _did_ work, even with all the layers tangling amongst one another like that, but it…God, just looking at it under the painful light of my Clairvoyance made me sure of one thing.

That this mess was gonna annoy the _hell_ out of me if I left it like this.

"You want me to test how hard it is to break out of it, kid?" Pyrrha's Godfather asked, walking to the wall and reaching out to touch it, his hand stopping just short of stone as my barrier interceded. When I didn't reply immediately, eyes darting from point to point in the air, he turned his head to look at me. "Hey, Jeannie Jr., you want I should break it, yes or no?"

"Not yet," I said, since I didn't have the energy to erect it all again so soon. "Let me…"

I trailed off slowly, reaching into the air—not just with flesh or matter, but with the shining light of my soul. Under the somewhat muddled sight of my Clairvoyance, I tangled that light with the shining patterns all around me and got to work. I rerouted circuitry, removed or consolidated the redundancies, lowered walls here and there, shifting the invisible construct around me into a new shape. Where before it had been something disorderly, dozens of bits and pieces scattered and layered throughout one another, I refined it until it was something streamlined and orderly. Instead of three independent systems inhabiting the same space, I remodeled it until it was a single system, with three interconnected subsystems.

It took a while—I wasn't sure _how_ long, but when I looked down, Cynosarges had pulled out a scroll and started playing game, for whatever that was worth—but I did it, and when the power settled into place around me, another window appeared.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By combining many protective methods, the skill 'Sanctum Sanctorum' has been created.**

 **Sanctum Sanctorum (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:5000  
A new technique created by weaving together many ancient methods of protection, establishing control over a volume of space. Power increases with skill level and INT; additional effects may be created at higher levels. Effects based on the nature and level composite skills. Only possible for those with an affinity for manipulating mana.  
Current:  
Limit entry and exit.  
Increase or decrease the status of all within range by 15% according to pre-established criteria.  
Increase HP regeneration by 75% within area.  
Increase MP regeneration by 75% within area.  
Increase Stamina regeneration by 75% within area.  
Range: 1000 cubic meters.  
Additional 5000 MP used per hour.**

Without me saying a word, Cynosarges and my grandmother looked up, probably noticing the sudden change as the effects on them rose in power and efficiency. I watched power flow around me in a dizzying display made of shades of bright white, pieces separating and converging and reinforcing the whole. It was…well, it was something.

"Done?" The Head of Alexandria asked, pausing his game. "What'd you do kid?"

"I…I put the pieces together," I said. "The different skills, they…work better now. I'm not sure this is the solution we were looking for, but I think it's…at least a step in the right direction? I'll work on it."

Cynosarges grunted and went back to shooting Nevermore at buildings, but my grandmother came to my side and knocked her knuckles against my arm.

"You'll figure it out in time," She said with certainty before giving me a half smile. "Now. Open the rest of your presents."

"Can do," I said, picking up the discarded bag.

"Oh, are we finally getting to the fun part?" The Alexandrian said, suddenly looking up with a smile. "Fucking took long enough."

I cast him an odd look as my grandmother sighed.

"What do you mean?" I asked after taking a moment to wonder whether I even wanted to know.

"Oh, nothing important," He said. "It's just, well, those things forgotten for a reason. Jeannie says most of that stuff won't be a problem for you, but I'll provide helpful commentary nonetheless."

He looked at my grandmother and raised an eyebrow, smile wide.

"Can we start with the one that blows your arms off if you do it wrong?"

"Um," I said, blinking rapidly. "What?"

"Ignore him," My grandmother said as she fished out a book from the bag. She glanced at its cover, nodded once to herself, and then held it out to me. "Here, this should be a good place to start."

"'The Sound of Souls,'" I answered, reading the title that appeared before me. "What's this do?"

"Ugh, boring," Cynosarges made a face. "I guess I can see a reason for it, given the circumstances, but really…"

"It's a detection ability, of sorts," Grandmother answered and the throbbing in my head must have shown on my face because she chuckled. "Sorry, dear, but I thought you might find this one a bit useful—to put it simply, it should allow you to sense the presence of other living beings."

"Sounds pretty cool," I said truthfully, if not with enormous enthusiasm. "Why'd they forget this one? Is there a problem with it or is it just too had to train or something?"

"The damn thing sucks," Cynosarges rolled his eyes before pausing. "Well, I guess the amount of time it takes to teach it doesn't help, but the real problem is with the technique. It lets you sense _life,_ boy. Think about it."

I frowned for a moment, doing so, and then tilting my head slightly to the side.

" _All_ life?" I asked.

"All life," He confirmed. "Humans, plants, animals—there was even an experiment that proved it would respond to sufficiently large groups of bacteria. Once you get the hang of it, you can separate the plants from the animals and even ignore small or simple creatures, but if you consider that Hunters generally operate in either large cities or in the wilderness, it's usually still too broad to provide useful information. Worse, the Grimm don't show up on it at all, since it works by doing this type of Aura echolocation thing."

"Ah," I said, frowning.

"Even so, it has its uses," Grandmother added after waiting for her friend to finish. "Even if all it usually tells you is whether or not things are there, that can provide a wealth of information in the right circumstances. Sometimes, simply sensing people where they aren't supposed to be can be invaluable; with Raven, it should be enough to serve as a last line of defense. Should you suddenly sense a new presence without them passing through the rest of your range…with her power, it could be as little as a split-second of warning, but perhaps it'll be enough."

"Assuming she doesn't appear directly above you and stab you through the chest by way of hello," Cynosarges muttered.

"Unless given reason to, an invasion of our house is unlikely to target him first," Grandmother shook her head. "There should be plenty of time for him to respond."

I understood the message, even without her spelling it out. Cynosarges' point was right; it wouldn't work against the first person Raven targeted…but like my grandmother said, I probably wouldn't be. If the barriers didn't work and Raven came for us, my grandmother would be the priority target and she'd almost certainly die—and she wanted me to sense it and run for my life. This wasn't a last line of defense, it was an escape route against an opponent neither of us could beat.

A one-man escape route.

I felt my jaw clench tight, but I said nothing as the book came apart. It wouldn't come to that. It _wouldn't_.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Detect Life.'**

 **Detect Life (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:60  
An ability to sense the presence of life around the user. Not effective on those without Aura.  
Range: 300 meters.  
Additional 60 MP used per minute.**

I activated it immediately and became immediately aware of all the things around me, in as broad a way as the Alexandrian Head had described. Even in a place like Sanctum, there was life everywhere, if often small and unseen, and I felt it all around me like an army of strange creatures who I'd only just realized had been there all along. There were too many of them to count and I was on guard in an instant, reacting instinctively to the knowledge that I was completely surrounded—

Insects, my calm mind supplied, halting my body. Vermin and pests in the walls and floors, nothing more.

"It's always disorienting the first time," My grandmother assured me quietly as I let go of my sword, leaving it in its sheath. "You did well to recover so quickly. Most people scream."

"Before they abolished it, a teacher at Haven once taught his students the technique on a training trip up north," Cynosarges nodded. "To the forests and stuff, you know? My understanding is that the results were pretty hilarious up until someone began to light everything on fire."

I nodded quietly, vision shifting as my Clairvoyance reacted to the new technique. My Aura sight deepened, something slightly different branching off from it—seeing Aura instead of seeing the Aura around what I saw, if that made any sense. The lifeless stone around me faded away, nearly formless lights suddenly shining through from all directions. It was still bright, still disorienting, potentially even a _hindrance_ , but was none the less a tad easier to make sense of this way. I widened my perspective and my sight returned to 'normal.'

"What next?" I asked.

"The arm one," Cynosarges insisted. "Now that's one with _history_."

"A history of exploding arms?" I questioned skeptically.

"Is there a _better_ type of history?" He asked with a smirk. "But even beyond that, I mean. It's even a Roma story!"

I lifted an eyebrow at that, glancing at my grandmother, who rolled her eyes and fetched the book.

"It's the story of Wolfram, whose mother was an Atlesian princess that had fled to escape a coup," She said blandly. "Wolfram grew up, decided he had a right to the thrones of both Kingdoms, things turned out badly for everyone involved."

"Your storytelling is as piss-poor as ever, Jeannie," Cynosarges rolled his eyes. "What she didn't mention is that things got pretty interesting there for a bit. In the end, it was _Atlas_ that created that technique, if you'll believe it; Wolfram pushed them until they all but broke and then they _really_ fought back. Say what you will about the boys up North and their desire to avoid battle, but they can _fight_ when you push them into a corner."

"What's it do?" I asked, looking down at the book.

"Pretty much the same as when you use normal Aura to boost your strength, only more so," Pyrrha's Godfather answered with a shrug. "You gather your Aura up, reinforce and empower your muscles, whatever. Except the guys up in Atlas had been big on studying stuff even back then, and one of them figured out a way to push beyond the normal limits for that, sort of overcharging the body. Done properly, it gave soldiers an amazing boost in strength. Of course, if anything goes wrong…well, that power has to go _somewhere_. There are plenty of stories about Atlesian soldiers fighting until their arms literally _explode_ and not without reason."

"Ouch," I said, absently touching my own shoulder.

"Ouch," He agreed with a bright smile. "But under the command of their general, Prince Hrafntyr, Atlas pushed Wolfram from their very doorstep back to the sea, and the General sacrificed his own arm to capture the Prince to hold him ransom."

"How'd that work out?" I asked, having a decent grasp of Mistral's history with that type of thing.

"Better than you might expect, thanks to Queen Lucia's love for her children," He answered with a knowing smile. "She held Mistral's forces back for nearly a year, despite the urgings of her advisors. Of course, then Prince Wolfram escaped and carved a path straight to the castle of Gladsheim, taking the life of the King in vengeance for his imprisonment and destroying much of the castle in the process. Of course _his_ son then slayed Prince Wolfram and sent his head home in rage. Queen Lucia immediately called for war and she and her remaining children led the attack, which was when things _really_ got cool, because her _daughter_ —and later her _granddaughter_ —both had necromantic Semblances. And given the amount of bodies they had to work with…well, you can imagine, I'm sure. So on one hand, you had Queen Lucia and Princess Hilda leading a zombie army and on the other you had Prince Sormr at the head of Mistral's armies and _he_ …actually, if you brought this one, did you…?"

The question was directed at my grandmother, who sighed but nodded at him, pulling out another book. The Alexandrian head laughed, clapping his massive hands before continuing.

"Well, Prince Sormr basically spent the entire time his brother was imprisoned working on a way to counter the technique that had defeated him, and _he'd_ created _that_ technique and passed it onto the warriors of ancient Mistral, though it wasn't commonly used even back then."

He paused, looking at me expectantly, and I obliged him with a sigh.

"Gee," I said. "And what's this one do?"

"Well, Atlas created an overclocked version of how Hunters normally increase their strength, so the Prince decided the best solution would be to make a similarly advanced _defensive_ technique. In the end, what the skill basically did was turn people's skin into some sort of super-hard substance, making them vastly harder to hurt—imagine flexible, organic diamond where your skin would be. When used, it evened the playing field against the Atlesian forces, and often turned the tide against them."

"But…?"

"But," He said with a grin. "The skin only _remains_ flexible while you're flowing a large amount of Aura through it. After you ran out, it would quickly harden, with two possible results. If you couldn't break out, you would basically be trapped in a statue until someone found you or, more likely, one of many, many things finally led to your death. If you _were_ strong enough to escape, you could do that instead, ripping yourself out of your own skin in the process."

Even I had to wince at that set of options.

"As you can imagine, most of the people who used the technique did so only once," He continued. "It gave Mistral an edge in the conflict, though; while Sormr's technique had a much higher chance of killing the user, it generally did so _after_ the battle, while Atlas's forces would destroy their own arms during the fighting. Prince Sormr, however, was different; he reportedly used the technique many times in order to avenger his brother; it's believed that Sormr wasn't his birth name, in fact, but that he renamed himself 'Serpent' because of how often he shed and regrew his skin."

"What happened to him?" I asked, honestly enthralled by the story.

"Well, just as he was seeking revenge for his brother's death, the King's children sought vengeance for their father. Wolfram's son fought and eventually slew the crippled Prince Hrafntyr, but Sormr fought the King's strongest son, Prince Donar, who'd mastered his older brother's technique. The two clashed in one of the largest battles of the war and—"

"And they killed one another," Grandmother said impatiently. "And people sought revenge and killed more people, on and on and on until everything was on _fire_. You can buy him the books, documentaries, or even _movies_ later, Cynosarges; if we could move this along? We have a schedule to keep."

"You're like a leech, you know that?" He said to her. "A hideous creature sucking the vitality from those with the misfortune of being latched onto—like joy and fun. You are, in fact, a fun-sucker."

She didn't even dignify that with a response, looking at me instead.

"On it," I murmured.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Sacrifice to the Wolf.'**

 **Sacrifice to the Wolf (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:200  
An ancient technique born from a willingness to sacrifice one's life and limb for their people, vastly enhancing one's strength at great personal risk.  
Increase Strength by 100%.  
Great external shock may break Sacrifice to the Wolf and inflict Aura Confusion.  
Additional 200 MP used per minute.**

 **You've obtained the skill 'Adamant Serpent's Skin.'**

 **Adamant Serpent's Skin (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:200  
An ancient protective technique crafted to pursue a goal, no matter the cost. Changes the structure of one's skin using Aura, transforming it into the incredibly durable organic material 'Adamant.' Warning: The malleability of the material is dependent upon the continuous application of Aura, without which it becomes completely rigid.  
Skin transforms into the organic material 'Adamant.'  
If Strength is less than 200, user is Petrified upon deactivation.  
If Strength is greater than 200, Petrification may be resisted; user receives 1500 damage and gains the status effect 'Flayed' until HP rises above 25%.  
Additional 200 MP used per minute.**

Yikes, I thought. I mean, wow. The techniques were amazing, but…

"Can you use them?" My grandmother asked. "Because of the way you described your body, I thought these techniques would be fine for you, but…"

I hesitated before answering and then nodded firmly.

"I…yeah, I can use them," I said, mind already racing with the possibilities. If I meditated while petrified, could I undo it by reactivating the technique? If it was like that, it wasn't a big deal, beyond the need to heal myself. But still, the best thing to do would be to simply never turn it off, if I could train it enough. Sacrifice to the Wolves would need so testing to be sure, but…at the very least, whatever happened, I could remove all status effects by sleeping, so… "They're…well, they're dangerous and I'll need to use them carefully. And train them up a lot, of course, as soon as I get a chance; hopefully, that'll minimize the risk. But…these are amazing, Grandmother. Thank you for the presents, even if they are…you know."

"You're welcome, dear," She said, sounding a little sad. "Just be careful about using them for now; keep Dust Crystals on hand at all times. I'll want to supervise for now, too, just to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Of course," I nodded, glancing down. "Just two more?"

"For now," She replied, nodding at it. "Go on, now. I think you'll like these two—and they'll go a ways towards keeping your true skills a secret, given the displays you make."

I didn't need to be told twice.

 **You've obtained the skill 'Dust Weaver.'**

 **You've obtained the skill 'Dust Eater.'**

" _Oh_ ," I drew the word out as the knowledge took hold, smiling like a kid. "Thank you, Grandmother; I'll be sure to put both of these to good use."

She patted me on the head.

"I'm sure you will," She said. "Now then, I'll give you a chance to play with your new toys and then let's go kill monsters, okay?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Target Acquired**

True to her word, my grandmother gave me some time to prepare before the hunt and I did so by meditating, as I was wont to do. Once we'd finished our business at Sanctum, we'd returned to my grandmother's house and I'd set up shop, erecting my barriers over the house. Sanctum Sanctorum went up first and then other three once I had the MP to spare, just to test what would happen and if I could do it. From the description, Sanctum Sanctorum seemed to improve both independently and based on its component techniques, so it seemed like a good thing to test out, just to see. It was also worth checking if the techniques improved more quickly by remaining active or by being _activated_ , because that would greatly change how I went about training them, and whether or not their effects stacked was worth looking into, as well.

Beyond which, well, who knows? Maybe the individual skills would have something worthwhile to offer even separately; if nothing else, having less expensive options was always nice.

The home so defended, I allowed myself some time to regain my power and activated Sacrifice to the Wolf and Adamant Serpent's Skin. As I did, Cynosarges and my grandmother left me to go discuss their own business; mainly how the Families would respond to the new information they had about the White Fang. What I'd told them about Raven was already causing ripples on a huge scale, even if they were keeping the knowledge itself under wraps, and they probably had a lot to think about.

God knows I did and sitting there in meditation…well, I didn't have much left to me _but_ my thoughts. So now that the initial, I admit, panic was gone, I thought about Raven.

Seeing how my grandmother had reacted to the name made me wonder who else I should tell. I didn't want to put my mother at risk, but this _was_ probably the type of information she'd put her life on the line to obtain, implying that _Ozpin_ would have really liked to know about it. Could I risk telling him instead?

It could be dangerous for him, but I doubted it would be too bad. From a logical standpoint, if Raven wanted to strike at Humanity or the Hunters, killing Ozpin and the other Headmasters would be a good place to start—though technically their only responsibilities were to run the schools, one didn't get put in charge of guarding and shaping the future protectors of Remnant by collecting bottle caps. They all had a lot of power and a lot of pull, and if even one were to suddenly die…to say nothing of all four…

If Raven wanted chaos or destruction or to strike at Mankind, that would be a good places to start. That she hadn't done so implied that she either had a different goal I didn't know about, or that she wasn't able to. Either way, it seemed unlikely that informing him would put him in any more or less danger from Raven. And if she really had a brother in Ozpin's circle of friends, the information would be valuable on many different levels, so he'd definitely _want_ to know. An opportunistic part of me couldn't help but whisper that there'd probably be some kind of reward involved for me in that case, but I tried to ignore it.

So rather than _could_ , the better question was _should_ I tell him. And I…

I wasn't sure where I stood. With Raven, with Ozpin, with…anything, really. I didn't know much about either of them, really. I mean, ostensibly, Ozpin should be the good guy and Raven the bad one—teacher vs. terrorist and all that—but even if I hadn't been embroiled with so much of the White Fang's business since I'd gotten my powers, I knew full well that the world could be more complicated than that. Hell, the whole shades of grey thing gets hammered in so often in books and games that it sometimes got tedious to listen to. Without any information, did I really want to make such a large decision and reveal Raven's identity?

A part of me wanted to say yes. I couldn't lie to myself about this; I was scared of Raven. Not like with a jump scare or even like I was being chased by a monster; it wasn't a sudden or shocking fear that coiled in body and pushed me to run. That type of fear is energetic, even exhilarating, but even without powers like mine, it was something that could be worked through if you knew how or had time to think. Reason was the bane of that kind of fear.

It was the _source_ of mine. It was akin to waiting for test results; thinking things through and considering the possibilities didn't _erase_ my worries, it made them come in to stay. I wasn't necessarily scared of what Raven _would_ do—I was scared of what she _could_ do. That if she wanted to, she could appear in my home and murder everyone I loved simply _because_ she wanted to; that if she learned about my secrets, learned the truth, she just might. I knew logically that she was strong and I, in comparison, was weak. I knew that her power was strong and that I had no grasp of its limits and that was frightening.

And she probably intended for me to think like that, in much the same way I had done so before. She and I hid the truth of our powers, leaving just enough hidden to make people wonder, make them think we could do—be—anything. You do that, you turn your opponents mind against them, you don't even truly need to do anything to be terrifying. It was a tactic, a trick, and I understood that.

So for all that I was frightened, I also had to be considering. Logical or illogical, I couldn't let fear drive my actions, so for all that a part of me wanted to draw in everything I could and unite it against this mysterious threat, I thought things out.

Rather than her power, who Raven was as a person would decide whether she was dangerous or not, but I didn't know anything about her. Now that I had a chance to consider it calmly and in relative safety, her actions during our first meeting didn't tell me much, they just gave me cause to worry. She'd probably intended that, too; I would have, in her shoes. A sudden figure begins to rise in power as part of my organization, but who, in truth, is a completely unknown variable…I'd wonder. I'd worry. I'd watch him carefully and, if forced into a confrontation as I'd done to her, would probably fall back on my tried and true tactics of reputation and fear.

She'd seemed certain and calm and in control, but so had I. I tried my best to look that way, after all, no matter the circumstances; if anything, the worse things got, the more unflappable I strove to be. For all that she'd implied and insinuated, she hadn't said a lot, hadn't given anything away—about me _or_ herself. I'd told myself and my friends a long time ago that overestimating people was just as dangerous as underestimating them, and I had to remember that now. Rather than a bunch of all-powerful super genius who saw all and knew all, we were just people. We thought and we planned, but we also made mistakes and missed things; that was as true of her as it was of me.

So odds were good that Raven was as wary of Jian Bing—who knew her name and could sense her hidden presence, who's motives and intentions were unknown, who was rising swiftly in power within her own organization without her control—as I was of Raven, the mysterious and deadly portal maker. That knowledge didn't make me _less_ scared of her, sadly, but I had to remember that we were both as frightened as we were frightening.

And so I considered her, not as a threat, but as a person. A Hunter, once, like I now strove to become, until something made her change. What had it been? What could make a person jump from hero to terrorist? What could have made her run away from her brother and her team—perhaps even her lover—and become who she was today? What was she fighting for? What was she struggling to obtain?

After a while, I began to feel something else—not erasing the fear, as such, but outlining it.

Curiosity. I wanted to know what had happened to her, to make her like this. Maybe it was because of who I'd been before all this happened, maybe it was because my power could let me become anything, but either way…I was curious about what made others become who they were.

Or maybe I just wondered if it would happen to _me_. If one day I would just be going about my life as a Hunter and just…see something that would change me. Was there just something there I didn't know? Or had it been a slow thing, like a river wearing away at her for years?

I didn't know, but maybe…maybe I wanted to find out.

Or was that stupid? Should I do something now instead of waiting? I was…I knew how large a scale I was operating on, how many lives each and every one of my decisions could effect, but that didn't mean I knew what to do. My loyalties were divided too many ways; with my friends in the White Fang, my parents and their cause, my grandmother and hers, my…

"Damn it," I muttered, eyes remaining closed even as I slowly drew myself from my meditation as I felt someone draw nearer.

Really, maybe it was for the best. Whenever I got to thinking like this, I just found myself struggling aimlessly and I didn't know why. I wasn't any closer to knowing what to do now than I had been in the beginning. Maybe I should just put the new points I had into Wisdom already, instead of waiting any longer. I doubted it would be enough to make things clear to me, but it had to help somehow, right? Yeah, I'd do that and maybe…

But I still had no idea what I was going to do next. Damn it.

I sighed.

"Time to go already, grandmother?" I asked, opening my eyes to glance her way as she entered the room.

"Just checking on you," She said, leaning against the doorway. "But if you're ready, so am I. I sent several of my men to find an appropriate target and keep tabs on it. We'll take a ship right over as soon as you're through."

I flexed my fingers, watching the power flowing beneath the surface in streams, twisting into knots at specific points. More power flowed through my skin itself, but in a different way—like a circuit in some ways, but covering me entirely until it gave the impression it wasn't moving at all.

Both were in order. So long as I kept a hold on how the energy flowed, I shouldn't need to worry. The barriers I'd set up around us remained strong as well, a constantly shifting and yet eternally stable pattern. At a guess, it had been several hours, which was still enough time for some progress to be made with all the skills. There was still a lot of work to be done, but…

"I'm ready, Grandmother," I said. "If you and Cynosarges are there, it should be fine. Where are we going?"

"Elephant hunting," She said. "We found a solitary Goliath about fifty kilometers out. It's rare to find them travelling alone and I figured that'd be a good place for you to start."

 **XxXXxX**

Within the hour, we were looking down at the tremendous shape far below. The trees around it barely scratched its massive shoulders as it trekked across the land. As my grandmother had said, the massive creature was shaped roughly like an elephant, but all in black except for the white bone plating customary to the Grimm. Its mask drew my attention quickly, for obvious reasons, and I memorized its features; arcs and slashes of red on white.

I imagined myself wearing it. Baring specific, valuable effects like Lycaon's ability to coordinate parties, I usually stuck to Lenore as it was my most broadly powerful mask—which fit, I suppose, as it came from the most powerful type of Grimm I'd ever slain. Until now, perhaps.

 **Whose Footsteps Shake the Earth  
LV?  
Goliath**

Too strong for me to even view its level, it must have been in the mid-eighties at least—a minimum of thirty levels above the Giant Nevermore I'd slain. Fighting such a thing alone—fighting it at _all_ —should have been insane, but…I had back up. Ludicrously high leveled backup, between my grandmother and Cynosarges, who had stuck around at my grandmother's request. With Hugo and Enzo here as well, watching things carefully, the two aged Hunters would know when and if I was in over my head, at least in theory. This was as close to a controlled setting as a fight with the Grimm could be. With backup like that ready to get involved…

I was willing to try my luck. And if I succeeded…I could only imagine. If I fought and won against a creature this far above me, what would it mean for me? Five levels? Ten? And the reward…with a difference this big, it seemed all but certain that any mask I got would be at least a match for Lenore. Given its structure…it'd probably be more of a full facial mask then Lenore's half, though the eyes—

Stop, I thought firmly.

I was getting dangerously ahead of myself. Controlled conditions or not, this was a _Goliath_ , one of the intelligent species of Grimm who'd lived and learned for hundreds of years, growing in wisdom as well as power. These were creatures that wouldn't rush in thoughtlessly like a Beowolf or an Ursa, but which waited on the outskirts of civilization for an opportunity to do the most damage. They traveled in packs for safety, embodying such enormous power as a group that even large numbers of Hunters found it easier to let them be, despite the threat they posed. The casualties estimated in fighting a herd of Goliaths were…staggering, they were so dangerous and so capable of working together.

So why the hell was this one traveling alone? Some kind of conflict within the herd? It seemed unlikely; conflicts amongst the Grimm weren't unheard of, but they were exceptionally rare—assuming such divisions were even a result of conflict at all. Whatever else they were, the Grimm were good at uniting against Mankind, regardless of species or relative intelligence. While the smaller types tended to stay out of the way of the greater species, even they would rally to the call if so needed. For a Goliath, known for its intelligence and caution towards Humans, to break away and go it alone so close to Mistral at a time like this…well, what were the odds?

Pretty low, I figured. There must have been a reason for it. The actions of the White Fang, whatever they might be? Was it serving as a scout party of some kind, testing to see if it was a trap? But if that was the case, shouldn't it have been closer to the White Fang's base of operations? What was it doing all the way out here?

Or could…no, it couldn't be. I mean, how could it possibly even know…but perhaps…

I stared down at the enormous beast, frown slowly deepening, when it did something that made the last of my anticipation and greed vanish.

It stopped. The Goliath stopped in its tracks, massive head lifting to gaze up at us, yellow eyes gleaming in the morning light. It didn't attack or show any signs implying action; no, it was simply…

Waiting. Watching us.

More than anything else, that was what alarmed me.

"Something's wrong," I said, bracing myself even though none of my senses reacted. I saw my grandmother do the same thing, looking down at the mighty beast below.

"Yes," She said, tuning her head to look at Hugo and Enzo, who looked over everything in the area, from the Goliath to the people in the airship. They frown as one, a furrow forming in their brows, but then shook their heads.

"Orange," Hugo said.

"Yellow," Enzo added, nodding down at the Grimm far below.

Not a threat, they judged. Or, at least, not a _major_ threat. My senses backed that up in their own way, not alerting me to any immediate dangers, but…even my senses could only see so much. I wonder how far into the future Hugo and Enzo's eyes could see; their power was a type of precognition, gauging danger, but out to when? I was somewhat doubtful they could look at babies and tell what they'd grow up to be or anything like that; they might have been able to see a lot further and more accurately then me, but it was still probably a relatively short term thing. That they could see us and the creature below and declare us fairly safe didn't mean nothing was at work here.

I looked at my grandmother and saw the same thoughts in her eyes. But she watched the Grimm for a minute, scanned the horizon, and then pursed her lips. I could see her weighing her options carefully, going through the possibilities. She was probably considering the same things I was—on one hand, a rare chance for me to fight a Goliath and gain tremendous power very quickly. On the other hand, the quiet certainty that whatever was happening was…strange. Wrong.

"Should we go?" I murmured and watched her exhale slowly.

"It's your decision," She said at last. "Pros and cons either way. I'll support you whatever happens, just remember the risks. Do you think you can beat it?"

I looked down at the creature, shifting a little bit in place.

"Yes," I answered. "Maybe. Probably? I think I can win, with the skills I've gained and the training I've done. I still have a fair amount of Dust, too, so…yes, I can probably win eventually. With you two here as well, I don't think I'm in…that much danger? It's just, this feels…"

I shrugged, uncertain. I didn't have to complete the sentence for anyone in this ship.

"But I guess it's dangerous either way, right?" I mused. "Raven or the Goliath…I have to get stronger somehow, I suppose, and if I had to choose…"

I scanned the area again, carefully making sure. I was worried, nervous even, but…

"I don't see any traps," I said, which was my humble way of say that there weren't any traps there, period. "And Hugo and Enzo gave the okay. Whatever's going on…at the very least, I don't think it's an immediate threat. Raven is. The White Fang and whatever is going on in Mistral…it's all happening right now. So…"

I took a step closer to the ships open door, drawing a reassuring breath. Whatever was making me nervous, I'd deal with it when the time came. For now, I'd fight and grow stronger, so that I _could_ deal with those threats.

After a moment, my grandmother nodded, slight frown still on her face. She glanced up at Cynosarges, who said nothing, face completely focused as he gazed down at the Goliath.

"Okay," She said. "Be careful. We'll interfere if Hugo and Enzo see any sign of trouble. But take this, just in case."

She withdrew a cartridge of dust crystals from her waist, handing them to me quietly. I glanced them over once—about ten small crystals, which wouldn't last me very long, but I saw more colors then the basic types I was largely restricted to. Which reminded me that I needed to buy more Dust, but at the rate I could go through the stuff…God, I'd probably used at least a million Lien worth against Penny alone.

Still, small addition as it was, every little bit helped.

"Thank you, Grandmother," I said, storing the cartridge in my Inventory before taking a deep breath.

First things first, I finished preparing myself. I hesitated before deciding against using my new barriers just yet. The cost wasn't an issue, in and of itself, since I still had a fair bit of Dust in store, but…there was still the issue of _range_. A few thousand cubic meters wasn't a lot of room to fight a monster that size and I wasn't sure if anything I made would be strong enough to contain such a monster. If I had more time to train, some way of expanding the limits…

It was a pity, truly. The effects stacked, after all, and if I directed Sanctum Sanctorum and Safe Haven against the Grimm, it would shave off a large chunk of its power. I wasn't skilled enough with Temple yet to apply its effects selectively, but my HP and MP regeneration was so much higher than anyone else's, I still came out far ahead from the bonus. If the barriers had been strong enough, they could have kept it contained and at least given me time to react if it called for aid. All the cards would have been in my favor and even in the worst case scenario, I could've always given it the runaround for a bit until I regained enough power to act, what with a vast boosted HP and MP regeneration.

One day, I hoped. If I trained enough, reduced the costs enough…

But not yet.

Instead, I fell back on what I knew worked. I reached into my inventory and withdrew Lenore and Dreary Midnight, equipping both even as Crocea Mors promptly liquefied, flowing up to cover my hands. I relaxed slightly as it all settled into place, nerves easing slightly under the comforting weight of my gear. Maybe it was silly, but I honestly felt reassured by it.

Did that mean something? That I felt more confident and powerful when I dressed as Jian Bing? I mean, I _was_ more powerful, of course; the equipment carried bonuses, Crocea Mors reshaped to best use Bai Hu's power, etc. But did it mean something, that I drew upon it so often? That I felt so comfortable falling back on the guise of the powerful Jian Bing?

Probably just that I overanalyze things. It was just more efficient to wear the cloak and mask and draw on the skills I'd trained the most. I left the Heir of the White Tiger off for now, though, focusing on a different tactic instead. Given how tough the Goliath looked…well, my Air Affinity may have been higher, but steel was probably the way to go here. Defense penetration rather than broad damage.

"Magic Missile," I said, assume a throwing stance. The spear of white light gathered above my hand, filling the interior of the ship with stark light. Since it was my opening move and I had plenty of range, I charged it for the full twelve seconds, letting it brighten and grow—and then I threw it with all my might, straight at the head of the beast. The flash of white light leapt across the sky like a shooting star, crashing into the beast like a meteor.

It braced itself and pretty much shrugged it off. Full charged and backed by a huge amount of my power, the attack could have passed through a Giant Nevermore like they were made of air, yet it only took…a twentieth of the Goliath's health bar? A thirtieth? Maybe even less; it was hard to tell from here.

The Goliath lifted its trunk and trumpeted at us, but stood its ground.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance even as I popped a Dust crystal to regain my strength. If that much power and that long of a charge time had accomplished so little, then chances are I was better off going down there and fighting with my hands. With all the boosts I had on top of the White Tiger's Five Hundred Years and Sacrifice to the Wolf…and Adamant Serpent's Skin should protect me…

But…

"Hugo, Enzo?" I asked.

"Same as before," Hugo said, glancing at me. Did it not matter or did his power know from the beginning what I'd do.

"I'm going down," I told my grandmother. "Please make sure it doesn't kill me."

"I will," She said. "Be careful, Jaune. Don't do anything stupid."

"I'll…" I considered it and sighed as I changed my title, tail growing into place as my hair turned white. "I'll give it my best effort."

Levant formed around me, catching me as I leapt from the ship and brought my powers to bear. I flew down at the Goliath as fast as if I'd jumped, my Elemental quickening my descent instead of abating it, and I slammed my fist full force into its masked face. I drove the creature back—just a meter, perhaps, nothing compared to its enormous size, but still _back_ —and grabbed ahold of it to deal another series of blows. I grasped at its hide, clawed fingers searching even as I scratched at it, pulling up slivers of flesh as I tried to grab for handholds.

It shook its head, an enormous motion that made it seem like some massive hand was trying to tear me into the sky. Levant eased the wind pressure, but as I was snapped back and forth, again and again, I could barely hold on—and then suddenly I was in the air. It was hard to describe it beyond that, it happened so quickly; one second I had a grip and the next I just…was flying loose. I gestured and Levant shifted the air to catch me gently, though Feather Fall should have kept me safe regardless. I righted myself quickly, trying to keep my eyes on the Goliath at all times, catching a glimpse of sudden motion—

It hit me with its trunk. I saw it coming at the last second and tried to dodge, but with what should have been impossible speed for something of its size, it hit me anyway and smacked me into a nearby cliff face.

Just to clarify, when I say it smacked me into a cliff face, I meant it smacked me _into_ a cliff face. I pounded into the stone shelf with enough force that even Feather Fall couldn't stop it completely and drove perhaps ten meters into the rock. Tons of stone broke and fell around me and I had to sink a hand into the rock beneath me to remain up right and see my opponent.

Its trunk lifted, dark shades of light gathering in its open mouth, and I was abruptly burning even as I was forced deeper into the stone. I called out to Suryasta and Levant even as I tried to stand, but I sank into molten rock as the crater my body had made melted around me. It rained down on me from above, showering me with fluid, and felt my skin glowing, trying to melt. My Elementals came to me call, forming a shield against the heat, ferrying the air to my lungs, but it was all I could do to heal myself repeatedly in the face of the onslaught.

And then, as quickly as it had begun, the attack came to a halt, leaving me half buried in molten stone. One of my arms was still raised in defense against the raining stone, shielding my eyes and mouth, but I had to bury the other up to the shoulder in the slowly flowing rock around me to grasp something solid and keep from sliding off the cliff.

I panted hard for a second or two, trying to keep my head above the stone, and then grit my teeth. That attack had hurt and I'd felt what it could have done to me—a week ago, I'd have _died_ to that attack.

But that was a week ago.

"So it's like that, is it?" I snarled, pushing myself to my feet and nearly falling in the tide. My skin still glowed with the heat and perhaps two-thirds of my health was gone, but I wasn't dead so it was just a temporary discomfort. I knew my grandmother would have intervened had Hugo and Enzo deemed it unsafe for me to keep fighting, but she _hadn't_. And as long as that was true…

There was no reason for me to ever back down.

So as the Goliath trumpeted mockingly, I leapt from the cliff, shaking molten stone loose like a dog would water, and flew at the beast on wings of wind.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Call**

I kept a close eye on its trunk as I made my approach, gauging its movements carefully. I knew about the dangers it posed, of course; I'd grown up listening to stories about a thousand different Hunts from my parents, hearing of major battles and confrontations. The Goliaths were threatening even to combatants of their level and fights with them were accordingly rare—but they'd happened before. During and after the Faunus Rights Revolution when tensions had run so very high…during the fall of Mountain Glenn…It was rare for the Goliaths and the Greater Creatures of Grimm to attack, but when they did, it tended to end tragically. My parents had been a part of the group sent to try and protect Mountain Glenn and though they'd failed in the end, they'd fought and killed one such monster in the process.

They didn't talk about it much, at least not to me. There wasn't much about Mountain Glenn that was fit to tell small children, prospective Hunters or not. Worse, it had been a long time ago, when my parents were still in their twenties—fresh Hunters with just the beginnings of a true reputation. Powerful, of course, some of the best in their class even—but a far cry from the professional heroes they'd become with a few more decades of experience. Thrown against those things just a few years after graduation, facing the endless horde that had fallen upon Mountain Glenn…

Well, there was a reason no one really spoke of Vale's failed expansion. It went bad fast and got nothing but worse as it went on. They didn't say much, but thinking back, I felt sure that at least some of the thousands that died in that tragedy must have been people they'd known. What bits of the tale did get passed down to my sisters and I had probably been edited a fair bit in regards to the number of innocent people who'd been trampled to death and the Hunters left broken.

But there were several things my parents had always been clear on—they never lied to use about the capabilities of the Grimm. _Never_. They'd censor a fair bit to spare us what nightmares they could, but then describe in horrific detail exactly what a Deathstalker's poison could do to a man or the horrors contained within the Pandora Shells. I got the feeling they knew the dangers of false information and drew the line when it came to the monsters that we might one day fight.

So I knew what I was up against, in a general sense. I hadn't expected it to hit quite that fast—or that _hard_ —but I couldn't say I was _surprised_ by it, really. From a creature strong enough to make teams of Hunters wary, it probably was to be expected, honestly; if it was just big, it'd be no true threat. I should have just let the tossing of its head throw me away instead of stopping myself with Levant, but that was live and learn, I suppose.

And I had lived. I'd risked it because of Hugo and Enzo's precognition, but I'd survived an attack from a monster more than fifty levels above me. _Two_ attacks, really, each one of its main weapons—something full-blown Hunters would have wary of. With Adamant Serpent's Skin stacking with Physical Endurance and my Aura Techniques…I'd come a long way if even a direct hit from something like this wasn't enough to instantly take me down. As long as I avoided getting wrapped up in another series of blows…rather than trying to stand against the hit, I should probably just let them smack me away and keep on moving, without letting it out of my sight, at least until I could get into position.

I nodded to myself decisively as I closed in, my clear sight tracking it. Yes, as long as I could track it with my Clairvoyance, I should be able to avoid the nastier surprises. So to start with…

I hit the ground just short of it, changing my course to evade another lash of its trunk. I fell to earth on all fours and immediately Lunged for its face. I saw its mouth open, swirling shades of light gathering between its teeth, and spun in midair, Levant pulling the wind around me to shift my course. What came from its mouth wasn't fire, as such—my father had always described it as some deadly, invisible heat attack, but I could _see_ it, now that I wasn't blinded by being its focus. The Goliath didn't just breathe heat; it fired a rush of energy from infrared to ultraviolet, and maybe even a small amount of even higher radiation. The swirl of colors between its teeth were nothing more than some of that energy spilling out as random visible light, little more than a side effect.

Once fired, an attack like that would be too fast for even me to dodge, but as long as I could see it coming…

I planted my feet upside down on a sheet of solid air, Lunging down. The wave of radiation passed above me a moment later, though enough spilt over to make my skin glow and leaving me feeling momentarily sunburnt. The damage was minute, however, and I leapt from invisible platform to invisible platform to rush underneath its enormous belly before Lunging up to sink my claws in the dark flesh. I clawed to find a hold until Levant could focus the air around me to allow me to stand upside down on its belly, and then began to try and tear at it with Bai Hu's techniques.

The Goliath's armor-like hide blunted most of the damage, but I kept at it, dozens and then hundreds of attacks in a matter of seconds, clawing steadily at its skin. I felt the Goliath rumble, a deep basso sound that shook me like a small earth quake, and I immediately had Levant push me flush against its belly, pretty sure I knew what was coming next.

Its truck curled under its belly like a grasping hand, but I'd been sure to position myself outside its reach. It twitched a few times, almost as if sniffing for me—but I braced myself, knowing it wasn't. Sure enough, the trunk sprayed me with a dark, viscous fluid a moment later, hosing the underside of its belly with enough force that I had to hunch my shoulders to keep my place. The fluid stuck to its skin like mud, clinging to whatever flesh it struck.

The moment it touched _me_ , however, there was a rather different reaction. It hissed and spat at the contact, steam rising all around me as it began to boil. It was an acid, of sorts; one that my dad had described liquefying crowds of civilians in seconds and leaving even some Hunters with brutal scars. It frothed and tried to eat at my adamant skin, noxious fumes rising from it, but I closed my eyes and mouth and continued my work on its stomach.

It stomped its feet, trunk releasing a sound that was almost annoyed in its pitch. More visibly, the pounding of its feet cracked the earth beneath it, shattering it in ways beyond the limits of even its mighty strength until a field of fissures extended hundreds of meters in every direction, pits yawning open wide far beneath me.

But that mighty attack didn't even reach me. Its main weapons were its trunk, mouth, and feet. I could avoid its feet, at least, by staying high above the ground, ignoring its shockwave and earth-based attacks thereby. Its breath weapon, perhaps its strongest form of attack, was limited by the shape and structure of its head and neck. So long as I stayed on its belly and out of the physical reach of its trunk, the only weapon it had was its acid snot which, while disgusting, dealt a relatively small amount of damage, if persistently. Its tail could serve as a weapon if absolutely needed, but I evaded even that from here. So long as I remained on its belly or back, it would seem I was out of its reach.

Of course, in reality, if the Goliaths had a weak point this glaring, they'd have long since been hunted down. I could maybe understand why not everyone would want to jump down a Nevermore's throat, efficient as it might be, but _this_? This was something else. Not _every_ Hunter could withstand this acid like I could, but enough could that if this was an effective tactic, people would have used it by now. In my parent's stories, they hadn't even seemed to consider the possibility, so what was it that made Hunter's wary?

After several seconds of me ripping into vulnerable patches of flesh, the Goliath had enough. Its trunk curled again, spewing another acidic layer onto me, its chest, and then its front legs. I held on again, briefly pausing in my assault to cling tight to its chest once more, but it didn't even bother focusing on me this time, paying more attention to coating its forelimbs. Then, opening its mouth, it awkwardly raised one leg.

Its entire underside was on fire a moment later, spreading almost instantly from its raised limb to its belly—which really didn't seem to both the Goliath all that much, because it just put its foot back down and turned its heat breath upon the ground below it, slagging solid stone in moments. As for me, the flames rose around me in an instant, hot enough to make my skin glow like a sword from a forge, but I grit my teeth and called to Suryasta wordlessly, who snuffed out the flames in my immediate vicinity. He then had to focus to keep the Goliath's snot from _re_ igniting, but if it was just this—

I moved, senses warning me a few seconds before I saw what the Grimm was doing. Steadily slagging rock flowed into the broken crevices its stops had made and it stepped back to further melt _that_ as well. In moments, what had been a grassy plain moments before looked more like the basin of an active volcano. As soon as the burning lake had finished forming, and without the slightest hint of hesitation, the Goliath climbed in, wading through the magma before crouching in it like…

Well, like an elephant taking a bath. As if to add to that, it almost mockingly dipped its trunk into the molten rock before raising it high over its head to spew it over its back. Ejecting more of that black fluid as well, it was soon completely aflame, a state it reclined in comfortably. I, meanwhile, had to rush to keep from being dunked into the lava beneath it, beating a quick retreat to the edge of the monster's bath as it relaxed. It made no sign of pursuing me or even noticing my presence any longer, staring into the distance.

What an asshole, I thought, a tad annoyed as it continued to throw lava onto its shoulders and sink deeper into the pit. But fine, if it wanted to be like that, it was better for me, I suppose. If it was going to be stupid enough to just give me another opening, then I'd happily take it. First, I'd—

Its truck swung absently in my general direction, unleashing a black wave of fluid that I had to leap over. It didn't seem like it was even trying to hit me with it, honestly, for it merely lifted its trunk and trumpeted loudly when it missed. I landed a bit closer to the edge of the pit, crouching to prepare another attack. My fingers curled, Aura gathering around my like an invisible shroud as I prepared to Lunge for its golden eye.

A hand stopped me, curling around my ankle. I lashed out at the sudden, unexpected contact, breaking the grip to dance away a step, but my senses warning me and I spun in place and jumped high again, looking for my sudden assailants.

What I saw was a field of writhing black, spreading swiftly from where the Goliath had thrown it. It crept along the swiftly dying grass until it reached the edge of a tree which began sinking as if the ground beneath it had been replaced by quicksand. The creeping black fluid continued to shift, almost leaping in place as it began to boil. A moment later, amorphous shapes began to rise from it, stretching out their limbs as they swiftly began to gain definition, structure.

Black bodies and white masks.

The Grimm. Rising from the pitch the Goliath had spewed.

The same substance I was _covered_ in.

As if in response to that, a hand clawed at my face.

I raised my hand to shield my eyes reflexively, even as limbs began to sprout from me like branches. Wholly independent from any type of body, they reached out, grasping and tangling with my limbs to try and restrict my range of motion. For a moment, they succeeded, growing in such numbers that I was nearly bound within a cocoon of dark flesh—but then I called to my Elementals. Suryasta appeared beside me, manifesting in a physical form as he grabbed one of the offending limbs, the touch of his fingers forcing black flesh to burn and melt. He tore limbs off like that even as I struggled within, twisting awkwardly to grab ahold of whatever I could and exert enough for to tear limbs loose. In seconds, we tore away maybe two dozen arms.

It still kept us busy long enough for the rising tide of Grimm to fall on us. Trees around us fell, sinking into the growing pool of black fluid even as creatures began to rise. Ursa, Beowolves, Nevermore, and other beasts shook themselves free of the stuff as if it were the opening of a pit rather than laying atop the ground. Dozens at first, but then more, until a horde larger than the one that had assailed the White Fang stood around me, obvious to my senses even as my vision was obstructed.

"—Annoying," I snarled, Vulturnus and Levant taking shape as well, even as Suryasta's flames grew. Whatever property of the creeping liquid allowed it to both catch and withstand the Goliath's flames, it didn't seem to extend to the spawning Grimm, since they burnt nicely.

On the other hand, that wasn't enough to _keep_ them from attacking. That they had to charge through a wall of flames to reach me simply meant they reached me while on fire—a state of being that didn't seem to bother them as much as I might have hoped. Vulturnus kept the horde at bay whilst I was preoccupied, crocked forks of light leaping between opponents to the sound of sizzling flesh and cracking bone. For a moment I stood within a jagged, fluctuating circuit of light that tore through all in its path, leaving me free to deal with the increasing tide of limbs sprouting from my own body.

Then, at last, I felt water bead upon my skin as Levant and the hidden Xihai gathered moisture from the surroundings. As the first drop of water touched my skin, the flow hastened until a shimmering puddle formed on my chest, protrusions rising into the shape of fingers and then hands. As Xihai found more and more water to place under her control, it slipped over me, clawing hard at my skin in a mirror to my own actions. I felt the slime peel away, forcibly pulled off by liquid razor edges. Soon, I knelt in my own personal sphere of cleansing water, heated by Suryasta until it boiled and frothed.

It left me feeling squeaky clean.

Freed from the busying annoyance, I leapt at the created Grimm, gestures knocking loose heads and limbs as I carefully floated above the black tide. The birth of the monsters slowed as I dismembers and decapitated, coming to halt as I exterminated the annoying crowd, cutting them down like grass in the summer. I whirled towards their creator, lips pulling away from teeth as I did, and—

Paused, taking in the sight before me. While the land-bound Grimm, from the Ursa to the Creeps, had harried me to make an annoyance of themselves, an unkindness of Nevermore had flocked to the Goliath and perched on its mighty shoulders. They paused for a moment, eyes upon me, and then shook once in perfect unison before collapsing into the fluid from which they'd been made.

Except…

Above its head, the Goliath's HP bar returned to full, erasing what little progress I'd made.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

" _Dick_ ," I titled it, though it continued to ignore me dismissively. My gaze rose upwards to the ship floating above its head, keen eyes glimpsing the people held within—but though both my grandmother and Cynosarges looked on with interest in their eyes, neither moved to interfere.

I could guess why. Despite being Humanity's greatest enemy, very little was known of the Creatures of Grimm. It was generally accepted that they had _some_ way of making more of themselves quickly—few other theories held water, given their population—but their origins…for millennia we'd had to speculate without finding any answers. While the possibility that they were born from the same negativity they were so drawn to had been raised many times, even in times of peace and prosperity they swarmed in numbers far beyond anyone capability to deal with. If we assumed an intelligent, external force was responsible for their creation then even beyond the question of 'why?', it didn't add up—if they were a result of a malicious mind, it would have to be both immortal and…if not stupid then at least apathetic towards the apparent sole drive of its creations. After all, if such a person truly wished to end Humanity, it would be as simple as mobilizing enough of the monsters. There were countless theories and just as many reasons they didn't work.

And yet, at the same time…it was undeniable that the Grimm—whatever they were, wherever they came from—were too well designed to be truly natural. Countless species built for different tasks and yet who could nonetheless work together at the drop of a hat…strategic actions such as how they buried the complex Pandora Shells to claim territory…how they could grow and learn and become more dangerous threats…However much most explanations didn't seem to fit, there must have been one, a reason for their actions. They'd preyed upon Mankind since long before recorded human history, but from the very beginning…

This was an opportunity, then. However accepted it was that the Grimm could reproduce—in whatever sense of the term applied—actually _seeing_ it…

This was a goldmine of information, I knew. Just what little we had just witnessed was as invaluable as it was terrifying. If the Goliaths could produce such a large quantity of Grimm on demand, it explained a great deal about their behavior, of how they quietly stalked the outskirts of civilization and waited. Further, what it implied…could other Grimm do such a thing? What were its limits? At the very least, we hadn't been overrun so there must have been _something_ stopping them, if only sadistic whim. And that the fluid the Nevermore had turned into had healed the Goliath…what were they made of?

It was amazing, terrifying, and, most of all, very, very worrying. That it was showing us this while looking bored…the Grimm had played things close to the chest for millennia. I mean, I guess it was always possible that _some_ ancient nation had figured it all out and then somehow been destroyed anyway, but still, for _us_ …

There was no reason for it to reveal these things and yet it had. It had ventured away from the herd alone, had waited for me to attack, and now showed me all these tricks…if it was a 'you won't live to tell the tale' situation it might have been a bit more understandable, but…

"What are you planning…?" I whispered, watching the Grimm as it continued to face away from me. If I hadn't known something was up from the beginning, I'd have been sure now. It was almost as if…

My grandmother signaled me to keep fighting, probably having checked if it was safe with Hugo and Enzo and now wishing to see what else would happen, what else this strange Grimm could reveal. It would have been a lie to say I didn't feel the same way to some extent, and yet I…I had my doubts.

But in the end, I obeyed, as curious as I was wary.

Throwing my head back, I roared, letting loose with the sound for the first time in months with no fear of who might hear. Birds fled to the skies at the sound, panicked cries filling the forest as the wave of noise washed over it—but all the Goliath gave of noticing the sound was a faint twitch of an ear as it lazed about in lava. I leapt over the flaming pit, steel fist pounding into the might creatures face with enough force to make it rock slightly in placed. I rose over it, taking in the rising heat as I landed on the Goliath's back.

Smaller Grimm began to rise from the black fluid caked to its hide immediately, but I grabbed a Beowolf by the arm, used the whole of its body to sweep an Ursa into the flames below, and then broke it on the bony plates of a Boarbatusk. The boar-like Grimm brushed off the impact and then began to roll quickly towards me in its strange manner. I sidestepped at the last minute and reached out to guide its direction with my gauntleted hands, sending it over the side. A pair of Creeps rose next, followed by a quartet of Nevermore, but I punched each and every single one in the face hard enough to make their heads explode.

I wasn't in the mood to play around with these small fry, so I didn't. I tore them to pieces, sometimes literally, and swept the remains into the fires below. Then, once I was alone but for my Elementals, I returned my attention to the great beast beneath my feet. My hands came down—as fists, as claws—with force enough to sway the gigantic beast, as if a giant were pressing down upon it. I hit it again and again and again, beating a steady rhythm with thunderous blows, my Elementals doing what they could to add without drawing too much of my power away. Against Pyrrha, I'd let Levant and Suryasta run wild without thought for efficiency, simply enjoying the game, but here…I couldn't waste my MP on such wasteful displays. I made them focus their assaults, making each hit count.

The Goliath didn't even bother feigning interest. After a minute of steady pounding, I'd whittled away maybe five percent of its health—pretty good against something at least fifty levels above me and far faster then I'd have managed at range, but…it didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the attacks, dismissing them as completely unimportant. And I suppose they were, if it could restore its health, too, even if it wasn't bothering to do so now. And yet, the way it was acting…for it to behave this way, I couldn't help but wonder if…

But I kept attacking anyway, unsure of what to do but to continue to slowly whittle away its health. But as another minute of steady pounding slowly passed, it raised its trunk and trumpeted sharply. The sound was louder this time by far, echoing as my roar had before it—so loud I had to pause for a moment as I actually _felt_ the sound, from my bones to my brain. In its wake, the forest was silent for a moment, up until it was broken by the reply.

A familiar shriek made me look up, eyes widening as I saw dark shapes take flight in the distance—a trio of Giant Nevermore rising into the air. They flew towards us instantly, eyes focused on me the moment they turned my way.

Right, I thought. Of course; the stronger creatures of Grimm could command the lesser ones—everyone knew that. I…hadn't expected this, but given that, I suppose it wasn't that surprising. First it had created Grimm to fight me; what was summoning allies compared to that? I wasn't scared. If it was just a Giant Nevermore, or even _three_ Giant Nevermore, it wasn't something for me to be scared of.

Yet again I hesitated, looking down.

"Do you…" I muttered. "Are you _trying_ to make me stronger…? What are you up to, you damn monster?"

I didn't receive a reply, not that I expected one—but the thought felt right, now that I spoke it aloud. The Goliath couldn't have been sending enemies my way in an attempt to kill me—it couldn't have expected its minions to be enough before and I doubted it believed these Giant Nevermore would fare better. More than that, it didn't seem bothered in the slightest when they failed and died or when I continued my attack. What it was doing now…what was it thinking? What did it know that I didn't? Did it _want_ me to…?

…I had no idea what was happening, but I didn't like it. I considered running away; to flee rather than go along with whatever the Grimm might be planning. But on the other hand…if I left it alone and never found out…would it be better if I never knew what it was doing? Or would that just…

"Damn it," I growled as the Nevermore drew near, leaping into the sky. The Goliath didn't so much as raise its head, continuing to in the lava pit.

Waiting.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Guide**

I threw myself high into the air, until I was all but floating amidst black wings. They seemed to flap in slow motion around me, the beat of each wing exaggerated by my accelerated perceptions. I flipped in midair, motions guided by Levant's gentle hands, and landed in a slight crouch upon the first Nevermore's beak. I placed my left hand against on its head to steady myself, gleaming steel shining against its dark brow—

And then I punched it. I hit it as hard as I could and where the results of my improved strength had been hard to notice on the impossibly durable Goliath or the pathetically fragile lesser Grimm, it shone quickly through on the Nevermore. My fist sank into its brow, as if impacting against a pillow or a sponge instead of bone, and dark fluid sprayed when I tore it loose again. I held on tightly with my left hand as quivers of sudden shock and pain rippled through the Grimm, fingers driving fully into the beast's skull to get a firmer grip as I reared back and struck it again and again without pause or mercy. Each blow sank deeper than the last until I was driving my hand fully through the bone of its skull and all the way up to the elbow into the softer materials within.

The Grimm died before it even had time to truly begin to fall, its last spasms keeping it vaguely aloft as I tore my arms loose along with bits of brain matter and skull, flying away to the next target.

The other two Nevermore had drawn up short as I murdered their comrade, pulling upwards so that their bellies were to me. They flapped their wings mightily and sent feathers rushing towards me like midnight daggers, each as long as I was tall and more than capable of impaling a grown man.

I walked through it, hopping from feather to feather as they hung suspended in the air around me and making my way quickly to their source. I Lunged as I drew closer, steel claws raking as I leapt to its breast and began to tear at it searchingly. I felt my claws catch on something as I dug deeper, scraping wetly against the bones of enormous ribs, but I simple planted my feet against its quickly soaking feathers and grabbed the bone hard. Shifting my shoulders and pulled with a mighty growl, I Ripped a chunk of the rib loose and tossed it away. Driving my arm deeper into the wound, I felt things move against it—squeezing, flowing, pounding, and more; strange sensations against my adamant flesh—but merely used those motions to find what lay within it and grasp ahold.

Whatever it was, I tore it out with enough force that my feet slipped in its blood soaked hide and nearly sent my falling away. Gritting my teeth, I held on through pure strength, clawed hands grabbing hold of fresh patches of skin and sinking in to the knuckles. Pulling myself up even as the Nevermore began to fall, I crawled across the dying beast's flesh on all fours, up to where its wing met its body and then over onto its back. As it flopped and spun awkwardly in death, I stayed in position, waiting—and then leapt straight up with all the power my legs could muster.

As I rocketed past the last remaining creature, I saw it flap its wings once, evading my trajectory—probably having already learned what fate awaited those who came too near. I saw intelligence in its eyes—not on the level of the Goliath, perhaps, but still there in a testament to why it had managed to grow so large. A fierce, refined animal cunning, sharped over years or decades of life, made it fly back, circling me fearlessly but not carelessly as it looked for a weakness to exploit.

But it was already far too close to do anything but die.

I reached the apex of my jump and fell all of ten centimeters, before Levant formed a solid sheet of air beneath my feet. I stood on an invisible platform high above the earth, intent sharpening as I crouched, aimed myself, and then pounced upon my final opponent. It flapped its wings hard, angling itself out of my trajectory, but I merely reached out to touch something invisible, landed in a crouch half upside-down, and adjusted my direction. It flinched reflexively as I went for the eyes, but I caught it by several feathers and swung myself around to sit astride the back of its neck.

I held my hand out flat and then drove it up to the elbow into the place where its head met its neck. There was a jerk on its part, a flex on mine, and then it was over and the last Nevermore began its fall from the skies.

Grabbing the spike that protruded from its mask absently, I held on and rode the beast to earth as windows appeared before my eyes.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

Four, I thought. Exactly enough.

I didn't know why I was surprised. Long ago, when I'd done only a fraction of the work in killing the first Giant Nevermore I'd ever faced, I'd received five levels from the proportionally reduced experience. Less than a day ago, killing one along with a small army of weaklings had netted me two. After killing _three_? Gaining four levels wasn't odd. No, without a doubt, the number itself wasn't surprising.

How perfectly everything seemed to line up, though…was it planned, somehow? Was this a fortunate coincidence or a hidden trap?

I braced myself slightly, riding out the impact as the Grimm's corpses slammed hard into the ground and dragged across it. Hopping down as it came to a halt, I turned my gaze to the only Grimm remaining, the waiting Goliath in its pit. I saw yellow eyes gleam as they at last turned to me, but it didn't rise from its place, didn't even make a sound. I grit my teeth at it, briefly frustrated until my calm returned, but though I was uncertain, though I still didn't know what it could possibly be planning—

"—Fine," I said, shoulders relaxing. "I'll play this messed up game to the end."

I drew up my status screen and reached out to touch an arrow and put all my stocked points into Wisdom. It was hard to describe how it felt, because I couldn't truly say that I _felt_ wiser—I felt uncertain and worried and was still left wondering if I was doing was the right thing—but I felt _different_ at least, in a way that was hard to really place or describe. Wisdom was tricky that way, I guess, but maybe things would be clearer when I raised it over a Hundred instead of just to ninety.

Perhaps that'd even be soon, I thought, reaching into my Inventory to draw out my prize. At the very least, my decision hadn't changed, either.

 **You obtained the skill book 'White Tiger of the West.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

"Is this what you want?" I murmured, eyes on the Goliath as I searched for any hint of its intentions, any sign that I wasn't somehow doing something stupid. But it didn't react in the slightest to the book's appearance, didn't so much as twitch as it stared back at me. Perhaps it was masking its response. More likely, whatever it was after had nothing to do with the book that, really, it should have no way of knowing about to begin with. Whatever the case, I didn't get anything from it.

One way or another, this was solely my own decision.

I tried not to feel worried about that as I accepted the prompt.

 **You've obtained the skill 'White Tiger of the West.'**

 **White Tiger of the West (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% HP: 1000 MP: 1000  
Legend tells of how a tiger rose from a thousand years of battle to rule as the King of Beasts and the God of War. The ultimate technique of Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West, is a skill that grants a surge of tremendous power at great cost. Aura surges around the user in patterns that have become ingrained into their very souls—and through the sacrificing their base mortal frames, the glory within shines through.  
The skills 'White Tiger's Tread,' 'Claws of the White Tiger,' and 'White Tiger's Five Hundred Years' are activated at no additional cost.  
The skills 'Jaws of the White Tiger,' 'White Tiger's Lunge,' and 'White Tiger's Roar' may freely enhance applicable actions at no additional cost.  
Double the effectiveness of all skills activated in such a way.  
HP may be spent instead of MP for all skills besides White Tiger of the West.  
Additional 1000 HP used per 10 seconds.  
Additional 1000 MP used per 10 seconds.**

I closed my eyes for a moment as the knowledge flowed into me in a rush of sensation that swept past my mind and echoed throughout my very being. It felt…it was hard to describe, but almost as if I was awakening someone's Aura, brushing away the detritus that hide the light within them. Except, I'd already had all that removed, or so I'd thought. But perhaps…

Perhaps the soul wasn't something so easily understood.

I didn't find anything new when I brushed the dirt away, didn't grasp any unknown wells of power—but I found a bit more of myself. Details that had been hidden under an invisible coating of grim, every inch covered in fine detail by…by everything that made me who I was, I suppose; all the moments that had shaped me, however slightly. As I shook myself loose of that concealing dust, my soul drew closer to the shackles that held it bound, and for a moment I feared I might spontaneously combust. There was a light within me that burnt like a sun and I thought that insignificant things like flesh and blood and bone would evaporate at its expanding touch.

But somehow, it didn't. I thought, perhaps, that it might have been a near thing, something narrowly held in check, but it stayed just beneath the surface and contained itself for the sake of my mortal coil. It seemed like a careful balance, as if my adamant body was shirt far too small for it and the wrong move would tear it at the seems—but for the moment, that didn't happen. I thought that if I left it alone and didn't poke it with anything, it might miraculously stay that way.

That's not what I did, though. Instead, I took a breath and a step and without another word, unleashed Bai Hu's masterpiece. It wasn't a complex technique, not truly—not a grand expression of advanced Aura theory or anything like that. It was something more basic and personal; a simple art honed to utter perfect through endless use, until sheer mastery of form had eventually led to something more. My soul blew outwards, expanding from the heart of my being to beyond it. It wasn't a slight thing, like the common minor spillage of Aura into the visible spectrum.

No; it erupted.

It _engulfed_ me.

Power and white light surrounded me, rising from my skin as much as it shined through it. It grew around me until it had a shape of its own—not a mere outline, but an image in its own right, overlaying me. A tail that extended beyond the length of own and claws that grew past my fingers, all of it shining like the sun. For a moment, that light was pure and untainted, but then stains began to appear, traces of darkness that coiled and stretched and spun markings above my skin.

Black and white, I thought. Like a White Tiger's strips. Something caused by the technique or by my actions?

I supposed it didn't matter.

My fingers flexed and the claws of my soul danced, slightly out of sync with the motions of my body; the twitching of my tails did the same. As my heart pounded in my chest to the rhythm of pulsing light, I could feel my body on one level and my soul on another—closely intertwined, but not fully bound together. It was a dangerous state to be in, enough that I felt my body burning at both ends.

'It will not last the night,' I mused and chuckled slightly as I remembered the poem I'd read…somewhere.

But yes…it really did cast a lovely light.

With no time to waste, I attacked.

It reacted as I closed the distance moving with a speed that even I struggled to believe was possible for a creature that size. There was no denying what was right before my eyes, though, and lava sloshed as it came to its feet in the created pit. It trumpeted again, a blast of sound I perceived only because I could _see_ the waves of sound expand through the air. I made a note to adjust Levant's power again later and compensate for the shift to allow me to hear, but for the moment I relied completely on my sight. The sound wave rippled past me, a thrumming note I could just barely hear as I tore through the air, and then the trunk swung down at me.

It was fast—far faster now than it had been when first it had taken me by surprise, lashing through the space in what would have barely been a blur of motion for someone without my vision and speed. I saw a sharp crack extend behind the oncoming limb, an explosion of pressure and sound that couldn't keep pace with, but the majority of my focus stayed on point.

It was fast, amazingly so. There was no denying that.

But I was so much faster.

As the attack came towards me, I reached out towards it with a hand and the white light around my arm leapt forth, elongating in an instant. It stretched out beyond the limits of my flesh and white and black contrasted with a surge of light as contact was made. It was far too much force for me to stop outright, far too much to even _try_ , but I didn't need to _halt_ the attack, just get past it. Instead of attempting to resist that tremendous power—which would have been a foolish thing to try while completely airborne regardless—my Aura's hand touched it at an angle and I used it as a pivot to adjust my position ever so slightly, a process assisted when I brought up my other hand to do the same. I drew myself up onto the massive trunk while it was still in motion, held on with glowing claws, and didn't even slow down as I ran up its length on all fours. Spectral limbs grew to match the length of my arms with those of my legs, and I slide easily into the motions of a quadruped; so easily in fact, that I surprised even myself.

But I didn't question it, nor did I hesitate. The phantasmal figure shrouding my body shifted between one moment and the next, becoming a little less human and a bit more feline, and I didn't so much as miss a beat despite clinging to the still moving limb with the same hands I used to run along it. As the truck finished its arc with a snap, there was a rush of motion that threatened to throw me loose, but my claws merely lengthened within the beast's flesh and I continued with no more than a bracing pause. The White Tiger's Lunge came to me so effortlessly now that I didn't even need to think about it as I leapt towards the Goliath's head and hit it with all the force I could muster.

In that instant, my soul shrank back to my skin, shifting smoothly from aiding motion to empowering the strike, and I felt my life and soul flow into the attack, strengthening the blow with my active skills. My Aura responded to the skills, brightening into something fierce and deadly, until it was almost scalding to look at as its shape changed fluidly for just an instant when the attack landed.

There was a flash of light, a rush of sound I couldn't hear, and a ripple of dark flesh that proceeded to _burst_ —and it was enough to knock the Goliath _back_ , sending viscous lava sloshing away from it as its mighty legs dragged across the unseen bottom. I saw another ripple of sound as it cried again, truck rising, but I had no intention of giving it any room to breathe now. As the first strike landed, phantasmal limbs peeled away from flesh, bifurcating at the shoulder and hip to sink shining claws into its skin. I held myself aloft that way, the limbs of a tiger holding me suspended in reach of the Goliath, and I took advantage of it to follow through with a dozen blows. Each sent the Goliath's durable hide rippling like a stone thrown into a pond, and sent massive waves of impact outwards, fueled by my expended Aura.

I hit it hard enough to drive it to the edge of the pit—and then I hit it hard enough to _break_ that edge and send it slowly sliding up the edge to solid ground. It lashed at me, each blow containing force enough to erase city blocks and each equally pointless in the face of an utter inability to hit me. It thrashed and shook its head, trying to shake me loose, but the claws of my soul held on tightly, holding me firm. I drove my fists _into_ its skin, ripping loose kilograms of bloody flesh, and dancing around its grasping trunk to give it chastising blows. I saw the Goliath's HP bar begin to drop quickly at the damage I wrought with each passing second and saw the beast reel under the onslaught.

Then it did something new.

Its trunk curled up to point my way, but the split second's warning my senses provided was more than enough to react. The light around my left arm spun together suddenly and then shot outwards as a Vorpal Lash, sinking slightly into the underside of the Goliath's trunk. An instant later, the trunk spewed the dark fluid I'd expected, but…different somehow. I simply reeled myself over it, pulling my body out of the way and landing on the trunk. I knew instantly that something was wrong when my senses continued to warn me and as my soul's limbs untangled and sank their claws deep into the Goliath's flesh, I prepared to leap out of the way of the its response.

Yet even though I dodged the attack completely, the Goliath remained as it was, spewing more and more of the dark liquid over itself. Clinging fast to the creature's skin, the substance immediately began to quiver and shake as it had when it produced the Grimm before.

But what it did this time was a tad more worrying. Boney white plates floated to the surface, as if they'd long been trapped deep within. They grew into place around the Goliath like a set of armor, covering the flesh the liquid touched. Red symbols grew in patterns across it like war paint and vicious looking spikes sprouted like grass from any openings left between the plates.

I stared for a moment as the Goliath grew its own suit of armor—or perhaps an exoskeleton?—and then refocused on my task by clawing into the trunk. My overlaying claws grasped massive handfuls of the Grimm's flesh at a frantic pace, tearing loose chunk after chunk while the flesh was still vulnerable, tearing into it with edges of Aura and steel alike. As the Goliath finished armoring its head and back, I tore at everything in reach, tossing bits and pieces aside carelessly and when my Elementals returned to my side, I saw Suryasta and Vulturnus join the fray by assailing the jets the Goliath spewed and igniting them. While I appreciated the effort, I knew full well that a creature who wallowed in _lava_ wouldn't mind the flames. Worse, it didn't even slow the metamorphosis, as the armor continued to rise even through the fire, plates snuffing it out as they formed.

A glance was all I needed to know I had to focus on weak points—on the places it couldn't reach or hadn't reached yet. While I was confident in my offensive power and in my ability to wear through any defense eventually, if the Goliath's armor was as durable as I suspected, then time could easily become an issue. I needed to do as much damage as I could before its defenses were in place and I started with its trunk. Though its mouth may have been the source of its most _damaging_ attack, the trunk was by far the most _dangerous_ simple for all the options it brought to the table; it could attack, heal, grow defenses, and summon minions, so I felt it really needed a case of amputation. After several seconds of focused effort, I was elbow deep in its flesh, scooping out massive chunks with each motion, working to tear it away.

Of course, once it finished armoring its back, it swept its trunk down and let it hang in front of its open mouth, forcing me to leap away as quickly as I could before a tremendous blast of radiation sent me flying. I stopped myself in midair, crouching horizontally on a quick air platform, and then flung myself back into the fray, bouncing down towards the lava and then up to the Grimm's belly from another air platform. I slammed into its stomach hard enough that I thought I lifted its feet from the ground, but the Grimm merely continued to hose itself down, trunk curling this way and that to spray further. I pounded it fiercely, my strength so greatly increased that each blow clipped away a visible, if tiny, sliver of health, something that probably wasn't going to hold true for much longer.

I focused on dealing damage to it until it focused its attentions on its underside, truck stretching to cover as much of its body as possible and sending me scurrying away in the process. I started tearing into its back legs and hindquarters as a frustrated last resort—but even then, it merely curved itself as much as possible to continue the growth of its armor and forcing me to finally back off a step. Landing on open air, I bit down a curse as the Goliath finished its transformation and stood completely armored before me, the once dark creature now almost completely devoid of the color black. Pounding my way through all that…

Well, no choice but to do it, I supposed, taking a breath. I'd whittled it down to about two-thirds of its health over the course of that sustained assault; if I could keep it from healing itself and get rid of that goddamn trunk and deal with any more surprises it had in store, I could probably win eventually. That armor was going to slow things down a lot, a worrying concern given how much MP my new skill devoured, but since I could pay for most of my techniques with HP so long as I remained in this state…and with several of my most used skills now free…

It was definitely worth the cost. If I had to, I'd just pound it until its armor cracked, but…

I sincerely considered trying to attack it from the inside, as I'd done to the Nevermore, but using such a method on a creature with a powerful breath weapon…well, it seemed a tad unwise. No, I suppose I had to do this the old fashioned way.

Oh well.

I cracked my knuckles once and nodded to myself resolutely. As I prepared to return to the fight, though, another window appeared.

"Finally," I said, smiling fiercely. "I'd almost thought I was wrong."

 **You've received the title 'White Tiger of the West.'**

 **White Tiger of the West  
Through complete mastery of his art, you have taken up the mantle of the great Bai Hu, assuming your position as his true heir! By learning every skill in the White Tiger style and achieving the title 'Heir to the White Tiger,' you have proven your worth beyond a shadow of a doubt! There is no more for you to learn; show your power and stand above all as the true White Tiger—a king among beasts and a god of war!  
100% increase the damage of White Tiger techniques.  
100% increase to the defense granted by White Tiger techniques.  
50% decrease in the cost of White Tiger techniques.  
Status: White Tiger's Star [High]**

It's a good day for changes, I thought, gesturing once. My body shook as replaced my title, trembling fiercely as pain set fire to my nerves as I began to change. It was a greater shift this time, a more encompassing one set to a music of breaks and stretches. I felt myself grow slightly taller, saw my hair length slightly as if I'd suddenly aged several years, but those were minor things in the big picture. The greatest shift was less obvious from the outside, though it left me feeling as if someone had briefly replaced my blood with molten steel. I'd expected it, in a way—the greatest change for the greatest title, accompanied by all the pain that implied. How it would manifest, I wasn't entirely sure, but I felt the changes take hold in my muscles and my bones.

And then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. I was left panting hard but also laughing, brushing my longer hair out of my eyes as I did so to get it out of the way. I felt different, like I was truly in someone else's skin—and maybe I was. Or at least, I was wearing a skin that wasn't wholly my own, now; I didn't examine myself too closely, but looking down at myself, I could see where my features mixed with those of another.

Skin, I thought again and laughed a bit more. Yeah, I suppose that was all this was—a different 'skin,' a change in a character model. 'Jian Bing unlocked' or something to that effect.

It didn't matter, really. What happened to this body…well, a lot of the time, it just didn't matter. That this form was stronger— _that_ meant something. I didn't really care what it meant leaving behind.

Still…I was going needed more MP if I was going to do this right. And to start with…

I withdrew the cartridge my grandmother had given me, sliding my thumb across the crystals. There were several colors I'd never had the chance to use with Soulforge, but now…

Two should be enough for the moment, I thought. And a chance to experiment.

 **The Status Effect, "Mountain's Strength", has been created. Duration: 30 seconds.**

 **The Status Effect, "Unbroken Steel", has been created. Duration: 30 seconds.**

"There we go," I said, cracking my neck—just for show, but it certainly made me feel cool. The Goliath seemed to preoccupied checked to make sure he hadn't missed a spot to be suitably impressed, but oh well. "Shall we continue?"

The Goliath snorted and looked at me, apparently content with its work. It lifted its trunk and fired without another sound.

I was already in motion.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Success**

I threw myself towards the Goliath, rushing straight through the attack to reach him. Having moved a second earlier thanks to the warnings of my senses, I covered most of the distance before it even unleashed the blast and flew through the rest after but a few moments of exposure. My body heated from my adamant skin to far deeper and for a moment I felt like I was being boiled from the inside, but the sensation passed as I escaped the attack and smashed into the beast's forehead. I struck it with all my might and I drove it _back,_ its mighty legs carving trenches as they were forced across the ground.

Immediately, the Goliath's trunk curled up to reach me, black fluid flying from the tip before it was even in place. Levant formed a body behind me and erected a barrier of wind to shield me from the attack as my soul shifted, tiger like limbs forming and raking the Goliath with tooth and nail. The dark liquid splattered around me and on the ground far below, immediately frothing wherever it connected with the latter. In moments, Grimm began to pull themselves from it, many of them flying species probably meant to reach the Goliath and heal its wounds—but this time, I was ready for that trick.

Vulturnus and Suryasta coalesced in the air above the newborn Grimm and fell upon them. Suryasta grabbed one by the throat and dragged it as dark mist began to boil forth from its mouth and nose, squeezing down to shear through its neck and strike another monster. My fire Elemental waded fearlessly into the fray with his bare hands, assured by the fact that his very body was made of searing flames. Whatever he touched burned. Whatever touched him burnt even more. He'd reach out to stick fingers into the flesh of the Grimm, planting points of light like seeds and moving on without paying them any more heed, leaving them to try and claw futilely at their chests and limbs. In the end, it made no difference; flames erupted forth from their flesh, eyes, and throats as the seeds grew larger inside them, growing into orbs that melted flesh around them like wax.

Though he had seemed to enjoy showing off against Pyrrha, he was taking a slightly more minimalist approach now, probably thanks to my request not to be wasteful. As it was, most of the deaths he caused were probably still needlessly extreme, but he was dispatching the Grimm quickly with a relatively small drain on my HP. As long as I could maintain the White Tiger of the West, I could burn my easily restored HP instead of my far more precious MP, so I let him do his thing and destroy the Grimm on the ground.

Vulturnus handled the air. The Lightning Elemental's expression changed between instants, but though his presence in my fluctuated too quickly to make out anything intelligible, I thought he was laughing. His right arm shifted until it was a seething mass of electrical energy that was only vaguely human—it was too large for his body, with oversized, sharp looking fingers. His left arm dissolved entirely, becoming nothing more than a constantly forking stream of lightning that struck the Nevermore from the sky, seemingly at random. Though I gave him no more than a glance, I could see 'paths' in the air, hundreds of invisible lines that weaved through the air like a net and then resolved into a single strike whenever a line was touched.

Though they formed right beside the Goliath, none of the Grimm even came close to reaching it, much less heal its wounds. I nodded to myself, content that they'd be able to handle any created minions, and so focused on my own task—trying to dig through the Goliath's defense.

It was going…slowly. I had to curl my claws around the edges of armor plates instead of into flesh, because the Grimm's hide was no longer so easily penetrated. If before I'd been like a cat clawing at a person's skin—dealing a small but potentially dangerous amount of damage, especially when attacking as much as I did—now it was like I was clawing at steel, unable to leave anything meaningful upon it. I pounded it instead, relying on blunt force impacts as my Elementals protected me from distractions, but…

It wasn't enough. I felt the Mountain's Strength in action, boosting my might even high above the lofty heights I'd managed to reach until each blow rang against the armor like thunder and drove the beast further and further back—but it wasn't _enough_.

What I needed, I thought as I broke off to climb swiftly up the Goliath's face, were better claws.

I hadn't had a chance to test it yet, but…it was worth a shot.

Getting into a better position upon the Goliath's back and holding firm with phantasmal limbs as it tried to shake me off, I reached into my Inventory and withdrew one of my precious Dust crystals. I'd chosen yellow after a moment of brief deliberation; red, its nearest competitor for what I had in mind, seemed unlikely to work on the Goliath, while green and blue would need for care to make work. No, of the Elements I had experience with, Lightning would probably be the most effective to start with.

I took a breath and slammed it to my chest, right over my heart. I felt my pattern adjust to take it in, responding as I'd learned from my grandmother's gift, and the crystal slipped through my fingers to vanish beneath my skin. I had a moment's pause to brace myself before the agony took hold, like I…well, like I was being electrocuted. My nerves went haywire, muscles jerked and twitched at the shock—and then it eased, my body taking it in.

Dust Eater—one of the two archaic forms of Dust manipulation my grandmother had provided me with. It was the process of infusing Dust into one's own body, much like Dust Weaver was the act of sowing it into clothing; arts that had been mostly left behind by the more convenient and controllable methods of powder and rounds. Bodies would be strained, clothing would fray, and in both cases the process of replacing Dust as it was used was tedious or painful. But for me…

My heart glowed, light shining through my skin with each beat, pace quickening by the moment. In seconds, one flash all but faded into the next and trails of yellow light spread down my limbs in glowing patterns. My heart pounded in my chest faster then I'd ever felt before, beating so hard it seemed to hammer the inside of my ribs, but I felt _power_ , too, running through my blood like a circuit on full blast.

And then it reached my Aura.

In an instant, it changed—white light giving way to yellow and then became _lightning_. As the power of the Dust crystal writhed over my skin, the shape my soul had taken shifted once more. It went wild, my second tail unraveling into a wicked lightning bolt while the rest became a storm, a vague shape with features written in blinding light and racing arcs. I leapt down from my resting place and back down to face the Goliath, ghostly limbs extending as I landed on a tusk, tails wrapping around it securely. And then, like a lightning bolt, I struck; energy of my tail flowed down into the bone of its tusk while clawed fingered extended towards a single glowing eye. It was as hard as it looked, more like the polished rock it resembled than anything vulnerable—but it was _softer_ , at least compared to its armor, and I poured every watt of electricity I had straight into it even as I clawed at it fiercely. The power flowed from the core of my body in a stream that made my body sizzle and I had to bite down a scream, but I guided it into the creature's flesh all the same.

With a clap of thunder, its eye burst, exploding into pus, steam, and a dark fluid that flowed down its mask even as the tusk I'd stood atop cracked from within. The Goliath screamed, for the first time sounding truly pained, and shook its head madly to try and throw me loose.

I go of let it, flying away at the peak of a shake, curving in the air with a moment's aid from Levant as I withdrew a green crystal. Encouraged by the amount of damage Lightning had caused, I took more of the Dust into myself and my Aura, only just returned to normal, unraveled into wind to a brief feeling of coming undone. In that moment, it was like I was standing in the center of a tornado or a hurricane—the touch of it against my skin was almost peaceful, but I could see the _storm_ of it all, especially through the eyes of Levant. I stood on the air with my own power and then strode through the skies on all fours within a tiger of wind.

The Goliath reacted as I came down upon it. Its trunk swept at me but I slipped over it, flowing the path of displaced air as if it were an actual road. The Goliath planted its feet as I struck, as if bowing against a storm, and then unleashed a cry as it swung its trunk up, blasting at me with radiation. I slide into its blind spot easily, sliding past the side of its head and leapt onto its flank. Whereas before I held on to it with my tiger claws and struck with my human hands, here we switched tasks; I hovered with my wind-shrouded human hands and feet mere centimeters above its skin and ran under its belly and then back up the other side. My tiger's limbs trailed claws as my tails fanned, doing little damage.

That was fine. They weren't supposed to.

Halting for an instant, I unleashed the storm with a roar and it struck hard, following the course I'd set. I hit the Goliath's side as it did, pushing against it with all the force I could muster as the winds gathered beneath and against it. Levant added her power to the process with a beautiful laugh and perhaps that was the breaking point, for at last, the Goliath fell, crashing to the ground like an avalanche.

I came down on its side like a meteor, flickering between its body and platforms in the sky to strike it again and again. It tried to struggle to its feet, but its large body made the process awkward and I did absolutely nothing to help. In fact, I did my absolute best to try and make things as hard for it as possible.

Speaking of which…

I paused for just a moment, landing upside-down on one of Levant's platforms and then crawling to stand on the other side. With a gesture, I fetched my grandmother's gift from my Inventory and gazed at it ponderingly. I'd already used four Dust crystals—two to restore myself fully and now two for this—but…no, this tactic was _working_ ; it'd probably take less Dust in the long run to end things this way. And beyond which…it was _really_ cool. I'd done it with Lighting and Air to awesome effect, though Fire probably wouldn't work quite as well in this case. I wasn't sure how Water would manifest, but it probably wasn't the best choice for this situation, either. I still had a fair number of yellow and green crystals, but…perhaps I could try something new?

I glanced over the colors, several standing out to me. A part of me had wanted to see what status effects they'd grant me, but…I _could_ just buy more or ask my mother or grandmother to. If it was just a single sample, the cost wasn't _that_ big of an issue. So, then, perhaps…

Sliding my thumb over the smooth crystals, I decided.

"Purple," I said with an eager smile, crawling back under the platform as quickly as I'd gone over and holding onto it with my claws as I brought a hand to my heart.

My white aura flashed pitch black and then everything nearby fell into the sky.

Everything that wasn't planted in the ground rose into the air and began to revolve around me. Stray leaves, dirt, the cooling lava in the nearby pit, large boulders, and even the massive Goliath—it didn't matter how heavy they were, because I wasn't fighting against the pull of gravity—I was _redirecting_ it. Around the black form of my tiger self, a wide sphere began to form, keeping everything at a short distance but floating helplessly around me otherwise.

I Lunged down to earth as quickly as I could, power shifting to allow it, and as I touched the ground everything on that side of my sphere slammed into it at the same speed. I rose back to my platform in a blink and came down again just as fast, over and over and over again. The Goliath, my enemy and target, bore the brunt of my attack, crashing into the ground with each leap. A fall from such a height meant little enough to me, but for something like an elephant, even a normal fall could tear away skin, such were the size of their bodies.

The Goliath was bigger than an elephant. A _lot_ bigger and a _lot_ heavier. Take the square/cube law into account and…well, long story short, it had a lot of mass. For something that size, slamming into the ground at the speeds I was capable moving at was an enormous threat—doing it dozens of times, far more so. The ground broke as it fell with me, the cliff side breaking as I leapt again, and then I set up a pattern, trapping it between rocks and hard places. It carved massive furrows in the ground with its body as I ran through the forest, set fissures racing through the ground as I brought it down on mighty trees again and again, and was generally battered as I pulled him along for a wild ride.

The Goliath tried to fight back, to struggle against my hold, but it was as futile as…well, as trying to fight gravity. It had nothing to hold onto, nothing to stop its rise or descent but the cruel, cruel ground below, no way to even adjust itself in its orbit. Without any way to fly or restrain itself, it was powerless against my pull and I used that to its full effect, wielding it like a blade against its body. I dragged out the effect of the crystal instead of expending it in one use as I'd done with Lighting and Air before it, prolonging the change to try and get the most out of it and hurt him as much as possible.

And I succeeded. As I slammed him down into mighty trees, as I pulled him into cliffs, as I made him fall again and again—I _hurt_ him. I broke rocks upon him and broke him on the rocks, until spider webs of cracks raced across his armored form, deep impacts on its body shattering it in places and cutting it deeply. I did more damage to it this way then I'd done in the entire fight prior, tearing away chunks of its HP with every fall, whittling it away as I ruined the cliffs and shattered the earth. Against the altered force of gravity, it was a toy in the teeth of a dog.

As I felt the crystal's power running its course despite my best efforts, I rose high into the air, first to the platform Levant had maintained and then higher and higher still. I passed my grandmother's ship in altitude, glancing at it from where it watched so far away, and went higher still. In the seconds I had left, I jumped from platform to platform until the air thinned and my normal eyes would have seen nothing but carpets of green and brown on the ground below—

And with a snap, the effect gave out and my Aura turn from black back to white. The Goliath and everything else I'd caught within my hold found themselves abruptly forced back into Mother Nature's merciless grasp and began to fall.

I gave them a few second's head start and then followed them down. I pulled my grandmother's gift from my Inventory with a hand, thumb tracing across the pattern I'd already memorized, and found the crystal I was looking for with the searching touch of my power.

In a crushing instant, my Aura turned to stone around me, shifting from bright light to solid matter in a flash. It continued to move as if there'd been no change, stone limbs as flexible as any of the elements before them, and it was from within a stone tiger man that I landed upon the Goliath's belly. I slammed into it like a falling star, Suryasta and Levant appearing at my side to gather and ignite the air and hasten our descent. I pushed the Goliath down as fast as I could, flames trailing behind me as I tried to keep track off our position relative to the ground.

My senses cried out at the last second and I released the beast, leaping aside as it crashed into the ground hard enough to make it feel like there was an earthquake. The ground shattered around my feet as well, but it was nothing compared to the cloud of soil and debris that shot into the air as the Goliath's body drove a crater into the ground. It was enough to hide him completely from sight, but I showed no mercy and refused to let up on him, dashing into the cloud on the legs of a mighty stone beast.

It took only moments to find him, the blinding cloud doing nothing to hinder my sight. It laid on its side, every breath sounding pained as its limbs struggled and twitched weakly. Its armor was broken, its body nearing its end, and so I went in for the kill without hesitation. I leapt upon it with crushing force and lethal grace, striking with stone claws and teeth as I moved towards its head, and jumped down to land on the cracked tusk before its ruined eye. Its mask and face were as much a ruin as the rest of its body, cracked and torn in the wake of my onslaught. At some point, the damage I'd caused to its trunk had been worsened and it had been all but torn away by the many falls. I glanced from its cracked mask to its one remaining eye—

There was something in there that made me pause against my will. It wasn't pain, for there seemed little of that in its gaze. It wasn't even anger, surprisingly, no sign of hatred. It was…I wasn't sure, but it made alarms ring in my head.

Triumph, perhaps? Whatever it was, it was frightening to see it in the eyes of a fallen enemy.

Its shredded trunk twitched once, mouth opening, and it was enough to snap me from my stupor. Wrapping my stone tail around the base of the tusk reflexively, I heaved with all my might against the fracture I'd caused with my lightning, leveraging against it with my stone body—and with a crack, the scorched tusk broke free. I lifted it high with one hand, angling its wicked point, and drove it into the beats ruined eye with all of my strength before Lunging forward to force it deeper still.

The Goliath twitched once, the light in its remaining eye unchanged, and then went still, head dropping with a crash.

I was panting hard as I jumped to the ground, stone body going still around me. No longer strengthened by my Aura, tearing out of it was easy enough, but then I leaned against it and slide to the earth, light fading from around me. I felt truly exhausted for a moment before strength flowed back into me as windows appeared.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

I laughed happily and rose to my feet as if nothing happened. Ten levels. I'd gone up _ten levels_ —fourteen total if you count the Giant Nevermore, which brought me up to forty-six. That was…that was _amazing_. As I was now, without a doubt, I was…

Smiling brightly, I came around the edge of the statue I'd left, gazing at the Goliath's corpse. Already, dark clouds of smoke were rising from the body, but I searched it slowly until I found what I was looking for arranged neatly beside it and went over to see what I'd gotten.

There was money, of course—and plenty enough of it, at that. It'd be useful, when I needed to buy more supplies; I was really hard on Dust and what I had now wasn't going to last much longer if things kept happening to me. There was a mask as well, which I'd also expected, but which was just as useful. It was shaped like the Goliath's mask, of course, and it would cover my entire face as I'd expected. Those two things were pretty much a given.

But beneath the money and the mask were two more items. Neither was unexpected, per se, but I hadn't known what else would appear this time—sometimes I got items, sometimes I got books, and this time, as with the Giant Nevermore, I got both. A white book with a dark sphere in the center and some type of decorated white cloth I didn't recognize, held together in several places with what looked like Grimm bone armor. Pondering it all quietly, I picked the bundle up and watched the windows appear.

 **You have obtained 450000 Lien!**

 **You have obtained the item 'Ganesha.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Airavata.'**

 **You obtained the skill book 'Naraka.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

I shook my head in irritation. I'd hoped the names would reveal something about the items, but none of it meant anything to me—not unusual for the drops I got, but still a little annoying. More than that…I was still a bit nervous because of how the Goliath had been acting before its defeat. Whatever it was up to, I got the feeling that _it_ had thought it had accomplished something, but what? I didn't see anything it could have done and no trap was springing, so what did that leave? Just these things and though I knew logically that there shouldn't have been any real way for it to even know about my power, much less effect it, but…well, it was best to be cautious with Grimm drops anyway, I suppose.

At first blush, though, none of these things seemed _too_ bad. I mean, I'd sure the Goliath's mask would do some untold number of horrible things to anyone else who put it on, but for _me_ , it'd probably be okay. There was the white cloth Airavata, but that'd probably be the same—I was immune to mental status effects and all it would take was a night's sleep to get rid of anything on my body. Root of all evil or not, I couldn't see what giving me a lot of money would do, either. The only thing that left was the book, but I couldn't really see how giving me more skills would hurt me. I mean, I didn't think there _were_ negative skills, and none of the ones I'd gotten from other Grimm had been anything less than superb. It didn't make much sense for my rewards to be bad for me, either.

But just to be safe, I Observed it and found my eyebrows rising in shock.

 **Skill Book: Naraka—Rank: Mythic  
A skill to form dimensional barriers around oneself, removing one from the normal world. The Dungeons created give rise to Grimm that attack all humans within the barrier, including the user; stronger dungeons may be created at higher levels to create mightier Grimm and cause additional effects. Barrier dissolves if the user leaves.**

I just had to stare at it for a minute, somewhat dumbfounded. I mean…it would let me do _what_? The _possibilities_ of such a thing filled my mind in an instant, to many to focus on just one—but if I could create barriers with Grimm inside them, if I could 'remove myself from the normal world'…I could train _anywhere_. It might even be a solution to Raven, though the accompanying Grimm would probably make it difficult, but it was just…I just…

I pressed the yes button repeatedly.

 **You cannot learn this skill. Required: WIS 100.**

I snorted at that and brought up my status screen. I had the points now and I'd intended to do it anyway, so I just went ahead and raised my Wisdom over a hundred and waited in anticipation to see what skills I would get.

 **By raising WIS above 100, you have gained a random ability related to your deep understanding.**

 **The skill 'Familiar' was created.**

 **By raising WIS above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Harmony.'**

 **By raising WIS above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Pathfinder.'**

"Oh," I drew the word out as the profiles appeared before me.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Gains**

I looked at my new skills, eyes wide in pleased awe. Of course, I'd known I'd get three skills for raising WIS over a hundred—and that they'd likely be amazing, as the ones with INT had been—but this…

I heard my grandmother's airship lowering to the earth a ways away, but barely paid it mind as I considered the potential of my new skills. Each of the skills had opened up entire worlds of possibilities, so much so that I thought my head would spin, but I tried to organize my thoughts.

First, there was the random skill I'd gained, 'Familiar.'

 **Familiar (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those with a profound connection with an animal and an affinity with nature. Through the binding of spirits, this ability allows the user to closely tie an animal to themselves, linking their souls. Once so bound, the animal's Aura reacts to changes in the user's own, responding or even mirroring it to achieve a number of effects. Additional abilities may be gained with increase of skill level or the level of the Familiar, along with increased range.  
The user may call to their Familiar regardless of distance, at which point they will make their way to the needed location as quickly as possible. The Familiar is immune to all status effects that would turn it against the user and the intentions of the user may be freely conveyed.  
At the user's choice, Active Skills targeting the user may also affect the Familiar at no further cost, if they are within range. The effect of such skills fade if the Familiar leaves this range for any reason and do not renew if they reenters said range. Additionally, Active Skills that may normally target only the user may instead target the Familiar, regardless of range.  
Whenever the user gains experience, the Familiar gains an equal amount of experience. The Familiar may never have a level higher than the user's.  
Once a Familiar is selected, it can only be changed after the death of the Familiar.  
Closeness with Familiar is greatly increased.  
Range: 10 meters**

For me, such an ability was probably even more useful than Clairvoyance. Essentially, I could bind myself to an animal and they'd gain enormous power as a result and, because of how skills and experience were shared, they'd effectively become a free high-level combatant. Without taking up any of my party slots, I could train them and they'd grow alongside me—and with all of my skills…well, between the White Tiger Style, my healing, my Dust abilities, and everything else, the possibilities were endless. With just a little effort, the amount of power in such ability was…was just mind-boggling.

The only question was who I'd pick. Gou and Autumn leapt instantly to mind, but it specified 'animals,' so it was probably limited to Gou. I suppose that might have been for the best; he was still at a low level because I'd been wary of letting him fight until he was strong enough to take it, but if I could enhance him like this, well…a few Grimm shouldn't be a concern. And if he gained experience at the same rate I did, I could just find a few more Giant Nevermore and kill them quickly, no problem. With the potential of Naraka especially…I'd have to test it first, of course, and make sure there weren't any hidden downsides, but…

And maybe there were other possibilities for it, too. It said additional abilities would develop as the skill improved, so who knows what could happen. And if it was possible to expand the breadth of the ability, to target more than one familiar, or target plants, or ideally both…

God, this skill was just _amazing_. I was a little wary of the potential risks, of how I'd explain everything about Gou, of what side-effects it might have on my dog, but _still_. The potential power in this skill alone might have surpassed that of Summon Elemental.

So it said something that the other two rivaled it.

 **Harmony (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to the few that are born with an exceptional insight into the patterns of mana and a great affinity for the elements. Mimicking the nature of Dust, basic Elements may be combined into more complex forms through careful mixture.  
Allows for the use of Intermediate Elements. Elemental Affinities are equal to the average of all component Affinities.  
Grants resistance to Elemental Attacks. Resistance to a specific Element is equal to the average resistance to all component Elements.  
15% less MP used for all Elemental attacks.**

 **Pathfinder (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those born with an understanding of their purpose in life.  
Activates Quest Markers and Objectives.**

If these abilities worked the way I thought they did…then Pathfinder especially…

In games, it wasn't uncommon for the system to tell you what to do or where to go to fulfill your quest. It wasn't usually specific—it might tell you who to beat and where they were but not necessarily _how_ —but if you apply that simple ability to real life…just _imagine_. Arrows pointing you when you're uncertain, notes informing you of things you'd otherwise have no possible way of knowing about. That was an _amazingly_ powerful ability; the stuff I'd done in games that I shouldn't have had any real way of knowing about was just unbelievable. If my ability could do that in _real life_ …then Pathfinder could be my strongest skill, in its own way.

And with Harmony, opening up additional possibilities for my Elementals…

Yes, I thought. Without a doubt, putting points in Wisdom had been the right move. And with the points I had left, I could…

"Jaune," My grandmother's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Yes?" I said, turning to look at her. She stood close to me, sharp eyes slowly scanning the area. She glanced from the Goliath's slowly fading corpse to the tiger statue to the bundle in my hands, expression thoughtful. Cynosarges stood a ways away, leaning down to look at the Goliath's remains. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

She nodded, seeming to accept that.

"This was informative, if concerning," She said, tilting her head to watch the Grimm. "Did you see anything from down here that might have given away its intentions?"

I shook my head, earlier concerns returning as I was drawn away from my distractions.

"No, but…" I hesitated. "Whatever it was doing seemed deliberate. Even when I killed it, it looked like it thought it'd won. I don't know why, really—maybe it thought it had killed me somehow? Or…did you check if anything was happening elsewhere?"

"Yes," She said quietly, frowning. "Nothing is happening near Mistral, as far as we can tell. The observation towers and surveillance networks haven't reported anything unusual, either, and no one's even responded to our absence yet. If this was meant as a distraction, then whatever we're being distracted from probably didn't need the help."

"Then…what?" I asked. "Do you think it made a mistake? Or…I don't know. Have you ever seen the Grimm act this way?"

She was silent for a moment, eyes closing.

"Perhaps," She said at last. "A few times, maybe, I'm not sure. It's something…there are oddities that've been noticed from time to time, uncharacteristic behavior in individual or small groups of Grimm. Unexpected attacks, sometimes, or a few odd survivors in otherwise depopulated towns."

"Why?" I asked, having never heard of this.

My grandmother shook her head.

"No one knows," She answered. "There are theories, of course, but as with most theories about the Grimm, it went nowhere because there was no proof of anything. Some have suggested some type of controlling force, generally linking into one of the various conspiracy theories about the source of the Grimm; others have suggested it's a type of malady that afflicts the Grimm, some strange form of madness. It's also been proposed that it might be some tactic, meant to sow confusion or fear in the ranks to draw in more of their kind—a call to arms to their fellow Grimm, in a way."

"What do you think, Grandmother?" I asked.

"Nothing," She snorted. "I don't know and I don't think anyone else does, either—and if you cling to a theory too hard, people tend to make things fit the way they want them to. Better to keep an open mind, I think, and wait for more information."

She exhaled slowly, looking at the destruction around her.

"And this…" She shook her head, cutting herself off in irritation. "What we learned to day could be invaluable. Things we suspected and believed…you did well today, Jaune. Everything we learn about the Grimm is important and I learned more today than I have in years. If we could only…"

She shook her head while I metaphorically perked up.

"Maybe I could help with that, Grandmother," I said, lifting my new skill book. "This is one of the things the Goliath dropped—a skill book for an ability called 'Naraka.' I Observed it and…well, it says it can make a barrier of sorts, Grandmother. One that can create _Grimm_."

Her eyes snapped to me, wide and shockingly intense—enough to nearly make me flinch back a step.

" _What_?" She whispered fiercely, as if suddenly worried we might be overheard. I checked, just in case, but there was no one there. "What did it say exactly?"

"Uh," I said. "It said it was 'A skill to form dimensional barriers around oneself, removing one from the normal world. The Dungeons created give rise to Grimm that attack all humans within the barrier, including the user; stronger dungeons may be created at higher levels to create mightier Grimm and cause additional effects. Barrier dissolves if the user leaves.'"

She glanced down at it, hand twitching almost as if to snatch it up but hesitating.

"It's still a book, right?" She said. "The things your ability creates—its actual knowledge, put into book form. You can read it, right?"

"I think so," I said, shrugging as I opened the book and then frowned. "Well, not _me_ , I guess. I don't know what language this is."

This time, she did take it from me, plucking it from my fingers to scan the pages as she flipped through quickly. In the end, she shook her head.

"It's Babel," She breathed.

"You can't read it, either?" I asked, surprised.

"Not babel," She said. " _Babel_ , the language."

"It's a language?" I muttered.

"It's not the actual name of the language," She answered. "But it's the name we gave to an ancient language family we've found traces of in ruins."

"How ancient?" I asked curiously.

"Ancient," She said, glancing over the words. "Older then even our earliest records—and more, we've found traces of it all over the world. In Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral, in ancient ruins, even in forays into the Shadowlands, we've found signs of it. Different dialects, we think, but the style, the structure…it looks the same. Whoever they were, they covered much of the world in their time, perhaps even before…Is this the language your power writes in, Jaune?"

"I don't know; I never really checked," I said and then paused. "Wait, no. Adam looked through one of my books once—an ability called Far Strike that I got from a Giant Nevermore—and _he_ could read it. He didn't notice anything odd about it, either, and he said the information inside of it was accurate."

"This means something," She shook her head. "Does your power write the book in its original language, then? What is 'Far Strike'?"

"Uh," I said. "It's…well, it's _this_."

I gestured and sent a Far Strike at a nearby rock, cutting it in half.

"No, that's an old, old skill," She shook her head. "Then…what? The most recent language it's been recorded in? But how does your ability…"

She went silent.

"Jaune," She said. "Does your ability _create_ knowledge? Has it ever created abilities _for_ you?"

I thought I knew where she was going with this, but I still had to think about it.

"I…" I mulled it over. " _I_ can create new skills, like my Magic Missile and Flare, and sometimes it'll ask me to name it and everything, but…"

"But that's not the norm?" She pressed.

"No," I shook my head. "Usually, my skills already have names. I don't know if that means it _didn't_ create them, but…"

"Let me ask a different question, then," She said. "Has it ever given you an ability that you were the only person who could ever use? Something _no one_ else could possibly ever learn?"

"The Gamer's Body," I said. "And the Gamer's Mind. I mean, I think those are just me."

"And that's your Semblance, correct?" She said. "Those are the skills that let you live like a game character, right?"

I nodded.

"So everything else, someone _could_ have had?" She asked. "They _could_ have learned?"

"I…think so," I mused, nodding slowly. "I mean, it'd probably be pretty hard in a lot of cases, because most people have a much harder time doing… _everything_ then I do. But if you were born with an affinity for the right things, if you trained hard enough, if you were smart or wise or strong enough…some of them, I'm not sure people have a natural way of getting after birth, but…yeah. I think a lot of stuff is modified by my Semblance so it might not work _exactly_ the same way for someone without HP or MP or quests or whatever, but…I think so."

She took a breath and then exhaled.

"So this book," She continued. "This Naraka. Someone else could have known it in the past?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding quietly. "Yeah, I suppose so. What does that…what do you think it means? Do you think it has anything to do with the Grimm?"

"I don't know," She answered, eyes on Naraka.

"What's the book say, then?" I asked again.

"I don't know," She repeated. "I can't read it. _Nobody_ can read it. That's why we call it Babel."

She looked up at me slowly.

"But of course, that doesn't matter to you, does it?" She said.

I held out my hand and took back the book. A moment later it dissolved into light.

The knowledge filled me as the matter it was inscribed upon faded, an amazing sensation that I was never sure how to truly describe. It was like the pieces of a puzzle I hadn't even known about had slid suddenly into place, filling a void I'd never realized was there. It wasn't the same as memorizing something a book nor did it manifest that way in my head, but in a moment of illumination I understood, completely and comprehensively, everything that had once been contained within the text. I knew what it did. I knew how it worked. I knew how to _make_ it work.

Except…

"Naraka," I said, raising a hand. There was a sudden shift in the air—not a sound, but a sudden absence of sound. The thousands of noises of the forest and fields, the multitude of animals that called those places home, the countless things that made you think 'this place was full of life'—it dropped away as quickly as someone closing a scroll or dropping a stone and we well in a silent world of my creation.

For the moment. I could feel it abruptly, a focus that set my teeth on edge. Cynosarges lifted his head and looked to the side, the Goliath's corpse vanishing as we shifted from one realm to another. The silence persisted around us for a minute or two, despite the feeling, but then came the shifting, the rustling of limbs and lives in the brush. Even without my senses, I'd have known things were coming my way. There was a black smoke, curling slowly down from the skies and up from the earth, faint but gathering, and before anything even made a move, I was sure that we were surrounded.

I snorted, glancing around as I brushed the odd feeling of unease away.

"Just some Beowolves?" My grandmother asked.

"The ability is only at level one," I replied distractedly, bringing up the profile. Suryasta and Vulturnus formed to either side of me, shoulders set as they stalked forward to arrange a slaughter.

 **Naraka (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 6000  
A skill to form dimensional barriers around oneself, removed from the normal world—the power to create a hell around the user, where one will be attacked until the technique ends. The Dungeon created gives birth to creatures of Grimm that relentlessly attack all humans within the barrier, including the user; stronger dungeons may be created at higher levels to create mightier forms of Grimm and cause additional effects. If the user leaves for any reason, the barrier dissolves.  
Additional 6000 MP used per hour.  
Currently available Dungeon list:  
Hunger of the Wolf – Monsters: Beowolves.**

"It'll get stronger," I said after a moment, looking at it. "It's a pretty expensive technique, but…it's not a problem. Well, not right now at least; at higher levels, when it starts spawning greater monsters, it could be a serious issue. But hopefully the cost will decrease quickly as the ability improves."

"What's going on here?" Cynosarges meandered over, a furrow in his brow. "Did you…?"

"He created Grimm, yes," She said dismissively, ignoring her friend's sudden look. "It's a massive barrier that spawns monsters, I'll tell you about it later, so go kill something. Or stick around; I don't care. More importantly, how does it work, Jaune?"

The Alexandrian head frowned at her before casting his searching gaze towards me

"It…" I paused, frown deepening. "I don't know the word. I understand it in my head, but I can't think of a good translation. But this barrier…it's not like the others. It's not just containing or sealing off a volume of space, it's… _separating_ it. When it says it's a dimensional barrier, what it means is that…"

I paused, frowned, and shook my head.

"Everything inside is cut us off from the outside, because what it's a barrier against is reality, in a way. It's…locking us away from it and also out of it, it's hard to explain. It's less like…it's less like the barrier is meant to keep what's 'outside' from reaching what's inside, though that's _part_ of it—but it's designed to separate the 'outside' and 'inside' entirely, so nothing in one can affect the other. But that's…I'm not sure if it's working right. _I_ can get us out, no problem, and that's partially because I'm the caster, but normally…I…I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?" She asked, eyebrow going up. "I thought you understood any book you absorbed?"

"I do," I said immediately. "I understand it completely. But this skill…it's not working exactly how the book said. It's built off a rule or a system or some natural law or _something_ that it exploits, but…I understand how it works and how it's supposed to work."

I frowned, looking around.

"It's weird. What I learned when I ate the book and what its profile says, they don't match up completely. And the profile is right but it's odd, because the book…the…the _math_ seems right, for lack of a better word, but I feel like the result's not exactly what it's supposed to be. But everything is so strange that I'm not sure if that's because the equation is wrong or if the _result_ is. Except the latter shouldn't be possible; it should be the same as one plus one equaling two, true no matter what, but it's adding up to _three_ for some reason. The…the physics in the book don't look _wrong_ , but it doesn't do what its makers _thought_ it would…or it doesn't _now_. It's incomplete or…or _out of date_. It's hard to explain, but I'm not sure if they didn't take something into account or if the _rules_ have changed."

"What do you mean?" She asked, expression cautious.

"I don't know," I mused, shaking my head as I tried to put the thoughts together. "Because…maybe it _is_ the book that's in error and I'm just biased because I'm getting the story from the people whose experiment went horribly awry and probably killed them all. But there's a part of me that sees the result as it is and doesn't think its right. I can see it in my head, how all the pieces line up to create _this_ , and I _get_ it, but I feel like maybe they _shouldn't_. Like a step's been added or subtracted, but not by me or the book. No…it's worse than that, because I feel like even if the equation _was_ wrong, the result would be wrong _independent_ of that—like, even if it didn't do what it was supposed to, it shouldn't do _this_ , maybe? It's like there's two versions in my head, showing how it works and how it's supposed to work, but…there's no way to get from one to the other. It's messed up."

"What could cause something like that?"

I shrugged, uncertain.

"I don't know." I admitted. "Maybe I'm just _missing_ something. This book, it was a part of a field of science or…or something. And I get this _topic_ , but maybe I'm missing something unrelated to it in the large field? Maybe some piece that…"

I stopped and shook my head, irritated.

"Jaune," She said as a sudden flash of light silenced screams—Vulturnus at work, I assumed. "Could _this_ be the source? Of the Grimm? Some…massive barrier gone out of control that's now unleashing Grimm or…some related experiment? Could this be how they were created?"

"Maybe?" I hedged. "I don't understand how such a thing could have happened, but I don't fully understand how _this_ is happening. But I think…I don't know if it's right or wrong, but I feel like the Grimm are a part of what's wrong, not just a result of it. This barrier is meant to do something and they're messing that up or something is making them mess it up. And…I don't know what all this means, but even if that was what was happening, this couldn't be _just_ a barrier, you know? The way this thing is built…if I leave, it'll disappear. If I die, it would fade. If it was a barrier, it'd have to be something different from Naraka, or else something would have to maintain it."

"Is that possible?"

I looked around slowly, looking at the destruction of the area around me, the remains of my fight. I thought about the Goliath and then about how many other creatures there were just like it. About how there were creatures even stronger then it, the demons that stalked the Shadowlands and the beasts of legend like Ziz. Thousands upon thousands of years of constant struggle against the Grimm, of Humanity rising from the ashes only to be struck down again and again.

I imagined someone just watching all of that. Allowing it for thousands of years, drawing it out instead of ending it.

"Hard to imagine," I whispered, not specifying why. "There are a lot of reasons it'd probably be unfeasible—the range, the amount of people contained within, the duration, on and on—but…I guess it's not _impossible_. But if you could do such a thing, if you could live so long, then why bother? Why not just kill everyone? I think…there would have to be more to it than just some immortal asshole powering it for the laughs."

She nodded, though whether she was agreeing with the words or just acknowledging my opinion, I wasn't sure.

"You can read Babel, correct?" She asked. "Or not read, but you can tell what it means?"

"I can Observe it, yeah, like I did to the book—I'll know what it's about, at least. It doesn't work so well on small stuff like individual pages or rocks or stuff, though—my ability…well, it can be finicky, at times." I said, shrugging a shoulder as I remembered long hours grinding Observe on rocks and books and trees. "Sarcastic, really. It should give a summary of whatever I'm looking at, but…"

"Even so, it's something to look into," She said, as serious as I'd ever seen her. "If what I suspect is true…this may hold the answer to what we've been searching so long for. For thousands of years, we've looked to history for answers and found nothing, but _this_ …at the very least, we can draw a connection between Babel and the Grimm of _some_ sort. Whether they created them, studied them, or were simply the longest to hold out against them, it's a place to start. I'll do what I can on my end to find something; even with so little remaining, there has to be _something_."

A part of me wondered if she believed that. The way she talked about it…if Babel had been before history as we knew it now, then it had fallen, what? Six thousand years ago? Eight thousand? _Ten_ thousand years ago? Perhaps even more. Given how much had been lost in that time frame…how many civilizations had disappeared without a trace…between the Grimm and simple wear and tear, how much would have survived that long.

And, of course, if they _had_ had some answer, some solution, then…well, why were they all dead?

But she was right, I chided myself. It was possible—and more than worth looking into as a result. Even if we didn't find a solution, if we could learn more, if we could find _something_ , then it would mean…god only knows. It was hard to even imagine a future when Humanity didn't live in fear of the Grimm, a world where we were free to expand beyond our borders. It would be…

It was worth trying, especially since…

"I raised my Wisdom over a hundred, Grandmother," I said. "And I got three skills in the process, as before. All of them are amazing, but…for this and what's going on in Mistral…I think I may have a solution. My new skill, it's called Pathfinder, and…well, it's supposed to lead me where I'm supposed to go."

Her eyes gleamed as she leaned forward—and then paused, frowning slightly.

"Where you're supposed to go?" She repeated. "According to who?"

"My power, I suppose," I shrugged. "I haven't gotten to test it, yet—but if it works like it should, it should tell me what to do next for this Raven quest. And if it does…"

"I can imagine," She said, glancing up. "Let's go home then; we have a lot to do, it seems."

I nodded and lifted a hand before stopping. Glancing down at myself and walked a ways away, curious.

"Is something wrong?" Cynosarges rumbled, looking confused and bored.

"Just…testing something," I said, a good ten meters from my previous position. There was no reason it shouldn't work, but…

I snapped my fingers and the barrier unraveled around me, leaving me where I was.

"Well, well," I mused, smiling as I prodded the dirt with a toe. "That's interesting…"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Trail**

We flew home in the airship, though I meditated most of the way. Tied to my Wisdom, the skill had improved sharply since I'd last used it—or perhaps the shift was a result of my new skill, Harmony. Whatever the case, I felt the world around me in more…color, was the only way I could think to describe it. The patterns I'd seen before, the enormous flows of energy…they were written across the heavens in new shades now, as different from what I'd seen before as the midday sky was from the sunset.

It was beautiful and…different, in ways I wasn't entirely sure I understood. Sadly, I was also too busy to experiment on that front at the moment, so I instead focused on hastening the return of my strength so that we wouldn't have to waste any time. As I relaxed into the routine, however, I had a moment to think calmly and organize my thoughts—and by the time I felt us begin to land, a few things felt a bit more clear.

"I need to do something quickly," I said, rising as I drew myself quickly from my meditative state. "I'll meet you in the dining hall, Grandmother?"

She frowned at me for a moment before comprehension dawned and she nodded.

"Don't take too long," She said.

"I won't," I replied without looking back, hopping out of the ship the moment it settled on the ground and opened its doors. True to my word, I sped through the house, and with my senses guiding me, it wasn't hard to find them.

I crouched as Gou came prancing across the sitting room, panting happily at the sight of me. I noticed that Autumn had wrapped herself around his neck in a collar of flowers, her petals bright against the puppy's fur.

"Hey, boy," I said with a smile, scratching his ears. "Thanks for taking care of Autumn while I was away, Gou. I appreciate it."

Gou's tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth in doggy pride, head rising against my hand as I pet him. My smile lingered for a moment at the sight before fading a bit as my hand went to his throat. A quick technique was all I needed to feel the connection solidify.

"Sorry, Autumn," I said to her. "I keep leaving you alone, huh? Things are getting a little hectic again, I'm afraid. I didn't mean to leave you holed up in here so often, but what I'm doing now…it could get dangerous and the way I'm dressed…well, you wouldn't want to be seen with your dumb old man. Still, hopefully things will quiet down soon and everything will go back to normal."

The flowers around Gou's neck twitched and shifted, rising slightly at the words. Beyond that, I could feel her reply, a gentle curling of energy akin to a child holding onto their parent's finger.

"Pinkie swear," I said seriously, though I knew she didn't know what that meant. "But for now, maybe there's one thing I can do…"

I gently brushed at her petals once more before resting my hand upon Gou's head. There was a tiny shift in sensation as I did, something I felt when I touched Gou but not Autumn. It was… emptiness wasn't the right word, but perhaps as if I was holding a magnet. There was a tiny pull when I touched Gou, just enough to alert me to the possibility.

I took it, closing my eyes. My Aura rose around us as if I were going to awaken his Aura a second time, but there was no need for words in something like this. I reached out to him, beyond flesh and bone, and there was a reaction. It was like the mixing of paint, colors blending to create something new, and I was abruptly aware of Gou in a way beyond the soft touch of fur or even my myriad sight. When I looked at him, he tilted his head up at me and I understood the unspoken question behind the gesture.

"Don't worry about it," I said, petting his head. "Just a gift of sorts, to make you stronger—a step closer to your namesake, eh? But I need you to do something for me, okay? I'm gonna need you to watch over Autumn for a while longer."

Gou barked, doggy face set in a seriousness I'd only seen from him when it came to spots of light and feeding time. I ruffled his ears in gratitude.

"I'll leave it to you then," I said. "And here, this should help."

I activated Floral Communion on Gou, who perked up suddenly as Autumn shifted. Normally a self-targeted skill, with him as my Familiar now, something like this was simple. I was grateful for it, truly. While not as ideal as being able to make Autumn my Familiar and grant her my Clairvoyance or something, if it was like this, she should at least have someone to talk to. I wasn't sure how much Gou would be able to _say_ , granted, but as long as I sustained the skill, they should be able to communicate in at least a basic manner. It was like…well, like I'd given a lonely girl a puppy.

"You're my Familiar now, Gou," I said, still scratching his ears as another hand rose to inform Autumn of what was going on. "If it's like this, I can give you strength and protect you—both of you. I'll be able to reach out to you however far apart we are and…well, I don't know what the range for it is, but the profile said my intentions could be freely conveyed. If I can do that even while we're apart…I'll try to stay in touch with you both, okay? And when we have a chance, I'll take you hunting, Gou."

Gou gave me a drawn out puppy howl that sounded ridiculous, but I appreciated the sentiment.

"Thanks, Gou," I said. "I'm sorry our vacation's turning out like this, guys. Stay safe while I'm away—and remember to be careful with the thorns, Autumn."

I took a deep breath and rose, sighing it out. I was…well, I was worried, but if it was like this it should be okay? Autumn was powerful in her own way, if untested in battle and not very mobile. That's why she was attached to Gou, though, who was strong for a puppy and who'd be far stronger as soon as I got a chance to work with him. Here in my grandmother's house, with the ability to speak to her activated…this was the best choice I had. I was nervous over what could happen while I was away, but Raven shouldn't have any reason to attack my dog and my flower, much less anyone else.

Still…I couldn't help but remember my grandmother's words, about the woman who'd been on a team with Raven years ago. Summer Rose, she said, while my daughter's tag said Autumn Rose. It was too much to be a coincidence, but as far as I could tell it was. And yet…

I shook my head and kissed two fingers, pressing them gently against Autumn's petals before I turned to go. It'd need further investigation—god, but wasn't that this whole damn trip in a nutshell?—but it would have to wait. I left my dog and daughter and headed for the dining room.

"Did you finish your business?" Grandmother asked, eying me knowingly.

"More or less," I said. "It'll keep. You?"

"It'll be some time before I can gather all the needed materials," She said. "There are plenty of copies but the library…well, you can imagine how busy it gets this time of year. For many people, it's the first time they've ever seen such a thing—and could well be the only time, until the international database is in order. I could put it on rush order, but there's a chance such a sudden interest could draw undue attention. It's waited however many thousand years; it'll wait a day or two more. We can afford to handle this quietly."

Despite her words, there was a tightness to her grip on her chair, a near-twitch in her free hand that made me think we was keeping herself from drumming her fingers. Nonetheless, I nodded.

"Sounds good," I said. "Shall we focus on the here and now, then?"

"Your Pathfinder ability," Cynosarges grunted, apparently having been filled in on everything he might have missed. "How does it work?"

"Haven't gotten a chance to test it much, yet, but it seems to work like…well, exactly like it does in games. I can bring up a window that lists my unfinished quests and underneath each is a list of completed objectives and a line telling me what to do next." I said, bring up said window. "For example…"

Underneath the Grimm quest was a list of the major Grimm I'd slain and a depressingly large number that were outstanding. When I'd clicked it to test, my map had popped up with a huge number of Grimm markers, scattered across Remnant's land and sea. I assumed those were common locations for the different species? I'd have to check, but if so even just that could be invaluable information.

Below my other quest, however…

"The quest I got from the White Fang says I need to get into the good graces of Mistral's heads," I said, looking at the two with symbols floating about them. "Any idea how I could do that?"

Cynosarges snorted, but rubbed his chin contemplatively.

"What's this quest for exactly?" He asked.

"Building the power of the White Fang in Mistral, it seems," I said. "And building my power in the White Fang, too, I guess. It's a bit weird, but…"

The two Hunters shared a glance, something passing between them quickly. This wasn't new information to my grandmother, but she seemed contemplative now.

"I think this could be an opportunity," She said, more to him than me. "Despite the risk of…Raven, this has the potential to profit us greatly. While we've never supported the White Fang directly—and doing so officially would be unwise—the situation has undeniably changed. With the role you have within the White Fang and the power you could obtain…it's dangerous, certainly, but the opportunity is great. If we had that much control, a powerful voice within the organization…I'd suddenly be a bit more interested in supporting the White Fang. What about you, Cynosarges?"

"Lots of ifs," He grunted. "If what you said is true, he's basically bluffed his way into being a member of the organization to begin with. The more power he seizes, the more nervous the people in power are gonna get. Isn't that the cause of this situation?"

"Things are different now," She said.

"Naraka," I guessed. "Raven's a huge threat herself, but our biggest concern was that she might just assassinate us—but I might, maybe even _should_ , be safe from her portals inside of Naraka's dimension. And if something happens, I can shift over, change out of my disguise, and then cross back over in a safe place to lay low as, well, me. Now that we have a few options now, she doesn't _quite_ have a gun to our heads anymore, either, so we actually have a choice—and if you're thinking of sort of supporting the White Fang _anyway_ , there really shouldn't be too much risk to either of you."

"Assuming she doesn't _already_ know who you are," He pointed out.

"Assuming that," I agreed. "But I'm pretty sure she doesn't; the pieces don't quite fit together if she already knew all my dirty secrets. If she _did_ , then she'd have had a lot of leverage over me, but she didn't use any of it when we faced each other. I think…I'm pretty sure now that she was as worried about me as I was of her and that she wanted me scared. As is, there shouldn't be any way to link Jian Bing to Jaune Arc if I'm careful, though, so it should be…not safe, but that specific thing shouldn't be a major concern."

He frowned for a moment but then nodded slowly.

"Of course, we still don't know what the White Fang's really up to," He said, leaning back. "I never expected _Raven Branwen_ to be with them…that's a lot more fire power then I expected them to have. The White Fang has always been dangerous, but no more so then a million other things on this godforsaken planet; it was always assumed that if they got too bad, Hunters would get involved and deal with them easily. If they've been sitting on their big guns all this time, though…and if Raven's not alone…"

"And they're working with _someone_ ," I reminded. "No idea who, but there's someone else involved. Any idea who?"

"Too many possibilities and not enough information," Cynosarges answered, shaking his head. "You've probably noticed already, but Mistral is a pit of snakes. If you're just looking for suspicious people, you'll have a hard time sorting out anything useful."

I exhaled slowly but conceded that point.

"Probably why they're doing this here in the first place," My grandmother mused. "That and the festival. Keeping track of suspicious activity this time of year and whose responsible for what…As is, you would probably have the easiest time figuring it out. With your senses, you might even be able to see them, at which point their levels or titles should tell you something of value."

Though she addressed me, I was pretty sure the words were directed at Cynosarges, who considered them and nodded.

"I suppose so," He said. "It's obvious there's too much going on to ignore, regardless. I'll support you boy. We'll arrange things on this end in light of…what? A deal made with Jian Bing? Are you assisting us with something? Actually, I guess you _are_ with this mess and the Babel shit, but…oh, whatever; we'll make up something before we contact the White Fang's representatives."

The box beside my quest marker was checked and it went vague, a new command appearing right below it.

I had to stare at it for a moment, surprised.

"Um," I said. "We might have a problem."

'Attend the Mistral Regional Tournament tomorrow.'

Those were the words it said, plain and simple and unchanging under my steady gaze. A short sentence giving simply directions, but the implications of it…

"The next step of the White Fang's quest involves the tournament, somehow." I told them even as my mind raced. "I don't know how and I don't know why, but it says to 'Attend the Mistral Regional Tournament tomorrow.'"

Both of the older Hunters frowned, brows furrowing as they grasped what that could mean. There were many options, countless possibilities, and yet the one that jumped out to us all was an attack of some kind—the White Fang doing something during the tournament.

If that was the case, I couldn't say I would be surprised by the revelation, not truly—I'd been suspicious of the timing of everything that was happening from the very beginning. Really, I would have been more suspicious if it turned out this whole mess _didn't_ have anything to do with the tournament, but…having it confirmed was still somewhat worrying. The tournament was going to be _big_ , both in that it would be full of people and broadcast around the world. If my quest was taking me there, I couldn't see many ways it could end up going well.

There were only a few real possibilities, if each with a few thousand potential answers concerning the specifics. It could be that the White Fang was planning something and would enact their strategy there tomorrow—which might have been in the works all along or could mean that I'd accomplished most of the quest and by securing the support of two of Mistral's heads, I'd established the White Fang's power enough to convince them to act.

Alternatively, I _hadn't_ completed this aspect of the mission yet and the quest wanted _me_ to do something there. That was a somewhat less worrying possibility, since if that happened, I'd just walk away after confirming it—which was why it seemed rather unlikely. I mean, Pathfinder's directions were vague enough that it _could_ have been either one, but the former seemed vastly more likely than the latter.

Although I suppose there was the ever present third option—I'd overlooked something important and it was going to stab me in the back for the offense. There was always that lingering unknown party no doubt waiting to ruin everything, or perhaps the Goliath's plan somehow coming to fruition in a way I couldn't foresee.

There were so many things that could be behind this, so many possible explanations, that I…I had to…

I blew out a short breath, shaking my head slightly.

Well, for one thing, I had to think.

"That could mean a lot of things," Cynosarges said after giving the matter several seconds of thought. "Were those its exact words? It doesn't want you to do anything specific like participate in the tournament?"

"It just says 'attend,'" I repeated. "Not to compete, not to win, not even to do anything—just…attend."

"Informative and yet unhelpful," He mused. "Could mean a lot of stuff, in that case. Could want you to get into position for an attack, could just be a meeting with someone to earn the White Fang more clout. Does it want you to go anywhere specific? And what do you feel is the exact probability that the next step is going to be to run some errand to earn favor? Like getting someone some nachos. Or getting _me_ some nachos. In fact, where the hell are my nachos, Jaune?"

I checked my map and frowned, shaking my head as I ignored that last part.

"The Coliseum is marked," I said. "But I can't tell if it's marking the Coliseum as a _whole_ or some specific place inside it; it would probably look the same either way from the perspective of the city map. I'll have to go there in person to check and see. If it _is_ positioned somewhere specific, that might yield some information; beyond that, though, there's no way to know."

"Whatever it is, its presence in your….quest line means _you_ must have some kind of role in it," My grandmother said before her frown deepened. "That tells us a few things, given who you pretend to be. But there's no way to know if the White Fang as a whole will even be present."

"I'm not _certain_ , no, but I'm pretty sure. I mean, I really have no idea how Pathfinder works, but after everything that's happened lately…the timing is just too convenient. There's a lot of reasons why they'd be here in Mistral—like how you mentioned it covered their tracks—but I'd be _really_ surprised if the festival had nothing to do with it. Even if it's not the tournament, _something_ is probably going to happen."

She pursued her lips.

"Fair enough," She said at last, nodding. "As Cynosarges said, though, it could be anything. Giving us a location tells us a great deal, but there are still too many possibilities. But it's your 'game,' Jaune. What do _you_ think is likely to happen?"

I hesitated for a moment, unsure, but…

"When quests just tell you to go somewhere, it usually leads into something cinematic happening—like a cut scene, I mean; you're there to see the story advance somehow. How that applies to real life, though…I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. But at a guess, it probably means that something is going to happen there that opens up the next stage of the quest; probably something big."

"Oh?" Cynosarges grunted, glancing at me. The sound wasn't one of disagreement, but there was an urging quality to it.

"The tournament is going to be high profile," I mused to myself, sounding out the thought I was so sure of. "If it was just to set up a meeting or something, there's no point in hosting it there instead of any of a hundred more convenient places; this is something else. If something _does_ happen, though…it'll be quick. After that one asshole stole the White Whale, I imagine the security of such a major event must be a pretty high priority—and it draws in a lot of the Hunter crowd, besides. If they try something drawn out, there will be a fight and...well, Raven and the strongest members aside, I don't think most of the White Fang would be able to last in such a battle. No, even beyond that, if Raven's hid her face for over a decade and a half, she won't want to reveal herself publicly, so she may try to avoid getting involved in the first place."

"And if she does," My grandmother added. "Then it'll mean this is something huge."

"There's also our unknown faction, who may or may not be involved with anything." I added, frowning a bit at the thought. So many people who may or may not be doing stuff and who my quest may or may not want me to work for. But in this case… "But the point remains; whatever's happening, it'll happen fast. Given what we know—and, more tellingly, how much we don't know—I doubt any of the people pulling the strings are going to want to stick around and have a stand up fight. Given that, I'm kind of worried about the possibility of a bomb…but that wouldn't explain why I was there, nor does it really fit the goal of the quest…"

"Perhaps an assassination, instead," Cynosarges said. "Someone vocally opposed to them, suddenly gone. However high the security may be for the event itself, keeping track of every single person for a prolonged length of time is unfeasible; the right set up and all it'd take was a good enough shot."

"Why bother when they have Raven's power?" My grandmother asked.

"I don't see how that would increase the White Fang's power, either," I murmured before tilting my head to the side. "Though I suppose it could depend on _who_ gets assassinated and how public it needs to be…still, if that was what they were after, they have plenty of ways to do it a lot more effectively. It doesn't make sense for them to bother."

Assuming I wasn't completely wrong about things already, which was worryingly possible. There were so many parties involved, so many people keeping secrets, that I just…I had no idea. For all my concerns, it was possible, if not _likely_ , that the White Fang wasn't even involved. If this was just me, then I could always back out of the quest. But…for that same reason, would my power chose the Coliseum if that was the case? Did it take my mindset into account when it did its thing?

There was a part of me that hoped this quest was just me…and a larger part that was all but sure it wasn't. No, it wouldn't be that simple; there would be _something_ going wrong, I was sure of it. Honestly, I just pretty much accepted that as a given at this point. The only real question was how badly.

And yet, what worried me the most was a simple, lingering thought.

What if this was because of me? It could have just been me blaming myself for things beyond my control, but thinking about it…was it that hard to believe? The precedent I'd set with my theft of the White Whale and my invasion of Atlas, the scale I'd taken the White Fang to…was it really so unlikely that I'd given the White Fang the push they needed to act? Or perhaps even _forced_ them to act, to prolong the five minutes of fame I'd captured for them and add fuel to the flames? What Jian Bing had done had been so high profile, so unbelievable, that…

I told myself there was no point thinking like that about something that hadn't even happened yet, but that sadly never seemed to be enough to make such thoughts go away. Maybe that's why the decision came so easily.

"I'll go," I said. "One way or another, we're not going to figure anything out if we just stay here and worry about it. If something happens, I'll be there."

Cynosarges grunted as my grandmother frowned, the large man looking at my contemplatively, nodding slightly.

"Do you intend to go as a fighter in the tournament or to watch from the crowds?" He asked. "It might not make much difference, since I imagine most of your opponents will forfeit before they even get in the ring with you after that show you put on with my goddaughter, but there are pros and cons to each. Depending on what happens, it might matter."

It was easy enough to understand his meaning—whether they were targeting the tournament as a whole or someone specific, the participants were up there as far as likely targets went. Of course, that went double for the three-time champion. I didn't think that was very likely, in truth; I couldn't see the White Fang attacking their allies goddaughter, even ignoring Cynosarges's personal power. Still, I could understand his concerns. But…

"I need to be somewhere that lets me see the whole Coliseum. No offense, but if anything happens, I'll probably be the first to notice and I'll probably need to react fast." I said before hesitating. "Worst case scenario, if there _is_ a bomb or something horrible like that, I have the best chance of saving everyone if I notice in time. I really, really, really don't want to shove a stadium full of people into Naraka for…pretty obvious reasons, but I'll do it if I have to. There's no way of knowing how much warning I'll have before things go to hell, but at the very least I should be able to sense the danger. For what it's worth, I doubt Pyrrha's the target—but I'll keep an eye on her, just in case."

The older man grunted at me but then shrugged a shoulder. My grandmother had finally begun to drum her fingers, but after a moment she nodded slowly.

"Very well; it's probably for the best regardless. Still…" She replied. "We'll need a plan. First of all…"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Contact Point**

I sat between my grandmother and Cynosarges, watching the proceedings in my periphery. A part of me, a pretty _large_ part of me, wished my mom was here, too, but she still hadn't come home. At this point, I was edging into honest worry about her and could see my grandmother doing the same, but I remained on target. My grandmother had no doubt sent out feelers for her already and if her suspiciously long absence was, as I expected, because of her mission…well, then that was just another reason to keep going. If she was being held up by the White Fang or…or whoever, then odds were good that this quest was my best chance of finding out what.

Smiling a bit grimly, I couldn't help be shake my head. Wasn't that the story of this whole quest? It was my best chance of figuring things out. From Raven and the White Fang to the mysterious forces at work in the city, somehow this seemed to be what tied all the pieces together. For what purpose, I hadn't the slightest idea, but somehow it did.

And so I watched the crowd. With my Clairvoyance, I scanned thousands of names and faces, noting anyone that stood out. Though the tournament wasn't as famous as the one held during the Vytal Festival, the Mistral Regional Tournament drew such a massive crowd that trying to keep track of anything…it made the pain in my head worsen until I was sure that anyone else's brain would be sizzling like bacon.

Thank God I'm me. It hurt but I was getting accustomed to it, somewhat. Well, at the very least it could be said that I managed to work through the pain. Still…

The worst part was the wait, really. The marker, as it turned out, _was_ meant for the Coliseum as a whole; once we'd gotten to our seats, Pathfinder essentially told us to wait and even provided a timer that was slowly ticking down. As such, we…well, we waited and watched the events. At least, Cynosarges watched them, if mainly just to laugh. My Grandmother just looked bored and alert as she waited for something to happen, not caring what else was going on, and I was busy actually working.

As the timer counted down to zero, though…

My fingers curled, ready to take everything within my range into another dimension if something happened, but my senses gave no warning nor did I see any true shift. Staying alert for a moment as Cynosarges and my grandmother subtly shifted to prepare for the worst, I scanned the area quickly with my many senses and didn't see any evidence of explosive, chemical, or biological weaponry, nor did anyone pull out a gun and open fire on a crowd, nor did…well, none of the things we'd feared came to pass. If they had, I'd have either moved everyone to Naraka or moved everyone but the cause and my older allies. Either way, it would have been dealt with.

I wasn't sure whether to consider it a good or bad thing that that wasn't necessary. None the less, I slowly lowered my guard and refocused my far-flung senses on my immediate vicinity. The wait command had dulled as a new one appeared below it, map marker shifting as it did.

'Speak with Isaac Fallow.'

I nearly clicked my tongue at the vague command but tapped each of the older Hunters on the arm three times before putting my hands in my lap. Cynosarges went back to watching the games without missing a beat, but I could see my grandmother shift slightly, readying herself for whatever happened next. I gave her a small, reassuring smile, and then looked back into the crowd, scanning the air above heads once more. Beneath my Clairvoyance, Pathfinder's markers glowed with a subtle light and I searched for it quickly once I confirmed on my map that 'Isaac Fallow' was in the Coliseum.

I found him in the left half of the stadium opposite me, taking a seat in the seventh row of the fourth section.

 **The Taste in the Air  
LV17  
Isaac Fallow**

I memorized his face carefully, Observing him. He was a Faunus, of course, though he kept his forked tongue mostly hidden. I saw his breath slightly and confirmed what his profile said when the tips of the muscle touch his teeth in two places as it sampled the air; a small thing that most wouldn't have noticed, but…well, I had good eyes. Emotional state…he wasn't particularly nervous, which could have been good or bad, but he was barely watching the Coliseum floor or the matches that were slowly beginning.

A slight shift in perspective and I saw the radio signals being drawn his way. He was receiving things from all around him, drawing them in through his Aura with what I confirmed to be his Semblance, but he didn't seem to be _transmitting_ anything, at least not at the moment. A few more glances at his profile didn't tell me anything I couldn't have figured out on my own; loyal to the White Fang, he was an information broker who skimmed information in transit to gather things for the White Fang. I made a note to take that into account when it came to being paranoid and to warn my grandmother about the potential dangers. On the upside, the range didn't seem to be _that_ great from what I could see of the ability, which probably made the ability a bit less useful than it might be otherwise.

Other than that, I didn't spot anything particularly dangerous. He didn't seem to be carrying any weapons and probably wouldn't have been a danger even without it. The power of information was not to be underestimated, but even from her I was pretty sure I could take him out easily enough.

But instead, I reached out to him. The sight of him had given me an idea and…well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Hello, Mr. Fallow," I said in the voice of Jian Bing, though my body's lips didn't move. Levant was the one who gave the words breath in my steed, weaving the air into a quiet voice positioned right by Fallow's ear. I saw the man jump and turn reflexively, stiffening when he saw that there was nothing there. His Aura stretched out slightly, flaring into a hood or a dish, and I touched it deliberately with my own power. I gave that a second to sink in before continuing. "No need to look around, Mr. Fallow; I'm nowhere near you right now. I take it you know who I am? You can whisper back, if you like; I can hear you just fine from here—and I'll make sure no one else overhears."

He was silent and still for a moment, glancing around subtly—not looking for me, I don't think, but rather glancing at those around him. The seat to his left was empty for the moment, but he was surrounded on all other sides. Nonetheless, I saw his lips twitch slightly and smiled.

"Jian Bing," He said, voice quite enough that even if there hadn't been a cheering crowd, the person beside him likely wouldn't have heard. None of which mattered to Levant, of course; the Air Elemental could feel the vibration of air, however soft it was, and simply whispered it into my ear with a slight adjustment in volume. At the same time, the words died a short distance from his lips, fading into the air as they were consumed.

"Yes," I said, making my voice sound satisfied. "Good. Then you know why I'm here?"

He hesitated before shifting his head ever so slightly to either side.

"Oh?" I asked and had a fraction of a second to consider what to say. I chose strength and confidence, in the end, and replied back with a relaxed voice. "Well, let's correct that. After talking briefly, Jeanne Roma and Cynosarges Alexandria have expressed an interest in further supporting the White Fang. They also stated that they were confident that the other Families would follow suit, when the time came."

Fallow stopped breathing for a second and I was glad that the information was as valuable as I'd thought.

"Sir?" He answered slowly, a touch of amazement to his voice. I chuckled back warmly, as if amused by the reaction, and when I spoke again it was with a fond tone.

"Now, now," I said. "It's nothing to be _too_ impressed over; they were quick to see reason once we got a chance to speak. I assume everything else is progressing according to plan?"

Fallow glanced around again and then took a deep breath as he seemed to force himself to be professional.

"Of course, sir," He replied immediately, though there was a slight undercurrent to the words. Nervousness, perhaps? "With your help, everything should be in order now."

"Are you concerned, Mr. Fallow?" I asked him. "If there is something you wish to say, I would be glad to listen."

He was silent for a long minute, shoulders shifting slightly in agitation until he blurted the words.

"Are we really going to work with these _humans_ , sir?" He asked, surprising me with the vehemence in his voice. "Do you really think we can trust them? You know what they've…"

Was he talking about the Families? Or could this be a clue about the mysterious third party at work in Vale? If it was…

I played a long, heart beating faster.

" _Trust_ them?" I asked, faint traces of amusement to my tone. It wasn't hard to fake given that…well, maybe it was just me, but this conversation was going somewhere rather ironic. "My…I certainly wouldn't go that far. It would be somewhat foolish to extend such a valuable thing so easily, don't you agree?"

I had no idea who we were talking about, but Fallow nodded in agreement. I wondered if I might not end up causing trouble for myself later with my words but…one thing at a time.

"Still, it never hurts to have allies, does it? I understand my fellow's reactions somewhat, in that regard." I continued. "We've so many enemies that it's hard to be picky when it comes to allies. It's a bit worrying, but for the time being, let's leave it at that, shall we?"

"But what do we do if they betray us?" Fallow asked, tone insistent.

"That should be obvious," I said back, shifting my tone to make it sound like I was smiling gently. Fallow seemed mollified by the undertone to my words. "Do not worry, Fallow; I understand your concerns. Whatever the situation may be like, there's no denying the dangers involved, so I'll keep careful watch over the matter. Can I count on your assistance in looking after our new friends?"

"Sir," He said and I smiled for real.

"Good," I said. "I'll be relying on you from now on, then. We'll need to meet face to face, I think. Perhaps—"

Fallow's head snapped to the side fast enough that he got an odd look from the large man beside him. I saw his expression shift as his eyes widened.

"Sir," He interrupted. "I just got through a secure transmission and I can't confirm anything yet, but…sir, you're not going to believe this."

If only that were true, I thought, feeling my own eyes widen as Pathfinder revealed the next objective.

"I…Excuse me; I need to pass this one up the line, sir," He said. "She's…God, she's supposed to be Vacuo right now, but if she's here instead, that means…"

From the way he said the words, I knew they couldn't mean anything good. Wherever she was 'supposed' to be, I imagined she was glad she wasn't there, but for her to be _here_ …

Damn it. Was this a coincidence? Or…no, of course not; I'd been led her, hadn't I? But if not for my Pathfinder, if I hadn't come here, would this have…I wasn't sure I wanted to know. But…

The words that appeared before my eyes were deceptively simple for the unexpected weight they carried. I knew I'd been missing something, but…perhaps I'd found one of the hidden pieces. I couldn't say it really made me happy, though, especially under the circumstances.

'Reach Weiss Schnee before the White Fang does.'

I couldn't keep myself from pausing for a moment, eyes going wide until I snapped back into motion. Time was of the essence, I knew, and if I wanted to have any chance of salvaging this mess, I had to move quickly.

"No need," I all but purred, the words just this side of smug. "I'm closing in on her now."

As Levant fabricated the words, I reached to either side, tapping Cynosarges and my grandmother urgently to draw their attention, even if I was suddenly unsure of…so many things.

"They're after the Schnee Company Heiress," I said, eyes scanning quickly as I flipped through my forms of vision quickly in an attempt to find the marker. At last, my eyes locked upon a building overlooking the show. "There."

I flicked my attention back to Fallow, scanning him quickly. The way his Aura drew in so many things from around it made it hard to find what I was looking for, but I could see the scroll in his hands and distantly make out other devices; one in a pocket, one inside his jacket, maybe one…

The point is, I knew where they were, more or less. Perhaps I could even fry them with Vulturnus?

But I hesitated. Would that have been too blatant a sign of betrayal? Would it ruin everything else I was trying to do? No, more than that, to penetrate his Aura with just enough force to fry the delicate parts of machinery without hurting Fallow himself…regardless of the situation, I couldn't do that hastily without putting his life at risk. Just shooting lightning bolts at him would be like…like removing a bug with _explosives_. I could seriously stop his heart if I just fired at will; I had to focus—

Farrow had been silent for a moment, typing with amazing swiftness on his scroll as I debated and concentrated, but he snapped it closed before I could do anything.

"Roger that, sir," He finally replied, not answering his phone as it buzzed. Instead, the signals danced in the air around him for a moment and then were drawn in swiftly, causing him to nod. "Groups are approaching to back you up, sir. It seems we even have some special help chipping in. They'll be there in just a few—"

I slammed my hands down on the armrests of the seat with a snarl, flinging myself high into the air and then down to the center of the arena. A moment before my fists demolished the armrests, the world changed in a surge of rushing power, Naraka sweeping the crowds away in an instant. I landed in the middle of an empty Coliseum and hit the ground running, reaching into my Inventory to draw out several Dust crystals to restore the power I'd wasted—but there was no choice, not when I needed to _move_. If that special help was who I thought it was…

God; I had to outrun a _portal maker_. _That_ was gonna be a trick, mainly because the only way in hell it was ever going to actually happen was if I got there before Raven had a chance to zero in on where Weiss was and open a door. At this range, with what Fallow must have told them…

I had _moments_. I needed to move quickly and without concern for who saw me or what was in the way, and that meant _this_ , despite the cost. I consumed the Dust crystals one after another, restoring myself to full power in perhaps half a breath and dropping to all fours in a run as my title shifted. A white tiger of light formed over me as I pulled up my speed boosting skills and rushed across the field with barely a thought because I didn't have _time_ —

Which really made thinking things through while I could all the more important, didn't it? Perhaps half a second after my initial jump, I leapt into the air again and took a moment to think over what I'd done and what I'd need to do next.

This being about Weiss had changed everything. I'd planned for a bomb, an attack, even an assassination, but the fact that it was the Schnee Company Heiress between the crosshairs made things different.

The first thing I considered was the fact that I'd left Cynosarges and my grandmother behind which…may have been a wise decision, all things considered. I may have loved my grandmother, but I wasn't delusional, and I knew that while she might be willing to help Weiss, it probably wouldn't be altruistic. I mean, really? The Schnee Company heiress suddenly needing their help to survive? They might not do whatever the White Fang was planning, but I was certain they'd leverage the situation to their advantage. I didn't blame them for that, per se, but I didn't really want to assist them with it, either.

The question was, did I need _their_ assistance. That my first reaction had been to leave them behind may have been telling, but their power was undeniable and they were on my side, at least within reason. Assuming they didn't just pull me away from the battles, if something happened, their power could be the difference between me dying horribly and, well, not dying horrible, depending on how this went down.

But really, how it would go down was the biggest issue here. It would be a lie to say I had a _plan_ , as such; I wasn't going to lie and pretend I'd anticipated any of this because I sure as hell had not. So in those moments, as I ran towards the marker my power had set, I could honestly say I had no clue what I was going to do next. What I _did_ have was all of, like, a second to think of something that wouldn't backfire, which seemed kind of unfair.

Complaining wouldn't help though, so I considered my options instead. There were really only a few ways to handle this and each had its upsides and downsides. There were who knows how many problems suddenly popping up but in the end, a lot of this was going to be decided in the first few seconds—decided when I met Weiss again.

And, more importantly, who I met her _as_. I'd been Jaune Arc in the stands and had shifted to Jian Bing to cheapen the cost of my techniques, but what faces would I wear in the following moments, when I emerged back into reality? Would I face her as Jaune Arc or Jaune Bing? Hamelin? Or should I try to whip together something new?

No, I discarded that last thought as soon as it popped into my head. The benefits and drawbacks of being an unknown were self-explanatory; no one would know who I was and I'd be unattached to any known group. And on the one hand, that would help hide my identity without drawing the ire of my 'allies.' But on the other it also meant I'd have no reputation to draw from—and my reputation was as good an armor as anything the Grimm could drop. Worse, if the White Fang caught up with me while I was so disguised, there would almost certainly be a confrontation and I'd be handicapped by the abilities I couldn't draw from or risk them making connections. Not only would I have to withhold Jian Bing's more visible techniques, but even a lot of the stuff I used against Pyrrha would be out. This would be a hell of a time to declaw myself.

All of which was _moot_ because I didn't have _time_ to come up with a disguise. For all I knew, I was running late _already_. No, if I was to have any chance at doing this, the only real choices I had were to do it as Jaune Arc or Jian Bing, who I could switch between with a title change.

If I went as Jian Bing, it was rather unlikely I'd receive a warm welcome. But if I went as Jaune Arc, would she just trust some random guy off the street? Would her _guards_? Granted, she might have seen me on TV over the last day or so, but…why would she believe what I had to say? There would be questions I didn't have time to answer, even if I _could_ answer without giving something away.

Then there was the fact that I was, as far as anyone was concerned, a Roma. If I appeared alongside Weiss, it might deter anyone from trying something—or maybe not, depending on how valuable they considered the Schnee Company heiress. There was no guarantee that it would keep them from attacking Weiss and just separating me and delivering my back to my grandmother, either, especially if they had something to do with my mother's absence. Would they kill me? Almost certainly not. But they probably wouldn't stop at the sight of me, either. And that led into the biggest issue with appearing as myself; again, the limits it would impose on me and what skills I could use.

At the very least, I couldn't use the White Tiger of the West if a fight broke out. I'd like the say I was selfless enough to put my secret identity on the line so easily, but…but it wasn't just _me_ that would be effected if I was tied to Jian Bing, whether as an accomplice or as his true identity. What such a thing would bring down on my family…I wouldn't just roll over and let myself die, but anything that could condemn my flesh and blood was only even a last resort because there was a part of me—a quiet, guilty, horrifying, and disgusting part, but one that was undeniably there—which told me that in a big enough emergency, if what I loved was on the line, I _could_ always just kill everyone who saw something they shouldn't have. Even the _thought_ of such a thing was appalling, but it lingered no matter how I tried to bury it.

Which really should tell you how far you'd need to push me to get me to make my blow my cover. I'd throw myself in front of a bullet for an innocent life—even a bullet that could actually _hurt_ me—but could I sacrifice my family for such a thing? No. I wasn't sure if that made me good or bad or loving or selfish or what, but I _wouldn't_ , even though that thought made me feel guilty sometimes. Even with the danger involved here, I couldn't risk them for a girl I barely knew however much I regretted what I'd done to her. I wouldn't murder people for her, either. If I went as Jaune Arc, it would mean fighting as Jaune Arc.

And that would be okay, maybe, if I thought I could _win_ such a fight, but with Raven and whoever else might take an interest possibly watching and maybe stepping in…well, that seemed like a dubious proposition.

None of which changed the situation. She'd question me as Jaune Arc and demand proof and explanations, but while I'd be handicapped, she'd never be willing to leave with Jian Bing.

I considered that.

She doesn't need to leave _willingly_ , I thought. If I got there before anyone else, I could grab her and run. If I really had to, I could even pull her into my little slice of hell here in Naraka. I had enough power to do that if I got there quick enough, but just in case—

I crashed through the window and rolled smoothly to me feet inside the empty room. In mid-roll, I reached into my Inventory and switched my clothing out for my new equipment.

 **Status 'Thirty-Two Shattered Forms' has been granted by the item 'Ganesha.'  
Status 'Six Blind Fools' has been granted by the item 'Ganesha.'  
Status 'Three Murdered Brides' has been granted by the item 'Ganesha.'  
Status 'The Broken Mask' has been granted by the item 'Ganesha.'  
Status 'Seven Trunks, Five Faces, Four Tusks, and a God' has been granted by the item 'Airavata.'  
Set bonus! Status 'Brother of the Sun' has been granted by the simultaneous use of the items 'Ganesha' and 'Airavata.'  
Status 'Thirty-Two Shattered Forms' has been partially negated by the skill 'The Gamer's Mind.'  
Status 'Six Blind Fools' has been partially negated by the skill 'The Gamer's Mind.'  
Status 'Three Murdered Brides' has been partially negated by the skill 'The Gamer's Mind.'  
Status 'The Broken Mask' has been partially negated by the skill 'The Gamer's Mind.'**

As always, the rush of horrific fates I'd avoided was somewhat disconcerting, but I ignored it. I'd have felt more comfortable in Lenore and Dreary Midnight, especially since my recent increase in level had revealed several of the statuses that had been hidden before, but…this was better suited for this task. If it came to a fight, the Fire and Lightning Affinity boosts alone would give me an edge, to say nothing of the increases in Strength and Vitality. Regardless, I didn't have any more time to waste.

And so I drew a final breath and then clawed my way through the walls of reality, emerging in the same room—sans the damages, of course—and landing on all fours on top of a sofa.

I wasn't alone, naturally. In an almost frozen moment, I took everything in and saw them; Weiss looking out the window at the stadium far below, three guards positioned around the room looking bored, one standing near the center looking absently at the hologram displaying the Coliseum—  
But more than any of that, positioned right at the edge of the room, was a discoloration in the air under several forms of my vision. Red and black with a flow of Aura so strange I was at a loss for what it could possibly be doing…and yet, there was no question as to what it was.

Fuck you and your fucking portals, Raven, I thought angrily. If you want to get from point A to point B, then pass through all the fucking points in-between.

Externally, I just gave her a simple nodded of recognition—she knew I could see her and she could see _me_ , which blew the 'get away before anyone knew' plan straight to hell. If I just grabbed Weiss and left through Naraka, I knew there'd be questions, even of me. In the midst of everything happening, especially, with my mother missing and the situation so…perhaps if I'd gotten her before Raven could set up shop, but if she was watching…

Part of me wanted to just grab the girl and run anyway, but this was more complicated than that and getting more so by the second. If I was going to get anywhere in this mess, I needed to—

The rest of the second finished passing and the guard's finally reacted. The guard in the middle of the room went for his gun, but I grabbed it and crushed it to scrap before he could even draw it from its holster. I pushed him to the ground and then strode across the room to shove a second guard into a wall. The third hit the floor as one of my tails pulled his feet out from under him and then the other hammered him into the realm of unconsciousness. I shoved the fourth and then caught him by the leg before he could crash through the window, swinging him around to throw him onto the couch.

I felt bad for treating them roughly, but the situation had gone far enough to hell that having them awake was just going to cause problems now; it was better that _I_ dealt with them then give _Raven_ any reason to. Guard's dealt with, I walked over to the window, scanning the area quickly. I noted the approaching White Fang members, counting them swiftly. With Raven effectively here already and…three, seven, nine…eleven more members in the immediate vicinity, and counting, this was just getting better and better.

 _Damn it_. Even if I removed her now, she was in Raven's crosshairs. I could get her somewhere else with my barrier, but it wouldn't make her _safe_. I could try to move all the White Fang members into Naraka, but I didn't believe that would accomplish much of anything, since it probably wouldn't touch Raven, leaving her alone with Weiss. Even if it did, though, odds were decent Raven and he fellows could just kill me and dissolve the barrier. No, I needed to do something else; I had to remove Weiss as their target.

I had a plan, of course. Sadly, it primarily consisted of 'figure out how to do that.'

I suppose buying time was a decent place to start, even if it was pretty obviously not going to _improve_ the situation.

"Hello again, Ms. Schnee," I said politely, still gazing out the window to watch those approaching. She was behind me, now, and a little to the left; though she'd gone for her weapon the moment she noticed me, she hadn't attacked when the guards had fallen, drawing back defensively.

"Jian Bing," She returned coldly, not seeming to have any difficulty recognizing me, despite the physical and wardrobe changes since last we'd met—but then, I _was_ standing inside of a giant glowing tiger man thing. Maybe it gave me away; who knows.

Even so, the fact that she didn't act…I knew she was waiting, trying to buy time for the noise to draw the attention of the security force throughout the building—but of course, that wouldn't be happen. Levant had ensured no sound had left the room and it would be awhile until any alarm was raised, which both worried me and put me a little more at ease. Unfortunately, so long as Raven was watching, this room was a bloodbath waiting for a reason to happen and I had to keep as many people away from it as possible. If I could get a message to the guards through Levant and quiet tell them to send for help _without_ making a fuss, though…but would Raven take action if she sensed Hunters approaching? Would the White Fang closing in on this building?

Good _God_ but I needed a plan. Or more information. Or even just—

Pathfinder _finally_ updated, revealing the next objective. It was vague, flimsy even, but given the breadth of my options…

"It's been awhile," I continued easily, still watching the window. I could see her reflection and the letters above her head were easy to reverse mentally. "It seems you've gotten a little stronger."

 **The Loneliest of All  
LV36  
Weiss Schnee**

She didn't reply at first, but kept her sword raised to attack or defend as needed, her eyes sharp and cold and wary. I leaned my head forward as if chuckling, though, and they nearly flashed, her grip tightening on her weapon as she shifted and drew a deep breath.

"…What do you want?"

"To correct a mistake, of sorts. We didn't get a chance to speak much last time, did we?" I mused aloud. "Such a shame…I'd like to know a little more about you, Ms. Schnee. Or at least…about that necklace you're wearing."

 **XxXXxX**


	6. Chapter 6

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Extraction**

I saw her eyes widen in her reflection's face. Her free hand went to her necklace quickly, almost like a reflex, clutching the apple-shaped pendant as she drew away. Something flashed across her face—worry, maybe, or perhaps even panic—before it settled on something resolved and angry.

"You can't have it," She said, voice wavering slightly as she seemed to guess where this was going. "I don't care what you've heard or what you think you know—you can't have it."

"Now, now," I said. "Don't be like that, Ms. Schnee; I just want to talk, for now."

I saw her hands tighten around both her sword and necklace, her teeth gritting as she looked at me with furious eyes, and yet she didn't reply.

"If you're waiting for your guards to arrive, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," I said, still facing away from her. "I've locked this room down quite extensively; they didn't hear a sound. My apologies, but you see…I dislike pointless bloodshed, so I decided it would be best to keep this between ourselves. Well, I say that, but…it would seem my subordinates have taken it upon themselves to assist me, and I fear their enthusiasm may get the better of them when they arrive. While I'd like to have a little more time…well, for the sake of everyone in this building, let's settle this quickly, shall we?"

The words were for Raven's sake as much as Weiss and for a moment I wasn't sure if they'd reached her, but then I saw the approaching White Fang members slow, stopping nearby but not attacking just yet.

I could have sighed in relief but instead I lifted a hand and traced two of my claw along the glass as I slowly turned. I didn't face her fully but turned my face towards her as I took several slow, slow steps, watching her all the while. With the immediate threat of the approaching White Fang out of the way, I focused on Weiss and the portal swirling behind her.

Weiss hadn't changed her stance, but I saw her breath harder as she stared me down, tracking me with the tip of her sword. I thought she might remain silent again, but as I came to a halt near the room's corner, her mouth twitched.

"Do you expect me to believe that you care about any of our lives?" She spat.

I took a moment to visibly contemplate that and then tilted my head.

"Well, at the very least, I expect you to acknowledge that I haven't killed you yet, and that there must be a reason for it. My friends in the White Fang would like to be done with you, I imagine, but I have a different idea," I said. "Or rather, I simply know something they don't. But let's stay on topic, Ms. Schnee. That's a very nice necklace you're wearing. Your mother's, was it?"

Her grip and her jaw, if anything, tightened even further. She seemed to be deciding what to say as she stared at me, weighing her options—whether to believe my words, whether to try something dangerous, everything. I could see her emotions shifting on her profile, the possibilities flashing in her eyes as she reached a decision, and I simply continued my Observation.

 **Snow's Apple—Rank: Quest Item  
An apple-shaped necklace belonging to Weiss Schnee, given to her by her mother before she passed away. A simple silver necklace to all appearances, but inside…**

"Yes…" She said at last, apparently deciding to at least buy some time. "She…"

"Gave it to you before her death," I said. "Yes, I know. But do you know _why_? Do you know what it is you're carrying?"

She said nothing again, but there was a flash of confusion in her eyes that made me shut my own and sigh. That route was a dead-end it seemed.

I changed tracks.

"It seems you don't," I answered my own question. "A pity; it seems there _isn't_ any point in talking to you, then. Give it to me, Ms. Schnee."

"Never," She answered instantly, her voice suddenly fierce. "It's all…but I'd destroy it myself before I let you take it from me!"

I slowly tilted my head the other way.

"I'd be…rather interested in knowing how you intend to accomplish that, Ms. Schnee."

She watched me for a moment, eyes wide and breath quick. Again, I saw her eyes dart around her—from me to the window to the door, gauging something with a quick glance—before making a decision of some kind—

And then she tore the necklace off with a sudden jerk, casting it to the floor before grasping her new sword with both hands. As she flipped the blade and thrust it down at the still falling necklace, I saw her eyes focus on the item, as if readying herself for some great pain, and watched the light gleam from sword and necklace both.

I sighed to myself quietly and then crossed the room in a series of quick steps. Reaching out with one hand, I caught Weiss' blade between two fingers and stopped it cold. I saw her eyes flick up to me, saw her mouth twist, saw her give a scream of frustration as she tried to push down even harder—but it was no use. My tail swept down and curled around the necklace before swinging like a pendulum to toss it up into the air on the other side of me, where it fell into my waiting palm. As my fingers closed around it, I released her sword and lifted my hand to her face, pushing her back gently.

She flew into one of the chairs around the sitting area hard enough to knock it over and send her rolling back. She came up to her feet in an instant, to her credit, and with her blade was pointed my way. Light blue light gathered around its length before a wave of ice flashed across the room's floor and rose to cover me completely—

I took a step forward, shattering it around me. Compared to breaking out of my adamant skin, this was nothing, even before Levant and Xhai conferred a resistance to Ice. Weiss leapt back as the cylinder on her weapon revolved, the dust within glowing white as symbols covered the blade. Landing on a sprawling glyph, it flashed red for a moment and she flew towards me with her sword aimed at my heart and the uncovered portion of my chest.

Unfortunately, it stopped at my skin. Part of it was just my Aura and part of it was my mask and the rest was because of my many defensive skills—because of Adamant Serpent's Skin and the White Tiger's Hide and Unbroken Steel and everything else—but the _result_ was simple. An attack like that…just wasn't enough to really hurt me anymore. In fact, it probably hurt her more.

The moment her blade hit my skin, it stopped, with the results you might imagine for everything behind it. Her body continued to rush forward, clipping the halted blade hard before slamming into me. She spun as it was mostly her left side that hit, but continued past me as she flew towards the window. My tails came up and curled around her ankles before I turned and flung her into the couch, which she also knocked over. This time, however, she didn't roll to her feet, but continued until the wall stopped her and then coughed painfully.

I'm sorry, I wanted to say—but I didn't. And if I had, would it have meant anything? So instead, I just closed my eyes and sighed again.

A sound made me open them and I saw Weiss struggling to her feet, looking like she was barely keeping something down. I didn't move as she stumbled or when had to brace herself against the wall, but after she coughed roughly again and swallowed something down, she focused on me.

"Give it back," She said in what I thought might have been an attempt at a shout that a cough ruined. "Get your hands off of it, you bastard."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Ms. Schnee," I answered, tossing the necklace lightly up and down. "I'd recommend you sit down, however. You don't look well."

She snarled something and pushed away from the wall, falling into a roll to pick up the weapon she'd lost hold of. As she came up again, flames gathered around the blade and she threw them into my face as she leapt at me.

I blinked once and then caught the blade, halting her in place again. She managed to keep from slamming into me again but…it was too late, now. Hands of Aura rose from my limbs, one curling around her own and the other just above the guard of the blade. She tried to pull away, to tear her sword from my grasp, but even beyond my vastly superior strength, Crocea Mors had already made himself at home.

All it took to snap the blade was a turn of my wrist. Our eyes met as the steal broke, hers wide and shocked, mine hidden behind a Goliath's yellow orbs. Aura limbs let go of her broken blade and caught her by the shoulders, holding her still as a tail of light curled loosely around her throat.

"Enough now, Ms. Schnee," I said, forcing her to sit on the raised front of the couch as I turned my attention to the necklace I held between two claws. Already, Crocea Mors was flowing in, telling me everything I needed to know. "You've lost, so please be quiet, okay?"

I tossed the necklace into the air and caught it again as Pathfinder changed once more. As I thought, this should be enough. With this, the White Fang shouldn't care about killing Weiss. It felt…it _was_ cruel, what I was doing now, but…

I'm sorry, but this is for your sake, Weiss. Try to bear with it.

As I was about to turn away, though, she said something that gave me pause.

"Please," She said, quietly pleading. "It's the last thing she was able to give me before she…please don't take it. _Please_ …"

I lowered my head slightly as I turned away, otherworldly limbs still holding her in place. If it was…if this was…

But her mother wouldn't have wanted her to die for something like this. I knew that. So even if it was horrible…

"Then I apologize, Ms. Schnee," I said truthfully, glancing over my shoulder. "But some things are just more important."

She swore at me then, kicking and screaming even as my hands tightened around her, wearing away at her Aura even as they held her still. When it was gone, Xihai appeared as a spirit by my side and lifted a hand as she touched one of mine. All of a sudden, Weiss movement became sluggish, slowing quickly in seconds until she lay still, dragged down into the realm of sleep/

I watched her sadly for a moment, feeling miserable for what I'd done—and feeling more miserable _because_ I felt miserable. In the end, I'd been the one who'd done this; what right did I have to feel bad and regretful when I'd gone through with it anyway? Weiss was the victim here, but…

I exhaled slowly.

I could tell she'd trained hard. She'd raised five levels in two months, bringing her up to Blake's level in the eyes of whatever decided such things. She'd done everything she could to get stronger. But it just hadn't been enough. Not to beat me and my power. Not to beat the Raven now prowling on the fringe or the sharks circling now. A part of it was a difference in experience and training; a lot more was because of things that just weren't fair in the slightest. It just wasn't…

I'm sorry, I thought. I'm sorry for all of this.

And then I spoke.

"Raven, fair Raven," I said to the air. "Would you like to join me now?"

I didn't so much as turn my face as swirls of red and black converged around Raven's presence, forming a gateway for her to walk through. She stepped into the room from who knows where, striding with deliberate slowness across the floor as she came to my side. I knew without a word being said that the games had begun once more, but now that I could at least see her I relaxed a touch, letting the White Tiger of the West fade around me.

"You've found what you were looking for, then?" She asked calmly, nothing in her voice giving away the fact that she must have had no idea what I was doing.

I chuckled slightly, tossing the necklace up and down gently as I glanced her way. I wondered what was going through her mind right now. However annoying her portals were to me, from her perspective I must be just as tedious; she'd seen me claw my way back into this reality, at the very least, which to her must be like…what? Perhaps something akin to her own skill. And now here I was, toying with a necklace that no one else in the world could have even suspected was anything special. If not for my power, for my Pathfinder, then this…

This would have gone a lot less well, which said something.

"You could say that, I suppose," I said aloud. "At the very least, I got what I _needed_."

She didn't react to that, as far as I could tell—though I suppose that was one of the downsides to a conversation between two people with masks that covered their faces completely—neither of us were very emotive. Even so, I knew it was only a matter of time before this conversation went somewhere dangerous.

I wasn't all that surprised when Raven didn't waste any time getting there.

"You left the girl alive," She said, hand going to her sword. She let those words hang in the air for a moment as she drummed her fingers along the hilt before prompting me. "Shall I?"

I chuckled slightly, heart suddenly beating fast. Here was the tricky part—I knew there had to be a way through this that would keep Weiss alive, but I didn't have all the facts or pieces. I was making this up as I went along so how the hell could I plan ahead? But…

"Not just yet," I told her, catching the necklace one last time and holding it up to Raven's eyes. "Even I'm not entirely sure of what's inside this, but given that it was meant for her, there may be security measures on it. Best not to do anything rash until we have everything we need."

Raven was silent for a moment, watching me quietly before nodding slowly.

"Very well," She said. "What is it, then?"

"The most valuable thing in the world," I said. "Information."

"About what?" She asked.

I chuckled again, because I had no idea.

"Best you see for yourself," I said, dearly hoping I was right. Pathfinder implied…but as vague as it was…

Nonetheless, I clenched my fingers around the necklace and let Crocea Mors get to work. Outer layers melted out of the way, revealing what was contained within and light emerged as I opened my hand, rising to form a holographic screen.

Specifically, a _password_ screen.

Damn. I couldn't say I was surprised and I really didn't have any right to complain about people making things difficult for thieves, but I was kind of trying to save someone's life here. A little cooperation would be nice.

I didn't react visibly, though, couldn't risk giving any sign of my sudden uncertainty away. Whatever the hell was in this necklace, it was worthless if we couldn't get to it—and worthless data wouldn't save Weiss' life. Worse, with the impression I'd just given, if they really thought it was valuable, then they might hurt Weiss to get it or threat those she cared about. I couldn't…whatever this was, I had to get to it, no matter what was put in my way.

Yeah, I thought. I just had to guess a who knows how many digit password made by a woman I'd never met on the first try. Should be easy.

I paused.

Or maybe… _could_ it be that easy? Pathfinder had led me here, without sending me to find any passwords first; in quests, the objectives generally didn't tell you _how_ to do something, but they wouldn't tell you to do something _impossible_ , either. If I needed a password to continue the quest, there should have been a way for me to _find_ that password over the course of the quest or finding it would have been an objective itself. I just had to _think_.

What did I have? The password, presumably, had been made by Weiss' mother, a woman I'd never met and would never meet. The only things I'd interacted with that could lend me a hint as to the password were this necklace and Weiss herself—but Weiss didn't even know there was anything special about the necklace.

I considered that for a moment before observing the necklace again.

 **Snow's Apple—Rank: Quest Item  
An apple-shaped necklace belonging to Weiss Schnee, given to her by her mother before she passed away. A simple silver necklace to all appearances, but inside are contained a mother's last words.**

She didn't know there was anything special to it, beyond the fact that it was a gift from her mother. Why then was it named 'Snow's Apple'? Was it common to name a piece of jewelry, even one that held meaning? Had my _power_ provided the name? Or…maybe…

Well, I didn't have any better ideas, now did I?

On the holographic screen, I typed the words 'Snow's Apple.' I don't know what meaning those words held, but I hoped they meant _something_ to a mother and her daughter. I closed my hidden eyes in sheer relief when the screen changed and something began to load.

After a moment, a woman's face—presumable belonging to Weiss' mother—appeared. From the background, I could tell that she was in a bedroom or perhaps a hospital—whatever the case, she was recording the video on a bed of some kind and it was easy to see why. Though her hair and skin were still fair, it looked like something destined to fall to whatever sickness she was fighting. Or perhaps she was wounded? I couldn't see much from the angle of the camera.

"Weiss," The woman said, smiling brightly even though the expression seemed to hurt her somewhat. "I don't know when you'll see this or even if…"

She swallowed once that seemed to provoke a coughing fit until she shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"But I had to record this while I still could. I know I don't…they don't let you see me much anymore and that…that hurts, but it's probably for the best," She seemed to stumble over the words slightly, but she pushed through as best she could. "Some days I'm not…I'm not myself. I don't always remember everyone…even the people I love the most. Once, the…I was told that the last time I saw her, I couldn't remember Winter's face and I can only imagine how…"

She paused for a moment, eyes blinking shut as tears gathered at the corners. I felt…I felt horrible watching this, like a voyeur peering in on what was supposed to be a private moment between mother and daughter, but I had to keep going. This…as the pieces came together and the picture became clearer, it hurt to watch this, but this still wasn't enough to save Weiss life. I needed something _more_.

"How horrible it must be to have a mother who can't remember her own daughter," She continued, brushing away tears sloppily with the back of a hand as she opened her eyes. "S-so, maybe it's better this way. But while I still can…while I _remember_ …I wanted to record these messages for you both. I want to tell you, while I still remember, how much I…I-I love you. How much I've always loved you and how much I wanted to be there for you when you grew up and watch you…watch you live your lives and grow up happily. I want to…I wanted to be your mother."

She stopped brushing her cheeks for a moment, but the tears continued to fall unhindered as she took a shaking breath. She wasn't statuesque while she sobbed, either; her eyes and cheeks reddened—they looked like they'd gotten a lot of that lately, too—while her nose became stuffed, altering her voice. It was the type of crying that was hard to look at because it looked real. This was a person crying.

I watched anyway, not averting my eyes. I didn't have any right to complain now.

"But…but it looks like that might not be possible," She said at last. "So I'll record this for you both. There's…there's more I want to say then I ever could, but I don't know how much time I have and…but I want you to have this. It's…I feel horrible, passing this onto you, but I'm sure you've already heard us fighting. Your father and I…we always disagreed on a lot of things, since the day our parents first introduced us. I…heh, it seems silly now, but the first time we met I got so upset over something stupid he said that I threw a punch bowl at him."

A smile flickered across her face, as brilliant as it was fleeting.

"The only thing…the only thing we've never disagreed about is the two of you and how much we love you. I know…he's not very good at showing it, especially since I became like this; he's gotten colder and tries to act like nothing's wrong, even when he…" She swallowed, turning away. "I love him. I have since my sixteenth birthday—did I ever tell you about that? He doesn't look it, but your father can be romantic when he wants to. But after your grandfather and grandmother were…after he took over the business…he can be cold, too. Pragmatic, he says, and maybe that's true—but cold most of all. And we've fought about it; disagreed over so many things…I don't know if I'm right. I've never had all the answers, was always just a…but you deserve to see this, too, to see everything. One day, you two will be grown up and on top of the world, but there are some things you'll need to know. So this…this is for you. I'm not telling you to do anything with it. I'm not even asking. You two have always been my beautiful, intelligent girls, so when you see this, you'll probably know what to do better than I will."

She took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

"The password is 1_w_1_4_s_1_3_y_u," She said. "You know what for and it'll tell you everything. Just remember, no matter what you choose to do with this…I love you. I love you both. And I…I…Braun, if you would? I'm getting—"

The image faded abruptly and I finally closed my eyes.

"Another password?" Raven said after a moment of silence, her voice sounding ever so slightly off.

"Yes," I said.

"To what?"

"What we're looking for," I said. Hoped, really. But as Pathfinder changed, I took a breath. "We'll find it within the Schnee Company servers. Would you like to drive?"

She tilted her head and then nodded slightly before turning to Weiss.

"And the girl?" She asked, her tone still sounding strange. I looked at her for a moment and then walked slowly past her, kneeling by Weiss's side. My fingers curled around the necklace again as Crocea Mors shaped the metal back into its original form. Slowly, I lowered my hand over her neck, letting the two halves of the chain pool on either side before tilting my hand and dropping the pendant on her chest.

"Her mother gave use something valuable," I said. "And so I will repay her words. And perhaps…"

I closed my eyes and chuckled, glancing over my shoulder to look at Raven.

"Perhaps I'm feeling vaguely sentimental," I said, remembering what Adam had told me about his family so long ago. She would know about it, surely, but would it matter to her? "Even you and I can understand the bond between parent and child. Even if it's not the wisest decision, I proved she's no threat, so…I'll allow her to see her mother's face again, at the very least. I've never been much for passing on grudges, either, so…is that okay with you, Raven?"

She looked from me to the girl and for a moment I thought should wouldn't say anything—or, worse, that she would disagree, but when she spoke…

"Very well," She said. "It doesn't matter, so long as it doesn't affect the mission. We got what we came for."

I chuckled and it wasn't entirely faked I felt so relieved.

"Shall we go, then?" I asked before she waved her sword, a portal opening in the space before us. Without a word, she stepped through and I rose to follow before pausing, sighing slightly.  
One last thing before I go, I thought.

I reached into my Inventory and drew out the blade I'd taken from her so long ago, placing it by her side. It was…it a meaningless gesture, I knew, and stupid, but…

"I suppose I should give this back to you, as well," I murmured before turning away.

Goodbye, I thought again.

I'm sorry.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Hacking**

Stepping through Raven's portal was an experience. It was like…I wasn't even sure how to describe it, really. Spots of differing temperatures played across my skin in whirling patterns as the world shifted before my eyes. Beneath the lens of my Clairvoyance, it was more than a vortex of red and black, it was…I didn't even know what it was. But space bent and shrank, almost as if being crushed by the fist of some enormous being, and then—

And then it was over. I stepped out on the other side as though I'd just walked through an open doorway.

I took a deep breath, silently bringing up my Map to check where we were. There didn't seem to be any problems on that front, not that I'd really expected any so long as Raven was under the impression that I had a technique similar to her own. If not, I might have been a little worried about being stranded somewhere unpleasant, but…well, it seemed I could rely on Pathfinder in this regard as well.

Good. Its minor hints were pretty much all that was keeping me afloat at this point.

Turning my attention towards Raven, I saw her gazing at a building across the street and opened my mouth to say something before pausing considering. Levant and Vulturnus appeared beside me, invisible to any eyes but my own, and all at once my senses spread through shifting currents and grids of power lines. It only took me a moment to confirm my suspicions.

We weren't in the building we were aiming for. Close to it, enough so that we appeared to be next to the marker on my map, but we weren't _there._ But I could trace a path across the street in a web of light, through walls and floors and even below the ground—and there it was. As I figured, right below the building Raven was watched were rows and rows of servers, bright to my Lightning Elemental's eyes.

But those weren't the only things he sensed.

"Worried about the cameras, Raven?" I guessed, inserting a slight smile to my voice. Raven's hair swayed as if her face had twitched in my direction, but she didn't look away from her target—presumably she was scanning the interior for the safest way in. "Third floor, second window from the right. It's an empty room; no people, no cameras.

"I take it you know where everything else in the building is?" Raven said neutrally.

I did _now_ , I thought as my Elementals guided their power through it.

"Naturally," I said aloud as if it were nothing. "The cameras are monitored from a room on the third floor as well; once we're inside, I'll disable all the cameras, shut down the communications in that room, and rush to disable the guard inside. Afterwards, we'll access the server from one of the computers, get what we need, and leave. If that's alright with you?"

She said nothing for a moment, turning to face me. Though her mask gave nothing away, I imagined she had an annoyed expression on her face. For my part, I just smiled at her, holding a hand out graciously towards the window.

"I'll take point, I suppose," I said. "No since taking any chances now, is there?"

She was silent for another long moment before a portal began to converge in front of me.

"Watch your step," She said as I walked towards it, and though there was no particular inflection to her tone, I figured it was probably a reminder of all the places she _could_ send me with her creation—but given that Levant sensed the other portal in the room I designated and double checked by sending a current of air though it, I wasn't that worried by it.

"I'll sure to do that," I said as I strolled into the portal, emerging in the building. At once, Vulturnus finished his infestation of their power lines and promptly turned off all the cameras in the building before reaching into the control room and shutting down monitors, a computer, and a scroll. I felt the guard rise suddenly in alarm through Levant, hand going to the computer first in an attempt to restart it before reaching for his scroll. When that turned out to be a dead end, too, however, he turned towards the door, probably going to find someone.

I found him first and with a gentle touch, he stopped in place, fainting swiftly as Xihai got inside his system. I caught him and put him back into his chair, taking a few items off his person before leaving the room as quickly as I'd come.

To be honest, I was glad that Raven was hesitant to go in first. She was…I still didn't know enough about her to really guess what she'd do. She might kill anything that got in her way, paint these halls red in the blood of innocent workers, or…God only knows. Or maybe she'd do nothing and slip in without leaving a trace behind. I had no way of knowing, but with innocent lives on the line, I'd rather handle this myself, even if it meant doing something bad. It was like…it was like the difference between getting your car stolen by a drug addict and a professional, I suppose; a bad thing either way, but one might kill you to take your keys, while the other would be gone before you realized your car was missing.

Well…at least, I hoped that would be what this was like. As long as I didn't screw this up…

I moved through the building silently, Levant guiding me away from anyone she detected as I made my way to the elevator and used the keycard I'd swiped to hitch a ride to one of the basement levels.

"You took your time," Raven said absently, already typing away at a computer hooked up to one of the servers. I'd felt her portal in as soon as I'd disabled the cameras, so I wasn't surprised to see her there. In response to her barb, I merely laughed quietly and gave her a conceding gesture.

"Have you found anything, yet?" I asked.

"Not yet," She answered, sounding somewhat distracted now that she'd returned fire. I couldn't see her eyes, but she was scrolling quickly through pages of files that I watched over her shoulder, taking them in quietly. She reached the bottom of the page without clicking on anything and then scroll back to the top, apparently searching for anything that stood out, first. Nothing really did, at least to me; they all had file names like SDC037 or MC02. But…

"The fourth file," I said. "And the seventeenth, twenty-second, and thirty-ninth. Those are the biggest files by far. Images, perhaps?"

She clicked on the fourth file obligingly, opening 'SDCEMGA01.'

"Schnee Dust Company Estimated Market Growth, Appendix 1," She recited as if it wasn't in bold letters on the screen. As she scrolled down, there were graphs—forecasts in many forms, comparing the business to other dust mining companies and businesses I didn't recognize. Past competitors, maybe? The graphs all trended upwards, though if these were files Weiss' mother had stored, they were probably somewhat out of date. Still, why would she leave such a thing for her daughters? I mean, if this was, as I suspected, some kind of annual report, then they should be able to get them normally as part of the company. Why list it here as well?

It would probably make more sense if we did more than look at the pictures, I thought. But…

"Keep checking through the larger files. Afterwards, we'll scroll back up." I said.

Raven looked at me in what I assumed was annoyance but did as I requested, opening the files one by one. The first was another appendix; a series of maps, marked in various colors. Of the top four pictures, I recognized the areas surrounding Atlas, Mistral, and Vale immediately, which meant the one that wasn't immediately familiar to me was probably Vacuo. But the markings…

I frowned for a moment, eyes tracking up to the one of Vale and then to the North of it; above Forever Fall, there was a massive section of bright colors, like a stripe across the forest. I'd never seen it represented in such a way, but I recognized the location, could all but hear the sound of the train.

Which meant…

"These are Dust deposits," I said. "Around the Kingdoms?"

"Not just the Kingdoms," Raven said scrolling down. The maps changed quickly, colors fading until they were nothing but white on black, but…the meaning was still clear. "These must be suspected deposits. Or perhaps the locations of fallen nations that once used Dust…either way, they're far beyond the reach of the Schnee Dust Company or the Kingdoms—any mining facility set out there would be torn apart by the Grimm."

I hummed slightly in agreement, frowning as something niggled at me. Like…pieces about to come together, but…

Raven reached the bottom of the window and closed it, moving onto the next efficiently. Yet another appendix, this time with sets of pictures. Each set held two identical scans, but one appeared to have been colored after the fact, marking sections in reds, blues, yellows, and greens. Below those two pictures were another set that looked so different that it took me a moment to realize they were of the same place but…later? The colored sections had shrunk greatly, but the surrounding area still looked very similar—

The pieces clicked into place and without thinking I brushed Raven's hand away, ignoring her look as I took over. I scrolled through the file quickly, watching the indicated sections shrink steadily until about a third of the way down the page, the pictures changed to show a new place and the process repeated. It did so again two more times before I reached the bottom of the file and closed it, opening the thirty-ninth file. Yet another Appendix, showing downward trends, estimates…

I closed it and went back to the top, opening the first file and then rolling down the page swiftly as my eyes scanned, relying on my massive Intelligence score to remember. I reached the bottom, closed it, and moved on to the next one.

Too slow, I thought as I read the thirty-four page document in a few seconds. Light rose around me, the White Tiger of the West taking form. I opened another file, hit the bottom in a second flat, and opened the next, again and again and again. With my massively boosted speed and the processing capacity of my Clairvoyance, I could read the words as fast as the computer could render them, taking in everything I saw.

Phrases stood out like 'response from the government,' 'the alternatives,' 'long-term effects,' 'market crash,' 'negotiations,' 'more efficient methods,' 'regulations'…

But in the end, it all came back to the same thing.

'Dwindling supply.'

'Estimated decline.'

'Running out.'

This was inevitable, a disturbingly calm part of me thought. Nonrenewable resources, by their very definition, ran out. With the tiny landmass Humanity was forced to inhabit, it was a miracle that we hadn't run out _already_ , that we'd even been located near a large supply in the first place. The Grimm covered the vast majority of the planet; naturally, they cut us off from most of its resources in the process. We all knew this was coming, really, had heard about the idea.

But…

"It's about Dust," I said calmly, still reading rapidly as windows flashed across the screen. I felt the strain of the White Tiger's draw on my power but didn't really care right now; I had enough for a while yet, and, ironic as it was considering what I was reading, I could restore it still. "The deposits the Kingdom's have access to are running out."

Raven went still at those words, mask turning towards me. I only saw her in the periphery of my vision, though, as focused as I was on the steady tide of windows. I took my hand away from the screen, guiding it instead with the fingers of my aura as I shifted through faster and faster.

"When?" Raven asked, her voice different again, quiet—maybe even strained?

I waited a moment before answering, closing windows to open new ones concerning estimates.

Nothing truly immediate, but…relatively soon. A few decades, optimistically."

"And…" Raven paused. I felt her breathing change through Levant and it was the only real method I had to gauge her reaction. "What are they doing to try and fix it?"

I shifted gears again, opening up records of experiments, designs, suggestions…there was even one concerning expansion.

"Attempts to obtain more deposits run into the problems you mentioned. Attempts to synthesize Dust…my, expensive to say the least." I continued, still breathing easily. I was calm and had been from the beginning, without even a blip in the emotional radar; I suspected that meant I'd been in shock before my power took over and now it was keeping anything else from getting to me. It didn't matter. "Alternative fuel sources…not enough land, not enough resources, not a good enough defense against the Grimm. Attempts to recycle…not very effective."

"And the Councils?" Raven said, something in her voice tight. "Do they know?"

I minimized the window I was currently on and searched the list. I'd really gotten the hang of the uninformative naming system, so it wasn't as hard to find what I was looking for.

"It would appear so," I said, pausing to ponder what I was looking at. "It seems they were notified very early on and there was a big meeting to discuss it."

"I…" She paused. "I don't remember anything like that."

"Well, there's a transcript," I said. "And a recording. I suspect…yes, they agreed to keep it quiet to avoid starting a panic. Reducing Dust expenditures…ah, so that's why those laws were made. But they decided not to reduce it below a certain point, citing Graph C…whoever made these Appendixes did a very poor job labeling things, but it must be this one. They believed that if people were aware that Dust supplies were dwindling, the resulting panic might draw the Grimm, who would cause more panic—"

"So instead they do _nothing_ ," Raven snarled and I actually turned to her, literally feeling the hostility flowing off of her. "They see our time is running out and they just watch it slip by—and send people to die. Why am I not surprised? "

Using my magical powers and keen sense of observation, I sensed that she was upset. Indeed, that she might even carry some _ill will_ towards the council. Nonetheless, I just turned back to the computer when she didn't attack me, going back to skimming files in silence as if I hadn't interrupted. Even if I hadn't been able to see her emotions flowing into her Aura in a furious, vibrant display, I'd still have hesitated to speak to her right now, seething as she was.

It made me wonder, though. The way she sounded, how she'd reacted to the news…as she said, she _didn't_ sound surprised. As if…

Again, I wondered about Raven—about what could have made an apparently famous Huntress join the White Fang. What she might have seen, what she might know, and now, how it might relate to the Council…I never would have considered any of these things a few months ago, would never even have thought about it, but seeing her and seeing _this_ …I was unsure and yet, intrigued.

Granted, I'd probably have been a lot _more_ intrigued if I wasn't still reeling from the revelation—as much as the Gamer's Mind allowed, at least. Maybe that was why I didn't say anything, I…well, I really wasn't sure what _to_ say, honestly. Not to her, not about…any of this. I mean…Dust was running out.

 _Dust_ was running _out_. In the _foreseeable future_. In a time frame I would be _around_ for.

That was…it was hard to even truly grasp the immensity of such a thing. We still had some time, but…we used Dust for _everything_. It was what had allowed us to…well, not thrive perhaps, but grow far beyond what we'd once been limited to. If it ran out, though, that'd mean…God, I didn't even know where to begin. The infrastructure that supported our cities would fail eventually, of course, but what about society? How long until it began to break down under the fact that it couldn't support itself anymore? And when that happened, what…

What were we even going to do? We meaning…damn it, I wasn't even sure who _we_ meant, because this would send things to hell for _everyone_. The Hunters maybe? The loss of Dust rounds would take a heavy toll on them in the long run, I was sure, as it stripped away both convenience and safety, but when the _nations_ started to fail, too…

There would be fighting, I was sure. Natural resources didn't tend to be distributed evenly and Dust was no different; some Kingdoms would run out faster than others. Would we stand together as we did in times of peace, supporting one another? Or would nations draw away, clinging to their own reserves to try and last a little bit longer? If so, I was certain there'd be a reaction of some kind; it was bizarrely funny to even think about since if ever there was a situation where we couldn't afford to be fighting amongst ourselves, it'd be this one, but…

Would this mean war? As fears rose and things worsened, would the Hunters be called upon to fight _each other_?

Or maybe I was worrying over nothing. Maybe we'd stand together even in our darkest hour, the terrors at our door binding us even closer as we stood against it. I liked that thought a lot better…but if our defenses failed, if our resources ran out, if fear and panic spread through the kingdoms because we all knew what was coming…would it be enough to make a difference? Or would we just die together instead of dying separately? Or maybe…

So yeah, a part of me was curious now, about what the Council might know and might be keeping from the public. What type of things had been happening while all of us were completely unaware? Did that have something to do with why Raven stopped being a Huntress? All interesting questions.

But it probably wasn't the time to ask and I was struggling to care _too_ much about the answers right now. Maybe later, I'd want to know, but for now I just wanted… _needed_ to think, to take this all in and try to find… _something_. A way out? A way _through_? I didn't know, but I had to find it.

And really thinking about it, I didn't even care too much about the fact that I'd been lied to. Maybe it was because of my power, but I didn't feel all that outraged. I could understand Raven's feelings, certainly, understand why countless others would undoubtedly be enraged by the fact and maybe even agree with some of it—but I thought they were probably right about a lot of things. If they'd heard the news, people would panic and that panic would spread until we were a beacon to every Grimm on the continent. All telling everyone would do is make things worse and hasten the fall. No, better to keep things quiet, amongst experts and professionals who could pursue actual solutions without making things worse in the process. That there was the potential for things to go so wrong just made it all the more important that cooler heads prevail.

Granted, I don't know where that put them _morally_ speaking, considering that they _were_ basically keeping it a secret that we were all probably going to die—but I understood it. Even agreed somewhat. The solutions they'd been looking into, on ways to improve efficiency, find alternatives, access new sources, and even attempts to _create_ Dust…they'd made sense, even if they hadn't yielded the results they'd hoped for. I thought they were probably going about this as well as they could, under the circumstances. It was a pity these files were so outdated; perhaps something new had come to light, something I could look into. Or perhaps finding _that_ would be the next step, but how—

"What happens?" Raven asked suddenly, voice cutting through my thoughts. "What happens when it all comes crashing down?"

I blinked beneath my mask, thoughts taking a moment to jump tracks. I very nearly asked what she meant before hesitating; it was obvious enough, I guess.

"I suppose it depends on _how_ it falls," I mused at last, speaking slowly as I continued to sound things out. "If the Kingdoms manage to stay together, there's at least the possibility of prolonging the inevitable. It's possible that we could find other places to settle; somewhere both near great supplies of Dust and shielded from the Grimm by natural barriers, where the cycle could continue. There must be at least a few places like that on Remnant, it's just a matter of finding them and surviving such a massive journey with the amount of fear such a trip would generate among the people. If so, that'd push back the end by a hundred years or so. And who knows, if the Kingdom's support one another, perhaps a solution might be found in that time. It would require a great deal of trust, of people holding it together during emergencies, and would cost countless lives to make such a trip and rebuild, but I wouldn't say it was _impossible_."

For a moment, she was silent, breath steadying as her earlier outburst faded away completely and the mask came back on. Several seconds after I finished, she nodded once, taking that in.

"And assuming that extremely unlikely scenario _doesn't_ happen?"

I was silent for a moment, mulling the question over before giving my answer.

"It's likely that many Hunters would survive," I said at last. "Travelling individually or in small groups, it shouldn't be difficult to fight off most Grimm and avoid the rest. At the same time, those with power, experience, and training are less likely to react with the type of mindset that would draw in the Grimm. Many would still die, whether because of the resulting dangers or because they lost enough that their grief overcame their training or simply because of the lack of infrastructure, but many would survive. Some of them might even be able to support small groups of people in the aftermath and lead them somewhere relatively safe. Given time, they might find protected places and eventually build civilization anew."

"You think that's possible?" She asked.

"It may well have happened before," I replied. "Many civilizations have fallen throughout history, yet others have grown elsewhere."

She nodded again, taking a deep breath.

"And everyone else?" She asked, apparently under the strange belief that I was an authority on such things. "What will they do?"

"Die, I guess." I said, suppressing a sigh. That answer was obvious enough that I wasn't even sure why she asked. A part of me wanted to hesitate before the delivery, to call it something else, but…we both knew the truth. We both knew what was at stake. There was no point in hiding it.

Her response surprised me, though.

"No," She said. "I won't let that happen. There has to be a way."

I looked at her, eyebrows rising beneath the Goliath's mask. I hadn't expected those words from her and having heard them, I…well, I wasn't sure how to process them. Maybe I shouldn't have been—I suppose we were all the heroes of our own stories, but…it really made me wonder what could possibly be driving her, if that was her mindset. A Huntress, a terrorist, and apparently someone who wanted to be a hero…it seemed contradictory, almost.

Of course, I was all of those things, too. Maybe that's why I considered her quietly for a moment and then…decided to take a chance. Maybe it was foolish, but…

"Perhaps," I said. "You may have heard that my talk with Jeanne Roma and Cynosarges Alexandria went well. What you may not have heard was _why_. We found something…perhaps something you could help us with."

She looked at me then and I knew I had her attention—but I still needed to do this carefully, juggling my secrets.

"Some information has come to light recently," I continued. "A…manuscript, of sorts, written in Babel."

"Then it's useless to us," She said. "No one can read Babel."

"I wouldn't…quite say that," I replied and from the way she went still, I figured her eyes must have been wide under that mask. "I wouldn't call myself _fluent_ by any means, but I believe I can understand the gist of it. Enough, perhaps, to find some clues."

Or, at least, that was the hope. With my Observe, it should be possible—it had worked with Naraka, at least. Although that had been a skill book, the fact remained that it had told me the basics even though I didn't understand the language. If I could improve my Observe or practice on something…and if, in the long run, I could get a skill from it…

At the very least, it wasn't impossible—not even implausible, really. And if we had Raven's help…

"Already, Jeanne Roma has expressed great interest in unveiling Babel's mysteries," I continued. "As we speak, she is gathering everything she can get her hands on. With your help, however, perhaps we might find something more quickly. At the very least, I'm certain she would be glad to deepen our alliance, in return for your aid—with her ties to the Mistral Council, she must already be aware of what is coming. Perhaps that was even why she took me up on my offer so readily. But with our power and the backing of Mistral's Families…"

I left the thought hanging in the air, smiling at her beneath my mask.

"And what did you find that interested her so?" She asked after a moment of silence.

And here comes the true risk, I thought. But…nothing ventured, nothing gained. With this, I knew she'd be interested; if she felt as strongly about this as she seemed to, I'd make an unspeakable powerful ally out of what had been a deadly threat. And in the face of this problem, of what the whole world was facing…it was worth the risk.

"This," I said, quickly draining several Dust crystals I drew from my Inventory before snapping my fingers once. "It's called 'Naraka.'"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Friend Request**

As the world shifted around us, Raven tensed suddenly. I couldn't blame her, even if I wasn't entirely certain _what_ made her react that way—Naraka was an eerie place. The thousands upon thousands of sounds that people took for granted—distant voices, sounds of motion, all the signs that we weren't alone in an empty world, however fait—just vanished the instant we crossed between worlds, fading in the blink of an eye.

Because we _were_ alone and the world _was_ empty. Or at least, we would be for a few seconds, until those sounds returned—though what that return signified wouldn't be much better, honestly. Then we'd just be surrounded on all sides in an endlessly hostile world, instead.

"Where are we?" She asked, a sudden edge to her tone. It wasn't fear, though; it was almost…

"Didn't I just tell you, Raven?" I replied. "We are in Naraka—a dimensional space crafted by a barrier technique that we believe to have originated in Babel. It's a very interesting technique, layering an empty copy of the world over reality in such a way that they are at once separated and intertwined. But perhaps what is _most_ interesting about it is what occurs within the space created."

Raven's mask turned and I felt her attention leave me like I was shrugging off a great weight. I could imagine what she was doing, using her power to sift through the world around us, to see the empty world as she searched for what I spoke of. It wouldn't take her long to find them, I was sure.

I saw her stiffen again and assume she'd seen it.

"The Grimm," She confirmed. "This place…it's creating Grimm."

"Yes," I replied. "Within this space, they will spawn without end—it's a breeding ground for monsters. At present, it creates only Beowolves, but given time I feel that will change. Already, you can see it somewhat, can you not? They've gotten larger since my first barrier, growing spines of bones and showing other signs of growth. I think they may be getting smarter, as well, since I've seen them work together better than before…I can interfere with the process, keep them weaker, but left alone this skill will make stronger and stronger Grimm as it improves."

"Why would anyone create such a thing?" Raven whispered. "A world that's desolate but for monsters, with enough of civilization left behind to show how empty it truly is. What were they trying to do?"

"Probably not this," I said, drawing her attention back to me. "It's strange and I admit I don't understand most of it—but as someone who learned to use this technique, I'm all but certain _this_ is something they didn't plan for. The manuscript I learned this from painted a very different picture for what this technique would create, something…it's hard to even put into words, truly. I was lucky I understood enough to mimic the procedure, but much of the science behind it is still lost on me. And there _was_ a science to this, I can assure you of that, just as I can tell you that this barrier _feels_ wrong, as though _something_ is making it behave erratically."

"What?"

"I haven't the slightest idea, I'm afraid," I answered. "There's too much I don't understand for me to even begin to say I know what's actually going on. And yet, I'm sure the possibilities are not lost on you."

"They created the Grimm," She replied. "That's what you're saying, isn't it?"

I hummed considering.

"Created," I said. "Summoned. Discovered. Perhaps were even discovered _by_. There's no way of really knowing and too many possibilities to count. Whatever the case, it's obvious they were tied to them _somehow_ and it's likely they knew a great deal more about the Grimm then we do—possibly even where they came from. But if we can learn what they knew…"

There was the sound of claws scraping away at steel, a ground at the door to the server room that drew both of our attentions. It was soon followed by more noises as the Grimm outside began to mass at our doorstep and try to force their way inside.

I called upon Suryasta's power silently and watched them burn before turning to face Raven once more.

"There's a possibility," I continued. "A _chance_ , even, that this might be what we're looking for—what _all_ of us have been looking for, for as long as we can remember. Even if the odds might seem slim, if we can learn more about what led to the Grimm or figure out what is causing the problem…it's possible we might also be able to find a solution. We might be able to _end_ this conflict, once and for all."

"End it," She said in a tone I recognize and understood completely. She said the words slowly, sounding them out like she could believe they were really, much less that they represented something possible—and yet, as if they were fascinating beyond measure. "Do you honestly believe that's possible?"

"I don't think it's _impossible_ ," I said. "In my eyes, that makes it worth trying. For all the people who have died…this world has lost too much for us not to try now. Will you help me?"

She was silent for a long minute, watching silently as more Grimm amassed. Or perhaps she wasn't. Perhaps it was the world she was looking at—a world barren of life, of Humans and Faunus alike, left empty of anything but the hunger of the Grimm. Perhaps she was looking at what awaited if we couldn't stop the Grimm. Not today, perhaps, maybe not even for a hundred or a thousand years, but some day in the future when our last hopes ran out and there was nowhere left to run and the last of us left this World with nothing but desolate ruins as sign of our passing.

"Yes," She finally answered. "I will help you. Even if it's just a tiny hope…"

"The difference between zero and one is as large as between one and infinity," I answered. "So this is far, far better than nothing, yes."

"Then what do we do next, Jian?" She asked, still looking away from me.

"Well, first…" I snapped my fingers and the dimension around us shattered, leaving us back in normal reality. "Let's finish up here, shall we?"

She looked at the computer screen and the information upon it, nodding once.

"I'll get a flash drive—"

I held one up, drawn from my Inventory. She looked at me for a moment, either surprised or annoyed, but nodded as I plugged it in and began copying files.

"Now then," I said, righting myself as the load bar began making progress. "We'll need to contact Mrs. Roma soon. Once we have her on our side, we'll have everything we need to truly begin. I don't foresee any problems on that front except one—her daughter. She seems to have been absent for quite some time. Do you happen to know what she's been up to?"

"Yes," She said. "She has not been harmed, merely…preoccupied. I wouldn't risk relations with the Families at this juncture, but I couldn't risk Ozpin interfering, either."

I chuckled.

"A wise decision. Still, there should be little need to worry about that now, I think," I answered. "Once the Roma family is on our side, the others will follow, so release her once we've finished negotiations. Her business trip will come to an end soon enough; until then we'll simply have her mother keep her out of our hair. We can afford to play nice and lay low until she's gone—though it had its uses, we don't need to rely on the festival any longer."

"Very well," Raven said. "Once our business has been completed, I'll send her back home."

"Wonderful," I replied, removing the flash drive after it finished its work. "We'll look over this, as well, and see what else we can find. With her connections, Mrs. Roma should be able to get us access to more recent files, as well. We'll have access to the copies of Babel within Alexandria's library soon and then it's simply a matter of examining the many ruins until we find something. I have no doubt that there's a record of known sites that Mrs. Roma can get us access to, but if that's not enough, we'll need to do some leg work."

"That's our next stop, then?" She murmured. "The Roma estate?"

"Yes," I said. "Although given your…history with her, it might be best if you allow me to speak to her first, however."

Raven grunted, probably remembering the incidents my grandmother had mentioned.

"Fine," She said, turning as shades of red and black gathered before her. "Let's go, then. It won't be too long before someone notices the guard upstairs. If we have what we need, there's no point in staying her any longer. Unless there's anything else…?"

I cleared the computer and put everything back in order before nodding at her and moving to her side. I raised my hand to stop her when she moved to go, however.

"One last thing," I said. "We should discuss who to tell."

She was silent for a moment, head tilting down.

"You know we can't tell everyone," I added after a moment of silence. "Even with your opinion of the Council, you know they did the right thing on that front; this situation will not be improved by thousands of panicked or outraged people. More than that, I think we of all people know the importance of keeping secrets, don't we?"

"I had no intention of telling anyone," She said after a moment. "The more people who know, the greater the chance that word will get out. Once that happens…I know. It's just that the Council…"

She fell silent for a moment. I couldn't see her expression or where she was looking, but her Aura curled around her as she stood.

"I got so tired of being sent to fight or die just so someone else could say they'd won," She continued after a moment of silence. "Of being lied to and used and watching others fall around me for things it turned out didn't even matter. Of being used so—"

She cut herself off and went quiet. I looked at her for a moment, considering her words. I had no idea what events she was referring to, of course, but…

"And look at me now," She sounded bitter. "At the wonders I left it all behind to create. I saw what they did and I had to correct it—and once I learnt the truth, I could never stop, no matter how much was lost and how many died. And it was all for _nothing_ , in the end. How pitiful; I really am exactly the same as them."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, lifting a hand to remove my mask after a moment of hesitation. It felt a bit odd to do so, but it wasn't my face beneath it, anymore; I didn't need to hide who I was with masks or makeup or even Lenore's power any longer, thanks to my new title. I wore the mask because of its power, not any actual _need_. So…this was fine.

"I don't believe that's true," I said, facing her. "All those years of belief, all the lives that flocked to it, all the things we've done…I don't think it meant nothing. I won't allow it to mean nothing. We're going to save the world, Raven."

She took a breath, looking into my eyes. After a moment, she raised her hands to her own mask and slowly lifted it from her face, revealing a surprisingly young looking face and bright red eyes.

"When you say it like that, it sounds even more ridiculous," She said. "Let's just leave."

I chuckled again, brushing my hair from my eyes before nodding to her, replacing my mask and walking through the portal.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Bargaining**

We made a quick stop by the White Fang's base to let make copies of the information we'd gathered and to let things blow over in the city. Given how quickly everything had happened, my grandmother was probably still busy dealing with everything that was happening and there was probably a lot of fuss over what I'd done with Weiss, so we stayed put for a few hours and discussed a few things about our new mission—ways to contact one another, who to trust, what to tell the others, etc. After enough time had gone by to let things calm down a touch, Raven made a door and we went to have a talk.

The portal opened near the Roma estate, just out of sight of the property itself. I strode out of it confidently and let my awareness expand, flooding through the trees and across the carefully trimmed lawn. All around me, I felt life, nearly everywhere in the forest but much rarer in my grandmother's house—which made it easy to find what I was looking for using the largest signs as a reference point. I didn't sense Cynosarges anywhere in the house, but Hugo and Enzo stood watch by the front door of the house. In the southwest corner of the house, I ruffled Gou's ears with a carefully controlled breeze as he perked up in response to my presence, but the majority of my focus went to my grandmother in her office, where she was drumming her fingers quietly on the wood of her desk as she watched something on her scroll.

Without moving my lips, I spoke to her.

"I'm home, Grandmother," I whispered into her ear. She jerked in place once before tilting her head slightly as if to better listen to me, fingers stopping their motions instantly. She opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted her before she could begin. "And Raven's with me."

And just like that, she closed her mouth with a click. I saw her lips twitch once as if to say something anyway, but she understood what I was saying—that Raven could be watching as we spoke and that so long as she was here, we both need to be careful about what came out of our mouths.

Thankfully, I didn't need a mouth to speak. I could use Levant to form words and make sure I wasn't overheard, whispering into ears without so much as twitching. Even when I was walking right next to her, I could speak without giving anything away.

"There's a lot I need to tell you, but we'll have to talk fast; a lot of this probably isn't going to make much sense because of that, but I need you to bear with me. First of all, this is what's happened since we last saw each other—the White Fang found out that Weiss Schnee was being housed in Atlas, probably because some guard didn't understand the gravity of the situation. My power alerted me to what was going on just in time and I managed to reach her before anyone else did, but Raven was already spying on her. You can probably imagine how problematic that made things, but I managed to wing it with some help from Pathfinder and divert her attention. You see, Weiss's mother had given her a necklace before passing on and inside was a recorded message and a password that I managed to access because it turned out to be part of my quest and I convinced Raven it was more valuable than Weiss' life."

Because I was essentially speaking with my thoughts, I didn't have to stop for breath, but I paused for a moment to let that sink in before continuing.

"And, well…maybe it kind of was. You see, Weiss mother had recorded a lot of confidential information for her daughters. I haven't had time to go over it all and see everything inside of it, but…we know about Dust, Grandmother. We saw the Schnee company reports, the Council transcripts, the forecasts, everything. I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about already, but just in case you don't…Dust is running out. I read enough to be sure of that, though the reports I saw were pretty old; you might have seen something more recently that said otherwise. As is, though, it was a pretty alarming discovery for both of us, but I like to think I handled it pretty well; I told Raven about what we discovered with Naraka and about our plans to learn as much as we can from Babel. I showed her Naraka to confirm it and she and I agreed to work together to find a solution. Now here's where things get tricky."

My Grandmother looked like she was getting a migraine listening to me talk, but there wasn't time to slow things down.

"She agreed to work with me and she believes _I'm_ working with _you_ , so you and I need to start working together _right now_. I'm at the edge of your property, disguised as Jian Bing, and as far as Raven is concerned, we're close allies. I'm supposed to go up and make sure there are no problems between you and Raven, but odds are good that she'll be watching us the whole time and we only have a short time to make up…everything. If there's anything you need to tell me or need to know, say so while you have the chance because I need to come up now."

My grandmother took a deep breath.

"We need to stop letting you wander off alone," She said before going silent for a moment before growling something to herself. "Okay. _Okay_. We don't have a lot of time, but we can handle this. I'm…as ready as I'll ever be; I suppose I'll follow your lead since you know what's happening. Just…"

She exhaled slowly, shaking her head. I understood anyway.

I lifted a hand, back in my body beside Raven.

"Wait here," I said. "It'll only take a minute."

Raven looked up at my grandmother's house, face masked once more. She was silent as I kept walking, not saying a word until I was almost out of sight.

"Be careful with her," She whispered, apparently just taking it for granted that I could here. Which I could, in fairness. "There's a reason so many people are afraid of the big, bad wolf. Watch your back."

"There seems little point in that when I have you to watch it for me," I replied, speaking into her ear. She didn't react, at least not that I could see, but felt the weight of her attention settle about me and left her with a chuckle.

I checked the area quickly to make sure the coast was clear before walking up to the front door like I owned the place. I gave Hugo and Enzo a glance and they open the door without a word, letting me in. Inside…I knew it was just my imagination, but the mansion seemed different now. Maybe it was just that I was usually with others while here, but I don't think that was it. Whatever it was though, walking through it now…there sure were a lot of rooms for a house that was so empty. As I walked, muffling my footsteps with Levant, it was almost like I was inside Naraka again.

And then I reached my grandmother's office.

"Come in," She said as I knocked and I slid the door open silently as I slipped through. My grandmother glanced up from what she was writing, flickering up to my face as she put her pen down. "Jian. I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Neither did I, Jeanne," I replied, leaning against the chair in front of her desk. "But something came up. I take it you're already aware of some of it?"

"Of course," She answered. "There was quite a stir over what you did to the Schnee Heiress and I got drawn into it; it's all over the news now. I assume there was a point to that?"

"Naturally," I said, lifting the flash drive and making a show of looking at it. "Did you know that the late Mrs. Schnee left a message behind for her children?"

She watched me silently for a moment, thumb brushing against the pen that now laid flat on her desk, as if ready to snatch it up and stab somebody at a moment's notice.

"No," She said at last. "What type of message was it, to interest you so much?"

"Oh, it was quite interesting. It was a key, of sorts—to something the Schnee Dust Company has hidden for a long, long time." I tossed the flash drive into the air absently before catching it once more, masked face turning towards my grandmother. "Of course, you probably already know, don't you Jeanne? About Dust."

She watched me warily for a moment, silent and still—until I chuckled quietly.

"It's okay," I smiled. "I'm not mad. I'm surprised you'd keep such a thing hidden from me, but no matter—I have good news!"

"Is that so?" My grandmother murmured, drumming her fingers again.

"It is," I insisted. "A friend has decided to join us in our efforts."

"'A friend,'" She repeated, brow furrowing slightly as if surprised I had any. "Anyone I know?"

"Actually, yes," I answered. "I believe you're familiar with Raven Branwen?"

My grandmother went still, eyes intent on my face.

"We've met," She said.

"Good, good," I clapped softly. "Then I take it her involvement won't be an issue? You brought Cynosarges in on this matter, so it seemed only fair."

She continued to watch me for a long moment before giving a slight—microscopic, really—nod.

"Very well," She said. "If you vouch for her."

"I do," I answered with a smile. "Raven?"

A portal swirled to life behind me but I steadfastly refused to turn and look at it. As such, I saw the very real tension go into my grandmother when Raven entered. Everything up until now may have been an act, but the way she reacted to this…there was no doubt about it. She was honestly worried. Maybe even afraid. But was it for herself? Or for me?

"Now, I know you two have had your differences," I continued. "But I'm glad you're both able to put them aside in the face of necessity. Raven here even went out of her way to find your daughter, Jeanne, and volunteered to see her safely home."

"As soon as we're done here," Raven murmured, just a step behind me, eyes focused intently on my grandmother—just as my grandmother's were focused on her.

I spread a hand, smiling beneath my mask as I finally took a seat, relaxed amidst the tension.

"Then let's finish quickly," I said, gesturing graciously. "Since she must be worried. Raven has offered her aid in our search for Babel—and with her help, I foresee us accomplishing a great deal. After we're done searching through the library's records, it may become necessary to search the ruins themselves; if you would be so kind as to compile a list of known locations, that will give us a good starting point. That won't be a problem, will it?"

My grandmother's eyes went from me to Raven and back again before she shook her head slowly.

"No," She said. "It won't be an issue. I take it that what we discussed concerning the White Fang remains true?"

"Of course." I smiled. "I simply wanted to make you aware of recent developments—I believe in the value of communication, you see. I'll be going then—unless you need anything?"

"No," She said quietly. "We can always talk later, after all."

"Until then," I rose, bowing ever so slightly. "Goodbye, Jeanne."

Levant, standing invisibly behind her, leaned forward ever so slightly and whispered into her ear.

"I'll be home soon, Grandmother, and I'll make sure mom gets back safely, too. I'm sorry for all of this." She said in my voice, the words not carrying past my grandmother's ears. She didn't react to them, though, simply watching me as I followed Raven back through her portal.

"Until then," She said as the door closed behind us.

 **XxXXxX**

The rest of the day passed quickly. The simple fact of the matter was that there just wasn't a lot we could do until we had more information. Once my grandmother had finished arranging things, we'd be able to start checking things out, but for now all that was left was to finish sketching out the basics—we'd talked a bit about who else to involve, agreed to keep things quiet for now, and then pretty much decided to go our separate ways after giving each other a few ways to contact one another. Raven left through her portal and I through Naraka and that had pretty much been that. My quest, 'The Dogs of Mistral,' had declared itself complete and I'd received my received my reward, for what little it amounted to after all the levels I'd gained in the course of the mission itself.

That was fine, though. I was pretty used to the fact that doing quests wasn't the best way to grind—and that hadn't been the point to begin with. No, compared to everything else that had happened, to everything I learned, it was almost unimportant. I was…honestly, I still wasn't sure how I felt about everything that had happened, but I supposed I was content enough with the results. Rather than 'grinding,' I felt like I'd made 'progress.'

There was only one thing left to do, which was why I was here. I waited in front of my grandmother's house, sitting on the steps beneath the night sky with Gou and Autumn at my side. Hugo and Enzo stayed nearby, though they went into the house as night began to fall—I wasn't sure if they stayed here full time or if they switched off with someone else eventually, but whenever I checked in on them, they were awake and on guard. My grandmother was still in her office, though I noticed her looking out the window frequently—we'd spoken briefly upon my return, but when I'd asked to delay things for a while, she'd conceded, understanding what I was requesting from her. I wasn't really worried about what she'd say when we finally did talk, given that we'd both had to do our best with what we'd been given, but I'd put her in an awkward position and I understood that. Really, though, I didn't think she was too upset with the results; she might give me a mild scolding over a few things, but all told, it probably wasn't anything to get too worried about.

And even if that wasn't the case, this was more important. I believed Raven, but that didn't change the fact that I needed to be here to see it.

The sun had nearly set when my mother came home. Her clothes were dirty, stained, and torn, as if she'd spent the last few days in the wilderness—and maybe she had. I could see Raven just opening a portal under her while she slept and dumping her off in the woods somewhere; getting rid of her problems by tossing them through a portal or something along those lines. I wasn't sure exactly what happened between them, wasn't sure I even wanted to ask, but…

It didn't really matter as long as she came back.

"Welcome home, Mom," I greeted, elbows on my knees. Gou reacted with enough excitement for the both of us, bouncing in place as internally puppy forces tried to pull him in every direction. I looked her over with quiet concern, checking her HP and MP as I made sure she was okay, but beyond looking roughed up and generally filthy, she seemed pretty much the same as when I'd last seen her—that is, except for one thing.

 **The Earth, My Anvil  
LV89  
Isabella Arc**

She looked at me silently as she climbed the stairs, the expression on her face tired, but she didn't say a word until she was just a few steps below me.

"I guess I missed your match," She said at last, sighing as she leaned her forehead against the pommel of her sword. "I'm sorry, Jaune."

"It's okay," I shook my head. "In the end, I decided not to compete."

"Oh?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing as she looked me over.

I shrugged a shoulder absently as I rose and went to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. A few quick heals took the bite out of whatever exhaustion she must have felt—enough so that she began brushing herself off and frown at me like her thoughts were coming together.

"Something came up," I said, facing that consideration fully. "I think I've had enough excitement for one trip, anyway."

She raised a hand to my face as she looked me over, her eyes worried.

"What happened?"

I sighed.

"All sorts of things, Mom," I said, scratching my head with a finger. "Enough that…I don't even know, really. Thing were kind of a mess there for a bit and…I don't want to bother you when you just got back and haven't even eaten yet. You'll probably get a headache, like Grandmother did."

"I'm fine," She said, before frowning suddenly. "Where is she, anyway?"

I jerked my head back at one of the windows above us. I could feel her there, through my powers, watching her daughter's return without making a sound. After a moment, she let the curtains fall back into place and returned to her desk silently.

"She wanted to speak to you when you got back," I said. "Said she'd fill you in."

"Did she now?" Mom glanced up at the window and frowned slightly before shaking her head in annoyance. "She can wait. What happened to you, Jaune? Are you okay?"

"I'm the same as always," I smiled, absently checking to make sure there were no unwanted observers. "No need to worry about me. But…it feels mean to pile stuff onto you before you even walk through the door, but I guess its better for you to hear it from me then see it on the news or something. I won't ask you about your mission or what happened, but I take it you're aware that the White Fang's been active in Mistral

She looked at me with a complete and utter lack of surprise which I took as an 'of course.'

"Well…things got a little wild. I'm still not entirely sure about everything that happened and there were a lot of questions left unanswered when all was said and done, but I had to make an appearance when things got…well, when things started to get bad. I'm not sure how much you knew or how much is safe to tell you even now, but the White Fang found out that Weiss Schnee was in Mistral—"

I paused for a minute to look at her but she _still_ didn't look surprised. That…answered a few questions and raised even more.

"—And I had to interfere," I continued. "In the process, though, I…well, _we_ came across some really dangerous information."

My mother frowned at that, the concern in her eyes deepening.

"What kind of information?" She asked. "And what do you mean when you say it might not be safe?"

I looked at her silently for a moment, tilting my head before nodding as I came to a decision.

"I mean that I really don't know what some people might do if they somehow find out you know—but if you really want to, I'll tell you anyway," I said. "It's big, though. 'Internationally kept secret' big. The Councils—all of the Councils, unanimously—agreed to keep it hidden when they found out about it…and so did my partner in the White Fang, the Schnee Dust Company, and God knows who else. I don't know who all is aware of this, but…it's a list of really, really powerful people and with what's at stake, they might be willing to do some extreme things to keep it hidden."

"You're saying you shouldn't tell me," She stated.

I shrugged.

"I don't really know, honestly," I said. "But it's not really my place to decide what's best for you, is it Mom? That's why I'm letting you choose. It's not the type of secret that should be spread around easily, and it's not really a truth you'd be happy knowing, either. Whether you knowing would help matters, though…well, I'm not sure. But I trust you and I respect you, so I'll let you decide for yourself."

She looked me up and down slowly before closing her eyes.

"What did they get you wrapped up in, Jaune?" She murmured before leaning her forehead against mine. I noticed belatedly that I'd gotten taller than her at some point during the last few months. "I didn't mean for you to get involved in all this…"

I shrugged again.

"Its fine," I said, not wanting her to worry but fully aware that she would no matter what I did. "It was nothing I couldn't handle."

"It's not a matter of what you can and cannot handle," She said, opening her eyes to meet mine. "You've gotten even stronger while I was away, haven't you?"

"A little bit, I guess," I replied, smiling slightly. "Like I said, a lot happened."

She nodded slightly, the motion pushing my own head back.

"Did you manage to get your Wisdom over ninety?" She asked.

"Over a hundred," I answered. "I'm level forty-six now, Mom. I can even see _your_ level now."

"Level forty—" She began incredulously before stopping herself. "I assume there's a story there, too, but we'll put there aside for the time being. But since you're so wise now, why don't I ask _you_ for advice? What do you think, Jaune? Should you tell me?"

I considered that for a moment before smiling at her.

"I don't think it makes a lot of difference either way, honestly," I told her. "I think you'll be worried, but everything will be okay—because I'll make sure of it. I just wanted you to know what's at stake before you got involved in this. If you really want to, though, it might not be a bad idea to speak to Grandmother or Ozpin."

"Or Ozpin," She repeated. "What does he have to do with this?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest, but we figure he probably knows or at least suspects," I snorted. "I talked to Grandmother about it and she said it might be a good idea to bring him in on things even if he doesn't, a least to a degree. So I guess I'll talk to him later? If you're not sure, I guess you could ask him if _he_ thinks you should know."

Mom exhaled slowly, shaking her head as she looking up at the darkening sky.

"What a mess," She said. "This whole damn trip has been…"

She sighed again before looking back at me and giving me a slight smile.

"How about you let me get some sleep first and then decide, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded, returning her smile. "I'm glad you're okay, Mom."

"Me, too," She patted my cheek and let her shoulder's sag. "I should go talk to her now, I suppose. Get this over with."

It wasn't hard to guess what she meant, so I nodded and followed her as she walked back to the house. But…

"What do we do now?" I asked. "What with everything getting…"

I gestured vaguely.

"I'll need to talk to some people," She said. "Just to make sure of some stuff. I assume you'll want to say something to your friends, too, right?"

I nodded and she smiled up at the sky again.

"After we do that, though…these…these last few days in Mistral really helped me remember something. Something I…something I guess I let myself forget. Something simple but so important." She said before turning her head to look my way. "Why I fucking _left_. Let's go home, Jaune."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Third Interlude – Blake Belladonna**

"Amazing," One of them whispered, gathered around the TV. She didn't need to even look up from her book to know what they were talking about. After all, it was the only thing _anyone_ was talking about lately. In the White Fang, on the news, even when she went into the city, it seemed like the only thing anyone thought worth discussing—the most recent attack by Jian Bing.

And yet, she couldn't help but listen as they continued.

 _"Coming to you live from the Penstemon where just earlier today, the White Fang terrorist going by the name 'Jian Bing' attacked the SDC heiress Weiss Schnee for the second time. Guards stationed throughout the building claim to have seen and heard nothing during the attack and it is still unknown how he entered or exited the building, as his presence was not noticed until a routine check found the heiress and her bodyguards unconscious in her room. What the White Fang leader intended to accomplish with this attack is unknown, but it is believed to be linked to a nearly assault on the Gaura building, which hosts and maintains servers for many companies, including the local branch of the SDC. It is suspected that the White Fang may have been after something in their files, but what remains a mystery. Heiress Weiss Schnee, now under guard in a local hospital, has refrained from commenting and now awaits the arrival of her father from Atlas. With countless questions and so little in the way of answers, we are left to wonder—what was Jian Bing after? How will the SDC respond to this attack? And, perhaps most frighteningly of all, what do these displays mean for the growing threat of the White Fang?"_

"Got in without any of them noticing," One of the masked Faunus watching whispered with a grin. "I heard half the guards got fired, right of the bat."

"How do you think he got in?" Another wondered. "I heard some of the big guys saying they were going to attack the building, but he was already inside when they found out the Schnee were in town."

"I heard the Rats saying he's been working with the boss lady lately," A third mentioned. "And I heard she made some kind of portal a few days ago. Maybe she…?"

"Couldn't be. I was there for that and while she made a portal, I didn't really get the idea that they friend, you know? I thought they were going to _fight_ for a minute there."

"Yeah, but you're stupid," The first speaker snorted. "They're obviously close, given their ranks. Hell, I heard they spent most of the day working together downstairs and no one's seen them leave yet."

"It's been, like, eight hours," The second sound incredulous. "They can't _still_ be down there. What would they even be doing?"

"I know what _I_ would be doing down there—"

"Oh, shut up, Denim," The first rolled his eyes. "Anyway, does it matter how he got in? I mean, this is the guy who stole the _White Whale_. He wanted in, he got in, the end. What I want to know is what he took from the servers?"

"Do we even know if that was him?"

"No, it just happened to happen at nearly the same time." He snorted. "Come on, guys; there had to be a reason why he left the girl alive. He interrogated her and then broke into the servers to get what he needed."

"Interrogated?" The third speaker sounder skeptical. "And no one noticed? It's hard to interrogate someone quietly."

"She's a Schnee," The second snorted. "I bet all it took was a look and she sang like a songbird. I heard she _fainted_ , too."

There was some snickering at that.

"What I don't get is why he left her alive, though. I mean, he got what he needed, obviously, so why let her go?"

"A message," One of them sounded sure. "He could have killed her _any time_ he wanted and they wouldn't have even noticed until he was gone. Let them sleep on that."

"I guess, but I still say he should have just ended it. Scaring them is great and all, but would they have been _less_ frightened if they walked in to find a corpse?"

"Maybe he was worried about what the SDC would do if their heiress died?"

"Um, hello? This is the guy who stole the White Whale in front of a thousand people, including the head of the SDC and _two_ headmasters. Somehow, I don't think he gives a fuck. And hell, what are they going to do to us? Zack said that the negotiations with the Families went through because of Jian Bing," A Faunus with curling horns said. "Mistral's on _our_ side, now, if not officially. The SDC can go suck a dick."

"Then…I don't know, maybe he was feeling merciful or something?"

"Wasn't the boss lady there, too? I'm pretty sure she was the one who eventually called everyone off, right?"

"Actually…yeah, she was. Then…no, there's definitely a reason they left he alive then. Maybe they still need her for something?"

"What?"

"How the fuck would I know?"

"Well…I guess it depends on what they took from her? So there's no really way to know…"

"…Actually…Doesn't Taurus work for both of them? Jian saved him at the White Whale thing and I thought he had some connection to the boss lady. You think maybe he knows?"

"Adam? Well, yeah, _he_ probably knows—but that guy is, like, super busy. I'm surprised he has time to breath."

"And, um, we're probably talking about top secret information here, guys. Somehow, I don't think anyone who knows is going to go 'Oh, sure, let me tell you everything!'"

"It was just a thought, dude." He said before pausing. "You know, Adam's really busy, but we could always ask Blake. She's his student, right? Maybe she knows what's going on."

"She's probably busy, too. She's always around Adam, isn't she?"

"Um, she's right over there."

They all turned towards her at once.

"…So she is." One of them said. "Hey, Blake! Do you know what's going on?"

She thought about just ignoring them, for all that she'd been listening in up 'til now, but…

The truth was…

"No," She answered honestly. "No idea."

"…Oh," One of them said awkwardly—and it was at times like these that she wished she could just look above people's heads and know their names like Jaune, because she honestly didn't remember any of these people. "We just, uh…"

"I know," She answered, closing her book as she rose. "It's no problem."

"Uh, right." The speaker nodded, bat ears twitching. "You're going now, then? I didn't mean to make you…"

"It's not that," She lied. Though it probably wasn't what he _thought_ , at least. "Things are getting busy again. Adam and I have a mission soon."

"Right," He looked relived. "Good luck on your mission! You two stay safe, okay?"

"We'll try," She shrugged and left, doing her best to ignore their conversation and the TV behind them.

Even though she was new to this base, she's memorized the various pathways quickly and it didn't take long to get where she was going. When she walked in, Adam was going through files again, so odds were they _would_ have another mission soon. A part of her wanted to ask, both about it and what had happened, but for now she just went by him and took a seat, reopening her book.

It was easier that way, if no less worrying.

"Jaune wanted to say goodbye," Adam said after a moment, not looking up from his work. "He came by about an hour ago, but I didn't know where you were. Neither did _he_ , so I take it you were in the city?"

"Yeah," She said quietly. "I…needed to clear my head. Was he okay?"

"Same as always," Adam snorted, but there was a slight smile on his face. "No point worrying about that guy. He's gotten really strong."

She nodded, looking away.

"Did he tell you what happened?"

"Just a little, to clear up some stuff. Mostly, he said to ask my teacher."

"Did you?"

"Not yet," He shrugged. "Those two…I guess they're both busy now."

"Maybe," She nodded before taking a deep, steadying breath. "What now?"

"Hm?" Adam looking at her for a moment before understanding. "Oh, just…the usual. We'll be heading back to Vytal soon—give it a week or two to make sure everything's okay here and we'll leave."

"Vale?" She asked. "Or Vacuo?"

"Either or," He said. "Things have died down some lately, so it shouldn't be an issue either way."

"Of course," She said shutting her eyes slowly as she rested her head against the back of her chair. "What are we going to do now?"

"I just told you—"

"The White Fang, I mean," She corrected. "What are we going to do next, Adam?"

He was silent for a long minute.

"Adam?"

"We'll keep going, Blake," He said, his tone sounding a bit tired for some reason. "Of course, we'll keep going. You know that."

And then it was her turn to be quiet. She considered what he was saying and knew what he meant and just…nodded.

It was true, after all.

"Yeah," She said. "Of course."

"Blake," He began to say before cutting himself off and just…stared at her for a moment. In the end, he left whatever it was unspoken and returned to his reports.

In the end, maybe it didn't matter. She'd already made her decision.

There was only one more thing to do.

 **XxXXxX**

Several weeks passed before they returned to Vale. Maybe Adam had been avoiding it deliberately. Maybe they both had. Deep down, she wondered if he knew what was coming.

He probably did.

But that didn't make it any less inevitable. Eventually, duty called and they both answered, returning to the city of Vale. She didn't ask what the mission was and Adam didn't say, but when she said she was going to Tukson's Book Trade, he'd looked at her and they'd both known it was a lie. But he'd still nodded and she'd still left and soon she'd made her way to her destination.

It was a long time in coming, she thought. She was almost as frightened to end this as she was relieved for it to be over. But there was no turning back now.

She knocked.

"Be right there!" A voice cried from within the house and a moment later the door opened. Jaune Arc blinked at her, looking briefly surprised to see her at her doorstep before smiling. "Oh, hey Blake. Didn't expect to see you here. I tried to say goodbye in Mistral but I guess you were busy."

She nodded once and took a deep breath.

"I've decided to leave the White Fang," She said by way of greeting, making him blink again.

"Uh," He said. "Okay."

"Okay?" She questioned, not sure why she was even surprised by the blasé reaction.

"Well," He scratched his head and shrugged. "If that's what you want, it's your choice. I guess I'm not that surprised, either? I mean, things weren't really going the way you wanted and I…well, I didn't help much. Sorry."

"It's not your fault," She shook her head. "This was…"

She shook her head but smiled slightly. For all that she'd been dreading it, perhaps she'd known that it be like this and to get it over with…for the first time in years, she felt at ease.

Maybe he noticed that, because he smiled, too.

"Does Adam know yet?" He asked.

She took another deep breath and sigh.

"No," She admitted. "I didn't…I didn't know how to tell him."

"Goodbye usually works," He said and shrugged at her look, smile refusing to fade. "Hey, I'm not saying, I'm just saying. Still, that's not really what I meant. Does he _know_? That you want to leave?"

"He…yeah. I think so." She whispered before nodding. "Yes, he does."

"That's good, then," He mused. "He'll probably come by here soon, too. You want me to tell him anything for you?"

"He…he already knows everything important," She answered.

"Cool," He nodded. "You need me for something?"

"No, I just…I thought you deserved to know that I was leaving," She looked up at the morning sky. "After everything…"

"You didn't have to tell me anything, Blake," He replied, shaking his head. "It's your life, after all. There's no reason for you to do anything you hate."

"I know, it's just…" She trailed off. "I was the one who dragged you into all of this. I got you wrapped up in the White Fang and now it feels like I'm the one giving up after everything, when you…"

"'Dragged me into this,'" He repeated and then laughed a little under his breath. "Blake…you didn't make me do anything. Everything I did, I chose to do myself, so…it's okay, isn't it? Mistakes were made, there were some ups and downs, but…it was okay. You don't need to feel like you owe me anything."

"I never did take you on that hunting trip, actually," She said, smiling a bit herself when it made him chuckle.

"Well…" He glanced above her head contemplatively before shrugging again. "It's nothing that can't wait. How about I give you a rain check?"

"Sure," She said. "Just until everything gets sorted out."

He nodded.

"What are you going to do now, then?" He asked, smiling at me. "You going to go help the protests again or what?"

"I'm…" She paused for a moment before nodding firmly to herself. "I thought about it a lot and it wasn't easy to decide, but…I'm going to become a Huntress."

"Oh?" He said, eyebrows furrowing slightly as he frowned.

"I won't tell anyone about your secrets," She said, seeing his expression. "Just like I won't tell them anything about the White Fang. But I…after all that's happened, I need to…"

"It's not that; I understand completely. I was just thinking about something else, is all," He said, nodding again as his smile returned. "Maybe I'll see you around, then? Have you given any thought to where you want to go?"

"I was thinking here," She said. "In Vale where…well, where everything seemed to start. There are a few things I need to do and it'll take a few months to wrap everything up, but…This seems like a good place."

"Beacon, huh?" He said. "Cool. You know, I'm going to speak to the headmaster soon, anyway. Do you want me to put in a good word for you?"

She smiled at him again but shook her head.

"Thank you for the offer," She answered resolutely. "But no. I…I think I want to do this myself. And for myself."

He looked her over once and then leaned against the doorframe.

"Okay," He said. "If it's you, you shouldn't have any problems. I'll see you around then, Blake?"

"Yeah," She shut her eyes and looked up as the sky continued to lighten and the night truly came to an end. "I'll see you later, Jaune. Stay safe, okay?"

"Yeah. Good luck, Blake," He said as she began to walk away.

"Thank you," She answered back, pausing for a moment to glance over her shoulder. "For everything. Really."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Practice Mode**

I watched Blake go in silence, a little happy, a little worried. She'd seemed uncertain but also…content, maybe. I guess the whole White Fang thing must have been weighing her down for a long time, so leaving…maybe it was a relief for her. Even with everything that was happening with both the White Fang and Dust, I was happy about that, at least. I suppose there was nothing to do but wish her luck. I knew she wanted to help people, so becoming a Hunter was a good choice.

Even if…

I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed before looking down the street.

It had only been a few weeks since we left Mistral but despite the world-altering revelations, things went back to normal pretty easily. Or maybe it was just me; my downtime generally consisted of training around the clock, so there wasn't a lot of room for alteration there, except in _what_ I trained—which, in this case, was mostly my new skills. I just came home and mostly slipped back into things as if nothing had happened and since the rest of the world didn't know about Dust…well, life went on. It was a little odd, actually, but mostly because it didn't bother me.

And it wasn't _completely_ unchanged, of course. My grandmother sent me copies of the Babel texts she obtained and I pursued them as I got them. Most of them seemed to be dead ends, stuff like tomb markings for such and such or a calendar; that type of thing. Maybe if I'd actually been able to read it all, it would have been more useful, but with the small summary my Observe gaze, I didn't get much for it.

Still, it was a place to start and I'd begun to make a map, marking the locations each had been drawn from. Perhaps if I went there in person, I'd see more; if nothing else, the placement and dating of the relics might tell us something. If we could nail down even just when the Grimm began to show up in such markings, it'd be useful.

For now though, my grandmother was still gathering and organizing everything while Raven was doing her own thing. As such, there wasn't much to do but keep living my life, so Gou, Autumn, and I spent a lot of our time together training.

Not today, though. Today, both were out with Mom in the city.

I had something else planned.

"Who was that?" My dad asked, coming up behind me with a cup in his hands. Despite my expectations, he'd kept both the house and himself in order, though he may have just cleaned up after himself. He'd claimed to have had a blast while we were away, whatever that meant—I honestly wasn't sure if he'd give me a straight answer if I asked, which may have been just as well, because I also wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

"Oh, just a friend saying her goodbyes." I answered vaguely, turning to face him.

 **The Thunder, My Hammer  
LV90  
Jacques Arc**

"Oh," He drew the word out. "Mysterious, aren't we? Might work better if you weren't trying it on _me_ , kid. Let's see…was it Blake? Or was it Adam?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him, a tad surprised.

Then again, I suppose I didn't have many friends on this continent. Probably wasn't too hard to narrow down.

"Yeah," I answered. "It was Blake."

He clicked his tongue.

"I had that one; I shouldn't have hedged," He muttered to himself. "Is she doing okay?"

"Yeah," I mused, casting a glance back at the door. "I think she is. You can probably expect Adam to drop by, too, though…or maybe he'll just send me a message, I don't know. Well, either way is fine, I guess. You ready, Dad?"

He stretched one last time and shrugged.

"Of course," He said easily, lifting his massive hammer to rest it against a shoulder. His armor gleamed, simple steel against brown leather. Besides his armor and weapon, he wore a belt with various pouches and carried a large, sleek looking cylinder over his shoulder. "It's been awhile since you and I got to hang out together, Jaune. Time for some good, old-fashioned male-bonding."

"Whatever, Dad," I said with a smile. "We want to go out into the woods for this?"

"Why bother?" He asked. "We might as well just do it here."

I looked around and shrugged. I guess it really didn't make much difference.

A snap of my fingers and we were in Naraka. Thanks to a few weeks of steady practice and my boosted MP regeneration within my barrier techniques, I'd gotten it to the point that it was a little less merciless, cost-wise, so it only ate about half of my MP instead of nearly all of it. All told, not too bad, in my opinion.

"So, when should we—" I began before a sudden, monstrous impact slammed into my chest and threw me through the door, across the street, and into the Maple house. I knocked over the table and chairs as I flew into the kitchen and then dented the refrigerator before I stopped—a pretty light swing, all told.

"I always wanted to smash someone through that door," I heard my father muse as he casually walked to the doorway, resting an arm against the frame. "Opportunities don't come along as often as you might think."

I snorted as I rose, walking back into the street. My Elementals were already summoned, but they wouldn't participate much for now; they were establishing a perimeter of sorts, keeping the Grimm from getting involved. I'd call them if I needed them, but for now…

"So," I said, brushing myself off as I looked up at my father. "It's like that, is it?"

"Yeah," He replied. "It is like that."

"I see," I nodded. "Well, if that's what you want—"

The White Tiger of the West rose about me in a flash of white light and I Lunged at him from across street, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

"Tag," I shouted, reaching for him. "You're it!"

"Yeah, no," He said at the same time, leaning his body lightly to the side as he took a step back—just enough so that instead if punching him in the face, my fist went just past his ear. Compared to the hundred meter dash I'd just done, he shifted a matter of centimeters, but it was enough to avoid the first blow and allow my momentum to carry me into his next swing.

I smiled widely, tails lashing out at either side of the doorway. They tore through the walls and doorframe like paper, curling around whatever they could to stop my forward advance, and though the force of my lunge meant they still tore through, it was enough to let me lean back and watch the swing go past my eyes.

The entire right side of the hallway shattered at my father's blow, but I paid it no heed as my tails reached out again, piercing through the floor to gain hold and pull me down. I landed on all fours, aura extending into feline limbs to make it comfortable, and threw myself towards my father again.

"Tag," I snarled, aiming a punch at his center of mass. The block shattered the floor beneath him as I pushed him back, sending us both into—and through—the kitchen wall. " _Now_ you're it—"

His fist slammed into my face with enough force that the nearest window shattered and I was suddenly in the middle of the street again, face sliding across asphalt before I slammed into a tree and knocked it over, tearing roots and dirt alike from the ground. I rolled off the trunk and shook my head once as the pain faded, hearing my father's voice in the distance.

"Back to you, Jaune." I heard through the collapsing rubble and laughed a little before jumping across the street. This time, I took a different approach, tossing myself through the second story window and running as quietly as I could to what used to be Bianca's room, jumping to the ceiling, and then hurling myself through the floor to attack my father from above.

"Tag—" I shouted as I fell amidst the debris, ten limbs reaching—until a hand reached up to grasp my by the scruff of my neck and altered my fall to hurl me down into the basement. I bounced up like it was nothing, ripping through the floor behind my father. "Ta—"

This time it was his hammer that greeted me and I abruptly found myself about ten meters _below_ the basement and had to take a moment to heal myself.

"The nail that stands up gets etcetera, etcetera." My dad said, jumping away as the kitchen floor finally gave out completely and fell on me. "You done warming up, Jaune? Getting kind of bored here."

I snorted and climbed out of my hole, shaking myself like a dog to get rid of the dirt.

"Just a sec, Dad!" I called back. "I didn't want to give you any sudden surprises, what with how old you're getting and all!"

"Very considerate, son," My dad answered back and I could hear the smile in his voice. "No need to worry about me. If I fall asleep, just wake me up if something interesting happens."

"Will do!" I smiled fiercely, palming a red crystal before slamming it against my chest. There was a sudden, fleeting feeling like I was burning, so intensely real that it nearly bowed me, but then I was rising into the house within a tiger made of pure flames. Everything I touched—everything I came _near_ —ignited, such that as I dove down the hall towards my father, the entire corridor was consumed. I saw his eyes widen but it didn't stop him from raising his hammer as I drew near.

Our eyes met and I smiled.

And then I unleashed the full power contained within the crystal and blew the house down.

This time, it was my father who went bouncing across the street, crashing through Mrs. Periwinkle's house and out the other end. I followed just a step behind, staying close as my Aura returned to normal—only to shift again as I drew out a blue crystal. There was a sudden feeling like I was submerged and drowning, but when it faded I was running in a tiger of water. Whatever space I passed through was filled with it in my wake, moving with all the speed I was. And with how fast I moved…that was a lot of water moving very, very fast.

And all of it was bearing down on my father who could do nothing but raise his hand against the oncoming tide.

"T—" I shouted—and abruptly stopped moving in midair as he curled his fingers.

I looked around and saw that the loose water had curled around my tiger form, shaping itself into a massive fist.

"Talk to the hand, son, because the face ain't listening," My dad said, pulling himself to his feet. He lifted his other hand and more water congealed into huge reflection of it. Without hesitating, he swung it at me, intent on smacking me away.

I faced it and snorted before leaning forward and swimming through the water fist holding me. The surface tension my father's will and water's incompressibility made like steel faltered when I set my mind against it, parting under the power of Dust. I didn't even feel the slap of his second hand as I swam through the suspended water and rushed for my father, shaping the water around me with only a little help from Xihai. In moments, I was swimming through a suspended stream, running as easily inside it as I did on the ground.

My father frowned at me and released his second hand, allowing the water composing it to collapse as rubble and shrapnel rose into the air in the shape of—

I frowned at my father, who was smiling brightly as he lifted a giant flyswatter.

Then he knocked me through several buildings again. Two wooden houses, specifically, and then through one of brick. My flight was stopped by a tree again, though this one I snapped in half before rolling to a halt.

I shook my head and brushed the pain away as I heard the sound of rampant destruction in my father's general direction and looked up to find him standing on a platform of broken wood, water, and stone, the pieces coming together in the shape of a misshapen throne as he took a seat. Above and around him, what I was guessing was several houses worth of debris were in the process of reshaping themselves into dozens of different forms.

Putting an elbow on an armrest, my father rested a cheek against his fist and smiled down at me. His other hand was making slight circular motions as a roughly spherical shape composed mostly of metal put itself together above his fingers. And then, something began to rise around my father's throne in carefully controlled streams. It was almost like mist except colored like—

I traced it back to the cylinder my father had removed from his back, which was all but spewing the many-colored mist.

Fuck.

"Just so you know, if you're gonna use Dust, _I'm_ gonna use Dust," My father said as the powder flowed into the sphere and it completed itself before dropping into his hand. He flung it at me like a ball even as I went to dodge, but there was a sudden wave of…something as it abruptly exploded. It wasn't pressure or light or even anything in the way of _heat_ , just an odd sensation like hot water cooling on my skin.

And then, all of a sudden, my dad's production began to accelerate, putting together objects with blinding speed as if time was moving faster around him.

No, I thought. That wasn't right.

It was just that time had been slowed around _me_.

It was hard to describe how it felt. For me, time didn't _appear_ to be passing any differently within the sphere my father's bomb had created—but I could feel the world outside it, still, thanks to my Elementals. And the sudden flood of information, the hastened motions of the wind, everything…it made me sure that _I_ was the one moving slowly.

I wasn't entirely certain how that worked, exactly. I mean, I knew about my father's Semblance, of course, and how it lent itself well to the construction of complex things—I wasn't sure if that was a _part_ of the Semblance or a natural expression of it, but I'd heard enough stories to be aware either way. I even knew about my father's skill with machinery and explosives and his…well, history using them.

But I'd never considered that he'd be able to make a literal _time bomb_.

Maybe I should have, in hindsight. My father's ability fell under the broad category of telekinesis, except that it only applied, at its most basic level, to small things—but the limit was 'size' not 'amount,' so it was possible for him to control many, many, _many_ small things, which could add up to something very large that he could control piecemeal. When my sisters and I had been younger, our whole family would take trips to the beach and dad would always build massive and elaborate sand castles for us to play on, which he'd support and rearrange with his Semblance, so I knew how skilled he was in controlling particulate matter, too.

So of _course_ he'd be able to use it to manipulate Dust powder, as well. Given the type of things he needed to fight on a regular basis, what else would he make bombs with? And if he could control the precise quantity and mixture of many different kinds of Dust and arrange it just right—and obviously he _could_ —then the only limits were the amount and type of Dust he had available and his imagination.

And with the powder form being by far the cheapest and easiest to use type of Dust…

I smiled widely. I guess this was to be expected, from my father—he didn't get where he was today because of luck.

I continued my rush towards the wall of the sphere, flying towards it with all my speed—but it flickered out of existence before I even touched it. From my perspective, it had lasted less than a second.

But given that my father had already completed his work, I was guessing at least a minute or two had passed from the perspective of the rest of reality. Using either his Semblance or his sheer raw power, my father had torn apart most of the neighborhood, ripping buildings to shreds to provide himself with more materials. What hadn't already been put to use flew in cloaking clouds around him, hiding whatever else he must have been making. Dust and smoke, splinters and pebbles, all of it was carefully arranged or else being put to use building larger and larger things. Without my mom's support, the creations were rather rough looking and incomplete, but…

Well, the bombs floating around me looked no less dangerous for the fact that they looked like they could go off at any second. In fact, the knowledge that it was only my father's will _keeping_ them from going off made them seem all the more worrisome.

"You want to give up, kid?" My father drawled, playing tick-tack-toe against himself on a board he'd formed out of smoke, still reclining in his seat.

"Why would I do that?" I asked sincerely. "I'm having so much fun."

He smiled at that, tilting his head my way in acknowledgement.

"Don't hurt yourself, now," He told me before the bombs moved, one darting towards me as the others flashed away. I leapt away from it but it swerved in mid-air to keep on my tail—he was probably controlling it with the dust caked on its surface. Or perhaps the Dust within it? Well, whatever he was using, he could make them do what he wanted. Even so, I was still faster, but he had to realize that so—

The bomb chasing me activated and there was a sudden—and somewhat familiar—pull as gravity shifted, dragging me backwards as it didn't so much explode as draw in. For an instant, I was able to see a purple-black sphere about the size of my fist, before it was concealed by the flood of junk towards it. Things too large for my father to control and not useful enough for him to break lifted into the air, flattening and warping around the sphere. Branches and chunks of walls, what was left of cars once my father had taken everything of value, and more flew towards it and were crushed into layers around it.

I planted my hands and feet on the air I stood upon, trying to solidify it into a firmer defense against the suction, but it slipped through my fingers as I was drawn back. I collided with the growing sphere and tried to rise against its pull, only to be smashed flat by about half a truck, followed by most of a roof, and then a brick wall. I pushed against it, resisting the enormous gravity with my massively enhanced strength, but more and more detritus settled into layers upon me—

And then, as suddenly as it had started, the effect came to an end. The gravity vanished and the sphere fell from the sky with an enormous sound as _normal_ gravity resumed and the weight of the massive shape shifted as it crashed to Earth.

I began tearing myself out of with prison the moment I was free to act, shredding the now immobile junk I was trapped under as I crawled out of the sphere—and honestly, I really wasn't all that surprised to find that a bomb was waiting for me when I got there.

I sighed and was then flung high into the air on a sudden wave of heat and light. I tried to gain control of myself, to halt my unwanted flight, but just as I was about to, another bomb found itself beneath me and exploded, ruining my efforts as it tossed me away—right into another bomb. And then another. And then _another_.

It took me a moment to realize my father was _juggling_ me with _explosives_.

Screw it, I thought, and reached out with my will as the next bomb approached—and exploded quite a ways away from me. But though the explosion hurled me away again, I stopped in midair almost instantly and then the _other_ bombs began to explode, bursting one by one as flames ignited the Dust within.

I turned towards my father, held in the air by Levant's arms. To either side of me stood Suryasta and Vulturnus, eyes focused on my chosen target as I lifted a hand to eye level and slipped my Goliath mask out of my Inventory. Donning the garment, I felt my power grow—both inside and out.

"Boys," I said. "If you would?"

Lances of fire and lightning flashed across the sky towards my father's throne, enough destructive power in each to erase a house—

And they fizzled out as my father focused on them.

"Having problems there, son?" My father asked, making circling motions with a finger. "It feels like that was supposed to do something."

I frowned beneath my mask, looking at him and the gestures he was making.

Ah, I thought with a bit of chagrin as realization dawned. Of course; he was manipulating air molecules. That was another thing I should have considered, even if I'd never seen him do it before. In the end, it was still just tiny matter, but I hadn't…

"I'm just having an off day," I said at last, glancing at both of my Elementals, who looked somewhat annoyed. "Don't worry about it."

"If you say so, kid," My dad replied, kicking up his feet as a leg rest formed beneath them and looking for all the world like he was relaxing in front of the TV.

I gave him another look.

"You're seriously just gonna sit there, huh?" I noted, trying not to sound amused.

"What, do you expect an old man like me to go chasing after you, son? Because that's just not happening," He shook his head. "Gotta give you a fair chance, anyway, so you can just come at me until you get tired, Jaune."

"I'll do that," I said, shifting in midair as Levant prepared herself in response to my mental command, looking at Vulturnus and Suryasta again. They didn't move or react in the slightest and they didn't have to.

I took a deep breath.

Fire and Lightning in Harmony, I thought to myself, feeling them against my Aura. I could hear two songs, like the one I felt from Crocea Mors so long ago, but it was impossible to sing both with one voice, no matter how hard I tried. But that didn't mean I couldn't make a _new_ song, did it? After all, the basic types of Dust could be combined—why not the Elementals they represented? It was a simple idea I'd had for a long time but had never been able to make work.

Until Harmony had shown the way and opened up the possibilities of 'intermediate' elementals—that is, Elements with two parts. If I thought of it like Dust, then there were many different ways to combine the four basic elements by putting together two, three, or all four types; presumably my power would allow something similar, eventually. I'd experimented with the possibilities of using two Elements and it had opened up a range of possibilities, some more useful than others. Of the ones I'd gotten practice with, though…I think I liked this one the best.

I fired as I exhaled and now that I was looking for it, I felt my dad's reaction, a sudden shift in the air—but this wasn't fire or lightning anymore. I didn't even have a name for it yet, though mostly because I hadn't been able to decide on a good one for the effect yet. But when it hit my father's throne, it made things move, exciting them on a very, very small level as their energy was raised higher and higher. I saw my father rise, perhaps sensing it on some level, but—

The throne exploded, flinging my father away. I was after him the moment I'd seen him move, flying through the air with Levant and Suryasta's aid even as my father stopped his fall abruptly, staggering against empty space. I didn't give a chance to recover, knowing I couldn't afford to, but instead rammed into him with all the force I could muster, hurling us both towards the ground. I grabbed at him with my four arms, trying to get a firm hold, but he grabbed my face in a massive hand and turned at the last moment, driving my face into the broken pavement. I didn't stop, though, tails rising to circle his throat as my soul-self rose from my body, trying to push him away even as it attacked.

It worked for a moment as he let go of my face to defend against Aura claws, but then he turned, hammer flying to his hand, and smashed it hard into the White Tiger. I tried to push myself up, to get away, but he took a step forward and stomped hard on my chest, driving me into the asphalt like it was fresh mud before heaving his hammer high and bringing it down with a mighty roar—only to stop on a dime inches in from of my face. Even so, the already broken road shattered around me, pulverized under the sheer force of the aborted stroke.

Then, he clicked the hammer's head against my adamant forehead.

"Dink," He said. "I win."

I smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "I still got you a few times, though. Got you out of your chair, too."

"You did," He agreed, returning my grin as he stepped away and offered me a hand up.

"So?" I asked, taking it. "Am I ready?"

He put a hand on my head, ruffling my hair hard enough to make my brain shake in its case.

"Yeah, kid; you're more than ready," He answered. "Let's go talk to Oz about you coming along on some missions with me."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Selection Screen**

The trip up to Beacon was an uneventful one, all told. I mean, it was beautiful, I guess, but…well, I'd seen it all already, and from a rather more exciting viewpoint. While I was sure that new students must have found the cliffs, waterfalls, and high rising towers spectacular, there was nothing like getting up close and personal with said landmarks by flying towards then at high speeds to attempt a risky aerial maneuver and escape the pursuing aircrafts. Hitching a ride up on an aircraft with one of my dad's friends was rather boring compared to that, honestly.

But even so, when I landed and looked around, it struck me that this was my first time in Beacon itself—if you didn't count flying at, which I didn't. Just standing there, looking around, I was both amazed and…suddenly unsure. In some ways, it was like I'd imagined, with the massive, shining beacon that was its namesake rising about it all, but in others it seemed very…

Normal, I supposed, watching several students walked past. Well, not really _normal_ , because they were training to become _Hunters_ and some even carried their weapons, but despite the levels above their heads and the titles that made them stand out, they still seemed like regular students going to class. Which was because they _were_ going to class, of course, but still. There was an air of routine and structure that just made me feel a little out of place. Looking around at the almost picturesque scene, I tried to imagine myself as a part of it and wasn't quite sure where I'd fit into it all. It was hard to picture myself just sleeping in and walking to class with my friends and maybe that was weird because that had been my life for years and years and years, but now I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it.

And not just because I didn't sleep, period. All that time wasted, lying in bed with your eyes shut—no thanks. I had better things to do with my nights. But how would I hide the fact that I stayed up around the clock and never stopped working? I didn't know how Beacon handled sleeping arrangements; would I have a roommate I'd have to sneak past? It seemed like a hassle, but maybe I could commute? I could swim across the lake and climb up the cliff every morning, no problem, but I wasn't sure that was allowed.

Beyond that, what would I do around campus? I knew students could choose their fields of study to an extent, but hadn't really considered what I'd want _mine_ to be. Or rather, I wanted _every_ field; it wasn't necessarily unrealistic for me, assuming I developed skills from the instruction—and if I did, I wouldn't care if I had classes every hour of every day with no free time, so long as I was learning stuff. But how long _would_ I be learning stuff? So long as I _could_ get a skill out of it, I could just grind it and grind it until it was strong enough for what I wanted. There wasn't a whole lot of point in _courses_ , really, at least not for me, because if it was something they could _really_ teach me, I should be able to master it in fairly short order. I could get most skills to level fifteen or twenty in a day if I tried; given a month, I could get them a lot higher than that.

And of course, if I _didn't_ get a skill out of it, I could still just memorize the entire book in short order. That probably wouldn't give me a _perfect_ understanding, but with some supplementary materials here, a chance to ask the teacher a few questions there…

I would happily spend all day in class so long as there was a point, but after a few weeks or at most a month, _would_ there be? Or would it just be a huge waste of time? Granted, Beacon was a big school and must have taught a lot of different classes, but assuming it handled class times like a normal school, I'd be able to take at least seven courses a day, probably swapping courses throughout the week in a scheduled manner. Allowed time to train outside of class…that wasn't going to last me very long. Maybe it was a little arrogant of me, but I knew how far I'd come in less than four months and I was pretty certain I'd be one of, if not the, strongest freshmen, even while restraining some of my skills. With a chance to pick things up, I was confident I'd be the top of any class I cared about, too, even if it was something new to me.

Would people get jealous of me for that? It seemed pretty likely. I knew the fact that I picked up things so quickly would probably upset some people, but I…well, maybe it was mean of me, but I just didn't really care. I mean, I understood why it would make people feel bad and it _was_ kind of unfair that I was able to get stronger so much faster than others just because of my Semblance—but I wasn't going to hold myself back if I had the chance to get stronger. I didn't see any point in rubbing stuff like that in or showing off, but thinking about it logically, there wasn't a lot of point in getting worked up over hypothetical teenage drama. If someone got mad because I beat their grade point average, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, did it? Compared to being able to face whatever horrible thing the living nightmare that was Remnant coughed up, who cared? It's just wasn't worth it to hold myself back.

There wasn't any point in stepping on toes needlessly either, of course, especially among future comrades, so I'd do my best not to—but in the end, everyone who came here did so to get stronger. Doing well on tests and proving my ability in practice exercises would just prove I was ready to go to the next level and let me grow faster; beyond stuff like that, though, there was no point in getting into fights or showing off.

And if someone wanted to punch me or something…honestly, whatever they threw at me, I'd probably taken worse on _purpose_ in my training with Adam and my parents. Given a few more months to enhance that further and whatever skills I might develop in the meantime, I wasn't sure they'd be _able_ to hurt me, even if they tried. If someone got really upset and punched me in the face, I wasn't sure it'd do enough to be worth starting anything over, unless they started interfering with my studies and training, so I'd probably just tell the teacher or something and walk away. There wasn't a point in getting into a fight over things that didn't really matter, was there? If they suddenly attacked me with weapons or something outside of a training exercise, that might be something else, but things shouldn't get that far over school stuff, right? They'd probably be stopped and expelled at least, if it was something serious. So I guess it would be fine to just leave and get a teacher there, too…

It sounded kind of lame, thinking about it like that, but it made sense. That was part of their job, after all. But really…a lot of people probably weren't going to like me a whole lot, huh? I'd probably end up sitting at the front of the class asking questions, but otherwise keeping mostly to myself. Yeah, I guess I'd probably be in the library a lot, too; whenever I wasn't in class or out training. So, really, things would be pretty much the same as they were now, I guess.

I wasn't sure how to feel about that—disappointed or reassured. Being surrounded by other Hunters, by my peers, would be…I don't know. I just…wasn't sure what difference it would make. I mean, I guess there was something to be said for socializing, but even beyond the fact that I couldn't imagine sitting in class for hours on end to learn nothing being remotely fun, it probably wouldn't yield many opportunities to get to know each other, either. And outside of class…well I just had so many interesting things to do—who could sit around and talk when they could be learning to shoot lasers that made things explode instead?

And eve beyond that, I wasn't really sure what to do or say anymore. I doubted I'd have a lot to talk about with most of the people I ran into, except for…

Wow. I guess I'd missed all the games that came out these last few months. And I hadn't seen any movies lately, either, or listened to any music beyond the ones my Elements made. Same with the sports stuff—besides the tournament, I guess. I suddenly wasn't sure _what_ I'd talk about with people my own age, besides miscellaneous Hunter stuff. I trained and occasionally got in over my head on an enormous scale, but if I put all that stuff aside because I couldn't talk about it, there wasn't a lot left to discuss. I guess I could just memorize a book on a topic that someone was interested in, but…that wasn't really the same as being interested in it _myself_. Ever since I'd realized I had the ability to develop superpowers via training, everything else had just fallen to the wayside.

But…

I'd always wanted to go to Beacon, to one of the academy's that trained Hunters. It had been my dream for as long as I could remember, a goal I'd strived for since I was a child and wanted so badly I'd cry when I failed to live up to it—which had meant a lot of tears on my part, over the years. It…it was _still_ my dream, even though it was starting to feel oddly painful. But standing here, knowing for a _fact_ that it was all but in my grasp, I felt really unsure about it all and that was…

A strange feeling. And an uncomfortable one.

I sighed to myself and looked at the sky.

We'd just landed and already my good mood was in its death throes.

"What's with the long face, son?" My dad asked. "You catch a glance at what this place looks like under UV light?"

I made a face at him and then looked around out of curiosity, vision shifting. Then I made a bigger face at my smiling father.

"No," I answered seriously after a moment. "I just…think too much. It's nothing."

"If it's worth thinking that hard about, it can't be nothing," My dad frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"Just…thinking about the future," I said.

" _Ah_ ," He nodded. "I understand. I think about your future a lot, too."

"You do?" I asked, blinking at him. I wasn't sure why that surprised me; I'm sure a lot of people wondered about me.

"Of course," His smile widened. "You are my son, after all."

"Right," I said before hesitating for a moment. "Well…where do you think I'll end up?"

"I dunno," He said, before ruffling my hair. "But I guess it doesn't matter. You're my son, so you'll be amazing when you get there.

"Gee," I said, smiling again despite myself. "Thanks."

"No problem." He shrugged. "Over here."

My father nodded his head towards one of the buildings and led the way. I looked around as I followed after him, glancing from between the many buildings. Even for such a famous school, Beacon was _big_ , with many towers growing high into the sky, but I tried to memorize all of it. My awareness spread outward from my body, through wires and pipes and open air, and I mentally mapped out all of the school that I saw. I wasn't particularly surprised when my father led us to the tower that was Beacon's namesake, either, though as I crossed over the threshold, something prickled my senses. Crocea Mors flowed quickly into the steel of the building and painted an image of moving gears and mechanisms that looked like…

I frowned for a moment, looking around. I actually had no idea what all the things going on in this place were doing, for all that it felt bizarrely familiar. I could feel a thousand clockwork pieces moving within the building, but a quick Observe didn't yield anything informative. Was it something so big I couldn't see enough to use Observe on it? From the feel of it, it went deep underground, maybe even…

The elevator opened, drawing me from my thoughts, though I made a note to ask Ozpin about it later.

Speaking of which…

"Hello Jack," The headmaster greeted, smiling slightly as the elevator reached the top floor and we entered his office. "And Jaune, of course. You said you needed to speak to me about something?"

"Two things, actually," My dad said. "The kid wanted to talk to you about some of what happened in Mistral, too, I guess."

"I see," Ozpin tilted his mug slightly our way. "And you, Jack?"

My father smiled widely.

"I want a bring my son to work day," He answered promptly. "I want to take him on a mission with me."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow mildly at that.

"Ah, yes," He mused. "You did mention something like that a few weeks ago, didn't you?"

"Yeah, when we talked last," Dad nodded. "Anyway, Isabelle's been training him and he's gotten strong enough that I think he can handle himself."

Ozpin gave a slight smile and inclined his head at my father.

"Did you have anything in mind, Jack?"

"Eh, I was thinking we'd start small, what with this being his first mission and all," My father replied. "Get him into the swing of things without drawing suspicion; that sort of thing. He's a good healer and more than capable of taking care of himself; I was going to bring him along on a short away mission to heal villagers and stuff, first. Is that okay with you, Jaune?"

"Yeah, that's cool," I nodded, shrugging. I didn't mind healing people.

"He doesn't have a healer's license or anything, but I can vouch for his skill—and I doubt that any injured villagers would complain." My dad continued. "No one going against bringing a healer along for…well, anything, either, so getting that out there seemed like a good place to start. After that…well, we'll see, right?"

"Very well, Jack," Ozpin said easily, taking a sip from his mug. "I'll try to arrange something."

"Thanks, Oz; you're the best." My dad said. "I'll get you another World's Best Teacher mug as thanks."

I was surprisingly easy to break the rules at Beacon, I noted, smiling a little.

But…

"Can I talk to him alone now, Dad?" I asked.

He glanced at me and shrugged.

"I'll just go speak to some old friends, then," He said. "That okay, Oz?"

"Please," The headmaster made an allowing gesture. "Peter's teaching a class right now, however, and Glynda is—"

"Probably cleaning up someone's messes," He nodded, interrupting the older man. "You know, GG really doesn't get paid enough for what she puts up with, Oz. But then again, if she got paid _that_ , it'd probably destabilize the economy or something, so I guess there's nothing for it. I'll be seeing you, Oz."

"Indeed," The headmaster replied, gesturing at my father idly with his mug. "Good luck, Jack."

My dad went over to the window, fiddled with something, and then leapt off the top of the tower with a wave. I waved goodbye to him as he fell, but Ozpin barely gave him a glance; I wondered if this happened often. I could see my dad riding the elevator up and jumping out of the tower, just for the fun of it. Maybe I'd ask later.

"Now then, Jaune," The headmaster looked at me, making me focus. "What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

I took a moment to choose my words before just shrugging to myself.

Best to be straightforward, I suspected.

"Well, you might already be aware," I began. "But I figure it's best to just come out and say it, anyway. The Kingdom's are running out of Dust, Professor Ozpin."

He looked at me impassively and then nodded once, showing no signs of surprise. I'd been pretty sure he'd been aware—and if he hadn't been told about it before I took Weiss' necklace, he probably would have gotten _some_ hint of it during whatever investigation was being performed. If nothing else, the general of Atlas was one of his friends.

"I see," He said. "Yes, I figured as much; your mother said you'd found something. I take it you learned this from Ms. Schnee's pendant?"

"Yeah," I said and then paused. "Well, technically no. The pendant just gave a password that I used to hack into the Schnee Company servers after I…you know, the details really aren't important. Yes, I got it from her necklace, along with some other stuff."

"Dangerous information," He noted. "I trust you've been suitably cautious with it?"

"Yes, sir," I answered. "The only person who found out about it was the person who discovered it with me and she can be…well, she isn't going to release it to the masses, I'm sure of that much. My grandmother already knew, though."

Ozpin seemed to hold back a sigh at the mention of my grandmother, but nodded and motioned for me to continue.

"We discussed it a lot, which is actually why I'm here," I said. "Because while I was in Mistral, we also found something…else and Grandmother asked me to tell you about it and ask for your help."

Begrudgingly, I left out—though from his expression, I figured he'd caught it anyway.

"Then this must be serious indeed," He set his mug down and faced me fully. "What did you find, Jaune?"

I took a breath and considered him carefully.

"You're good at keeping secrets, right?" I asked, which actually made his lips twitch.

"I have something of a knack for it, actually," He replied.

"Cool," I said as I shoved us both into Naraka.

Ozpin paused, noticing the change the moment it occurred. With a growing frown, he rose from his chair and walked over to the massive office window before staring down at the now empty courtyard with a frown.

"It's called Naraka," I said. "It's a dimensional barrier, if that means anything to you—it separates everything within it from the normal world. And as long something's inside of it…it creates Grimm, sir. I can mess with the specifics, like _which_ Grimm, but it'll create them endlessly as near as I can tell. But one of most interesting things about it is what learnt it _from_. It was written in _Babel_."

Ozpin watched in silence as Grimm slowly began to overrun the empty school. They stalked out of dark places, noses low to the ground as they began to hunt for their prey—us, namely.

"My power let me grasp the basics anyway—and it can do the same with other things written in Babel, too, though it's hard to get more than a rough grasp of the topic, most days. But I've been working on that and if…well, the implications…"

"Yes," Ozpin said quietly, still not facing me.

"My grandmother and I think that Babel might be the key to figuring out the true nature of the Grimm. At the very least, the people of Babel probably had a far greater understanding of the Grimm—and its possible that they were their _source_. And just look at the things they created, like this barrier! Before Naraka, I'd never seen anything like it," I said. "Have you?"

He was silent for a moment but then surprised me.

"Something similar to it, yes," He said. "Just once."

"Sir?" I blinked at him as he turned back to me at last—and then, with a snap of his fingers, made Naraka shatter, returning us to his office.

I just…stared at him for a moment.

"I suppose one secrets deserves another," He said to me, turning away from the window after watching the people who'd returned to the courtyard for a moment. "A long, long time ago, a group of Hunters found a series of ruins in the Shadowlands during what should have been a routine escort mission—Babel ruins, of course."

"And you were…" I trailed off

"I was not amongst them, no," He said. "In fact, all four members of the team vanished quite abruptly in that area—it was only weeks later that other Hunters were able to track the remains of their equipment to that location. Shortly after, a larger squad composed of three teams was mobilized to examine the ruins. They reported a great deal about the area, from the surprising amount of damage the Grimm had caused to the ruins to the equally strange concentration of powerful Grimm in that area. They observed the area extensively, making brief incursions and reporting back regularly. And then all communications abruptly ceased."

Ozpin paused for a moment to let that sink in before continuing.

"Because of the data they provided, however, the strange behavior of Grimm in that area had become immediately apparent. Coupled with…other irregularities, it was deduced that the Grimm seemed to view that location, for whatever reason, as valuable—and so an even larger team was gathered to find out _why_. Fourteen teams were gathered in all, my own amongst them, and were sent to seize the ruins equipped with everything they could carry."

He looked at me steadily and drew a slow breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I was the only survivor," He said.

I looked at him silently for a moment, not sure what to say to that. But…

"How?" I had to asked. "How did…? What…?"

How did they die? How did you survive? What was so important to the Grimm that they apparently organized to defend it? I wasn't even sure what I was trying to ask.

"I didn't fight my way out, sadly," He said, apparently deciding for me. "I'd found myself quite wounded early on, in fact, and was in no condition to even run—not that I think I would have gotten _away_ had I tried, either. Instead, something strange happened. One moment, I'd been watching everyone die, but the next…they were all gone. Humans and Grimm alike vanished and I was alone in a world much like the one you just created…minus the Grimm, of course."

I perked up at that, despite the grim tale.

"Like Naraka but _empty_?" I has to ask, mind racing.

"No," Ozpin shook his head slowly. "There were no humans nor any Grimm nor any other life at all that I'd been able to find…but it wasn't quite _empty_."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
New Objective**

If he hadn't had my full attention before, he'd have had it now.

"What did you see, then?" I asked.

Ozpin took a breath, lifting his eyes to the moving gears on the ceiling.

"Where there had been ruins, towers rose into the sky as if they were new—and around them, an entire city. It was so different that it had taken me some time to realize that they were even connected to the ruins; if you could have seen the difference…" The headmaster shook his head. "When I'd finally understood what I was seeing, I'd thought the old tales had been right after all—that the people of Babel had reached so high and far that God struck them down for their arrogance."

"Well," I mused, trying to imagine it. "Thousands and thousands of years will do that, I guess—and the Grimm can be pretty hard on buildings themselves."

"No," He shook his head. "It was more than that. I…I struggle to even put it into worlds. What I saw was a city that could have housed _millions_ of people and all that had been left of it was the shattered remains of a few buildings. There had been so much gone, an entire city razed to the dirt such that not even its bones remained…I've seen other ruins since then and the remains of Mountain Glenn and there was always _something_ left. But that city had been scoured away. I don't know how and I don't know why, but can you imagine what it would take to make something like that _vanish_? But it had. Whatever happened there had been more than the hands of time at work—more than even the usual predations of the Grimm. It was something massive but, more than that, deliberate. Perhaps even methodical."

That was a chilling thought—but I put it aside for the moment, letting my thoughts race. First things first, I needed to find out what we _knew_ before getting into what we _might_ know. The city—apparently a _huge_ city—had been basically ground to dust in this world, even though it should have been enormously difficult to completely erase such a thing. And yet…

"And yet for all of that, the city still stands inside the barrier," I muttered aloud. "And presumably has been there since Babel fell, if not longer. That's, what…ten thousand years? Do we know?"

"No one's completely certain as there have been conflicting results," The headmaster answered. "Dating generally places Babel artifacts between seven and twelve thousand years old, but there exists the possibility that the younger artifacts were actually created by cultural holdouts in the aftermath of the fall, or that the older examples are actually from cultures predating even Babel's rise to prominence. But ten thousand years ago would seem like a fair guess under the circumstances."

"So a really long time," I said. "Which means a lot of power to keep it going. But you didn't see any people inside? Or anything else that could support the barrier?"

"I didn't find any people," He answered. "And I looked quite thoroughly, I assure you. After what few supplies I'd had with me ran out, I tried to scrounge something up, but…there was nothing."

Ozpin shook his head slightly.

"However, I did find _something_ ," He continued, meeting my eyes. "In the highest tower—the place that mirrored what little is left of the city in our world—I found that there was still power and, even more astonishingly, a computer that appeared to still run."

"A _computer_ ," I said, eyebrows rising. "That's…"

"Amazing," Ozpin agreed. "A goldmine, even, but for a few problems?"

Of course there was a catch.

"What's wrong with it?"

"When you turn it on, it asks you for a password." He said before pausing. "Or I assume that's what it asked for—naturally, it did so in Babel. Presumably all the files on it are also in Babel."

I winced.

"Yeah, I could see how that could be problematic," I agreed, frowning to myself as I considered it.

"There's also the matter of getting inside, of course," The headmaster added, taking a slow sip from his mug as I lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Well…what did you do to get inside?"

"Nothing," He answered. "I've reviewed that day in my mind countless times, considering everything that happened and might have happened, but to this day, I am certain I didn't do anything to enter that barrier nor have I ever been able to repeat the feat under any other circumstances. After years of consideration, I began to suspect something had push or pulled me into the barrier, for some reason."

"To save you?" I asked a tad hopefully.

Ozpin looked into his mug as he swirled the contents lightly.

"Perhaps," He mused. "I'd have an easier time believing that if not for everything that followed. You must understand that when I first found myself inside of it, I was already in dire straits—and there was little in the way of supplies to be found. Worse, I did not know how to _exit_ such a barrier, at the time—it was only luck that allowed me to figure out how to escape before I starved to death. While I certainly appreciated not being torn apart and devoured, it was not a pleasant trip. But what has haunted me for years was what happened when I managed to escape."

"What happened, sir?" I asked as he put his mug on the desk and clicked a nail against its surface, still looking at what was within it.

"I developed the ability to leave the barrier completely on accident," He continued after a moment. "After days of fruitless searching, I'd returned to where I'd entered and tried to make peace with my death. But as the hunger and thirst grew worse, I wanted nothing more than to escape, until that single desire consumed me—and suddenly I was outside as my Aura responded to my will."

He paused to make a slight face, as if recalling something unpleasant.

"Which I was surrounded by the Grimm again, of course, which made my elation rather short-lived. I'd thought I'd escaped only to find death, but…they did something odd."

"What'd they do?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I wondered how often he'd told this story. I couldn't be the first to hear it, could I? No, but I doubted he spoke of this often.

"Nothing," He said at last. "They did nothing. I started running and didn't stop until exhaustion finally dragged me down. At the time, I'd simply thought I was lucky to have outrun them all even though I was half-starved, dehydrated, and unspeakably tired," He said. "I escaped all of the monsters gathered there, from the mightiest of the Humbaba to the lowliest Beowolf, even though I was scared out of my wits—truly, I must have been lucky indeed that they didn't notice my terror or give pursuit. But as time went by, I realized something else."

"What?" I asked.

"No one's that lucky," He stated flatly. "There's no chance that I escaped the notice of that many Grimm, frightened as I was. There's even less of a chance that I outran them all in such a state. I've tried to find an explanation for how I might have gotten away and could only think of one—that they let me go. It may sound strange, but if you truly intend to look into this, you should know that, on rare occasions, groups of Grimm would display strange behaviors. Over the years, I've heard of others who survived encounters with the Grimm for no logical explanation beyond 'they were allowed to.' It's far from common, but there have been times—"

"Sir," I interrupted and kept talking to moment he glanced my way. "When I was in Mistral…I fought a Goliath. That's how I came across the manuscript I spoke of—the _book_ , really. I'll explain that in a minute, I suppose, but…the Goliath I fought behaved oddly, too. All throughout the fight, it acted patiently, giving me chances and opportunities it didn't need to. And even…even as I was killing it, it had a look in its eyes, like it had somehow won, and I still don't know why."

Ozpin watched me for a minute before nodding slowly with a slight smile.

"I suspected as much, somehow," He said. "Not your experience in Mistral, of course, but somehow I thought that perhaps you would understand. Perhaps it was your masks or perhaps…"

He trailed of thoughtfully, leaving me to wonder about what he would have said—but I pushed that aside, staying focused on the present matter.

"Sir," I asked. "Why did you tell me about the ruins? And about your story?"

The headmaster smiled back at me.

"Several reasons," He mused. "The first, of course, is quite simple—if, as you said, you learnt your new skill from a Babel text, it stands to reason you had some way of reading Babel."

"It's not quite that simple, sadly," I said, holding back a wince. "But I can understand the basics, at least."

He nodded at me, gesturing slightly.

"I also assume that after you told your Grandmother this, the two of you gained an interest in investigating this matter—a suspicion supported by the fact that a close friend of mine received a request that led back to one Jeanne Roma, concerning Babel texts in his possession. It stands to reason, then, that should you not find what you're looking for in those texts, you might turn an eye towards investigating ruins, instead. So on one level, I wish it as a warning; I mean no offense to skill, but I feel that if you were to somehow walk into such a place unknowingly, you may not have the chance to walk back out. Consider this a cautionary tale about wandering into ancient ruins."

"Yeah, thanks for that," I said honestly. I would _not_ want to walk blindly into a place that had chewed up fifty hunters.

"But on another level," The headmaster continued. "I am intrigued and…curious. Well you opened your barrier and I recognized the similarities…"

He shook his head slightly.

"That was the place where my first team died," He said. "And so many friends alongside them. And surrounding it all were unanswered questions—questions I'd _given up_ on ever answering. But perhaps now I have begun to wonder again. There must be a reason that place is so fiercely guarded by Grimm and there must be a reason behind that barrier. And the computer…my, but you must understand, when I'd first understood what I was looking at and realized that all that stood between me and the answers to a thousand questions was a _password_ …well. You can imagine, I'm sure. The idea that it might be possible to learn such a thing…"

I was silent for a moment, considering his words carefully.

"I might be able to get us close using Naraka," I said slowly, thinking things through. "Without disturbing the Grimm, I mean. I'm not sure how an area with multiple barriers in it would work or how such powerful Grimm might respond, but…it's possible. I might be able to handle the password, too. If you could tell me everything you saw inside, then maybe…"

I trailed off as he lifted a hand.

"Now, now," He said. "I wanted you to be aware of the place so that I might ask for your assistance at a later date, but there is still time to prepare. Admittedly, perhaps not as much time as might be _ideal_ , due to the matter of Dust, but time nonetheless. Should we wish to undertake such a venture, a great deal would need to be done."

I nodded, looking at my hands for a moment before glancing back up at him.

"Yes, sir," I said, nodding. "But can I take it that you'd be willing to assist my grandmother and I in researching Babel?"

"Of course," He smiled again. "I have, perhaps, more reason than most, but who wouldn't want to assist in this matter? I will do what I can."

I bowed my head in thanks.

"And concerning Dust—and now this as well, I suppose—I offered to tell my mother, but she chose to let you decide whether she needed to know or not. I think she spoke to my dad about it and he chose the same thing. So…well, I just wanted you to know."

"I see," He appeared to consider that. "I've actually considered informing them of the issue with Dust several times; though their powers would not be able to address the matter, there have been several contingencies that they might be of assistance with. Perhaps this is a good time to speak to them about it. As for the matter of old ruins…I think they might be of assistance there as well, when the time is right, don't you? And in this matter, we could use all the help we can get."

"Yes, sir," I agreed before looking down in consideration. There was one other thing I wanted to speak to him about, but I wasn't sure if I should. Terrorist mastermind or not, she was an ally now—and a maybe, sort of friend. But at the same time, for something like this…well, this was _why_ we were allies in the first place. But should…

I sighed and shook my head before meeting Ozpin's eyes.

"There's one other thing…but can you keep it a secret for me, sir?" I asked. "I think you should now, maybe even need to know, but it's still not really my secret to tell and I really can't say I know anything about what happened. I know it's a _big_ secret, too, but…could you keep quiet about it, at least for now?"

"I suppose it depends on the nature of the secret," Ozpin mused. "But I will do my utmost to keep anything you say to me in confidence—especially something that might endanger you or your family."

I nodded and took a deep breath.

"Grandmother and I actually have another ally," I said. "Or rather, I have another ally, as Jian Bing. Officially—if that applies to things we don't want anyone to know about—Jian Bing brokered that agreement and…maybe that should be the story behind this, too? We can figure that out later. The point is, there's another person involved and you should probably know about her, especially in regards to something like this."

"Who is she?" The headmaster asked, leaning forward slightly.

"You know her, I hear," I replied. "Her name's Raven Branwen."

Ozpin paused.

I could all but see gears turning in his head at the mention of her name, as if the pieces of a puzzle had fallen into place and questions had suddenly received answers. Raven had apparently vanished around the time I was born, which would have put her as leaving not too long before the Faunus Rights Revolution, and from some of the things she'd said, I assumed she'd had some bad experiences when it can to authority figures like the Council—and maybe even Ozpin himself. Bad enough to apparently leave behind her brother and team to go do…something. The way my grandmother had spoken, I assumed she'd gotten involved with the Rights Revolution in an active capacity, though what that meant I couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, it had apparently been enough to cause a few things to make sense to my grandmother when her presence was revealed.

I didn't have any illusions of knowing Raven's story and for all that she'd fought her a few times in the past, it had been pretty obvious my grandmother didn't either. But Ozpin…he must have known a lot more, having known her personally. If Raven was from around here and the sister of one of his friends…

I saw him look down at his cup again, saw him nod to himself slowly, but for a long minute he was silently. Finally, he took a breath and looked at the window, giving a quiet sigh.

"So," He said, nodding in acceptance. "That's what she's been doing. I suppose that makes sense, considering. Thank you for informing me, Jaune."

I looked at him carefully for a moment before nodding and continuing.

"Like I said, she and I have an arrangement of sorts," I continued. "We found out about the issue of Dust together and I told her a modified version of my findings with Babel and Naraka. It's a bit tense, because before that…well, I was pretty nervous about what Raven might do to me and my family if I got found out. You know about her Semblance, right?"

"Yes," He said simply.

"Do you also know that she can use it to spy on people?" I asked. "I'm not sure if it's some kind of really tiny portal or something like an aiming part of her Semblance, but my grandmother had no idea she could do that."

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Few do," He said after a moment. "Outside her team, I was one of the few people she told about it, though she passed that information up the line when she felt it became necessary."

He didn't need to spell out the implications. I could imagine why just as I could imagine what they'd probably had her do. I wondered again if her departure from her previous life had been the result of a single thing or something long in coming.

And yet, even though I was standing in front of one of the few people who probably knew…I hesitated to ask. It didn't seem like I had the right or perhaps…

"I'm a bit surprised you know about that, though, Jaune," Ozpin continued, interrupting my thoughts. "Those who know like to keep it a secret. How did you happen to find out about it?"

"I can sense them," I said and at that I got a look from him. "Its…well, it's one of the things about my power that I'll explain later. As far as I could tell, though, nobody else could."

"Very few have ever been able to," He nodded slightly. "There have been several Semblances that have allowed people to respond to a sudden attack, such as those that sense danger or allow forms of precognition, but few can notice her when she merely decides to watch. And of course, awareness rarely enables one to actually prevent her actions; if anything it tends to just draw her attention. I would be careful if I were you, Jaune."

"Luckily for me, I don't need to sleep, anymore," I said. "There just aren't enough hours in the day to waste on stuff like that. But yes, I'm well aware of the dangers; I assume some of these people got their throats slit in their sleep for being overly observant? Well, even beyond that, she seems like a pretty terrifying combatant. But she doesn't know about me—by which I mean, Jaune Arc—and has, at least for now, made peace with Jian Bing. We've agreed to work together when it comes to this and if needed, we can contact one another. With her help…"

I saw him consider it as he leaned back slightly in his chair, and pressed on.

"She could use her portals to survey the area, as well as get us near," I said. "We'd have to test how it interacts with an area that already has a barrier over it, but I could use Naraka to shift us out of any danger, too. My senses are no joke—I'll let you test them later, if you want—so I'm pretty sure that if I got close enough, I could sense anything that was there."

He seemed to ponder that, nodding slowly.

"Yes, in that case, it might be possible—but there's a chance that we may need to do something in _this_ world to enter the Babel city," He said. "If that were the case…"

"I can draw power from Dust," I replied. "A _lot_ of power, too. If I have enough of it, I could drop and recreate Naraka a number of times, especially if I have a while to keep training it. Considering what happened to you, it's obviously possible to get _into_ barriers as well as _out_ of them; if we could figure out _how_ , I should be able to get in. If it was something we could teach to others, too, I could set Naraka over the entire area and everyone who managed to learn could move in and out of it to enter and exit key points. We could find what we need and then go with minimal fuss. I can carry a lot of supplies, too; I'll show you how in a bit."

Ozpin took a breath and then a sip from his mug.

"It could work," He said again. "If we could get enough information, if we could figure out how to do all of that…it could work. If that was the case, we'd be able to walk right past most of the dangers, but there is one that remains, and it is both enormous and impossible to predict. There is _something_ there that can push things across barriers. We don't know how and we don't know why, but it can, and with no way of knowing what it seeks to accomplish, there's also no way of knowing how it might get involved. If it began to push Grimm into your barriers, it could tear this plan apart in short order—and who knows what else it is capable of."

I bobbed my head to the side, conceding that point. That was a pretty big wild card in all of this, because we had no idea what it might be capable of. But…

"There's a lot of risks," I said aloud, as much to myself as to him. "We have no real way of knowing what might happen, much less what we might find. There are a lot of bases we'd need to cover, a lot of things we'd need to prepare for, and even then there's no way to be sure of anything. But…it's still possible. With all of our powers, with enough time, I think we might be able to do it. It's something to keep in mind, I think."

Then I smiled.

"But who knows if it'll even be necessary. There's a chance we'll get lucky and find what we need elsewhere. That computer may be our best bet, but we might be able to do without, right?" I said, even though I wasn't sure I actually believed that. Hell, I wasn't sure _Ozpin_ believed that, either, given how he frowned slightly and turned towards the window. Was he looking at the school outside, though? Or something farther away?

"Perhaps," He said quietly. "At the very least, we should explore our other options while we prepare. We still have some time; we should take advantage of it."

"Yes, sir," I said. "I'll tell you what we find in the ruins and texts, then?"

"Please," He nodded. "Now then, I believe you wished to tell me something about your power?"

I smiled at that, cracking my neck once.

"My Semblance," I said. "It's called 'The Gamer.' To put it simply, it allows me to live as if I were a character in a video game, but what that means is a little more complicated…"

I laid it out for him. I'd done this several times already, so I'd gotten fairly good at covering the important bits of my power and Ozpin listened without interrupting, so it went pretty smoothly. I told him about the Gamers Body and Mind, how I could gain and grind skills, and about my stats. The headmaster nodded occasionally, seeming to file that information away, but otherwise seemed to just accept it even though he looked fairly impressed as he considered it. I assumed he'd just developed a high tolerance for weirdness as the headmaster of a school for Hunters; there had probably been some pretty weird powers over the years.

"That does explain a great deal. I must admit, I have been quite surprised by how much you've grown over these last few months," He said after I had finished. "But it seems the very purpose of your Semblance is to allow you to grow quickly, no? I've seen a number of Semblances that may have had more initial power, but I've never seen any with as much potential as yours. Given time, you will go very far, Jaune Arc."

"Thank you, sir," I answered, smiling at the complement. "My power is part of why I think this may be possible; if I have a few months, I can get much stronger than I am now and I can learn whatever skills we need. Just tell me if you find something we need and I'll start working on it."

"Indeed," He looked at me considering. "It's an invaluable ability, in that regard; I've never seen anything so broadly useful. In a supporting role especially…yes, it's certainly possible. What is it that you intend to do now, though, Jaune?"

"For now, mainly just training," I said with a shrug. "I'll go on missions with my dad, too, and go hunting whenever I can, but otherwise I'll keep focusing on improving my stats and skills. If I keep working at it, I might be able to get all my physical stats to a hundred before the year's out—maybe even in as little as six months, if I'm lucky. I can train a lot of my skills even while doing that, so I'll do that as well. Otherwise, I'll mainly keep looking into Babel and such, try and improve Observe, maybe see what else I can figure out. Try to think of some solutions to our problems, help some people, that sort of thing."

"I see," Ozpin said, furrowing his brow as he looked at me for a minute. He tapped a finger on his desk before nodding. "Very well, then. We'll likely see a lot of one another in the coming days, if you'll be going on missions with Jack, so we should be able to keep one another informed. I will see you soon, then, Jaune?"

"Yes, sir," I nodded. "Have a nice day, sir."

As I turned to walk away, though, he stopped me.

"Jaune," He said and I glanced back. "Be careful."

I nodded, wondering which particular dangerous aspect of my life he was referring to. It wasn't immediately obvious, which was probably something to worry about in and of itself.

"I'll try my best, sir," I replied.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Landing Party**

"Come on, Gou," I cheered as the panting dog ran beside me. We dashed through the woods, leaping over roots and dodging out of the way of trees, moving with no more difficulty then had we been running across an open plain. I reached out with my sense to find what I was looking for and we turned on a dime, Gou following me without me needing to say a word. He understood what I intended on such an instinctive level that, really, I didn't need to speak with him at all, but that didn't mean his actions weren't worthy of praise.

We bound up and off a tree, leapt over some bushes, and saw the Ursa. It turned towards us as we did, but by the time it faced us fully, it was already far, far too late. We closed the distance in a second, Gou sinking his teeth into a leg as I grabbed an arm, and then he went one way while I went the other tearing the limbs off with a disgusting ripping sound. We dropped our prizes as the Ursa collapsed with a screaming roar, lunging at the prone target, and Gou ripped out its throat as I tore out its spine. We each danced a step back to be sure it was dead, waiting until the smoke began to rise from the corpse.

The I smiled and stepped over it, reaching down to scratch his ears.

"Who's a good boy?" I cooed. "Who's a good hunting dog?"

Gou gave me a panting grin as he looked up at me with eyes that could have been pondering what constituted as being good or which could have been attached to a brain that was currently flat-lining. After a moment, though, he sneezed and barked, lowering his nose to the ground as he began to sniff for something.

"Hey, Dad," I said, looking over my shoulder. "Finished already?"

My father watched, standing on one of Autumn's branches—or rather, on a tree that was swiftly becoming a part of Autumn, shape twisting as colors exploded across its leaves and trunk as it was assimilated. Since I'd been letting my parent's look after her while Gou and I trained, I'd explained the concepts of 'grandparents' to her, which had taken some time as she'd lacked any context and was unable to communicate with them in anything but the most basic sense. Well, that wasn't quite true; she'd connected with her great-grandmother, who'd taught her how to eat meat in a series of events I still wasn't sure I wanted to know about, but explaining the true value of family was a bit harder. In the end, it was easier to just _show_ her what family meant then explain it.

Which, in the case of my father, apparently meant 'someone who would feed her trees like they were popcorn.' Needless to say, they'd bonded, which had led to the sudden disappearance of at least a hundred trees in the last week or so alone. I was a bit worried about that, if mainly because it feared she might draw unwanted attention that way, but…well, I guess we all spoiled Autumn rotten.

"Just about," He said. "We'll leave before too long, I think; a few of the others need to get some things in order. But you and Gou have started fighting pretty well together, huh?"

"We've been working hard," I said proudly. "He still has a ways to go, but he's strong enough to beat these guys now, even without me. And if I use my skills, well…"

Gou's ears perked up as he looked at me and I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Not right now, boy." I said. "Let's take a break while Dad and I talk, though. You want to go play with Autumn?"

He panted harder and bounce on his front paws in excitement before prancing over to his friend, placing his paws on her bark to communicate whatever doggy thoughts he had to her. A semifluid-looking branch in the process of becoming some type of limb reached down and scooped Gou up casually, placing him amidst the changing canopy. Flowers began to sprout around him, giving him something to sniff, and it was almost enough to distract from the mouths and body parts growing from the tree just a short ways away. Some of them looked almost human. The vast majority did not. I'll leave it at that.

 **Mystic Dog  
LV 24  
Tiangou**

 **Who Would Inhabit This Bleak World Alone?  
LV 27  
Autumn Rose**

My father leapt down to me absently, unbothered or just used to Autumn's transformations, and looked me over absently.

"You still remember how to use that, Jaune?" He asked, looking down at the blade at my side.

"Of course," I said, putting a hand on it absently. "My skills don't degrade from lack of use, nor does my body. I can use it as well as ever."

"Just wondering," He drawled. "It's been a while since you used it seriously, hasn't it? You even played with Gou using your bare hands."

He nodded to the Ursa slightly to emphasize his point and I just shrugged.

"Just showing Gou how it's done," I said. "Besides, there's no point dirtying Crocea Mors on Grimm like _this_. My bare hands are enough for a _hundred_ of these guys."

"If you say so," He chuckled. "Just wanted to make sure there's not gonna be any problems because you're out of practice."

"Nah," I drew my blade and tossed it absently from hand to hand. At some point, I'd gotten strong enough to make the blade feel almost weightless and it was as easy to swing as the imaginary swords my sister's and I had pretended to fight with all those years ago. "Haven't really gotten a chance to make any sword specific stuff lately, but that's mainly because pretty much everything I have can be used regardless of what weapon I'm using. I lose a few passive bonuses here and there, but just a few small ones because I haven't practiced as much with my sword lately. Nothing to be too worried about given that just about everything else stays."

"Oh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even the White Tiger stuff?"

I shrugged again.

"Bai Hu's techniques aren't designed around a specific style or weapon," I said. "The fact that it was used unarmed is more because they didn't have _access_ to weapons than anything else. I mean, several of the skills were built around specific actions, but it's not the motions themselves that have power—it's all about how you use your Aura to move faster or how you sharpen it to do more damage or that type of thing. That's why the INT and WIS requirements were higher than the ones for my physical stats. It's more about controlling ones Aura and guiding it properly to bring out one's full power then just being able to hit really hard…even if the end result is that you hit really hard. The physical prerequisites are more about not getting instantly torn apart by the forces involved then they are about actually using the technique."

"So you can use it even with Crocea Mors?" My dad asked.

"Sure," I said, activating Five Hundred Years absently and swinging the blade absently. "Or anything else that would benefit from greater strength and speed. Different styles, different weapons, it doesn't matter; it's not like your soul will stop working because you're not using a specific attack, right? Well, some things are more effective than others, of course, but as long as it's applicable, I can use my skills however I want."

I paused for a moment, considering.

"The White Tiger of the West is the best example of that, really," I mused. "It's about understanding, refining, and controlling ones Aura to such an extent that one can project their very _soul_ into the world. I don't know _exactly_ how Bai Hu did it, but…I think it was basically a form of enlightenment, reached through endless, relentless practice…"

"Like the guy who practices one kick a thousand times or whatever?" My dad asked.

"Pretty much," I agreed. "But yeah, I can use all the skills with a blade just fine," I said. "The only down side is that I can't use the Jaws of the White Tiger with something in my hands, but even that's not an issue with White Tiger of the West, since then I have _four_ hands and two tails. I just can't use that one in public, because the giant, glowing white tiger-man would probably give me away. Still…Five Hundred Years should be enough for most emergencies, I think, and I always have Naraka if I _really_ need to run away. I do need to work on some new stuff for when I'm, well, me—but most of my subtle stuff works regardless, and that's still enough to put me pretty damn up there for someone my age, right? I don't have a replacement for the White Tiger of the West, but if I find myself really needing one, I'll just hide behind you, I guess."

Dad snorted and ruffled my hair.

"You do that, kid," He said. "You done here, then?"

"I think so," I nodded. "Just wanted to get in a little more training with Gou before we left, since I played with Autumn earlier. Mom will take care of them, but…well, you know?"

"Of course," He bumped his shoulder against my own. "Ready now, though?"

"Yeah, let's take them home and we'll head out," I smiled. "We get the mission you wanted?"

"Pretty much, I suppose," He shrugged. "A village has been having some problems recently; we're going to go out and nip the problem in the bud. You'll stay back to heal the townsfolk and serve as an extra line of protection for them."

"Will do," I nodded. "What do you think the odds are of something going wrong?"

He laughed.

"Something always goes wrong, Jaune," He said. "It's just a question of how badly."

"That's been my experience, too," I nodded again. "But when things go wrong around me, they tend to go pretty damn wrong."

"You get that from every Hunter you've ever met," He ruffled my hair. "Downside of living on a world that hates us, I suppose. But hey, we have some pretty good support along for the ride this time, at least. Do me a favor and make sure nothing happens to my beautiful face, okay?"

I stopped him with a hand and looked him over carefully before shaking my head.

"I don't know what happened, Dad," I said grimly. "But it's too late for your face."

"Hah," He replied, rolling his eyes. "Remind me to throw you out of the airship, wise guy. Hurry up so I can introduce you to the rest of our team."

I chuckled and nodded.

"Gou, tell Autumn we're about to leave," I said, receiving a bark in reply as the ground rumbled slightly. I frowned slightly as I looked down to see…nothing. Then I reached out my senses and felt Autumn's roots growing, spreading out to tangle with—and flow into—the roots of other, nearby trees.

I sighed slightly and walked over to her truck, knocking on the wood.

"Autumn, you can't eat the forest," I said firmly. "We still need that."

The tree's branches shook slightly, and I looked to my dad as I sighed again.

He chuckled and nodded.

"One more tree, then," I said. "Then I need to take you back to grandma, okay?"

I shook my head as her for began to shift, mass flowing down into her root network.

"Were my sisters like this?" I asked my father.

"Uh, not really, no," He snickered, clapping me on the back. "But children are all different, son, and that's fine. You just have to raise them right."

 **XxXXxX**

"So you're our medic, huh?" A greying man named Onyx asked me when we were on the airship, fiddling idly with something on his belt. I didn't recognize him which wasn't necessarily surprising—after graduation, Hunters didn't necessarily stay together on the same team. Most did, of course; after years in school they tended to be close and skilled at working together. But even then, it wasn't uncommon for individual members to go their separate ways after a while, pursuing a specific field, settling down, or even going into teaching, so teams tended to shift periodically out of necessity or simply to address a specific mission. Of course, there was _another_ reason why teams changed so often, one that everyone knew.

Hunters died.

A lot.

Looking around, I recognized Keppel and Carmine, a couple about my dad's age who wore blue and red respectively. Keppel was tanned enough that I'd always wondered if he might have come from Vacuo, but he'd cut off his black hair since I'd last seen him—or had it cut off for him, maybe, given the scar across his scalp. Carmine looked older then I remembered, but it had been over a year since we'd really seen one another. I didn't see Slate anywhere.

It was possible he was just in the hospital. Hunters got _injured_ a lot, too, though they rarely stayed that way long thanks to their Aura. When necessary, Healers would also be called in to help as well, because keeping Hunters in fighting shape was something of a priority. My dad hadn't mentioned anything, but…

I held back a sigh, blinking my eyes closed for a moment. A bit morbidly, I wondered if there'd been a funeral, maybe while Mom and I were away. I also wondered if it had been open casket or if there'd even been a body—the Grimm weren't known for their respect for the dead. The fact that he'd probably been torn apart and devoured left me feeling a bit sad; Slate had been the oldest member of my father's most recent team and though I'd never been close to him, he'd been kind to my sisters and I when we'd seen him. Not really an uncle figure, but…I remembered him. That was more than I could say for some of my father's past teammates, sadly.

"That's me," I said to Onyx's question, looking up at him. He was a large man, maybe four inches taller than me and half again as broad along the shoulders.

 **The Seventh Spire  
LV73  
Onyx Athelstan**

"You're pretty young for a healer," He noted. "It must have been pretty hard to get this far."

"Maybe a little?" I mused. "But I don't mind working hard if it means I can help people."

Onyx smiled and clapped my shoulder.

"That's the spirit," He said. "Always good to have a healer along to keep us in one piece, too."

I tilted my head at those last words, keeping the frown off my face. The way he said that…well, if he had been brought in to replace a member of my father's team, that didn't bode well for his own. He had several faded scars across his face, particularly around his eyes and lips—on someone else, I'd have thought them something from years ago, but…

"I'll do my best, sir," I replied. "If you need any help, I'll be in the village, healing the civilians; just stop by and I'll do whatever I can."

"If I get used as a chew toy again, I'll take you up on that," He nodded, rubbing his chin as he looked at me. "Really though, you're what? Seventeen?"

"Sixteen, sir," I corrected, making him whistle.

"Sixteen years old and a good enough healer that Ozpin's letting you go into the field?" He shook his head, smiling at me. "Jack must be very proud."

"Thank you, sir," I accepted. "I like to think so, too."

"If anything happens, don't worry, okay?" He jerked his head at Mr. and Mrs. Cordelia. "Standard procedure is to do everything we possibly can to protect the medic. Moment something happens, you'll have four Hunters at your back—should be enough to keep you safe, right?"

"Yes, sir," I replied. "Unless something goes very, very wrong."

He laughed deeply, smile widening as he nodded.

"Unless that," He agreed, touching his face. "You'll be a good Hunter one day, Jaune. Is it okay if I call you Jaune?"

"Yes, sir," I nodded, glancing out the window before leaning forward. "We're almost there, Dad."

Sitting to my right, my father opened his eyes and nodded, turning his face to watch the window as well. I'd rarely seen him this quiet, but we _were_ on a mission—even if it was hopefully routine, it was a matter of life and death for the people we were going to save.

"Time to go, then," He said after a moment, rising to grasp one of the bars above him. As one, the rest of his team rose as well and I followed just a moment after. There was a slow change as the Bullhead began its vertical landing, but the doors opened and we leapt out before it was halfway down, landing in the middle of the town. As was becoming second nature to me, I reached out with my enhanced senses and made sure I knew where everything around me was. Houses, stores, inventories—and there were the wounded. I glanced towards the unassuming building that either served as a hospital or had been adapted to that purpose because of the amount of wounded. I could hear them breathing, sense them even across the street and through the walls, but though I moved to my father's side, I didn't leave until he could dismiss me.

Naturally, people took notice quickly and whispered murmurs began to spread through the town square. An elderly looking man, maybe in his sixties or seventies, quickly stepped from the gathering crowd of observers, drawing my attention swiftly for the words above his head.

 **What Falls, What Scatters  
LV57  
Lie Hui**

"Are you Mr. Jacques Arc?" He asked with an accent I didn't recognize. His demeanor gave the impression that he was used to Hunters, but also seemed respectful.

"I am," My father replied. "And you're Lie Hui, right? I understand you knew Layla well."

Hui tilted his head slightly, seeming surprised by the name, but nodded.

"I did indeed," He said. "She protected this village for many years after she came here. I take it that you knew her when she was a Huntress, then?"

My father chuckled a bit sadly and nodded.

"A long time ago," He said before clapping me on the back. "But we have work to do, eh? This is my son, Jaune; he's a healer who volunteered to come along, with Professor Ozpin's permission. If you could have someone escort him to your wounded while you tell us more about what's happening, he should be able to help."

Immediately, Hui's eyes focused on me, almost to the dismissal of my father. He looked me up and down for a moment, and then bowed his head in thanks.

"I thank you, then," He said and sounded like he truly meant it. "It has been quite some time since a village such as ours has been able to afford a Healer and we would be grateful for whatever help you could provide."

"I will do everything I can, sir," I replied, bowing my head in turn as I stepped past my father. "Just show me where you need me."

Elder Hui turned his head and lifted his voice.

"Ren?" He called. "If you would?"

"Of course, Grandfather," A voice replied as a boy about my age moved through the crowd. His hair was black but for a pinkish looking streak on the left side. Wearing a green and black tailcoat, he gave me a nod and I moved to his side.

 **The Flowers Blossom, the Fallen Wither  
LV38  
Lie Ren**

"This way, please," He said, gesturing in the direction I already knew to go. "Your father said your name was Jaune, right?"

"Yeah," I answered, Observing him for a moment. "And you're Ren? One sec."

I put a hand on his shoulder and quickly healed the minor damage I saw in his profile. He glanced at me sharply before flexing his fully healed arm.

"Impressive," He said. "I've never seen a healer before. My mother used to speak of them, but…"

He trailed off and fell silent, but I chose not to pry.

"Did you get hurt in the fighting?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Yes," He said. "It was just a glancing blow, but I was still careless to get hit."

"Are you training to become a Hunter as well, then?" I continued. "My mother and father have been training me."

"Yes," He answered, going silent for a moment before elaborating. "I used to train with my parents, too. These days, Grandfather does what he can."

"Ah…" I trailed off as we reached our destination. Ren opened the door for me and I gave him a nod as I passed, flicking my gaze over the wounded, measuring their health bars quickly before going to the most wounded and kneeling beside them.

Ren followed.

"As I said, I've never seen a healer before," He said as I rose and moved to the next patient. "About how long does something like this take?"

I glanced around at the people in the room. Most of them were asleep though some just looked glassy-eyed. Painkillers of some kind? I'd check when I got to them. Still, there only seemed to be about sixty, seventy people here. About…

"Five minutes, maybe?" I mused. "I'll need to make sure I fixed everything."

"That's all?" He sounded surprised, following my gaze to the many injured. "That's…that's amazing."

"I suppose it is," I said a bit distractedly, focused on how my Aura flowed through the patient's body and what areas it marked. "If you don't need them for anything urgent, you may want to let them finish sleeping, though. They should be fine physically, but considering what happened…what did happen, anyway?"

"The Grimm," He answered, giving a true yet useless answer. When I paused in my work to shoot him a look, he smiled briefly before looking down at the person I was healing. "We really don't know beyond that, they just suddenly attacked. As far as I could tell, nothing major happened to provoke them; I just suddenly heard shouting and found about thirty or forty Grimm inside the city. I found a larger gathering of them about ten kilometers west of here that they might have broken off from, but…"

"But that doesn't explain how they got inside," I finished and moved on.

"No, it doesn't," He said quietly.

"You were the one that called in the Hunters, then?" I asked absently. A compound fracture in the left leg, broken ribs, shredded…

"I told my grandfather when I returned. He said he called one of my mother's old friends for help," Ren replied, watching my work carefully, as if trying to memorize it. Unless he could see Aura, though, I wasn't sure what that would accomplish; all I was doing physically was laying my hands on people. "She told him to, if something like this ever happened."

I wondered if that had anything to do with why this was the mission I was sent along on—if Ozpin, who I was guessing was the friend in question, had wanted a healer to fix things.

It didn't really matter, I suppose. I was here, so I'd help.

"My father and his team are very strong," I said. "They're all Hunters, after all. It should be…"

I shrugged, not sure what to say. My ability to honestly assure people that nothing would go wrong had taken something of a hit recently.

"I know," Ren sighed quietly. "I just…have a bad feeling."

I frowned slightly as I looked up at him and then nodded. Who was I to dismiss feelings of impending doom?

"Let me finish here," I said. "Then I'll look around and see what I can find?"

He lifted an eyebrow and I chuckled.

"Hey, I said I was training to be a Hunter, didn't I?" I asked. "I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve."

He nodded and fell back to let me work. I finished faster than I expected, healing them all in about three and a half minutes, and then rose to face Ren.

"Where'd they attack?" I asked.

"This way," He gestured and walked out with one last glance behind. I followed a step behind and he led me quickly through the small town to a part that was in an obvious state of disrepair—one house had even been demolished. Since we'd finished so quickly, I guess my dad wasn't done talking to Elder Hui yet, or else he'd probably be here as well.

I looked around and let my senses roll out again. Currents of air, patterns of energy, the touch of water and very presence of life—I felt them and I felt _through_ them as my perceptions expanded. And with them, I felt…nothing, really.

And yet, something felt…off.

"They just appeared, you said?" I asked, crouching slightly. My vision flickered through different forms of sight, picking up traces old and new. Separating out the signs of the Grimm from the years of life people had worn into the town was hard, but…

Well, I could follow the bloodstains. That made things easier.

"Yes," Ren knelt beside me, looking as well. "None of the perimeter guards saw anything, they were just suddenly inside."

I frown at a particular stain, as if someone bleeding heavily had been dragged away. It cut off abruptly, fading into smatterings of droplets, but the direction…if the Grimm was taking a snack home with them, why head further into the village?

Assuming that was what happened, of course.

"Was everyone accounted for?" I asked. "After the attack, I mean?"

"No," Ren bowed his head. "Five missing. Mr. Marrowy, his wife and daughter, and Orchid's twins. They were gone by the time I arrived."

I turned towards the demolished house, towards with the streaks pointed.

"And that was…?"

"The Marrowy house," Ren supplied, closing his eyes for a moment. "It…it was destroyed in the fighting. There hasn't been enough time to sort through everything yet."

"I see," I murmured, frown deepening. "Give me just a second."

I closed my eyes and fell immediately into my meditative state. My perceptions expanded even further, the fabric of creation spreading out in marvelous color as the power of the world around me became visible. I saw the majesty of the storm gathering on the horizon, the energy cascading down from the Sun, the constant motions of the planet we clung to—but to pursue my suspicions, I had to go deeper in a literal sense, parting the curtain of veiling light beneath my feet to feel—

"Are you done already, Jaune?" My dad drew me from my thoughts, sounding impressed. "That didn't take long at all. If you want—"

"Dad," I interrupted, opening my eyes but not limiting my head. Now that I knew they were there, I focused my senses, reaching further and further down. "We have a problem. They're underground."

He was silent for a moment, as was Ren and the other people I dimly sensed nearby as I pushed my reach to its limits. They were deep, deep beneath the surface, hidden below a…kilometer of dirt? More? How did they even…the Cruach, maybe? But they shouldn't be this far east, they were…

"How many?" My father finally asked and I switched tracks to try and count.

Then I just gave up.

"A lot," I said, finally looking up at him. The rest of his team was nearby, as was Ren's grandfather, all of them frowning at the ground. "Thousands, tens of thousands, maybe more. There's a network of tunnels that…I can't feel the whole thing, but it's at least as big as this town."

"Well," My father said, sighing. "Fuck."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Caverns**

Credit where credit was due, my father had been a Hunter for decades and, in that time, had seen some _shit_. As such, he recovered quickly, cracking his neck once before nodding firmly and taking charge.

"Keppel, Carmine, go check what we talked about, just in case," He said. "Onyx, if you would?"

"You got it," He said, kneeling to play a hand on the ground. As he closed his eyes, my father took a step towards me, his eyes serious.

"Are you sure, Jaune?" He asked. I wasn't certain if he was asking about if I sensed the tunnels or if I was sure about the extent of them, but either way, I nodded.

"As sure as I can be without checking it out myself," I said. "You know my senses are good."

He exhaled slowly through his nose.

"I do that," He muttered. "Onyx?"

"The kid's not wrong," Onyx said, opening his eyes. "I can definitely feel tunnels and they extend all the way out of my range. There's motion, too, though I can't tell what from here—but if your son says they're Grimm, I'd believe it. Was this why I was sent along?"

"If it was, Oz forgot to mention it," My father grunted, frowning before nodding to himself. "Nothing for it, though. I trust both of you; you tell me there's Grimm, there's Grimm. The question is 'Why?' And is this recent or has this been going on all along? And if so, what drew the Grimm to attack _now_ of all times?"

"Good questions, Jack," Onyx said. "If you're expecting an answer, though, be advised I've got no fucking clue. Kid?"

I shook my head before tilting it to the side.

"I could figure out some of it," I mused. "I'd need some dirt samples from the tunnels, but if I had that, I could probably determine how recently the tunnels were dug."

"Yeah?" Onyx lifted an eyebrow.

"He's got good eyes," My father answered, crouching. "Okay, that should be doable. The safety of this town comes first, but if there's a massive mobilization of Grimm beneath the surface…we need to know why, what they're doing, where they're going, and if this is a singular thing. You said the tunnel extend beyond either of your ranges? Then it's possible that this is just something small, relatively speaking; a kilometer down, they could escape a lot of notice and if they could do this _here_ …"

"They came up under Mr. Marrowy's house," Ren interjected, drawing our attention. "Could they have done that elsewhere, too? Under other houses?"

We all exchanged glances.

"Maybe," My father said honestly. "Onyx, Jaune, could you tell?"

"If I look," I nodded. "It could take a while, though; it's possible the Marrowy tunnel was just the first to be completed. To be safe, I'd want to look at least a fourth of a kilometer under each house. Should I get started?"

"In a minute," My father said, looking around. "You and Ren can check the rest of the village to make sure it's safe. Is there anything else you can tell us about the tunnels?"

I considered that for a moment, frowning slightly.

"I could draw you a map, I think," I mused. "At least of what I can sense. There are a few tunnels that stand out because of how big they are and several…chambers, I guess, large enough for a lot of Grimm to gather in. The tunnel that led to the surface was tiny in comparison, an offshoot of one of the higher passages. I can't tell which direction the tunnels are going, but…there are a few that get relatively close to the surface. And some of them are pretty huge."

"Onyx, see what else you can learn from the tunnels nearby," My father said, accepting my words. "Ren, if you could get some paper?"

Both man and boy inclined their heads and were quickly gone, leaving my father and I alone.

After a moment, my dad sighed again, shaking his head.

"What's the plan now?" I asked.

"We try not to fuck this up, mainly," He snorted before looking down at me in concern. "Situations like this are the worst. With the Grimm this close by…"

"We can't evacuate, can we?" I murmured.

"No," He said. "You don't evacuate a town because something good is happening, which means people get worried when it happens and then they start getting scared—especially when Hunters do it. It carries the notion that we can't handle the problem and if _we_ can't, what are they supposed to do? But that fear just makes things worse; a call to evacuate might be enough to provoke the Grimm to attack. We have to make it seem like things are under control."

"Even when they totally aren't."

"Even when they totally aren't," He agreed. " _Especially_ then. You'd be shocked how often something nearly goes catastrophically wrong while we all swear up and down that everything's okay."

"I really wouldn't be," I said, looking down. I considered my words carefully for a moment, pondering an idea before speaking. "If there are no other paths to the surface, I could set Sanctum Sanctorum up over the hole. At the very least, it should give us an edge if we need to stand our ground. I could do it with one of the bigger houses, too, but…if we herded all the civilians in and locked them up, they'd probably end up drawing more and more Grimm until it was too much to handle. Might work as a last resort if we had to try and wait until help arrived, but…"

He nodded.

"Don't want to do that unless we really have to," He said. "And if we have to…"

He sighed slowly, looking up at the sky.

"We should call for reinforcements anyway, though," He murmured. "Something on this scale…the mere implications are terrifying. We need to make such Ozpin knows what's going on, get people on standby if things go as badly as they could, and get some help out here. If it was your mother and I…"

"Yeah," I said. "You want me to make the call or…?"

"No, I'll do it," He said. "Besides Ozpin, there are a few people who need to be told of something like this and they…well, they wouldn't recognize you. It's best they see my face to make sure there are no unnecessary delays—with something like this, we have to move fast and act intelligently."

"Okay," I nodded. "What should I do, then?"

He eyed me again and pursed his lips.

"Can you get an Earth Elemental?" He finally asked. "You have all of the basic four, but you also have Metal, so…"

I understood and waggled a hand.

"It should definitely be possible," I said. "Shouldn't even be a problem for an Element like that, but…every time I get an Elemental, it knocks me out for about six hours for this whole dream vision thing. At first I thought it was just because the ritual was exhausting, but it happened three times and I made some pretty huge improvements in-between the first and second. Instead…I think it's really more of a part of the ritual itself then just a side effect. I can go do it right now, but I'd be worried…"

I shrugged.

"I get it," He grunted. "No way of knowing what might happen in six hours when you have an army of Grimm at your doorstep—or under your ass, as the case may be. I suppose it doesn't matter, since we have Onyx, it's just…well, I wouldn't mind having the earth on my side if it came to a fight underground."

"Having the forces of nature back you up is pretty awesome," I agreed, smiling when he rolled his eyes. "I can send my other Elementals down, if you need them. Maintaining them is pretty trivial now, though they'll be pushing my range; they could cause their fair share of havoc. It's just…"

I looked down at the ground.

"I don't know how many are down there," I admitted quietly. "The tunnels go in every direction—including down. I told you about the chambers? Well, there are some that are big enough and deep enough, I can't feel the bottom. If a sudden attack provokes a response…"

"You think they'll strike at the surface?" He asked. "That they'd recognize there was a human somewhere behind your Elementals?"

"I don't know," I half-shrugged, smiling bleakly. "That's more intelligence then I'd expect from most of the Grimm, but…"

I thought of the Goliath and of Ozpin's story.

"…That's been going around lately," I finished, looking away. "And these tunnels…if they _are_ new, if they aren't some massive work in progress—and I honestly don't know which I think is worse—then I can't help but think that I know of a few Grimm that could do something like this. Like the Cruach."

My father sighed deeply.

"The thought occurred to me, as well," He said. "But those Grimm shouldn't be _here_."

"Yeah," I bobbed my head to the side. "But then, that's been going around, too."

He huffed out a slight laugh, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I suppose it has," He acknowledged. "I'm going to take Onyx and go check out the tunnels. We need more information before we do anything else."

"Should I come along?" I asked. "My senses are the best out of all of us; whatever's there, I'm most likely to find it."

"You are," He nodded, sighing again. "Unfortunately, you're so useful I need you doing other stuff. If there's another attack, you're the most likely to notice and be able to respond. If anyone's injured, you're the only healer. If the worst happens, you're the only one with a chance of actually evacuating the town. Your eyes, your elementals, your barriers, your…everything; this village is still our priority for the moment and you're the one best equipped to defend it. I could use you down there—but I need you up here."

"Yes, sir," I nodded, a bit disappointed and just a tad worried. "I'll keep it safe."

"I'll have Keppel and Carmine stay back, too," My father continued. "Both of their powers…well, they wouldn't enjoy using them in the tunnels and neither would I. I'll tell them to trust your senses."

"Got it," I said and peered at him carefully. "You're not just doing this to keep me safe, are you?"

He ruffled my hair, laughing.

"Are you kidding?" He said with a wide grin. "I just know that if your mother gets here and finds out I brought you down into the tunnels with me, I wouldn't come back up."

"What a selfish motivation," I sighed, shaking my head ruefully. "I was really touched for a minute there, but then you had to go and ruin it."

"It's what I do, kid," He put his other hand in my hair and made a complete and utter me of it with a laugh. I waited patiently for him to stop and then used a basic application of my Disguise ability to smooth it in a few second, casting him a superior look when he frowned. "Anyway, you handle things up here until your mother arrives, okay? I have to go make that call and then I'll go."

"Wait," I stopped him, catching his wrist. "Before you leave, let me do something; I'll find Onyx in a minute, too. This'll only last half an hour, but…it should help some. Find me again before you go and I'll freshen it up, too."

I took a deep breath, guiding my Aura.

"Haste," I said. "Regeneration, Feather Fall, Firepower, Mountain's Strength, Unbroken Steel. There, that should be enough."

"Oh?" My dad said, lifting his hand as I let go of his wrist. "You told me about these, yeah, but…this is kind of neat. It's not gonna cost you, is it?"

"Please," I snorted. "It only costs thirty MP. Even if I buff both of you, I regenerate more MP than that in half a minute. I guess I'll buff everyone else, too; there's no reason not to. Keppel, Carmine, Ren, and Hui…that's nothing."

"It is nice having someone like you along for these missions," My dad smiled, flexing his fingers. "Half an hour, you said? After we finish up here, we'll see what ground we can cover before these wear off, then; just top me off before I head down."

"Okay," I shrugged. "Just let me find Ren and I'll make you that map. If you move quickly, you should be able to get through a lot of it."

 **XxXXxX**

Finding Ren wasn't a problem and he'd gotten a pen and paper as requested. I sat down and drew out the parts of the tunnel system I'd seen, drawing the map on several different pages to indicate the deeper levels. I marked the different tunnels to show approximately how long they were and sized them as accurately as I could. I also circled the ones where I'd sensed high Grimm activity and then outlined in blue all of the tunnels that connected to the one that led to the surface, drawing a series of paths across all the pages. With that, as long as they could figure out the right tunnels, they should be able to get back to the surface.

My dad ruffled my hair again as I handed him the pages, flipping through them quickly with a smile and a nod.

"You and Ren make sure the rest of the town is clear," He said. "Onyx and I will see what we can do. As big as this all looks, we'll need to be careful, but we should be able to get some idea of what's going on. You just hold down the fort and wait for your mother, okay?"

"Okay," I said, by head slightly bowed as his hand pushed it down. "Good hunting."

"You, too," He smiled, traces of worry in his face. "Top us off before we go?"

I reached up to grab his wrist and reapplied all my buffs as I removed his hand from my head. Reaching over, I set them all on Onyx, as well.

"Not gonna lie, kid," Onyx cracked his neck to the side as he flexed his massively armored right hand. The black armor made him look odd, making it seem as through his arms were several times too big for his body, but I was sure the size of his weapons gave him plenty of room to stash all sorts of tricks. "I could get used to having you around. Don't suppose you could boost my own power?"

I shook my head slightly.

"I haven't figured out how to do that, yet, sadly," I answered with a slightly regretful sigh. That between the White Whale thing, the attack on the Dust mine, and the whole fuss with Ziz, people had gotten a little worried about the future and there'd been a bit of a Dust run. Nothing major—at least, not after a few months—but it was still enough to jack up prices and make the rarer types a bit harder to come by, and I'd decided to just wait for them to come back down and build up my wallet before just buying a bunch of everything. But now…in many ways, I suppose I reap what I sow.

"A shame," He shrugged. "But I guess I'm just getting spoiled, now. A healer and long-range sensor who can also strengthen me? Well, why can't you do everything else, _too_ , huh?"

He smirked down at me and then looked at my father.

"We better go, though; make the most of the time we've got," He said. "Any luck and we'll be back before it even wears off. If not…"

"I'll be able to sense that you're alive," I said.

Onyx laughed a little bit, glancing my way again.

"I _am_ gonna get spoiled." He smirked. "Keep an eye on us, then, kid. I'll go open the way, Jack."

My father gave him a nod and looked at me as silence lingered for a bit.

"If I have to, I'll lead a search party down, when mom arrives," I told him quietly. "She'll be really upset if you make her come rescue you, though."

At those words, he smiled.

"Can't have that, now can we?" He mused. "I'll make sure to come back fine, then. Really, though, who do you think you're talking to, Jaune?"

"The guy I inherited my ability to get into trouble from," I answered swiftly and he put a hand over his heart.

"Ouch," He said. "That _hurts_ , son. What if this is the last thing you ever say to me?"

"Then your eulogy is gonna go something like 'We are gathered here today because this _one asshole_ couldn't stay alive,'" I replied, making sure my face was completely serious.

He turned away slightly, leaning back as he laughed loudly, and then threw an arm over my shoulders and pulled me close.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," My father said. "But I'll still come back, okay?"

"Okay," I answered quietly. "Be safe."

"Mm," He hummed as he let me go and walked away.

I watched him go in silence, Ren by my side. The other boy had been quiet as we said our goodbyes, probably out of respect, but as my father left, he muttered something low enough that only I could here.

"Your father seems like a good man."

"He is," I replied the same way. "Here."

I set a hand on his shoulder and layered all of my buffs over him, shooting his Aura through with curling bands of bright colors. He took a sudden breath and then slowly exhaled, nodding his thanks at me.

"Your mother is coming?" He asked, changing the topic. "You come from a family of Hunters, then?"

"Yup," I answered. "Mom, Dad, seven sisters, and now me. And you? Do you come from a hunting family, as well?"

He tilted his head slightly and nodded.

"I suppose I do," He mused aloud, shaking his head. "It's not something I usually think about."

I nodded, pretty sure I understood but not wanting to pry.

"My dad said Mom would be here soon, along with her team," I said. "That's eight Hunters and when my parents work together, they're a very powerful team. Depending on what my father finds and what Ozpin and the Council decide, even more might be on their way, but…"

I trailed off. I wanted to promise that his village would be safe, but we both knew there was no way of really knowing if that was true. If something happened, if there were enough Grimm down there, if…

But Ren just nodded, accepting the words despite how bad I was with reassurances.

"We should check the rest of the village, then," He said. "If it's just a matter of defending against single point of attack, we'd be vastly better off, but if they've been tunneling up under houses…"

Then this town way well already be lost.

I didn't say that out loud, but I didn't have to.

"Yeah," I said. "Better to find out now, right?"

 **XxXXxX**

The good news was that our search didn't turn up anything huge. A few tunnels extended high enough to make we wary, but even the nearest was a good two hundred meters below the surface. All told, it could have been a lot worse, even though it was definitely something we needed to keep an eye on—but for now, at least, it didn't seem like anything would spring up underneath one of the houses and murder everyone inside. How long it would take to change that if they had Cruach down there was anyone's guess, but there was not an _immediate_ danger. Once this was all over, though, those tunnels…something would need to be done about them. They led right under the village, out to some place where Grimm could obviously get into them, and there were a bunch of people on top of it all just waiting to have a bad day. Once I had more time and an Earth Elemental…

But anyway, nothing was currently in the process of tearing off our faces and eating them. That was the good news.

The bad news was, Onyx and my father hadn't come back. As I said before, I could sense them and knew they were alive, but though it had taken several hours to check the whole town, they hadn't returned. Which meant they'd either found something or, worse case scenario, something had found _them_.

I wasn't _too_ worried, because I knew my father's strength and could roughly keep an eye on him thanks to my ability to sense life. The way I saw it, if something was trying to kill him, he'd probably be running a hell of a lot fast then he was right now, so I chose to take his delay as good news.

But I set a Safe Haven over the hole, just in case things went wrong, and sat down to wait for their return. Ren left to check on the villagers one last time, as well as to speak to a friend, but then came to join me, bringing a pair of lawn chairs and some water bottles to make it a tad more comfortable. Then we just sat down to wait and see what crawled out.

For several hours. It wasn't very exciting but we both made do—and at least it gave me a chance to keep track of my father's progress through the tunnels. Still, I was left wondering when—

"Ren!" A voice suddenly called, making my attention shift. The voice was bright, energetic, lively and…well, it stood out, given the atmosphere. "There's another airship coming!"

 **In the Wake of the Storm  
LV40  
Nora Valkyrie**

I looked her over once—orange hair, pale complexion, clothes that would have made her stand out even if her level hadn't, and a weapon that my Observe said would transform into either a Warhammer or grenade launcher—and then looked up at the sky. Sure enough, there was an airship a ways off and quick shift in perception was all it took to know that my mother was on it.

"Nora," Ren replied, glancing at me. I gave him a small nod as I returned to watching the tunnel. "Those must be the other Hunters I told you about. Could you bring them here when they arrive?"

"Okay, Ren!" She nearly sang, looking at me with interest. "And you're the healer, right?"

"That's me," I said. "You need something healed?"

"Nope," She shook her head with a smile. "I just heard about you from Ren. Whatcha doing?"

"Waiting for my parents," I said honestly. "Dad's down in the tunnels. Mom's up on that airship. Not much to do but wait right now. You?"

"Just guarding the wall while Ren's busy," She said before pausing. "Well, not right _now_. But I saw the airship and wanted to tell you. Anything interesting? Watching the wall's pretty boring."

"Can't say watching a hole in the ground is much better, but someone's gotta make sure the forces of darkness stay put, right?" I answered before poking her shoulder. "Here, just in case."

She oohed as I settled my power over her, giving her strength. With a gesture, she drew and unfolded her Warhammer and then twirled it like a baton excitedly.

"Magnhild's so light," She said, pleased. "How'd you do that?"

"I'm pretty good at making people stronger," I shrugged and she tilted her head, catching her hammer and resting it against her shoulder.

"Well," She said. "I'm pretty good at being strong."

I had to smile at that answer.

"We should get along well, then," I said before glancing past her. "And it looks like my mom and her team have landed. Could you—"

I paused, looking down. As all four members of my mother's team landed, I felt something shift beneath me, like a stone had been tossed into a still pond. All at once, things began to move, too sudden to have been anything but a _reaction_. But how? How could they possibly…and what did this mean? Had they been waiting for this, somehow? But why? What could possibly make them want _this_?

There was no way of knowing—but I did know what I had to do.

"Nora," I whispered. "I need you to get my mother, right now. My father's coming."

I looked up at both of them and took a breath.

"And so are all the Grimm."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Fortress Defense**

Thankfully, Nora didn't question me, she just gave me a quick nod and hurried off to get my mother. That was good, because with the amount of Grimm now rushing towards the surface, I just didn't have time to waste. A response that large…

We had to get ready to welcome them.

"Ren, tell your grandfather to handle the civilians," I turned towards the other boy, expression focused. "Tell him to do whatever he can, but focus on keeping them calm. When the Grimm reach the surface, we're going to have to keep them focused on us, but if they start to scatter…there's enough of them that a lot of people are going to die. I'll do everything I can to keep things quiet over here, but he needs to keep the people busy and away from here. And if you find the rest of my father's team, send them this way."

"This isn't really something we can keep quiet," Ren answered, a sudden tension in his body.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," I answered, cracking my neck as Levant manifested invisibly behind me. "I can do all sorts of things. Now go."

He hesitated for a moment before nodding as well. I knelt the moment he was gone, reaching my senses deep into the ground.

"Dad," I whispered, Levant carrying my voice to his ear. "The way you're running, I take it you've noticed the Grimm are moving. I know why—I mean, I'm not sure about the reason behind it, but I know _why_. Mom's team just landed and they started moving the _moment_ they did. Somehow, for some reason, they're reacting to _us_ , to Hunters. I don't know if this was a trap meant to draw us out somehow or what, but I'm all but sure that it's us they're after. But with the village behind us…"

I let that sink in before continuing.

"I've set up a Safe Haven at the entrance to the tunnel, but I'm waiting for everyone else to arrive to do more. Mom and her team are almost here and I have Elder Hui handling the civilians. As is, I think I can silence the area with Levant and keep the villagers from hearing what's happening which should keep them from drawing even more Grimm, but if we fail…Get up here soon, Dad."

I finished as I sensed my mom approaching and turned before I even heard her call out to me.

"Jaune!" She shouted before muttering something to her team, telling them to give her a moment. Then she ran ahead of them to reach my side, eyes focused on the cleared away hole in the ground. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," I answered quietly, my voice barely more than a whisper. "A lot of Grimm are coming up. At least five digits worth."

She nodded tightly.

"And your father?" She asked.

"On his way. He went into the tunnels a few hours ago to check things out, but something delayed him. I contacted him just now, told him what was happening, and he'll be here in just a minute. Right now, I'm just working on setting up barriers; Safe Haven's already up."

"I noticed," She said quietly. "How much room can you give us?"

"A fair bit," I shrugged. "I could cover a sports field, maybe. I can't shield the ground because the Grimm could just dig around and pop out somewhere else, though. If you think it's safe, I might be able to ditch the roof, too. If I'm just making four walls, I could make it a little larger. I should be able to clip the wings of any airborne Grimm that try to fly out, so…"

She squinted, looking around the area with a furrowed brow before nodding.

"Do it," She said. "We'll need room to fight if we're going to keep them contained. Do everything you can to give us that without risking the Grimm running free. Besides, there's a storm coming. Not having a ceiling can only help."

I nodded, knowing what she meant.

"I could make two halves of a barrier using Sanctum _and_ Sanctum Sanctorum, if you think the size is worth the weaker prison," I suggested.

"How much of a difference will it make?"

I could only shrug in response.

"Depends on what's hitting it and how often," I said. "The whole thing would be about half as strong in theory, but…to be honest, I wouldn't want to let an army of Grimm start wailing on it either way. The way Grandmother described it in her story, they used it to fend off the small Grimm while Hunters dealt with the larger ones. I can probably withstand the attacks of any small fry, but if something big gets at it…I don't know. How well it can hold back an army isn't really the type of thing I've gotten a chance to test. Until now, I guess."

She took a slow breath and shook her head.

"Do what you think is best," She said at last. "You'd know better than I would. We'll try to keep the Grimm off the walls in any case, but…just in case, how long will it take you to put it back up if it falls?"

"Not too long," I said, calculating. "Depends on which barriers I put up."

I looked around, considering possible setups.

"I could split it," I mused aloud. "Like a sports field, again. Have the hole on that side, with Sanctum and Safe Haven to lock them in and wear them down faster. Have Sanctum Sanctorum and Temple on this side giving us a benefit, healing, and helping me regain MP. If I set up now…"

"Please," Isabelle said and I around to make sure everyone who was supposed to be here was. Ren had returned with Keppel and Carmine and Nora had come back with my mother's group. With my father and Onyx coming up from the hole soon…I focused and felt invisible barriers rise into place around us.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one.

"Isabelle, what's going on?" A red-haired man I vaguely remembered asked, squinting around us.

 **The Four Gates on the Crimson River  
LV 71  
Tyrian Sour**

"Jaune's setting up a perimeter to keep any Grimm from escaping," My mother said. "It should hold so long as we don't let them test it too much. Familiarize yourself with the boundaries and Jaune will show you the important areas established within."

"Not much to say," I shrugged when eyes turned my way. "I have it set up so that the Grimm are weaker over here and we're stronger over there."

"You can do that?" Tyrian asked, eyebrows lifting slowly.

"My barrier, my rules," I said. "Also, one sec."

I put a hand on my mother's shoulder and layered my buffs on her quickly before going to the others one by one, laying hands on them for a second which got me a few odd looks, except from those who'd already seen it.

"Well," A brunette about my mother's age murmured, tilting her head at me. She was wearing armor almost the exact color as her hair and layered in heavy, heavy plates—as in, the whole thing probably weighed nearly as much as she did. "Aren't you full of surprises?"

 **The Four Walls and the Iron Ring  
LV 68  
Castanea Beech**

"I try," I answered after a moment as I finished layering buffs on all of the Hunters.

"Castanea, Tyrian," My mother said to her teammates. "My son will be serving as support. Should the barriers fall, he can put them back up. Should one of us get hurt, he can get us back together. Pretty much anything we need to do our jobs, he can probably provide—so make sure he stays in one piece, will you?"

"Got it," Tyrian grunted.

"As for you…" My mother paused, squinting at the two locals.

"Ren and Nora," I said quietly and she nodded at once.

"Ren, Nora, you'll be doing the same," She said. "Your job is to protect Jaune. Should the situation change, I'll tell you where you're needed. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ren replied, nodding once while Nora merely tilted her head, both hands on her hammer.

"Tenne, you're with me in front," My mother continued. "We'll play offense. Keppel, Carmine, you too."

Tenne stepped up to my mother's side without a word, hands resting near the five thousand or so dust rounds at his belt. He didn't have a _gun_ anywhere I could see—but even if I hadn't seen his title, I'd have remembered why. He was pretty famous for it and he was one of my mom's teammates I _did_ remember well.

 **The Silent Shot  
LV 72  
Tenne Coup**

The Cordelia's took up position just as quickly, armor of ice forming over Keppel's arms, leading down to claws nearly twenty centimeters on each finger and seemingly razor sharp.

"You know," He mused to his wife as the armor began to grow over his chest and down his legs. "The upside of this whole barrier thing is that they won't be able to run away like cowards. But the _downside_ is that _we_ won't be able to run away like cowards, either."

Carmine, for her part, merely smiled and tapped a finger on her sheathed blade, which brought a smirk to Keppel's face as well. I figured it was an inside joke of some kind, especially when he leaned over and kissed her quickly on the lips.

"No helping it, I guess," He said. "I suppose we'll just have to kill them all so we can go home, won't we, my love?"

 **The Blood-Stained Snow  
LV 66  
Keppel Cordelia**

 **The Blade That Boils Flesh  
LV 71  
Carmine Cordelia**

Moving with clockwork precision, the Hunter's got into their positions and I moved to take mine, back within the Temple and Sanctum Sanctorum. As I passed her, my mother stopped me with a touch.

"In an emergency, could you get the townsfolk out with Naraka?" She asked quietly.

I was quiet for a moment before answering.

"Some of them, maybe," I said. "But that many people and with such a long way to safety…even against just Beowolves…"

She nodded acceptingly.

"And the Grimm?"

I didn't need to ask what she meant, so I answered honestly.

"I don't know," I shook my head. "They're acting strange again. If I try…I can be sure nothing will intervene or that they might not have measures. Take a lot of power, too, and add more Grimm."

I exhaled slowly, glancing down.

"Not that it'd matter if we couldn't handle them in the first place. They'll just reappear after they kill us."

She was silent for a moment, long enough to make me wonder what she was thinking, before patting me on the shoulder and sending me to my position.

Then we waited. The earth began to rumble slightly after a minute or so passed, my senses reminding me constantly of what was drawing near her, but as my father's signal came closer, I reached out to my mother, giving her a silent signal. She raised a hand as motion appeared in the tunnel and a hand grasped the edge.

"Everybody relax," My dad said, pulling himself out of the hole. Dirt clung to his arms, pants, face—but his smile was as bright and confident as he reached down to pull Onyx up as well. "The cool kids have arrived."

"He's not wrong," Onyx nodded, lifting his hand with a shrug.

"We really should shoot everything that crawls out of that hole," Tenne murmured quietly to my mother. "Just to be safe."

"Tempting, but he's grown on me," She answered back.

"Tumors do that sometimes," Her teammate answered, which made her chuckle slightly before lifting her voice.

"Jack, get out of the way," She called. "That's where things stand when they want to die."

He snorted but went to my mother's side while Onyx glanced over the crowd and moved back near me. I reached over and healed him as he came close, erasing whatever exhaustion he felt and then reapplying his buffs. He nodded in thanks as he knelt and sunk the fingers of his massive, armored arms into the dirt like it was cotton, eyes focused ahead.

"Jaune said you took your time," My mother whispered.

"They were hiding something," My father answered. "I was trying to get to it without setting them off, but Jaune said you blew that plan right to hell."

"Whine, bitch, moan, repeat," Mom shook her head, eyes trained forward. "How bad do you think it is?"

"Can't rightly say," He took a slow breath and then exhaled. "But I guess we'll find out."

The rumbling intensified and then the earth broke open, releasing a tide of darkness—who found two teams of hunters waiting for them when they arrived.

That first wave of Grimm practically evaporated.

My mother opened affairs by stomping hard on the ground, turning everything between her and the hole into lava. The Grimm sank into the molten earth, burning and even melting, and yet struggling forward even as they screamed. More viscous then water, they managed to crawl across it somewhat before they gave in at last and collapsed. More lava began to flow down the tunnel, angled to flow right into the rising tide, and I heard other screams come from the muffling depths of the earth.

But death and pain weren't enough to stop the Grimm. More climbed from the depths, striding over the bodies of their follows when necessary and pushing on even as mere proximity to the lava made them burn. The heat was so intense that even from the back row I could feel its harsh touch upon my face, but even as the Grimm collapsed and crawled and died, those behind them did not stop. Larger species rose as the first waves fell, the fields of boney spikes upon their backs a sign of their age and experience, and it was they who ran across the melting, smoking remains of the first wave of Grimm.

Tenne shot them down without a sound. A bullet floated from his side to hover above his open hand and then flashing across the open ground. He was a telekinetic specializing in small objects like my father, but the difference lied in the specifics as it tended to with Semblances. In Tenne's case, he couldn't control anywhere near as many objects as my father, nor could he manipulate them as finely.

But what he did control, he could move very, very quickly.

Little more than a blur even to my Clairvoyance, the bullet flashed across the open space, tracing in and out of the bodies of Grimm—through limbs, through heads, through everything in its path. Its course seemed erratic, shifting darting zigzags to graceful loops, but it slaughtered everything it came near regardless. I saw my mother taking slow, deep breaths as stood at the very edge of the lava, drops of sweat making trails down her face; whether it was because of the heat or if it was simply tiring to keep the lava from cooling, I wasn't sure. Still, for nearly two minutes she and Tenne slaughtered every Grimm brave enough to show their face, creating a pile of bodies high enough to hide the hole from sight. Looking at it, seeing the power of just two Hunters working together…it was amazing to watch.

And yet, though they'd killed perhaps three hundred Grimm in less than two minutes, it wasn't enough. I doubted Ren and Nora noticed, wondered if even the other Hunters could truly saw it, but after a while, Tenne's bullet stopped passing _through_ the Grimm and started leaving pockmarks and cracks. Whereas before, it would pass through one skull on the way to the next, it soon began to bounce off, needed a second hit to the same location to truly penetrate, then three, four, or more. Soon, the tide they'd stemmed continued forth as more armored monstrosities rose from the earth, creatures durable enough to shrug off bullets and wade through lava.

"Carmine," My father said quietly and the married Huntress stepped forward, drawing her sword with a crack of her neck and a small smile. With the flick of a wrist, the broadsword sagged, breaking into a dozen sections connected by metal cords as it curled into a pile as her feet. Her aura crawled over the blade more slowly than I would have expected, the very faint red rising from the blade like a heat shimmer. Once it had fully encompassed the blade, she tilted her head and looked at my father.

He merely stared forward for a minute, watching the tide of Grimm advance further with each reiteration until they'd reached half way and kept going.

"Kill them," He said at last and Carmine swung her whip-sword in a single, wide sweep that cut through the approaching Grimm as easily as it did the air. Their flesh turned to smoke at the touch of the blade and they fell in pieces as the vaporizing blade tore through their ranks. The blade retracted and the process repeated, Carmine waiting for the Grimm to close in each time, for my father's command to strike, and then slaughtering wave after wave.

My mother let loose a breath and took a step away from the field of lava, drawing her sword instead.

"No point," She said at my father's glance and he nodded once before turning his attention back to the battle. Despite the Grimm's roars, the sound of tearing earth, and everything else, our side was quiet and focus, ready for anything they could throw at us.

Or at least, that's what I thought before a field of spikes erupted from the ground, forcing us all to dodge swiftly.

"Holy shit," Onyx swore. "Where the fuck did you come from!?"

It took me a moment to understand what he meant—for me to understand what I was sensing. When I did, I stared down at the spear I'd reflexively dodged in mild disbelief and looked over the hundreds just like it that covered perhaps two-thirds of the battlefield. They rose from the lava as easily as the dirt, each as long as the fin of a shark—fitting as they quickly began to move and we were all forced to dodge as they tore circular tracks in the earth, leaping between the spikes to try and reach safety.

But there wasn't any safety to be found because they _weren't_ spikes. They were…

"They're _teeth_ ," I shouted, raising my voice with Levant to make sure I was heard. "There's something beneath us!"

"Say what!?" Tyrian shouted even as he clapped his hands and a circular plane of energy appeared, floating in the air above the center of the field. We all leapt for it as tilled dirt and lava flowed towards the center of the spikes and down a massive gullet.

And then we saw what it belonged to.

Tyrian's barrier shattered as it rose into the air with an earth-splitting shriek, teeth punching through it like paper and sending us flying. It rose high in the air, far above the top of my barrier, and shrieked again as if to remind all of mankind who owned this world—and destroying any chance we had of keeping the civilians from panicking in the process, I imagined. It was white, mostly, it's massive hide layered in scales of Grimm bone marked in red. As its neck curved, I got to see its teeth once more, lining the inside of its mouth in countless, wicked rows.

And as it looked at us—if something with neither eyes nor a true head could look at us—it made a strange sound. Scales and teeth rubbed together with a rasp that should have had no meaning, and yet…I couldn't help but think it was laughing. It bent its neck once more, tore through my Sanctums like they'd been made of spider webs, and dove back into the earth.

"Shit," I heard someone shout and it wasn't hard to see why. It wasn't even aiming at us, not really, but if something that large hit us on its way down…

I grit my teeth and reached out a hand to grab Ren and Nora, the pair closest to me, calling upon Levant to help me throw them far away. They flew into a nearby building, Ren landing graceful as Nora smashed down a wall, and both hit the ground running. Tyrian and Castanea leapt from platform to platform, using their powers to make footholds and escape, but I saw Onyx falling towards the ground, helpless in the air.

With a grunt, I thrust out a palm, a blast of air sending both of us flying. He smashed a massive arm into the side of a building and threw himself up onto the roof while I landed opposite him, eyes on the creature. I thought I heard him shout something at me, but if so I lost it as the colossal beast came down and ate half the street before vanishing into the bowels of the earth.

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of falling rubble and debris as loose earth and broken buildings came crumbling down. I reached out with my senses to locate all the others and leapt toward my parents, landing beside them on a floating platform of ice shards—a collaboration between Keppel and my father, I imagined. After a few seconds, Tyrian, Castanea, and Onyx found us as well, followed shortly by Ren and Nora, each panting slightly with dust on their faces.

"What the fuck was that?" Onyx snarled, peering over the edge to look down at the former street.

"Crom Cruach," I heard my mother whisper. "It's Crom Cruach."

"No," Onyx said, looking at her in disbelief. "What? _No_. God damn it, _no_. Fucking _fuck_ , no."

Nobody replied for a moment, probably just understanding the feeling, but then my father placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Jaune?" He asked and I closed my eyes.

"I don't sense it," I replied after a moment. "But I didn't sense it before, until it was right below us. It moved _fast._ I wasn't looking, but…"

" _I_ was looking," Onyx said. "Hand my hands in the dirt to make sure nothing popped up and gave us a nasty surprise, but…fuck, I'm with the kid; it was just suddenly there. I moves through the ground as fast as anything I've ever seen on land."

"Jack," Keppel said quietly.

"I know," He answered. "Isabelle, call Ozpin and tell him to upgrade our status from 'Fucked' to 'Really, Really Fucked.' If that thing is involved…"

She already had her scroll out and was typing away at it. Far beneath us, I heard the Grimm follow in Crom Cruach's wake, a huge mass of the crawling from the enormous pit that it had left behind. In the distance, villagers began to scream, making my father curse.

"You two," He said to Ren and Nora. "Go help Hui keep the villagers safe. We'll do what we can here, but we need to hold out until reinforcements arrive. Just try to…"

He trailed off and shook his head, probably realizing how ridiculous the mere _idea_ of keeping everyone from panicking was now, but Ren swallowed and nodded firmly. Even Nora's bubbly demeanor seemed to fade as she looked out over her village and the Grimm now swarming it.

"Nora," Ren whispered. "It won't happen again."

She nodded once, weighing her hammer in a hand before leaping into the village, Ren following a moment after.

"Everyone else, we've got a job to do," My father said to his fellow Hunters, who had all positioned themselves at the edge of the floating platform except for my mother. "So go do it."

As one, they leapt down into the river of dark bodies and began tearing the Grimm apart. I saw spears of earth and ice stab up at the sky as Onyx and Keppel landed, impaling dozens of Grimm above their teeming ranks. Tyrian and Castanea began raising shields and walls of energy and light as Tenne and Carmina carved a swath through the monsters, but…

"Jaune," My father stopped me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I should stay here," I answered, looking at him. "I can do the most good supporting you."

"That's not what was going to say," He shook his head. "Or not quite. I just you to know, if things get bad here…"

"I'll get us all out," I said. "If I have to, I can do that, at least. Naraka should…"

My father was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Yes," He said. "Just…remember. I…"

He stopped himself as a drop of water hit his face, looking up at the storm that had finally arrived with a bleak smile.

"Fitting," He said before looking down at me with a smug, confident look. "Well, might as well make the most of it, eh? Want to help me with this son?"

I smiled back at him as we both lifted out hands—and greeted the Grimm below with a clap of thunder. With our control of the water and air above, with the shifting of charges, we called to the lightning again and again. I assisted my father's aim, directed it a bit more accurately at the most heavily armored targets below as we pulled all the energy we could from the storm. The clouds turned darker and the storm worsened as we intensified it and feed it with our power and the Dust we had on hand, until the rumble of thunder seemed a constant thing. A dimly felt my mother finish sending her message and join the fray below, but the majority of my focus was on the skies above and my enemies below. We rained a display of nature's power down on the creatures of Grimm, dashed any monsters that drew our attention from the face of the world, and yet…and yet even still…

We couldn't kill them fast enough to stem the tide.

We tried anyway. When thunder and lightning weren't enough, we leapt to the ground and drew steel, my father tearing at the broken earth with his power as I drew my own around my body, raising it to enormous heights.

"Are you ready for this, son?" My dad was smiling fiercely as he lifted his hammer high.

"Of course," I answered, tracing Crocea Mors' blade as I crouched. A massive Ursa leapt at us and my father reduced it to paste. Before his hammer even hit the ground, though, I was off. Surrounded by dark shapes, I swung my sword with all my might, cleaving off heads and limbs without hesitation. I didn't stop except to restore my strength, didn't hesitate except to make sure I wasn't aiming at an ally—I kept moving forward.

At times, I saw the others; Onyx with a crushed Ursa in either hand, Carmine in a circle of corpses, Keppel in the shape of a monster of ice, Tenne switching to Dust rounds that exploded with each hit to take on the tougher specimens. I didn't see my mother at first, but as the bombs began to go off and massive structures formed in the air. Atop his throne, I saw my father laugh as blankets of fire, explosions of ice, areas of altered time, and distortions in gravity ripped through the ranks of our enemies. For just a moment, as the Grimm were pulled away and the field was momentarily cleared, I was able to look around and see that we were all alive—and who knows how many of our enemies weren't.

In that moment, that one moment, I believed we'd be okay. I believed that we'd be able to do it.

And then the moment passed.

Looking up as I was, I saw the smile drain from my father's face as he looked at the hole and turned to see the cause. Something was crawling from the pit, a Deathstalker more massive than any I'd ever seen, even in pictures, but…

That wasn't what had drawn my father's eye and it certainly wasn't what drew mine. Clinging to its back like baby scorpions were shells of pure white bone, jagged and layered but free of any sign of red or black, clean of any dirt. Compared to the creature that was carrying them, barring its tail threateningly, they were unassuming.

I looked back at my dad, something like terror filling me for an instant and I saw its mirror on his face. He drew a breath and almost unconsciously, I amplified the sound with Levant, making it carry through the battlefield and beyond.

"It's carrying a Pandora Shell!" He shouted, voice thunderous.

As one, every Hunter turned, eyes wide and terrified as they saw the Deathstalker and its bounty. I knew what they were all thinking; I was thinking it myself. Why? How? There shouldn't be any point, they shouldn't be able to break the shell—but what if they did?

We had to stop it. I don't think any of us knew what we were doing and we certainly didn't plan for it, but we ran for the monster. Carmine sheathed her sword instantly and my father pulled his bombs far away, both of them probably as afraid of the possibilities as I was, but we still attacked. A new flood of Grimm rose at the Deathstalker's heels, rushing around and over its body—large forms with countless spike-like growths, the older Grimm. With our biggest guns put away in fear, it was enough to stall our advance for a moment, forcing us back with the sheer weight of bodies.

And then I saw light, as if the clouds had cleared away to show the sun but coming from the ground instead of the sky. I looked down, not wanting to believe it, but—

Crom Cruach, I thought. You _motherfucker_.

I moved to…to run? In that moment, I honestly had no idea what I was going to do. Naraka, I thought. It was our only hope, but the mere thought that we _had_ hope was enough to make my heart rise—and to crush it even more so when I realized I didn't have the power left. I had to—

The Deathstalker clicked its pincers, rustling as if pleased as the light behind it began to grow. With desperate speed, I reached into my Inventory to draw out a crystal and held it tight, draining it for power. A saw a column of light tear through the earth, sheering through a mountainside in the distance—and I saw it fade away as my barrier rose.

I did it, I thought, smile rising to my face. I—

My mother tackled me to the ground, grabbed me, and pulled me tight against her. For a moment, I thought it was a hug, that she was relieved—and then I was abruptly colder than I'd ever been in my entire life as air began to solidify around us. No, it was more than that even; I felt heat as well, the earth liquefying enough for us to sink into, sending a wave of agonizing heat through me even as I froze in place. It hurt, hurt unbelievably, and I didn't understand why she was…

Oh, I thought. She was trying to protect me. But I'd already saved us. I'd already—

And then I felt Naraka shatter, breaking from the outside. As it did, I knew the Pandora Shell had opened.

And I knew I'd failed.

I'd…

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Defeat**

The White Tiger of the West rose around me. I didn't have a lot of choice and this wasn't the time to worry about secrets regardless. If the Pandora Shell had been opened, if its contents had been unleashed…

I tried not to think about it. I knew what it meant and couldn't delude myself to the contrary no matter how hard I tried, but that didn't meant I wanted to accept it-and I had something more immediate to worry about, anyway. The physical manifestation of my soul rose around me, breaking through the layers of solidified air with careful motions and sloughing off the shattered pieces like it would have rain. Curling its arms around the frozen forms of my mother and I, it lifted us both and tried to find a safe place to set us down.

It was harder than it sounded. Through the eyes of my soul, I saw dark splotches on everything in sight, as if it had rained mud or oil—and I didn't dare let any of it touch either of us. But in the end, there was no way to truly be sure _anywhere_ was safe, regardless of what may have seemed obvious. Against this threat…

My mother had tried to bury me in lava _and_ freeze me beneath layers of solid air to try and keep me safe from the Pandora Shell's opening. It was a desperate thing, so much so that I could feel her dying in my arms. I felt the agonizing cold myself, but to someone without a body like mine, temperature extremes like this must have been…

The Gamer's Body kept my flesh from breaking down under damage, keeping my wounds from really building upon one another or worsening. I didn't need to worry about blood loss or not being able to use a broken limb or the effects of exposure; I took damage, possibly at regular intervals or as a continuous effect, and that was that. Even having been dipped in lava and frozen to far, far below zero, I'd be fine as soon as I was out, especially once I'd had a chance to heal myself—but my mother's entire body must have been at risk of shutting down, her organs failing in the wake of the absurd changes in temperature. And with the amount of Aura she must have spent doing it, to say nothing of the fight beforehand…

At the moment…it was probably only my hold on her that kept her alive. I healed us both in shifts, trying to mend the damage as it occurred, but I needed to be able to _do_ something. At the same time, though, I couldn't risk discarding the protection my mother had nearly died to give us any more than I could let her actually die. But if there was nowhere safe…

No choice, I thought as the White Tiger lifted a hand, flames gather above us in the form of a massive Flare that it immediately dropped on the street in front of us. It covered the road with a sheet of flames and I called out to Suryasta to stoke them higher and hotter. Levant guided the winds, drawing all the air nearby through the hottest parts of the flames again and again, trying my utmost to purify it all. In the midst of it all, I kept especially tight control over a carefully corralled pocket of air, keeping it from shifting to carbon dioxide in the flames. After a minute of focus, I let the flames die out—and then combined my affinities for fire and lightning to bake the area again. Finally, as my lungs began to burn and I was all but forcing my mother's heart to beat, I combined water and air to cool the pocket I'd formed enough to be breathable and set us down inside.

God, please let this be enough, I prayed as I freed us both from our icy prison and held my mother tight. I looked down at her face as my vision cleared and just the sight of her hurt. Her skin had gone nearly blue, but it went far, far beyond that. Her skin…in places it had _cracked_ open and begun to slowly ooze blood that itself froze in ugly looking clumps. Frozen so harshly, her hair and eyelashes had broken in uneven clumps as we came free, literally snapping off. Bits of her lips had flaked off, revealing cracked and frozen teeth, but her eyes…her eyes were the worst, enough that I wanted to avert my own.

But I didn't. Free of our prison and the source of harm, I focused all my efforts on healing her, restoring the lost HP with Soulforge Restoration, casting Regeneration on her, and even expending a blue Dust crystal to try to mend the horrific damage her own defense had wrought. Only when I was done and she had ceased to look like a frozen statue did I pay attention to anything else.

First things first, I checked her over carefully and then glanced down at myself, exhaling slowly in relief. At first glance, we didn't seem to have been effected, which was good.

On the other hand, we seemed to be alone, which was very, very bad. If the others were gone…

I closed my eyes and let the jolt of sickness and terror fade before looking around and trying to piece together what had happened while I'd been frozen. I could see the odd hole in the ground that the pillar of light had made, as well as the matching wound it had left in a nearby mountain—a casual testament to Crom Cruach's power, that it could sheer a hole so deep with such easy. Beyond the marks, though, it hadn't done much but wipe out a few buildings. If he'd attacked again in the time I'd been preoccupied, I didn't see any signs of it, though he could have just been waiting to screw us over again, the son of a bitch.

Given the circumstances, though, I wasn't making him a priority—and good God did that say everything you needed to know about the current circumstances. But for the moment, he just wasn't the biggest problem and he seemed content to lie in wait, so I took a breath and moved on. The other Grimm had left the vicinity as well, though it was probably too much to hope that they'd run away or been defeated. Odds were better that they'd just continued their advance into the village and had started to slaughter innocent people.

Horrific as that was, it _also_ wasn't my biggest problem. But since nothing appeared to be attacking me at the moment, I focused my attention on what _was_ , spying a dark patch on the ground outside the limits of my safe zone, perhaps five meters away—which was about as close as I had any desire to get regardless.

Thankfully, I didn't need to draw nearer to accomplished what I desired. Focusing, I zeroed in on what I knew would be there, magnifying the dark splotch with my Clairvoyance and paying careful attention as it grew to consume my sight. I focused in until I could see the individual parts that made up the larger mass, magnifying it hundreds and hundreds of times over to see the truth within.

Most Grimm, for whatever reason, bore forms modelled after animals and other creatures. Some of them weren't based on a _single_ creature, but you could often see traces even then. The terror released by the Pandora Shells was no different in that regard—it just modelled itself after something very, very small. Underneath the microscope of my vision, I saw the black forms and their white, protective shells. Flagella twisted and pili clung to one another, allowing the countless creatures to both stand still and move within the dark fluid they seemed to create. I saw several of the bacteria-like Grimm close in on a plant cell, penetrating the cell wall and then darkening it from within. In moments, the green color of the chlorophyll had faded.

Through my other set of eyes, I could see what that meant on a larger scale. The small flower that the Grimm cells had surrounded, a remnant from someone's garden that had miraculously survived the battle, quickly turned black as if rotting—but it didn't die. No, just the opposite; it _grew_ , rising from a tiny blossom to a plant perhaps three feet tall. One by one, its bright yellow petals fell off and a new bud began to grow into place, colored bone white and blood red. In moments, the new flower blossomed, spreading petals of bone as if to remind the world that nothing on this planet was safe from the Grimm.

If that had been Autumn…

I pushed the thought aside with sheer force of will and continued to watch. With amazing speed, the new plant began its work, making what I assumed passed for 'pollen' in its eyes—in truth, densely packed clumps of the Grimm cells sent off to find more hosts. That was this plant's only purpose, I suppose; after all, everyone knew that the Grimm didn't really focus on plants or animals, even though they were living things that had Aura. These cells were probably just taking advantage of an opportunity.

In the end, what they were after was…

I destroyed the corrupted plant with a blast from the White Tiger, burning it and its spreading pollen away with a scorching blast. I watched under my microscope as the Grimm cells stood up to the blast for far longer than they should have been able to before finally beginning to burst and die. I held the blast until I was sure they were gone and let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

I'd heard the stories like everyone else; heard what could happen when these things got going. Durable enough to survive an explosion and light enough to be flung vast distances by it and be carried in countless ways. They could travel on air currents and in water—even hitch a ride into the water table, if they had a chance. They could survive a heavy boiling, literally crawl through conventional filtration, and once they got inside you, they…

"Now why'd you do that, son?" A voice asked. Focused as I'd been on the small scale, I hadn't even noticed anything approaching—but the voice was instantly familiar and for all that I'd known this was coming, it still filled me with dread.

I turned to face my father.

Or, at least, I turned to face the thing that was wearing my father's face. He hadn't changed as fully as some of the pictures I'd seen, but spikes and armor plates rose from the darkening flesh of his arms. A mask had already begun to form on his face, though not enough to truly make out its shape yet—at the moment, it covered only his forehead, the right side of his face, and his right eye, nothing standing out about it except for the crown-like ridges that rose from the top. It didn't cover his mouth in the slightest, though, and his smile was still the same. But…

 **?  
LV92  
?**

I cast a glance at my mother and rose in front of her protectively, staying within the confines of my safety zone as I met my father's eyes.

"Who are you?" I demanded, even though the words hurt to give voice and he put his hand over his heart as my father had done a million times, feigning hurt.

"How can you even say that, Jaune?" He asked before smirking and letting loose a rolling laugh. "Can't you recognize your old man?"

"I can," I whispered, swallowing slightly. "So I ask again—who are you?"

"Oh? Does it not say?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he waved a hand above his head. "That's interesting…"

I said nothing, watching him carefully.

"I wonder…" He mused aloud. "Is it because I'm still settling in? Well, I don't really get out much, either. I've been given lots and lots of names, but which one's mine? Now that's an interesting question…perhaps I simply don't have a name?"

He tapped a finger against his lips and then his smile widened.

"For a long, long time, I was called 'Pestilence,' but I never really liked that name. If I get to choose, there is one I'm a little more fond of," He said, staring at me with his mismatched eyes. "The first name I was ever given was 'Conquest'—because I take everything you have and I make it mine. Of course, you can always just call me 'Dad,' Jaune."

I took a slow breath, watched him for a moment, and then exhaled.

It was hard to look at this thing wearing my father's flesh, enough to make me want to rage and cry at once—but I calmed down quickly and considered the situation. I was in a dangerous position, I knew that much—my mother unconscious, my father taken, and no real way of knowing when reinforcements would arrive. Hell, if they weren't informed of what was happening, if they made any mistakes, said reinforcements could just make things worse; my mother hadn't known about them when she sent her message, so they'd be flying in blind. Maybe they'd notice what was wrong and react properly, maybe they wouldn't, but it was risky either way. To complicate things further, the others…I had no idea who'd been able to react to the explosion or how well. Until proven otherwise, I had no choice but to assume everyone else had been infected.

I was alone in perhaps the most dangerous position I'd ever been in. Given its failure, I couldn't rely on Naraka to escape and there didn't seem to be anyone around to save me, either. All told, things were looking pretty bleak.

But even so, there was an opportunity here. It sent a spike of nausea through me, but this thing that had infected my father, that was _continuing_ to infect him before my very eyes…it could speak. It was a Grimm that could _speak_ , the only one I'd ever even _heard_ of who could do so. Even in the records of previous outbreaks, there'd never been note of something like _this_. It was…as horrifying and sickening as it was, this was a chance I couldn't pass up.

"What do you want?" I asked finally.

"Beg pardon?" Conquest asked, blinking my father's eyes.

"You haven't killed me yet," I noted, looking around. "Haven't tried to infect me, either. I assume you aren't just feeling chatty."

"Oho," His smile widened. "You _are_ smart—that's good. It makes this easier for all of us."

I said nothing, watching him carefully.

"Yes," He said after I didn't respond. "I want something from you, Jaune—and it's rare indeed that I want something I can't just _take_. But with your power, it's likely I wouldn't be able to take _you_ , son. The Gamer's Body and Mind…what do I count as, any? An illness? A status effect? Or just another being? Either way, I hope you realize this is troublesome for me, too."

I relaxed a bit, if not visibly. I'd figured my power would give me some defense from the infection, but it hadn't been something I'd been eager to test. Having a second opinion was nice, even if it came from something like this thing.

"I apologize for the inconvenience," I said with all the civility I could muster. "I take it you have something else in mind, then?"

"Polite, too," He noted. "Yes, I do."

"Then I ask again," I replied. "What do you want?"

He tilted his head, looking contemplative.

"Well if I _told_ you, I somehow suspect that you would never do it," He mused. "The question becomes, then, how do I make you do it _without_ telling you?"

He sighed.

"To be honest, I don't have much experience with this. It's rare that I engage in bargains or negotiations, you see," Conquest said. "I can usually do away with such measures and just kill everything—or I used to be able to, back in the old days. Nowadays, we have to hold back, you know."

He was baiting me, I could tell, trying to get my interest—and it was working. I needed to find out everything I could while I had the chance and if he was willing to talk I had to listen. The more I knew, the better my currently abysmal odds were, and besides…

"In the old days," I repeated. "What constitutes as 'the old days' in your eyes, if I might ask? Am I mistaken in assuming you mean Babel?"

He flexed his fingers as additional spikes grew into place, eying me for a moment before nodding sharply.

"Ah, yes," He said. "Forgive me; it takes a while to go through the brain cells, you see. Yes, you call it Babel. I wasn't always cages up in those shells, you see—I was one of the oldest of us, you see, and there was a time when I was free to run rampant. We all were, really."

"'We'?" I asked.

"The ones who sleep, unless we have reason to wake," H shrugged. "You've met several of us, now. What do you call them…Ah, I see. You've seen Ziz and Crom Cruach—and me, of course. But there are others as well; the one's I told you stories about. Remember that, son? We have to sleep now, but once upon a time…well, needless to say, I remember those days fondly."

I took a breath and ignored the barbs.

"I see," I said calmly. "Why do you sleep then?"

He wagged his finger, chuckling.

"Now that would be telling," He answered. "And you really need to know _why_ , anyway—not for what we need of you. But how do we get what we need from someone like you…I can see why my brother woke me up. I do have more experience dealing with people."

There it was—the possibility I hadn't wanted to face, but hadn't been able to keep from considering.

"It was because of me, then?" I asked. "I'm why you were here?"

He surprised me by simply shrugging again.

"I'm not sure, though I assume it has _something_ to do with it," He told me. "I didn't really have time to speak to Crom before he left, you see; all I know is what I've taken from this man's brain. I'm sure you've noticed by now that you were lured here, no?"

"A Grimm sighting, to draw in the Hunters," I voiced my thoughts. "Further investigation reveals to extent of the problem and reinforcements are called for—and they draw a reaction. It was a trap from the beginning."

"Seems that way," He agreed, looking amused. "I don't know if I'd have been brought in for any sufficiently large group of Hunters or if you're just that special, though. Either way, when my brother woke me up to a whole lot of nothing, I was a bit confused—but then I saw your barrier and got a bit interested. I haven't seen anyone use that old thing in a long, long time."

"You recognized it?" I felt my heart plummet for a moment.

"'Course I recognized it," He chuckled. "I helped destroy the civilization that _invented_ it."

"Then you _were_ the one who broke it," I said.

"Obviously," He cracked his neck. "Not to sound _too_ arrogant, but I developed something of a knack for finding people who think they're safe and proving that they really aren't. A lot of people tried to escape my brothers and I. A lot of people failed."

"You infected someone who knew how to break the barrier," I guessed and then confirmed my worst fears with my Clairvoyance. "You can use Aura. But the Grimm…"

I fell silent for a moment and then made several thought connections that made my heart both rise and fall.

"My father," I asked and was amazed when my voice didn't shake. "Is he alive in there?"

"For several definitions of alive, yes," His smile widened and he stretched a bit. "I admit, I can be a bit hard on bodies, but they're so much more useful if you keep them running right. So many neat _tricks_. But it's all well and good, right? You gonna come over here and save me now or what?"

"How?" I asked, holding myself still until my heart stopped pounding even though I wanted to step forward. "How can you do that?"

"Sorry, kid—trade secret," He gestured flippantly. "But long story short, you'd be surprised what you can live through, especially if you're willing to be flexible with your definition of 'alive.' But you wouldn't know that anymore, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled again—and maybe it was a bit hypocritical of me, but God was I starting to hate that laugh.

"'Dust,'" He said after a moment. "'Aura,' 'Semblances'…you really don't know much about them anymore, do you? Partially my fault, I admit, but…you guys have fallen a long ways, haven't you? But that's why you call it Remnant, right? Because that's what you are, isn't it—what's left."

"But you know?" I asked. "You know how they work?"

"For a while, I was most of the guys who wrote the books on them," He smirked. "Of course I know. Funny, isn't it? How I'm pretty much the _only_ one who knows anymore. I find it funny, at least—especially when I look at you, Jaune. When I saw you, I knew why I'd been woken up, but you still have no idea how your power even works. I'm going to have to put down breadcrumbs for you to follow, aren't I? Speaking of which, that's as good a lead in as any. I've got an idea!"

"Is that what you're going to offer me?" I asked, taking a step back at his words. Even so, I had to keep him talking while I could. "Knowledge? Power? Or are you going to say you'll give my father back to me?"

Conquest seemed to consider that for a moment before shaking his head.

"Nah," He said. "Really can't see you working for us out of gratitude, you know? Considering what we are and everything. And if I promised you safety and rewards, well, would you really believe me, anyway? No, I just don't see it working—and I'm really more of a taker then a giver. For what I have in mind, I think that works better anyway. So step aside, kid."

He took a step forward, into my safety zone, drawing closer to me—and to my mother.

Levant, Suryasta, Vulturnus, and Xihai manifested, Crocea Mors filling my sword as I drew it and met his eyes.

"Stop," I said, standing protectively over my mother as Conquest eyed me and laughed again.

"Or what, son?" He asked. "What are you gonna do to stop me? You're gonna try to save me, aren't you? But you've got to be wondering 'what are you gonna do if you can't'? Are you gonna kill me? _Can_ you?"

He lowered his head to take a better look at me and his smile widened as I stood my ground.

"Oh, maybe you can?" He wondered. "The Gamer's Mind keeps you calm and logical, doesn't it? So maybe, if you have to, you can do it. Does that frighten you, Jaune? That you might be able to kill me? That you wouldn't even cry afterwards? What kind of son wouldn't even cry over his father's death?"

He took another step forward and then another, ignoring my Elementals completely even as they gathered their power and the White Tiger of the West loomed over him.

"I'll tell you," He said. " _My_ son. You're a chip off the old block, my boy; a monster just like your old man. And I'm so proud."

I took a steadying breath and then another before meeting his eyes steadily.

"I hope you don't think there's a chance in hell I'll give you what you want," I told him quietly.

He looked at me contemplatively and grinned.

"I think you already have, boy," His smile changed until it was no more than a bearing of teeth. "But let's make sure, eh? It'd be rude to leave your mother out of this."

In that moment, I knew I had to act. I couldn't put it off any longer, so I prepared myself and tried to ignore any doubts his words had planted in me. If I could hit him and hold on for a minute, maybe I'd be able to save him. If not…

I'd save my father then, too.

"You're right. So allow me to interrupt," I heard a voice say and the ground beneath my father's feet abruptly turned to lava. I saw him grimace and Lunged forward with all my speed—but even though there was only a few meters between us, he lifted his hammer with his mostly transformed arm and swung it hard enough to smash me through a house. I didn't care and was back on my feet in a fraction of a second, rushing towards him again—

"Stop, Jaune," My mother said, rising to her feet only a bit shakily. Even so, I stopped.

"Isabelle," Conquest said, smiling at her and seeming unbothered by the lava now that the initial surprise had faded. "My beautiful wife. We were just talking about you."

"I heard," She said coldly. "Jaune, can you do anything to keep me from getting infected?"

I glanced over at Levant who shimmed and then split in two. One moved quickly to hover my mother, gathering a pocket of clean air around her, but…

"I don't know if this will be enough," I admitted, whispering to her through Levant's mouth. "But it should keep the air around you clean, at least."

She nodded once, expression unchanging.

"Jaune, I'll handle this," She said and I masked the words reflexively. "Leave."

"What?" I demanded, startled. "Mom, if we work together, I might be able to—"

"The village, Jaune," She said in the same tone, silencing me. "While we're here, imagine what's happening there. I can stop him for now, but you're the only one who could possibly save them."

I hesitated, looking down.

"Mom," I whispered. "But he's…"

"Go," She said and gave me a slight smile. "I'll handle things here until you return, okay?"

I looked from her to my father and back.

"No matter what he says, Jaune, don't forget the truth," She continued. "You _are_ your father's son, Jaune. So don't give up hope yet. We still aren't beaten."

Watching spikes grow in on my father's flesh and his mask continue to form, I wonder how she could say that—and if she honestly believed it or if she was just trying to get me to leave. Had she given up on my father already? Did she think I didn't have a chance? Or…

But whatever the case, I could hear screaming on the air and knew that the villagers _were_ in danger. They might very well not last much longer without some help.

But…my father was still…if I could save him…

I knew it wasn't very heroic, but if I could just save _him_ …

If, I thought. And I suppose that was the big question. I had to know, so…

I bowed my head and turned away.

"Leaving, son?" Conquest asked. "Are you gonna abandon us both?"

"No," I said. "I'll be back in just a minute."

He chuckled.

"Fine, then. I sent the others into town, anyway. Go play with them while Mommy and Daddy talk."

I swallowed hard, hands clenching into fists.

And then I ran away, leaving everything I cared about behind.

 **XxXXxX**


	7. Chapter 7

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Search and Rescue**

There was no time to waste, so I dashed into the town at full speed. Even in a situation like this, with everything that had happened and all I'd left behind, I was still able to think clearly—one of the many, many things to thank my power for, I suppose. As such, while I ran, I tried my best to get my priorities straight.

First things first, I suppose I had to find anyone who was unaffected and do _something_ with them, because they weren't going to keep that status for long if I didn't. I decided pretty quickly that now was _not_ the time to be conservative with Dust and so cost was not an issue here—as such, I might be able to protect a few areas with my barriers. It shouldn't be _too_ difficult to keep an area clean that way, assuming it was clean to begin with. If I could check it over with my Clairvoyance, clear it all out with Levant, and set up just a Sanctum to keep the disease out…it should be possible.

Of course, if I missed anything, if even a _single_ person inside was infected and I didn't notice, all it would do was guarantee everyone inside died horribly, unable to run away. There wasn't any room for error here; I had to be sure and I had to be sure the _first_ time, or it wouldn't do anything. That was something I'd…that I'd handle that as I came to it.

Complicating matters further was the second problem—those who'd already been infected and the Grimm. It seemed pretty safe to assume that they were wreaking havoc as was normal for the creatures of Grimm, but if any of them found any of the barriers I created and gathered enough to destroy them…

Making sure that didn't happen needed to be my second priority. Although, thinking about it, even if I used Dust freely and stuck to using the relatively cheap Sanctums, there were limits to how many barriers I could maintain at one time, so there was also the matter of finding people, keeping them safe, and gathering them into decently large groups. Of course, assuming those people were terrified—because God, who the hell wouldn't be right now?—then any such group would stand out to the Grimm like a giant neon sign pointing straight at a buffet. Getting enough people together to protect them would necessitate _needing_ to protect them, feeding back into itself to make the problem grow.

I needed help. I couldn't defend everyone everywhere at all times—I just couldn't. An entire town was being besieged by an army of monsters and ignoring _everything_ else that was wrong with this situation, I couldn't be in more than one place at a time. If I tried to herd _everyone_ I found into one place that I could defend on my own, most of them would probably die before they got there, assuming most of the town wasn't dead already. Practically speaking, I'd need to set up at least four or five places, possibly twice that number, if I wanted to actually save people. Getting people to the right place before I set up the barrier would require positioning them carefully around the town, but that also meant I'd be running all over the place, trying to deal with attacks on each of the different locations.

No, I couldn't do that alone, not without losing at least a few of them—and it'd keep me pinned down here besides, unable to help my mother and father. But for all I knew, my only help could be whatever reinforcements were coming and they could be _hours_ off. And I still needed to tell them about what was going on, too! And that wasn't even getting into figuring out if I could actually cure the people Conquest had infected or what I'd have to do to them if I couldn't.

 _God_ this was a clusterfuck. Trying to prioritize everything had just left me even more lost, because what it boiled down to was that I needed to do everything, by myself, simultaneously. And I just—I couldn't do this alone. It simply wasn't possible.

Then I needed to find out if I truly was alone, I thought.

I stopped in place, closed my eyes, and knelt on the roof of a building. My mind expanded to see the world around, piercing through what simple matter got in the way. My Elementals reached out alongside me, lining the world in heat and air and light as I looked in every direction. I could feel people, running and panicking, and I ticked them off one by one according to who was nearest, who looked like they could actually be saved, and how long it would take to move from person to person. The math was ruthless and cold, but I didn't have any choice but to save as many as possible, even if it meant feeling the ones I couldn't save die. Right now, the only thing I could possibly do was everything I could.

But even though it meant wasting precious, precious time, even though my instincts screamed for action, I sent my perceptions down into the earth. It wouldn't do to act carelessly now and forget where this problem had originally come from and what could still be lurking beneath our feet; if there was more where all that had come from, I couldn't afford to be taken off-guard by it. I also had to keep in mind that Onyx had possessed an earth-related Semblance; whatever had happened, he might have drawn himself underground—

I sensed him, moving through the dirt. From this range, I couldn't tell if he'd been infected or not, but…either way, I suppose it was better to find out now.

Outlining two nearby targets mentally, I sent Suryasta and Vulturnus on ahead of me, outlining a path for them to travel. Then, even as I drew my scroll from my Inventory and began typing numbers, I reached out with Levant's power, great even despite her division, and spoke to him through perhaps thirty meters of dirt.

"Onyx, are you there?" I spoke aloud. There was a moment of startled silence but no reply. Understandable, considering, but frustrating—I didn't have any time to spare. "This is Jaune; I'm using my power to sense your location and contact you. I need to know if you're infected or not."

I could imagine what he must have been thinking, but I'd told him I could sense his location. Whatever he must have been wondering about me, that should be enough to get a response—it was just a matter of what I could _learn_ from that response.

"How do I know _you're_ not infected?" He asked and I paid close attention to his tone, wondering if this was a trick. There was some strain in his voice, as if he were in pain, but…

"You probably saw me with my mother," I answered. "After I tried to get us out and…and failed. If I'd been taken, that means _she'd_ have been taken, too—in which case, no offense, but we would not be having this conversation right now."

"Fair enough," He agreed before going silent for a moment. "Assuming for the moment that you are who you say you are and this is not a trick, why _are_ we having this conversation instead of, say, running for our lives?"

"The situation's complicated," I replied. "Mom buried and froze us to keep us from getting infected and I managed to keep us safe when we first woke up, but my dad was there and he was…he'd been taken."

"I know," Onyx said quietly. "Your father, he tried to…to contain the blast somehow, but something went wrong; I don't know what. I think he managed to limit the initial spread, but after he was gone…"

I nodded as I watched my scroll ring. I could imagine.

"Yeah," I said. "My mom's fighting him now, but she sent me into town to try to…do something. It's a work-in-progress, at the moment, but assuming you're clean, I could use your help. And if you aren't…well, you're a problem that needs to be dealt with."

"I'm not infected," Onyx answered. "Went to ground the moment I saw what was happening. Some of the stuff got my leg, but I managed to tear it off before it spread too far."

He said it easily. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad sign.

"That might not have been enough," I answered. "And even if it was, I hope you realize I can't just take you on your word."

"You want me to surface, I take it?" Onyx asked.

"It'd be the fastest way to confirm your story," I nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "I can make sure an area's safe for you to rise in, too. But…"

"But I can't be sure you're not infected," He answered. "And I hope you realize I can't just take you on your word."

"Yeah," I nodded again. "That's why I'm calling Ozpin."

Onyx was silent for a moment before answering.

"Oh," He said at last. "The whole 'Something only he would know' plan, then?"

"Pretty much," I replied. "I call him up. He sees me and confirms I'm clean. I patch him through to you and he makes you believe it. You come up and we look at one another, just to make sure."

"And if I don't?" He asked.

"Then I'll have to assume the worst. Since you can travel underground, the risk of you escaping and getting past any border patrols is too high; you could poison water supplies or worse. If you don't come up, I have no choice but to make you a priority, come down there, and deal with you."

"Oh?" He wondered. "I didn't know you could do that."

The White Tiger of the West flexed his claws.

"I think you'll find I'm a pretty fast digger. Wouldn't be as clean a job as you might manage, but I'd get it done." I told him. "Don't have a lot of choice right now."

"Cool," Onyx said after a minute. "I like it. Let's give it a shot."

I nodded again, eyes still focused on the screen of my scroll. What was taking so long?

Finally, someone picked up.

"Hello, Jaune," Ozpin answered, looking concerned. "I'm sorry; I was speaking to another team. After your mother's message, I didn't expect you to call so soon. Has something—"

"Ozpin," I interrupted, getting straight to the point. "Everything's gone to hell. There was a Pandora Shell and Crom Cruach blew it open."

For a moment, Ozpin, who'd been a Huntsmen since God only knows when, looked _stunned._

"Oh," He said, nearly breathless. "Oh no."

"Yeah," I said quietly. "That was pretty much our reaction, too."

Ozpin closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath.

"How bad?" He asked, opening them again and meeting my gaze.

"Bad," I answered, turning my head to look back the way I came. "My father has been taken."

"Jack…" Ozpin whispered, looking down. "Who else?"

"Not sure. We all saw the Shell about to open, but I don't know for sure who managed to react. My mom grabbed me, turned the ground beneath us into lava and froze the air around us solid; she nearly died in the process, but I managed to heal her after we got out."

"Where is she now?"

"Fighting my father," I went quiet for a moment after that, reaching back with my senses—but the image I got was distorted, probably a result of whatever my parents were doing to the air back there. I refocused, shaking my head, and looked back at my scroll. "Beyond the two of us, I don't know. I've managed to find Onyx, but he's underground right now and is understandably hesitant about surfacing. He says that my father tried to contain the blast, so it might not have scattered as much over the city but…"

I shook my head.

"I need you to confirm I'm clean," I said. "Then convince Onyx that you are who you say you are and not just me impersonating you. You tell him to rise; if he does and looks okay, that's at least two of us alive. If he doesn't…I'll deal with it. Can't let him leave if he's at risk, can I?"

"No," Ozpin said, taking another deep breath. "Show me, then."

I nodded and handed the scroll to Levant, backing up a few steps and unequipping my clothes quickly, dropping the White Tiger of the West as I did so as to keep it from getting in the way. He looked me over carefully before giving me a nod and I equipped my clothes again.

"Patch me through to Onyx," He said and I sent a mental command Levant's way.

"Done."

"Onyx, it's me." He said.

"I hope so, sir," Onyx answered and I recreated the air vibrations far above their original source. "But I'm gonna need you to prove it. Remember when I got brought to your office in third year? What I said to you, then?"

"I recall you being in my office somewhat frequently throughout your stay at Beacon, Onyx, and for a wide variety of reasons. I assume you're referring to this, however: 'I swear, sir,'" Ozpin said in a pitch-perfect imitation of Onyx's voice. "'I have no fucking idea how that godforsaken son-of-a-bitch's room collapsed. It probably just got sucked down the giant asshole he calls his face.' I can't say I remember every conversation we had that year, Onyx, but that one stuck with me."

I blinked at that imagery, raising an eyebrow as Ozpin smiled slightly.

"Okay," Onyx said. "Good to hear from you, sir. The kid's okay?"

"As far as I can tell," Ozpin confirmed.

"Got it," Onyx sounded relieved. "I'm coming up, then. Can you make sure the welcome mat's rolled out for me?"

Now that I'd had time to observe Conquest's bacterial form directly, I could use my Clairvoyance to search for his presence, noting dangerous areas with darker color—and as such, I was pretty sure I could clear the air with just Levant. For Onyx's sake, as well as for Ozpin who was watch, I made a point of visibly sterilizing the area.

It involved fire. Lots and lots of fire.

"It should be safe now, Onyx," Ozpin eventually said. "Jaune, I assume you can lock off this area to insure it remains clean?"

"Yes, sir," I said, doing so with Levant even as I cooled the area with her and Xihai's help. "Did you feel that down there, Onyx, or do you need directions?"

"Trust me, kid, I felt it. Coming up now."

After a few seconds, I felt the ground tremble slightly and a massive arm emerged from the dirt as if it had been water. Onyx pulled himself out a moment later, the earth around him seeming to just shape itself out of his way as he did, and looked at me.

I scanned him thoroughly with my Clairvoyance and Elementals before Observing him and then relaxed a touch. He was clean, though he was missing his leg as he'd said. He'd tied it off but it was still oozing blood—whether because he was far more active than anyone with a wound like that should be or because he'd tied it wrong, I wasn't sure. Even so…

"I'm glad you're okay," I said, pausing for a moment to let him look at me before moving to his side and healing him.

"Me too, kid," He said, wincing slightly as he settled down but otherwise relaxing a bit. "I don't suppose you can regrow a leg, huh?"

"Not sure," I said as I applied Regeneration to him. "Managed to reattach a limb once, but I've never grown one back. Should be possible, though, and if it is…well, if we get out of here, I'll make sure you can walk again, okay? One way or another."

"I'd appreciate it," He said, exhaling slowly. "So. What now?"

We were all silent for a moment at that. It was kind of a ruthless bitch of a question—what were we going to do with this mess? But…

"Ozpin, can you get word to our reinforcements?" I asked.

"I already have," He said before pausing for a moment and closing his eyes. "The team that had originally been sent…I'm sure it goes without saying that this situation is significantly different from the one they'd been prepared for. I had to call them back and arrange for a new team to be deployed. The good news is that there will only be a relatively short delay since they'd only just left; thanks to your quick call, we'll also be able to quickly assemble a team more equipped to deal with this matter."

I nodded.

"How long of a delay?"

"For something like this…" He was quiet for a minute. "Ten, twenty minutes to get everyone and everything needed. Twenty minutes to reach you, at least."

"At least half an hour, then," I mused. "Possibly longer, but they shouldn't take more than an hour, right?"

"Not unless something else goes wrong, no," Ozpin shook his head. "But Jaune, you must understand…the team that we'd be assembling for this…"

"They're going to burn it all," I exhaled slowly, looking around. "The whole town. Right?"

"There is little choice," Ozpin answered. "An outbreak like this…we'll need to keep it from spreading, whatever it takes. Infected plants, fungi…in the past, there's been the issue of infected birds causing trouble for long periods of time. The town isn't near a major river, thankfully, but if it gets out…we'll need to cleanse the area."

"I understand," I nodded, having expected as much.

"We run, then?" Onyx asked. "Pack up and get the hell out of town?"

"It's not that simple," I shook my head. "I stopped you because, if you were infected, I couldn't afford to let you leave. I mean, letting _anything_ escape would be bad, of course, but you? Tracking you down before anything happened would be…well, hard, to say the least. But my father…his telekinesis allows him to control enormous amounts of very small things and do all sorts of shit with them. Worse, he's really, really good at making bombs; if he tries, he can spread that disease far and wide, to say nothing of the damage he could cause. If we let him act freely, by the time reinforcements arrive…I don't know what they'll find."  
"Yeah, but will he?" Onyx asked. "I mean, he's infected, sure, but would that occur to him? He's still Jack, after all."

"No," I answered, looking back again. "He's not. I spoke to him."

"Yeah, but—"

"Let me rephrase that," I interrupted. "I spoke to the thing controlling him. Not just a mad or evil version of my father, but to the actual creature walking around in his skin—to a Grimm that calls himself Conquest."

There was a moment of stunned silence from both of the older men as they looked at me with widened eyes.

"Uh," Onyx sputtered. "What did you just say?"

"Jaune," Ozpin said seriously. "Are you sure it wasn't your father speaking?"

"I'm as sure as I can be," I nodded. "I asked him about Babel, Ozpin, and…I tried to save us with Naraka, when the Pandora Shell was about to open. He said was the one who broke it, that he broke it back then, too. He called Ziz and Crom Cruach his siblings and talked about destroying Babel and…I'm pretty sure, sir."

"Um," Onyx blinked, looking between us. "What?"

"I will explain later," Ozpin told him before frown at me. "That is…very, very bad. A controlling intelligence…it would explain a few things, perhaps, how attempts to control outbreaks so frequently went wrong, but…how intelligent is he?"

"I don't know," I shook my head again. "He…well, he seems like a huge asshole, but I don't think he's stupid. He wanted something from me—I don't know what, just something he couldn't take—and I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I'm alive. Whatever else, though, he's got an unbelievable amount of experience when it comes to ruining lives, a huge amount of knowledge, and he's _strong_. And in my father's body…"

I took a breath before continuing.

"He said that there was a reason he and his siblings spent so much time asleep," I continued. "They're holding back or being held back, I'm not sure. So there's a chance he won't go all out or make this as bad as it could be; he might even just shut down after a while. But all the same, trusting him to play fair seems unwise. With my father's power, he could guide a few cells to the right place and turn our reinforcements against us. My father's Semblance…it's not the worst possible power for something like him, but it's still pretty bad. We have to do something."

"Your father and I, we've never been the closest of friends," Onyx said after a moment of silence. "But we've known each other for a long time, see? And in that time I have never once believed he wouldn't be able to hand me my own ass in a fight—which, in this case, might involve literally tearing off the left off my lower body and beating me to death with it. If it's us vs. him, that's gonna end pretty badly for us."

I grimaced and looked down, nodding.

"Can your mother stop him?" Onyx asked me when I didn't reply and it was a question I wasn't sure how to answer.

No, that was a lie. I just didn't _like_ the answer.

"Maybe," I said. "But probably not. I think…I think she's just trying to buy time for me to run away and for reinforcements to arrive, but…I don't know if she can. And if Conquest takes her two, my mother and father working together would be…"

"Really, really bad," Onyx nodded. "Yeah, I've seen them work as a team. We _really_ don't want that to happen. But…what exactly are we supposed to do, kid? We could team up with your mom, but any one of us might get taken. This isn't necessarily a fight where having greater numbers is an advantage; it just makes it more likely that something will go wrong."

"I can…" I hesitated and fell silent for a moment before continuing. "I don't know for sure, but I might be able to heal him. Save him."

Onyx looked at me sadly, shaking his head slightly.

"Kid," He said. "No one's ever managed to bring them back. We've tried—they managed to capture a few of them after the whole Mistwind thing, brought in all the experts they could…nothing. It's not…it's not just a disease, any more than the Grimm are just animals. And whatever it is…"

"Yeah," I whispered. "But I have to try, don't I?"

"But what if you get infected?" He tried again. "No offense, kid, but when those guys got taken, they took every precaution, did everything they could, had a bunch of Hunters suited up to deal with it, those reinforced armored hazard suit things, even a kill-switch on the whole thing—and there was a constant worry that something might still go wrong. Here, something's _already_ gone wrong. _Everything's_ gone wrong. And getting that close to your father…everything you said about what he might do to our reinforcements, he could do to _us_."

"Not me," I said with all the confidence I could muster. "My Semblance makes me immune. Ozpin knows why; Conquest did, too."

"You're—" Onyx cut himself off and closed his eyes. "Okay. Cool. Assuming that's true, then—it doesn't address the part where you die before you can get to him or the part where we have no idea if you could actually fix what's wrong with him or everything else that's wrong with the idea."

"Yeah," I nodded. "We better work on that, then. Because I can't leave without knowing I did everything I could—for him and the rest of this town. Can you?"

Onyx exhaled, looking around.

"No," He muttered, even as a hand went to his stump of a leg. The bleeding had stopped, at least. "I guess not. You have a plan then, kid?"

"I have…something vaguely resembling a plan," I hedged.

He looked at me for a moment at then shook his head.

"Well, that's encouraging," He sighed. "But I guess I'll what I can get. Let's give it a shot, then."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Treatment**

The plan was a fairly simple one, at least in concept. The execution…that was a bit harder, but still not complex. I was glad to have Onyx's help with this mess, truly, because it made at least that part simpler.

We were going to hide the civilians underground. Suryasta and Vulturnus had gone on ahead, slaying any Grimm they came across and clearing the area around the civilians. I'd swing by, scan them thoroughly to see if they were infected or not, and then contact them with Levant and try to direct them to the nearest safe haven. Beneath the ground, Onyx was hard at work forming large pockets to house the people below the ground which I'd further protect with barriers. The fact that they were buried should be enough to limit the number of Grimm that could attack the barriers at any given time and I'd be in contact with Onyx to notify him of any attempts below ground, which he'd deal with. Any Grimm that tried to dig down to them would be my problem, but they should be a fairly small number and easy to stop. Levant—or one of her duplicates, if necessary—would insure they had air and that it remained disease free. Finally, Ozpin would note the locations and send them on to our reinforcements, who would help dig them up after the area was deemed clean.

Assuming we didn't all die, of course.

Sure, it wasn't a perfect idea, especially with something like Crom Cruach possibly running around down there—but they were at least as safe below the ground as they were anywhere else in the city. With Conquest spreading, the Grimm rampaging, and everything else…and hell, it's not like being _above_ ground made them safe from Crom Cruach, either. No, given what we had, that was the safest place to put them; if nothing else, it was the place that had the lowest number of ways for them to die at any given time.

And no, the Mountain Glenn comparisons were not lost on any of us. It said a lot that it was still the best we could come up with.

We got to work quickly, Onyx digging as I directed from above. I moved quickly from rooftop to rooftop, keeping Ozpin on my scroll as I travelled. The older man was hard at work on the other side of the screen, organizing things with methodical efficiency as he got everything ready over there, but honestly, it was just a little comforting to be able to see another face at a time like this. Worst case scenario, I wouldn't be alone when I died—that was more than most Hunters got.

And thankfully, everything seemed to go well, at least at first. I don't think any of us were under the illusion that _that_ was gonna last, especially once the other taken began to move, but at least for the moment, we had time to move. In a situation where every moment counted, I welcomed the opportunity—especially when I came across some of the infected. They were easy to tell apart, even in the early stages. Dark spots formed on their skin and grew quickly to cover limbs, chests, everything but their face. Then, a mask would slowly grow into place, as well as other, less superficial changes. How the infected behaved in those early stages seemed to vary from panic and aggression to what was almost serenity and acceptance, as well as yet stranger behaviors—probably a result of whatever Conquest did to people's brains. Or maybe it was just a people thing, I don't know.

Either way, I paused to watch them from a distance once I confirmed that there were no uninfected nearby and quietly observed the disease progress on both a micro and macro scale. I wanted to act, but I held back for the moment instead, waiting so that I could learn more about my enemy. Onyx was still working on the initial site and Vulturnus and Suryasta could handle the situation nearby without me, so this gave me a chance to simply Observe.

I couldn't say I liked what I saw, especially as I alternated between my many forms of sight. It was informative, especially since I'd only seen the mostly finished results of the disease, but…informative wasn't the same as encouraging. The implications, especially as I glimpsed their Auras…

But was I right about what I saw? I honestly wasn't sure if my guess was even vaguely correct; I was far from an expert in this matter, I _could_ be mistaken. There could still be…no, there had to be a way, even if it was hard to see. Maybe I could even…

I suppose there was only one way to find out. I couldn't very well stand her and do nothing, besides.

Waiting for another moment to pick a target, I Lunged towards one of the civilians still in the earlier stages of the disease, grabbing him and drawing him up to a rooftop in short order. His eyes—human eyes, still—widened and he tried to say something to me. Was he startled to see me? Thankful and hoping for aid? Terrified? Or did he just have no idea what was going on?

Whatever it was, he couldn't say. The diseases spread had already reached his throat and whatever words he'd tried to give voice became nothing more than choking gasps—one of the reasons I'd chosen him. With the infection so close to his brain already, he didn't have much of a chance unless something was done, and I was the only person who had a real chance of doing anything. Even if…

"Shh," I said quietly, holding him in one of the White Tiger's hands and placing another on his chest, where the infection seemed to be at its thickest. "I'm going to try and help you, Jeremy. I want to help you."

And I hope I can, I didn't say as I healed him.

The growth of the dark spots abruptly accelerated, spurs of bone sprouting along his chest and back. He struggled for a moments, tried to kick and scream—and then went limp. Above his head, his name faded. Jeremy Brown was wiped away, question marks taking its place.

I closed my eyes and swore quietly under my breath. It was as I'd feared. I'd seen the colors in their Aura, dark patches growing in almost a mirror of their changing flesh. I'd hoped that was all they were—the Aura showing signs that the body had been infected and trying to fight it. But I wasn't so fortunate.

This was a disease of both the body and the soul, sending invading tendrils of sickness throughout their Aura even as it invaded the cells. Looking at it like that, I could understand how it worked, somewhat. The nature of one's Aura was to return on to a predefined state—one's normal body, generally. But like a disease could do to a cell, Conquest was hijacking that process, turning one's own Aura against them. It wasn't the Grimm cells that were mutating these people, at least not wholly. They were being forced to mutate _themselves_.

Which meant…what? I had no idea. If I hadn't been able to see it happening before my eyes, I wouldn't have believed such a thing was possible. Changing someone else's Aura like this…no, even beyond that, causing such extreme physical changes should probably be lethal in and off themselves. As the disease progressed, the infected mutated more and more, growing armor plates, spikes, claws, and even larger things…where was the matter for such changes even _coming_ from? Logically, they would need to take that mass from the body itself, but for something of this extent…

And how did I _stop_ it, I thought. How did I fix… _this_? Was there a connection—was he invading the soul _through_ the body? Or was this some kind of two-fold sickness? Where the cells being altered somehow to allow Conquest to touch something he didn't have himself? How was I supposed to stop this? There had to be a way, I just…I couldn't tell what was even _happening_. Conquest was right—I didn't know how this worked. If I did, maybe, but…

Then I had no choice but to think things through and try to come to an answer on my own. I thought about what I knew and what I could maybe guess.

Killing the Grimm cells wouldn't be hard, in much the same way that killing cancer cells really wasn't all that hard. There was this whole built up image of diseases, especially the truly famous ones, as if they were this giant monster that healers and doctors were facing with these tiny toothpick swords, but that really wasn't the case. In fact, the problem was pretty much the _opposite_ ; the nature of diseases were that they were tiny, tiny things, mixed in amongst the trillions upon trillions of cells that made up a person's body. It's as if someone covered every floor of a building with ants and then added a bucket of slightly different looking ants into the mix and told you to kill the latter without harming the former. But since ants are significantly larger then cells, imagine that your only tools were a broadsword, an ax, a flamethrower, and a tank.

I could kill Conquest's cells, no problem. I could burn them, blast them with radiation, electrocute them, probably even expose them to a vacuum. Given time, I might even be able to nab something sufficiently poisonous that even the Grimm wouldn't like it or something acidic or any number of other things. The problem wasn't killing the disease—it was _not killing_ everything else. Because while Conquest wouldn't enjoy prolonged exposure to an intense flame or radiation, neither would anyone he was inside of.

Complicating that matter further were two things. To go back to the previous analogy of cells as ants, that works for normal infections. But Conquest was as far above normal diseases as other Grimm were above normal animals. That didn't make him invincible by any means, since it was just a relative increase in durability, but if normal cells were ants, Conquest was a Rhinoceros Beetle. Durable as all hell in comparison, though still just a bug…but whatever was enough to kill it was probably going to kill a bunch of ants, as well.

Secondly, there was the issue of Aura. So long as he was inside someone, he was protected by their Aura. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem since that was true of _any_ disease—but usually their Aura would also be _fighting_ the invasion, doing its utmost to kill the sickness. That's how my healing could cure illnesses; they could assist that process, empowering someone's Aura enough that it could easily fight off most any illness or defend it while the body's immune system wailed on the disease with impunity. But for an infection like Conquest, their Aura was the _problem_. He'd turned their own life energy against them somehow and empowering it would just worsen things and accelerate the process. That must be why none of those healers had managed to cure the taken; as far as their Auras were concerned, there wasn't anything _wrong_. I could see their HP bars but they weren't going _down_ , they were _growing_. The infected were becoming stronger, faster, healthier in every way beyond the fact that they were turning into monsters. Giving them more HP just…

It just helped the process. Somehow, I had to bypass that, get past all the issues to strike past the symptoms and attack the disease itself.

Yeah, I thought with a bit of chagrin. It sounds so simple when I thought of it like that; I wonder why we didn't live in a world free of sickness when it was so easy.

Perhaps I shouldn't think of it as a disease at all, then. Maybe I should consider it a _status effect_ of some kind. I mean, diseases _were_ status effects, but they were part of a larger category and while Soulforge Restoration could cure that specific subset of status ailments, the rest it could only touch second hand. I might be able to address the fact that Onyx was missing a leg, for instance, but if so, it would be by giving him a different status effect that countered the first—in this case, Regeneration. He had a wound that wouldn't normally heal as one status effect, I gave him vastly improved healing as another status effect, ideally they should cancel one another out eventually.

But Regeneration wouldn't help with this. Neither would any of the other buffs I'd learned. Then…

I needed to know more.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy," I whispered. Then my eyes hardened and I looked up. Levant directed the sound of my voice so that Ozpin could hear every word—because I had a feeling he was going to want to listen to this as well. "Conquest, let's continue our conversation."

There was a moment of silence as the thing in Jeremy's skin stared at me with blank eyes, watching me carefully. Weighing something, perhaps? Or—

"Very well," He answered. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Tell me why you're doing all of this," I said, eyes focused on him—and on what was going on inside him. I could see layers upon layers of bacteria and infected cells, moving and reacting, but was there something there I could use? If nothing else, it didn't hurt to know a little more about what made him tick and how he used his stolen body. "This trap was for us, the Hunters, so why bother with this village? There's no reason to kill them."

"By that logic, there was no reason to leave them _alive_ , either," He shrugged and smiled at me. "But you're wrong—there's plenty of reason to kill them. I mean, if nothing else, there's always the entertainment value, right?"

My eyes flickered to meet his and I zoomed in quickly, scanning and memorizing the changes. Bacteria in the retinas, alongside the cone cells and in—

"Is that why?" I asked, moving slightly in place to see how his eyes tracked me. "Is this _fun_ for you?"

"It's kind of fun," He nodded. "I guess you just got here, but you should have seen this place, oh, two minutes ago? It was _amazing_. When they realized what was happening…you had to be there."

"No," I said, taking a step back to look at him. The infection had started on his chest and extended to the rest of his body, but it hadn't been an equal or random spread. After the initial infection, Conquest had spread upwards, towards the brain and downwards to seize vital organs. The arms were left until afterwards, as were the legs. It made sense in a systematic sort of way, taking what was most important and what the host couldn't live without—he was careful about this. But the growth of spines…it had started on his front _and_ back. Assuming the infection had originated on contact with the front of his chest, perhaps spread by one of the other taken, then it had expanded throughout the chest cavity quickly. Had he seized the heart before heading towards the brain or had this simply been a matter of invading the bloodstream?

Did it matter? I wasn't sure.

"There's more to this," I said after a moment of silent contemplation. "I've seen you all act too deliberately to accept that you're doing this just for kicks. I don't have any problem believing you're a monster, but there's more to this. What is it you're after?"

"Oh, right," Conquest said brightly. "I was going to tell you everything about my plan, wasn't I? Sorry, I forgot—okay, step one is I roll my eyes."

He did so.

"Step two is I give you the finger."

He did so.

"And step three is I wonder if you honestly expect me to tell you that," He finished and then gave me a flat look. "Do you honestly expect me to tell you that, idiot?"

He's gotten smarmier, I noted. Is it because of the host? It would make sense, in a certain way; if he took the memories and the brain, taking some degree of the personality would make sense, too. Thinking about it, I'd thought I'd seen elements of my father in my original conversation with Conquest, but I hadn't been sure if I was just projecting on him, seeing what I hoped to be there. But was it a mask? A guise Conquest as a way to get to me? Or were there simply elements that remained after he took them?

Maybe even elements that _had_ to remain? That was a thought. If Semblances sprang from who we were, Conquest might have needed to keep certain elements in order to access his host's power. There was the question of how much could change and yet keep the core the same, but he'd said before that he knew a great deal about how Aura and Semblances worked; was it so hard to believe there were rules for doing so? Of course, that was nothing more than conjecture, but at least it wasn't completely _baseless_ conjecture—there had to be a reason why he was acting this way. Whether for power or to seem human…though I suppose there was always the chance he was just doing it to fuck with people, too.

The memory of texts about previous outbreaks rose in my mind, about how the taken had cried out for help and for their loved ones or how some had ranted about personal things. No, interesting as the theory was, I couldn't dismiss the thought that he might just be doing this to be an asshole. But…

"It was worth a shot," I said out loud, considering him carefully. "Very well then, let's be professional about this. You're a bacterial Grimm. From what I've seen, you draw…what, inspiration? Inspiration from various species of bacteria, maybe even a few viruses just for fun. You invade a body, rewrite it to serve your purpose and basically mutate your host into…what do you call these bodies? Hybrids? They aren't Grimm, not fully—they still have souls. You just use them as a…food source? A battery? A hive? A weapon? And who knows what else. But you need to keep your hosts alive to get what you want out of them."

"For several definitions of—"

"For several definitions of alive," I finished for him. "You said that, yes. But what does it mean? You invade the brain, obviously—that's how you get to your host's memories. But what do you do? Do you infect the brain cells? Copy them? What?"

Conquest smirked and said nothing because he was an asshole. But it was fine; silence could speak louder than words if you asked the right questions—which I hoped I was doing. And hell, at least Ozpin would hear anything we said. Assuming I didn't make it out of this alive, every little bit I could give him would help.

"I was worried you destroyed your host completely," I continued. "That you ate all their brain cells or whatever. But I don't think so—I don't think you can without losing something. You said before that we'd lost a lot of knowledge about…Aura and Semblances. And maybe that's true, but we still know a little bit. We know Semblances are unique and they arise from their wielder's personalities."

I paused and frowned as he chuckled and looked at me with a wide grin.

"It's amazing how you can say something that's correct and still sound like an idiot," He said. "But true enough."

My frown deepened for a moment before I kept going.

"The point being, I don't think you can just destroy someone's mind and personality and overwrite them with your own, not if you want to keep them useful. I think there's more to it than that. How you act when you're talking to me…I think there are remnants of your host's personality. I think there _has_ to be. So what do you do to their minds? Are you altering their perceptions somehow? Burying them down deep inside? Taking control of their voluntary muscles? What?"

Conquest yawned—again, probably just to be an asshole—and shrugged.

"Good questions," He said. "Though an impartial observer might not you seem to have built your entire theory on ifs and guesses."

I watched him carefully for a moment and then smiled.

"Not completely," I said. "See, there is one thing I'm sure of?"

He lifted an eyebrow, the one that hadn't been covered by his growing mask yet.

"Oh?"

"You're a dick," I said. "You like to hurt people?"

"With brilliant observations like that, I fear for my species. I'm sure you'll overcome us any day now."

I ignored that, leaning forward.

"But you haven't call me son once in this conversation," I continued. "Or mentioned my mom and dad."

He met my eyes for a moment, sighed, and then gave a small chuckle.

"Maybe not completely hopeless…"

"The whole 'Grimm Hive Mind' thing has been a theory for God only knows how long, but it's not very well supported. Most Grimm are all but mindless, at least at first, and they don't act like a hive mind would. Sure, you can work together—maybe even _all_ of you can work together—but that just means you can cooperate really well, it doesn't mean there's a single mind controlling you all. If there was, if each of you learned every time a single one of you encountered a threat…well, things would be different. Even a _Beowolf_ could be threatening with that much experience behind it. No, it doesn't make sense for you all to be of one mind; individual Grimm learn and grow stronger by surviving battles, but you _all_ don't. But when I saw you…"

I looked at him closely again, watched dark cells meet and separate.

"At first, I thought back to that theory," I said at last, wondering if I could use this. "There's so many of you and you're so old, how else could you do this? But then, why do you work that way and not the other Grimm? You _don't_. You just…you share information like bacteria do, genetic or otherwise. You're not all knowing, you just talk to yourself a lot."

"Poor communication kills," Conquest replied before smiling. "But _good_ communication kills a hell of a lot more."

I felt a flash of triumph at that and nearly smiled. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"That's one of the things that sets you apart," I guessed. "Unlike most Grimm, you can communicate experiences, like…like sharing immunities. Like any Grimm, you survive and learn, but you pass that information on to others like you in some twisted form of bacterial conjugation. And then a lot of you come together to…create a consciousness? Like pieces of a puzzle, made out of information and memories. Do your form tissues? Or maybe bacterial mats are a better analogy in your case."

"Hmph," Conquest snorted, but he was smiling as he watched me.

"When I remember you're based on bacteria, how you work makes a bit more sense," I pursed my lips. "And the shells…they aren't actually shells, are they? They're more like spores. But how do you…"

I was silent for a moment.

"The bodies you steal," I said at last.

"It's funny, because you don't _look_ smart," Conquest snorted. "That's right. I do my thing, I have my fun, and when it's time I move on to the next stage and grow a shell around these bodies. You should see some of the places I've been, kid—the forests of bone."

I could imagine. Cities that fell to him, populations erased, and all that was left were fields and fields of white, boney shells waiting for the right time to open up again.

"You won't tell me anything useful," I mused, pondering him. "Not without knowing what you've already said and why. I bet you only talked to me in the first place because I knew your first name. But…I think I've learned a lot, regardless. Thank you, Conquest—and you as well, Jeremy. With any luck, I'll come back for you later. Bind."

I tied up Jeremy's body and tossed him aside, deciding to leave him on the roof for now.

"You get all that, Ozpin?" I whispered quietly, making my words carry.

"Loud and clear," The headmaster answered somberly. "I recorded it, as well. Good job, Jaune. If you can—"

"Jaune," Onyx's voice interrupted, sounding urgent. "What the hell is happening on the east side?"

I turned my head and saw a building collapse.

"Nothing good," I answered back. "I'll check it out, Onyx. Ozpin, can it wait a minute. I have a feeling we found the other Hunters. I thought this was going too well."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Team Battle**

"Ozpin, you mind staying on the line?" I asked, glancing down to the scroll at my belt even though I knew he couldn't see me. "Might need some advice when the fighting starts."

"Of course, Jaune," The headmaster answered quietly, traces of worry slipping into his tone. He knew better than anyone what I was probably about to walk into, so that wasn't very encouraging, but I suppose I wouldn't have believed him if he told me it wasn't going to be dangerous. The other Hunters had apparently been quiet while I'd moved through the town, but whatever they were up to now…

"Onyx?" Levant carried the words down to his ears.

"Like I said, I got underground the moment I realized what was happening. I didn't get a chance to see who got taken, but…everyone on your mom and dad's teams were major badasses, kid. Proceed with _extreme_ caution."

"Of course," I nodded. Really, that was just stating the obvious; even so, I appreciated the concern.

But Onyx wasn't done.

"Jaune," He said seriously. "There's no way of knowing who might be there or how many of them were…I don't know. And you're strong, kid. Hella strong. I don't know what your parents have been feeding you, but whatever it was, they obviously knew what they were doing raising you. But if it's against a whole _team_ of Hunters…"

"I know," I said quietly. "But we can't very well just let them do whatever they want, can we?"

Onyx blew out a breath and I suspected he was shaking his head.

"No," He answered. "No, I guess we can't. Do you need me to come up?"

"Not yet," I replied. "No offense, but I think you're more useful to us in the ground right now—and there's too much risk in you rising, anyway. Are you below the area already?"

"Will be in a second or two," He said. "I can feel some people above me, but there's only so much I can tell from down here. You need something specific?"

"Not yet," I frowned as I ran, circling the outskirts of the area as I plotted my approach. "Gonna check things out first, see what's going on. Might need someone to evacuate people quickly, might need some help restructuring the battlefield; just be ready for whatever happens. I have Ozpin in my ear still, so I'm not completely alone in this and I'll tell you if there's anything you can do to help."

"Be careful up there, kid," Onyx sounded serious.

"I'll give it my best effort," I promised him. "Tell me when you're in position and I'll move in."

"Give me just a second, okay? My Aura takes a while to flow through the earth. Let me get this area under control now and I'll be able to do a lot more for you if anything…you know"

"Got it," I nodded and turned my focus to preparing myself for the fight ahead. "Just tell me when you're ready, Onyx."

I took stock of myself one last time. Though I'd turned off the White Tiger of the West so it didn't conceal anything while Ozpin checked me for signs of infection, I turned both it and the title of the same name on when Onyx submerged again. All my usual skills were already active and supported by my massive MP regen, so that wasn't a real concern right now either.

But there was one thing left to decide. Right now, thanks to the title I wore, I stood as Jian Bing. Though Crocea Mors was still in his sword form at my side, it would only take a matter of moments to shift it into the form of my gauntlets—but I hesitated, considering.

The title 'White Tiger of the West' gave me a one hundred percent increase to the damage and defense of all White Tiger skills and a fifty percent reduction in their cost. Furthermore, the White Tiger's Star altered my appearance to be more in line with—I assumed—that of the real Jian Bing, as well as conferring other bonuses like the prehensile tail, the night vision, claws, ability to move easily on all fours, and a few minor stat increases. More than the mechanical benefit, however, the change in appearance could be advantageous here; because Conquest didn't automatically share memories between his various host bodies, it was possible that none of them would see Jian Bing coming, which might give me an extra edge in surprise. Of course, it was _also_ possible that Conquest had shared that information before sending his other selves into the village, but…it was still something to consider.

At the very least, I was sure Conquest's division was something I could exploit _somehow_. He knew a lot, but he didn't know _everything_ —and his bodies could still be ignorant of things other parts of him were aware of. I had abilities they had no way of knowing about, Jian Bing being one of them, and if I played my cards right it was possible I could take several of Conquest's taken by surprise, hunting them down one by one.

Assuming, of course, that they didn't just try to rip me limb from limb, which could be a problem. I figured it was safe to assume that Conquest had told at least the other Hunters that he wanted me alive, for whatever reason, but I had no way of knowing what he might have told them beyond that. So while it was quite possible that none of them knew I was Jian Bing, that was a sword that could cut both ways—the upside, of course, was that they might not know know I was Jian Bing, wouldn't see me coming, and might even hesitate at a crucial moment or do something foolish. On the _other_ hand, they wouldn't know I was Jaune Arc in that case and might not hesitate to kill me. If I appeared as Jian Bing, they may just access their hosts memories, see me as a terrorist, and try to feed me my own entrails.

Beyond which, while the change in appearance was certainly very useful, I would have been a fool to just ignore the mechanics behind the titles. The White Tiger of the West gave me several major advantages in the cost reduction and offense increase, along with a somewhat less useful doubling of all White Tiger defenses, which mainly amounted to improving the White Tiger's Hide. Which, while nothing to sneeze at, was far from my best defensive technique—and while I could rely on the White Tiger's offensive powers in battle, I didn't trust the White Tiger's Hide alone to keep me safe; that's why I layered my defenses in the first place, after all.

But the White Tiger of the West, while my most often used title, was not my only one, and I had other options to consider. Elementalist, though profoundly useful, I discarded out of hand because Grimm Slayer was a better choice at a time like this—and accomplished the same thing, at least against Grimm. The increase to beneficial status effects should improve my Elemental Affinities and it also boosted my offense and defense by sixty percent against the Grimm. _All_ offense and defense. While I'd probably be relying on the White Tiger style as my main form of attack, it would boost everything I supplemented it with as well, while also improving my many defensive techniques. And when I remembered what my parents' teams had done to the Grimm just a short while ago…

Well, I felt pretty good about the whole improved defense idea. The lack of a cost reduction was a bit more of an issue, but…well, I was prepared to piss Dust if it meant getting through this alive. All told, it really seemed like my best bet. As long as I fought as myself, it meant I'd keep what I was pretty sure was my biggest advantage—that I was fighting an enemy who didn't want me dead—and considering who I was fighting, I'd say that was a pretty _damn_ big advantage. Even for the benefits of the White Tiger style's strongest title and the comforting familiarity of my Jian Bing persona, I wasn't sure I wanted to throw that away. Everything they had to hold back was to my advantage here.

With a deep breath and slide of my finger, I watched white hair turn blonde. After a moment, I smiled ruefully and shook my head. Funny that it was only against other Hunters that I seemed to fight as Jaune Arc.

"Kid?"

"I'm here, Onyx," I answered promptly. "You ready?"

"Late as hell, kind of beaten up, and without a date," Onyx ticked off. "Sounds like most of the dances I went to at Beacon. Let's get this party started."

I smiled a bit at the attempt to interject some humor into the situation, despite his bleak tone.

"Roger that," I answered. "Starting party."

A moment later, I was gone, speeding across the rooftops with all the speed I could muster. When I drew close enough that buildings no longer blocked my sight, I saw who was fighting and noted their faces calmly.

On one side, Ren and Nora, both looking like a building had collapsed on them. Which, considering they were standing beside a collapsed building, was quite possible. Sweat dripped down Ren's face as he held his hands out in front of him, a transparent shield all that stood between him and the onslaught being directed his way. Nora stood several steps behind him, eyes wide and darting even as she fired her grenade launcher. She looked like a mixture of terrified, confused, and enraged and it was easy to see why.

In front of them, pounding on Ren's shield with blows that shattered the ground beneath them was a mostly-mutated Lie Hui. The humble clothes he'd worn before were gone, replaces by heavy looking plates of bone armor. Red marking painted hexagonal shapes across his chest and back, leading up to his mask—a plain, featureless white expanse, but for four eyeholes. He struck at his grandson again and again in complete silence, bearing the brunt of Nora's grenades without so much as a grunt of pain. Ren's grandfather had been taken and unlike my dad, he as trying to kill him.

Sadly, that wasn't the worst part. Standing idly down the street, simply watching the proceedings, were two of the most mutated taken I'd seen so far. One stood over either feet tall, entire body encased in what seemed to be a mobile colossus of ice, limbs to thin for something its size but still massive. The only sign of the creature within was the masked face on its chest, with three eyes in a row on one side and two on the other with a space between them. Spikes ringed the mask, driving deeply into the ice around it, but the rest of its body was just a warped shadow in the ice.

Beside it, with one arm across its chest, was a much smaller figure. Completely covered in armor but for her hair, her right arm trailed down in dozens upon dozens of segmented pieces, each looking wickedly sharp and serrated. At the end of the limb were five things that could have been fingers or could have been knives, with a massive spike extruding from the palm of her 'hand.' The other arm seemed normal, human but for its boney carapace, and her armor was otherwise smooth. Her mask had only two holes and each was filled with solid red orbs, marked at the edges in such a way as to change the angle of her eyes.

Despite the drastic changes to each of them, I recognized Keppel and Carmine. The married couple watched in silence as a family tore itself apart and I had to wonder if Conquest was enjoying the sight—if he'd caused it intentionally. They weren't interfering, but it only took a glance to see they didn't need to, either; maybe they'd torn down the building to drive Ren and Nora into the open, but now…

Now it was party time, I guess.

I leapt into the air and came down in the midst of them all, crushing the earth beneath my hands and feet as I landed. The White Tiger of the West rose before I did, tail reaching behind me to curl around the ankle of Lei Hui and yank his feet out from under him with a sharp tug. With a mighty swing, I tossed the older man to the side, neither of my faces even looking at him. Only then did I rise to my feet, both sets of eyes trained on Keppel and Carmine, the latter of whom tilted her head at my arrival.

"Jaune," She greeted, still human hand rubbing her transformed arm. "We weren't expecting you."

"Ren," I said, ignoring the words even as I watched her carefully. "Are you two alright?"

"Jaune," Ren's voice sounded strained, enough so that the surprise in his voice came off as muted. "What the…?"

He trailed off, leaving me to wonder if he was asking about the situation or the giant glowing tiger around me. Probably both, I mused. Normally I'd have done everything in my power to conceal this technique, but…well, now really wasn't the time to be holding my best tricks in reserve. Any other time, I'd have worried about the repercussions to my family, my parents, but if I didn't do something here and now, I may well not _have_ any parents when this was over, so I'd long since decided to do everything I could now and think of explanations later. Considering the situation, the remote location, and the fact that I had Ozpin on my side in all this, I figured I'd probably be able to wing _something_ once this was over, however it went down.

As such, I didn't even glance back at him before repeating my question.

"Are you two alright?" I asked again, raising my voice to make him focus. The other boy was silent for a moment as he regained control of himself before I heard him nod.

"We're okay," He said at last, sounding tightly restrained. "More or less."

"What happened?" I turned one of my heads to focus on Lei Hui as he rose from the remains of the wall I'd tossed him through and brushed himself off absently. He didn't look hurt and a quick glance at his HP bar confirmed that he hadn't taken any meaningful damage. Not that I'd _expected_ him to, of course, but it was a reminder of what I was dealing with. Hui stepped back through the hole and looked at me calmly before turning to look at Keppel and Carmine, the former of whom stopped him by raising a hand with far too long fingers. Hui nodded once and lowered himself into a stance I didn't recognize, waiting.

"We were with my grandfather when…when something happened," He answered and despite the situation I felt him rise and come to my side, moving to stand on my left facing Hui. He looked behind him for a moment and I heard Nora take a breath before moving to stand on my right, a far too serious looking expression on her face as her grenade launcher transformed into a hammer. "One minute, we were trying to get everyone into the shelters, the next…"

I saw Ren shake his head out of the corner of my eye.

"We was the light and what happened to the mountain. I think Grandfather saw something else, too," He continued. "He told us to stay with the others and keep them inside before leaving alone. He—"

"There are people in there?" I interrupted, jerking my head back at the demolished building.

"In the basement. When we heard someone destroying everything, Nora and I came up to try and stop them, but…" Ren went silent again, looking into Hui's mask. "It's him, isn't it? I didn't want to believe it, but it's really…"

"There was a Pandora Shell," I said, even as I reached out with my senses. Yes, I could feel people down there, buried under the rubble—but there was no way of knowing how long they'd last down there without help. "After you left, a Deathstalker came up with several of them on its back, Crom Cruach blew them open, and...well, I suppose you can guess."

"Grandpa Hui," I heard Nora whisper but Ren just closed his eyes for a moment.

"I see," He said. "Can you…can you heal him? Cure him of…this?"

"I'll try," I promised. "I'm still searching for a way to…but I'll do everything in my power to find a way to help him, I swear. My father…well, let's just say I'm intimately aware of what you're feeling, Ren."

He nodded once, seeming to accept that.

"What do you need us to do?" He asked.

"Get out of here," I said. "Now."

"But the others," Nora protested. "They're still trapped down there—"

"Onyx," I whispered, reaching out to him with Levant. "That thing you felt was a collapsing building and there are people trapped in the basement. You mind running a rescue for me?"

"They clean?"

"I can't say for sure," I replied. "But this area looks clear, ignoring the infected up here. The building collapsed and trapped them under there, which should have given them a little protection, anyway. I can't confirm anything visually, but I don't sense anything going on down their right now, either. If you want to check it for me, I'll shield you from up here, just in case."

"I'm on it, kid."

"A friend of mine is on it," I lifted my voice and said to Nora. "If they're not infected, they'll be fine. You two should go wait on top of the building; I'll have him pick you two up, next. I'll deal with these guys."

"All three of them?" Nora asked, sounding surprised. "Can you fight all of them at the same time?"

I cracked my next once and nodded.

"It's _only_ three of them," I replied. "Piece of cake."

Ren turned to look at me for a long, careful moment.

"That's a lie, isn't it?" He wondered quietly.

"Yes, it is," I answered truthfully. "Now do what I told you and go away."

Ren shook his head.

"My grandfather can get down there if he's not stopped," He said, sliding his feet slightly apart. "We have to keep at least him busy and the other two…"

"So you plan to make him go through you if he wants to try?" I lifted an eyebrow. "Because in case you haven't noticed, he doesn't seem to have a problem with that idea right now. Get out of here, Ren; I'll think of something. This is too dangerous for you."

He shook his head again.

"I know the risks, but I'm not afraid of them," Ren said, words calmly firm. "Not if it means protecting my home. Besides which, even if you can save him, my grandfather would never forgive himself if he hurts anyone while he's like this. I can hold him off, at least for a little while—give you time to focus on the others."

"I appreciate the thought," I told him honestly. "But it's still a stupid idea. You think he'd forgive himself for killing _you_ instead? To say nothing of the risk of infection. All it takes is for one thing to go wrong, he infects you, and suddenly I have to worry about you as well, Ren. Get out of here."

"Do you think he hasn't tried?" Ren asked. "Your master must have taught you well, but so did my grandfather. Don't underestimate the students of Xuan Wu, White Tiger. I can protect myself for a while."

Recognizing the name, I glanced back at him, honestly surprised, but—

"How long?" I wondered, Observing him carefully.

"Long enough," He said as if the words meant more than they did. "Always long enough."

"This isn't a game," I said, perhaps a bit ironically. "You screw up once, you won't get a chance screw up again, and people will probably die. Are you that confident in your skill that you won't be taken?"

"Yes," He said quietly. "I know what's at stake—that's why I have to do everything I can, for him and the others. And you, Jaune? Are you sure you won't be infected fighting them?"

"I'm immune," I said. I didn't add 'probably' or 'more or less', though I kind of wanted to. I did, however, nod in acceptance. "Fine. Distract your grandfather, then, and I'll help you when I can. And you, Nora? Are you the heir of some secret ancient martial art that'll keep you safe, too?"

"I'm just good at hitting things," She shook her head before pausing. "And shooting grenades at things. But if there's anything I can…"

I took a deep breath and weighed my options. There was a part of me, a large part of me, that wanted to insist they both go away. Even Ren, despite his words, was far weaker than his grandfather—I just didn't give the student great odds against the master, here. Nora, without even whatever defense Ren apparently had, was at even _more_ risk. But…

But the honest truth was that we were screwed as all hell and I couldn't afford to be picky. I _did_ need the help, because I really didn't give myself good odds against all three of these guys. I wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to beat them one on one, even. So…

"Okay," I said. "Okay, fine. See the ice guy over there? Keep him busy for a while. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one of use that can even get near Carmine, so she's mine. You guys just…just make sure they're distracted and I'll…I'll do what I can to help."

I took a deep breath, reaching out to my Elementals.

"Levant," I said. "Suryasta, Vulturnus, Xihai. I need you."

My Elementals appeared before me, those who were busy elsewhere splitting themselves as necessary. Lightning and flames spilt from my hands to make bodies for their respective Elementals, whilst Xihai rose from the dirt, drawing water from the ground and moisture from the air. Levant simply appeared beside me, ready to fight. With a silent thought, the girls moved to stand beside Nora and the boys beside Ren, giving them silent support.

"They'll help you," I told the other two humans. "Just…"

Try not to die? Try not to worse-than-die? Don't mess up?

I really wasn't sure what to say so I just stopped and took a step forward.

"Have we decided who's fighting who, then?" Keppel asked, expressionless mask somehow still giving the impression of amusement.

"We have," I said. "Thank you for being patient."

Keppel's ice body shrugged.

"If you're here, I'm guessing that's your Mom fighting Jack back there," His ice colossus twitched a finger in the general direction I'd come from. "So it's not like we lose anything from waiting, right? Every second you waste here brings you a second closer to losing everything, so why rush?"

I didn't rise to the bait, but remained cautious and focused on my decided target.

Keppel just chuckled, clicking icicle fingers on his glacier of a body.

"You want to play with the missus first, eh?" He asked. "You're lucky I'm not the jealous type, Jaune. Still, you think you can handle an experienced woman, kiddo? Because I think she's gonna chew you up and spit you out."

"I'll take my chances," I said quietly, making him chuckle again.

"Ambitious," He sounded amused. "I like that. Don't be too hard on the poor boy, love."

"I'll be gentle," Carmine whispered, human hand letting go off her transformed arm as she strode forward. I braced myself, watching her closely as I edged forward in turn—

My senses cried out in warning and I was in the air as her long arm flashed out with speed that even I had a hard time tracking. Even jumping the moment I saw her move, it still caught me, passing through my right knee and left ankle with no more difficulty then it had the air on either side of them. I landed on the ground a few feet away, stumbling slightly at the searing pain and momentary absence I felt, before glancing down with one set of eyes to confirm I was still in one piece. I relaxed slightly.

Yes, as I'd thought, I was the only one of us with a chance of getting near Carmine.

"Jack said you could take a hit," Carmine said, arm retracting from its elongated form into a strange looking, segmented arm. As she did, her other hand drew her sword, twirling it deftly. It was hard to tell with solid red eyes, but I suspected she'd seen her blade hit me and was looking at the lack of wounds.

"That's me," I confirmed, healing myself before rising as if nothing had happened. "I take a licking and I keep on ticking."

"That's good," She mused. "Because he also said I could chop you to pieces as many times as I wanted, so long as I was careful to leave you alive."

"Good luck with that," I snorted. "I have it on good authority that cutting me up stops being fun really fast."

"No need to worry about me," She assured and I was pretty sure she was smiling behind her mask. "If it comes to that, I'll just have to make my own fun."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Hit Box**

I lunged forward, rushing across the street with all the speed I could muster. Carmine's monstrous arm flashed across the space between us fast enough to leave bone-white streaks in their wake—if not for my Clairvoyance, I wasn't sure I'd have been able to follow them _at all_. That speed…even if it was just her arms that were capable of it, that speed was absurd. I moved the moment I sensed danger and it still often cost me an arm and a leg. Literally.

"Any advice?" I asked, voice a tad strained until the pain faded.

I heard Ozpin speaking in my ear, the connection Levant had established still in place. My Air Elemental was stretching herself thin—maybe too thin—to cover all our bases, but at least for now she was holding. Maybe it was the boost from Grimm Slayer, maybe it was just luck, but for now she was managing.

"Carmine Cordelia," He recited. "Forty-three years old, she's been a Huntress since she was twenty. As you're probably aware by now, her Semblance works similar to your mother's with several differences and limitations. First and foremost, it transforms matter into a gaseous state and only a gaseous state. Furthermore, not only is it dependent on contact, but only the immediate area _of_ contact is converted, giving her a much smaller range of effect than your mother. Despite these limitations, however, her ability is made extraordinarily deadly by one thing; it can be used on anything. Neither a protective Aura nor the dark nature of the Grimm prevents her from using her power, assuming she can touch the target directly or else hit them with a weapon she has channeled her Aura through. It takes time for her to entrench the effect in the latter case, but as you might imagine, the results tend to make up for it."

The White Tiger of the West reached out with a long arm and pulled me to the ground hard enough to send a jolt of shock up my legs and shatter the ground beneath my feet. Even so, I didn't hesitate before leaping forward again. Despite the damage, despite the pain, despite the sheer, horrific _risk_ , I knew there was no way through this for me except by pushing forward. Nonetheless, it was still somewhat alarming when Carmine scythed my legs out from under me, leaving me with the knowledge that if not for the Gamer's Body I'd have long since been torn to pieces—but I didn't let simple things like that stop me.

However, I _did_ note that Carmine didn't seem to have any trouble channeling her Aura through her twisted arm. Had Conquest mutated it specifically to take advantage of her abilities? That was a worrisome thought, if not unexpected. As it was, despite my Adamant skin, despite my layered and boosted defense, each and every lash of her arm sheered away brutal chunks of my HP bar—and for all that it didn't seem that way, I knew she was holding back. If not for Grimm Slayer and whatever Conquest had in store for me, I'd probably be long dead by now.

Oh well. I wasn't and that's what mattered—well, that and what I could learn from the experience.

"Heat?" I grunted as I leapt into the air, landed upside-down on an invisible platform, slammed back into the ground with a mighty lunge and snatched myself up in the arms of the White Tiger of the West. I curled myself into a tight ball to make my physical body easy to carry and held myself close as I jumped between two attacks as her sword came into play as well. The White Tiger of the West was momentarily disrupted as it was torn to pieces, but I'd been expecting it and kicked out with my legs to push off from another platform and slam through a third one, slowing just enough to evade an attack in the process. Through it all, I'd survived, with minimal loss of limb, about twenty attacks—and all the while, I'd been counting the seconds.

It had been a long time since I'd been on the receiving end of an attack I couldn't follow and react to easily, but that didn't mean I didn't know how to compensate. After all, I was usually on the _other_ side of this equation and people sometimes reacted to _me_. Even if the individual attacks themselves were too fast for me to follow directly, I could still make accurate guesses knowing her reach, the number of attacks in a given period of time, and the direction of each lash. Each attack had a starting point and ending point and if one attack flowed into the next, I could use that information to track the pattern of attacks—or even _guide_ it, if I was willing to sacrifice a limb here and there as bait.

For example, if I jumped up to dodge a horizontal sweep, the next attack would come upwards at an angle from whatever side the sweep was headed. If I dodged that by reaching back for the ground, the third attack would slope downwards from the end point of the second attack. Because the attacks came in such quick succession, I could assume that the moment I'd evaded one strike, I'd already be in danger of the next, so it wasn't so much an issue of timing as it was of never hesitating or slowing down and keeping a constant eye—or four—out for deceptions. Adding her blade to the equation was simply a matter of doing that for two different weapons moving independently of one another, each trying to herd me into the other's path. Which was…

Pretty goddamn hard to do in theory and a hell of a lot harder to do in practice. But did I complain? No.

"In a way," Ozpin said after a moment, during which I lost a lot of body parts. "Much like your mother's ability, it's complicated—while the shift in state is not caused directly by an increase in temperature, it is accompanied by one as the matter rises to whatever temperature it would normally exist in a gaseous state at. The distinction is rather semantic in most cases, but I assume you're asking if a resistance to fire would confer partial or complete immunity, to which I'd answer 'Probably not.' However, there _does_ seem to be a correlation between the melting point of the material affected and the amount of Aura Carmine must spend to vaporize it; I'd hypothesize she has a greater difficulty affecting your Adamant skin than she might normal human flesh, though I could not say how much so."

Carmine swung her arm at waist level, apparently aiming to cut me in two; I was already in midair, sensing the motion coming. I landed on all four of the White Tiger's legs, curling claws around the edge of a platform I landed on the bottom of before her sword, swung mere moments after her arm, cut through all four of the spectral limbs. My physical body was already out of the way, pulled to safety by the tail that curled around my waist and threw me to the ground. I landed on my feet, rolled like a pro, and came back up ready to leap forward, putting my body parallel to the ground as a whip-sword passed above me and an elongated arm of bone below. I rolled again as I landed, the renewed White Tiger rising around me—and saw Carmine land from a jump of her own, perhaps five meters from where she'd been before.

Shit, I thought as I tried to compensate, mentally rewriting all the moves I'd predicted to compensate for a change in the source's location, but there wasn't enough time. In the end, I barely had enough time react to the fact that I was in danger and I tried to jump back in the hopes of keeping the distance between us the same.

It was the wrong move, I chastised myself an instant later. It wasn't just a matter of distance; there was a change in elevation on this side of the street, Carmine was crouched, the entire pattern had changed because she'd moved—I had enough time to regret not doing something else before her arm passed through my left elbow, my chest, and my right forearm at the same time her sword cut through both of my knees. For just a moment, I felt myself falling is six distinct pieces before it faded and I was running forward again.

"I'll take your word for it," I grunted, four eyes darting as I tried to take in the whole scene. I'd given up five meters for nothing. It wasn't enough to keep track of both weapons, I had to keep an eye on Carmine's location at all times as well. But Levant was already busy—I could feel her layering protection around Ren and Nora as well as keeping the latter out of harm's way as Keppel launched spikes of black-tipped ice at her. Levant was altering the trajectories of the projectiles and occasionally moving Nora completely out of the way while she bombarded the taken Hunter with her grenade launcher. Beyond that, part of her was elsewhere keeping my mother safe, several other parts were tied up providing air to the civilians we'd placed underground, _and_ she was running my entire communications network. Could I afford to distract her and have her monitor Carmine for me, too? Or should I split her again, reducing her power in other areas? If any of those things should fail…

But damn it; with my Elementals so tied up, my senses had been cut down to the high single digits and I didn't like it. I felt half- _blind_ not being constantly aware of everything going on around me, but I couldn't spare anyone right now. Suryasta and Vulturnus were assailing Lei Hui with a constant display of luminous power that the elder man just seemed to bear silently as he and Ren seemed to dance around one another. Whatever power Ren's grandfather had—and he must have had quite a bit if he knew Xuan Wu style well enough to teach it—it was further enhanced by his new exoskeleton, to the point that he could just brush of a downpour of thunder and flame. All it seemed to be was a distraction to him.

Even so, it was a distraction that seemed to allow Ren to keep just a step ahead of his grandfather, gliding out of the way with measured motions. When blows came too near, he seemed to brush them just slightly aside—and yet he never truly touched his grandfather. The light of his aura gathered in his hands, a barrier that prevented true contact, and he simply nudged the fists ever so slightly out of the way, remaining unharmed.

For now. Despite that fact that he hadn't received a single wound thus far, I could see the pace combat wearing on him. Keeping up with his grandfather like this, putting up the occasional barrier…it was costing him in terms of Aura. As it was, Lei Hui didn't need to do anything special, he simply needed to keep up the pressure and not do anything reckless or stupid—Ren would run out of Aura eventually and that would be that. He was living on borrowed time.

So was Nora, really. I could see that she had huge power, but she was the only one of us who couldn't risk approaching her opponent. With the risk of infection forcing her to keep her distance, she was limited to her grenades—which, in fairness, caused parts of Keppel's golem body to crumble and fall away. On the other hand, Keppel didn't seem to have any problem _repairing_ his body, so how much that mattered was in the air. At this rate, it was only a matter of time until she ran out of grenades.

I needed to do something fast.

"Weaknesses?" I asked roughly, keeping my eyes peeled as Carmine stopped and retracted her weapons. After a moment of hesitation, I stopped as well, pretty sure this was a trap. What I wasn't sure of was whether it was a trap to make me stop moving or not.

"Compared to her offensive power, Carmine's defensive abilities have always been much more limited; something her teammates generally compensated for, especially her husband. If alone and forced to do so, she will generally try to use the former to compensate for the later, vaporizing attacks—she believes that the best defense is a good offense, essentially. However, beyond that, her defense is otherwise fairly average."

I glanced over Carmine's completely and heavily armored form.

"And assuming that's no longer the case?"

"Then she also suffers from the fact that her Semblance is resource intensive," Ozpin said and was kind enough not to add 'like your mother's.' "As you might imagine, vaporizing everything one comes in contact with can take a great deal of energy. Though she has always displayed exceptional amounts of Aura, she can be exhausted in prolonged confrontations if her Semblance isn't used carefully. Given the nature of your own abilities, I would imagine you could outlast her."

"And if a prolonged confrontation isn't an option?" I crouched slightly.

"Then you'll have to find a way to tire her out quickly instead," He answered bluntly.

No shit, I thought. But…

I took a breath, one set of my eyes placing to either of my teammates. Were they too close? Would they be caught in the blast? The upside of having teammates was that you could accomplish multiple goals effectively, support one another in battle, and address a greater number of situations, at least in theory.

The downside was that you needed to worry about other people—not only about them being hurt by your enemies, but about hurting them _yourself_. Friendly fire was a thing and it really wasn't all that friendly. Three people with no experience fighting together, going all out…for someone like me who could survive so much, there were a lot of things I didn't need to worry about when fighting on my lonesome. But with other people around…

Well, I didn't have a lot of choice, did I? I'd just have to make it work somehow.

"Will do," I said, palming a Dust crystal and then slamming it into my chest.

First was water, I thought, a plan taking shape.

Blue light glowed through the flesh of my chest, pulsating in tune with my heart beat as power flowed through me. It filled me in moments, like water filling a vessel, and then seemed to crash out through my skin, pushing its way out from the inside. In a flickering moment, the light of my Aura liquefied—and poured forth. I rushed at Carmine with all the speed I could muster, each step filling empty space with water until tons and tons of the stuff were bearing down on the Huntress.

And yet, even in the face of that oncoming flood, Carmine didn't back down. Red eyes bore into me for a moment and then pain laced through me as she lashed out, meters of water turning to steam behind me. I stumbled for a moment but didn't—couldn't—stop; when my pace slowed, the water behind me simply swept me up, momentum pushing it forward. Even with the amount she vaporized in a single sweep of her arm, there was too much for her to stop completely and she could do nothing but brace herself as it rose up over her.

The ground shattered around us as she stood up to it, the water moving with all the speed I'd had when I'd first created it. She channeled her power through her body mere moments after the first contact, turning everything that touched her into more and more steam, hiding here momentarily from view.

Well, momentarily for _me_ , at least. My clear sight lived up to its name in just a moment, unscrambling the refracted image within the mist, and I shifted, swimming through the very water I'd left in my wake. I'd expected that Carmine would be able to channel her Aura through her whole body, of course—Aura covers the body _naturally_ , after all—but I still needed to be careful about touching her. I swam past her instead of into her, an effort of will causing some of the water around me to change direction just enough to allow it, and then I skid to a halt on the street, digging watery claws into the earth to slow myself for just a moment.

Then I was on Carmine again, closing in without a trace of fear. The brief moment of contact before she'd been able to channel her Semblance towards protecting herself had still amounted to an unspeakable amount of force and she'd been sent skidding back, her feet carving a furrow in the street. Without giving her a moment to recover, I struck out at her with a fist as I shed more and more water, suspended within my manifested Aura. Her pure red eyes met mine without a trace of fear, arms already in motion, but I didn't back down either. Even as I felt myself get torn in half, I reached out with two fluid hand and liquid fangs—

And then I froze. Literally, my tiger Aura turning to ice in an instant as I balance Water and Air to make Ice. A chunk of ice the size of a person smashed into her, but I was already moving a different direction, stepping back into the flood behind me a moment before my Aura changed and standing my ground as it washed over me, remaining stationary with my will alone. A moment after my Aura froze, a second tiger appeared over the first, water forming over ice as the Water Tiger followed me in stepping back and watched as the flood moved on.

Carmine staggered for a moment—a second too late in using her Aura or briefly struggling with the sheer amount she had to vaporize, I wasn't sure—and I moved again. My physical body merely stepped forward once, but the Tiger moved closer, lunging toward her legs before stopping just a hair short. It retreated a fraction of a step, bobbing up towards her masked face and then striding a step to the left, moving to slam into her from the side and then dancing back. An arm rose towards her face, a leg swept towards the back of her knees, fangs flashed at her eyes, but each time I stopped just a hairs breadth from contact.

And each time, water solidified into ice, the water trailing behind each motion carrying them into their target. Carmine stumbled a pace back ever other attack and my physical body calmly strolled forth, Aura keeping up the pressure. She braced herself against another series of blows before snarling something wordless, eyes focusing on my through the mist. Arms began to move, scything through waves of water, but I sensed the danger coming and the Tiger returned to my feet. As it leapt upwards, I allowed the resulting column of water to carry me into the air above Carmine.

She lifted her head and I knew before I even sensed it that her other arm was in motion, sending vaporizing steel towards me—but I was moving too, an instant before she was. The Water Tiger moved impossibly, crawling down the very stream of water it had created until it stood parallel to me, facing downwards. Instantly, the same limbs that had tread on the water's surface as if it were solid pierced through, a clawed hand grabbing me and drawing me from the column before tossing me into the air behind it. I'd traveled barely a meter before the tail curled around my ankle snapped my down towards the ground and then the Tiger was leaping back as well.

It passed over me, the water that composed it flowing over me as I passed through it, back to front. I slipped into its wake barely a moment after it first touched me and without even the slightest hint of force or surface tension. It kept moving behind me, fluid body arcing back as it flipped in midair and I flowed through the resulting stream, body swimming after soul without even the slightest motion. The Tiger on the street and I landed within it, the flood that trail us splashing out in every direction.

The Tiger rose, claws reaching towards Carmine as she turned, but I stayed bowed until both arm and sword passed above me before rising calmly. With each step, the Tiger left behind statues of itself in ice, each lasting but a moment before shattering or vaporizing as they smashed into Carmine and kept her one her toes, pushing her back with each attack. Perhaps her arms were fast, each blow blindingly quick even to me—but the rest of her body was no match for my speed. Though close proximity presented its own risks and gave me less time to react, at this range I also had the chance to stay ahead of her, to _do_ something.

The street around us quickly flooded with water as I produced and cast of hundreds, _thousands_ of times my own volume in water, whatever Carmine didn't vaporize splashing upon the ground around us. I felt the crystal in my heart weakening as the power continued to flow out of me, but didn't hesitate, didn't stop—

Until with a final step, my Tiger shed the water one last time and emerged like a snake that had shed its skin. It threw its head back and _Roared_ , the sound causing the earth to shake and windows to break around us, the sheer sound of it so real it was almost a physical thing. Whatever part of Carmine was still alive, could still feel—it felt hesitation. Just for a moment.

But it was enough to press another crystal against my chest. Yellow glowed within me as if I'd swallowed the sun, burning out through my skin, my eyes, my mouth. Power flowed through me like I was a machine that had just been plugged in—and then it flowed _out_ of me. The Tiger writhed, nearly _unraveled_ as my power took hold and for a brief instant, it was like I'd caught lightning in the shape of a beast.

And the next, like lightning, it was gone, vanishing with nothing but the faint scent of ozone to imply it had ever been there at all. Carmine's hesitation ended and she focused on me, arm lifting, moving—

The Tiger slammed a fist into her chest hard enough to stop her and bow her over, before vanishing again. She lifted her head, snarling something wordless—and kissed the dirt as the Tiger grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face up to the ears into the ground. She put a hand on the ground, fingers sinking into the mud, and a foot slammed savagely into her side, kicking her away. She hadn't even touched the ground when a fist slammed hard into her back and smashed her down to the street.

Between each blow, the Tiger disappeared, flashing in and out of existence around her without seeming to pass through any of the space between. Through it all, it strayed far from me, five meters, ten, more, reaching out further and further to strike her.

Finally, Carmine seemed to have enough. With a snarl of frustration she slammed her arms into the ground as she was knocked around by another series of blows, whip-arm sweeping along the ground to one side of her body, vaporizing layers of dirt. Pushing off, she rolled quickly once, twice, and then came to her feet with a bit of effort. I could see the damage I'd caused her even through the layers of mud that now caked her form, small cracks in the armor.

"Puddles," She spat as she rose, eyes at my feet. "That's your trick."

I said nothing, knowing what she saw. A writhing, glowing tail wrapped around my left leg, curling down into a puddle by my feet. From there, trails of sparks hopped around the battlefield, leaping in steady streams from puddle to puddle. My Tiger appeared at the edge of the dry area she'd created and took a pair of deliberately slow steps before flickering and reappearing five meters away. It continued its slow pace, vanishing and reappearing every heartbeat or so until it formed behind me. It paced beside me, claws curling as its eyes remained trained on Carmine.

"No matter," She said after a moment, edges of a growl in her tone. "I can destroy them as easily as anything else."

I looked around with my physical eyes and sniffed before cracking my neck.

"Is it getting humid in here or is it just me?" I asked, one finger swirling in the air. As it passed through the mist, water gathered, a thin streamer trailing behind it like a banner. I smiled as her eyes followed it. "With this much moisture in the air, it's not hard to gather it back into water. You _vaporize_ stuff, but you can't _destroy_ it; all that water is still _here_. And someone like me can do all sorts of things with it."

A sphere of water formed above my fingers and I hurled it like a water balloon into the dry area she had created. It landed just past the edge and my Tiger flickered to the puddle it created, just a step closer—and then vanished as she lashed out at it. Back at my side, it held up its hands, large spheres of water gathering above each as it lowered itself in a crouch.

"I can gather it, control it, use it," I continued as if nothing had happened. I held up both my hands as fists, looking from one to the other and then back to her. "If needed, I can even…"

I uncurled my fingers slowly to show her what they'd been grasping—a pair of Dust Crystals, one yellow, one blue—and then held the latter close to my chest.

"Make more of it," I finished. "Enough games, Conquest. You won't kill me and you can't beat me without doing so, so stop playing games."

All at once, the signs of frustration and pain simply flowed out of Carmine's body and she gave a rolling laugh. Beneath her mask, she was probably smiling.

"Stop playing games?" She asked. "But I thought you _liked_ games, Jaune? I used to buy them for you for your birthday—didn't you say Void Eater was your favoritest game ever?"

The words were mocking, but if she was expecting a reaction, she was disappointed. I stared at her impassively.

"We both know how this will end." I said quietly.

"You're right," She said brightly. "We do. So what? You want me to spare your feelings and give up? Or maybe you'd like me to tell my boys to leave your little friends alone? Because I'm sorry, sweetie, but part of growing up is learning you can't always have what you want."

"If you really do know," I continued, tone unchanging. "Why…?"

"You stupid kid—haven't you realized by now that I don't give a fuck?" She asked, bright tone equally unwavering. "But fine, if you want a reason, I'll give you one—just this once, because I'm so nice."

She leaned forward slightly, eyes focused on mine.

"Because the look in people's eyes when they realize they can't save the ones they love makes me happy," Conquest said simply.

I heard a scream behind me and clenched my fists.

"There," She said. "That's the look. Is it the girl, out of ammunition? Or is the grandson finally slowing down? I suppose it doesn't matter either way, does it? They'll both die soon enough—unless you save them. But can you? Every second you waste here, they come closer to death. You'll beat me eventually, of course, but it'll take time and you have so little of that right now. You can't afford to waste any of it _here_ , can you? Not with your mom at risk, your dad, your tiny little friends?"

Conquest chuckled.

"You told that boy you'd do everything you could to save his poor grandfather," Conquest said mockingly. "What a nice choice of words—no guarantees. But of course, you can't be sure of _anything_ right now, can you? And that way, you say honestly that at least you did your best, right? It's not your fault you failed. Because you will fail, Jaune, won't you? With time so precious, with us fighting back, with two _children_ fighting for your lives, you don't really have time to come up with a _cure_ do you? Especially not for _all_ of us. And even if you did, who's to say it won't be too late? No, you have to hurry. And even if you do come up with something, we all know who you really care about, don't we? You—"

I took a breath and _moved_ , Lunging with all the speed I could muster. Even then, I was pretty sure she could have reacted, done something, but—

She didn't. Conquest stood there in Carmine's body, all but inviting me in, and stood stock still as I drove the claws of the Tiger into the biggest crack in her chest, right into her heart.

"I…" I began before pausing for just an instant to lift my eyes to hers. But when I spoke again, my voice was steady. "I already know that. I'm sorry, Carmine."

Conquest laughed—and cough, gagging slightly on blood as my claws lengthened further.

"Then we'll just call this another person you couldn't save," She breathed and I knew that beneath her mask, she must have been smiling widely even as she died. "Just like you're not going to be able to save your father."

And then, at last, I felt her die—Conquest and Carmine both, fading away. As I looked down at her for just a moment, I thought that…I really, really hated Conquest.

Then I turned and ran to help the others.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Boss Rush**

The was no time to waste, not even waiting to see if a mask would form or if I'd get some type of loot from Carmine's death. Even with my Elementals preoccupied and my attention divided, I could sense what was happening—I didn't have time to wait around and concern myself with what might have dropped.

I did, however, appreciate the levels I gained.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

Level fifty at last, I thought as I ran. That gave me fifty-nine points to spend, which gave me more than enough to bring either Intelligence or Wisdom over a hundred and fifty, boost two of my physicals over a hundred, or increase a physical and raise Luck over fifty. It gave me _options_.

It did not, however, give me a whole lot of time to consider them. There was a chance that raising Intelligence or Wisdom would allow me to reach another benchmark at a hundred and fifty, but it was also possible that the next checkpoint was all the way at two hundred. I knew for sure that I'd get more skills at a hundred—three different skills even—so that was the safer bet. Luck…well, a little bit of Luck might come in handy right about now, too, but on the other hand, I'd only get one skill out of it.

With only moments to decide, I had to choose quickly—and whatever I picked, we'd all have to live with. Each option had benefits and drawbacks and at a time like this…

Intelligence and Wisdom were my highest stats, perhaps even my most useful. Objectively speaking, another point in either was the best choice in terms of time and effort; it would take me far, far longer to gain another point of Intelligence then it would to improve any of my physical stats or Luck—and I wasn't sure I could meaningfully improve Wisdom at _all_ anymore. From that point of view, I got more for each point spent in either of those then I did in anything else.

But at a time like this, there was more to consider than _efficiency_. Right now, I needed to think about what would keep people _alive_ and what would get us all through this mess. That I might be able to improve Dexterity or Luck with a little more training in peaceful conditions meant nothing when people were dying _now_. I had to consider what I needed and that meant my other stats were worth considering, too.

Right now, I could use some good luck. But at the same time, could I afford to _rely_ on Luck now? To place my faith wholly in…what? Fate? Destiny? Some Higher Power? Just put my faith in it and believe that despite everything that was happening, despite how, well, grim this all seemed, that it would see me through safely? That it would do the same for everyone around me, protect us all, even help me save my mother and father? Could I believe that faith would see me through this?

Because that's what that choice was, really. I had no idea what might happen, what could happen, what to expect. A few ideas, maybe, some of them even comedic, but…could I close my eyes and just believe this would turn out well? Because that's what putting my points in Luck was basically doing, wasn't it? It was praying for good fortune. Maybe not completely the same since I could be sure _something_ would happen, but it was…it was a matter of believing, not knowing.

Could I do that? You hear about people sometimes whose faith is that strong, but could _I_ do it? Would that be brave—because the idea was frightening enough that I felt doing had to be pretty brave. Or would it be reckless and irresponsible, casting off responsibility for dealing with this situation? Both? _Neither_? Something else entirely? Or…I…

No. I couldn't do that, not at a time like this. I wasn't sure if that made me weak, too frightened to believe, or if it made me responsible because I accepted that I needed to do this myself, but I…I couldn't rely on luck now. Not with my mother and father on the line.

Then what? My physical abilities? I had enough points to raise two over a hundred and I'd get three skills for _each_. A total of six different skills and considering what I'd gotten from raising Intelligence and Wisdom above that point, I could be sure each skill would be good. Beyond that, the bonuses I'd get from improving each skill couldn't be underestimated, either—I would be faster, stronger, tougher with each point I spent, and the skills I gained would probably increase that even more so.

But…

That would help me in a fight. But what would I do after I'd won? What if, say, such a boost was enough to allow me to defeat my father—but what then? What if I _still_ had no way to cure him after I'd beaten him? Would I do to him what I'd done to Carmine?

I could chose two out of three—Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity. But I didn't really need Vitality, did I? Conquest wasn't trying to kill me and I could restore my HP without difficulty. And could already hit pretty damn hard after all my boosts and various skills. Speed…really, I relied on speed more than anything nowadays, layering on dozens, hundreds, even thousands of hits. But did I need to be faster?

Maybe. Carmine's attacks had been beyond even me—thirty points would go a long way in fixing that, especially after the multiplication all worked out. I didn't know what else I might be facing, but an increase like that would go a long way if I had to might my father or Tenne or whoever else.

Especially if I have to kill them all, I couldn't help but note. It was true, after all.

I took a deep breath. It was an option—I could increase Dexterity and Luck and get four skills out of the deal, or dump all the points into Dexterity and be truly, absurdly fast. Both of those could help, if I chose to go that route.

Alternatively, I had my initial choices of Intelligence and Wisdom. Both would help me in a fight, certainly, but more than that, they had great use _outside_ a fight, as well. If I was smarter, if I was wiser, perhaps I'd be able to see a way through all of this, a way to protect everyone, and way to save people.

And maybe I wouldn't. Really, wasn't this the same as rely on Luck? Trusting that I'd be wise enough or smart enough to save the day when I couldn't see a way out _now_? That my power would be able to show me the answers?

But then, why did trusting luck _here_ seem more acceptable? Was it because it was an _educated_ guess? Because it was something I _wanted_ to believe? Or was it simply that the thought of investing in Intelligence and Wisdom meant I didn't need to admit how powerless I was? That it gave me at least the _illusion_ that _I_ was doing something?

I don't know. Maybe. If trusting in Luck alone was like praying to God, maybe there wasn't that big a difference here. But I'd always heard that God helped those who helped themselves and maybe that was true, too. This might be the way—the way in, out, or through, I wasn't sure, but the way.

And right now, I'd guess I'd take what I could get.

Fifty-nine points, then. I'd split it between INT and WIS, fifty in one and nine in the other. That'd give me a hundred fifty-one in one of them and a hundred ten in the other; I'd just have to pray that was enough. The only question remaining was which would be which.

Intelligence would give me options, Wisdom would let me pick the right one, or at least that was the theory. But which did I need most? Were there options I wasn't seeing, some weakness I had a way to exploit? Or did I have all the information already and I just wasn't putting it together right? If I made myself smarter, would I be wise enough to pick the choices that were revealed? If I made myself wiser, what if I wasn't smart enough to know what I needed?

Both were possibilities; I had no way of knowing either way. How to choose, then? If one hundred and fifty was high enough to get another set of skills, what could I expect? Perhaps another set of MP related abilities of Intelligence, maybe making me better at using my Aura; that might be the way to the cure. But Wisdom could unlock the next set of Elemental combinations, maybe that was what I needed. Or maybe there was something else; Intelligence had given me Clairvoyance, the ability to gather unbelievable amounts of information. Wisdom had given my Pathfinder, which could lead me to my goals so long as there was a quest. Which did I need right now?

Both, maybe—but I could only choose one. There were no skill books making me lean one way or another, no one to ask, nothing to inform my decision. It was a choice that might as well have been a guess.

Then I guess…if this might be where it all ended, it was fitting that it did so as it had begun.

Opening my status screen with a thought, the White Tiger executed my decision with deft fingers.

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have gained two random abilities related to your immense understanding.**

 **The skill 'Projection' was created.**

 **The skill 'Empathy' was created.**

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Balance.'**

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Understanding of the Enlightened.'**

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Body of the Enlightened.'**

I didn't have time to do anything more as I leapt from the fog, Aura claws and teeth bared. Each of my eyes tracked a different target, scanning the entire battlefield in an instant. The Tiger's eyes focus on Ren and his grandfather, noting the dark Aura around them both—but for the moment at least, he was holding his own. I doubted that would last much longer, but for now…

Nora, I thought, calm eyes noting the facts. A quick Observe confirmed she was out of ammunition, and with no need to even vaguely concern himself with the danger any longer, Keppel was getting serious. Everything around him was covered in growing layers of ice—including Nora, who was struggling to brake it only for more layers to grow in their place. As I left the fog, snowflakes formed in my eyelashes, on my face, and I was still about ten meters further away from Keppel than Nora. As it was, Nora was already slowing down and Keppel was drawing nearer. I saw the expression on her face, the sheer frustration of not being able to do anything, but—

Where are my Elementals? I reached out to them and felt Levant spread throughout the area, trying to draw in more and more warm air to slow Keppel's efforts, pulling it from near Suryasta. Xihai was partially frozen beneath layers of ice, but even in that state she was trying to help Nora by melting the ice around her. But it was too cold—another Observe put at minus ninety-seven and counting down quickly as Keppel drew nearer.

I wondered if I was going to have to kill him, like I'd already killed his wife.

Don't, I thought to myself. Not right now. People are counting on you.

Keppel lifted a hand towards Nora, but his eyes tracked to me. Beneath his mask, he must have been smiling.

"Stop," I snapped, fingers curling into claws as my power moved. Keppel jerked and then all but flew back along the ice until it suddenly grew in layers around his feet, anchoring him. I pushed forward as he was stilled, reaching Nora's side in a moment, and drew another crystal from my Inventory.

An instant layer, the White Tiger was ablaze, hovering close enough to Nora to melt the ice around her and give her some much needed warmth, but not so near that I burnt her instead. Within the sphere of altered temperature Keppel was producing, there was surprisingly little room for error in that regard—though beside me it was several thousand degrees, the temperature dropped so sharply that just a few meters away it was barely fifty. That put Nora in a spot that was a bit hotter than I'd intended, but with the change that extreme, I didn't dare move; I was trying to gauge it as best I could with Clairvoyance and Observe, but…

"Jaune," Keppel greeted brightly. "About time you joined us. Finished with Carmine, I take it?"

"She's dead," I said, eyes focused on him wondering if he would react, if there was anything in him that would give away some feeling of anger, shock, even just surprise or sadness. But there was nothing, not that his masked face and golem body were particularly expressive; there wasn't even a slight change at the news. And yet, I thought I felt—

"I figured as much," He answered, tone unchanging he took a step forward against the effect pushing him back, ice releasing his foot and then anchoring it again. "Seeing as you're here and all. Is it my turn now, then? Husband and wife dead…ah, can you imagine my poor children's faces when they hear the news, Jaune? Are you going to tell them yourself—tell them that you murdered us both? Are you going to lie to them, instead? Or will you have someone else tell them?"

He sounded like he found the whole idea funny, but I felt that thing again, like a heartbeat just out of sync with my own.

"I wonder what your mother would think?" Keppel continued, chuckling. "Well, by now she probably sees things my way, since you're wasting time over here. Such an ungrateful child, abandoning his own parents. I guess you just didn't care enough to bother, huh?"

Seeing the effect wasn't doing anything to stop him, I stopped the flow of power to it, already feeling sweat forming on my skin from the exertion. As I let up on the pressure and prepared to switch to something else, he stopped his approach as well and held back, casting a quick glance at Nora. The temperature around her had changed again, but it was probably more comfortable the way it was now; it didn't require a shift on my part. Better yet, she wasn't in the immediate line of fire and I was close enough to get in the way of any attack directed her way regardless. Still, I drew Levant and Xihai to her, thawing my Water Elemental with a surge of heat. Just in case.

Only once that was taken care of did I look down at the window that had appeared before me.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By combining many elemental affinities, the skill 'Gravity Well' has been created.**

'Gravity Well,' huh? I'd figured it was something along those lines, but it had been so instinctual, the power rising to my fingers at my sheer desire to push Keppel back. That was…useful, in a way, but also dangerous. At a guess, I'd say there was a pretty close correlation between the MP I spent and the kilograms of force that affected target. Potentially useful given training and time to level the ability, but as a new skill it wasn't cost-effective against a high-level Hunter. That I was growing skilled enough with the Elements to combine them so effortlessly was appealing, but I'd need to be careful in how I did so, now especially.

Not that being able to mess with gravity again wasn't cool as all hell, of course. It's just that this wasn't the time to get careless. Like any other skill, it would need to be used carefully. I gathered power more carefully as Keppel twitched and began to roll another step towards us, but I just watched him steadily with a pair of eyes, the other set looking elsewhere.

Only once all my immediate concerns were addressed did I turn my attention to the words Conquest was using to try to hurt me and consider them. It was a good question, actually. I'd never been all that close to Keppel or Carmine, since they were really more my parent's friends, but I'd played with Harley before she went off to Signal about…two years ago now? It seemed like longer than that, but we'd been friends once, even if we'd gone our separate ways when I'd proven unable to keep up with the others. And thinking about it, her tiny brother Lincoln was probably somewhat less tiny now—would he be nine now? Or ten? I'd never really paid attention to my old friend's younger sibling's birthdays, to be honest.

I'd given some thought to meeting up with the old gang, though. I mean, logically we'd meet eventually, right? We were going into the same career path. I'd been one of the oldest of the youngest group—that is, the group of kids our parents had play with me instead of one of my sisters—so they might actually lag a little bit behind if I went to school, but still, we'd meet _eventually_.

Never really thought I'd have killed any of their parents by that point, though. One of the many things I didn't see coming.

I exhaled.

Even so, I'd meant what I'd said to Carmine—I'd known everything she said. Time was of the essence and the situation was extreme. At a time like this, fighting against three different Hunters, with civilians trapped down below and Ren and Nora up here, I knew the risks and the stakes. I knew people could die and that every second wasted meant _more_ people could die. There was so much to do and I had so little idea on how I was going to handle any of it. Whatever I did, I knew there wasn't a perfect solution; if I'd fought Carmine long enough to slowly wear her down and somehow subdue her safely, Nora would have died and probably Ren as well. Maybe Kappel and Hui would have ganged up on me, maybe they'd have gotten to the civilians or even Onyx, maybe they'd have just left. I don't know, but it didn't matter, whatever the case, I couldn't let that happen. Could I?

I knew time was short and I knew the risk was great and I knew many other things. I knew that my mother and father were counting on me, that whatever I learned here could be invaluable, that I couldn't let any infected Hunters escape, and that leaving them both uncured and unsupervised was foolish. I couldn't waste any more time than absolutely necessary here and now—too much was riding on me.

But then, why was I here at all? I knew that Conquest wouldn't kill me. Objectively speaking, I even knew that learning everything I could about Conquest and the Grimm as a whole was probably more valuable than the lives of everyone in this village. That sounded awful—and it was—but this was a threat that endangered the lives of every man, woman, and child on the face of Remnant. Perhaps even more than that, I knew that rather than dividing my attention constantly between four or five different goals, I was more likely to succeed if I focused on one. Beyond making sure everything that might escape attempts to quarantine the virus was stopped, like I had with Onyx, I would most likely see results if I captured a single, weak Infected like Jeremy and experimented on them extensively to try and find a cure or at least work towards learning more about the disease.

It was likely that most of the village would die if I did that and quite possible I wouldn't find a cure until after the Infected turned into Pandora Shells themselves, but in the long run, dealing with this threat and learning all I could about the Grimm could save countless lives. Things weren't _quite_ that cut and dry, as I'd still need to do what I could to keep things contained and keep certain targets uninfected, and in the long term I could always find another Pandora Shell, but objectively speak, dealing with this issue as soon as possible was probably the best plan to save lives. And if I actually found a cure…

And from a _personal_ standpoint, it also gave me the best odds of success if I truly wanted the best chance for my father. Either way, the odds probably weren't _great_ , but that course of action probably gave me the best chance. And, though again it sounded awful, wasn't saving him what mattered most to me? This wasn't my village. Even Keppel and Carmine, my parent's teammates and friend—they weren't _my_ teammates and friends. They weren't my _parents_. My parents were back there, in danger. While I could always find another Pandora Shell and examine it further in more controlled conditions later, this was the only time I'd ever be able to save the people I loved. And then there was the long term good my parents would do if they survived, two of the strongest Hunters around.

From a selfish standpoint, from a objective standpoint, shouldn't I focus on saving them? And, if possible, all the Hunters. This village…well, to be brutally honest, they were less important.

And yet here I was. Why? Morality? Ignoring the fact that any disgust I felt had become rather muted as of late, every nation on Remnant would applaud me if I found a cure to Conquest and learned more about the Grimm, regardless of the cost to this village. More importantly, the moral high ground alone wouldn't save lives. I suppose there was something to be said for defeating all the infected and gaining levels—that would allow me personally to grow in power and intelligence, increasing the chance I had to cure this disease—but that wasn't quite what I was doing, was it?

I'd always wanted to be a _hero_ , I suppose, but I couldn't help but think that I'd feel pretty empty if I saved everyone in this village just to stand over my parent's graves. Everything I'd done for so long had been to live up to their example, to make them proud, but if I let them die to do that…what was the point? Even when I first found out about this situation, hadn't my first concerns had been my mother and then my father? Yet I'd left because…

Because my mother had told me to. She's told me to protect the village—and though I'd know that what she was really doing was trying to protect _me_ , I'd gone along to find a way to save my father. But even though that was truly why I was here and that was what I wanted more than anything else, I was _here_ , even with the clock counting down, when I didn't need to be. Why?

Well, I couldn't let them die, the thought came immediately. But while that was all well and good, I suddenly couldn't help but wonder _why_ I felt that way—if it had only been me at risk, there'd have been no question, but I _was_ risking the things I loved the most in the world for this. I didn't wish anyone in this village ill, but my parent's _lives_ were on the line here; why was I risking them to save people I didn't even know? If it was just my life, that would be one thing, even if Conquest _was_ willing to kill me, but my parents…they…

They would risk their lives to save these people, I thought. Mom, Dad, Keppel, Carmine, Onyx, Tenne, all of them would put themselves on the line to help people. That's what my grandmother had said—and had called foolish, admittedly. Maybe she was even right, I still wasn't sure. But…if I let all these people die to save my father, how would he feel about it after? How would my mom or any of these Hunters feel if thousands were left to die for them? Or if I let them kill them themselves?

I took a deep breath. I'd hoped increasing my Wisdom would reveal grand truths, unveiling a solution I'd been too blind to see. But all it had done was make me understand my own decisions a bit more and the decisions and desires of those around me. But…

A part of me honestly considered going back to find Jeremy again. I didn't need to leave Nora and Ren—I could probably bring them with me and leave these Hunters behind—but I still couldn't. What I wanted most right now was to be selfish, but I guess I couldn't just think about what I wanted. I loved my mom and dad to the point that I'd die to save them, but could I just ignore everything they stood for because I didn't want to lose them. If they were here, they'd stand where I was now. This was, foolish or not, something my parents would die for; if I loved them, I had to at least fight for it.

And perhaps I owed them this much, at least—Keppel, Carmine, and the others. Maybe there truly was nothing I could have done to save them or stop this, maybe there'd been something I hadn't been able to see, I don't know—but none of that mattered. As one Hunter to another, as one of the living to one of the fallen, maybe I owed them this.

After my quick breath, Keppel finished taking his step only for me to blast him back through a house with a sudden rush of light and power.

"I don't know what I'll say yet," I admitted after a second of silence. "Because I'm pretty sure a fair bit of this is going to be confidential. Whatever I'm allowed to say, though, I'll tell your children myself."

I looked around slightly with one set of eyes, the other staying trained on him.

"If it comes to that, I'll attend you funerals, as well," I continued, stepping forward. "Because of your infection, I imagine we'll have to cremate your bodies, but that shouldn't be an issue. This incident was fairly quiet, relatively speaking, so there shouldn't be anything stopping you from being buried as heroes; I'll see that it's all taken care of however you outlined in your Wills, like you deserve."

Rubble stirred as the ice golem rose, shedding wood and plaster like rain. Most of it shattered in his massive hands, frozen solid after just a brief touch.

"Wow, are you cold or what?" Keppel sounded at once amused and pleased. "And coming from me, that's saying something."

"Make no mistake, Conquest," I said quietly. "I'll do everything I can for these people. There wasn't enough time to deal with Carmine and she was too dangerous to let out of my sight and maybe you are, too—but I'll try, even though I still don't have a lot of time and I still don't have an answer. But Keppel…for the sake of your wife and your children and for you if you're in there, I'll rip you to pieces before I let you hurt anyone."

Keppel's body chuckled but I was struck by that odd sensation again and this time I recognized it.

It felt almost like relief.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Counting Down**

I barely had a moment to process what that feeling might mean when Keppel twitched an overly long finger and razor sharp icicles formed in the air above us, falling towards us in gravity's hold. There were a number of ways I could have dealt with a tactic like that, but it was obviously a distraction so I went with simple and quick—I drew upon a small bit of the fire around me and channeled up upwards in quickly spreading curtain. The icicles fell through, melting slightly as they did, and then I simply reached out with Xihai to grab them by the water on their surface and fling them towards Keppel.

The shards slammed into the ice of his chest, most snapping on impact but several penetrating deeply enough to stick—none of which made him so much as hesitate in the process of lifting his hand. I crouched reflexively and drew closer to the Tiger's warmth as the temperature around me plummeted, dropping swiftly into three digits below. An instant later, my brain caught up with what he was doing and I skipped a step closer to Nora, the manifestation of my soul dropping down on all fours around her and opening his jaws.

Heat and light gathered between blazing teeth and I kept my eyes trained on Keppel as he dropped down on his hands and feet as well, bracing himself. Quickly, more and more ice grew around him, as if to shelter him within an iceberg, and soon there was little left but a massive pillar of ice with a vague shadow held within.

"Flare," I said quietly and the sphere exploded forth, not expanding until after it reached its target—and then exploding into a sphere of fire that dwarfed even the shielding iceberg. In held its shape for a moment before exploding in truth, shattering the ice as much as melting it and sending up massive columns of smoke and steam, waves of heat washing over us as it did.

My eyesight shifted briefly to compensate, cutting through the sudden covering and seeing the truth clearly. Wherever the sphere had touched, ice had melted except for a scarce few veins that still held out. The frozen tomb Keppel had tried to conceal himself in laid shattered, broken open by the attack to reveal…absolutely nothing.

I twitched once and then strode purposefully five steps to right, my Tiger leaving Nora and the melted ground around her behind to follow swiftly. The Tiger lifted an open hand before slamming it down on the surprisingly deep layers of ice to reach in and grab what lurked within. With a mighty pull, he tore a bone-white figure from the ice, lifting him high into air as he raised his other fist—

And suddenly his entire burning form was disrupted, the flames all around him flicking out in an instant. The sudden shock hit me like a knife of ice to the heart—and then I felt the _real_ cold that went along with it. In an instant, I felt myself freeze solid, starting with Adamant skin and reaching quickly deeper to solidify liquid blood and freeze nerves. For a moment, I knew what it was like to feel truly, truly cold; a brief moment of agony followed by a numbness that had nothing to do with my ability to erase pain and everything to do with nerves too cold to keep working.

I stepped forward anyway, ignoring the feeling of brittle skin breaking and limbs shattering to draw nearer to the source. The cold increased with each step, but past a certain point it just didn't mean anything; too cold to feel anything was too cold to feel anything. The Tiger, form dying down to a vaguely glowing ember, continued to lift its hand as I reached out in turn—and the area around us abruptly exploded under our combined assault.

The temperature rose as rapidly as it had fallen, my power returning sensation to me mere moments after I'd lost it. Unfortunately, the first of such sensations was that of being broken and skinless, but I brushed it off, lunging back to Nora's side in an instant. Though the Gamer's Body and my Elemental Resistance had let me weather the worst of that extreme temperature shift without more than a large chunk of HP damage, Nora's organs had begun to fail swiftly, her Aura already taxed from the battle. I held onto her tightly and healed her as the Tiger drew close again, flames renewing in its figure.

As it did, though, I kept its eyes focused on Keppel as the taken Hunter slide easily to his feet with an alien sort of grace owing to his warped form. Long spikes of bone jutted out from the sides of his mask, all of them aimed backwards over the now smooth expanse of his skill. His body had been changed greatly by Conquest's touch, leaving him with a reptilian, almost serpentine appearance, with layered scales of bone stretching down his now far too long neck and body such that they all seemed to flow together. His limbs were stick thin, giving them an almost stretched appearance that almost seemed pasted onto his body, but even then, his fingers were far to long for his hands and each had too many joints. Already, a body of ice was growing over him again, like moss in fast-forward, but…

Without a doubt, I'd sensed his approach that time, finding him long before my eyes spotted him. I'd felt something, a flash of dread that I knew wasn't my own and I'd simply…known where it was coming from. It was new sense that I assumed I owed to my new skill Empathy, different from my elementals or enhanced vision in a way that was hard to truly explain. But it wasn't something I could _see_ nor something being fed to me by another; I simply…knew. I could feel the Auras around me flickering in a way that I just understood, and I'd known Keppel was about to attack, that Nora was dying, that Ren was slowly succumbing and was distracted by what was happening to Nora, that all around me villagers were panicking, fleeing, succumbing—

At first I'd been unsure of what I was feeling, like I'd opened my eyes for the first time to a mix of color and shape but hadn't been able to understand what it meant. But now…I felt it all, something flowing and extreme and powerful. The immensity of it all should have been too much for a person to bear.

Thankfully, I was the Gamer—and the Gamer's Mind didn't _do_ overwhelmed. I noted the new world of sensation around me, skimmed it quickly, and dismissed most of it as not immediately important. Then I focused on what _was_ , thinking through the implications as I forced Nora's heart to keep beating.

The emotion I'd felt before had definitely come from Keppel, yet I couldn't imagine Conquest feeling such things—relief that I'd keep him from hurting people, dread that he was about to attack us. The obvious conclusion, then, was that it wasn't the thing running Keppel's body that felt that way, but rather Keppel himself, somewhere deep underneath it all. Perhaps it was his 'mind,' perhaps it was his 'soul,' but whatever it was, it knew what was happening to at least some extent—meaning he was trapped inside of a body that Conquest was using as he pleased. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing; while it lent credence to the theory that Conquest's host were alive in a sense that meant they could be saved, it had the unfortunate downside of meaning they were trapped within, forced to suffer and watch as he used them to slaughter innocent people.

Though thinking about it, I wasn't all _that_ surprised. Even beyond the fact that Conquest was a sick fuck that didn't deserve to live, given how the Grimm were drawn to negative emotions, having such a captive audience must have been delicious to them all. From that perspective, it made complete sense to keep them alive and aware; it might have even served as a way to attract other Grimm.

But man did I really hate Conquest.

I finished healing the damage to Nora, who was gasping for breath like she was drowning in open air—which she sort of had been for a little bit there, when the cold had gotten to her lungs. I nabbed a blue crystal from my Inventory and healed her again, restoring much of her Aura even as I gave her Regeneration; it should be enough to keep her a bit safer for now. That done, I rose again, eyes on Keppel who'd made a new body for himself, this one significantly less human then the last. It had three arms on each side, no head, and everything below the waist was in the form of a snake—the _front_ half of a snake, with another head where the tail should end.

"Fall back a bit," I murmured to Nora, who had a hand over her no longer struggling heart. Even so, her other hand grasped her war hammer tightly and she tried to rise quickly. I felt a flash of regret—I hadn't thought it wise to send Suryasta against Keppel given his ability to absorb heat in massive quantities, so instead I'd sent Levant and Xihai, hoping they'd be able to do something about the ice he created. But Keppel was too strong, even for the both of them, and between the area affected and her inability to draw close for fear of infection, Nora had been forced to burn her Aura just to protect herself against the dropping temperature. It must have been frustrating, to have such an enormous amount of raw power but to be unable to draw close and _use_ it. "This will be over soon."

I lifted my eyes to meet Keppel's, once again embedded in his construct's chest.

"So," I said conversationally. "You can swim through ice? That's a neat trick—but I hope you didn't expect it to work on _me_."

"You're perceptive," He admitted. "I'd figured you'd catch on quickly, but I'd kind of hoped to get near enough to at least kill the girl. Oh well, though; if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, right?"

I said nothing for a moment, letting him talk as I reaching out to Xihai and Levant. This was something I'd tried before, though I'd never found anything like success—but suddenly, I knew I could do it. Taking a deep breath, I imagined two songs coming together; Air and Water merging to make Ice, as I'd done many times before. I felt that pattern inside me, a hum beneath the echoing song of the red Dust, too quiet to be heard or express itself.

But then I reached out to my Air and Water _Elementals_ and did the same thing.

Levant unraveled in an instant, tilting her head at me inquisitively even as Xihai fell into a puddle of already-freezing water. But then the ice forming around me began to ripple and a figure began to rise from it, her shape larger than that of either of her component Elementals, perhaps ten centimeters shorter than me. Her hair was the pure white of freshly fallen snow and the rest of her body transparent and clear as purified ice until frost began to form on the surface like a second layer of skin. She had no eyes that I could see, but a thick, frozen mist rose from the sockets and hide everything but a dim light that seemed to glow from within each.

Water and Air in balance, she looked at me and smiled, revealing rows of neatly arranged icicles instead of teeth.

"Trying the same thing again and again and expecting different results?" I asked Keppel. "You must be insane."

Keppel made a strange sound, deep in his chest, like wind chimes in a storm—a sound that could only loosely be described as 'laughter.' Then, he slithered forward to the sound of ice on ice, moving swiftly especially for something so massive, ice spreading all around him as he drew nearer.

Levant and Xihai's combined form fell to one knee, hand falling to touch a smooth pane of ice by her feet. There was a ringing sound, like a bell—and abruptly a forest of jagged looking spikes of ice erupting between Keppel and I, growing from every frozen surface in sight. At the same time, snow began to fall around us in an enormous flurry, as if someone had flipped a switch from clear to blizzard. In moments, there was a concealing curtain of snow, drawn from the water I'd produced fighting Carmine, but my Clairvoyance cut through it as if it were still clear as day. And yet, the same should be true of—

Ah, I understood as my vision flickered. Yes, even in snow this thick, the Grimm-infected Keppel should be able to see my Aura—but my Aura was spread throughout this miniature storm, flecks of light in every frozen spike and snowflake. Against a trained Hunter like Keppel, I knew better than to write him off as helpless, but…

I Lunged forward, the Tiger following. A still flickering light in the cloaking snow and so bright an expression of my soul, I knew Keppel would see and focus on it as we came close—which was why I dropped lower as we did. As my hands hit the ice, I slipped slightly, but only for a moment; without even asking, without the slightest hesitation between thought and action, the ice shifted beneath me to steady me, wielding by my Elementals will. I stayed lower as the Tiger leapt at the Hunter, claws and fangs sinking deeply into melting ice-flesh. Keppel reached for my manifested soul with all six of his arms as the creature tore at his body, attention focusing on it for a moment as it's flame-body flickered—

And I rose, slipping neatly behind it with a band of fire around my forearm—the Tiger's tail. I lifted my sword in one hand and raised the thumb of the other, aiming briefly before Lunging forward and burying it deep in the Colossus back. With all the strength my enhanced body could muster, I plunged it to the hilt, point aimed for the shadow within. Keppel's construct spasmed briefly as his real body writhed and the Tiger took advantage of his distraction to grip him tightly and my heart pounded twice as a red glow pulsated within my chest.

At the second beat, the Tiger exploded in a wave of fire and force that momentarily cleared the storm. Flames washed over me but I stood against with no more than a shift in my stand, guiding it around me with my will. My four eyes focused, the light that threatened to blind us parting like a curtain as we shifted out focus beyond the visible spectrum.

There, I saw, eyes focusing in on Keppel—the explosion had shattered the front half of his body with enough force to throw him back and melt much of the rest. One of his arms had broken off and one had melted to the elbow, but I could see the others turning, even flailing, as new ice began to form in a protective shell around him.

I reached him before he could fall any further, the Tiger's claws curling around his throat. His other hand came up in a crushing punch to his face, smashing him hard enough to crumbled the earth for meters in every direction. I glanced down with my other set of eyes and saw my refection gleaming in the hide of his golem-body—my physical form, my manifested soul, and, between us, my newly combined Elemental. I turned my gaze to find her suddenly standing there in truth as well, falling to a knee swiftly even as she dipped a hand into Keppel's creation, arm sliding into it as if it had been liquid water as opposed to solid ice. I gave her a slight nod, understanding without a word needing to be exchanged.

Then I planted a boot firmly on Keppel's chest, pushing him down roughly as he tried to rise. Four arms reached up towards me, but the Tiger grabbed a pair of wrists in either hand and stopped hard on Keppel's mask, driving the spikes adorning it into the ground like nails. Leaning back, the ice broke under its fingers and he pulled hard.

Like brittle glass, Keppel's created limbs came free and I glanced down at him expressionlessly, eyes tracking thoughtfully as I picked my target. Lifting my sword again, I took a flickering instant to check my aim and then gathered my power, driving it downwards with all the force I could muster. Crocea Mors bit deeply into his armor and then into the flesh beneath, driving cleanly through him and the ice below him and then even down into the ground.

It figured, I mused as I placed a hand on the pommel of my sword. For him to have such a focus on layers of protective armor…it seemed he had reason not to rely on his Aura's defenses alone. Was this a natural feature of his abilities or some type of modification Conquest had wrought to allow for this indiscriminant temperature shift? I wasn't that familiar with Keppel's original abilities, so I wasn't sure. Nonetheless, it was a weakness I could exploit—trying to draw this out too long would be foolish. Keppel's power allowed for him to absorb heat energy to fuel himself in a number of ways, so there was no real chance of me just wearing him down; I'd need to disable him some other way.

To begin with, I reached out to Crocea Mors and shifted the shape of my blade with a thought. Smooth, polished steel vanished in an instant as hundreds of long, wicked barbs sprouted over every centimeter of the blade, driving into the earth, the ice, and, of course, Keppel's flesh. He jerked once, trying to draw away from the source of his pain, but motion in an direction just caused more. He was pinned quite brutally in place.

It was a start. But not nearly enough—I knew the threat I was facing and wasn't foolish enough to believe this would stop it for long. That's why the Tiger reached down and curled long fingers around Keppel's masked face, dragging him _up_ the blade to make the next part easier. Keppel gave a pained scream that broke off into a coughing laugh.

"No mercy, eh, kid?" He asked, sounding like he was enjoying this.

"It's for your own good," I said dismissively. "Can't very well leave you like this, can I? You'll just grow some new limbs and leave."

He snickered again, breathing raggedly as he did so.

"What are you gonna do to me, then?" He asked mockingly.

"I'd like to try and cure you," I said. "But I can't imagine you'll be very cooperative, so it's probably best to rip off your arms and legs for now. She—"

My Ice Elemental sent shifting currents through his created body to remind him of her presence. He let out a pained gasp.

"—Will keep you an eye on you here for now," I continued as if nothing had happened. "At least until I finish a few other things. I'd advise you not to do anything I'll have to make you regret, but I imagine you'll do that one way or another. So know instead that I'm watching and I'm serious."

The Tiger reached out to grab his left arm in a hand, placing the other on his shoulder to hold him in place.

"Oh, I never doubt that," Keppel said, voice straining as he bit down a scream and a laugh. "But my, I see you inherited your family's renowned bedside manner. Or is this just for me?"

I said nothing, holding Keppel by the throat and waiting patiently as the Tiger dropped his arm. As he reached for the other arm, Keppel chuckled.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, don't get me wrong," He continued, pausing to grit his teeth as his other arm came loose. "You're even missing the show for my sake."

The show?

I barely had time to wonder what he was talking about when a sensed a sudden surge of fear behind me—two people abruptly terrified, one a bit more muted then the other, both moving in the same direction.

My human eyes stayed trained on Keppel's face, my expression firm and unchanging. But in his blind spot, the Tiger's head snapped up and through those eyes I saw.

The sources of fear were Lei Hui and Lei Ren. The body of the former, suddenly cloaked in a billowing black Aura, was dashing towards Nora who faced him down with a surge of emotion that was hard to shift through—pain, despair, love, and yet a quiet resolve. He hammer was rising but I didn't know if it would be fast enough. Behind Hui, Ren's expression was set in panic but his emotions were more complex, similar to Nora's. He was terrified, agonized, and yet I felt it the moment a decision was made.

Yet the strangest feeling was from Hui; a bottomless, depthless terror. I wasn't sure how to even describe it. It didn't show anywhere in his body, but…the sheer immensity of what he felt alarmed we. I tried to imagine what could make someone, even someone trapped by Conquest, feel that way.

And I succeeded. In that instant of thought, I knew. I knew why he was doing this, knew what he was planning, knew what he was trying to accomplish.

This was a trick, I thought. A trap on Keppel's part, an attempt to distract me, to get to me. I knew that.

I turned anyway, releasing him as I gathered my power in all four of my hands and even in the Tiger's mouth. Energy cackled for a moment and then leapt from my control like a living thing in its own right, taking a shifting course even as it rippled through the air. The black Aura around Lei Hui solidified into a might shield as he raised an arm in defense, taking the form of a dark shield. It stood up to the first blast, the second, the third, and then was shattered by the fourth. The Fifth, un hindered, slammed into his armored form, making him halt his advance and even pushing him back a step, some of the armor beneath chipping away. Lei Hui, for a moment, stopped.

It didn't matter—it wasn't enough. Or rather, it didn't make a difference.

Because Ren would have caught up anyway—exactly as he'd been intended to.

I gathered power again, dumping a huge amount into the first thing that came to mind, an only half-formed idea, but I knew I had to stop this. As someone who understood better than anyone, I drew in all the power I could to throw at Hui.

Which is naturally, and unsurprisingly, when Conquest sucker-punched me. That didn't exactly wow me, but I had to admit, I didn't expect the specifics.

It got cold, as expected of Keppel. But that didn't really do it justice. When I said it got cold, I meant it got _cold_. It hit two hundred and seventy below and I froze. The air froze. Everything around us just…stopped as Keppel's power was pushed to an inhuman extreme, beyond even his limits—a trump card held in reserve until now, perhaps specifically for this moment.

The energy I gathered fizzled. The Tiger vanished. Only my Elementals remained as I stopped utterly.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By combining many elemental affinities, the skill 'Searing Light' has been created.**

 **You have been 'Frozen Solid.' Duration: 10 minutes.**

But even Frozen Solid, I was aware. I saw Hui's Aura shape itself again even as he drew a step closer to Nora, elongating into the form of a spear. My Ice Elemental rose from Keppel's side, immediately focusing on me, hands reaching out to draw me from the ice in a motion that might have been quick if things weren't happening so fast. And as she released Keppel, I felt him rise, a strange shape forming in the ice around me, lips against my ear.

"A preview," He whispered. "Of what's to come—"

I knew what he was trying to say.

I didn't give a shit.

Light rose around me, rising once more in the shape of a tiger. But it rose through the ice as if it were no more than air, stepping back through Keppel like a ghost—until the very last moment. Suddenly behind him and completely independent of me, fangs flashed.

The power of his Aura faded from the ice and my Elemental reached through the layers like they were no more than a doorway to seize me. In the same moment, a chunk of bloody vertebrae hit the snow. The Tiger ghosted back into the ice and I exploded out the other side, assisting my Elemental's pull and leaping past her to rush towards the others. I'd lost a second, maybe two, but—

Ren slipped in front of Nora as her hammer rose meaninglessly, for she wasn't the target. I watched as Ren's Aura flickered and gathered, the entirely of it pooling in his fist. Hui thrust his spear over Ren's head, seemingly ignoring him to attack Nora—and then the fist lashed out, striking at Hui's heart in a motion that reminded me bizarrely of a snake lashing out. There was a moment of rippling flesh and then armor broke on both his front and back.

I was less than twenty meters away when it began. Less than five by the time the blow hit. Perhaps a meter away when an organ I identified in midair as a heart exploded out of the back of Lei Hui's chest.

All of which just meant I got to stand right next to Ren as Conquest forced him to murder his grandfather to save a friend.

I had a moment to regret that failure, to understand that this was just to spite me and strike against me, and yet even still didn't have time to hesitate. I grabbed Ren roughly as blood sprayed, splattering roughly from the wound. I pulled him back, dragging the now defenseless boy out of their path and erecting a wall of air in the way even as I flung him down hard, barely holding back enough not to hurt him too badly. He slammed into the ground hard enough that I heard something break, but as I turned from the shield, it was only to lift my sword high once more and bring in down.

There was a moment of silence as blood finished splattering, Ren and Nora's eyes wide as they looked down at my sword—and the hand it had cut from Ren's arm. The Tiger reached down and snatched it up, pitching it away before he even began screaming.

"What the hell!?" Nora shouted, taking a step forward as he began to do so. I ignored her for the moment, kneeling down to heal Ren—and batting aside his rather pitiful attempts to push me away. Nora took another step forward and then seemed to hesitate, not sure what to do as she lifted her hammer.

"Infection," I explained after a moment. "Hui's blood on Ren's hand."

"W-what—" Ren tried to ask, sounding agonized even as I worked to dim the pain and stop the bleeding. "How—"

"He was moving too slow, too carelessly. He _intended_ to make you kill him," I explained. "Then, while you were overwhelmed with the horror of it and unprotected, his blood infect you and force you to murder Nora. Or force her to murder you, I suppose."

There was another beat of silence at that, as wide eyes looked my way.

"Why?" Ren asked through gritted teeth, clutching his stump. I batted his hand away again.

"I assume he finds it funny," I answered, drawing a deep breath and staying focused. "I'll get you a new hand, later, but for now I'm going to need you two to—"

I sensed a flicker of something and as my eyes rose I saw a blur of motion. By the time I realized what it was, I didn't have any more time to think or come up with a real plan—I just moved, rising and shoving my fist past the right side of Nora's face with every ounce of speed I could muster.

A moment later, Tenne's silent bullet slammed straight into my forearm.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Quick Time**

One thing after another, I thought as the flash of pain went through me. The bullet had pierced straight through my defenses—my Aura, the White Tiger's Hide, the barrier of screening air I'd been keeping around me since this began, and even my Adamant skin. Even with Grimm Slayer activated, it just wasn't enough to protect me fully against such a powerful attack.

I didn't need to look down to know how bad that was, but I did so anyway.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [Low].'**

I was a bit cheered by the levels, but the latter news pretty much ruined it. It wasn't unexpected, really. That I'd been able to protect myself from Conquest thus far was mainly a matter of luck. My father hadn't tried to infect me and though Carmine had hit me many, many times, her own attack had vaporized any cells that weren't safely within her body. Other than that, I'd managed to avoid any direct exposure to the disease thus far, but I'd known it was only a matter of time. I'd wanted to gather all the information I could before I tried anything, but eventually I'd planned to expose _myself_ to the virus, to see what I could learn from that perspective.

I'd just been…hesitant. Cautious, really. Conquest had seemed fairly sure that it wouldn't affect me and, well, I suppose that if anyone would know, it'd be him, right? But on the other hand, he'd been limited to the knowledge he could access in my father's brain and while I'd told my father everything _I_ knew about my power, I…well, I didn't know all that much. Still, the basic theory held; the Gamer's Mind was inviolate—any status effect that tried to touch my mind failed. I was sure enough of that to rely on it even in a life or death situation and it had saved my life countless times by keeping me calm and in control.

What I _wasn't_ certain of was how my power labeled such things. I mean, most effects that tried to make me someone's puppet should fail outright, of course—but what about effects that tried to control me through my body? I doubted the Gamer's Mind alone would protect me if someone attached strings to me and controlled me like a _literal_ puppet, but how far did that go? I hadn't wanted to test it on Conquest until I knew how the bacterial Grimm controlled people; if he commanded people by directly seizing control of sections of the brain, did that count as a physical effect or a _mental_ one? I'd had no way of really knowing. And though I'd learned a great deal…well, I still wasn't sure and had been reluctant to test it out of hand.

But I guess I'd be finding out _now_ , huh?

I tried to think of this as an opportunity—because, in its own way, it was. Assuming Conquest didn't seize control of my body in the next few minutes, I'd be able to use this chance; I doubted anyone had ever been able to study Conquest like _this_ before. That may have even been why my father hadn't attempted to infect me when we first met; perhaps he'd feared what I might learn from the experience. That was a pleasant though, I suppose. I tried to hold onto it as I saw black spots begin to appear on my skin.

But—and wow, but this kind of said everything you needed to know about my present situation—I had bigger things to worry about right now. Yes, I'd been infected and now it was just a worrying matter of time until I found out what that meant, but until then, I had work to do. Tenne had just shot and infected me which was what I really needed to worry about, for several reasons.

The most immediate, of course, was the fact that someone was _shooting_ at us. If I hadn't stopped that bullet, it would have killed Nora or worse. Linked to that was the fact that Tenne, who I was pretty sure was the one attacking us, obviously had a vantage point from where they _could_ shoot at us, meaning that it was likely other shots were coming our way quickly, a fact that I found somewhat concerning. I needed to deal with that, fast.

I also needed to get away from Ren and Nora. Not really so much to protect them if Conquest took control of me because, quite frankly, they were screwed one way or another if that happened—but even if I assumed I'd retain control of myself despite Conquest's infection, which is what I would be doing until proven otherwise, it could still be dangerous to keep them around me. For one thing, I could now serve as a carrier to the disease and in their weakened state, I might infect them accidentally. For another, if they saw me transform, they might take it…badly, considering the circumstances. And if they were to attack me, that itself might result in their infection. I couldn't risk that, which meant I couldn't stay near them or anyone else vulnerable to infection until I fixed this.

There was some good news there, at least potentially. As this was a status effect, I'd be cured of it by sleeping. Assuming that Conquest didn't taken me over and never go to sleep, I'd be able to cure _myself_ at least. All of that was for later, though.

A moment after the bullet hit my skin my eyes snapped towards it, catching a glimpse of its original trajectory before it rebounded off of my skin and into the air. As it did, my hand of my infected arm quickly came up and snatched the bullet, holding it tight. I felt more of the infection spread from that touch, but it didn't matter much, since it was the same arm and it was more important to keep the bullet out of sight and to make sure it didn't touch anything else.

That done, my eyes traced the bullet back to its source. I'd glimpsed the initial trajectory—though that could have meant nothing with Tenne's Semblance—but more than that, I'd been alerted to the attack by a flicker of emotion. That had been the only reason I'd been able to react in time and now it gave me a marker that led me back to…there.

Most of a kilometer away, on top of the tallest building in town, Tenne stood watching. He looked different now, of course, as Conquest had warped his body to best make use of his abilities, though of all the completely changed Hunters I'd seen, he looked by far the most human. Though he'd been covered from head to toe in a layer of white armor that completely hid his skin and hair, the shape of his body was largely the same. He was even wearing most of the same _clothes_ as before, including the belts of ammunition.

But then I saw his eyes—all eleven of them. He had five on each side of his mask, which was split vertically down the middle by a massive, eleventh eye. Which was…very, very bad.

I knew how Tenne's Semblance worked from the stories of my mother and sisters, as well as my own Observation—it was a limited but powerful form of telekinesis that effected small, light-weight objects. More specifically, he controlled objects visually; look to the left and the object follows, that type of thing. What made that power so dangerous was the fact that the bullets moved fast enough to stay wherever he was looking, which gave them great speed even at short distances…but as the range increased, so did the speed of the bullets. That is, if the bullet's a meter away and you look to the right, it'll stay where you're looking, covering that distance in the time it takes your gaze to…and it'll do the same thing at ten meters away or a hundred meters away or a _kilometer_ away, even though that meant a drastic increase in speed each time.

Or that was the theory, at least. In practice, I also knew there were several limitations, both from what I'd heard and what I could guess—for one thing, there was the matter of energy and the fact that it had to come from _somewhere_. The faster the shots went and the heavier they were, the more energy they required; that's why he limited himself to small objects like bullets. Because of the physics behind it all, it was better to double something's speed then its weight, so he cut a balance with bullets that were heavy enough to hurt and held a useful amount of Dust, but also small enough to move at insane speeds. Still, even then it took a lot of energy.

It also took focus. The same dependency on his eyesight that gave the ability its power also imposed limits on it; he could only control one thing at a time because he could only _look_ at one thing at a time. He also needed to be able to see it clearly, which put limits on its maximum range, and he needed to _keep_ looking at it to control it, so blinking would disrupt it, as would losing track of it for more than a fraction of a second. Tenne, whether because of his Semblance or years of training, had really, really good eyes, but as a human, those limits remained to some extent.

The keywords being 'as a human.' Now that Conquest had gone to town, I was guessing he didn't need to blink much anymore. It seemed safe to assume those eyes could keep track of things independent of one another, too, what with the seven bullets floating in front of his face. The issue of energy should remain, however, and though that bullet had been _unbelievably_ fast, I wasn't sure it was quite as fast as it _could_ have been—though that might have been because of whatever Conquest had done to make his eyes able to focus on things the size of bullets from that far away. They were still horrifyingly fast, but not as impossibly fast as they could have been in the worst case scenario. That was the good news.

The bad news, of course, was the fact that there were _only_ eight bullets, because it implied that up to three more were already in flight.

It took me a moment that felt like far longer to find them, my vision flickering quickly. Trails of light formed in the sky, each closing ground at speeds that, despite the distance, I could barely follow and each was aimed…where? I couldn't tell with Tenne's shots; he could be aiming at Ren, Nora, or even both, and he could change his mind at any time. I'd been alerted to the first shot by the emotion Tenne had felt when it was fired—and I'd still barely saved Nora. How was I going to block three more, especially now that Tenne was probably on the lookout for such attempts?

Simple. I couldn't. If the bullets moved in straight lines, maybe I could have done something, but I had to assume that wouldn't work on Tenne. If I could create cover—but no, I didn't have time for that, the bullets were already closing in.

That was the issue here; they were moving too fast for me to do anything to stop; by the time I reacted in a way that would matter, it would be over for Ren and Nora. I could save them, I knew I could, but I wasn't—

I needed more time. God, but wasn't that the story of my life? I always, always needed more time. What I wouldn't give for a _second_ to think, but I didn't even had that. I didn't have any…

Time, I thought, power rising in me. It was a vague idea, more instinct than actual thought, but it came together like the shift in gravity before it and I poured every ounce of power I could spare into it. In a flickering moment, the face of a giant clock appeared beneath my feet, written in pure white light. With a musical sounding chime, its hands began to turn quickly, faster and faster and faster, until even _my_ eyes couldn't follow them.

And time slowed to wait for me.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By combining many elemental affinities, the skill 'Acceleration' has been created.**

In an instant, everything around me began to slow, dragging to a relative crawl before my eyes. The bullets, illuminated by spinning trails of Aura in the sky above me seemed to put on the brakes, pulling down to speed I could actually keep up with—Ren and Nora, meanwhile, just seemed to stop.

Even without seeing the name of my new ability, it wasn't hard to grasp what was going on, at least not for me. I knew logically that I couldn't be slowing the _world_ down; the sheer amount of energy that would be required to do something like that on an area that large was far, far beyond me—and, more than that, it was completely unnecessary when I could accomplish almost the same thing for far less power.

I wasn't slowing the world down; I was speeding myself _up_. Warping time in my immediate vicinity to change how it progressed for me as opposed to changing the world around me. It was all in the name, even—Acceleration was the change of something's velocity over time. I was just tampering with the denominator of that equation instead of the numerator.

And it gave me exactly what I needed. My eyes swept up to the bullets still speeding towards us, but from my perspective they'd been cut down to less than half their original speed—no, perhaps closer to a _quarter_ of their speed, which meant I was moving nearly four times faster now. That carried with it more than its fair share of implications but first thing's first.

I spun back towards Ren, snatching a blue Dust crystal from my Inventory. Reaching out to him as gently as I could with my free hand, I saw the fabric of his shirt ripple out from where I touched his chest as even that soft contact was magnified by my speed. I healed him quickly and restored a healthy chunk of his Aura as his eyes slowly began to widen—and then pushed on his chest a bit harder, lifting his feet from the ground and leaving him moving slowly through the air. A quick pair of steps drew me close to Nora and I did the same thing to her, directing her back towards the demolished building.

Then I turned, my eyes landing on my Ice Elemental who stood, still as a statue. It didn't seem like my speed boost carried over to her, unfortunately, but that was okay, I supposed. I considered commanding her to create a layered wall of ice around the area, but no; I reached out mentally and unraveled the merged pattern that composed her new form. After a moment, I felt her presence in my mind separate back in Xihai and one of Levant's manifestations, though her body seemed to be a lot slower to come apart—it didn't matter. I touched her mind and told her what I intended.

"Onyx, Ren and Nora are above you now. We have dealt with the Hunters above but Tenne is now attacking us from a distance. I'm going after him, but I need you to get both of them out of here! I'll keep this area clean, so pull them down as soon as you can!" I sent the message to her, knowing she'd understand the words and communicate them properly. Even so, I knew that would take a while; slowed down enough to be intelligible, time would be required for the words to form—to say nothing of how long it would take for Onyx to _hear_ them—and even now I didn't have time to waste waiting. In truth, with the amount of time it would take for all of that to happen, this would be _over_ by the time Onyx finished obeying my commands. In fact, I _hoped_ it would be.

Regardless, I needed to get Ren and Nora out of harm's way. They weren't safe up here and with everything that was happening, that _could_ happen, I needed to get them both to safety. With any luck, Onyx would be able to do that before anything else happened. Because I knew what Conquest was doing with this, with the broken buildings and sudden attacks. He was making sure I was always on my toes, always in motion, always reacting fast and never having a moment to really stop and think. But if this was a game, and I knew it was to _him_ , I needed to be able to look ahead.

Tenne's attack wasn't a coincidence; the timing was too convenient for that. He'd intended to shoot Nora right before my eyes, either killing her or infecting her right as I'd thought she was safe. Given his vantage point, he must have been watching all along, waiting for this moment as I'd fought Keppel and Carmine—perhaps as a backup plan incase Hui's plan failed?

Thinking about it that way, this whole thing reeked of a set up; Ren and Nora were the only people that Keppel and Carmine had seen me with in this village, so of course they were singled out. Collapse a building to draw my attention, reel me in, and then put their plan in motion. Hurt or kill them before my very eyes, make me kill the Hunters, whatever else they had in store; with in-depth knowledge of how Ren and Nora would behave through Hui and maybe a rundown of how I'd react from my father, I doubted it was hard to orchestrate.

And that meant that from the moment I'd arrived to fight them, I'd been playing into Conquest's hands, though I liked to think I'd been able to throw in a few curveballs. I wasn't going to _win_ that way, though, running from planned encounter to planned encounter; I needed to think ahead. I still wasn't sure what Conquest was after, but I had an idea about what I needed to do, and it began with Tenne.

My arm throbbed as I danced a step back, draining a set of Dust crystal as I raised a pair of barriers around the collapsed building, making sure Ren, Nora, and my Elementals were inside. How long it would hold up under Tenne's shots, I wasn't sure, but I didn't intend to let him test it, either. Turning in place, I crouched down and prepared to move, though I spared a moment to cast a glance at my arm as I did so.

The skin around the impact continued to darken at the same rate, the sickness inside me accelerated as much as everything else. Even the drain of my powers seemed to have increased to keep up with the change in my personal time, but that wasn't a major concern right this moment. Conquest, though…

It didn't matter, I thought as I quickly mapped out a course in my head. I still had work to do.

The next moment, I was flying through the air, landing firmly upon a platform for a flickering instant and then flashing towards the nearest building. The Tiger loomed around me for a moment before shifting forward such that I could reach out a hand and grasp its back, sliding into place on top of it. As it came down on all fours upon a nearby street, I slide into place astride it, riding it as it leapt forward. I willed my Map to appear with a thought to check my work while a Vorpal Blade flicked into shape around my right arm and I flung it out the moment it appear, sinking it deep into the face of a nearby building to assist a sudden turn around a corner. Power gathered in the Tiger's jaws as we smashed through a doorway, tore across an empty living room and kitchen, and Lunged right out the other side of the building. Slamming into the side of another house we hung low for a beat of my heart and flung ourselves high, high into the air—right into the path of the nearest bullet.

I saw it move to turn, but the Tiger merely bucked under me, sliding me forward enough to make it join its brother in my right hand. Then the Tiger shifted beneath me, rising up through my body to loom behind me, Vorpal Blades forming around its arms and tail whilst I reached up with my left hand. It slide easily through the Tiger's jaws and I grasps the orb of light held between them, sliding control to my physical body as easily as if I were tossing an _actual_ ball from hand to hand. I grasped it tightly, grinding it down until it was just a burning point of light shining through the flesh of my hand—and jerked as the Tiger pulled me along, Vorpal Blades flashing out quickly enough that we seemed to fly a crooked path straight down the center of a street, tail-blade anchoring us as we turned through the streets. Suddenly, both of its arm-blades sank into the upper edge of a nearby roof and reeled us in as quickly as it could, sending us flying up past it and high into the air with a bit of assistance from another Lunge as we flew by the roof. We rose into the air like we'd been shot from a cannon—

And then, just as quickly, we stopped. I made a vertical platform from the air and slammed into it on my hands and knees, the Tiger landing over me. Bouncing back, I made a second platform for my physical body to land on as the Tiger flipped backwards, our hands passed through each other Reaching behind me. Once again, I passed the ball, sliding control of the sphere back to him as he went by, and the Tiger thrust out its hand as he grasped the rim of my platform.

Shadows stretched out below us as a beam of light flashed through the sky at Tenne, wider around then his chest and aimed straight for his eyes. He reacted quickly—so quickly that he must have moved before I even fired—and lifted his arms to protect his face as he moved to the side. The blast barely nicked him as he sidestepped, but I chalked it up as a win anyways as I reached to one side and caught a third bullet. The platform beneath me had vanished the moment it had stopped the Tiger's motion and he pulled me the rest of the way down into his luminous body, tail-blade flickering out to draw us back down to the roof.

My eyes focused on the final bullet and we moved as one. This time, there were no tricks, no cover, nothing—it was pure and simple speed. I Lunged towards the bullet closest to Tenne, striding across the open air with all the speed I could muster, and closed the distance in an instant. Even so, despite the distraction I'd directed at Tenne, it moved in reaction as I drew near, bobbing sharply to the left before flashing right and dropping lowing, aiming to pass _under_ me and out of my reach.

And for a moment, it did, weaving barely a centimeter out of my reach as it accelerated sharply—but I landed on the air and changed direction to follow, speeding up even further to match as I drew on more power. I Lunged again the moment I had the footing to do so, bounding after it, and swept it out of the air.

Then I turned again and set my sights on the bullets source. Less than half a kilometer away now, I had a straight line to him through the open air and I took it, draining a pair of crystals and pouring everything I had into Acceleration, speeding up faster and faster even as my body literally began to glow with the heat of friction. As I closed in, Tenne trained his eyes on _me_ and the bullets he had on hand leapt to respond, flying towards me along over half a dozen different paths, each bright under the clarity of my sight, each aiming to hit me or get by me, each getting faster by the moment. Tenne flicked his wrist, tossing a handful of other bullets into the air for his free eyes to pick and choose from as well, and instantly I saw three of them begin to quiver.

But even as they began to put on speed…this close, the bullets seemed almost slow in comparison.

Without a trace of fear, I dove right into the midst of them.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Approach**

The first seven bullets reached me almost simultaneously, each flying towards me at a different angle. With me this close, Tenne didn't try to get any of them past me, but instead tried to strike at me with all of them at the same time, coordinating the different shots to limit my ability to dodge. Even so, I knew he still wasn't trying to kill me and faced the bullets down without fear for myself.

But just because he wouldn't kill me didn't mean anyone _else_ was safe, so I had to take this seriously. Besides Ren and Nora, there were still plenty of people in this town—people that Tenne may well have been systematically infecting the same way he'd gotten to me. Perhaps even more worryingly, there was the alarming possibility that he might turn those abilities upon my mother why she fought against my dad, stealing her life away in an instant or worse.

Assuming, of course, that he hadn't done so already.

I didn't allow such thoughts to slow me down, though; even with my new speed, I knew better than to underestimate someone like Tenne. Tracing the path of each shot with my eyes confirmed that he'd matched them to me even as I approached and with his eleven eyes on me, I felt sure they'd move in counter to anything I did. The shots _were_ slower, which put him at a disadvantage—but on the other hand, _I_ couldn't allow any of the shots to get by me for fear of the repercussions and he probably knew that. Had I been able to dodge freely, avoiding the shots would have been relatively simple at this range, but instead I needed to face them head on.

The bright side of it all was that I knew my opponent was a skilled Hunter. One of the—rather dubious, admittedly—advantages of fighting people of that level is that you could almost erase the possibility of human error. That is, between the training and his Semblance, I didn't really need to consider the possibility of Tenne missing on his _own_ , because the guy had inhuman accuracy even _before_ Conquest got to him and wasn't going to miss unless I did something to _make_ him miss. Even at speeds like this, I felt pretty confident of that much, at least; I'd caught his first shot thanks to my new Empathy, an ability he'd had no way of knowing I'd possessed, and then caught the next three thanks to a combination of distracting him, running a course that led me to intercepting the bullets, and then changing my speed mid-motion.

All of which meant that while he thankfully wasn't perfect or all-knowing, he _was_ very skilled—and that meant that if he was aiming at something, I knew exactly where it was going to hit. Judging from their directions, a pair of bullets were going to fly towards my knees and another towards my wrists, while the remaining three were each aimed straight for my center of mass, targeting organs within me. That thankfully didn't mean much to _me_ , given the Gamer's Body, though I imagined each of them would probably still qualify as a critical hit if they connected, and he was holding the rest of his bullets in reserve, waiting to tailor the other shots to my reaction. They were still flying towards me, of course, but they were far enough behind that he'd be able to make them bob and weave to match whatever I did, just like he'd be free to do with the other bullets that seemed to hang suspended in the air at the speeds we were moving. He was thinking ahead, planning.

So was I.

I touched the ground and Lunged a step forward, into an apparent opening in the bullet's formation. A moment before I was even moving forward, the bullets curved in midair, rising to match the motion quickly—too quickly, in fact, as I slowed a fraction by adjusting my Acceleration and then sped it back up an instant later. The Tiger hovering around me before leaning its upper body forward as I was parallel to the ground, both hands reaching for the bullets that had been aimed at my knees. Because of my slight deceleration, the bullets meant for my wrists all but fell into my hands instead and the Tiger continued its motion, pulling its spectral form from mine as it continued its forward turn and then crawling over my body to stand upon my back. Its tail flicked out in the midst of the motion, bouncing another bullet away as I drew my hands back towards my chest and then it stood perched upon my back, teeth bared as its hands came together.

A crooked bolt of light leapt from its jaws as it suddenly freed, flashing towards the bullets Tenne held close at hand. The three he'd held in 'reserve' flew out of the way before the attack even fired, but the others…they were Dust rounds and they reacted to my Aura.

Which is to say, they exploded in his face.

Credit where it's due, Tenne had taken a step back a moment before and didn't even blink at the sudden eruption of energy, guiding the other rounds despite the distraction. The two shots near me slammed into my chest with enough force that I felt ribs break beneath my Adamant skin and then bounced away as well, but the Tiger fell back through my body, a hand reaching through my chest. As his claw grasped that pair of bullets, I caught the one his tail had deflected, and then we hit the ground, inhabiting the same space and already running.

Tenne's other hand was rising and it didn't take a genius to guess it held more ammo, but it also didn't take one to know that it was moving too slowly to make it. At this distance, I'd reach him before he finished lifting his hand unless he distracted me—which made his attempt to do so pretty obvious.

The first of the four bullets remaining, flying just ahead of the other three, moved as if aimed for my skull. The Tiger placed his face over mine, but I knew it wasn't aimed for my head, not really—it was a Dust round. A _red_ Dust round.

Centimeters from contact, it exploded in _my_ face, and if not for the face that he must have chosen the bullet before this even began, I'd have thought the choice ironic. The idea, I assumed, was to make me close my eyes.

So I did. It's not like it mattered, after all, when I could see just fine with the Tiger's eyes, so I continued my approach through the cloud of flames and still kept an eye on the other bullets. One went high, one dipped low, and the other spiraled further to the side—and I moved to match without even opening my body's eyes. This time, my physical body leaned out of sync, reaching down to grasp the bullet curving under us while the Tiger reached up and out, grasping the other two. The Tiger continued forward before I rose and I allowed it to pull me into a flip that ended with me standing in front of Tenne as the Tiger leapt to all fours and turned fast enough to carve furrows in the building beneath us. Its tail whipped out as it completed the turn, winding tightly around Tenne's lifting arm and pulling it back down to his side even as the Tiger itself returned to its normal place around me.

As I landed, both sets of my hands came together, Tiger pair over human one, and then again with one of each. Finally, I grasped his right hand with my left, clasped his head between the Tiger's claws, and held my right fist out to the side. Meeting his eyes, I opened it with deliberate slowness, allowing the deformed mass I'd made out of the bullets to fall from my fingers and then explode. Only then did I allow the draining time alteration to finally fade.

Nearly five thousand MP in perhaps two seconds…it didn't matter right now.

"If you try anything," I said calmly and the Tiger tightened its grip slightly. "Your head will look a lot like that before I tear it off."

Tenne watched me for a moment before chuckling slightly, but otherwise held still.

"Well look at you, Jaune," He said. "You've been learning, I see."

I said nothing, holding him pinned. There were still two Hunters unaccounted for and if Conquest followed his pattern…

The Tiger looked around as I stayed focused on our captive. There was a good chance that if Tyrian and Castanea were around, they'd put their plans into the motion as soon as I dropped Tenne—before that happened, I wanted to know where they were and what they were doing. For that, if nothing else, it was worth it to prolong this. Conquest seemed to make allowances to give himself a chance to talk.

"You tried to shoot Nora," I began, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tenne answered. "Because you wanted to save her. Isn't that reason enough?"

I didn't answer. Tenne had chosen a good vantage point, as I'd suspected, and I could see most of the town from up here. Focusing in on the lives I detected, I flickered through my perceptions swiftly. Not there, not there—perhaps on the rooftops? No, nor on the streets. I felt a few people huddled in basements, but…

Where are they?

"Besides which," Tenne continued. "It would have been funny. I mean, imagine; you would have been all 'Well, at least I managed to save these two.' And then _bam_ —no, you didn't. Except you had to go and ruin that plan, huh?"

"Yes," I muttered, frowning slightly. I changed tracks, looking for major signs of Aura, anything that stood out, but still didn't find anything major. That…made me nervous. "And you infected me, instead."

I cast a brief glance down at myself as I spoke. Through the utter ruin of what had once been my clothes, it was easy to watch the spread of the disease up the length of both my arms and from the two impacts on my chest. Already, half of my right arm had turned black and my left hand had nearly followed suit, and the expanding circles on my chest had already connected with one another and were working their way up my neck. Soon, we'd see if my brain could hold up.

It was just as well that I find out now, I suppose. If I couldn't, I doubted I'd be able to even _fight_ my father. Even my mother was probably…

"I didn't intend to infect you," Tenne mused after a moment and though his eyes didn't seem to move, I figured he was looking me over. "But it's interesting; the infection's spreading rather quickly. Or…oh, I see. Temporal adjustment, was it? It spread faster because it had more time than I thought. Interesting."

I didn't answer but he continued to look me over before humming.

"Yes, that explains quite a bit. It's been a long time since I've seen such a thing, but…four times as fast? Or did you reach five? Quite interesting, either way; I hadn't expected such a thing, but…well, no wonder I'm so interested in you."

I couldn't find them. As far as I could tell, Tyrian and Castanea were just…gone. Had they already escaped to carry the infection elsewhere? Had they hidden themselves somehow? Either way, I needed to find them. Perhaps Ozpin would know? I'd ask him next, but…should I ask Tenne? Or would that give something away? Not that I was dumb enough to believe he'd give me a straight answer, but…no.

Instead, the Tiger shifted his grip on Tenne's head, dragging a thumb down through five of his eyes. Conquest let out a hissing grown as his eyes burst and wept blood, jerking in my grasp, but I held him still and watched.

"Blinding me, huh?" He said after a moment, voice tense. "I know what you're thinking—that you might be able to get out of this by disabling me and tying me up. But you know better, Jaune; you know there's only one way this can go."

His ruined eyes seemed to pulse as if filled with maggots, the blood streaming from them darkening to black until new matter seemed to flow into the sockets to replace what was gone. After perhaps five seconds, the eyes were back.

"I grew these eyes in the first place," He snorted. "You think I can't _regrow_ them? You're not getting out of this, kid—because you don't have the time, because you don't have a clue, and, most of all, because I won't let you. And even if you could do it, I'd kill them myself before I let you save them—this body, this village, and everyone you love."

I knew what he was implying and knew it was bait. A part of me wanted to rise up and deny his words, tell him he was wrong and that I'd find away—but most of me just didn't see any point in arguing with this smug asshole.

"Oh?" I asked instead. "Why?"

"Because I can," He shrugged, seeming unworried about the hands on him. "That's why I generally ruin people's lives—because I find I can."

I was still certain there was more to it than that, at least in regards to this, and just as certain he wouldn't tell me, the asshole. I wasn't even sure if this particular body _knew_ why _,_ but…

"I see," I said aloud, sighing. "Well, I'm pretty sure that this conversation has stopped being productive. I am sorry, Tenne. You were a brave Hunter and you served the people of Remnant well. You will be missed. Goodbye."

That said, I crushed his head between the Tiger's hands and tore it off, just to be sure. Then I drew my scroll from where I'd been forced to quickly stash it in my Inventory and lifted it to my face.

"You still there, Ozpin?" I asked. "Had to put you in my Inventory."

"Ah, is that what happened?" Ozpin said after a moment. "I…didn't quite lose you, but things were rather odd."

"Not sure how much of that you caught, then, but Keppel, Carmine, and Tenne are dead," I said. "However, I cannot find Tyrian and Castanea anywhere and I have been infected. I appear to have a moment so I'm going to relay everything I learn about the infection as it progresses, but I still need to find those two. Any ideas?"

Ozpin was silent for a moment before replying.

"I'm forced to wonder if you phrased it that way on purpose, just to get to me," He mused.

"It's possible." I answered, shrugging a shoulder as I glanced around. Rolling a wrist, I checked to see if Levant had done what I asked of her and then summoned on of her bodies to hold the scroll. Stepping back so Ozpin could see me, I cast a glance down at myself.

I didn't usually pay attention to what I wore and cared even less under the circumstances, but it was hard not to notice the present state of my wardrobe. My shirt was shredded, even beneath my Aura, with large chunks of it having broken off in the face of extreme cold and everything else having been chopped into neat strips that had either fallen off or now fell to my waist. What little had survived my fights with Keppel and Carmine—and my mother's attempts to save me before that—had burnt up at the speeds I'd needed to move. I didn't so much take it off as I slid about a fifth of a sleeve down my wrist and burnt it absently. There wasn't enough left of what had once been my breastplate to even mention it; I'd probably left the scraps behind somewhere.

Glancing down, my pants weren't in much better shape. What had once been jeans didn't even qualify as hot pants now and sure as hell didn't cover anything of value, so I finished burning the already scorched remains and slid down to take off my ruined shoes. Between the battle and my speed…well, they were goners; even the 'Left' and 'Right' I'd written on the bottoms were gone. Hell, the bottom of my left shoe wasn't even present to _begin_ with. I discarded and burned them just in case before sitting down before Ozpin. Before speaking, I cast a glance up at the Tiger who'd finished looking around carefully while I'd brushed off the spider webs of my former clothing.

I didn't see anything around me which…well, the fact that I didn't see anything didn't _necessarily_ mean nothing was there, but it came pretty damn close. I allowed the Tiger to fade momentarily so I could regain my power and focused on Ozpin, holding myself such that he could see the spread of the disease.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

"So," I said. "I suppose we should get the obvious out of the way. Anything I say after this point will need to be confirmed again later. Assuming I retain control of myself, I should be able to sleep and brush all of this off. If not…I don't know. I might stop talking. I might start lying. I might just turn off my scroll. Either way, if it comes to that, you're going to need to put me down fast and hard as soon as you can because…honestly, I don't know what'll happen. But I just reached a whole new level of speed Ozpin. If I fall, I don't know how long it'll take me to reach the nearest town. Not very, though; I'll probably get there before your men get _here_. You're going to have to somehow figure out a way to stop me quickly if that happens, because if Conquest knows as much as I think and he takes me over, I can only imagine what type of skills I'll develop soon."

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"I'm sure you have something stashed away for emergencies," I continued. "Not to sound arrogant, but you might want to get them prepped. Note that everything I say from this point one should be taken with a grain of salt because you won't be able to trust me until this is over, even if I seem to be myself. Just…keep that in mind, okay?"

"I understand," He nodded quietly. "I've already noted the timestamp. If you don't make it back, we'll be careful with this information, for your sisters' sake if nothing else, but I'll…well, we both know. First things first, though; how do you feel?"

I considered that for a moment and dismissed the obvious answers before replying.

"Emotionally, I'm as calm as ever," I said. "I noted that the infection seemed to cause changes in the mental state of its hosts, but if so, that has not affected me thus far—it's probable I'm immune to that aspect, at least, though it may require the infection to progress further. Physically, I've noticed several differences in infected areas. First of all, they seem warmer compared to other parts of my body; I cannot confirm it at this time, but I believe my body temperature has increased by as much as five to ten degrees in those areas."

As the infection reached the shoulder of my right arm, I lifted it and flexed my fingers.

"It's strange and hard to describe, but it feels different, as well," I continued, keeping my voice calm, scientific. "I'm not sure I have the words to properly explain, but I'd say my body responds better. I suspect that the nerve cells in the changed areas have been modified to use something besides conventional nerve impulses. It's entirely conjecture, but it may be something closer to—or even be—actual electricity running through those cells. Still, it feels off at the moment and I suspect it is because my brain itself has not been changed yet; the infected cells may need to convert my biological impulses into whatever the afflicted areas use. I will test how that changes in a moment."

I banged my arm against the ground to test the response and frowned.

"Once again, I cannot be certain of the specifics, but my flesh has definitely changed," I drew Crocea Mors from my Inventory and tested the edge against my skin. "It's hard to say because, as I told you before, my skin is normally Adamant. It has definitely gotten harder but how this compares to the normal reaction, I cannot say. I do note that the current appearance and texture of my skin is very similar in many ways to that of the Grimm and may in fact be the same material. From this point, I will once again voicing my suspicions; I believe that Conquest is reprogramming my Aura to make it act on at least a molecular, and possibly an _atomic_ , level to either make my body more in line with that of the Grimm or simply make it more viable for combat purposes. In either case, I feel the need to note that the results appear to be similar to that of hypothesized and fictional micro- and nanobots. Given what I told you about the Goliath's tar, it may require looking into."

"Evil, magical, sapient nanobots," Ozpin sighed. "God."

I proceeded as if he'd said nothing as the black spots on my arm reached those on my chest, joining them in their progress up my neck.

"I cannot presently test whether this material is carbon-based, although it may well be. I also cannot test at this time whether it functions through biological, mechanical, or through some unknown means, but I can confirm that it does seem to function even though only part of my body is infected," I noted, continuing to test my arm. "Whatever the nature of the infection is, it seems safe to assume it is designed to keep the host alive and relatively well, at least during this stage of infection. Moving onto muscle fibers, beyond the change in strength and durability, I mainly note that I seem to be able to hold my sword almost perfectly still and that I do not currently feel fatigued in the affect areas. Now please hold while the infection reaches my brain."

I fell silent for a moment, taking slow, steady breathes as I waited to see if I'd lose control of my own body, be trapped as a prisoner in my own flesh, and used as a weapon to kill innocent people.

"Jaune," I heard Ozpin say and we both knew they might be the last words I ever heard as myself. "I'm sad to say that I can't make you any promises that this will be okay, but I do wish to thank you for all the work you've done thus far. The information you've gathered here today has been invaluable, as has your service this far. I want you to know that you have done very well."

As possible sendoffs went, I'd heard better in the games I'd played, but I suppose I'd take what I could get.

A moment later, I felt heat reach my brain and closed my eyes. In that first moment, it felt like someone had strum a chord, but the chord was inside my head and it just went on and on. Then I felt something that was not _painful_ , per se, because I knew the brain had no pain receptors. But it did feel fairly unusual, like my brain was pulsating in my skull and…shifting. I felt my ears twitch and pop as they altered, felt pressure behind my eyes, and there was something akin to my spinal cord wiggling—and there was something almost like a click that made me open my eyes. The world had sharpened and even now continued to change as I felt that heat continue to spread through my head and body, steadily intensifying.

But more than that, I remained completely aware of myself. I twitched a finger once to test it, then a toe, and then I exhaled. At least for the moment, I thought I was myself and felt honestly relieved.

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [Intermediate].'**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By achieving a state closer to the creatures of Grimm, the skill 'Monstrosity' has been created.**

Since no one was trying to kill me at this moment, I actually took the time to check the status effect, though I put the skill aside for the moment; I'd check it and the others soon enough.

 **On A White Horse He Rides [Intermediate]  
Target has been infected by a Pandora Shell and contracted the physical and spiritual malady held within. At the Intermediate level, the disease has seized and altered major areas. Physical and mental changes will continue as the disease progresses.**

Uninformative as expected, but…at least I tried.

"Thank you, sir," I said at last. I didn't say I was myself, because he couldn't confirm that, so instead I got back to work. "I believe the infection has reached my brain and that physiological changes are in progress. Areas of note seem to be my brain itself, but also my eyes, ears, and spinal cord. Changes to my eyes seem to be in progress or perhaps simply minor relative to the changes caused my Clairvoyance. What color are my eyes right now?"

"Blue," Ozpin answered, watching me carefully.

"Then they will continue to change; I will report any differences. I seem to be able to hear something, as well, but cannot make it out yet. I believe the changes to my brain and spinal cord may relate to the nerve issue I mentioned before, but I will test that now."

I lifted my arms again and flexed them carefully, gauging the speed of the reaction, remembering the odd sensation from before, but…nothing.

"Confirmed; the sensation has faded and reactions seem smoother," I nodded. "I have not yet noticed any other changes I believe are a result of the alterations to my brain, but will keep you briefed. How do you wish to play this one, sir?"

Ozpin was silent for a moment. I knew that he'd put off the issue of the missing Hunters until after the infection had mostly run its course and why he hesitated to mention them now—I was compromised and their status was still unconfirmed.

"I suspect I know what has become of Tyrian and Castanea," He said at last. "Whether they are infected or not, I do not believe it is an immediate concern and I will notify the team I'm sending on how to address the matter. Please trust me and continue as if the matter has been dealt with."

"Yes, sir," I nodded once.

"How long will it take you to regain your energy?" He asked.

"I can be completely restored in one minute and quite a bit less if needed," I answered confidently, noting the rate at which my MP was returning. A result of the infection or of my new skills?  
He considered that.

"Can you find a vantage point from which to observe your mother's fight?" He asked.

"Yes," I rose, brushing some dust from my now black skin. I knew without asking that what happened next would depend on what I saw. If she was doing well, I'd have time to continue observing Conquest progression through my body and to prepare. If not…

But if not, it was likely things would end very, very badly and I'd have to prepare myself for that, too.

"But before that, give me a moment, sir," I said, turning slightly. "I need to pick up a few things—I suspect the others may have dropped a few things and I need all the help I can get."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Last Minute**

Beside what remained of Tenne's body was a book titled Longshot and a belt named Orion. The belt had an odd design that left me unsure whether it was intended to be worn over the shoulder as if for a quiver or through one's pants—either way, the belt was obviously designed to holster weaponry. That was made especially obvious by its effect, which allowed one to create mundane ammunition for a low MP cost and lowered the costs of ranged attacks somewhat. Even if I didn't have a lot use for the first power, I wasn't one to complain about cost reductions, so I bound it over a shoulder and then devoured the book.

 **Longshot (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 10  
An ability to attack from great distances. Triple the reach of a single ranged attack with no reduction in accuracy.**

Interesting, I thought, if not the most amazing drop I've ever gotten. I could appreciate an increase in range, though—a pretty basic rule of combat was that if you could hit your enemy and he couldn't hit you back, you win by default. Whether its because of speed, range, whatever, that was still true, so I thought the ability was fairly good, especially at level one. Between the fact that it was multiplicative and its synergy with my new belt, I figured it would probably come in handy soon.

Returning to where I'd left Ren and Nora, I was glad to see that both of them were gone, swept down into the tunnels beneath us by Onyx. With any luck, they'd be safe down there. I'd sent my Elementals back into the village to try and save whoever else they could, but considering that I was currently infected myself, I couldn't risk getting near anyone—even ignoring the fact that they might well run screaming if they saw me. Still, though I could fell Levant still at work, keeping people safe and alive, Onyx would need me to confirm if people were safe to draw down. I'd try to find a place high enough to see the whole village and clear the living, but I knew that before too long, the only people above ground would be the infected and the dead.

Speaking of which, I looked around at the now empty part of town and quickly found what I was looking for. Beside the corpses of the married Hunters, I found a pair of books with a ring laying atop of each, but Lei Hui didn't seem to have left me anything—probably because I'd played only a minor role in his defeat. Even so, learning even a small part of Xuan Wu's lost art before going into battle would have been a comfort—and depending on how much Hui had managed to pass on before his death, the style might be lost forever now.

But I suppose it couldn't be helped, so I collected the items as swiftly as I could and then darted up to the rooftops to head back the way I'd first came.

 **You have obtained the item 'Hero.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Leander.'**

 **You obtained the skill book 'Burning Blade.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **You obtained the skill book 'Deposition.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

I consumed both skill books without a second thought and glanced at rings as the profiles appeared. They were a matching pair or wedding bands, inscribed with delicate looking crystals in an intricate design I didn't recognize. The crystals were set into the gold of the rings such that they felt almost smooth when I brushed my thumb over them and the rings were identical but for the colors of the crystals—red for Hero, blue for Leander. I considered them for a moment before sliding a band onto each of my ring fingers.

To be honest, I wasn't super excited to be wearing wedding bands dropped by a couple I'd killed, but I that, however I felt, it was the right thing to do. Conquest was responsible for this and it was because of him that I'd been forced to kill Keppel and Carmine, so I'd consider these rings their ways of helping me get back at him. Hero increased my Fire Affinity by twenty and Leander did the same for Water; I wasn't sure how much it would amount to just yet, but every bit helped.

As I came to a stop, I glanced over the profiles of my new skills and read each in the blink of an eye.

 **Burning Blade (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 50  
The ability to convert ones Aura into flames and enshroud ones weapons with it, this skill is only possible for those with an Affinity for Fire or through the use of Dust. The damage and heat of the flames increases with one's Intelligence, Fire Affinity, and the skill level. Warning: While this ability may also be used to enhance armor or other items, it does not confer any immunity to the flames created.  
Additional 50 MP used per minute.**

 **Deposition (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 350  
The ability to freeze an area by drastically lowering the ambient temperature, this skill is only possible for those with an Affinity for Ice or through the use of Dust. The drop in temperature is such that certain gases can be instantaneously solidified and increases with one's Intelligence, Ice Affinity, and skill level.  
Range: 50 meters  
Area of Effect: A 5 meter radius centered on a targeted point.  
Warning: The user is not immune to this ability if caught within the Area of Effect.**

I took a deep breath and dismissed both windows before setting my sights on what I'd left behind. I was still far from my parent's fight, seven buildings back from the growing circle of destruction they had reduced the neighborhood to. I was nearly a hundred meters away from my father and about a hundred and fifteen from my mother—still, it was as close as I was willing to get if I was limiting myself to observation; it's not like being this far mattered much when it came to _my_ eyes.

But I couldn't say I liked what I saw. My mother was in nearly as bad a state of undress as I was, but the skin that should have been showing was mostly burnt away, along with most of her hair. Between that and her ragged appearance, she looked almost skeletal, as if she'd been starved before tossed in a fire, and she was bleeding badly as well—or, at least, she had lost enough blood to stain much of her shredded clothing red. Looking at her, though, I didn't see any open wounds, just burnt flesh, which was a bit surprising because while my father was as skilled with heat-related bombs as any other kind, pretty much all of her injuries appeared to be in the form of burns.

Sadly, it wasn't very hard to realize why. My father hadn't inflicted those wounds; my mother had burnt _herself_. In a fight between near equals, it went without saying that both sides would get their hits in—but the thing was, any hit from Conquest had the potential to be lethal in every way that matters. Even a glancing blow could spread his sickness and grow to consume a person utterly and the only ways to avoid that were to either avoid being hit at all or…to deal with the infected areas. Onyx had torn off a leg to avoid the infection for instance, and then wisely hide himself underground.

My mother hadn't hidden or run, but it was obvious she _had_ been hit. But in order to keep fighting, she'd cleansed the areas—and given both my own experience with killing Conquest and the general horror of the burns, I was guessing she had used plasma to do so.

Looking at her, I was reminded again that my mother was an amazing. While cauterizing a wound to clean it was something that came up fairly regularly in movies, but doing something like that in reality was a last resort—and the type of thing that generally laid you out in a hospital bed for at least a little while. Using that as a way to fight Conquest and continuing despite her injuries…even with her Aura healing her, the fact that she was still fighting with injuries like that was amazing; that she was still fighting despite who knows how much emotional pain, even more so. I'd known it since I was young, but my mother was extraordinary.

She was also, I couldn't help but note, going to die soon. Fighting despite horrible wounds was amazing from an emotional standpoint, but also a pretty horrible idea. The healer in me clinically noted the reasons—blood loss, risk of infection, the damage to tissue, the sheer pain, on and on—the fact of the matter boiled down to this; getting hurt was a big deal to people who weren't me. She was badly wounded and, even beyond the myriad of long-term consequences normally associated with that, those injuries would weigh her down in a battle. Against an opponent like Conquest where she was forced to resort to sure tactics every time he so much as touched her…well, it was obvious, wasn't it? Each time she was hit, she had to hit herself even harder to survive, so unless she could dish out several times what she was receiving, it was really only a matter of time until she lost. As it was, her body was probably going to fail her soon.

Its fine, I thought; I can just heal her. I nearly took a step forward to rush to her side before forcing myself to stop. I wanted to—I really, really wanted to. But wanting something really badly didn't make it smart and rushing into a situation blindly when I had a chance to observe was as far from smart as I could get. So long as she was alive, I could heal my mother, and she wasn't dead yet. She could keep fighting for a while longer; I knew that logically and believed it in my heart. If I really wanted to help her, I had to do so with intelligence and wisdom.

With that thought in mind, I held myself back and did something I really, really didn't want to do—I took a breath and turned to look at my father.

 **Those Who Hunt Monsters  
LV94  
?**

Where my mother looked like she was about to die, Conquest looked mighty and victorious. The clothes my father had worn had long since been torn away, replaced by heavy layers of the bacterial Grimm's customary white armor. In places, there were signs that he'd been in a struggle—patches of scorched and dirtied armor, bits that were partially melted—but on the whole he looked clean compared to her, as if the entire fight had amounted to dirtying his new suit, probably because of Conquest's regeneration. He was taller now, too; perhaps two and a half meters and he looked big for that size, broad-shouldered in his armor. Standing before him with her body and Aura stretched to the limit, my tall mother looked like a tiny slip of a girl, and he looked down at her in a way that seemed to convey amusement.

I barely recognized him now. Conquest had finished his work on my father's body, completing mask. It surrounded his head like a helm, the top arranged like a crown, and there was an almost decorative quality to shape of it, from the sharp angles of his face to the smirking row of boney teeth. His eyes were solid red now and the lines of his mask gave him a perpetual look of smug anticipation.

Or maybe that was just the artist shining through.

For a moment, I couldn't help but wonder if how different he looked would make it easier or harder to fight him. On one hand, he looked nothing like my father—but on the end, that fact was a constant reminder of what had been done to him. Looking back at my mother, I wonder how she felt, but saw nothing but steel in her eyes, masking even the pain she must have felt.

"Ozpin," I said a moment after my landing. "I'm in position. Conquest has finished mutating my father. My mother is alive and uninfected, but seems to be at her limits; she's badly hurt and I can't be sure how much longer she'll survive."

"Can you make an educated guess?" He asked, expression tight but otherwise calm.

"A minute or two, maybe," I answered after a moment thought. "Everything I know about him says that Conquest will try to hurt her emotionally, but his main interest is still me. He'll want to infect her to wield her against me and kill her if he can't; he might cut the games short for her, because of that. He doesn't have any way of knowing that I managed to take down the others as quickly as I did, though, so I may have a little bit of time."

"Then use it," The headmaster said. "Jaune, I know how hard that must be for you, to stand back and watch and consider while your family is in pain, but this may be your only chance to take him by surprise. For your mother and father's sake as much as anyone else's, make the most of it."

I felt a flash of irritation at the words, as if I didn't already know that and was standing around while my mother was dying because I was a complete idiot—but that irritation faded in a moment and I could acknowledge where Ozpin was coming from, given his own situation. I respected Ozpin as well as his advice, so I simply nodded.

"Do you have any suggestions, sir?" I asked. "Against my father?"

He was silent for a moment and at this point, even that felt like forever.

"Your father didn't make it this far by having many weaknesses," He answered. "What little he did possess, I suspect Conquest will have endeavored to cover. I suspect you will have the speed advantage, but Jack's skill with bombs enables him to creative a variety of effects, including spaces of slowed time. Generally, if there is a type of Dust, Jack could find some way to weaponized it and with the knowledge Conquest claims to have…I don't have enough information to say what he may or may not be capable of."

Nothing, I translated. He had no idea how to deal with this mess.

"In the worst case scenario, it may be possible for you to hold him off long enough to allow for reinforcements to arrive," Ozpin offered, apparently realizing that as well. "But even if they get there at top speed, it may take quite some time from your perspective. I'm sorry, Jaune."

Long enough that this would probably be over by the time they got here, one way or the other. We were on our own.

Okay, I thought, kneeling in place. With a gesture, I brought up the list of my abilities and windows appeared one after another. Whatever I did, I had to make my first move count and that meant making the most of everything I had—and what I knew. That applied to my own abilities, of course, but also Conquest; know thy enemy and all that.

I took a breath and closed my eyes, thinking of the fights that came before. I'd left this place to find a way to defeat Conquest and save my father—and I returned empty handed, but for what I'd taken from the corpses of people I couldn't save. Keppel, Carmine, Hui, Tenne…would my father join them.

This was my last chance to find a way to avoid that. I had time—time my mother was buying in blood—and that was the only thing worth spending it on.

"Jaune?" Ozpin asked when I put my fingers together, as if in prayer. "What are you doing?"

"We don't have much time left," I said. "So we better find out what happens now."

And then I healed myself.

Armor burst from my blackened skin, sprouting from my flesh in ripples out from the touch of my hands. I observed with calm, open eyes as it appeared, watching as closely as I was able. I could feel myself changing, both above and below the skin, and I knew that if I was ever going to find what I was looking for, it would be now.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By achieving a state near the creatures of Grimm, the skill 'Metamorphosis' has been created.**

I dismissed the window as soon as it appeared, making a mental note to look at it in a moment. What was happening before my eyes was far more important—beneath my careful gaze, with my Clairvoyance focused to its limit, the white bone of the Grimm armor just seemed to… _appear_. On the macro-scale, it looked like it was growing rapidly across my skin and in a way that was true, but I'd confirmed my previous thoughts on where this matter seemed to come from.

Absolutely nowhere. It didn't grow organically, it just appeared out of thin air. I looked close enough to watch the cells work, but though they seemed to organize themselves such as to prepare for it, neither they nor my body were the source. I was watching the laws of physics shatter—bearing witness to the creation of matter and energy.

Of course, this wasn't something new, not really; I'd seen all this before, if not from this perspective. My power created things with the loot it left behind and when I used blue Dust crystals, it seemed to form water. Even beyond that, there were uses of Aura that seemed to violate several natural 'laws'—any Semblance that created ice seemed, at least at first glance, to break the laws of thermodynamics, after all. We just took that for granted, that the power of our souls was above the rules of the physical world—and maybe that was true. But seeing the Grimm do the same thing…

I'd accepted this before, maybe even dismissed it. Now, I couldn't afford to—it was all I had.

"Continuing from where we left off, I will be reporting my findings now," I drew Ozpin's attention. "Careful observation of the bacterial Grimm in action shows that they are making use of matter they could not possibly have access to—though I cannot be certain of by how much, the mass of my body is currently increasing. This would imply that they are able to create matter, but I have my doubts."

"Oh?" Ozpin asked, sounding surprised.

"There are only three explanations for what I am currently seeing," I said. "That it's exactly what it appears to be and they _are_ creating matter, that my observations are in error, or that our understanding of the laws of physics are in error. However it may seem, though, I believe that it cannot be the former. If they _were_ creating matter, the energy required would be absurd. Creating even a gram of matter requires enough energy to level a city—and creating this armor requires the production of many _kilograms_ worth of matter. That's…what was it? Nine times ten to the sixteenth power joules per kilogram, if I remember correctly; that's ninety _quadrillion_ joules per kilogram and I'd be _shocked_ if my dad wasn't at least a hundred kilograms heavier now, to say nothing of all the other infected. Put all that together and we're talking about enough power to wipe out life on Remnant as an _afterthought_ here; it's absurd, both in the theoretical energy required and the apparent use."

I checked my math quickly and then took a breath, nodding to myself as I grew more sure.

"If Conquest and the Grimm could wield this much energy with such efficiency that the matter created just seems to appear, there must be a trillion better ways to spend that energy then like _this_. Whatever he wants, he'd have to be mind-bogglingly stupid to go about it that way and monster though he is, I don't think he's an idiot. I also don't think he's _God_ , which is what he'd pretty much need to be to throw around power this effortlessly; even if the Grimm are holding back or being _held_ back, them having that much power doesn't make _sense_. So I'm going to assume that's _not_ what's going on here. They are not creating matter—or if they are, they aren't doing it that way."

"But Jaune," Ozpin replied. "While I'll agree that the Grimm being capable of wielding that much power is…unlikely, at best, not only the Grimm are capable of such things. I have seen Hunters that were capable of creating weapons from thin air, rearranging matter, even a few that were capable of creating _life_. We've long known of Aura's strange properties; you yourself said your Semblance had created things from nothing. Perhaps Conquest is simply drawing upon our power to do such things, turning our Aura against us like you said—"

He stopped as I nodded and then shook my head.

"We don't know how Aura works," I agreed to a point. "Not really. It's a strange power from which we pretty much draw unrepeatable miracles. It does strange things that we can't explain so a lot of the time we just shrug our shoulders and say 'It's Aura.' Even I do that, I admit it. But there's more to it than that, I _know_ it."

I watched as the armor crawled up my arms, my hands long since turned to claws. Beneath my clear sight, the same thing repeated over and over again, just as impossible to explain every time.

"That it's our understanding of physics in error is a common explanation for what Aura does," I continued. "But it's also not very helpful. It boils down to 'It's magic; it can do whatever it wants.' But it _can't_ , can it? Using Aura and Semblances tire people out over time and neither we nor Conquest can wave our hands and just rearrange the world. We can only draw upon finite amounts of power and there are limits—and if there are _limits_ , then there are _rules_. The fact that we may not know what they are doesn't change the fact that they're there. We've already talked about Babel and what it was capable of, but I don't think there was anything that made them unique; I just think they understood more than we do now. But while Remnant may have lost the knowledge, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist or that it can't be found again."

"And you intend to find it now?" Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow. "In the next minute?"

Put that way, it sounded ridiculous. People had been researching Aura for years, but we were no closer to truly understanding it. I was smart, I knew that, but because I was smart, I knew my limits. I wasn't going to do in a minute what countless scientists failed to do in lifetimes. It was impossible.

But I looked at my mother and father and decided to try anyway.

Ozpin must have seen something on my face because he pursed his lips and nodded.

"There are theories," He put forth hesitantly. "Nothing ever truly confirmed, but of course we've wondered. It's generally believed that Aura functions on a…a different level of existence. That it's something higher dimensional acting upon our world, reaching beyond normal limits. An analogy I've heard was that it could be like a person acting on picture of something, folding it to make points touch that could not in two dimensions. There are many interpretations of this in regards to the effects created—telekinesis being a common example. What might seem like telekinesis is simply something greater acting upon multiple points, though we don't know the means. Several trains of thought thus believe that our perceptions of the world are limited by our minds or bodies; that we can see only what we are capable of understanding."

I shook my head.

"'We know nothing and have no way of truly knowing anything because everything we know is probably wrong' is _not helpful_ , even if it _is_ possible that it's true, so for the time being, I'm going to continue operate under the assumption that we _aren't_ complete idiots and that our science and theories have at least some grain of truth. It's obvious that our souls can do so impressive stuff, but they're finite if renewable, so I'm going to continue to assume that matter cannot be created or destroyed—so what the hell am I looking at?" I cracked my neck and grit my teeth for a moment before looking up. "Matter cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be _changed_ and it can be moved from place to place. Could that be it? When I use Dust…"

I stopped for a moment to contemplate that thought, refine it, and then continue.

"When I use Dust," I said more confidently. "I can do some amazing things—I can control gravity in a wide area seemingly effortlessly, draw upon tremendous amounts of power, even create water and stone. But I do that by draw on the Dust and the power within it. I'm not gonna lie and say I know how it works, but the Dust itself fuels all of that. We've called it Nature's Wrath since forever; maybe it actually draws upon existing sources in nature. There's enough energy on Remnant to do anything Dust does and while I've never tested any of the water I produced, but it could be taken from the oceans, rivers, something. Gravity, time, I don't know how changing those would work, but it could be rearranging existing forces. Focusing the gravity across some area upon me, maybe and…something similar with time."

"It's possible," Ozpin said, seeming to consider it. "But it's only conjecture without more to support it. Do you have anything else?"

"My power," I replied. "That's the answer. The things it creates—my loot drops, the skill books, all of that—they aren't just made from nothing. That book I told you about, it was written in Babel. And the other stuff, their text implied that these were things that existed. And the _money_. I can spend it and not be accused of counterfeiting. Because it's _not_ counterfeit. But where does it come from, then? Because it must be drawn from _something_. Maybe it's stealing those things, like the money, but that doesn't explain Naraka…or perhaps it's something dimensional, like with the Many Worlds theory. Maybe my power even accesses some…some _store_ of knowledge and copies it down, translating it for me in the form of books or even skills. I don't know, but Naraka implies that it wasn't _created_. Conquest _confirmed_ it; it was a real technique. I just have to—"

I cut myself off, right arm spasming. The Grimm armor had grown over it in smooth, flowing plates until it reached my shoulder, at which point I felt a spike of pain go through it, up my neck, and then stab into my brain. My fingers trembled and then clenched tight and I looked down—

A pair of eyes stared back, solid, gleaming red. A mask covered my shoulder like a pauldron and after a moment of disorientation I found myself looking at…myself. As the eyes seemed to connect to my brain, I found myself staring into my own eyes. It didn't seem to inhibit the use of my right arm, but…

"Jaune?" Ozpin asked.

"A pair of eyes have grown into place on my right shoulder," I answered calmly after a moment, getting back to work. Another set of eyes wasn't a big deal. "It's nothing to worry about. The eyes seem fully functional and under my control, as does the arm. It is possible that it connect to my brain through the modifications to my nervous system. There do not yet appear to be consequences because of it. As I was saying, my Semblance seems to draw from things, rather than create them whole sale—perhaps even the items it creates are real or once were. It's still conjecture, but it makes _sense. If we could test it…but we can't right now. Still, it makes more sense than the alternative. Dust, Semblances, the Grimm, they draw matter and energy from somewhere, it's just a matter of figuring out where_."

I didn't mean to put the stress on those final words, but another current ran up my neck and left my lightheaded. Before I even got the chance to look at it, another set of eyes seemed to open and left me looking at the world from three different angles. I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to ease the strange sensation, but in moments my head began to pound hard enough that I thought my skull might break, sending the world white. When it eased, so did the odd feeling and soon the eyes felt bizarrely natural. I didn't have any problem focusing through them or looking at different spots with each, nor was it hard to channel my Clairvoyance through them.

Taking a deep breath as I rubbed my neck, I looked down with my normal eyes and saw the armor begin spreading over my chest as well, growing faster now. As it did, the armor seemed to flow, like a river over me and I felt other rushes of sensation.

"Then…" Ozpin said, watching me carefully. "If we could figure out _how_ …"

"We might be able to interfere with the process in some way," I continued, forcing my voice to remain steady as I felt things moving inside my ribcage, bones flexing and shifting aside. I paused for a moment as I lost my breath, lung expanding against bone and then contracting without me inhaling. After a moment, it stopped, but then I felt a shock that made my heart skip a few beats. The armor continued to flow down my abdomen, picking up speed as it went like a waterfall of liquid bone. Then eyes began to bubble to the surface, a pair forming right below my ribs and hints of another mask expressing itself around it. I didn't even have a chance to take a breath when another shock raced up my spine as eyes opened behind me. Already, my arms and chest were covered by the armor and it was creeping down my legs and up my neck.

I realized belatedly that I was panting hard and glanced up to meet Ozpin's worried gaze.

"Sorry, just…" I slowed my breathing and wiped my face carefully with my claws. "Growing pains, you know?"

"I can't say I do, Jaune," He replied. "Are you…"

"I'm fine," I answered. "The point is, if I'm right, I might be able to interfere with Conquest's growth and from there…maybe even stop or reverse it. And it might even tell us more about the Grimm themselves or even Aura. If I can just figure out how…"

"It's a good idea, Jaune," He said at last. "But do you have any way of proving it? Testing it, even? You have some of the best eyes I've ever seen—do you see anything like this when you look at Conquest."

"No," It was hard to say and not just for the changes Conquest was wrecking on my neck and throat. For the first time in years, I heard my voice crack and I had a coughing fit before continuing—and when I did, there was something almost like a growl to the words as my voice continued to shift. "I can't see it. It's just conjecture, I know—a hypothesis at best, but it's what I have. It's all I have."

"Can you…" Ozpin hesitated before shaking his head. "If you're right, do you any idea on _how_ interfere with it."

"No," I said again, wiping sweat from my forehead. At a guess, my temperature was at least a hundred and ten degrees. "I know, it's like I gathered all the ifs in the universe for this, wasn't it? I left my father behind to try and find a way to save him and I return with this. But I have to…I have to try, Ozpin. He's my _father_."

Ozpin was silent for a moment and I felt my cheek twitch as a mask began forming around the edges, the world darkening as it shut me in completely—at least, for that set of eyes.

"I know," He replied at last, the worry on his face remaining. "But Jaune, don't forget, Jack…he's your father, but you're his son. He would want you to—"

"Yes," I said, mouth fully covered. I barely recognized my own voice. "I'll stay safe and look after myself and I'll save mom and everyone else I can, because I'm my father's son. But I'll set him free, too."

I closed my eyes as the mask finished sealing me in.

"One way or another."

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [High].'**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By fully assuming the form of a creature of Grimm, the skill 'The White Rider' has been created.**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Opening Shot**

In moments, my eyelids dissolved and I saw once more. For a startling moment, I couldn't breathe, but something shifted in my chest again and inhaled deeply. I held the breath for a moment and felt my lungs shift and pulse oddly, but stranger than that was the fact that I didn't feel any need to take another. I felt something shift in the confines of my chest and just…lost interest in my former pattern of breathing.

I rose to my feet and nearly stumbled, my bones seeming to vanish—or perhaps _soften_ , it was hard to define. I caught myself quickly, muscles hardening to provide structure as bones twisted and turned, elongating inside me. Now that I was fully covered by the armor of the Grimm, the disease seemed to go to work on my insides, changing me down to the literal bone. I felt a feeling like butterflies in my stomach as it shifted, felt my heart growing larger and beating so fast that my pulse seemed to blend into itself in my ears, and even my brain began to turn again.

But even here and now, I felt like myself. If there were changes, I didn't see them—though perhaps that in itself was something to worry about—and as bizarre as my body was becoming, it still felt like my own. I twitched my fingers and clenched them into fists and looked around me.

The first thing I noticed was how different my perspective was. I was definitely over two meters tall now and quite a bit so; I couldn't imagine I was much smaller than my father's warped form, down below. Levant floated into the air, bearing my scroll and both it and she looked tiny from up her. I gently placed a finger beneath the scroll and tilted it upwards to meet the eyes of my face, not that I much needed too with a pair facing every direction. Still, I imagined he'd be more comfortable looking at the face on my face instead of one of the other ones.

Then again, maybe not. The look he gave me as our eyes met made me wonder what I looked like now.

"Ozpin," I said calmly, my voice seeming to change between my lips and the air.

"Jaune," He replied. "Are you okay? You collapsed suddenly."

I didn't remember that, which was also worrying, but there were many other reasons for why I'd be on the ground. I nodded to him once.

"Well enough," I confirmed. "Body's still changing, but I seem to be okay."

I lifted my gaze to the renewed might, my mother warping ground and air against my father, who progressed through the frigid conflagration as if it was a gentle rain. The durability of the Grimm combined with the power of a Hunter was not something to be underestimated, it seemed. Even fighting with all her might, Mom was barely slowing him down and it was only a matter of time until she worked herself to death.

"Time is running out, though," I continued, swallowing any uncertainty I felt. "I've got a rough outline of a plan; I'll just have to wing the rest. Mind staying onboard?"

"Of course not, Jaune." He replied. "You've decided on your first move, then?"

"More or less," I grunted, glancing at the assembled screens with five sets of eyes. I focused on the important stuff first, getting my thoughts in order as I skimmed the profiles of my most important skills.

 **Acceleration (Active) LV1 EXP: 12.64%  
The ability to increase the rate one moves through time through the use of great power, the degree of alteration depends upon the amount of power supplied. Something normally only possible for those with a great affinity for the elements, this skill is also possible with the use of a rare variant of Gravity Dust.  
Additional 1000 MP spent per second per degree of increase.**

 **Monstrosity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 7.92%  
An ability inherent to those who have lost their humanity and drawn upon the murderous powers of the Grimm. Increases physical traits by a percentage equal to one's corruption and causes additional changes as a result of slaughtering of human beings.  
Corruption: 83.6%  
Humans killed: 0**

 **Metamorphosis (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those who have cast aside the last traces of their humanity and adopted the lethal forms of the Grimm. Allows for the mutation of body parts into forms designed to make one a better killer, at the cost of increasing one's corruption. More advanced mutations at available at higher levels. Imposes the status effect 'On A White Horse He Rides' if the user does not already possess that status effect.  
Corruption: 83.6%**

 **The White Rider (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
A resemblance to one of the Knights of Grimm, obtained through infection and extensive mutation. One has adopted a form similar to the Knight of Conquest and may now draw upon traces of his power; this ability activates automatically once the status effect 'On A White Horse He Rides' reaches MAX. Allows for the use of abilities coinciding with one's altered form, but replaces the user's active title with 'The White Rider.' This ability may not be deactivated while 'On A White Horse He Rides' remains at MAX.**

I took a deep breath and looked down at myself. As I suspected, I was still changing even now, progressing towards…something. It was already over eighty-three percent complete, so it wouldn't take much longer at this rate. I suppose I may as well hasten the process, given the bonuses from Monstrosity; I was a bit wary of replacing Grimm Slayer with an unknown title, but…at least so far, I'd been able to trust in my power. Whatever had happened or would happen, I felt certain that I could continue to rely on it. Even against the spread of Conquest's infection and the horrific changes to my body, it had kept me alive and safe, so…I placed my trust in it again and felt my body shift and shake.

As I felt things begin to grow from my back and arm, I turned each of my many gaze to a different window, looking over the abilities I'd gained for increasing my Wisdom.

 **Empathy (Passive) LV1 EXP: 4.03%  
A skill granted to those born with a natural understanding of the people around them, this ability allows one to perceive the emotions of others. The range and depth of this ability increase alongside one's Wisdom.  
Range: 1 kilometer.**

 **Projection (Active) LV1 EXP: 1.38%  
A skill to those who, though great understanding of themselves, have learnt to release the light of their souls into the world at large. Through meditation and training, the user can shed their mortal form and move through the world as a purely spiritual body.**

 **Balance (Passive) LV1 EXP: 9.21%  
An ability given to the few that have honed their natural talents to achieve nearly unmatched insight into the truth of the world, thereby obtaining a tremendous affinity for the elements of nature. Mimicking the nature of Dust, the Elements may be combined into more complex forms through careful mixtures.  
Allows for the use of Advanced Elements, merging up to three Basic elements or two Intermediate elements. Also allows for up to two basic Elementals to be combined into the form of an Intermediate Elemental. Elemental Affinities are equal to the average of all component Affinities.  
Grants resistance to Elemental Attacks. Resistance to a specific Element is equal to the average resistance to all component Elements.  
20% less MP used for all Elemental abilities.**

 **Body of the Enlightened (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.71%  
A skill granted to those who have achieved a state of physical transcendence. All benefits of Wisdom are doubled and Magic Resistance now applies to all forms of attack, including the imposition of unwanted status effects. The user never receives negative repercussions from lack of food, water, or sleep.**

 **Understanding of the Enlightened (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.22%  
A skill granted to those who have achieved an awakened mental state, reaching a greater understanding of all things. Experience gains for both levels and skills are increased by a percentage equal to the user's Wisdom.**

I gestured and the windows vanished, my status screen rising in their place. I knew what I had at my fingertips now, which made the choice of where to put my new points an easy one. With a touch, I placed all fifteen spare points into my Wisdom, raising it to a hundred and sixty-six before looking down at myself. I felt tall spikes rising from my back, protecting my head even as the mask on my back allowed me easy sight. From the top of my left arm stretched the flexible limbs of a bow, a black-tipped boney spike growing from the back of my wrist. There was something like a string that seemed to stretch through my armored skin, but it was made of dark, twisted sinew and black tissue. With a twitch of almost foreign muscle, the bow and arrow retracted easily into my arm, sliding into place so neatly they seemed to vanish before expanding back out just as easily. And then I stood, perhaps even taller now, body growing more and more monstrous as I allowed my new powers to work freely, but it would be only moments until the process was done.

So I supposed I was about as ready as I'd ever be.

"Sir, I'm going now," I said, calm and focused as I looked forward.

"Good luck, Jaune," Ozpin answered quietly, expression set. "I will pray for your success."

"So will I," I snorted and finally exhaled. "Shall I say hello to him for you?"

"Not for me," He shook his head. "For Keppel and Carmine and Tenne and Jack. Make sure he hears it."

"I'll make sure he gets the message," I mused, lifting my arm as I gathered my power and took aim. The boney spike seemed to glow before losing shape completely as the seconds past, becoming a writing bolt of light and energy. As heat and electricity flowed out of my skin, I focused on my target and fired causing what looked like nothing more than a giant spark to leap from my arm, covering hundreds of meters in a flash of light to reach Conquest's side—and then the was a rumble of thunder as the sky seemed to split.

My father's body went flying as it was struck by lightning and the White Tiger rose from my form as I stepped forward, standing a head above even my increased size. I felt my perspective shift as another set of eyes grew from my conscious and felt strangely relieved by the comforting familiarity. As if understanding what was about to happen, I felt my body shudder one last time and go still.

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX].'**

 **Title 'Grimm Slayer' unequipped.**

 **Title 'The White Rider' equipped. This title may not be unequipped while the status effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX]' remains.**

I flexed my fingers, cracking once more hardened bone. If I was the White Rider, then it was only fitting I play the part.

The Tiger dropped to all fours and I threw a leg over his back, sliding into place astride him once more, Levant floating into place behind me at a quick thought. The Tiger took a running start across the rooftops between us and the battlefield and then Lunged through the air, arcing high as he closed the distance in a quick breath and came down in the midst of the battlefield. Instantly, I focused six of my eyes upon my father's altered form, a pair on my mother, and kept a look out with my shoulders.

"Hello again, Conquest," I spoke lowly. "I've returned to continue our discussion."

Conquest looked at my from where I'd tossed him into a building and laughed.

"Now that's a nostalgic face," He said, brushing splitters from his armor as he rose. "Welcome back, son."

"Jaune," I heard my mother whisper, but I didn't turn visibly, didn't dare to—but her emotions danced in her eyes as she looked at me and were sharp against my thoughts besides. Cold fear, rising hope, plummeting despair, dizzying confusion; I could feel her heart boiling over, even though she could barely stand.

"Isabelle," I heard Ozpin say as Levant rose from my back, carrying my scroll. I restricted the sound to our ears only, but didn't move. I was the one Conquest was after and his focus was solely on me—but the moment I moved, I knew he'd react. Even so, there was a chance in this, if I could exploit it properly, something tremendous in my reach if I could just figure out how to grasp it.

"I'm sorry I'm late," I whispered to my mother alone, Levant's lips forming the words in my steed. "Can you wait just a minute longer? Just focus on staying alive for a little longer."

I saw her eyes meet those of my back, blinking once—and then her expression was calm and remote, the shift from before nothing more than a momentary cracking of the façade.

At least, on the surface. Beneath that, I could feel the pain and exhaustion setting in, the feeling almost like resignation—but I knew she'd want this even more than I did, so I stayed focused. I kept my distance, locking down the air around me just in case. I couldn't be certain how the communication between Conquest's cells would react to my altered form, but I wasn't taking any chances.

And then I lied my ass off.

"I know how you do it," I bluffed.

"Oh?" He asked. "How I do what?"

"Everything," I snorted. "I've seen your cells at work, tested myself against your infected, even allowed _this_ to happen to my own body, all for the sake of learning how you tick."

"Oh, this ought to be good," He muttered to himself before raising his voice. "Do you, now? Please, enlighten me."

"You infect the body and use that to touch the Aura," I answered. "Turn it against the host to cause people to mutate themselves even as you infect the mind. You cause extensive biological changes to everything in the body down to the nervous system, all with the intention of giving you more control and making better warriors for you to use."

"No shit," Conquest said and if his eyes hadn't been solid red orbs, he'd likely have rolled them. "Did you get a 'Stating the Obvious' skill out of that statement?"

"But all that's just the basics," I continued as if he'd said nothing. "All that happens early on, though it gets worse over time. Once the infection has spread entirely throughout the body and Aura, armor begins to grow in and your hosts start getting bigger, heavier. To most people, it would look like you're creating matter out of nothing."

"Oh?" Conquest asked, something slightly different in his tone. I crossed my fingers and hoped I was on the right track.

"I'm not most people. My eyes see _everything_ —including your little trick," I said calmly, hoping the level tone would conceal the falsehoods within. "You aren't creating matter; you're just drawing it in from elsewhere, just like Aura does. There's a connection there and if someone were to interfere with it…well, you can imagine."

If I still needed to breathe, I'd have held my breath. Conquest knew a lot—far more than me—but he didn't know _everything_. He didn't know how much I knew or didn't know, so there was a chance…

"Why imagine when I could just have you show me?" He said, spreading his arms wide. "Come on, then; take a shot."

At that, I had to pause and he seemed to notice because he laughed.

"So you know a little bit about Malkuth Theory," He said after a moment, calling my bluff. "Good for you, son. So what? You've got nothing; a vague hope with no understanding of what any of it means, that's all you brought back. And what did it take you to get _that_ , son? How many of your mother's teammates did you kill? Why don't you look her in the eye and tell her all about it—it's not like you don't have a few to spare. I knew you'd kill them if I gave you a little push; what are they to you, really? Some faceless nobodies that came around every now and then, a conversational topic between your parents or sisters; they were nothing to you. They were NPCs in your little game and not even important ones, so you killed them and moved on like it was _nothing_."

He lowered his head to stare at me face to face and I knew that if he had lips beneath his mask, they must have been curled into a smile.

"Keppel and Carmine were my friends," He said in a mocking voice—and in my father's voice, pitch perfect and in pain. "I went to school with them, worked with them for years, and we saved each other's lives a hundred times each at least. I was even the best man at their wedding; they named me the godfather of their children—their _orphaned_ children, now, left parentless by your hand. But hey, it's not like you didn't kill off your _own_ godfather, is it? And you barely knew Tenne, huh? But your mother did, didn't you Isabelle—all the firsts he took from you, back in school, until you left him for me. Your mother loved him once, Jaune, but I guess you never thought about what it was like for your crusty old parents growing up, huh? Ah, the not-really-all-that-good ol' days, when we were stupid and hormonal. Does it surprise you to think about it? That Mommy and Daddy had lives prior to the clown car that resulted from our sex lives and that other people did too? That they'd built something up over more years than you've been alive, made something meaningful out of sweat and tears over decades? How difficult was it for you, to wipe all that away?"

I said nothing as he prattled on, watching him silently. But man did he love to hear himself talk.

"I'm guessing not very," He continued. "And boy, do you seem to be reaping the rewards now, huh? You know, you look just like your old man, back in the day—never thought I'd see that face again, but it looks good on you son. You're a chip off the old block. I'm proud of you."

I tilted my head slightly, having gotten what I'd wanted, if only vaguely. 'Malkuth Theory'…it was all but a confirmation that I was on the right track, meaningless as the words were to me. He was right in that it was nothing but a glimmer of hope, a single fact with nothing built upon it—but it was more than I'd had before.

"What, are you done?" I asked when he didn't say anything else.

"Are you?" He snorted. "I thought we were going to waste time talking about stuff that doesn't matter until Mommy over there finally keels over and dies—some sort of new male bonding ritual; bros before hoes and all that shit. I anticipate that it shall be humorous."

"Actually," I answered. "As it just so happens, I do have one more thing I wouldn't mind talking about, if you're up for keeping this going."

"By all means," He gestured magnanimously.

"That's very kind of you," I answer politely and then took a shot in the dark. I had one more idea, one more opportunity—and, quite possible, one _enormous_ risk. I had no idea how he'd respond or what he'd say, but it could be dangerous if a mind like Conquest could get away with the information and try to use it against us.

But it might be worth it. We had nothing and no other way of learning more; risks or not, Conquest was our best chance by virtue of being our _only_ chance. So I pressed on, despite my concerns and turned my head to look at my mother

"Hey, Ozpin," I raising my voice slightly, though I didn't need to. "Did you tell my dad about the thing? The ruins, I mean."

Ozpin seemed to pause but his eyes met mine and something like understanding passed between us.

"A little," He answered. "We were going to discuss the specifics later, after the mission. I only had time to tell him the basics—and it's vaguely possible that I have a hard time repeating the story, I suppose. He doesn't know how I survived, if that's what you're asking."

"Oh, well that's just perfect," I nearly purred. "See, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't bring it up, Conquest. A pity because it's a really interesting story—you see, a long, long time ago, Ozpin found himself inside a barrier of sorts, kind of like my Naraka. And you know how before you were boasting about how you and your brothers destroyed a civilization? Well it seems you missed a spot, because there was a full Babel city inside."

Behind me, I heard my mother gasp, but I barely heard it because my full attention was focused on my father's figure. As I said the words, Conquest went still. No, more than that—for quite possibly the first time in his godforsaken blasphemy of a life, Conquest shut the fuck up. It was glorious. He looked at me and didn't say a word.

Unfortunately, I actually needed him talking. Alas.

"So I was thinking, if you can break Naraka, does that mean you can break _other_ barriers?" I wondered aloud, voice cheerful. "And if so, why not break _that_ barrier. Makes me really wonder what's inside. You see anything _interesting_ while you were in there, Ozpin?"

"Sadly, there was very little of note," He shook his head ruefully on the screen of my scroll. Then, he paused, eyebrows furrowing as he pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling. "Although…I _did_ stumble across a _computer_ of sorts."

"A computer," I repeated. "From Babel? My, that's quite a find. I wonder what might be on it? Conquest, any ideas?"

It takes a moment, but the creature in my father's skin speaks, that same, smug arrogance back in his tone.

"That old thing?" He scoffed. "I suppose you illiterate savages can't even read it, huh? As it happens, I'm in a good mood, so how about this—why don't I read you a bedtime story before I put you to sleep? A bunch of stupid old men moan about the past and try to fight the big bad Grimm. They fail and all of them die horrible, before or after everyone they've ever loved does the same, and I take _great_ pleasure murdering the man behind it all in the body of his wife, after eating his daughter in front of his very eyes. The End. The entire thing was pretty hilarious, honestly."

"I've seen worse things on the best-seller's list," I answered back. "I have to check it out."

Conquest takes a step towards me on my spectral steed, the edges of a growling laugh to his tone.

"You know what's even funnier?" He asked. "How you fools continue to cling to the past, as if it'll save you. As if a civilization that couldn't even save itself can offer you hope against us. But there's nothing and there has never _been_ anything that could save you from me."

I looked down at him from atop the Tiger for a silent moment and would have smiled had I still been able.

"You'll forgive me if I don't take your word for it," I murmured and sat up as straight as I could before clapping my hands brightly and forcing hints of cheer into my tone. "Now then, I'll be taking my father back."

Conquest raised his eyes to mine, hammer rising in his hands.

"I'd like to see you try." He said, sneer to his tone.

"Good," I said, voice barely above a whisper. Even so, it carried, rising on Levant's winds to reach his ears, as if I were standing right behind him. "Because I want you to _watch_ , you son of a bitch."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Chances**

I slammed my hands down on the Tiger's shoulders, tossing myself forward even as he slid back. Our fingers reached for one another and intertwined before he spun, swing my entire body in circle. I gathered power in my free hand and threw it towards my father in a blast of searing white fire and the Tiger hurled me right after it, tail lashing out at the last minute to curl around my ankle. Conquest smashed the fireball aside with an almost contemptuous flick of his hammer before swing it at me with as much speed as Carmine before him, but though the Tiger's tail stretched to draw out my flight, it tightened at the last moment to draw me up short and a blast of wind knocked me down to the ground.

Winds whipped at me until Levant's touch calmed them, the sheer might of the missed swing such that I had to sink my claws into the ground or else be hurled away. Behind me, the Tiger's body continued to stretch along with one arm, space distorting around the other as it reached into my Inventory and withdrew a blue crystal and with an elongated hand, touched my mother's shin. I knew I needed to draw closer if I wanted any chance of saving my father, but before I did anything for him, she had to be my priority. Because she was my mother, because she was another fighter, because my father would have wanted me too—the reasons went on and on, but they didn't matter. What mattered was that the Tiger moved to save her.

As he healed her, though, I did a push up that knocked me to my feet and held my ground as my father drew a step closer, hammer rising high into the air. I couldn't let Conquest get any closer while my mother was in that state and _I_ couldn't get near her without risking infection, so I had little choice but to stall for time while the Tiger worked. I was all but certain that Conquest wouldn't kill me, anyways. Sure, everything _up_ to that point was apparently fair game, but I was pretty good at walking off injuries.

Still, as that hammer fell, it was hard not to feel like I was about to be crushed. The infection had given me strength, armor, and the sheer physical might of the Grimm, lifting me to even greater heights—but it had done so to my father, as well. And while I'd been able to create an organic bow for myself to give me a bit more breathing room, if need be, I was still new to the whole combat mutation thing; I had ideas, of course, but putting them into action would probably require more study on my part or at least higher levels in the ability. The thought occurred to me that there should be a number of things I could do to my arms, for example, to increase the strength or speed of my blows; stuff like what Conquest had done to Carmine and my father, perhaps. It might have been modeled after some species of insects or animals which may have given me a baseline to work from if I'd had the right knowledge to work with, but even then, I just wasn't sure how to apply such a thing to the body of a human.

Unfortunately, I had a pretty good feeling that _Conquest_ did. To make matters worse, my father was the only body that had gotten a new title and increased so drastically in level, so it seemed safe to assume that Conquest had done his work on him—if Keppel, Carmine, and Tenne were disposable bodies meant to distract and inconvenience me, than my father was Conquest's main body, whether for its own power or its connection to me. Given that fact and my own history fighting against my father, facing his strength head on seemed ill-conceived, mutated body or not. Even with the power of Bai Hu's techniques, my father's blows had sent me flying away in our previous fight and he'd been holding back a lot; I probably wasn't going to win any arm-wrestling contests against him _now_ , either.

But these mutations had done more than make me stronger and tougher. Monstrosity had improved _all_ of my physical abilities—including my speed.

And I'd been pretty damn fast to begin with.

My hand rose from my side to touch the side of the falling hammer and pushed, keeping a steady pressure on the head as it continued down. I turned my body as it neared me, sliding my feet to keep my tail-wrapped ankle facing my mother, and guided the hammer carefully to the ground. It wasn't easy to make even that degree of adjustment, the overwhelming force of my father's arms such that I had to push as hard as I could to move it, but I shifted it cleanly past my body and to the ground.

But even _that_ wasn't enough, in the end.

The ground around me shattered for at least a dozen meters in every direction, a massive wave of force slamming into me hard enough to blow me clean away despite my increased weight. I flew to the side and the tail around my ankle meant that the Tiger was lifted with me. And since _he_ was holding onto my mother's leg…you get the idea. Her feet came out from under her, her steadying grip on her sword rendered worthless as the ground all around it broke, and three of us went flying.

The Tiger pulled my mother into his arms and held her close to his chest, slamming back into a vertical pillar of air and then landing on a platform. As a possible source of infection, I needed to stay away, so I dangled over the edge, held upside-down by the Tiger's tail, and swung like a pendulum. On the backswing, however, I was already in motion, eyes narrowing on my father as power gathered in my hands. Fire, Air, and Lightning in Balance—Plasma. With the thrust of a hand, I cast my Searing Light out at him as I came back around, the blast pierced through the air.

Conquest leaned forward as he took it in the chest, snarling as he braced himself against it. It made his chest piece glow brightly but seemed to do little else, but I kept up the attack as the Tiger drew three more crystals for my mother, one of each color, and continued to heal her—and then suddenly we were falling, a sharp gesture from my father disrupting Levant's hold. I turned the fall into a glide for a moment before he shoved my hand again and caused that to fail as well, but it was enough to ensure that we fell apart from each other rather than in a pile.

"Jaune!" My mother shouted, pushing out of the Tiger's arms and onto her own feet. "What do you need!?"

"Some time and a chance!" I shouted back and she stomped a step forward, snarling in reply. She lifted her sword and leaned forward as if pulling something enormous, putting the whole of her body into the motion even as he Aura began to glow from her skin.

My Searing Light had seemed to do little to Conquest, heating his armor and distracting him briefly. It had hurt him, sure, but little enough especially with his body hard at work repairing any damage he took, and he'd been able to strike back quickly. It wasn't truly surprising, I supposed—Searing Light was my first foray into Plasma, after all, something equivalent to a Fireball or a few steps above. I'd need something more than that if I wanted to actually hurt Conquest, but I wasn't sure what.

Mom seemed to have an opinion on that front. She seemed be under the impression that what I _really_ needed was a few thousand times the amount. As she swung her sword the air in front of us—four meters high from ten to two o'clock and who knows how long—turned to plasma. It engulfed Conquest entirely, along with everything around him, and it took a moment for my eyes to find a level on which they weren't blinded. When they did, I saw my mom panting, a huge amount of the Aura I'd just restored put into that massive hit, but—

"Mom!" I directed her attention upwards as a burning shape swept high into the air, plasma exploding away as a massive set of wings unfolded. For a moment, it was hard to recognize my father with his partially slagged and brightly heated armor, but he remained level above both of us, suspended in the air on unbeating wings.

My mom raised her hand with another snarl and a massive column of plasm engulfed everything from it to several meters behind my father, concealing everything but his head, feet, and massive wingspan. However, this time Conquest didn't even dodge the attack or move out of the area of it—and yet my danger sense immediately began crying out in alarm.

At once, a dozen eyes looked in every direction, searching for the source of the threat even as my mind scrambled for a response to the unknown source of danger. My physical form was already in motion, putting distance between Conquest and I by leaping back, but the sensation didn't lessen.

Because it's not targeted at me, I realized an instant later as my eyes fell on my mother and I changed direction on a dime. The Tiger was closest to my mother and he was already reaching out to grasp her shoulders, but I still didn't know what the threat was—even looking above, in front, behind, and to both sides, I didn't see anything but plasma, broken earth, empty buildings, and the storm above us. I snapped my head down to scan the ground for any sign of another attack from there, but—

The storm, I realize, snapping my head back up again. My eyes turned towards the storm I'd thought had abated, for the rain had long since ceased to fall and I had not seen lightning or heard thunder since this began—but in that moment, as my vision flickered to see the burning power within those clouds, I realized that it wasn't because the storm had _stopped_.

It was because my father had placed it completely and utterly under his control. Perhaps even before Conquest had taken him over, he'd placed it under his command and had been holding it back until the right moment—now.

For a fraction of a second, I saw power building, witnessed the potential of the storm as a series of reactions began to connect possibility and reality. I reached up with my Elementals, Xihai, Levant, and Vulturnus trying to sink their hold into the story but I just couldn't get a grip on it—it was too high and his hold was too strong.

Because he had the high-ground, I realized as a pair of eyes flickered towards Conquest's wings. The storm was so high that even the bottom was near the limits of my reach—and he was far closer to it than I was, anyway. If I got closer, I could compete for control, distract him enough to keep him from doing anything major. Yet even as that thought settled in and I began to rise, I forced myself to stop, knowing I wouldn't make it in time. I focused on the Tiger instead, now less than a step from my mother, and did the only thing I could do.

"Playing with you has been entertaining, Isabelle," Conquest mused calmly—too calmly. "But you know better than to interrupt guy talk. Laters."

Lightning split the sky, illuminating the world for a moment that dragged on as time shifted.

It went without saying that I couldn't outrun lightning—even at four times my normal speed, I wasn't _that_ fast.

But that didn't matter. Sure, I couldn't move faster than a lightning bolt—but I could move faster than _Conquest_ and he was the one aiming the damn thing. The moment before the sky lit up, the Tiger had managed to grab my mother's shoulders. There wasn't enough time to pull her out of the way, but it established a connection between my Aura and hers and thus, a link between her body and mine, with the Tiger acting as a bridge. Aura, or perhaps souls, were complicated things, but even that moment of contact was enough to create something meaningful.

The lightning bolt came down a fraction of a second later, rising down and up and _through_ the center of my mother's chest. Not through the heart, thankfully, but near enough that it wouldn't matter if I didn't save her. I couldn't say I'd _planned_ what happened next, that I had any real idea what I was doing, only that I'd known that I needed to do _something_. It was that half-formed thought that had motivated me, that had pushed me to grab my mother with the hands of my second body—and that had made me force my own power into her as my grip tightened. Already drained by the massive bursts of plasma, it was easy to overwhelm my mother's Aura with my own, but it wasn't gentle, and even when she was impaled by a lance of heat and light and her body began to move as she tried to arc in pain, I couldn't be certain what had caused more of it.

Even so, I didn't stop. Even as the lightning struck, the Tiger sank its fingers deep into her shoulders and I called on Vulturnus. The Lightning Elemental flowed into her body through the right side, spiritual form racing through her flesh and blood—and Lightning met Lightning Elemental. I felt it through my connection to Vulturnus as a sudden searing brand upon my thoughts. There was enormous power in that lightning bolt, yet it was but a link to the sky and storm above. Even through several degrees of separation, I was made abruptly, starkly aware of the sheer _immensity_ of the forces roiling through the world around me, as humbling now as it was each and every time I meditated. I couldn't match that power, couldn't control it or subdue it to my will, and even trying would probably be the death of me.

So I didn't. I just…made a path—a circuit that Vulturnus ran through my mother's body, carefully avoiding her vitals. He established a temporary route through which it was easy to flow, down from the claws of my right hand, down through her chest to link to the rushing power of the lightning bolt, and then around and up, out through the left shoulder and back into the Tiger.

For an instant, I saw the Tiger explode into a writhing, seething mass as if I'd used a yellow Dust crystal—but no, there wasn't even that illusion of control here. He came apart into a blinding mass of light that barely had anything like a shape; a living bolt of lightning that left a brand of heat on my ankle. I saw him shake and warp and writhe and knew instinctively, both through our connection and the sudden danger I felt, that he was about to explode and release that energy again.

But I couldn't allow that to happen. He was too close to my mother, the power too wild—I couldn't risk it. So I did the only thing I _could_ do and drew him back in through the tail that connected us to one another, the bond between my body and soul.

He lost all semblance of shape, then, and vanished in an arcing flash I saw only through the brand of color it left on my eyes. I _felt_ it though, as his entire body raced back to me and up through my ankle; felt the power enter me, like someone tunneling a path through my body with a focused laser—or focused for that one instant, at least, before it proceeded to run havoc through my body. It raced up my leg, Vulturnus leading it on a merry chase that had no end even as he tried to keep the power away from anything that might kill me. I felt muscles seize and sizzle, heard strange pops of pressure, felt the sheer agony of it, and knew more than anything that I needed to get it _out._ As it was, it was probably only my many resistances that were keeping me alive through this.

I searched for a way out, somehow managing to stay focused as the bolt ran its course. My hand was still lifted, reaching up at the sky from when I tried to calm the storm, but I needed a pathway through the air to guide the electricity. My thoughts raced and I tried to call to Levant but realized a moment later that she was too slow to be of help with my timeframe so sped up. I'd need to think of another way, using what I already had around me. I could try to ground it or use something as a lightning rod, but I had so little time to think with the power coursing through me searing a trail through my body. Already, I could feel it slipping, trying to take a different path through me, and knew I had only a moment to decide. My many eyes to into the world around me as it stood there, stopped—trees, buildings, my mother, the sky, the plasma, the ground, rubble—but I—

The _plasma_ , I thought and then had no more time to think. A blast of plasma flashed out from my hand, a tiny narrow thing that was barely there, and yet Vulturnus raced out of me through it along with all the power I'd taken in. Along the connecting thread I'd made, he rushed towards the column of plasma my mother had shot upwards toward Conquest, leaving me with a flash of mind-blanking pain rushing up the created pillar towards my father.

I felt Vulturnus touch home as a flash of sensation that tore me from my momentary stupor, felt the crash of thunder forming through Levant, and came back to myself as I saw my father get knocked back and begin to fall in slow motion. I felt exhaustion rise in me in that moment, a combination of the enormous power needed to both accelerate time and guide the lightning bolt through both my mother and myself. I could see a sudden slackness in my mother and knew that she was about to fall down and I wanted nothing more than to join her.

But I couldn't. Even if that second of action had taken nearly all my power, I couldn't fall down while my father controlled that storm or he'd just send another bolt our way when he recovered. I had perhaps a second while he was still reeling from the lightning bolt to act and I had to make it count.

So I did, drawing a Dust crystal from my Inventory with each hand and leaping high as I devoured them. I launched myself up, high over the buildings, and kept going, dancing upon platforms of air to reach the clouds. In less than a second I plunged into the storm, fueling myself with another set of Dust crystals as I let my power spread throughout the clouds and _felt_ it. There was enough power in this storm to boggle the mind, hundreds of thousands of kilograms of water, and the potential to let loose with that in countless ways. For a moment, I entertained the thought of turning it against Conquest, contesting his control with my own and angling the sheer power of the storm against him and cast fire from the skies—but I honestly wasn't sure I could. I could make paths through the air, Elemental connections between heaven and earth that would allow nature to take its course, but _wielding_ this storm, _controlling_ it…

Maybe I could do it, I thought. But if I lost control…or if Conquest _took_ control from me or guiding my strikes as I'd done to his…

I couldn't risk it, not with so much on the line. All it would take was a single ill-aimed or redirected attack and my mother could die. No, the best thing to do was remove this variable from the playing field altogether.

So I let my Elementals loose. Vulturnus, Xihai, Levant, and even Suryasta rushed out of me, exploding into the storm and making bodies for themselves as they went to work. I didn't wield my power directly against the storm—it was too big for that, too heavy to simply crush—but water droplets began to converge, drawn together by bonds and the stirring of wind and the motions of heat. I guided the process, egged it on, and felt, in moments, water washing over me as it fell from the sky in massive sheets. Reactions to the change flashed through the sky, illuminating it from within as redirected power flashed within the storm, through bizarre shadows—

My eyes flickered, switching to a different form of sight the instant I recognized something odd in the shadows and strange sensations through the touch of my Elementals. I'd been watching the power of the storm in arrays of light that made the dark clouds glow as if someone had set fire to the sky, but that much energy in motion was nearly blinding—and it thus had blinded me, because the simple thought that had never occurred to me that there was more there. In the rush to seize control of the skies and unravel my father's control over it, in the sheer pain and urgency that the lightning bolt had scorched into my very being, I hadn't had the chance to consider the dangerous possibilities.

If my father had control of the storm—if he had _been_ in control of the storm since the beginning—then what else might he be doing up here?

As the storm fell away in what seemed like oceans of water, my eyes pierced through the refracted light to see what had been revealed above us.

Spheres. Dozens of crudely shaped spheres that had been hidden in the clouds above.

No, I realized. Not spheres.

 _Bombs_. Bombs my father was so well known for—and which had been, now that I thought about it, suspiciously absent from the battle below. All the while, he'd been using his power to craft them, deep in the heart of the storm.

The Thunder, My Hammer, I remembered even as my eyes slid down. I saw Conquest recover his position in the air, halting with his eyes and hands lifted up towards me. Beneath his mask, he must have been smiling.

All around me, the bombs began to fall.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Reaction Time**

I pushed my hands into my Inventory, the Tiger rising around me once more as I drain a pair of Dust crystals to keep the Acceleration going and then another to give me back the strength I needed to continue. The Tiger lifted his hands from my own, fingers reached downwards away from my body—and gravity shifted in a sudden, massive wave right in the midst of the bombs. I swallowed another pair of Dust crystals as I pulled the bombs towards one another and then swept my hands down in parallel slashing motions. Two of the bombshells broke open, split by the Far Strikes, but they didn't explode despite the invasive touch of my Aura.

Zeroing in on the openings I'd made, I used my Clairvoyance to confirm my suspicions why. Beneath the outer shell made of carefully put together metal shards, there was a second shell—or rather, something that was more like a thick, bacterial mat. I couldn't be certain how he'd gotten so much of them, though I suspected the infected civilians down below had been harvested for the role; what mattered was what they meant. The bacterial mat did two things, the less obvious of which was that they'd provide another layer of insulation against Aura attacks, keeping the Dust within from being triggered as easily. Of course, my father was in control of both the bacterial Grimm and the Dust they surrounded, which meant he could activate them easily, so that was really just a way of making my life more difficult; already I could feel him reacting, seizing hold of the spheres and pulling them from the Gravity Well with the sheer strength of his Semblance.

The more _obvious_ side effect was that the bombs, naturally, would hurl the infectious Grimm in every direction when they exploded, and I was pretty sure a Gravity Well that hadn't been able to stop _Keppel_ from pushing forward wasn't going to be enough to stop them, even if I overcame my father's grasp. With enough practice, the power of the skill would grow, but here and now…

I wasn't eager to test it. Not with my mother in the line of fire which, really, was probably the entire point. Even if I made them all explode up here, if even a few of Conquest's bodies reached my mom…I couldn't take that chance.

Fine, I thought. Time for Plan B.

Grasping a yellow crystal from my Inventory, I slammed it to my chest and lightning raced from my pounding heart to my glowing soul. The Tiger growled as I returned the bombs to gravity's hold, but we slipped right past them, flashing down past the bombs completely. I fell a step faster than the tiger, plunging into the still falling water of the storm. At once, a ripple raced through the air as my power took hold and I exerted my will over the water and air. I couldn't control all of it, but I could control a _lot_ of it, and thousands of liters reversed direction at once, falling back into the sky—and back towards the bombs.

The Tiger vanished the moment he touched the water, thousands of sparks careening through the rising tide. As the bombs touched the water, they halted at once, stopped and gathered together by the fists of the Tiger even as more water streamed up and over the spheres, surrounding them completely. In moments, my physical body stood upside-down under a massive bowl that held the bombs, keeping them tightly gripped within a hemisphere of water. Taking a deep breath even as I ceased to fight gravity and focused solely on keeping the shape together, I sank my fingers into the water and focused.

At once, large sections of the hemisphere froze, massive sections turning from water to ice in an instant. I put Deposition to work, hoping it would be enough to, if not freeze the contents into a mass too large for Conquest to control, kill the Grimm cells, or render the bombs themselves useless, then to at least restrict the explosions themselves.

Now there was just the matter of keeping this mass from crushing me and getting it away from my mother.

I pushed off with my feet, holding on with the fingers I'd put into the water before freezing it so that I seemed to be holding the sphere above me as I fell. With my mobility limited by the speed of the falling block regardless, I released my Acceleration briefly to conserve power, and cast my eyes quickly over the scene beneath me, trying to decide where to aim myself.

It really wasn't a very hard decision to make. After a moment, I decided and focused fully on my father, gripping the hemisphere tightly. Atop the sphere, Levant and Xihai's merged form rose from the otherwise smooth ice, her own fingers sinking into the material. I felt my MP draining, but the massive load above me seemed to lighten in a way that was hard to define as we were falling—nonetheless, I know my Elemental was bearing the weight for me, assisting me in moving it.

Which freed me to bring it to where it was most deserved.

Shifting my hold on it as the Tiger rose around me again and helped me guide it with another set of hands, I darted down through the sky and then slammed the frozen mass down upon my father's form, smashing him a hundred meters down in an instant. I didn't stop there, but closed the distance again and then slammed him into the ground below, smacking him at an angle to take him further from my mother. I saw Conquest smash into—through—one of the buildings at the edge of the desolated battlefield and followed after, feeling the side of the building tear away like paper as I tore into the household and brought the chunk of ice down on Conquest's head like I was planting a massive tombstone.

He caught it. Lifting a hand at the last moment, he grasped the edge of the hemisphere and pushed against it as I brought it down, stopping it centimeters from his face as ice broke beneath his fingers. Even with my Ice Elemental working _against_ him, he pushed it back, forcing my feet to slide over the ruined floor as he calmly rose to his feet and continued to drive me back. When he stood level with me, his eyes met mine and something about them made me think he was smiling.

Then he gave the hemisphere a gentle shove and pushed its entire weight onto my shoulders. I staggered, the Ice Elemental atop it ceased her machinations to conserve my power as it began to dwindle and I allowed her to unravel back into Levant and Xihai after a moment, telling them both to move onto the next step. That did, however, leave me to support the weight entirely on my own.

So I did. I grit my teeth, planted my feet, and lifted it, balancing the massive and awkward chunk of ice on my neck and shoulders as I watched my father snort.

"Having some trouble there, son?" He mocked, crouching slightly to look into my eyes. "You need to work out more."

I took a pair of deep breaths, power returning with each passing moment. I didn't move yet, however, or go for any of my Dust crystals, but simply kept my breathing steady and all of my eyes open, scanning the area to make sure I hadn't made any mistakes. I checked the bombs above me again, making sure I knew exactly where they all were and knew at least the basics of each, and then looked at my mother in the distance.

"You know me," I said at last, providing an answer before the silence drew out _too_ long. I knew this was just a brief pause before we continued, but I would take advantage of it as much as I was sure he was going to. "I prefer to work smarter, not harder."

If he'd had eyebrows, he probably would have quirked them at me.

"Oh?" He asked. "Then I hope you have something more to this lame-ass plan, son, or I'm gonna be disappointed."

Two seconds, three seconds, four seconds—

Now, I thought as the Tiger rose about me. I snarled and took a step forward, leaving the Tiger behind to turn in place and put his back to mine. One hand dipped into my Inventory for a Dusty snack, but the other lifted a finger to point at my mother, erecting a Sanctum to protect her, just in case. He snapped around an instant later, one arm rising to push against the hemisphere, the other grabbing me around the waist and pulling me back. As my fingers broke through the ice, light was already gathering between them and I took aim at a very specific bomb near my father, identified with my Clairvoyance and Observation.

But Conquest acted too, moving as soon as I did. A bomb near me went off and there was a sudden wave of…I'm not sure what, but it tore the water from everything it touched, leaving me feeling frighteningly dry. The wood of the house seemed to wither, what few plants had managed to survive died, and even Conquest staggered. Most notably, however, the frigid bowl simply vanished, freeing the captive spheres.

And then a bomb almost directly above me went off, exploding in a blast of almost pure force that smashed five meters into the ground and hurled away Conquest and the bombs. I bounced up, eyes searched for the bomb I needed—and found it instantly. It wasn't hard, since it was floating right in front of me and all, held near me by my father's power.

It wasn't hard to figure out what that meant, either, or that I wouldn't be fast enough to get away—but I tried. And as the bomb exploded and time around me began to slow, I heard my father's voice. He'd probably said the words, the moment the first bomb exploded, but it only now reached me, approaching through the slowing area expanding from the bomb even as I tried to struggle to freedom.

"Still worrying about your mother, son?" I heard him chide as the sphere fully solidified. "You should have gone straight for the kill."

The world outside the bubble began to flicker and shift as I was slowed. In moments, it was only my Clairvoyance that allowed me to see the world beyond my prison, but all that did was force me to watch as the bombs that were flung away quickly reversed direction and began to fly towards my mother, too slow to stop it.

My fingers curled into claws as I growled. No. Fuck that shit—I wasn't having it. I wasn't going to watch as my mother died; I didn't care what happened. Even if time itself was working against me, I wouldn't let that happen.

Four hands dipped into my Inventory, each grasping a Dust crystal that was quickly devoured and I instantly poured every ounce of that power into going faster. Time sped up with a rush of sensation that played across my skin, a moment of heat and cold, unusual solidity and emptiness. The air around me shifted as I rolled a step forward, even that simple motion bringing with it surprising friction as the air beyond my warped time moved far more slowly than that within it. Yet I didn't stop there, but dipped my hands back into my Inventory and devoured another set of crystals, speed rising higher and higher with each moment and causing greater and greater changes. The flow of heat, the light around me, everything—it seemed strained by the barrier of altered time I held around myself.

Then I crouched slightly, feeling at once fast and slow. Muscles pulled in my back, my thighs, fighting against the walls that the very air seemed to have become, seeming more solid than gas. If they were walls, though, they may as well have been paper, for they fell as I pushed against them and fought my way forward with all my power. I pushed against the ground as I Lunged forth and—

The ground beneath my feet shattered. The air I passed through ignited around me, catching fire as it touched my skin, but I left the flames behind me even as each step created them anew. I way have said something, snarled words or whatever else, but if so, I outpaced the sounds by far. I drew close to the edge of the sphere of stopped time as the space beyond it slowed to a more normal speed—and then I broke through in a moment of cataclysmic weirdness. For that instant, I was moving through time at a faster rate than the world around me, but I was also halfway through a bubble that was moving slower than the world around _it_. I felt that strain upon my body as blood quickened and slowed, as nerves went haywire, as my brain and then heart seemed split in two. I felt myself tearing apart, but more than that, I felt the world around me shredding.

Temporal distortion met temporal distortion and tried to tear me apart to resolve the issue, but I refused. When it couldn't do that, I felt the barrier around me cracking, the larger bubble bursting as if pierced by a needle, trying to equalize the impossibility instead—but I couldn't allow that, either. Four hands dipped into my Inventory once more, swallowed four crystals, then eight, then sixteen, drinking deeply from my dwindling horde to try to reinforce the barrier, to give me the Acceleration I needed to rip through a wall of distorted time.

Maybe it the Elemental Resistance or some aspect of my new Wisdom abilities. Maybe it was the way Acceleration worked, speeding up time in my immediate vicinity. Maybe it was just the thousands and thousands of MP I spent in that single second, poured down the cosmic drain with a quick prayer to try and break the rules. I don't know.

What I do know was that when my power clashed with Conquest's, I was the one who one. I paused for an indescribable moment as our altered time streams crossed, an instant where time may not have even had meaning, and then I continued through. The bubble popped but the barrier held and I kept going.

I was moving even faster now, faster than I'd ever though I could go. I left the broken remains of the house behind in a moment so fleeting it was hard to describe, watched the reaction to my passage in the eyes on my back, and gazed over the frozen world as I rushed towards my mother. Conquest stood perhaps halfway to my mother, hand upraised. Some type of power had rushed from his fingertips, clear as water until it splashed into iridescence as it splashed over the Sanctum I'd set around my mother. Already, I could see that barrier falling, dissolving outward from the blast like ice melting under a laser—and the bombs floated in the blasts wake, the first already passing through the opening. I could tell, as my senses began to scream in alarm, that it was about to explode. There would be a moment of reaction as Aura took hold, a twitch on Conquest's part, and then everything would be over.

But before that happened, I reached the edge of the dehydration bomb's effect and the Tiger moved. Still formed of glowing electricity and roiling thunder, I felt him leave me the moment my foot settled upon a puddle as if it were solid stone. The curling lightning bolt of his tail curled around my shin as he flickered away, unheeding of the fact that the water was already beginning to boil outwards, rippling as it prepared to explode outwards—but then, he'd left both it and I long behind. Streams of electricity cackled as they leapt from puddle to puddle, hastened by the same Acceleration that affected me. Those streams converged in a moment, rushing under the bombs and through the gap that Conquest had made to reach my mother's side.

The bomb went off in an blooming explosion of light and I kept going, lifting a foot from the first puddle and bringing it down on the next, making sure the stream of light that connected it to the tail around my shin remained all the while. I pushed on as the world around me caught flame and stay on course, my objective already decided.

The moment my fist connected with my father, I felt armor break beneath it, but all upon my own skin. I took another step as force exploded outward and my father, until now frozen like a statue, began to rise from the dirt. The next blow drove him back through the air, and the next, and the following two dozen, until I'd pushed him entirely across the field of battle and into another building. I changed tracks the next moment, footwork allowing me to change direction as my power ran its course and time slowed again.

My skin felt melted and raw, as if my pace as burnt my own skin away. Every blow I'd dealt my father had seemed to shatter my own arms, every step breaking my legs. Every action had an equal and opposite reaction, and it seemed I'd reached the limits of what my body could withstand and gone right past it.

I was fine with that, because of what I saw. The Tiger held my mother in its arms, flickering in and out of existence as it stepped between the puddles. Each time, my mother seemed to glide forth and each time he caught her before she could even begin to fall, Levant in her arms. I was healing her, restoring his aura as well as her body, just as I'd gone to let her survive the sudden burst of acceleration, and I held her head in place to keep the whiplash for taking anything I couldn't give back and Levant protecting her as I'd commanded her to. Though she looked nauseous, she was okay, and even if my body felt broken and exhausted, that made it okay.

Then I turned my gaze back to the bombs. The first explosion was still in progress, wreaking havoc on the now empty space. After a moment, the explosion stopped expanding and began to contract, flowing into the shape of a man as it formed a new body for Suryasta where my mother had once stood. Lightning cackled around his feet, remnants of the Tiger's tread, and then rose from the ground into a second shape, Vulturnus coming to stand behind his brother. As one, they exploded, unravelling beside one another and then slide together into a new shape.

Armor glowed as if heated—a breastplate and gauntlets, shoulder guards and legs, as well as a gleaming helmet—but wherever it didn't cover, where there should have been flesh, they was only light and warped space, like above a stream in summer. Fitting then, for that was what he was—heat, combustion, an explosion given form. He stood in the bombs tracks as the Tiger and I came to a hall, and as one we opened fire from three different directions, light spewing forth from my hands, the Tiger's jaws, and from the Heat Elementals entire body.

Bombs began to explode, even the bacterial shells unable to withstand the onslaught. One glassed everything around it, another erasing everything within ten meters of it. There was crushing force, warped gravity, burning fire, crawling ice, vacuums, rising, cutting winds, a bomb that liquefied and another that decomposed. On and one it went, a testament to the destruction my father could cause if not held back, and I stared into it fearlessly as I destroyed each and every bomb. With Levant and the Tiger close enough to protect my mother, I did not fear the explosions, so I erased the machine's Conquest had made one by one, drawing upon Dust crystals to feed myself renewed strength.

When at last they were all gone, I lowered my hand. The Heat Elemental spread wings feathered by gleaming blades and hurried to my mother's side and then the Tiger laid her down, a pair of Dust crystals giving her back her strength, just in case. When I was as sure as I could be that she'd be safe, I turned around.

Conquest was struggling to stand, armor shattered beneath my strikes to show altered tissue and blackened flesh. The house I'd through him into had been demolished utterly, whether by the force of his body or by my wake and he was slowly pushing himself from the rubble. I approached calmly, Tiger returning to wreath my body in a mantle of light as I stepped forward. It flashed out suddenly, so quickly that it might have seemed like the gleam of a suddenly drawn sword rather than the body of a massive creature, and then returned to me just as quickly. Conquest went down, knocked of his feet by the blow as his armor continued to splinter, and slid back as it happened again as I continued my stride. With each step I took, the Tiger lashed out at him, splintering armor and knocking him around, beating him ruthlessly such that he couldn't even rise.

When at last I stood over him, the Tiger brought both its hands down onto his shoulder's knocking him to his hands and knees before me. Without a moment of hesitation, I kicked him hard in the face, braking the bottom of his already cracked mask as I knocked him back onto his knees alone and looked down at him.

The torn, bleeding lips of my father's mouth were curled into a smile as his red eyes gleamed.

"That's better," He said. "Not too old to learn something from your old man, eh?"

I didn't say a word to him as the Tiger grabbed him around to throat, lifting him before me. I drove my fingers into a crack in his armor and then deep into the flesh beneath, white Aura rising around me. It glowed from my flesh and from the wound as my power clashed with my father's, brutal and overwhelming. He gave out a scream as it rose through him, shining from his mouth, but the scream turned into a roar and then a growl.

"Still?" He snarled. "Even now, you think you can save him?"

I ignored the words as easily as the blood and spit that came from his mouth, Aura searching. There had to be something—he'd all but said my guess was right. With his body drawing upon matter to repair itself, there had to be a connection to the source, something I could find and grasp—but there was nothing. Nothing in his Aura, at least, but maybe that wasn't surprising—in all likelihood, the connection came from the Grimm side of the equation and Conquest's cells had no Aura. But how did I get to it then?

Perhaps I couldn't, at least not directly. But the cells afflicted his body to strike at his Aura, so there was another connection there—could I use that?

Only one way to find out.

My Aura rose even brighter around me, rising from my armored skin like white fire even as it burnt through Conquest's form. He gave out a cry as if tortured, but though it was in my father's voice, I didn't let up—I forced my Aura through his blood and veins, forced it into the cells of his body even as I brutally crushed down on my father's Aura. He was in there somewhere, I could feel it through the touch of his emotions on my mind—hope, fear, pride, hate, love, all calling out to me—and I'd tear the monstrosity Conquest had made of his body _apart_ if that's what it took to find him.

So I reached into him, the touch of my soul burning as I searched, and paid no heed to his screams—until they changed, somehow, a resonance to them that made my body ring. For a moment I hoped…

But no.

"It seems there's only one way you'll learn!" Conquest roared, eyes wide as he stared down at my, and snarled in a voice that made my skin literally crawl. With strength that even now took me by surprise, he rose and shoved me back and I stumbled, as if my legs weren't working right. I caught myself quickly and tried to rose, but simply fell to my knees. My back arched and I pitched forward, hands shaking as if I was having a seizure, but it didn't hurt.

What the hell was he doing to me?

 **You have received the Status Effect 'Pandora Shell [Low].'**

No, I thought as I began to understand.

"I'll leave enough of you to be able to sleep," Conquest said voice eerily quiet as he knelt down to look at me. "So let this haunt your nightmares, Jaune—being trapped and enclosed, unable to see or move or breath, but still _alive_ , knowing all the while that those you love are dying. Dream of that and then wake to what's left."

"Jokes on you," I gasped. "There are others on the way. They'll destroy you. Maybe even me."

He snorted.

"No," He said. "They won't. Don't worry about that, son; I'll be sure to kill everyone that gets in the way."

"Ozpin will—" My voice abruptly gave out. My eyes began to close, one by one, as armor slid over them. I could feel my limbs changing in a distant sense, but couldn't feel anything like touch or pain. Already, the world around me seemed to fall away. But—

 **You have received the Status Effect 'Pandora Shell [Intermediate].'**

"Hush," He said, almost gently. "Daddy will take care of everything."

 **You have received the Status Effect 'Pandora Shell [High].'**

 **You have received the Status Effect 'Pandora Shell [Max].'**

I tried to say something, tried to resist, but even as my Aura fought, I couldn't do anything. He had a hold on me that went down to the cells of my body and though he couldn't touch my mind, it didn't matter. My arms seemed to melt, followed by my legs, as I was reduced to a literal shell of my former self. I couldn't see anything or sense them with my human body, leaving me only with the senses of my elementals and even those seemed masked, at a distance. The shell that was growing around me was blocking their Aura, locking me entirely within as it cut me off completely from the world until I wasn't sure if my Elementals were even still there. Perhaps they weren't; perhaps they'd shut down as they were cut off from me. The Tiger had, vanishing like smoke as I was sealed away.

But even as it happened, all I could think was 'Is this how everyone that Conquest transformed felt? Was this how my father feels?'

I didn't take a breath, for I had no mouth. I didn't shut my eyes for I didn't have those either, nor any other way of moving. But even as I was trapped in the dark, I was aware of at least myself, and I stayed calm. Even this wasn't enough to shake my heart.

Even this wasn't enough to make me stop.

 _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul—_

I rose around the shell, the Tiger forming around me anew—no, that wasn't it. I _was_ the Tiger, my body left behind in the white shell beneath me. I turned my head to see my father walking away and separated from my body entirely, clawed fingers curling. The world around me was different now that I'd discarded my physical body, combining Projection with the art of the White Tiger. But that didn't matter either, so long as it meant I could keep going.

 **You've thought of a new skill. Would you like to name it?**

I looked at myself crouching, preparing to Lunge at my father. All things considered, I could think of only one name that fit.

"Bai Hu," I growled and leapt at my father's turned back.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Rematch**

I tackled him out of the desolate patch that had once been a house, throwing us both back into the flattened battlefield. We hit the dirt hard enough to gouge a ten meter trench even as Conquest shouted words we left far behind. My ethereal claws left deep scratch marks in his armor as I raked at him, seeking hold even as he slammed his fists into the dirt hard enough to shatter the area around us. A shockwave hit me but I withstood it and kept hold, bracing myself momentarily even as the same Aura that composed my body began to sink into his flesh once more. I guided it through his veins towards his heart and brain and continued my search, still feeling my father's emotions against my mind, his soul again mine. I knew he was there, could feel it in the surprise and relief that I was still fighting, but I couldn't get a _hold_. Where _was_ he?

Conquest may have screamed again or even swore at me, but before I could hear it he snaked an arm back to grab me wholly by the face and, despite the awkward position and horrible leverage, managed to haul me up and over to slam me hard into the ground, shattering everything that still stood in several dozen meters. I felt my form warp, shifting under the strength of the blow, perhaps even tearing apart—but I didn't see the damage. Even while I was like this, the Gamer's Body still worked.

Which, I supposed, was only natural. My Semblance came from my Aura, after all, and now I was nothing _but_ Aura; why would I lose it?

As such, I barely paused as the earth around me was torn apart, claws reaching up even as my arm extending, seizing my father's body by _its_ head and doing what Conquest had just done to me. I pulled him over and smashed him into the broken earth, rolling over to follow. I didn't bother Roaring, knowing I would only outrun the sound, but less than a second after he came down I hauled him back up and left him suspended in the air—for a moment, at least.

Then my fist connected and I carved another trench with his body.

Stone crumbled beneath his fingers as he bounced back up, his gaze focused on me with intensity enough to burn even as more and more of his mask was torn away. Something I briefly thought was smoke rose from his arms and shoulders, but I zeroed in on it with my Clairvoyance to see the Grimm cells rising in the air, curled protectively around…Dust?

It took barely an instant to realize what that mean and by then plasma was already gathering in my fingers. A fractions of a second later, I was tossing it hard towards the smoke, but he still beat me to triggering it, since his own Aura was what gave it motion. I lifted my arms to shield against the blast, but whatever mixture he'd used produced something far beyond the sum of its parts and I was blown away and thrown high into the air. I caught myself, landing upside-down upon another platform and then lunging back to Earth, eyes scanning the battlefield for a flickering moment before focusing on my mother.

I felt a moment of relief as I confirmed that she was out of the blast's range, but it vanished in a moment. As I'd feared, Levant and my Heat Elemental were gone, dismissed by what had been done to my body—and if that had happened her, it must have happened elsewhere, as well. I felt Levant forming in the air around me, body splitting again and again. Most of them flew away the moment their bodies formed, moving quickly to return to their stations, but the largest mass remained with me as I altered my fall and then Lunged to my mother's side, Accelerating for a moment as I went.

An invisible, shielding wall of air formed around us as I landed and scanned the immediate area, cautious and worried—but the disease hadn't had time to spread into the area I'd left undefended in the moments I'd been out of commission, thankfully. I could only hope the same held true elsewhere. Although…

I glanced at Levant who tilted her head before nodding. I didn't say a word, but then, I didn't need to.

"Onyx," She said in my voice, words passing from copy to copy through their mental network. "I'm currently combating my father. My control was disrupted momentarily by something he did but I am restoring it as we speak. Still, be on your guard just in case; I'll keep you notified of anything that happens."

"Damn, is _that_ what's going on?" Onyx muttered back. "I _thought_ it felt like bombs were going off. Be careful, kid; your dad—"

"I know," I replied. "My mother and I are handling it. Just keep those people safe."

That done, I glanced down at my mother even as my father rose from the dirt, looking very much worse for wear. I let fire and lightning expand from my spectral hands and form new bodies for their respective elementals before merging into Heat once more, but only then met her gaze.

My mother's eyes were wide as she looked up at me. She'd seen the Tiger often enough to recognize it, but I wasn't sure how much of what happened she'd been able to see or what had prompted that expression. Regardless of the reason, when I held out my hand to her, she took it and let my lift her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Levant formed the words out of thin air, neither I nor the Elemental's mouths moving.

My mother lifted a hand to where she'd been struck by lightning mere seconds ago, wincing at the touch as if expecting pain, but then nodded.

"Peachy," She said at last, exhaling as she followed my gaze to my father. "Thanks for the saves."

I inclined my head slightly and allowed a moment to pass in silence. Conquest was shaking off the dirt and moving slowly, perhaps allowing himself a chance to heal and plan, but I benefitted as much from the pause as he did, if not more so—especially while I was getting used to the new body. As I drew out another set of Dust crystals to devour, I felt…it was hard to describe. There wasn't the weight to it that there had been with my human form and it was like a million things I'd gotten so used to I didn't even notice were now gone. It was strange.

So was the world around me. My Clairvoyance let me ignore most of it, see the way I had when I was human, but beneath it all I could glimpse shades of a world I barely recognized, with patterns of light and energy overlaid in a way that seemed at once familiar and foreign. The world I knew was still there, but…under it, I suppose. I could see my mother, for instance, though her figure was fogged and partially obscured by…by my mother, I suppose. It looked like her, if perhaps a bit younger and wearing armor I wasn't familiar with, something almost like a stain glass painting rising around her. Was this her Aura? Her _soul_?

It was something I'd need to research when I got the chance, but it was almost distracting right now. Stuff like that was _everywhere_ , the markings of life and loss as every bit as evident as the markings I saw in ultraviolet or the heat in infrared, but I didn't know what it meant or how to use it. It was just another thing I didn't have experience with yet, like everything else about this body. I wasn't sure how my skills would work with this form or even _if_ they would work, to say nothing of what I might be capable of. It was…

It was something I needed to address, right now.

One by one, I began to reactivate the skills that being turned into a Pandora Shell had deactivated—which seemed to be pretty much all of them. Maybe it was like going to sleep? I wasn't sure. Nonetheless, I took advantage of the moments I had to turn them back on, feeling them alter my spiritual body in strange ways. How things like turning my skin to Adamant worked in this case, I had no idea, but I felt strong. Strong enough that I'd still been able to throw Conquest around even without my various buffs; I assumed that something besides the strength of my body determined the strength of my spirit. Intelligence? Wisdom? Those seemed like the most logical choices for such a thing and in either case, I felt powerful.

"Jaune," My mother asked quietly after a moment and I shielded the sounds with Levant to keep Conquest from hearing. "Are you…okay? Where is your body?"

"Conquest turned it into a Pandora Shell," I said, glancing at her again as I wondered if she'd be able to hear me—and if so, how? I didn't have lungs or a voice box, as far as I could tell, nor was I breathing. After a moment without reaction, I repeated the words through Levant, who turned slightly to speak to my mother. She didn't need to do that, but it seemed like the type of thing that might make her a little more comfortable.

"Turned into a Pandora Shell," She repeated, paling slightly. "Then—"

I shrugged slightly.

"I'll sleep it off when this is over," I answered calmly. "I was going to need to do that, anyway, what with the Grimm thing."

Saying the words aloud made me wonder if my title had changed or if the White Rider had deactivated. I'd left my body behind, but then, it wasn't solely a physical disease. I drew Crocea Mors from my Inventory to look at my reflection in the blade—and above the face of a spectral beast were the title of the Gamer and the White Rider. It seemed that, at least, had remained, though what it meant for me…I wasn't sure. I wouldn't have tested this in combat if I'd had the choice, but, well, I hadn't. Lowered my sword and summoned Crocea Mors back into it, readying myself as Conquest turned towards us.

"It'll be okay without you?" She asked, still sounding worried. "Your body?"

"Yes," I answered simply. I could still feel my own body, a connection back to the source as my spirit wandered away from home. Even so, I knew that it was what was holding me here, binding me to this world. If that connection was cut…but Conquest wouldn't. I could be sure of that, at least. "I'll return to it after I save dad and make sure you're all okay."

Mom looked away, expression pained.

"Jaune…" She said. "I…I know. I understand completely. But you should have—"

"He's still in there, Mom," I answered calmly, knowing what she was about to say. "I can feel it. Literally _feel_ it—I can do that now. Conquest has him bound up inside and is making him watch, but he's still in there and I can…I have to believe I can save him."

She swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment, but didn't answer back. I wasn't sure if she was imagining what that must be like or if she couldn't agree. I'd had chances to kill him, I knew that, but…I couldn't. Not until I did everything I could to save him. Maybe that was horrible of me, putting this much effort into rescuing my own father when I'd slain the others with merciless practicality, but…he was my dad.

"The Dust that Dad always carried around," I said anyway. "Conquest keeps it inside his body now, defended by his cells, armor, and Aura—maybe even something else, to keep it from exploding if he doesn't want to. Even when I forced my Aura into his body while looking for dad, the Dust didn't react, but I wouldn't put it past him to have set up a kill switch, just to screw me over. If it looks like I've beaten him, he'll probably trigger the Dust inside of him and blow himself up, just to spite me. I have to disable it somehow and then…and then I might be able to stop Conquest from doing anything else while I save dad. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeves, but he has to run out _eventually_."

"Do you really think we can?" Mom asked, eyes on my father's form. I didn't miss the phrasing of her words. "Save him, I mean?"

"I don't think it's impossible," I answered. "For me, that's enough. He won't kill me and I'm willing to keep fighting until I die, so I'd say the odds are in my favor. But mom…he's actively trying to kill you and I'm not going to risk your life for this; Dad wouldn't want that. And I…I can handle it from here. Maybe you should—"

"I can deal with the Dust," She interrupt, looking down at her hands. "If I can touch it…"

"Touching it means touching Conquest," I answered. "It means risking infection."

"Not a concern," She shook her head. "If I have to, I can just tear off the arm that gets infected. You can fix that later, right?"

It took me a moment to work out how to make a rumble of displeasure with Levant. I had a lot of experience with the whole second hand talking thing, but it was awkward having to literally form every sound.

"Too risky," I stated.

"You're not the only one who's willing to fight to the death for this," She answered, sounding like the words would have been heated if she'd been less tired. "If he'd really in there, I won't leave him. I surprisingly can't say we've been through worse than this, but it's still not enough to make me leave him behind."

I made a grunt and was about to reply when a thunderous clap interrupted.

"Well," Conquest declared with what was probably false cheer. "Thank you for reminding why killing children is a lot more fun than talking to them, Jaune—because you are an enormous pain in my ass."

"Thanks," I answered.

"But really, killing you, though tempting, is off the table," He said, twirling his hammer. "And short of that, nothing else seems like it's gonna keep you down. I mean, hell, I got rid of your arms, your legs, your fucking body, and you're _still_ fighting?"

"I guess you must have missed it when you were going through my dad's memories," I replied. "But the Arc family's not very good at giving up."

I felt a flash of pride from him—from my father—and had to wonder if Conquest felt it, too, because his still visible lips twisted for a moment before he smiled again.

"I'd be really impressed if it were less fucking annoying," He said, lifting a hand. "Still, guess there's no helping it, eh? I was hoping for a bit more, but I guess this is good enough for a day's work, eh? I guess I got what I wanted, so…later, losers."

He raised two fingers in a salute, gave me the finger with his other hand, and smiled—and I knew exactly what he was about to do. My eyes met my mother's for a moment and there was no time to argue.

I took her hand and _moved._

There'd been no time to prepare for this, so I'd had no real way of knowing whether or not my Acceleration would work on another person. Even beyond that, there hadn't even been a chance to discuss things or plan for this, either; if Mom and I hadn't been on the exact same page, if we hadn't literally been discussing this exact thing, if hesitation or confusion had slowed either of us down for even a moment, we probably would have failed before we even began.

All the same, I couldn't say running towards a bomb that was about to go off was my best plan ever, though there was a certain method to the madness—I guess. After all, while Conquest knew a lot, I'd proven him wrong time and time again, pulling out tricks even my father had had no knowledge of, because I'd pretty much developed them on the spot. I hadn't always reacted as he'd suspected, hadn't done what he'd planned, and really, the fact that I'd shed my body and was standing here now must have thrown him for a loop in its own right. I was pretty sure I'd pushed him hard enough that he wasn't certain of anything where I was concerned.

How then, could he be sure that I'd survive the explosion? He couldn't be—after all, even _I_ didn't know that. Hell, given how I was burning resources just to push myself this fast, I'd probably put the odds against me; in those first moments, I devoured another dozen Dust crystals and still dumped most of my MP into Acceleration just trying to fuel the skill for two people. Given that I was spending the same thing my body was currently composed of, I had no way of knowing what would happen if a bomb went off in my face. I also didn't know what having my spiritual body destroyed while venturing away from home would do to me, though I imagined it wouldn't be anything good.

And since I didn't know, how could he? He may have had a lot of experience, might have even encountered purely spiritual opponents before, but could he be _sure_? Sure enough to risk my life and whatever plan he had going?

Too be honest...I had no idea. Still, in the split second I had to crunch the numbers, I figured my odds of saving my father with this plan were infinitely better than my odds of saving him if I did nothing. So…I charged full speed right at him, holding back nothing—not to turn away or draw back or defend. It had to be that way, because I had to be absolutely certain he knew I wasn't going to stop before he was, even if that meant playing chicken with my life.

And as I drew closer, covering a great distance in the moment I had left…he was the one who hesitated. Maybe just for an instant, to give himself a moment to consider and react. I wouldn't put it past him to have a backup plan, even for something like this.

But a moment of hesitation can become a great deal larger when you're playing with time. In that flash of indecision, I closed the distance, fire blooming in the air around me—and around my mother, who I'd pulled into my arms. I hadn't had a chance to warn her about that part, but somehow I figured she'd known. She'd closed her eyes, lifted an arm to shield them, and grit her teeth even as she began to burn, but otherwise didn't react, not giving so much as a growl of discomfort. I had a moment to heal her slightly, hopefully keeping her above the red—but then there was no time for anything but action.

I hit my father with everything I had, outstretched claws raking deeply at the most fragile section of his worn and broken armor, sheering through it and the flesh beneath. I left a wide, bleeding wound over my father's stomach and pushed my mother towards it with the arm I'd used to cradle her. She was already reaching out with the hand that wasn't being used to cover her eyes, so it was as simple as shoving it deep into the wound.

The muscles in her arm twitched, making Conquest stiffen. A moment later, I was forced to allow time to return to its normal pace, unable to sustain the drastic alterations any longer—and I hear an explosion.

For a second, I'd thought I'd failed, that it hadn't been enough, but then I saw the source. The sound had come from Conquest, yes, but he hadn't exploded—at least, not fully. His left arm had burst in several places, tearing off completely at the shoulder, and several other smaller pops had occurred over his chest, back, and legs, but he was alive and mostly whole; my mother had protected the important areas, at least.

I saw something like colored steam pour forth from the broken sections of his armor and recognized it as Dust again—but not _powdered_ Dust. Mom must have converted it to a gas inside him and somehow torn it from his control, but how—

Not now, I reminded myself, focusing on the important issue. I saw Grimm cells mixed in with the rising stream and it was expanding quickly from my father's wounds—which was bad, considering that Mom was right next to him. I called out to Levant, commanding her to gather it all into a sphere and defend it, at least for the moment. Then I turned to my mother, reaching out to pull her back—

Conquest's remaining arm snapped at my face. I managed to roll with the blow at the last second, but even taking a fraction of the force laid me out in a trench of my own and then snapped me high into the air. In the moment it took me to recover and create a platform beneath my feet, Conquest snatched my mother up by her left leg and lifted her high into the air, rage in his eyes. I had a moment to snake both hands and my tail into my Inventory, devourer another boost, and then Accelerate again, closing the distance I'd been tossed in a fraction of the time.

Even so, as I drew near, I knew I would break Conquest's inhuman hold on her—mainly because it had deformed her leg so badly I could see where it had pulverized bone. Worse yet, small spots of infection had already appeared, miniscule but obvious to my Clairvoyance. So instead of confronting Conquest's durability, I took the safer way out.

I drew Crocea Mors, activated the Burning Blade, and cut her leg off just below the hip. In the following moment, as surprise shone brightly in Conquest's eyes, I returned the blade to its resting place, jumped high to scoop my mother up safely in my arms, and then planted my foot on Conquest face with all the force I could muster. The same steps that had shattered the ground they'd tread upon crushed what was left of his mask, breaking my father's nose along with it and tossing him to the ground as I flipped back and landed in a crouch.

Time returned to normal again and I saw my mother grimace sharply, biting down a hiss of discomfort before meeting my eyes.

"My arm, too," She said, holding the infected limb away from her body and gritting her teeth as I tore it off with the White Tiger's Jaws and tossed it away. With it gone, I put a hand on her head and drew once more from my dwindling supply of Dust crystals, settling a Regeneration over her with a blue one. I heard her take a shuddering breath and then speak again. "Go."

I set her down as gently as I could and rose, flexing my claws, focusing on Conquest as he stumbled to his feet.

"Son of a fucking bitch," He snarled, a hand on his face—and I closed the distance in the blink of an eye, laying a hand over his to lift him high and slam his face up to his cheek bones into the dirt.

"That's my momma you're talking about," I said calmly, claws sinking into his skin. He screamed as I pushed my Aura against his and tried to force it down, power flowing in more easily now as I searched. It was an odd sensation, almost as if I were pushing against a door and feeling it shake, and it encouraged me, made me push harder. "Now let's try this _again_!"

Whatever I felt, he must have felt too, because he froze for just an instant and stared wide at me before setting his features into something bitter, spiteful.

"Let's," He spat and then began to convulse. I saw the Grimm cells turn on his body, attacking their own host with merciless swiftness. I sank my fingers deeper and healed him, repairing the damage at the cost of empowering the the disease, but then he just began to fit, kicking and screaming as what remained of his white armor began to bubble. Was he trying to kill himself or turn into a Pandora Shell? Looking at him, I wasn't sure—probably both. Trying to stall the former would encourage the latter, and then—

"Jaune!" I heard my mother cry as I held onto my father, gritting my teeth and trying to fight even though it seemed hopeless. At her words, though, I felt something that was hard to describe.

It took me a moment to realize that it was hope. _Her_ hope in my thoughts.

That more than anything was that made me look. Somehow, with one arm and a leg, she'd rolled herself over and pitched into the air, remaining hand reaching for the sphere of gathered Dust I'd had Levant gathered. When her fingers touched it, I allowed them to pass through, trusting her—and in that moment, gas turned to liquid. The contents of the bubble turned to a swirling mass of mixing, melting color and it must have been hot as hell because my mom screamed as it formed around her hand.

But she didn't stop and as she began to fall, liquid turned at last into crystal. I saw her catch herself on what looked like a crystal gauntlet and her knee before looking down at her arm. In a scarce few places, the Grimm cells that had survived the procedure tried to take hold, but she merely closed her eyes for a moment.

The next, her arm fell away, plasma phasing through it just below her shoulder. At the same time, she began to follow it down, unable to support herself on only a leg—but her eyes blinked open and met mine. I saw her lips twitch, moving to form words, but we were moving far too fast to rely on sound, now.

Even so, I understood and the ground broke beneath my feet as I released Conquest and closed the distance, stepping right past her falling body to snatch her arm out of the air. It was barely recognizable as human flesh above the elbow, colored oddly where liquid Dust had melted _into_ her flesh even as he power crystalized it once more. But even with all that, I could see the rough shape of her fist, decorated in rising spikes of Dust but still clearly clenched tightly around something. I broke off her mostly melted fingers one by one to get to the prize inside.

Growing from the palm of her hand was a white Dust crystal. It was tiny, almost delicate looking, but for a moment I could only stare at it in awe.

I'd never seen one, except in pictures, because it was the rarest of the crystals—the result of combining all the colors at full intensity. I had a brief moment to wonder what she wanted me to do, to consider my options—but then I decided and shoved the crystal, hand and all, towards my nonexistent heart.

And then I became light.

I'd never experienced this change from this perspective before—as the Aura instead of the body. But there was no other way to describe it; it didn't hurt, as it had my physical form, but simply happened. Everything I was, my very soul given form, became _light_ and expanded, growing in a way that was beyond the dimensions of my spectral body, beyond words I could use to describe it, beyond my ability to understand even as it happened. There was something immense there, something just beyond my reach, but…first things first.

Turning around, I faced the frozen world. My mother, Conquest, everything—it had all stopped, or might as well have, considering. I flowed through the halted air as light and returned to my father's side, looking down at the statue he'd become, and laying a hand on his head once more.

"I understand," I said, except I didn't so much as move. Even so, I _did_ understand something, looking down at him. I'd heard the phrase a thousand times, but never truly thought it mattered until now.

The eyes are the windows to the soul. That's why a number of Semblances affected their user's eye color—it was just a way of expressing what lay within.

And the eyes of the Grimm were nothing but pits of pure red. And my father's eyes, in Conquest's hold, were as red as any other monster's.

But there's more to a house than the windows or what color they were. You can't always judge a book by its cover. Sometimes you have to take a look inside.

I looked into my father's eyes and felt that resistance again, that doorway trying to keep me out. But I'd cast aside my body for this and this light I'd made of soul…if it existed for any reason, then it must be for this.

I felt Conquest try to keep me out, but he was as helpless to stop me now as he was to keep the sun from rising.

"You and me, Conquest," I said, though I knew he couldn't hear. "One more round."

I began to fall forward, as if a pit had opened up beneath me, hungry to draw me in. But I wasn't afraid, even as my body began to fade. In fact, I was smiling.

I'm coming dad.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By combining the skill of Projection with the power of the White Rider, the skill 'Usurpation' has been created.**

 **XxXXxX**


	8. Chapter 8

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Mind Games**

I fell slowly in the darkness, as though sinking through water. For a moment, there was nothing but myself, alone in a void and illuminated only by my own light, but at last my fall reached its end and I landed softly upon some obscured surface. As I touched down, light rippled outwards from my feet, burning away the nearby darkness.

Looking down, I saw myself standing beneath my own feet. It was like I was standing on top of a mirror, but my features weren't reverse. In fact, I looked….human again, as if the me below hadn't discarded his form and had never been touched by Conquest. Then I lifted my hands and saw the white of Grimm bone armor. At some point, too fast for even me to notice, the Tiger had faded and been replaced by the White Rider.

I let my hands fall back to my sides and looked around. Though I seemed alone within a void, the sky above the human me was bright blue and shone with light. I took a step forward and he mirrored me below, small ripples of cleansing light blowing outwards as our feet connected. More of the world below me was revealed, small bits of clouds and sky. As more light poured up beneath my feet, I saw figures in the shadows, outlines vaguely illuminated by my approach. I could barely see them, as though I'd walked into a darkened room and my eyes had only just begun to adapt—and it was that which made it clear to me that my Clairvoyance was not working. My Elementals, my preternatural awareness, none of it functioned in this place. I'd been plunged into a world where I was all but blind and what little light I could gather did nothing but hint at the shapes of terrors in the dark. As far as I could tell, I could have been surrounded by enemies just waiting for me to move, to draw their attention by revealing more light.

The thought made me chuckle, but the sound didn't seem to carry through the air in this place. It was as silent as it was dark. But—

"I'm not going to be stopped by the dark, Conquest," I said, putting my will into the words to make them resound through the silence. I continued forward, fearless despite what may be lingering in the shadows, and each step drew more light even though it illuminated nothing. "Did you think just because I have so many senses, I'd be paralyzed without them? If all you have left to throw at me are childish fears, then just give up. I know there are things in the dark, monsters lying in wait, but I'm a Hunter, like my father and his father before him, so I face them so others don't have to. It's literally what I do for a living."

I lifted my hands invitingly, the other me smiling brightly, but there was no response but a distant rustle in the dark.

"But," I continued when there was no response. "If this is how you want to play this, very well. But you should know that darkness is nothing but the absence of light."

Tapping my foot slightly in time with the words, I drew upon my will and upon the power of the Dust that still burnt within me. Though the form of the Tiger was gone, the power stayed with me in a way that was hard to describe—but I let some of it pour out of me and flow across the ground. It expanded, not like ripples, but like a wave that crashed over everything. Where each step had illuminated perhaps a meter, the wave did not stop but flowed out and out until all was revealed.

An army stood around me. From the smallest of Nevermore to the towering mountain of Ziz, the creatures of Grimm had me surrounded and their number was such that I could not see the end of them. In every direction, they went on to the horizon, millions—billions—of them. What seemed like all the Grimm on Remnant stood poised to attack me now, a force that could and had swallowed civilizations.

I didn't even bother feigning interest as I kept walking. As if waiting for that signal, the first of the Grimm attacked, a Beowolf leaping forth from the endless horde. Fangs sank into my throat and then I felt feathers stab into my flesh, the black darts falling in greater number than rain in a storm. Something massive stuck me in the back, the stinger of a Deathstalker impaling me through the middle and lifting me into the air. Other creatures seized my limbs, biting and tearing as they overwhelmed me.

For a moment I watched, looking down at the White Rider beneath my feet. Then I continued along my way, ignoring what was happening beneath me completely. The world around me—my father's mind or perhaps his soul—wasn't what I'd expected; but then, what _did_ I expect from my father's soul? It wasn't really the type of question I'd ever actually thought about before, because, well, why would I?

But looking at it, I could do little more than nod to myself, because though I hadn't anticipated it, it made sense when I saw it. I walked away from what appeared to be Beacon, with some of the buildings little more than vague blurs and other as clear as if I'd been standing in front of the real thing. It looked different, granted, like Beacon might have before it renovated once or twice, but I assumed this was what it had been like in my father's day. To either sides of it were houses, some right next to one another and some separated by leagues and leagues of fields, giving the entire thing a rather patchwork appearance that just seemed to fit. To the left, I recognized my grandfather's house from before he passed away, and on the other…

I recognized some of the places from photos and could place others from stories or through basic logic. There, an apartment that my dad had probably lived in for a while. There, a smaller house, maybe his first—back when he thought he was going to be a father of one instead of eight. There was a larger house down the way and then one nearly twice the size before, far in the distance, I saw home. The fields that separated the buildings were all different but something always stood out about them. There were battlefields, graveyards, places under attack, a wedding ceremony…I didn't pry, for I knew what they were.

My father's memories. The things and places that had mattered to him most; what he'd lived through and left behind.

I walked past the fields, eyes on the skies above until I got home, humming quietly to myself to help ignore the sounds around me. When I reached the front door, though, it was so utterly familiar I had to pause for a moment. Had it really been only a day since I'd been home? It felt like a lot longer, even ignoring the time manipulation.

But if I'd find my father anywhere, it'd be here.

The front hall was full of pictures as ever, but they weren't the ones that had been there in real life. Instead I saw pictures of people and places—things he tied to home, perhaps. I saw ones of Bianca near the front, from ones of a baby with the beginnings of blonde curls to images of a woman in her late twenties or early thirties. It had been awhile since I'd seen my eldest sister, but they looked older than I remembered. Maybe dad had seen her more recently or perhaps they weren't real imagines. Perhaps these were hopes and dreams as much as memories; the pictures here and the whole of this place.

A part of me wondered what I'd see at the end of this particular way, when I got to my own pictures, but then I shut my eyes and smiled to myself. A picture might have been worth a thousand words, but something's are better heard than seen.

I didn't need to open my eyes to move through the house it was so familiar, so only when I'd reached the living room did I even bother to. When I did, I stopped at the doorway and looked inside.

My father sat in his chair by the TV, looking back at me. He'd been nailed there, stabbed through his arms, legs, and chest with perhaps a hundred spikes of white bone and left bleeding horribly. It stained the ruined cloth of his shirt and pants badly enough that I couldn't make out the color or lettering of the former and if he'd been more than a mental or spiritual image, he'd have been thoroughly dead.

But he wasn't. He was alive.

"Hey, Dad," I said. "Sorry to barge in so rudely, but there wasn't a lot of time."

"Oh, it's okay, Jaune," He said after a moment, blood spilling from broken lips. Even so, he was smiling. "I'll get over it, I suppose."

I returned the smile and went to his side, kneeling to grasp one of the spikes in his legs. Beneath me, through the reflective floor, I saw the White Rider standing tall in what looked like a throne room carved out of black stone. The walls were so dark, in fact, that they seemed almost like tears in space—and after a moment, I realized that perhaps that was exactly what they were. The Grimm didn't have souls, after all, so what would their presence look like in someone else's if not an absence? Like darkness and light.

I didn't have the experience needed to say for sure, but perhaps that was even why this had been so easy. Though at first I'd been lost in darkness, the moment my father's soul had touched mine, a bit of that darkness had gone away. Conquest had tried to hide things from me, deceive me, but my father subverted him at every turn, knowingly or not. The mirror beneath me showed the truth of my father's souls, without the armies of the Grimm or a never-ending darkness.

Beneath everything my father had still been here, like I'd known all along.

And beneath me now, sitting in a pedestal at center of the throne room above the White Rider was…the White Rider, looking down at my reflected form. Not just him, but the transformed figures of Keppel, Carmine, Tenne, my father, and countless other figures, all somehow inhabiting the same space and existing both separately and as one.

Conquest, serving as my father's reflection, sat waiting—and he could wait a little longer, because I was still too busy for his shit. I refocused on the task at hand, drawing spikes carefully from my father's mutilated body.

"So," My father asked, breathing carefully. "You have a plan?"

"We're going to get you out of here, of course," I snorted.

"Of course," He chuckled slightly. "I was just wondering about the specifics. Do you actually know what you're doing?"

"Nope," I admitted. "This is my first time soul diving; finally tried something that got results, got this. Sort of figuring out the rest as I go, but hey—I'm doing okay so far, right?"

"You are," He acknowledged. "Or I assume you are. Can't say I have any idea what's going on, either. What have you got so far?"

"I'm still working on my idea," I said. "Conquest is drawing energy from somewhere. I can't get to him directly in his cell form, but he infected your body in order to get at your Aura. There's a connection there and it can apparently get from Conquest to your body and then to your Aura, so I figure it should be possible to turn it around somehow. Think you could manage it if I free you?"

My father shook his head.

"That might be possible, but I have no idea where to even begin with something like that. I heard you talking about it before, but…well, you might as well have been speaking another language. I tried to resist when he infected me, but I didn't feel anything like what you were talking about and then I couldn't do anything."

I frowned at that, looking down again.

"Conquest kept you trapped inside," I muttered. "But you could still watch everything?"

"I could see and hear just fine," He nodded. "Just couldn't…you know. Stop myself."

He looked away as if personally ashamed of that fact. I patted his knee awkwardly before rising and planting a foot on the armrest to help pull out the spears in his chest. The wounds didn't fade even when the spikes were gone, which struck me as rather worrying, but he didn't complain.

As for his words, I'd known all that before, but…did it mean anything? Did he _have_ to let my father see? If, as I'd already confirmed, eyes were the windows to the soul, did that have something to do with this. And if so…

I shook my head in irritation. I didn't know enough about the mechanics of this whole soul hopping thing to say anything yet and god that was annoying.

Fine, I thought.

"Plan B, then," I nodded. "We bond by beating the shit out of Conquest until candy comes out and we see what happens from there."

"That's not really a _plan_ ," He mused before tilting his head to the side, tone lowering dangerously. "But I _do_ like the sound of it."

"I thought you'd appreciate that part," I smiled, moving onto his arms quickly. "It's a place to start, at least. You ready?"

"For this?" My dad looked down at his mutilated body and then at the looking glass floor. "I'm more than ready."

"Then let's give it a shot," I grabbed his hand and followed his gaze.

I looked down at my feet and saw myself through two pairs of eyes, staring at both sides of the mirror. Then I was on the other side, hand around the wrist of my father's Grimm form and as one we looked up at Conquest, darkness above us and light beneath.

"You said you'd like to see me try and take my father back," I said, staring at him with eight eyes. "Well, Conquest. What do you see now?"

"Two of the most annoying fucking humans I've ever met in my entire life," He replied, a thousand voices overlaying his own as he rose. "It seems you still have a lot to learn, boy."

Without another word, the world changed. Darkness flooded over us along with a wave of such utter silence that it seemed a creature in and of itself. I'd heard of rooms that scientists had made so utterly quiet that people forced to remain in them started to break down—if so, I imagined that was what this place was like. For a moment, there seemed to be nothing but me, alone in the dark and deprived of any sensation.

"This again, huh?" I said, closing my eyes as the words refused to carry beyond my lips. I wondered for a moment if he thought this would work on me—but no, he couldn't think he could get past the Gamer's Mind, could he? Even beyond that, would he really try the same trick twice?

No, I thought. But then, this was the first time for my father, wasn't it? And it was his soul that was bound and captive, gripped tightly in Conquest's darkness. He could be touched, frightened, hurt, and shaken, and in a battle like this…I honestly had no idea what that really amounted to, actually. I didn't even know if this would accomplish anything, much less be enough to free my father—I was messing with things I had no real grasp of and with which I'd had no time to practice. For all I knew, this would just kill him faster. I—

Doubts, I thought as I shook them off. Whether a subtle attack by Conquest or a natural result of being lost in the dark, it didn't matter; I had no use for such things now. If there was one thing I _was_ sure of, it was that surety itself had power here. So I made certain that _I_ was certain and spoke again.

"That's enough," I said. I walked towards that mass with steady, fearless steps, unworried of whatever may lie within it or what Conquest's mind might conjure up. We were in the mind or the soul, which for all I knew were near enough to be the same thing; whatever the case, they were their own places, independent of the physical world. I had to remember that this wasn't a battlefield and that I wasn't a warrior here. I was hope and a light that banished the darkness, as far beyond Conquest's power to stop as the rising of the sun. I was here to help my father and nothing would stop me, especially not something as easily broken as silence, darkness, and doubts.

And between one step and the next, the darkness was gone—and so was Conquest, who'd vanished from his throne above us. The scene in the throne room had changed and I heard a low sound from behind me; my father, in all likelihood, seeing what had been revealed. On the floor around us laid the corpses of his and my mother's team, flesh torn by teeth and claws; my teeth and claws, presumably. Their flesh had been shredded, eyes and faces torn away, bones laid bare, blood splattered everywhere.

They didn't, however, look anything like the actual corpses; I'd killed Keppel, Carmine, and Tenne a lot more neatly, for one thing. I supposed Conquest had no real way of knowing that, though, and neither did my father. I could see him through the eyes on my back, on his hands and knees where he must have stumbled in the darkness—it probably wasn't a coincidence that the most brutally mutilated corpses was right in front of him. And though it was a lie, it was a convincing lie, from the angles of the blood splatters to the cloaking smell of death. If I hadn't known it was a complete lie, I might have wondered, like my dad was probably doing.

He didn't say a word and that was probably the point; he wouldn't say a word. He'd just wonder and doubt. Here, that might be enough.

So I spared him the trouble.

"They didn't die like this," I said, looking back over my shoulder. My father's crowned head had turned slightly to look at two of the nearest corpses which I recognized as Keppel and Carmine with some difficulty; they really were rather messy. "It was fast, I promise. I knew they weren't responsible for what was happening—and I'm not one to hurt people unnecessarily, either. You taught me better than that."

"Yes," He said. "I know. I wasn't—"

"It's okay," I interrupted. "He's trying to make you doubt and worry; you're his target. I'm not sure whether that's because he can't get at me or if the fact that this is your house matters, but he's going to try and shake you."

"Right," My father nodded. "Of course. I just—Jaune!"

Something stabbed me through the chest, a sword that was pretty easy to recognize, though it was heavily stained in blood. I looked over my shoulder to see my own face and then looked back into my father's eyes.

"Pay no attention to him," I said in the exact same tone. "It's nothing but a trick to get a rise out of you. Just remember, we have souls; he doesn't. He's a leech, a parasite drawing upon your power and trying to make you think he's something more than the powerless worm he is."

"But he can't get to you?" My father asked, having come to his feet and raised his hammer the moment I was stabbed. Only my voice stopped him from doing something, though what it mattered, I couldn't say. Still, at this point I was pretty firmly onboard the 'Conquest doesn't get anything he wants' train, so it seemed like a good idea to keep him calm. That in mind, I took a step forward, pulling myself off the sword and dismissing the copy of my mother entirely. "Because of the Gamer's Mind?"

"Partially," I said. "He tried to stop me from getting to you, but he couldn't. I won't flinch at the images he shows me; I won't draw back or shake or doubt. If nothing else, I can say that my heart won't change—and here that's power. No matter happens, I came here to help you and nothing he does will make me stop trying. But…you helped too, you know."

"I did?" He asked, sounding surprised. "How?"

"You showed me the way," I tried to smile but I didn't have the mouth for it, so the me beneath my feet smiled for the both of us. "The world beneath us, it showed me the truth and that helped me find you. See?"

I saw him look down at the blue sky beneath our feet, the world spread out below us. I didn't recognize most of the scenes there, but he must have. I saw him look at the other me, especially, and then lift his eyes to mine once more.

"Yeah," He said after a moment of silence. "I guess I am pretty awesome."

I chuckled and held out my hand. Certainty and confidence may be a type of power here, but there was nothing that said they couldn't come from someone else. I'd gotten this far because of my parents, in a way, so…

"Come on," I said, hand waiting. "He can't touch me here, but this is your soul—maybe that means it's your fight to win, too. Just know that I'm here to help you."

He nodded once, eyes dropping to my hand for just a moment. I knew what he was thinking. With Conquest gone from the throne above, he could be anywhere—especially since he'd plunged the room into darkness before he left. He had to be wondering where he could be and the only other person in the room was me. A part of him, if just a small part, had to be wondering if this was a trick, especially with the double of me that had attacked; taking the appearance of a loved one was a pretty common tactic for this type of thing in games, at least. Maybe that was what Conquest was after, trying to plant doubts and turn my father against me, instead.

So I did the only thing I could do.

"Hey," I said, tilting my head to the side. "I've got your back, Jack."  
"Goddamn it, Jaune," He said with an annoyed tone, but his human reflection smiled as he took my hand. "How long have you been waiting to say that?"

"A while, maybe," I shrugged a shoulder. "But seriously, let's go. I can't say I know the way for sure, I'll guide you as best I can."

"Nah," Dad snorted. "I know where he is."

Before I could even ask, he lifted his hammer and threw it hard at the empty throne, reducing it to powder—and throwing Conquest through the air. Maybe he'd been hiding there all along. Maybe my father's certainty had forced him there.

It didn't matter.

My father took a step and we were abruptly standing above Conquest's prone form. The Grimm twitched once, thousand forms jerking as he tried to rise, but my father put his fingers on his chest and held him down. He held a hand out to me and I passed him Crocea Mors—my sword as it had once been his, real to us both in this place. With a swift motion, he lifted it up and brought it down, impaling Conquest cleanly through the chest.

Whereas I'd brush a wound like that off as nothing, Conquest roared as light glowed from the sword.

"Son of a _bitch_ —" He swore before my father brought down his hammer again, smashing it into his face with force enough to shatter the throne room's entire floor.

"That's my momma you're talking about," My father drawled, human reflection winking at me. "Now then, let's get down to brass tacks, hm?"

My father grabbed Conquest's face and pulled him up, ripping him through the hilt of Crocea Mors—and suddenly, all three of us were on the other side of the mirror. My father and I were human again and Conquest…Conquest was an empty space.

He was nothing.

"This is my soul," My father said, the words no less dangerous for how quiet they were. "And it's an asshole free zone. Jaune!"

I stepped past him, sword abruptly in my hands again, but this time it returned because of _my_ will. I felt the light that flowed through my spirit and the blade glowed, brightening until it filled the room with light and then solidifying into a sword of pure light and will. My father caught my hand and together, we drove it into Conquest again, heedless of his screams.

And as the light filled the darkness, as our combined will overcame Conquest despite his age and power and evil…I found what I was looking for. We channeled our Aura through Conquest—through his manifestation her and through his physical form—and from there the connection I'd been unable to find seemed clear as day. It stretched far beyond my senses, vanishing into the darkness, but I could _feel_ it.

"Jaune, did you find it!?" My father shouted as a sudden wash of color and sound filled the room.

"Yes!" I snarled back, driving the blade deeper and feeling it come both apart and back together in my mind. I imagined the connection as a string and swept my blade down to cut it loose—

And everything went wrong. There was a sudden change as my light touched home, like a vibration up and down the string, but it was more than that. Suddenly, by image of the string as fragile was gone and instead it was something harder than adamant and colder than Keppel's final attack. It was something living and I felt my sword—my light, my will, my very self—rebound off of it.

At that moment, I realized something very obvious—something I'd known from the very beginning but never truly grasped until now.

If there was a connection, there must have also been a source.

My image of Crocea Mors shattered in my hands, sending my father and I flying back. I hit the wall and then the ground, blows that should have meant nothing, but I was still left reeling by the sudden force against my thoughts. A dark boot landed beside my face and something grabbed me by the scruff of my neck but I couldn't focus on anything, except—

"Your soul is still weak, old friend," A voice chuckled in my ear.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
The Final Round**

My disorientation lingered for a second before fading, whether because of the Gamer's Body or my current, spiritual existence. Even so, I didn't look up yet, trying to gather my thoughts. He—whoever 'he' was—had me by the literal throat which meant my instinctual desire to act might be ill-advised. A strong enough opponent could do a fair number of horrible things to me and I didn't know how my spiritual form would react to such an attack.

Because the man holding me by the neck felt…real. Like _more_ than a mere image, a creation in my father's thoughts and soul. I could _feel_ him in such a way that seemed more solid, more dangerous. I didn't know the rules here, didn't understand the situation, but I felt pretty damn certain I was in dangerous territory.

Should I try a sneak attack and attempt to break his grip? Or should I do nothing and play along? I knew the power of appearances, especially the appearance of strength, but appearing weak could have its own advantages, especially in a situation like this. People tended to have looser lips around defeated enemies, at least in games and movies and such. Would that work here?

Seemed worth a shot, considering that I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I'd just have to hope that I wasn't _actually_ as defeated as I seemed.

That in mind, I looked up at him slowly, lifting my head as much as the grip on my neck would allow. At first, I seemed to be staring into what seemed like a dark, twisted vortex—not an emptiness like Conquest had been underneath it all, but more like something hungry, devouring everything around it. Dark, but more like how a Black Hole was dark; something with such gravity that nothing around it could escape, not even light. The fabric of my father's very soul seemed to bend around the outline of that pit, straining at the edges.

And then that image was gone and a young man stood in his place. No, more than a young man—for a second, I thought I was looking at myself again. We had the same hair color, same eye color, same height, even the same _clothes_. In many ways, it was like looking into a mirror, but there were enough differences to draw the eyes; probably deliberately so. He looked like me, but…

Well, he was better looking. Enough that I couldn't help but notice, even with the confident smirk on his face. Though our features seemed the same, they were…perhaps _arranged_ was the word? Arranged differently. His hair was better kept, his smile a bit more natural on his mouth, skin just a tad better in a way that was hard to pin down. It was like someone had deliberately designed him to be me, plus one.

Which…was probably exactly what had happened. He couldn't look like this naturally, but he'd adopted the form of my…better looking twin just to make a point of some kind. It kind of made me want to punch him in the face. A lot.

What he'd said though…'old friend?' I had no idea what he was talking about—but I couldn't let _him_ know that, could I? Or would he tell me more if I seemed confused? No, the hand on my throat, the better looking thing, the smirk, it all screamed 'enemy.' Probably better to play the defeated enemy then the defeated moron, to preserve…whatever connection there was supposed to be between us.

"And you're still an asshole," I grunted, meeting his eyes. "I wasn't going to mention it."

He chuckled and gave my neck a shake. My body tried to resist before I controlled it, but it didn't seem to matter; he shook me like a stick in the wind regardless, overwhelming me with sheer strength.

Except…that couldn't be true, at least not in a physical sense—because we _weren't_ physical. He overwhelmed me _spiritually_ , forcing me to move with his will. His _soul_. I suspected it from the moment I noticed the difference between him and Conquest, but now I was sure; whoever this bastard was, he had a soul, however twisted it might be.

And if he had a soul, he couldn't be a Grimm. He was human, then? Or something similar, at least; he could be a robot like Penny or something stranger, but whatever he was, he was _alive_.

I knew something else, too—that this guy was the source of the Grimm or at least tied to it closely. I'd summoned him unintentionally when I'd tried to sever Conquest's link, confirming in the process that there _was_ a link, and he was…not at all what I expected, but…the implications…

Was he a mad scientist? Some wannabe god or dark spirt or ancient warrior? I had no idea, but if he was tied to the source of the Grimm, if there _was_ a source of the Grimm and it was something _alive,_ than this could what the people of Remnant had been searching centuries for; an enemy, perhaps ludicrously powerful, but definite and real—something that could be _fought_.

Could maybe even be _beaten_.

I could very well be looking at something people had only dreamt of before now—a _solution_. An answer to the Grimm, a way to _save_ Remnant from the endless, nightmarish hordes that ruled it. A way to overcome Humanity's ancient, unbeatable enemy. This was…groundbreaking.

If I defeated him here and now, destroyed the source or whatever he was, would that be the end? Could things be that simple?

Probably not. But the mere knowledge that such a thing _existed_ , the idea that I might be able to do something against an opponent we'd long since given up actually defeating, it was…hard to even imagine. If Ozpin knew, if the Kingdom's knew…

I'd found something unbelievable.

But I still couldn't leave. Not without my father. I knew that was stupid—what I'd just stumbled across was something beyond my father's life, beyond my life, beyond anything. This information…this could save not only every man woman and child in Remnant, but countless future generations. If there could, one day, be a world without Grimm, if people could grow up without having to worry about attacks or staying within the Kingdoms or drawing down the Grimm…that was a future that was…

Logically, I knew I should retreat, do everything I could to get this information to Ozpin where it could do the most good. Inside my father's head, he had no way of knowing what might be happening, no way of knowing what was going on, so I had to get the message to him somehow. I knew that I should cut my losses here and now, try to escape and retreat without taking any risks, because the knowledge I carried now was just worth that much, but…

I didn't move, couldn't move. I couldn't leave my father behind. Even if I knew it was foolish, to take any risks now, I…I had to do everything I could to save him. Just because—even though I knew it was stupid and selfish and shortsighted—that amazing future…it needed to have my father in it. I couldn't settle, not over this.

So I kept talking.

"I got your gifts," I said, taking a shot in the dark as more pieces fell into place. Might as well make the most of this horrible decision. "Crom Cruach, the Goliath, all the others—that was your doing, right?"

He chuckled.

"It's rare that I can express my will so directly," He said, sounding amused. "But my children are smart and they listen to their father. I was actually doing something else, but…well, I always have time to help an old friend."

'Help,' he said. The Goliath, Conquest, he called them ' _help_.'

No, I realized, going back further. It went beyond that.

"And that Beowolf," I remembered. "And I suppose it was rather lucky that Ziz woke up when he did, chased off my pursuers, and whisked me away to safety. Must have been hard for you, waking him up like that."

"Perhaps a bit," His smile widened. "Really, the lucky part is that you were nearby. You were even _weaker_ back then; those children that had been chasing you probably would have run you down."

I wanted to say something to that—that I'd had it under control, that the White Whale would have been able to escape. It might even have been true. Of course, if I'd gotten away and flown to Atlas as I'd intended without being waylaid by Ziz and forced to train, that fight with Penny probably would have gone a lot worse.

Assuming it had _only_ been Penny. If not for the international terror inspired by Ziz, Atlas might have been able to mobilize more forces. At the time, me against a Hunter or two or three or five…

That probably would have gone pretty badly. I guess I'd really had a guardian angel watching over me.

Just my luck that he was probably a _fallen_ angel, though.

"You've been a good friend," I noted, staying calm. "But friendship goes both ways. I assume there's some way I could help you? To repay your kindness."

He chuckled and patted me on the head.

"That's very kind of you," He said. "But the best way you can help me is to just do what comes naturally. In fact—"

He was interrupted by a sudden crash that drew my gaze to the utterly ruined wall on the other side of the room. I could see my father in the distance—and I meant the _distance_. The blast that had thrown me across the room and left me reeling must have thrown my father down the street instead. Nearly a kilometer away, if distance mattered here, I could see his glowing.

"Get your hands off my son," The world around of growled, words echoing through the earth and sky alike.

My evil twin looked bored in response.

"This flesh you've attached yourself to—this is its father?" He asked, barely giving my dad a glance. "He's rather impolite, isn't he?"

He lifted a hand almost absentmindedly, but somehow managed to convey as must of a threat as if he'd summoned up a fleet of airships and called in the army. The words had seemed casual, but there was a confidence in his voice that made it obvious that he thought he was armed far beyond his enemy's ability to bear.

I caught his wrist, jerking into motion sheer instinctual knowledge that if I didn't, my father might not survive.

He needed me, I told myself. Whatever it was for, he needed me to do something. That in mind, I took a meaningless breath and spoke when his gaze fell upon me.

"If you hurt him, I'll kill you," I said. "I doesn't know when, I don't know how, but I swear to god I'll kill you someday. You, Conquest, Ziz, the Grimm—everyone on your side."

He smiled then, breaking my grip with a twitch of his wrist and lifting his freed hand to my face. It was an almost gentle gesture—that, more than anything, told me I should be worried.

"Good," He said. "Kill. Kill everyone and everything that gets in your way, because in the end…killing is all that matters."

In that moment, I felt as though my greatest fears had abruptly become inevitabilities.

In that moment, I tried to stop them anyway. My body shifted as I drew up the crystal that beat in time with my nonexistent heart, pulling power from it until I felt like I was burning and thought I would explode. Light rose within me like I'd swallowed the sun, shining through my skin as if it had been clear as glass, and then I felt myself change. If this world was a construction of metaphor and image, then I had become something more than that—something realer, perhaps, _deeper_. Once again, I became light, both in a physical sense and a metaphorical one.

And it still wasn't enough to let me get away. Even when I became something that he should not be able to grasp, he held onto me, changing neither his touch on my neck nor his expression. I pulled the power of White Dust into my father's heart and soul, set it against the will that kept me bound, and didn't so much as make it budge.

I kept trying. Reaching behind me, I grabbed his arm and tried to push it away even as I sought to tear free from his grasp, but it was like an ant trying to lift a mountain. I kept trying, kept struggling, but for a moment I was sure that the only thing I'd tear out was my own spine. I felt the power of his hold and knew I'd break long before his grip did.

So be it.

I grit my teeth and pushed anyway, only for him to release me abruptly, lips twitching upward as he looked down at me. I didn't question it, didn't bare waste a moment, but was suddenly by my father's side without crossing the space between, reaching out to grasp his hand.

The moment I did, something…'hit us' didn't describe it. Nothing I could think of described it, because nothing seemed to happen. There was no change in lighting, no display of power, no motion in the world around us, no sign that anything had changed at all. There was no vector to the attack that I could see, no aspect of it that I could feel, _nothing_. In that moment, I was certain my father was going to die because…he was going to die. There was no reason for it, no cause, but _he_ wished it to be so and so it would be.

And so I felt my father's soul dimming, felt some vital spark start to flicker. I felt a flash of something horrible, knowing he was going to die and that there was nothing I could do about it—

No, I thought. Fuck that noise.

As my father's soul began to go out, shadows crept over the land—but they just as quickly faded as power flowed out of me. What he took, I returned, drinking even deeper from the white Dust crystal. If he was a hungry darkness, I made myself a giving light and channeled my power into my father's hand.

It was like trying to fill a black hole my dumping water into it; even an ocean of power wouldn't be enough. But for a moment, transient though it might be, I kept my father's light from going out by fueling it with my own.

My lookalike tilted his head at me but didn't let up on the suction as I'd rather hoped he would. In fact, he mainly just seemed bored.

"Don't hurt yourself now," He said like he was talking about the weather. "We wouldn't want to lose anything important, now."

"You better stop trying to take my father, then," I snarled, the light around my rising and falling at an increasingly irregular pace.

"Now why would I do that?" He asked.

"Because," I ground out, doing my best not to bow under the…God, I still didn't know what I was defending against. As far as I could tell, the laws of physics had just updated with 'Jacques Arc must die' and the universe was trying to carry it out. "You need me, still. And the only way you'll get to him is over my dead body."

"Please," He snorted disdainfully. "We both know you won't be able to keep this up."

Damn it. We _did_ both know that. I'd been drawing from the white Dust for a long time now and I was pushing it hard trying to defend my father. It was only a matter of time until that faded, and then…then I wouldn't have the power to keep doing this. As soon as it ran out, I doubted I'd be able to continue doing this. Trying would probably cost me my life.

I drew a deep breath

"It doesn't matter," I said. "Didn't you hear me? The only way you'll get to him is over my dead body. If my Dust runs out, I won't stop trying—"

He tilted his head to the side and quirked an eyebrow, abruptly seeming amused.

It pissed me off, but that was neither here nor there.

"I'll keep fighting until die. I'll kill you if you try to hurt my father—or at the very least, I'll make you kill _me_."

"I rather doubt that," He chuckled. "Considering what I know, it seems very unlikely that'll happen."

"You don't know me," I said, meeting his gaze seriously. I wasn't afraid—well, okay, that was a lie. I was terrified of losing my father or dying…but it wouldn't stop me. Some things are worth dying for. "You don't know a thing about _either_ of us."

He lifted a hand to his heart and pretended to be hurt.

"That's a cruel thing to say to your best friend. I mean, I've only known your father there for a little while, but hell," He paused to chuckle again and winked at me. "It's seems like I know him better than you."

A hand came down on my shoulder, stopping me before I could reply. My father, who'd frozen the moment I pulled out all the stops, now seemed as unaffected by the act as my evil twin. Was it because we weren't in the real world and time didn't matter here? Had he overcome it himself, felling the conflicting forces that were acting on his soul? Or had he—

No. This was my evil twins work—and it only took me a moment to realize why. I felt my heart fall and knew what he would say before he even opened his mouth.

"Jaune," He said, looking past me to keep his eyes on my duplicate. "That's enough."

"Dad," I whispered. "Don't. You can't win this fight."

"Shh," He said, just as quietly. "I know. I felt it. I feel it."

"Then let me handle this," I insisted. "He won't risk killing me. So he can't…"

"We both know he's just toying with us," My father said, shaking his head—and damn it, we did both know that. He'd literally barely lifted a hand against us and was just standing around looking smug. I'd have to be a fool to think he didn't have anything up his sleeves, that I'd truly stopped him; it was all but certain that he had some other way to get to us. But…even if that was true…

"Dad," I said and then stopped, for once having no idea what to say.

My father smiled at me gently.

"It's okay," He said. "I saw it—how hard you fought to save me, how strong you've become, how much you've grown. You came this far for my sake, down into my very soul, and I was the one who had to lean on you."

"That was just because of my power," I said, shaking my head helplessly. "I was…I still…"

"You don't need me, anymore," He shook his head.

"Yes, I _do_ ," I denied immediately. "There's still so much I have no idea about and there's Mom, my sisters, everyone. I still…I'll…"

"You'll be okay," He continued. "Some days you'll be uncertain or lost or confused, but you're strong and you're smart—smarter than your old man, at least. It'll be hard, sometimes, because it always is, and some days it'll hurt like hell, but you're strong. Even stronger then you think, Jaune; I know, because I've seen it. Everything you did, how hard you fought, what you were willing to do to save me…you'll be okay. And there are people who need you more than me."

I swallowed once, looking down.

"Someone needs to tell Ozpin about this," He said. "And someone needs to keep your mother safe and your sisters and the world—and someone needs to make bastards like Conquest and this asshole pay. And it might sound like a hard job, but you're up to it; you might be the only one who is. Son…I always knew you'd do great things, but you surpassed all expectation and I knew you'll just keep going. So don't go wasting your time on me."

"I failed," I said. "I…I couldn't save you."

"What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow. "You came down here to free me—and I'm free. Even got to beat up the asshole who locked me up, avenge my team and who knows how many other people. It turns out there's an even bigger asshole, but that's not your fault. You saved me, Jaune, like I know you'll save everyone. So how about you let me save _you_? One last time, so I don't feel quite so old."

I had to take three breathes before I could force out the words.

"For old time's sake, then," I swallowed. "And, uh…I'll take care of everyone. Everything. And I'll work hard—I'll protect people and help them and…and live up to your example. And I'll make you proud. I'll become a man you can be proud of, so you don't have to worry about me anymore."

"Idiot, haven't you been paying attention?" He snorted but gave me a smile. "You already are. After today, I couldn't be prouder."

I blinked twice, wondering if tears would come. They didn't, so I simply took another breath and nodded.

"I love you dad." I said. "I'll…see you later."

"Later," He nodded and then raised his voice. "So you're my son's ugly clone, huh?"

"Please," He drawled. "I'm beautiful and everyone knows it."

I looked at him as he said the words. He hadn't moved at all during our exchange, hadn't so much as twitched in our direction. But the look on his face…he was smiling like he'd won. Like the words my father had spoken meant nothing, like they made no difference, like nothing could—that he had and would always get what he wanted.

And I decided then and there that I'd prove him wrong—and break that smug looking face while I was at it.

"We'll see what they say after I break your face, you smug little shit," My father snorted. "You aren't catching me off guard like Conquest did. This time I can fight back."

"I'll keep that in mind," He said dully, eyes still on me.

"Jaune," My father said.

I closed my eyes and felt myself falling away, up and down at the same time.

"See you next time, Jaune," My evil twin called out. "You bring the friendship bracelets, I'll bring the murder."

I didn't dignify that with a response and after a rising tide of sensation, I felt my senses expand. My Elementals, my Clairvoyance, everything; it all came back as easily as opening my eyes.

Then I opened my _actual_ eyes and looked down at my father. His body was still adorned in twisted Grimm armor, his skin still blackened, but with his mask torn away I could see his face. It seemed like no more than a short time had passed on this side, though I couldn't be certain of how long. But…looking at his face, even twisted as it was…for just a moment, I dared to hope.

His eyes opened and our gazes met.

"Jaune," He said quietly. "I…I beat him. I _won_."

For a moment, I didn't move.

"That's a lie, right?" I asked at last, remaining impassive.

His lips twitched once and then he began to laugh.

"Yeah," He shrugged a shoulder, smirking. "Sorry; I was just messing with you. But what are a few games between friends, right?"

"I don't have time to play games right now, ironic as that may be," I said, leaning back. I kicked him hard in the stomach, cutting off his laughter. He fell to his hands and knees, choking, but I watched him carefully even as I lifted my sword high. "I'll remember that I owe you one, though."

His smile widened and he made to say something, but I brought Crocea Mors—my sword now as it had once been my father's—down upon his neck, blade burning as it cut through the air. I felt it pass through flesh and blood and bone and watched as my father's head came free, as it fell, as it hit the ground and rolled away. I watched the entire thing and knew at last that it was over.

God help me.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Bed Rest**

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **You have defeated the boss monster Conquest! You've obtained the title 'Grimm Reaper'!**

The windows appeared in a sudden surge, the sheer number of them hiding my father's head and most of his body from sight. I didn't dismiss them immediately because I could see dark smoke beginning to rise from his corpse as grim armor began to slowly dissolve. What it left behind of his flesh…

I exhaled and knelt silently, reaching out to close my father's eyes. As I did, there was abruptly something beside me, resting on the ground by my knees—the other rewards for my father's death. Or…perhaps my father's last gifts? That was a more pleasant thought, if a harder one to believe.

Either way, I picked them up. The top most one was something like a golden plate, with complex symbols appearing on its surface at my touch. The markings on it seemed built around a series of concentric circles, building towards the outline of a person. At first, I didn't have the slightest idea what it was, but when I touched it, a familiar window appeared.

 **You obtained the skill book 'Psychokinesis.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

A skill book? I frowned, tilting the play again and scanning the symbols on it, trying to make sense of them or what they meant, but it meant nothing to me. I…suppose the skill book itself wasn't surprising, as my father had been a telekinetic, but it was so oddly shaped…

I traced the symbol at the center of the circles, the man within, and thought of my father. The plate fractures into pieces of light and I closed my eyes for a minute and paused as if sighing.

 **You have obtained the skill 'Psychokinesis.'**

Whatever it had been…

"Thanks, Dad," I muttered.

Beside the plate was another skill book, this one an _actual_ book.

 **You obtained the skill book 'Trespasser.' Would you like to learn this skill?**

I flipped it open and glanced over the contents of the first page. Once again, the language was meaningless to me—but at least I recognized it this time. The book was written in Babel and I flipped through it quickly, glancing at the pages for any sign of…anything that might tell me something about the language, really. But no, they were just letters on a page, completely meaningless to me. I looked at every page, flipping through the book in a few seconds, and it told me less than picking it up had. I guess that was a problem that wouldn't be solved today.

'Sighing' again, I closed the book and devoured it, tearing it to pieces of light to learn the skill. All that left was a blank, eyeless mask, an almost delicate-looking chain necklace, and a lot of money.

 **You have obtained 1270000 Lien!**

 **You have obtained the item 'Apsinthos.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Kronos.'**

I stored all of the items in my Inventory and then rose.

"Jaune…" I heard my mother say as I turned around and went to her side, lifting her from the ground. The Regeneration I'd given her had closed her wounds, but it didn't seem like a single use would be enough to regrow her arms. Reattach them, perhaps, but…well, that wasn't really an option. Wordlessly, I drew one of my last blue crystals from my Inventory and healed her again. With my mana regeneration as high as it was, I could heal her every second of the day without needing to worry about the cost—and I would, if I had to. But for the moment…

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, drawing on Levant again. "I couldn't save him."

"Oh, Jaune," She said, her voice sounding agonized. Even so, I was pretty sure she'd have wrapped her arms around me if not for the fact that she was, well, _armless_. She tried her best to lean her head towards me but couldn't do much else; I took a bit of comfort from it regardless. "Are you…"

She trailed off, probably realizing that it was a stupid question.

"I," I stopped myself and took shook my head. "Not really. But there's still work to do and…one sec. Ozpin needs to hear this."

I gestures at Levant and she picked up my scroll from where she must have dropped it when our connection had been briefly severed, if not earlier in the fight, and ferried it over to me. It wasn't particularly damaged, which was nothing short of miraculous given the forces that had been thrown around during the fighting. Even Ozpin's face was still visible.

"Jaune," He said, sounding both confused and relieved. The confusion was probably because I was a giant, glowing tiger-man, or because my mother was a leg short of quadriplegic, or maybe just at the general situation, but the reason for the relief was obvious. "I heard sounds of fighting but I couldn't see anything. Are you…"

It was his turn to trail off as he _also_ probably realized that was a stupid question—my mother and I were missing three limbs and a _body_ between us. Still, I didn't waste any time commenting on it; whatever happened next, I couldn't risk losing the information I'd discovered. There could be other traps, something could attack, I just didn't know, which is why Ozpin needed to.

"Sir, I have something I need to tell you before we do anything else," I said. "I encountered the source of the Grimm."

My mother took a sudden breath while Ozpin blinked rapidly several times before furrowing his brows.

"Um…perhaps you should start from the beginning?" He suggested after a moment. "In fact, where are you? Your body, I mean."

"It was turned into a Pandora Shell," I said. "But that's not important."

"It was _what_?" Ozpin's eyebrows rose even further.

"I just said it wasn't important," I brushed it off, continuing. "What is important is that after I possessed…actually, maybe it is a little important. Okay, going back a little further then, after my body was turned into a Pandora Shell, I separated my soul from my body, which is why I'm currently like this."

I gestured at myself, showing him the form I'd assumed using Bai Hu, too which Ozpin merely tilted his head to the side.

"Then, Conquest and I fought a little bit more and he tried to blow himself up. Mom stopped him, converting the Dust he'd carried inside his body into a gaseous form—"

"Is _that_ what happened to you, Isabelle?" He wondered, peering at her.

"No, that was just the arm," She said before pausing and wiggling her stumps. "Well, one of the arms. Though I suppose technically it was why I lost both arms…and the leg was…"

"I severed the arm she used to stop him, because it was infected," I clarified. "I then had to gather the gaseous Dust before _it_ could infect her. While I was doing that, Conquest smacked me away and grabbed her leg—I had to remove it to free her. Mom then converted the gaseous Dust to a liquid form and then solidified it to make a small amount of white Dust, but then she had to remove that arm, too, because it was also infected. So I suppose that, yes, that was what happened to her."

My mother bobbed her head to the side, conceded the point as Ozpin frowned at us.

"I took the white Dust and used its power," I continued, ignoring the look. "Conquest was being a sore loser and trying to kill my father so we couldn't save him, but with the Dust, I managed to possess Conquest and dive into my father's soul."

My mother blinked and tilted her head back to look at me.

"Oh, is that what that was?" She asked, too which I could only shrug a shoulder.

"Possession," Ozpin sighed. He looked down and nodded to himself. "Okay. And this is how you found this…source?"

"Not yet," I shook my head. "I saved my father and we fought Conquest, first; he tried to play some mind games, but we managed. We beat him and I used the Dust to…I'm not sure what happened to him, honestly. I tried to sever the connection I told you about, Ozpin—I found it after my father and I beat him—which I figured would destroy him. And maybe it did, or at least that iteration of him, but maybe he was just possessed in turn. Whatever the case, when I tried to destroy the link, the source responded. And…and it was a person, sir."

Both of their eyes went wide at that.

"A _person_?" Ozpin asked, sounding stunned. "Are you…are you certain? That he was behind the Grimm?"

"I'm pretty sure," I nodded. "He called them his children and the link led back to him. And from the power he had, Ozpin… I believe it. If not for the Dust, he'd have killed my father with a thought—might have any way if I hadn't put myself in the line of fire. And he…he had a soul, I'm sure of that much, but I don't know what he really looked like. When I first saw him, he looked like a small black hole with a person-shaped event horizon, but then he took on _my_ form, except more dickish. He also claimed to… _know_ me and admitted that he was behind the strange Grimm behavior, at least concerning me. He admitted to Crom Cruach, Ziz, and the Goliath, at least, but following that pattern…"

Ozpin swallowed slightly and pursed his lips, nodding to show he understood. He'd experienced some rather strange behavior himself, after all. It was possible, maybe even probable, that the cause had been the same. My mother just stared, eyes and mouth opened wide at the sheer scale we were talking about here—a guy who had the greatest creatures of myth and legend at his beck and call. It was as humbling as it was terrifying.

"This is…enormous, Jaune," Ozpin said after a moment. "It changes everything we…everything _thought_ we knew."

"I know," I replied. "Which is why I had to make sure somebody else knew. Just in case something happens to me. My father…he stayed behind so that I could…"

"Then he's…?" Ozpin whispered.

"Dead," I stated. "I retreated from his soul, but he wasn't in control, so I…I killed him."

"Jaune," Ozpin said, closing his eyes for a moment and looking truly pained. "I'm so sorry."

"It's…" I made it sound as though I were taking a breath and nodded. "It's not your fault. I know it's not mine either, even if it hurts more than I thought anything ever would. It's _their_ fault; Conquest, his master, and all those monsters. But I was able to speak to my father, in the end, after we fought together and he…he was himself. And I have that memory, at least, along with his last words; that must be more than most have."

"Jaune…" My mother said, sounding pained.

"That doesn't mean you don't deserve to grieve," Ozpin said. "Pain isn't something that's defined by how it compares to a standard. It—"

"I know," I nodded. "But there's still a lot to do, isn't there? Until your team gets here, I have to keep this town safe, along with my mother."

Ozpin opened his mouth as if to say something but then closed it, nodding minutely.

"It'll be another ten minutes," He said. "Fifteen, perhaps. They've been making good time."

I nodded.

"Then I'll remain here until I spot them, at least," I said.

"And then?" My mother asked.

"I'll go to sleep," I said truthfully, though that wasn't what she was truly asking. "It's the only sure way to fix my body. After that…"

I looked up and didn't bother forming the sounds of a breath. For a moment, I simply stared at the sky above us. With the storm gone, the sky was clear and bright.

"I'll keep living, of course," I stated at last. "That's the best way to honor his sacrifice, right? Don't worry, mom. I'm not okay, but I will be someday. I'll keep going and I'll get better. I'll heal you and the others, protect everyone I can, and…I'll make sure this doesn't happen again. Okay?"

I looked at Ozpin, who met my eyes and nodded slowly. My mother had simple shut hers and leaned her head on my shoulder, looking like she was about to go to sleep.

"Okay," Ozpin said. "I'll see you soon, Jaune? Just…stay safe."

 **XxXXxX**

True to Ozpin's word, we only had to wait a short while and nothing particularly exciting happened. I stayed beside my mother and allowed my Elementals to roam the town freely, searching for and dealing with any threats that presented themselves. Tyrian and Castanea were still no shows and with them out of the way, there were nothing but infected civilians and Grimm milling about. I kept an eye out for any more survivors, but at this point…well, I didn't expect anything, nor did I find it.

In the end, I simply stayed by my mother's side and waited. When I saw the ship approaching, I dismissed Bai Hu and became a mere Projection, standing watch invisibly as they drew nearer. They didn't land, but instead took several wide sweeps of the village, probably to both scan the area and to mark the underground locations of the civilians.

Then they started to destroy the town. Fire and some kind of green ray of light fell from the airship, the latter of which seem to cause organic matter to decay rapidly. The Grimm that were capable of it tried to attack the airship and were promptly reduced to little more than paste by some unseen force. I saw the figures in the ship but they were wearing what looked like the love child of armor and a hazmat suit, eyes scanning the entire area. With the advantage from above and the major threats dead or gone, they didn't seem to have much trouble.

I watched anyway, just in case. After everything that had happened so far, I wouldn't forgive myself if something went wrong now and cost my mother's life. I remained observant, prepared, and ready even as buildings fell one by one and the town was systematically leveled. The team took careful runs of the town, erasing sections before swinging around to slay anyone who tried to flee.

After perhaps twenty minutes, there was nothing but scorched earth where the town had once been. After forty, even the scorch marks were gone. At some point, what appeared to be earthen walls began to rise around the town's perimeter, though I couldn't tell if it was Onyx's work or someone with our reinforcements; regardless, it seemed to be more about marking the area than actually keeping anything in or out. The ships and lights came our way a few times, dropping off a pair of individuals that moved carefully around the area with a set of devices. They scanned my mother's still form about fifty times and then started cleansing the area around us, too, moving out from my mother slowly. One released ripples of blue light, the other shined what seemed like a red spotlight on the area, revealing patches of various colors.

Making a point to stay out of the spotlight, I retreated quickly back to my shell, watching the proceedings continue from atop my mutated body until I was sure my mother was safe. After perhaps an hour, the entire area was clear and Levant alerted me that our reinforcements had made contact with the civilians. I waited a bit longer as they went about insuring that the civilians were all clean, but when they began to allow people back to the surface, I allowed myself to relax a touch.

They'd likely spend the next few hours making absolutely sure everyone and everything was clean, but soon they'd send word back how that this place was safe. Ships would head in over the next few hours, ready to transport the wounded and homeless back to Vale, and my mother would likely be one of the first on board. I'm sure Ozpin had told the team to be prepared for anything and had also likely given orders on how to deal with me, but…

It was probably okay.

At last, I slipped back into my twisted shell and slept for the first time in months.

 **XxXXxX**

I woke up in a room I didn't recognize and had my senses running full blast the moment I opened my eyes. It took me perhaps a second to realize I was in a hospital room from the remnants of disinfectants and the sterile smell, but I continued to allow my senses to expand, Elementals flowing invisibly into the world around me. My Empathy made me completely aware of the grief and anticipation that seemed to cloak this place, shot through with far lighter emotions at seeming random, but that wasn't enough. I marked every person within range of my elements and traced my immediate surroundings with invisible hand, searching for something in particular. By the time I finished drawing my first breath, I knew that my mother was a floor below me and down the hall, as well as the exact locations of everyone and everything in a fifty meter radius.

Including the man sitting in the chair beside me.

"Sir," I greeted, rising as I did. "I hope I didn't keep you long."

"Not at all," Ozpin shook his head, tilting his mug my way. "Given the nature of recent events, I've spent most of the day in this hospital, moving through rooms. I just made a point of checking up on you every hour or so."

I nodded. It had been about six hours, going by the hands of the clock behind me, which was about what I expected. I took a moment to focus on my mother's heartbeat, which was slow, but she seemed to be sleeping. Feeling out the room around her, I noted that she was hooked up to an IV and several types of medical equipment I wasn't able to identify from the currents running through them. There were bandages and steel implements on the table beside her, but that was to be expected given her condition. All told, however, she seemed to be okay.

Releasing a breath slowly, I shifted my attention. It was a bit harder to recognize the others without actually being able to see them, but I found Ren by the stump of his hand and Onyx by his missing leg, separating them from the few others with similar missing limbs by their body shape. Both were alive and searching the area around Ren I found a small figure I assumed was Nora. I didn't really know anyone else.

"Thank you, sir," I said after the brief pause. At last, I took a moment to glance down at myself, confirming everything was in working order and then lifting my gaze back to his eyes. "I went to sleep after the area around my mother was secured. I take it everything else went well, then?"

"Better than could have been expected, thanks to your efforts," Ozpin said. "Considering the circumstances, an astonishing number of lives were saved."

I nodded once. A hundred and thirty-seven that I remembered, which meant a pretty horrific number of casualties, but…yes, under the circumstances, I suppose it was rather amazing. That wasn't all that comforting, but I knew it was the truth, logically speaking.

"I sense my mother and Onyx, but what happened to Tyrian and Castanea?" I asked, moving on regardless. Ozpin's eyebrow twitched upwards at that statement, but then he took a deep breath.

"I cannot say, as of yet," He replied. "As I mentioned earlier, I had some idea of what could be the cause of their apparent absence; the two of them have been paired together for quite some time now as a result of an unusual interaction of their abilities. When used together, the barriers they create can…well, to be truthful, we don't know precisely how it works, but you could think of it as rather similar to your Inventory. Anything within the crossed barriers is temporarily removed from this world, reappearing after anywhere from sixteen to thirty-one hours, at least according to our testing. In an emergency, they can use this ability to suspend a threat long enough for reinforcements to arrive—our do the same to a wounded or endangered ally. As far as we can tell, no time appears to pass within the barriers during this period, so it has a fair number of uses."

I nodded again, wondering if they'd tried to use it on the Pandora Shell and failed as I had with Naraka. I suppose it didn't matter now, but it left the question of whether they'd been infected and removed themselves to attack us when our guard was hopefully down, if they'd been infected and were trying to save themselves, or if they'd simply chosen to run when the shell exploded. I supposed time would tell.

Whatever the case, it explained why Ozpin hadn't told me. So long as there was the chance that I wasn't in control, there was also the chance that I might use that knowledge. I wasn't sure if I could come up with a way to subvert such a barrier, but in Ozpin's shoes, I wouldn't have wanted to risk it.

"I understand," I said. "I take it there's a team watching the area, then?"

"Naturally," He said, taking a sip from his mug and staring down into it for a moment before looking back up at me. "Jaune, I took the liberty of calling your sisters and telling them what happened to your mother and father. Roughly what happened, at least; there are—"

"We need to keep some details under wraps," I said. "I figured as much. It's okay."

"Yes, of course," He inclined his head towards me before for continuing. "Regardless, I thought you should know that your sisters will be here soon, but there will be delays. Several of them were on missions outside the kingdom and will require time to make it back, while…Sienna? Was on active duty and needs to make arrangements before leaving. I managed to get in contact with your two oldest sisters and they said they'd get here as soon as they could, but—"

"Bianca's in Vacuo," I said. "And Shani was still rooming with her, last I checked. It'll be hard for them to get back on short notice."

"Indeed," He agreed. "I simply wished to inform you that your sisters may not arrive for several days. Because of that, I spoke to your mother and then contacted your grandmother, at her request. She said that she would arrive within the week, assuming no major delays."

At my mother's request?

…Well, they were probably giving her something for the pain.

"Okay," I nodded. "It'll be good to see them all again. Anything else?"

Ozpin tapped the side of his mug and sighed deeply.

"There aren't any easy ways to say this, but the reason they have been called—in addition to notifying them of their father's passing, of course—is because of a number of rules and regulations pertaining to situations such as these," Ozpin said before pausing. "That is, it's sadly not uncommon for married Huntsmen and Huntresses to lose their partners in battle and to be understandably effected. As a result, it's not uncommon for them to behave dangerously afterwards, especially where their own welfare is concerned."

"Ah," I said, understanding.

"I do not believe Isabelle specifically will suffer in such a manner," Ozpin continued, looking a little awkward. "Nonetheless, this experience has likely been a traumatic one for her, especially in conjunction with her loss of her limbs and of her teammates. As is customary for these situations, she has been given a paid leave of absence."

"For how long?" I asked.

"It varies greatly," He replied. "Barring truly major emergencies, a month tends to be the minimum, and at least three is far more common. It depends greatly on the needs of the person in question and can be adjusted—"

"So until the therapists clear her?" I wondered, tilting my head. Ozpin grimaced slightly before opening his mouth, but then closed it and gave a slight nod.

"There's more to it than that, especially with the matter of her limbs," He said. "But…roughly, yes. It is…highly recommended that this time be spent with family members and loved ones nearby."

I nodded back at him seriously.

"I will be," I said. "We will be."

"I have no doubt about that," He smiled. "I simply felt that I should be the one to inform you of the matter, considering. It's not something that is very publicized, you see, especially when…"

"Yeah," I told him. "I get it."

"Good, good," He said. "Well then, the Head Healer here is a friend of mine and I spoke to him concerning you. Now that you've woken up, you should be fit to leave, if you desire—or, if you wish, you may accompany me as I continue to make my rounds in the hospital. I'm certain no one will object if you chose to exercise your own healing abilities in the process, either."

"Cool," I said, slipping out of the hospital bed. My belt and rings were on the table beside my bed, but I'd probably come in naked otherwise, so I was wearing only a hospital gown. I took it off and reached into my inventory for something more my speed, shrugging it on quickly before giving him a nod. "Lead the way, sir."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Recovery Time**

I followed Ozpin through the halls of the Hospital in silence, keeping my eyes and ears opened. It didn't seem like there had been many major injuries among those who'd survived the attack—though, I suppose it was more accurate to say that only those who hadn't suffered any injuries had been able to survive. No one I walked past gave me more than a glance unless I spotted something I felt noteworthy and stopped to heal it. It was easy enough and it wasn't like I particularly minded, so I allowed Ozpin to take the long road through the building and stopped to heal whenever I could.

But in time, we reached our first stop.

"Onyx," I greeted, stepping through the doorway after the headmaster.

The one-legged hunter had looked up from his magazine the moment Ozpin had entered, but his gaze flickered to me at the sound of my voice.

"Hey, Jaune," He replied, trying for a smile before letting it fall away sadly. "I, uh. I heard about your father. I'm sorry; he was a good man. He'd have been proud of what you did out there."

I closed my eyes and bowed my head for a moment, because it seemed like what I should do. As I went through the motions, however, I couldn't help but wonder exactly what Ozpin had told Onyx to explain things. Unlike Ren and Nora, he hadn't seen me with the White Tiger of the West up and running, but Ozpin had probably needed to say _something_ about how effective I'd been in the situation. Whatever it was, he hadn't bothered telling _me_ about it, which was rather annoying.

After that moment of silence, I opened my eyes and looked up.

"Thank you, Onyx," I said. "Without your help, a lot of these people wouldn't be here today. Even with…everything that happened, at least we managed to save a few, right?"

He smiled at me bleakly, but nodded at the words.

"We did at that," He said. "Are you holding up okay?"

"Uh," I said. "As well as could be expected. Yourself?"

"Under the circumstances, I can't really complain," He said. "Which is pretty annoying, honestly. I mean, here I am, having torn off my own leg before working hard for another hour, and all I can really think is 'I got off light.'"

"You can complain," I said. "I don't mind."

"Well," He said demurely. "If you insist. The sheets inch, especially against my stump. Not being able to walk sucks ass. Needing help to go to the _bathroom_ sucks even more ass. I'm not on the ground so I can't use my Semblance and it feels like I'm covering my eyes up, you know? So I'm missing my leg, missing a lot of my power, I feel helpless, and after that whole mess, my nerves are up and will be fore days. So I feel like I need to be prepared if anything happens, but the fact is, I'm unprepared for anything. I bet a freshman at the Academy could kick my ass right now; no offense."

I shrugged it off and smiled. He still seemed to be holding back, but I could tell from his emotions that being allowed to complain was a relief, even if it wasn't about…whatever was really bothering him. I supposed it wasn't my place to pry, but that didn't mean I couldn't help.

"Let's see if we can't do something about that, then, okay?" I said, moving to his bedside and sitting down in one of the guest chairs. "After, well, everything, I'm a little short on supplies, but I still have a little bit left, so why don't we take a look at your leg?"

He leaned against the backrest and nodded, probably remembering my words from before. Even now, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fix his leg with the skill I currently had—but I couldn't then I'd just keep practicing until I could. For me, it shouldn't be impossible, especially with my new Wisdom skills, so I'd simply grind the skill until it was good enough or find something else that would work. For Onyx, Ren, and especially my own mother, I needed to find a way, so I would. It was as simple as that.

For the moment, however, I simply drew one of my final blue Dust crystals from my Inventory and used it to heal him. Independently of that, I cast a Regeneration of my own upon him and set up a Temple around him. With my present level of MP regeneration, stuff like this was trivial, so it shouldn't be a problem to just leave it up and running for a while. In fact…maybe I could cover the whole hospital with Temples? It would require a fair number of castings, but the way I figured it probably wouldn't hurt if anyone who came here healed faster. I made a note to speak to Ozpin about it.

"Did you need anything else, sir?" Onyx asked Ozpin while I busied myself. "I didn't really see too much, down below."

"It's fine," Ozpin assured the wounded Hunter. "I have business in town later today and it's simply not worth it to fly back to Beacon only to return. As such, I thought I'd spend the rest of the day here, looking after friends. Mr. Arc even offered to escort me for a while."

I nodded without lifting my head. The stump had already healed over as if it had several weeks to heal, but I wasn't sure how much of an issue that would be. There was some activity near the stump itself, but none of it obvious enough to be visible to normal people's eyes; if the skills I'd used were going to have any effect, it would likely be over days or weeks, if not longer.

"I set a few things up, but they might take a while to show any effect," I said, partially to Onyx but mostly to Ozpin. "I even set up a healing barrier around here, to make things go faster. I might be able to cover the whole building, in fact, if that's okay. Might help the rest of the hospital."

"Yeah?" Onyx asked, lifting an eyebrow before looking around. There wasn't anything obvious so after a moment he just shrugged. "Cool."

As he did so, Ozpin looked contemplative.

"I'll have to speak to Paean, of course," He said. "If it's your power, I don't think it would cause any problems, but where the health of so many people is concerned…well, I'm sure you can understand. If you're willing to take the time to go through the proper channels, I doubt there would be any objections, but such things take time."

"Should I take this one down, then?"

"I don't mind it," Onyx stated. "The healer says it works, that's good enough for me. I know what he can do."

"Then I suppose we shall consider this a test case," Ozpin clapped his hands. "I'll try to remember to inform Paean about it, but I am a busy man. It may have to wait until after you're checked out, Onyx. Jaune?"

"I'm done," I nodded. "I'll check up on him regularly to renew it all, but he should be okay for now. I'll just maintain the barrier until he's clear."

"Then shall we—"

"Sir," Onyx interrupted. "Could we have a moment?"

Ozpin tilted his head to the side and nodded.

"Ah, of course," He said. "Jaune, I assume you know where your mother's room is?"

"Yes, sir," I replied. "You go on ahead."

"Then I shall see you shortly," He said, inclining his head before leaving. "Good luck, Onyx. Be sure not to start any more fights with Paean's daughters, hm?"

"I'll be good," He promised. "I'm not one to start anything I can't run away from."

I waited a moment to track Ozpin out of sight and then lifted an eyebrow.

"Is there something else you need?" I asked.

He hesitated briefly before speaking.

"It's uh…it's about your mother," Onyx said.

"Ah," I understood. "Ozpin told you?"

"No, I'm…" He looked down and then tried to force a smile before giving up and shaking his head. "Well, it's just say I'm familiar with the procedure, yeah?"

"Oh."

"Yeah," He took a breath and then continued. "I figured I should…you know, help. Since…well, since I did this, before joining your father's team. Might need to do it again, actually, but…this is the type of thing I feel like I should be an expert on, but all the shit they did and made me do? There's a lot of it that seemed pointless and stupid at the time and I can't say it makes sense to me now. Most of that stuff, I should probably let someone else explain, but I figured you should get a heads up, just in case."

"Okay," I nodded, confused but appreciative. "Thank you."

"No problem," He said before cracking his neck uncertainly. "I don't actually know if this will happen to you, because the brains behind all this—the therapy thing, I mean—I have no idea how they do this. They might decide what's best for us via _voodoo magic_ for all I know, but the basics is there's about a one to three week period where they basically psychoanalyze the hell out of us and then they come up with some stuff they tell us or our family members and then we either continue to meet with them or they assign us to someone else. I assume your family's been called? Ozpin usually handles that stuff."

"Yeah," I replied. "Grandmother and sisters are one their way."

"Good, good. But, uh…" Onyx raked a hand through his hair. "Well, like I was saying, they sort of customize this shit, but I went through the system and I know three other people did; for me and one of them, the same thing happened, so it might happen to you, too? Or not, depending on Isabelle, I guess. But after Ivory…after my wife died, it was…I guess recommended that I move in with a family member, so my daughter and I lived with my old man for a while and then redecorate my house and some bullshit like that. I guess the idea is that, for some people, being surrounded by…pictures, memories, that type of thing…that it doesn't always help. But it was still a big change for my daughter, you know? She was five at the time and between moving and her mother…I mean, I think if you've proven anything it's that you're not a kid, Jaune, but…still, I thought you should know."

"Did it help?" I asked. "Being out of your house for a while, I mean."

He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.

"It…yes?" He said as if asking me before furrowing his brows and shaking his head. "No. Well…maybe."

That does cover all the options, I thought.

"I'm sorry," He shook his head again. "It's just…The thing about a lot of the therapy stuff is, well, I don't what helped or how much or whatever. I mean, I just did what I was told, right? Hell, they're the therapists—they're supposed to tell _me_ , right? But…I guess it worked out in the end? They did allow me to go back to active duty and all. And I didn't…you know. God, I hope they're not going to take this whole 'rip my own leg off' thing as a bad sign. Anyway, I'm not saying it'll happen to your mother, because some people do well with familiar places or something. There's a lot of stuff that happened or that I don't get, like fucking painting my house. But I wanted you to have a heads up, just in case. Like maybe…I mean, they always call your family when someone dies, but with you…but it could just be moving into an apartment across town for a bit, see? Still…"

"I understand," I said. "I'll keep it in mind, Onyx. Thank you."

"No problem, kid," He replied. "It's…I'm sorry. I'm not good at this, but…I hope it helps."

I nodded and used another blue Dust crystal on him.

"I appreciate the thought," I said. "I'll do whatever my mother needs, but it's good to not be going in blind. Speaking of which, though…"

"Go on, Jaune," He said. "I've kept you long enough."

"Then if you will excuse me," I rose. "I'll probably be in and out over the next few days, but goodbye for now, Onyx."

 **XxXXxX**

I left Onyx's room feeling contemplative. Because I was aware of the emotions of everyone around me, I'd been able to _feel_ how serious Onyx had been, despite the awkwardness of the words. As a result, I _took_ them seriously, considering what he'd said about my house carefully.

Home, I mused to myself. It was strange, how long it seemed I'd been away. I knew mentally that less than a day had passed, but it felt like some much longer and now…now it was time to go back. Three people had left yesterday and from now on only two would ever return. Granted, that had pretty much been what had happened with each and every one of my sisters, but this more than that. My father was gone and we'd just have to live without him.

I could do that. It would hurt, just like it hurt right now, but stuff like that couldn't overwhelm me—not with my power. But my mom…would she be reminded of him? Probably; it was _their_ house, after all. Everything about it would probably remind her of Dad. But would that be a good or bad thing? I didn't know any more than Onyx. For some, it might help, for others, it might hurt. For Mom, though…I'd watch her, once we'd both returned home. Thanks to the power and range of my Empathy, it should be simple to keep track of how she felt about it all and just…go from there. If it hurt her, we'd deal with it together.

That led me to the possibility Onyx had mentioned, of us moving. I could see the merit of the idea, if staying at how hurt Mom, and it didn't matter much to me, personally—everything I needed, I could keep in my Inventory, from necessities to what my father had left behind. Between that and the eidetic memory my high INT had granted me, I'd be fine. Even beyond that, if it was a matter of moving in with my sisters or Grandma, I was fine with it.

Would mom be, though? I got along with everyone a lot better than she did. I liked to think we'd all come together in the face of tragedy, but I hadn't even known what had apparently been happened between my mother and sisters until Mom had told me. What they thought, what they felt…I had no idea. Would they clash? Or would this actually be what brought my family back together again?

I sighed deeply, stopping. I supposed there wasn't much point in wondering when I'd find out before too long. I guess it didn't really matter, either. If it came down to it, I could afford a house easily and, well, I didn't have much in the way of needs even beyond that. Whatever happened, we'd manage, so for now it was best to focus on the present and what I could control. There was the house to take care of and prepare for the return of my family, there was my mom, Ozpin, Onyx, and, of course, Ren and Nora, whose door I'd stopped beside. Even with it shut, I could feel them on the other side in so many ways I might as well have been seeing them.

Though it had been a minor, minor issue at the time, those two had seen enough to tie me to Jian Bing. Probably not enough to make the leap in logic needed to realize I _was_ Jian Bing, since Jaune Arc wasn't a Faunus—but given that he was an internationally wanted terrorist, association alone might make me guilty. Again, I wasn't all that concerned with what they'd do to me, but there was my family to think about, especially with my father gone. Though I briefly considered walking away and heading for my mother first, the simple fact of the matter was that problems didn't go away just because you ignore them. I should probably handle this now.

So I knocked.

"Coming!" I heard Nora shout and felt her approach the doorway. It swung open and for a moment she just looked at me. Her enthusiastic demeanor dimmed slightly, but neither it nor her smile went away, which struck me as rather impressive. I mean, looking at me probably brought to mind the worst things that had ever happened to her; that she could smile at me was pretty amazing. "Oh. Hi, Jaune."

"Nora," I greeted, tilting my head slightly her way. "I woke up just a bit ago and wanted to come check on you and Ren. Is he okay?"

"I'm alive, at least," An almost lazy voice mused. Nora stepped aside to allow me in and I wasted no time moving to Ren's bedside, Levant expanding invisibly through the room, just in case. "It's more than I expected, honestly. You?"

"About the same," I said, looking him over. With a gesture, I set up another Temple around his room and then palmed a blue Dust crystal. Laying a hand on his shoulder, I healed him and then cast Regeneration. "There, that should help you a bit. I healed you and set up a healing barrier inside this room. It should help you recover faster, so…"

I shrugged.

"Oh," Nora drew out the word. "Will it fix Ren's hand, too?"

"I hope so, at least if given time," I said honestly. "Even if it doesn't, though, I'll be practicing constantly until I can—a lot of people got hurt badly in the outbreak."

"But not you," Ren observed, looking me over. With the status effects gone, I showed no sign that I'd been so much as touched by the conflict. "Even after everything, you look fine."

I shrugged and smiled.

"I'm tougher than I look."

"You are," He acknowledged. "You're Bai Hu's heir, aren't you? Like Grandfather…like I am Xuan Wu's."

I shrugged again and wondered what he would do. Having seen Nora's reaction, I wasn't worried. I had saved them, after all, ignoring the hand thing, and we'd fought together. They didn't seem like the types to turn around and betray me, nor did they seem to feel anything like hatred. That was good, especially considering everything that had happened, and it saved me from having to convince them not to say anything—or from having to do anything worse. I appreciated that.

"I…suppose that's true," I said at last, tilting my head slowly to the side and waiting for the inevitable.

"Then you know him," He continued. "Jian Bing. Was he your master? Or another student? Or is he really…?"

"I know him," I confirmed. "And Ozpin knows what I know. Let's leave it at that, okay?"

"Because it's the West's business?"

"Because it's _dangerous_ business," I clarified. "It's not something you want to get wrapped up in, okay? Leave this to Ozpin and I?"

"Hey," Nora said behind me. "You saved us, you know. Even when you disarmed Ren—"

Ren sighed quietly.

"—You were helping him, right? Even though our town's gone, a lot of the people there survived because of you. If you need help, I really can hit things pretty good. I didn't get to show it in the battle because I couldn't get near anything, but…I'm strong, I promise. And since you're fixing Ren, too…if there's anything I can do to help, I'll…"

She sounded—felt—uncertain, especially when she mentioned the battle. It wasn't hard to imagine why; the situation had really been against her there, but that probably wasn't a comfort when it meant she hadn't been able to do anything to help the people she cared about. And now the only home she'd ever known was gone, on top of that. It felt pretty awful; I'd know. But…

"Thank you, Nora," I said. "I appreciate it, really. But you two probably have enough to worry about right now. It's okay, really; you don't need to pay me back or anything. I was just trying to help who I could, because that's my job as a Hunter."

She sagged slightly in place, but I couldn't see her life improving if she got involved with…this colossal mess. She was already down a grandfather figure, a town, and a… _boyfriend's_ hand? I wasn't sure where these two stood on that front, even with their emotions, but it wasn't really my place to ask. But either way, this seemed like a good place to cut her losses—and I wasn't going to start dragging random people into this, either. Still…

"Hey, you two are going to be in Vale for a while, right?" I mused.

"Yes," Ren answered. "We'll probably be living here from now on. Professor Ozpin came by earlier and spoke to us about it—he said a friend of his would handle it."

Ozpin sure had a lot of friends, I mused. But then, I guess that was why he was the headmaster.

"I'll swing in regularly to heal you," I promised. "And maybe once you're better, I'll show you around Vale. I'm busy most of the time, but I'm sure we'll be able to work something out eventually."

"Okay!" Nora chirped, brightening somewhat. "We'll see you soon, then?"

"Sure," I chuckled. "I'll try to come back tomorrow, but…I need to check on my mother, now. She got hurt, too, you see?"

"What about your father?" She asked, sounding worried. I was silent for a moment before shaking my head slowly, making her wince as if struck. "Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry, I just…was he, I mean—"

"Nora," Ren stopped her and something unspoken passed between them. I knew they were thinking of their own grandfather and managed to smile.

"It's okay," I said. "Because no matter what happened, I'll always remember who he was. If the past is something that can't be changed, that just means that the time I spent with him can't be erased, either, right?"

Ren met my eyes for a moment and then nodded.

"Yes," He said. "That's right."

I nodded and the smile became easier.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I clapped my hands and stood.

"Of course," He nodded.

"Goodbye, Jaune!" Nora waved, seeming to have been cheered up by my words. I'm glad I accomplished that, at least.

"And you," I waved slightly before stepping out. "Oh, and, do you mind keeping this stuff between us? You can tell Ozpin, but…"

"Got it," Ren replied, sounding sleepy. "Neither of us will say a word."

"Cool," I nodded. "Laters."

I shut the door and turned my head to the man I'd sensed standing there. I'd recognized him, so it wasn't a concern, but I had Levant arrange some privacy for us regardless.

"Well said, Jaune," Ozpin applauded. "Very well said."

"Sir," I tilted my head. "I thought you were going to check on my mother?"

"She has fallen asleep again," He stated. "I thought it best to leave her to her rest."

"Ah," I nodded. "I'll just pop in real quickly to heal her, then. I'll need to handle stuff at home and then buy more Dust crystals, so I'll head out afterwards and come back later. What about you, sir?"

He seemed to mull over that for a moment before nodding to himself.

"We have much to discuss, but nothing that cannot wait until tomorrow. I have business in town over the next few days, so shall we meet here again, Jaune?"

"Yes, sir," I agreed. "Once I restock, I'll just hang out here, so just stop by."

"Then I shall see you tomorrow, then," He said before pausing. "Considering the circumstances, might I suggest you take the rest of the day off? Most Dust shops are unlikely to be open this late, but I'll arrange to have an order delivered to you tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, sir," I nodded. "Have a nice day."

 **XxXXxX**

True to Ozpin's words, my mother had been sleeping. I suppose losing three limbs, suffering extensive burns, being struck by lightning, and losing one's husband and team would do that, so I was careful not to wake her. I stayed beside her until I finally ran out of blue Dust and then left. It hadn't shown much effect, yet, but I'd make it work, whatever it took.

But for the moment, I followed Ozpin's advice. My mother and friends were safe, if not completely healthy, and I'd set up Temples around each of them. They'd be fine for now and I did had stuff I needed to do.

So before long, I found myself back home. But for my daughter and dog, it was empty, but our house wasn't unused to being that way, even if it seemed like a gloom had settled over it. Whatever the case, rooms needed to be cleaned out and prepared and I'd need to get food enough to feed an army while I was out tomorrow. I didn't want to do anything to my father's belongings yet, though, so I'd leave them untouched for now.

Better get to it then.

"I'm home," I said pointlessly as I opened the door and entered, knowing there'd be no reply.

Except there totally was.

"Welcome home," Gou said, scurrying to the front hall and looking up at me with big doggy eyes. Autumn was wrapped around him, as per usual. "Autumn was worried when everyone left and no one came back, but I knew you were okay."

I looked down at him. Since no one else was home, I didn't bother turning on the lights, because I sure as hell didn't need them, but I took a moment to consider my dog and daughter.

 **Celestial Dog  
LV 52  
Tiangou**

"Yeah," I said. "A lot of stuff happened and…it's a long story."

"Where are the others?" Gou looked around, as if expecting my mother and father to appear. "I can't smell them."

"It's…" I sighed deeply. "It's a long story, Gou. Is it okay if I explain later?"

"Okay," Gou nodded. "Food?"

"Sure." I said before stepping by him and went into the kitchen to make him something to eat, fetching his dog bowl in silence. I made his food and then put it down to watch him eat, sitting in a chair by the table as I did. As he scarfed down his food, I reached out to pet him, touching Autumn's petals to let her know I was there. Her blossom twitched and opened at my touch.

That done, I addressed the elephant in the room.

"So," I drew out. "You can talk now. That's new."

"It kind of surprised me, too," Gou looked up at me. "But suddenly I could."

"I see," I lied. Well, he'd obviously gained a lot of experience from the fights I'd been in, so…that had probably been why. I guess. "So…"

I kind of trailed off at that point, pursing my lips at the whole situation, but the ring of the doorbell saved me from needing to continue. I directed my attention towards the presence and lifted an eyebrow when I recognized it.

"Hold that thought," I said before lifting my voice. "Coming!"

I reached the door quickly and opened it to look at Adam.

"Hey," I greet.

"I heard about your parents," He said with his usual bluntness.

I leaned against the doorway and sighed slowly, nodding.

"Yeah."

He looked at me carefully from behind crimson shades and then spoke.

"I still owe you that drink," He said. "Now a good time?"

I felt something in me relax suddenly, in a way that was hard to describe even though it made me smile. Maybe it was because of who Adam was—a friend—or who he wasn't—one of the people I'd let get hurt—but for the first time since I woke up I felt at ease.

"You know what?" I said. "Yeah. Gou, watch the house for me, okay? I'll be back in a bit."

"You can count on me," Gou said seriously, sticking his head out of the kitchen.

Adam turned his face and stared expressionlessly over my shoulder for a minute.

"Did that dog just talk?" He asked.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Bar Games**

I let Adam into my house and then collected Autumn from Gou to spend a little time with her. I still had the clothes Adam had picked out for me back during the White Whale stuff and I changed into them slowly—well, 'slowly,' at least. I Accelerated myself, after all, burning thousands of MP in seconds to give Autumn a good meal, but I kept my movements as slow as I could despite that, being careful not to tear or break anything around me. In a few seconds, I was dressed and nearly out of MP, but could feel it returning swiftly. While my MP regeneration wasn't enough to keep up with me during a truly intense fight, it was just fine outside of battle, where I could regain the totality of my power in less than a minute and a half. As such, I decided to wait idly for a few seconds, considering myself in the bathroom mirror, making sure everything was in place before letting my gaze trail upwards.

Above my head floated the title of the White Rider, something that had remained even after woke from my sleep. I frowned at it for a minute, simply pondering it for a minute before opening my status screen and tapping it.

 **This title has no effect while 'On A White Horse He Rides' is below MAX.**

I clicked my tongue once. So it and the skill of the same name required each other to function? That made it rather useless to me, at least right now. Later, I might continue to experiment with the Grimm skills I'd obtained during battle, but not today. There were safety concerns to consider, such as the fact that I'd never confirmed whether I could serve as a vector for the disease or not, and I sure as fucking hell wasn't going to test that without some serious precautions. Besides, as soon as I inflicted 'On A White Horse He Rides' on myself, the only way I could get rid of it would be to sleep again and I didn't have the time right now. It'd have to wait. But then, which title should I use?

Taping my new one, I considered the resulting window speculatively.

 **Grimm Reaper  
Obtained by killing a Knight of Grimm. You have faced down and slain a true warrior of anonymity! As a true Hunter, walk fearlessly into the night and slay the enemies of Mankind!  
120% increase in damage against Grimm.  
120% increase in defense against Grimm.  
+20 to beneficial status effects while fighting Grimm.**

Not bad. Even if all the effects were limited to Grimm opponents, it was undoubtedly a very powerful title, giving me enormous benefits to both attack and defense while also increasing my Affinities. Ignoring the cost decrease, which was steadily becoming less and less of an issue, it was undoubtedly stronger than White Tiger of the West, within its focus. I didn't plan to fight Grimm tonight, but it was still a good thing to have on my side—especially with the opponents I knew I was going to face eventually. But for now…

"Hey, Adam," I asked, carrying the words with Levant instead of lifting my voice. "Are we going back to the club or what?"

"I guess we might as well," He said after a moment's pause. "Junior's not really one to volunteer information and even if he was, he wouldn't want the trouble turning against the White Fang would bring down on him. He's sure as hell not going to say anything while we're _in_ his club. I mean, can you imagine? I doubt either of us has anything to fear from the police force, so he'd need to call in Hunters at the very least—and no matter who wins that fight, he'd definitely lose."

I thought of the air catching fire, of buildings being wrecked by proximity, and then thought of what would happen if such a battle took place inside Junior's club.

"Fair point." I said, bobbing my head once. "The White Fang is still on good terms with the Xiong family, then?"

"More or less," He answered, sounding distracted. "The Xiong don't usually take sides unless something big is happening, but the White Fang has been gaining power recently and they're happy to take advantage of having a working relationship with us. So yeah, good terms, I guess."

"Should I go as Jian Bing, then?" I mused. "We were both on TV when we hit the White Whale and we went to Junior's not too long before that. He wouldn't have gotten a good look at me what with Lenore on, but it's not a hard connection to make, is it?"

"Probably not," Adam considered.

"I can't really be seen with you as Jaune Arc," I continued. "No offense, but if something happens or we get recognized, that would cause all sorts of problems. I could put on another disguise, instead, but it's hard to get much more convincing that Jian—I mean, I change species, then. And a grow a _tail_. And nothing keeps me from putting a disguise over _that,_ too."

"Guess not."

"I could tuck the tail away," I said. "Or just use a lower level title, though that doesn't make my face look as different. I'm wearing the same thing as last time, though, which is pretty different from my usual Jian Bing outfit. With my chest covered and my tail away, it's just the eyes and hair, really. I could tame the latter a bit, make myself look a little more civil, and done. Not a lot of people have actually seen Jian Bing, anyway, especially without one of my masks…"

"Uhuh," Adam agreed.

I changed my titles and wrapped my tail around my waist before tucking my shirt in. Just changing my titles didn't seem to improve my Disguise skill, despite how different it could make me look, but getting my hair under control seemed to count as part of it. Since most of my MP was back, I Accelerated again, got everything in order in about two seconds, and finished feeding Autumn.

Then I walked back to the front hall and saw Adam holding up Gou and looking into his open mouth.

"Now say words that start with 'b,'" Adam said.

"Bikes," Gou replied, doggy mouth forming the words just fine. "Bananas. Beauty. Birds—"

"How do you work?" Adam demanded before turning to look at me. "How does he work, Jaune? Hell, how did he even learn these words?"

"Are you still on that?" I asked, sighing before glancing at them both. "Put him down; he's at a higher level than you, anyway."

It was true. Looking about my friend's head, I saw that he'd gotten quite a bit stronger since the last time I'd seen him, but…

 **The Beast  
LV44  
Adam Taurus**

"Oh, _what_ ," Adam sounded disgusted, but he did put Gou down, though the talking dog just panted happily at him. "But really, how the hell does he talk, Jaune? Did you know he can whistle?"

Gou whistled obediently when Adam glanced down him, my friend splaying a hand at me as he did.

"I did not," I admitted. "Nor do I currently know how he talks. I suspect it's either because he is my Familiar and gains experience when I do, or because of his rise in level. I thought we were going to go drink, though?"

"I—" Adam paused before frowning down at Gou again for a moment before continuing. "Yes. Yes, we are."

I chucked and moved to place Autumn back on Gou, which made the dog's tail wag even faster.

"Take care of her, okay?" I asked.

"Of course," Gou answered seriously. "I'll protect her no matter what?"

I scratched him once behind the ears and then stood, jerking my heads towards the door and then leading the way out back. I'd checked the entire area around my house thoroughly and the camera's Ozpin had once put nearby on my father's orders were long gone, nor was there anyone in a position to see us nearby—but just in case, I didn't want anyone to peak out a window and see two terrorists leaving the Arc residents. As such, I led Adam into the forest instead, walking easily through it despite the cloudy, moonless night, and taking a winding route to emerge a few streets down. Adam had come in the back, too, so it was best to keep things simple and continue to stay out of sight.

Adam caught up in just a minute and fell into place beside me, shaking his head a little.

"I just don't get it," He said. "He seems like a normal dog, physically, but he shouldn't be able to generate such a human sounding voice in that case."

"You're choosing a pretty odd hill to die on in terms of what you'll accept," I noted, smiling. "I know for a fact this isn't the weirdest thing you've seen around me."

"I accept it just fine," Adam shrugged. "I just want to know how it works, is all. It's not telepathy or anything; he's definitely making sound. Is it like that voice thing you do, then?"

"Maybe," I considered. "I'll check it out latter. I'm with you on wanting to know how it works, but…I just can't be bothered to, right now."

"Right," Adam shook his head again and looked up at the sky for a moment. After a moment, he sighed. "How are doing?"

It wasn't hard to figure out what he was referring to. If anything, I was pretty sure that the entire Gou thing was Adam's awkward attempt to cheer me up a bit. It explained why Gou had been listening to him without question, and how timed the 'b' sound and whistling thing had been. I appreciated that, so I smiled at him.

"Not great," I said honestly. "But I'm okay. I'm alive and I'll keep going until I get better."

Adam nodded, looking solemn and serious.

"My mother died," He said, surprising me a bit. "Before the Revolution. When things were bad…she gave her life to save mine. I blamed a lot of people for that—others, myself, Humans, Faunus, the world—and for the longest time, I thought…I knew I owed her more than I could ever pay back. But I lived my life, trying to anyway. It took me a long time to realize that she didn't because of me, that debts didn't factor into it. She gave her life to save mine because she loved me, simple as that. She did it, because she believed that giving me a chance to live was worth losing her own. That…that wasn't an easy lesson for me to learn, but…but I managed to figure it out eventually. And I tried to…well, you know how my story went."

I nodded, my expression as serious as his own.

"My father," I began after a moment before cutting off as he lifted a hand.

"Drinks first," He said, making me smile. "Have to do this right, you know? Tradition and all."

"Oh?"

"I don't make the rules," He shrugged. "I just get plastered because of them."

"Far be it from me to break the laws of alcohol, then," I chuckled. Then I looked at him for a moment. "Blake came to say goodbye to me."

He nodded once, staring straight ahead.

"I figured."

"I asked her if there was anything she wanted me to tell you," I continued. "But she said you knew everything important."

He looked down at that and took a deep breath.

"I suppose I do." He mused before going quiet. We traveled in silence for a minute or two before he spoke again. "After she left…Blake and I had been heading for a mission. When she didn't come back, I went and did it alone. There was a train heading into Vale—Schnee Company, Dust, you know. The plan was to set charges and blow it up."

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There were people onboard," He continued. "It didn't matter. But…for some reason, I didn't feel like killing anyone that day."

I closed my eyes and smiled again.

"That's good," I said. "What did you do, then?"

"Broke some robots," He answered. "Cut the line and stole a train car."

I snorted.

"Well, it's no White Whale, but I guess it's _something_ ," I drawled and he gave me the finger absently. "The White Fang say anything about it."

"A little bit," Adam shrugged. "But I told them you had different orders for me and they shut up. After the mining town and all, figured you wouldn't mind. Came into town to tell you and a friend told me that something big must have happened, because a few Hunters died in action. The name Arc came up and…you know the rest."

"Yeah," I said. "Thanks."

He nodded once.

"But seriously," He spoke after another moment of silence. "Tell me you have some use for a train car full of Dust."

I smiled a little wider and bumped his shoulder, chuckling slightly.

"You have good timing," I said, turning to look at him. "Really. Thank you, Adam. I'm glad you're here."

"Yeah, well," He smirked. "I guess I didn't have anything _better_ to do."

 **XxXXxX**

Perhaps half an hour later, we'd reached our destination. We could have gotten there a lot faster, but neither of us were in a rush and it was a nice night, so we traveled at a sedate pace. At night, moving through Vale was easy, even for a pair of wanted terrorists, so neither of us encountered any issues. When we got to the club, no one but Junior even cast us a glance over the lights and the music, and the owner himself merely watched us for a long moment before sighing deeply and then leaving us be.

He'd probably chalked us both up as way too much trouble. In his shoes, I'd probably have done the same.

When we were sure there wouldn't be any issues caused by our presence, the two of us sat down at the bar and ordered our drinks. Well, Adam ordered our drinks; I didn't really know much about alcohol, honestly. He got us both something called Nectar, a golden colored liquid in a tall glass, and we drank together. As for the taste, honestly, I found it neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but there was a certain bitter-sweetness to the drink. I'd say that if nothing else, it matched my mood. I had barely taken four swallows of it before a window appeared before me, though.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Through the endurance of dangerous substances, the skill 'Poison Resistance' has been created!**

I immediately stopped drinking and Observed the drink carefully, alarmed by the message. For a moment, I wondered if someone was taking this chance to kill me, if I had been betrayed—but no. It was just a normal, if alcoholic, drink. I guess that was enough to make it count to my power. Because alcohol was something that could harm the body, I guess my ability had responded, though that kind of made me wonder how it measured the distinction of 'poisonous.'

Either way, I guess it didn't make much difference now, did it? With my power…with the skill I'd just gained and the increase to experience my new Wisdom skills gave me…I'd probably improve this ability in no time. Without even glancing at the skill's window, I could tell this was another passive ability, so…

I sighed quietly, swirling the contents of my glass. I'd seen this coming a long time ago, hadn't I? Back then, I'd told Adam I was saving my first time drinking for something special for this very reason, so I really couldn't say I was surprised, could I? And I guess that the defense this power offered was worth it if it'd protect me in the future, so…this was okay. But…

Ii didn't seem like Adam's plan to have me drink my troubles away was going to see much in the way of success, but I didn't have it in me to ruin the mood. Even if it didn't work out in practice, I truly appreciated the thought, so I wouldn't say anything about it now. For that reason, I finished off the rest of the glass and put the drink down.

"My father," I began again after he'd finished his as well. Just in case anyone was listening over the music, I made sure that our words wouldn't carry far, as well as that our own words would carry over the background noise. "He took me with him on a mission, once he decided I was ready. We'd trained, fought each other, and he figured I'd be okay. I was just going to be support, anyway—the healer. Pretty much like I was going to be on the White Whale mission, which in hindsight should have set off some alarm bells, but…"

I shrugged, lifted a hand to wave down the bartender. If I wasn't going to get drunk tonight, I might as well make sure I was pretty damn hard to poison. Out of the corner of my eye, I was Adam turn his face towards me, but he didn't say anything, even when I paid the bartender to top us both off.

"Don't tell anyone about this next part, yet," I said, organizing my own thoughts and deciding what to say. "I'll talk to Raven about it soon, but everything is sort of…messed up, at the moment. There's a lot she'll want to hear and a lot more that's just not going to be believable unless it comes from me, but these are the basics. What should have been routine turned out to be something a lot bigger. The villagers thought a few Grimm had broken in but there was an entire army right beneath their feet, moving through underground caverns. Reinforcements were called—my mom's team—but there were…thousands of them and they all came pouring out as soon as my mom arrived. They'd been waiting for more hunters specifically."

I drank the entire second glass like it was water and shrugged at him with a half-smile.

"Things got worse from there," I said. "Crom Cruach attacked us, shattering all the barriers I'd put in place. More and more Grimm followed after it, enough to wipe the town from the map. But the biggest thing, what made everything go wrong was…there were Pandora Shells. A Deathstalker carried them up and Crom Cruach broke them himself."

Adam followed my example with his own glass, chugging it with a little more difficulty, and then exhaling hard. For a moment, he was silent—speechless, even—but after a few seconds, he put his glass down and shook his head slightly.

"Well, fuck," He said.

"Mm," I agreed. "I guess you can imagine the rest. I…well, I was immune to the infection, but the others weren't. My mom nearly died several times and came out of it missing three limbs. Most of the others just got infected. Including…including my father. And I…I killed them. A guy on my mom's team that she used to date, a married couple on my dad's, and my own father. I tried to save them, did everything I could, but in the end I failed. I tried so hard and it still wasn't enough, so I ended it myself."

"Shit, Jaune," Adam whispered.

"There's other stuff," I continued. "I learned a lot, really. About the Grimm, about my own power, about…other stuff. I'll speak to Raven about it as soon as I can, but…that stuff, it's bad but…it's not _why_ , you know."

"I know," He answered, seeming to understand. After a moment of silence, he continued as well. "I told you my mother was killed before the Revolution. What I didn't say was that it wasn't by humans."

I raised an eyebrow at that, looking at him in surprise as the pieces fell into place. He smiled grimly at my expression but nodded.

"Yeah," He confirmed. "I guess you wouldn't expect it from me, huh? Given what I am now. But in the early days, Menagerie was…Menagerie was a hellhole. Faunus from all around the world, abruptly shoved into the same room. I guess a lot of people don't think about it, but when you take that many people from that many walks of life and put them together like that, the results…"

He shook his head again.

"Even back then, Faunus were a mixed bag," He mused, as if to himself. "Most of us had been treated horribly by humans, but not all. My father…I don't even remember him, but he wasn't…he was a human. My mother spoke of him, sometimes, said he loved her. I guess some people from our town remembered him, too, because word got out eventually and…you know. It was like that for a lot of people, too, even those that weren't like me. We didn't have a government, didn't even have anything like a civilization in Menagerie. People were scared and angry and had no one to take it out on but each other. Even if we're Faunus, we came from all walks of life and all across the world, and for a good while, I thought we hated each other more than we hated humans. At the very least, _I_ hated us more than humans."

He touched his drink but paused when he realized he'd emptied it. I waved down the somewhat concerned looking bartender again, but he topped us off again and we drank again, this time more leisurely.

"After my mother, I was nothing," Adam continued. "A nobody in a world of nobodies—but I hated the people who'd taken her from me and that kept me going. I got a weapon somewhere, some knife I stole, and practiced every day until I was good with it. I still remember when I caught up with the bastard who held down my mother…but there were others. They called us animals, in those days, and if you'd seen Menagerie, you'd have believed it. Now, I understand why. Now, I know what poverty and starvation and terror can do, what having no defense from the Grimm can drive a man to, what needing to provide from a family in a world out to murder us all can mean. But back then I didn't know and I didn't care. I traveled Menagerie for…a year? And I killed people that I didn't think deserved to be called such. I got a reputation, was hated and feared. I was still a nobody, but most of us had been civilians at the time and I was strong enough to be a nightmare for people. And sometimes, that's all I was. I didn't give a shit why we were in Menagerie or whose fault it was; I was just an angry punk, lashing out. Until I met Raven."

"What happened?" I asked.

He took a deep swallow and then a deeper breath.

"She kicked my fucking ass," He said. "She was a Hunter, even back then, and a certified badass. I didn't even have an awakened Aura at the time and I fought her with a rusty knife. I think it was over in less than a second, but I don't actually remember how long it took her to knock me out. I remember being surprised I ever woke up, though. But Raven…she spared me and then she did more than that. She saved me, took me in. I don't know if she pitied me or saw something in me, but I was just an animal before her, and she taught me everything. Raven…she made order from that chaos and I followed her for years, helping people instead of hurting them, saving people instead of killing them. Things got better and I began to see in others what she must have seen in me. I never forgave the people who took my mother, but I stopped letting it turn me against others, and I began to see what had been done to innocent people. When the time for the Revolution came, I fought for them, not because they were my people but because I believed I should—and I never turned back."

I nodded to him once and we both took another drink. As I removed my glass from my lips, though, I had to sigh.

"Fuck," I said. "And there's my bad luck, acting up again. I hate to do this, but…"

"What?" Adam asked, the beginnings of a slur finally touching his voice. "What's wrong?"

"Don't look now, but it's that one asshole," I said, tilting my head slightly to the side. I didn't look his way and I didn't have to, instead watching him in the dozens of reflective surfaces around the club. I wasn't one to forget faces and I recognized this one even though I'd only seen him once, months ago. Red hair, white suit, grey scarf, and a black bowler hat, he stood out, if only to me. Adam had mentioned his name once, called him 'Torchwick.'

Despite my words, Adam did in fact look, eyes sharp behind red sunglasses.

"Ignore him," He said, sounding annoyed.

"You sure?" I asked. "Last time we met, he kind of screwed us over. You especially."

"I know," Adam said with a grunt. "But the White Fang has business with him, supposedly. For now, we're to leave him be and there's talk of more than that."

I considered that, frowning slightly. Even if nothing came from it, even if it may have actually save me in the end, I couldn't really say I was fond of a guy who'd program robots to attack randomly as a distraction.

But then, Adam had been the one to stand between those robots and innocent people, even at risk to himself. And I didn't really want to start a fight right now, especially not in a crowded and relatively confined space.

I sighed and nodded.

"Very well, then," I said, shrugging even as I listened into him hiring men from Junior. I settled for not looking at his reflection, at least, though I did track him with Levant. "Another round?"

"Please."

I waved down an increasingly worried-looking bartender and watched him for a moment. He made to open his mouth, probably to say something about 'drinking in moderation' and 'alcohol poisoning' but seemed to think better off it. Adam and I continued to enjoy our drinks and in a minute I felt Torchwick moving away and tried to remove him from my thoughts as well.

It turned out to be pretty easy, as something else drew my attention mere moments later.

"Hey, Adam," I said conversationally even I focused back on the reflections around me. I absently rolled the half-full glass in my fingers, feeling contemplative. "Someone appears to have our host by the literal balls."

Adam looked again, focusing on the flash of blonde that stood out in the bar's mirrors. From the current angle, I couldn't see her face and I was trying to decide if I cared enough to do anything. I saw a bunch of men in black suits that I recognized as Junior's lackeys approach the scene, but…

My friend blinked once behind his glasses and closed his eyes for several seconds, as if trying to focus his way back to sobriety.

"Seems like," He said at last, actually sounding pretty focused. "Does she seem familiar to you?"

The girl let Junior go and the two began to move away. As they did, I turned towards them, catching sight of the girl's profile from the side and from several dozen gleaming surfaces. Looking at her, it was easy to make the connection, even before I saw the words above her head.

 **The Sun That Chases the Night  
LV 42  
Yang Xiaolong**

I recognized the name, though I'd only heard it once. Taiyang Xiaolong, a man who'd been on the same team as Raven Branwen. My grandmother had mentioned something about them before but I hadn't really considered it beyond that—to be completely honest, I just hadn't had any interest in who Raven had been with in the past, since it hadn't done much to make her less terrifyingly dangerous in the present.

Still, she looked just like her mother.

"Come on, let's kiss and make up, okay?" I heard her say, smiling brightly at Junior. The older man seemed surprised at the suggestion but also seemed to accept it. A moment later, both of them were leaning towards each other.

Well, if it was good enough for him, I guess that was that. Shrugging slightly to myself and resolving to leave Raven's business be, I turned back to my drink and lifted it to my lips.

Behind me a glass pillar shattered as Junior was punched straight through it, the people on the dancefloor abruptly starting to scream and run away. I finished my drink, put the glass down, and looked at it quietly, while Adam watched the scene with a frown. I waited for the rest of the civilians to run out of the building and then sighed deeply.

Then I rose from my seat.

"I guess we should go do something," I told my friend. "Are you sober enough to give a shit right now?"

"Sadly, yes," Adam said and tilted his head slightly. "And there goes the bartender. Wonderful."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Conditions**

As I turned around, I absorbed the scene calmly. The girl—Yang, I supposed—was beating the crap out of Junior's men. Junior himself had slammed into a wall after being knocked through that pillar and was probably seeing stars for the moment, not that I was sure it made much difference. Junior's level hadn't changed since I'd last seen him and from what I could see, neither he nor his men would be a match for Yang. Before my eyes, she leapt high into the air, coming down with a blow that seemed to make the floor around her _ripple_ , tossing perhaps a dozen men away.

No, they definitely weren't going to win this fight alone, I thought with a sigh, looking at the girl a bit more carefully. When her gauntlets—or rather, her Dual Ranged _Shot_ Gauntlets—had expanded, I'd caught a glimpse of several rows of red bullets; it seemed she had a preference for literally firepower. She backed that up with sheer strength, blows crushing the floor beneath her targets or else tossing them away like ragdolls.

All told, she was pretty strong, I guess, but my extended run of bad luck had set me against far, far worse. In fact, the last time I fought someone around her level was…quite a while ago. Pyrrha, I guess. She seemed pretty good in a fight, confident and practiced, but after some of the shit I'd gone through, I was confident I could handle her pretty trivially if this was all she had.

Of course, I knew better than anyone that looks could be deceiving so I took a moment to look closer, Observing her for a moment longer. Her Semblance seemed to be…well, perhaps this was my old game obsession speaking, but it seemed to be similar to one of those gauges in a fighting game, rising as she took and dealt hits. It also seemed to be tied to her hair somehow, but…

If it was Adam, it might questionable as to who would win. Adam's Semblance allowed him to settle things with enormously powerful strikes after a fairly significant charging time, so he'd almost certainly win if he got one off early into the battle—but if it became a battle of attrition, perhaps things would go the other way. With a level difference as relatively small as theirs, it really depended on how they fought and who could force the other into their rhythm.

But though it might have been a little arrogant, something like that just wouldn't be enough to defeat me. If we were to fight, I felt certain that I'd be able to settle things decisively without too much difficulty and take her down. Even if she hadn't been Raven's daughter, I had no intention of turning a young girl over to Junior and his gang—even if her actions had been, as far as I could tell, unprovoked, between the punches and nut-shots and property damage, I couldn't imagine that would go well. Still, it should be easy enough for me to knock her out and just take her somewhere safe. If needed, I could probably just call Ozpin and ask him to deal with it since he knew her father; he could tell me where to put her and probably come up with an explanation for it, as well. After that point, it would be Taiyang's problem, not mine. That would be nice.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple, because there was the matter of her other parent to consider. I had no idea what Raven would think of any of this—I had no idea what relationship she had with her daughter, what she'd think of her actions, or how she'd feel about me interfering. From a professional standpoint, though, I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize my working relationship with Raven, even ignoring the enormous utility of her powers. From a personal standpoint, I just didn't want Raven upset with me, even with the power I'd gathered since last we met. It seemed like the best way to accomplish both ends would be to just stay out of Raven's business, which was what I'd really hoped to do.

Even so, I didn't really feel right about watching Junior and his men—my _hosts_ —get beaten up and have their property destroy without doing anything to stop it. Beyond that, the Xiong family were, in a way, allies of the White Fang, who I supposed I was technically acting in the capacity of at the moment. What would it say if Jian Bing just stood back and watched those who had treated him fairly well in the past get beaten up for no reason? Nothing good.

So for both moral and practical reasons, I had to do something.

I sighed again. Perhaps it was a bit petty, but this night was supposed to be about Adam and I drinking—however ineffectually on my part—our grief away. Not…whatever this was.

"So," Adam said and though his words were still a bit slurred, his hand was as steady as a rock on the hilt of his blade. True to his word, I didn't think he'd have any problems in a fight. I wonder if that was a Hunter thing or a learned skill. "Who is this bitch?"

Might be wearing beer goggles, though. But at least he seemed to know who _I_ was.

"Your sister, I suppose," I mused to myself, still watching the fight and looking for a chance to interfere. I wasn't worried about the wounds being inflicted since I'd be able to heal them easily enough, but if possible, I'd like to settle this without bringing down even more trouble upon Junior or causing too much property damage. As a side goal, I wouldn't mind not waking up to a headline about Jian Bing being in Vale, either. This night was probably shot to hell either way, though.

"Huh?" Adam asked eloquently.

I looked at him calmly despite the chaos below.

"She's Raven's daughter," I clarified. "And I guess you're sort of like Raven's really old son."

Adam snorted like, well, a bull, seeming annoyed at the words. Which part, I wasn't sure. After a moment, though, he worked his jaw and his fingers began to drum a pattern I didn't recognize on the hilt of his sword.

"Not sure Raven would like me beating up her daughter," He muttered after a moment.

I resisted the urge to make a comment about her sending them both to their rooms which, really, seemed pretty big of me.

"I figured," I said. "Stay here until I give you the signal, then. And try not to say anything?"

Adam grunted and said nothing, which made me smile a bit. After a moment's thought, I brought up my group menu and sent him an invite, which he managed to both read _and_ accept.

A high-functioning alcoholic was Adam, it seemed.

Meanwhile, Yang finished off the last of the men below, a process that involved the shattering of another glass pillar and the throwing of the DJ. Although, in fairness, the DJ did break out a machine gun. Two more girl came out to fight and the levels above their heads would have given them away as something special even if they hadn't been wearing something completely different from the rest of Junior's men. Thinking back, I vaguely recognized them as Junior's bodyguards.

 **Blood Stains the Earth  
LV 34  
Miltiades Malachite**

 **Snow Covers the Bones  
LV 35  
Melanie Malachite**

Yang reloaded, scattering bullets and grinning widely in the light of the club. Miltiades bared her crimson claws, Melanie slide a razor-edged foot forward, and I…well, I looked at the exit of the club, feeling just a bit wistful as I put my hands in my pockets. In the periphery of my vision, I saw the three girls move to attack each other—

And then I _moved_ , drawing upon my skills to give me greater and greater speed. In a fraction of a second, I closed the distance and stood between the three of them, standing stock still as all three closed in. A set of claws slammed into my neck just below the ear, the back blade of a shoe connecting with my side just above my waist, and a gauntlet slammed into my left breast with a metallic sounding clang.

I gave each of the attacks the attention they deserved which was none, looking up at the ceiling of the club and kind of wishing we'd picked another bar.

"And that's enough of that," I said, dropping my gaze slowly as all three girl's paused at my sudden interference. "Miltiades, Melanie, good job. Why don't you two take five?"

That seemed to startle them all into action. Melanie sprang back, withdrawing her bladed foot, and both her sister and Yang followed a moment after, watching me warily.

"Who are you?" Melanie demanded, adjusting her footing quickly in case I was a threat. I looked her way and met her eyes.

"Someone on your side," I said. She looked away first, averting her gaze slightly from mine, which I flicked to the side a moment later. With my Clairvoyance and Elementals, I could feel him stumbling to his feet, so I'd let my voice carry. "Hei Xiong?"

After a moment, the older man stumbled into sight, looking over the scene of the club.

"Girls, back off," He said, eyes flicking to them both and then back to me. He took a deep breath and when he spoke again, sounded almost polite. "May I ask for your assistance, then?"

"There is no need to ask," I answered, dropping my gaze back to Yang with deliberate slowness. "But as my first bit of aid, if I might make a suggestion—let us end this here and save ourselves the trouble."

Junior looked like he wanted to snarl something at that, but stopped for a moment to look around the club, at his fallen men and the broken glass.

"There seems to be a great deal of trouble here already," He said, going for casual and not quite making it. "She—"

"Her name's Yang Xiaolong," I interrupted, stopping him. When I saw I had his attention, I continued. "Her father is a hunter named Taiyang Xiaolong."

Yang smiled brightly at the mention of her name, but the expression dimmed slight at that of her father's.

"You know my father," She asked, but I ignored her for the moment, focusing on Hei's abruptly considering face.

"You know Hunters as well as any, I'm sure," I continued. "With their teams and their families…while I understand your feelings, I would posit that the trouble it would cause you in the future would not be worth taking revenge now. If you wish, I will deal with this situation for you—"

I gestured vaguely at Yang as if she hadn't said a word.

"—But I'm afraid I cannot stay by your side forever. I have but some small business left here in Vale and then I will be required elsewhere. If his daughter should be hurt, it is unlikely I will be able to defend you from Taiyang's retaliation. If she should _disappear_ …"

Junior let out a slow sigh and nodded once.

"You're right," He said. "It's not worth it. What do you propose?"

With slow, confident steps, I approached one of the fallen henchmen, reaching down to grab the back of his shirt and haul him to his feet, healing him in the process. He stumbled and nearly fell but caught himself, opening his mouth to say something—and falling silent as I lifted a finger.

"I will heal your men," I answered. "And do what I can to fix your club. In return, I ask that you…forgive the other damages, to avoid great trouble."

"Done," He said. "If she leaves and doesn't come back."

"That seems only reasonable to me," I answered, looking back at Yang, who seemed torn between growing impatience and instinctive wariness. "Miss Xiaolong, I can't help but notice that you're rather young for this club, anyway."

That was hypocritical, but hell, if I'm not allowed to get drunk or enjoy myself in this club, I don't see why she should be allowed to. It seemed like a fair punishment for not doing this on literally any other night of the year.

"And you're pretty knowledgeable," She replied, reaching for a pocket to draw out a phone. "What your name? And do you recognize this woman?"

The image she held up showed me Raven's face from a time that Observe told me was about twenty years ago. She looked…pretty much the same, honestly.

I tilted my head and looked at Yang absently. Even without my Empathy, it was easy to see where this was going—enough so that I barely held back another sigh.

Pointless…

"Mr. Man," I said at last. "And no."

The words seemed to make her smile.

"Well, Mr. Man," She said, winking at me. "What would you say if I told you I didn't believe you?"

"I'd say that was unfortunate," I replied. "Though truthfully, I probably wouldn't care. May I escort you to the door, Miss Xiaolong?"

"No need," She said brightly. "I know the way out."

I closed my eyes as I exhaled and leaned out of the way of the first punch.

At least the first half of the problem had been solved…

I pushed Junior's henchman away with a light—or, at least, relatively light—shove and felt displaced air brush against my face. Even with my eyes closed I could feel her clearly through my Elementals, from the water within her body to the flames rising from her skin to the very air her mass displaced. I knew exactly where she was and each motion she took all but glowed inside my mind.

So I didn't even bother opening my eyes. Making a point, I turned my upper body left and then right before skipping back a step. I leaned forward as she went for a high kick, letting the blow pass cleanly over my head and straightened casually. I felt her land and leap backwards, a reflexive motion expecting a counterattack, but I stood still, hands in my pockets. I felt a flash of concern from her, dawning second thoughts, but at the same time a growing…something. It wasn't quite confidence or even pride, but it pressed her forward.

Her arms moved back and there was an explosion of heat, a sudden light in the darkness to Suryasta's eyes. She'd fired two shots, flinging herself forward with a bang. I slid to the right with a minimalistic motion, letting her fist go by my face—and letting the rest of her crash right into me. I didn't stumble or twitch, but stood stock still like a wall even as she slammed into me, lifting my left arm to catch her when she rebounded off my chest and began to fall. She caught herself on my arm with the same hand she'd just tried to punch me with and then paused for moment in sudden alarm. The next, with an action that was almost reflexive, her other fist slammed into my chest and there was another explosion.

I stood still again even as she threw herself away, extending my Aura to cover my clothes. It was a waste of energy when my skin was far better armor, but I didn't think Raven would appreciate me fighting her daughter in rags or, worse, naked. My tail would probably be revealed in my clothes were destroyed anyway—and I suppose I had MP to burn regardless. As such, I merely brushed my shirt off as she skid to a halt, keeping track of the others around me—of Junior and his followers moving away to ensure they weren't caught in the fray, but no doubt watching intently.

When I finished making a show of how little the blast had affected me, I returned the hand to my pocket and stood relaxed, eyes still shut. Yang had stopped her assault and taken a slow, quiet step to the side, followed by another and another still when I didn't react. After a few seconds, she stood at my three o'clock, emotions rising and falling. Empathy wasn't the same as telepathy and I couldn't read her mind, but I could connect her feelings to my own knowledge and make guesses. She was trying to decide on the best approach, considering how to attack. Closing in had no effect, so next—

A pair of shots, bright and hot in my mind, were suddenly closing in on me from the side. I considered them as they approached, contemplating my counter in turn—I could let them impact harmlessly again or try to snuff out the flames with Suryasta's, but if I wanted to make a point…

My right hand came up, rising from my pocket in an arc that crossed the paths of both bullets with just a slight pause in-between. With my eyes closed—and with my bare hands—I caught both bullets and crushed them in my fist.

"There," I said aloud, opening my eyes and making sure I looked bored. "With this, it should be obvious that you're out of your league, Miss Xiaolong. I think you should leave."

"Aw, don't you want to play with me, Mr. Man?" She asked but I saw the minute twitch of her cheek, felt the flash of uncertainty. Her words were confident, at ease—a front I was familiar with—but it seemed she wasn't blind.

"Fighting even when you're afraid is brave," I answered. "But only when you do so for a good reason. What you're doing is merely reckless. You know you can't win and it frightens you, but you fight to try and prove it doesn't."

"Who says I'm afraid?" Yang smirked, lifting an eyebrow cockily. Even so, the focus of her own words betrayed her.

I met her gaze for a moment and held it calmly, watching as he forced herself to match me.

"I do, Miss Xiaolong," I replied at last, tilting my head slowly to the side. "And to answer your previous question, no, I do not wish to play with you. Or rather, if we played, I suspect you would not enjoy it."

"Oh?" She wondered, voice taunting. "You don't think you could entertain me? Where'd your confidence go, Mr. Man?"

"My apologies," I inclined my head slightly. "But in my experience, games of cat and mouse tend only to be enjoyable if you get to be the cat."

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," She said back. "Come on. Take one shot."

I considered her for a moment and exhaled slowly, feeling strangely old. Maybe it was because of the way she was acting.

"You're trying to taunt me into hitting you," I noted. "I am well aware of how your Semblance works, Miss Xiaolong."

Her eyes widened for a moment at that but then she took a bracing breath.

"What, are you afraid?" She asked at last, smile returning if a bit more bleakly.

"I'm afraid of breaking you, yes," I admitted. Although, honestly…I didn't really _want_ to hit her, but I couldn't help but think it would make this go a lot faster. It would probably be easier than continuing to talk to her, as well. And like many quick and easy routes, there was plenty of room for regret, later. In the few conversations I'd had with Raven, her daughter hadn't exactly been a topic of discussion; I had no idea what she'd want me to say to her daughter, much less how she'd want me to deal with something like this. Honestly, fighting back shouldn't be a problem, right? Between two Hunters—or Hunters-in-training, depending on how you counted it—something on that level should be fine, so long as nobody got hurt. But would Raven see it that way or would she be outraged if I so much as touched a hair on her daughter's head? So far, I hadn't hit her even once, so there was really nothing Raven should be able to complain about, but at this rate…

I felt a sudden motion, drawing my attention to Adam as he drew his sword and made an act of checking his blade, looking bored—but his emotions told a different story, at once reassuring me and planting doubts.

"If Raven gets upset, I'm blaming you," I formed the words beside his ear, along with a sigh. Reaching out with my thoughts, I checked the area around the club—despite the way it had been emptied, there didn't seem to be any further commotion of sign of the police. Maybe they were slow to respond in this part of town, or perhaps they just had a deal with Junior's family. Either way, I only sensed one person nearby and I kept their location in mind.

"But very well, if our host does not object," I said with my actual voice. "Junior?"

"You're not actually gonna break her, are you?" He sounded worried now that he knew about her father. I only he knew about her _mother_ …

"I will go easy on her," I promised, dropping my eyes back down to Yang as I lifted a hand, fingers curling into a fist. "Pay attention, Miss Xiaolong—one shot, as you asked. And, to be safe, I will stop short just before I hit your face. Fair enough?"

I thought she might argue or say something foolish, but if she wanted to, she held it back. Her eyes focused on me as she dropped low in a ready stance, preparing herself. I gave her four seconds to be polite.

Then I closed the rest of the distance in a fraction of the fifth. With my Haste and the White Tiger's Tread and Lunge so high leveled, with my Aura at level ninety-eight, and with just a touch of Acceleration, I reached her side as if I were taking a single step, fist swinging—and, as promised, stopping short just before touching her face.

A single Far Strike took care of the rest. A moment later, glass broke as she was flung through a high window and far into the street beyond. I glanced at Junior, inclining my head once in farewell, and followed her out with a single jump. As I landed silently on the street outside the club, I took a breath of the night air and looked down at her. Her hair was glowing brightly, but at least for the moment she laid prone on the ground.

But she was alive and hadn't been truly hurt. I'd held back enough for that, I was sure, and a quick heal would fix the rest, if necessary.

"Please be more careful when picking fights in the future, Miss Xiaolong," I said, walking slowly to her side. "If you had fought someone else, the results would have been less fortunate. Now, please—"

"Yang?" A voice asked and I sighed again, turning towards the person I'd sensed earlier. Of course, it would be someone she knew and—

And abruptly, nothing else mattered. In an instant, my wariness was gone and I was on high alert, power rising. I saw the girl before me—her black dress, her red cloak, and her silver eyes—but my gaze went higher, focusing on the words above her head, upon her title. As they went, it was far from the most impressive I'd seen, but it stood out for what it meant.

 **The Red Rider  
LV 50  
Ruby Rose**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Check**

I looked at the young girl silently for a moment, staying calm as I looked her over. It would have been foolish to act without learning everything I could and she seemed, at least momentarily, surprised to see me. I briefly considered using that opportunity to act, but if there was one thing I knew, it was that knowledge was power. Given that, I looked closely and went over what I knew—which was actually a fair bit.

Her name was Ruby Rose, which didn't necessarily mean anything in and of itself—but she recognized the girl at my feet as Yang Xiaolong. _I_ recognized Yang as the daughter of Taiyang Xiaolong, one of the members on Raven's old team along with her brother Qrow Branwen and a fourth member named _Summer_ Rose. I remembered the names from my grandmother's words back in Mistral, just as I remembered that Summer Rose had apparently disappeared sometime after Raven. Given that Taiyang's daughter was at my feet, it seemed safe to assume that Summer had left behind a daughter of her own before leaving.

More than that, the same moment I heard the girl say Yang's name, I'd felt a flash of emotion from the girl at my feet, a sudden flicker of worry that seemed to be _for_ the girl, protective in a way that was hard to describe. I saw her eyes dart towards Ruby and then back to me and felt Yang move to rise despite whatever she must have been feeling, and took that as further confirmation that they knew one another. Supporting that was a mirroring concern growing swiftly in Ruby as she looked at Yang and I. Those glances and emotions carried with them implications of their own, that at the very least they had spent time with one another and were close.  
But with a title like that, one so similar to what Conquest's disease had given me, I needed more than that, so I kept looking. I could put her at roughly a hundred and fifty-eight centimeters with a glance and tell from the way she held herself that she was left-handed. Said hand was moving back carefully towards the weapon on her back, which I supposed was a pretty natural response to seeing a strange man standing over a fallen friend, but I let my gaze flick to the weapon itself and identified it as a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe with a quick observe. Glancing over the belt at her waist, I noted both the spare cartridges and the magazines as additional sources of ammunition but didn't notice any signs of additional weaponry.

Having identified the most obvious sources of danger, I at last focused on the girl herself. I Observed her, noting her stats quickly. Good stats all around with a amazingly high rating in Dexterity even before it was modified by her skills. Fifteen years old put her at pretty amazing for her age, but I skipped past everything else to check for what I was looking for.

 **On A Red Horse He Rides [Low]**

I exhaled slowly and felt glad that I'd removed the White Rider title before coming here, just in case. Shifting the focus of my gaze back up to her background, I scanned it quickly; daughter of Taiyang Xiaolong and Summer Rose, trained by Qrow Branwen, born on the island of Patch, second year at Signal, dreams of becoming a Huntress—it went on along that vein, but didn't tell me what I wanted to know, displaying nothing about the status effect she possessed. It seemed like the type of thing that would show up, but there was nothing so much as touching upon it. Was it being hidden from me somehow? Or did it have something to do with how my Observe worked?

It didn't matter. I dismissed the windows with a thought and focused on her with my other senses. I could sense life from her, but I'd sensed it from Conquest's taken as well, so that didn't necessarily mean anything. I focused closely on her skin and didn't see anything immediately obvious on the cellular level, at least not on the level of Conquest's cells. Absentmindedly, I checked her pulse—normal—and then focused in a little further. I didn't see any signs of disease, natural or otherwise, but since I'd seen the status effect I knew something was there and flicked through my forms of perception, catching something odd in the high-end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Though most of her body appeared to be normal, there was a slight difference in her bloodstream, something fluid. At first glance, it seemed unimportant, but to my eyes…

Perhaps I was trying to force a connection, but there was something in her blood that struck me as reminiscent of the markings on Grimm masks only…more so, somehow. As far as I could tell, it wasn't _doing_ anything inside of her, but given the circumstances and the likely nature of the fluid, it would have been foolish to believe that would remain true forever.

A better question was if it would remain true for _now_. There was nothing in her background explaining the source of this infection, but I did know about her mother's strange disappearance—was this related to that somehow? It was my only lead. If my grandmother's information was accurate, that had occurred somewhere between ten and twelve years prior, which, if it was indeed tied to this, meant she had been living with the infection for at least a decade. If true, that was worrying in and of itself, but I had to consider it carefully; if she _had_ possessed it that long, then she'd done so without causing an outbreak of any kind, as far as I was aware. Indeed, looking at her closely, the virulence that had characterized Conquest seemed absent and the disease did not appear to be spreading from her.

She could be a sleeper agent, I thought. Whatever was inside her could be looking out through her eyes, recording everything she saw and just waiting for the right time to strike. Though Conquest's transformations had been horrific and lethal, they'd also been obvious; a more subtle pathogen, one that was capable of going undetected, could cause just as much damage, if not far more so. It was a horrible threat.

It was also nothing but conjecture. Did I dare act without further knowledge? Inside the middle of Vale? What if it _was_ as contagious as Conquest but just waiting for the right time, some trigger in the host. If I made a mistake, the casualties would be unspeakable. For the moment, she was passive and I didn't dare do anything to risk activating her—not without knowing more and taking proper measures.

I needed to contact Ozpin about this, first thing. He was close to Qrow Branwen for one thing and he had access to information I didn't. Perhaps he knew what had become of Summer, what might have caused this—or perhaps he'd seen signs that would give away some key piece of information. At the very least, he'd be able to help make sure nothing went wrong or to keep an eye on her. I should back off now and call him with my scroll.

With that thought firmly in mind, I turned to face Ruby fully, ignoring her sister entirely as she rose to her feet. For a moment, I thought Yang would attack me again, but she cast a quick glance her sister's way and held back, another flicker of worry shooting through her. Willing to risk herself but not her sister? Either way, I appreciated it as I took a moment to consider what to say—and whether to say anything at all. If I just walked away, would that be the end of it? Quite frankly, Junior's club had just plummeted in importance and though I'd rather end things here, it might be worth it to just let them wreck it if it meant reaching Ozpin faster. But would they follow me, thinking me suspicious or dangerous? Or Adam?

One way or another, I knew I had to end this quickly, so I decided.

"Miss Rose," I greeted politely, making the young woman blink.

"Ah," She said after a moment. "Do you know me?"

"Only by reputation, I'm afraid," I replied, gesturing slightly at her sister. "You are Miss Xiaolong's sister, are you not?"

"Um," She paused, glancing at her sister's raised fists and tilting her head. "Yes?"

"Perfect," I smiled, clapping slightly. "Your sister started a fight in the establishment behind me and I was forced to intervene and remove her from the premise. If possible, may I ask you to escort her home?"

Ruby abruptly sighed, lifting a hand to her head.

" _Yang_ ," She said, drawing the word out with the faint traces of a whine. "Again? Dad hates it when you do stuff like this."

I felt Yang move to answer and turned my face to catch her eyes. I didn't say a word or do anything overt, but I stared at her hard, ironically having no time for games.

It was enough for her to get the message. If we'd been alone, I had no doubt that she'd have said something or maybe even tried to continue, but instead she looked away slightly, putting a hand beside her head.

"Ehehe," She laughed. "Yeah, I know, but I couldn't resist. Oh, well; what's done is done, right? You need a ride home, sis? I'll take you back on Bumblebee."

Ruby frowned at her sister and then at me, expression a bit odd.

"I guess," She murmured. "But I was—

"Come on then, sis!" Yang interrupted cheerfully, grabbing her by the hood to her immediate protest.

"Yang—"

I watched them go carefully, checking over Yang as she went to be sure there were no signs of infection there and then turning away and moving quickly.

"Something's come up," I said to Adam, forming the words with Levant. "Can you get home okay? I'll meet you back at my place."

Adam answered with a grunt and nothing more, but I felt him rise inside the building. For my part, I spread my senses as far as I could, disappearing briefly into Naraka before crossing back over in a more secluded place after shedding the disguise of Jian Bing and putting on my more normal clothes. It never hurt to be cautious and I didn't want to take the risk that someone would see Ozpin's scroll and spot the face of a wanted terrorist. Neither of us needed that action.

Luckily for me, someone in Ozpin's position needs to be easy to contact in an emergency and since this felt like it should count, I called the number he'd given me and he picked up on the second ring.

"Jaune?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Maybe he was just surprised at how quickly I could find trouble.

"Ozpin," I began. "We have a situation."

The older man was silent for a moment before taking a deep sip of his coffee. I saw him look around and then rise from wherever he'd been sitting, leaving a room of some kind.

"Forgive me, Jaune," He said, focusing back on me. "But hearing you say those words fills me with terror."

I tried to smile at that, but couldn't quite manage it, giving up with a sigh in the end and meeting his eyes. I took a moment to consider ways to phrase it, but decided to go straight for the point—for something like this, I couldn't afford to beat around the bush.

"When Conquest infected me, I got a status effect called 'On a White Horse He Rides.' When it progressed far enough, I got a skill and title named 'The White Rider' that equipped themselves automatically," I said to give context and took a breath. "I just encountered someone with the title of 'The Red Rider' and a status effect called 'On a Red Horse He Rides.'"

Ozpin closed his eyes and grimaced, but must have realized the danger of the situation because he didn't waste any time complaining about it. Instead, he took a deep breath and nodded, doing something to his scroll on his side. Typing?

"Who?" He asked, eyes angled slighty to the side of me, on whatever he was writing.

"A girl named Ruby Rose," I said. "Apparently she's the half-sister of Raven's daughter, Yang Xiaolong. She's Qrow's niece, so I take it you've heard of them?"

Ozpin stopped in the midst of whatever he was doing, eyes snapping back to me, widening slightly.

"Ruby Rose," He repeated. "You're certain?"

"Well, their names were floating above their heads," I answered slowly. "So yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"Yes, of course, you're sure; I'm sorry," He shook his head, pursing his lips as he looked away, hands moving quickly. "You wouldn't call if you weren't. How much time do we have?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "Whatever's inside of her, it seems dormant and I was careful not to give anything away. I don't _think_ it will trigger right now, but there's really no way of knowing. From what I can tell, I don't think this is a recent thing—I didn't get any hints of when or how it happened from her profile, which is kind of odd, but I asked my grandmother about Raven's team back in Mistral. She said that Summer Rose disappeared over a decade ago; it seems unlikely to be a coincidence. Can you tell me anything about that?"

Ozpin was silent for a moment, looking intently at something before exhaling slowly and relaxing a touch.

"Silver eyes," He murmured before shaking his head. "Not much—Summer's disappearance came as a surprise to us all, but no more so than that of any hunter. She left on a mission and simple never returned; it was investigated, of course, but…"

But that's not unusual for hunters, I thought. Given our main opponents were the creatures of Grimm, we tended not to leave much behind if we died in battle. By the time someone came looking, perhaps _weeks_ after the event after enough time had passed to cause concern and the time for a search was arranged…well, no one would actually have expected to find anything. I wonder if that's how Raven had disappeared? If she'd decided to simply walk through a portal while away, no one would really have known for sure. Whatever the case, it wasn't surprising that Summer had left little behind.

Even so, I needed to know more, for the sake of perhaps everyone in Remnant. There had to be _something_.

"Was there anything noteworthy about the mission she was sent on?" I asked.

"Routine, at least as much as yours had been," Ozpin shook his head. "Perhaps it went similarly awry, as well. If the infection is within her _daughter_ , however, than that is rather concerning—unless she returned unbeknownst to us all, it implies that something might have happened _prior_ to her disappearance. I don't recall anything _particularly_ unusual—though I'm sure you've realized that Hunters can be rather unique in personality—but it _was_ years ago and by that point we saw one another only occasionally. Perhaps Taiyang would know more, or Qrow, but…what did you see in her, Jaune?"

"Something in her blood, or at least that's where it's most obvious," I answered. "If it's in her blood though, it could get just about anywhere else. It wasn't something bacterial like Conquest, though—I don't know enough to truly say, but it might have been chemical in nature, tied to her blood cells somehow. It was hard to see at all, mixed in as it was, and I can't be sure what it could do to her if it activated somehow. Was there anything that stood out in her medical records?"

"No, not that I can see," Ozpin mused. "She seems like a healthy, young woman, no medical issues to speak of beyond a vague mention of issues sleeping. Her school records are…perhaps not normal, but nothing that would make me suspicious. She showed signs of difficulty in her first year but seemed to improve dramatically under her uncle's—that is, Qrow's—supervision. She is currently doing very well, especially in the combat portions; her instructors have made mention of her tremendous enthusiasm in that regard and have also complemented her skill with her weapon of choice, as well as its design. Said weapon is—ah."

"Crescent Rose," I answered. "Yeah, I saw it. Well, not in action, but what I read about it seemed…impressive."

"Qrow has something similar," Ozpin said. "Very dangerous, to both the wielder and their enemies. If you've ever seen someone use a scythe like that, you can be certain that they are either extremely competent or incredibly foolish. And if they were the latter, they probably wouldn't still have the limbs to wield it. For her to do so at such a young age…she's quite the prodigy. Her professors have remarked on her exceptional improvement in her second year. How strong did she seem to you, Jaune?"

"Level fifty," I answered. "Which makes her by far the strongest fifteen year old I've ever met and stronger than anyone I've seen my age, except for me. She specializes in Dexterity—speed and skill—and has some skills to push that really far. In a race, I'm pretty sure I'd win going all out, but I am twenty levels above her and can outright manipulate time. She's fast and strong."

Ozpin nodded again, frowning deeply.

"Is she…" Ozpin began before trailing off and then taking a deep breath. "Do you believe she is _herself_ , though?"

"I…can't say for sure," I answered carefully. "I don't dare act certain with something like this. But I felt emotions from her, with none of the imprisoned feeling I got from Conquest's taken. She had an Aura, as well, so I want to say she's human, though the recent revelations on their origins make me rather uncertain there as well. Still, the status effect she possessed was Low, so everything I could see implied that she was herself—and as far as I could tell, did not even know something was wrong. The infection seems dormant and is not contagious in its current form, either. The issue is that there's no way of knowing if that will remain true or how much this 'Red Rider' is aware of the world around Ruby. I didn't dare do anything that might set it off, but it was pure luck I'd removed my own title before meeting her. If she had somehow sensed me…well, I honestly have no idea what would have happened, but I'm glad it didn't happen like that."

"As am I," Ozpin muttered, probably considering it himself.

"I wanted to give you a heads up," I continued. "I figured you're in a better position to watch and look into her then I am, especially since you know her family. If anything went wrong, I figured it was best to have another person who would know what and I didn't want to act without informing you, either, since…well, there's no way of knowing that will happen. I'm not exactly eager to test anything in the middle of Vale, but if you have some way of controlling things and keeping them from getting out of hand, I could approach her with the White Rider activated and see what happens or I could watch her from a distance. It might be a bit risky to rely on Naraka given that Conquest broke it, but if we could get a secluded location and back up on top of it…if absolutely necessary, I could even deal with her as Jian Bing."

"Perhaps," Ozpin considered despite the frown deepening on his face. "We'll need to be careful in how we approach this, however; if there's anything recent events have made evident, it's that we know next to nothing of our enemy's capabilities. Allow me to do further research on my end before we act, but be prepared for anything. We'll discuss my findings tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," I nodded before pausing and grimacing slightly. "One more thing. You've probably realized it as well, but…now we have a White Rider and a Red Rider—"

"Who's to say there aren't more?" Ozpin finished. "It's said that two may still be a coincidence, but under the circumstances, I'd say it's enough to assume a pattern."

I nodded seriously.

"And it gets worse," I replied. "The pattern references colored 'Riders' and the status effects mention the horses they ride upon—that is, us. Conquest infected like a disease and whatever is inside Ruby is in her blood. If we follow that train of thought, it implies that, if there were other Riders, they _also_ have some way of infecting people."

"Meaning they could be anyone," Ozpin nodded in understanding. "Councilmen, generals, hunters, _anyone_ , working against us from the inside. They could be anywhere, could have been here all along, and we'd have no way of knowing, if not for you—the people Conquest took, they're titles changed as well, correct?"

I nodded and then paused, shaking my head.

"Sometimes," I said. "My father, who I guess served as Conquest's main body at the time, both increased in level and changed titles—but the other's didn't. They lost their names, too, but Ruby still has hers, so…I don't know. My father wasn't titled the White Rider, though—he was 'Those Who Hunt Monsters,' instead."

"Concerning," Ozpin exhaled slowly. "Then we truly have no way of being sure of who is and is not infected except by allowing you to scan them thoroughly. That's…worrisome. For all I know, everyone around me could already be taken—we'll have to be very careful of who we trust and who we tell what. Qrow…I'll need to tell him something, but if he and Taiyang are so close to her…to say nothing of the fact that a change in their behavior might activate her, they could be compromised. God, now I'm going to be suspicious of everyone. Except for the two of us, perhaps."

We let that pleasant thought linger in the air for a moment. I knew what Ozpin was saying—that he trusted me. Or at least, that he wanted me to _think_ he trusted me, if I was a bit more paranoid about it; I suppose he had nothing but my word to go on and might be wondering if I was telling the truth. Or, even if I was, that I had truly shaken Conquest. It was probably a minor worry given everything he knew about me, but he must have wondered between what I'd done to my father and even the time of my call at the village. I was, after all, the only one who could confirm or deny my own words, which must have put him in a rather frightening position. At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder about Ozpin in turn, about all the people I'd met and hadn't scanned deeply. Who could I trust, knowing this? In this case, I couldn't believe anything unless I saw it with my own eyes.

Maybe that was the entire point of the Riders, a threat that didn't need to truly do anything except _exist_. If word got out about _any_ of this, it would give new meaning to the term 'terror weapon'—and that terror would draw down the Grimm. He must have been thinking the same thing, worrying even more because of it but knowing he had to be careful even in trying to test things. It seemed mine wasn't the only night to have been ruined, but I couldn't think of any way to fix it.

So I did the only thing I really could do and made a bad joke.

"Hell," I said, trying to smile and break the mood. "Technically, I _am_ the White Rider, so that's half of us down _already_. No offense, but this isn't looking good, Ozpin."

I saw his lips twitch upwards as he saw through the words and the poor attempt at humor, but then his expression smoothed and he looked away. From the lighting of the room, I was guessing he'd looked out the window.

"Well," He sighed, drinking deeply of his coffee. "It's not as though I was planning to sleep tonight anyway."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Knowledge**

Ozpin and I ended things shortly thereafter, agreeing to meet up the next day, after he'd had time to research and make arrangements for Ruby. The nature of the situation was such that it left an undercurrent of tension, but I reminded myself that if nothing had happened in at least a decade, we'd probably be safe for another day or two—and if not, that I could probably cross the city and reach Patch in a matter of seconds. For the time being, I had other things to worry about and consider, so I decided to trust him and hope for the best.

Even so, with everything that had happened to me recently, I felt justified being a little cautious and so kept my awareness running full blast all the way back. Between the fact that it was the dead of night and the route I took, I didn't encounter anyone, but if I had I probably would have scanned them thoroughly. By the time I reached my own house and stepped inside, I was fully aware of the locations of everything within the radius of a city block. As such, I felt no surprise when I saw Adam and Gou sitting on the couch together, the former looking bored as he tried to find something worth watching after midnight.

"Hey," I greeted. "Sorry for ruining everything."

"It's fine," Adam said, apparently giving up now that a more interesting distraction had come along, turning off the hologram projector. "What happened?"

"I managed to convince her to go home without any more trouble," I shrugged, figuring he was talking about Yang. "Something else came up that needed attention so I had to bail afterwards, but Raven's daughter will be fine, except for her ego. Do you think Raven will be upset that I knocked her through a wall?"

Adam shrugged a shoulder, not seeming to care much. But then, he was probably drunk on top of the late hour, so I guess that was to be expected.

"Raven never hesitated to stop me when I did something she thought was wrong," He answered. "Didn't mind kicking my ass in a fight, either. If there's no lasting damage, I doubt she'll be too upset considering what could have happened. Everything okay, though?"

"Just…" I sighed, hesitating for a moment before answering. "It seems that mission's going to haunt me longer than I thought. Some complications came up."

He grunted.

"Your mother?"

"Well enough, I suppose," I mused. "I…I think I'll be able to regrow her missing limbs eventually—the others, too. I'll manage."

He looked me over careful for a moment and then nodded back slowly.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked.

"Keep busy, I suppose," I said after a moment's consideration. "There's a lot to do, you know. For my family and everything else. It seems like I'll be staying in Vale for the time being at least; I'll need to tidy up this place for when my sisters and grandmother come by. For now, I guess I'll be training my healing skills a lot, on top of everything else, but…well, who knows? There's a lot of work to be done with…everything, really, and then there's the stuff I need to talk to Raven about. I…"

I trailed off and shrugged, smiling a tad helplessly.

"After that," I continued, wanting to say it out loud. It was just a minor thing, especially compared to my most recent discoveries, but what Onyx had warned me about earlier had begun to grow on me. "I'm not sure. To be honest, at this point I really don't know what's going to happen next. A friend told me that caring for my mother while she…recovers might mean moving in with someone in my family. That might be a local thing, like moving across town, or it could mean going a lot farther. I have family all over the place—my grandmother in Mistral, some sisters in Vacuo, and the others move around a lot. I could end up anywhere, now."

Adam listened quietly as I talked, watching as I moved to touch a picture on the wall. My father's smiling face stared back at me, the fading corpse of a creature too massive to fit completely into the frame behind him. For the longest time, I'd known my father was invincible, because before that I'd prayed that it was true. It _had_ to be true, because he'd always come home.

But he hadn't this time and never would again.

"It's odd," I said, feeling sad and yet somehow smiling at my father's younger looking face. "It doesn't matter where I am, really. As I am now, I could swim between the continents, no problem, so it's not a matter of distance, and I don't really care where I end up, you know. But…somehow I feel unrooted, now. The more I learn, the less I seem to know and I'm…huh. I don't feel uncertain, but I feel…"

I paused for a moment to mull over the words and try to describe how I felt. But I really wasn't sure of that myself. So much had changed in a day, leaving my mother crippled, my father gone, and me lost in a scheme that seemed to go far beyond me. The Grimm, the Riders, and their master waiting somewhere behind it all…I wasn't afraid of them, oddly. Well, at least not beyond the logical fear, the awareness of their numbers and raw power. But I did feel confused, like there was something I was doing, a puzzle I had to solve, but there was so much I couldn't see that I had no idea what.

It was at once a new feeling and a very familiar one. Before this had all happened, I'd been unsure of what to do with my life, but certain of where I stood. I had my home to return to, my parents to catch, and I'd thought in time I'd find my own goal. And now…I had, but somehow it didn't seem to make things clearer to me; I felt just as confused as before.

But I guess that's life.

"It's okay, though," I exhaled, leaning forward. "Whatever happens, wherever I go, I'll figure things out and keep going. I'm not afraid of change just…sad, I guess. Because I realized there are things I won't be able to go back to anymore."

The room was silent for a moment after that, Gou looking at me with worried eyes while Adam's expression was firm. His emotions, on the other, seemed turbulent; uncertainty warring with concern.

But at last he answered.

"Hey," He offered. "If you do end up moving, tell me where, okay? I have to travel a lot, too—and if there's a call from Jian Bing, I suppose I could go a little bit out of my way, even stay awhile. Keep you from progressing into the lonely emo state you'd inevitably fall into without exposure to my general magnificence."

I couldn't help but smile at that, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's very noble of you, Adam," I said.

He bobbed his head to the side in acknowledgement, sniffing slightly.

"It comes easy to me, since I really am better than everyone else," He shook his head, eyes closing behind his sunglasses.

"I'm lucky to have you around," I replied, lifting a hand to my chin and furrowing my eyebrows. After a moment I moved my hand away, fingers splaying as I pursed my lips. "I guess. Anyway, looks like hauling around that ego is tiring you out, Adam. You want to stay here?"

He grunted. Something vaguely along the lines of an affirmative.

"You can use my room, then," I shrugged. "It's not like _I_ do and I'll spend the next day or two cleaning the house anyway. Go before I have to carry you."

He grunted. Something vaguely along the lines of a thank you, mixed with a question.

Given how eloquent and personable he was _now_ , I couldn't wait to see him with a hangover in the morning.

"It's up the stairs, third on the right, left side." I said. The grunt I got this time was probably a complaint over being given complex directions, but he left and I kept an eye on him as he followed the path I'd given him.

When he was gone, I looked down at Gou and scratched him behind the ears.

"Jaune," Gou whispered, words sliding out of his canine mouth. "You'll be okay, right?"

I tilted my head to the side and considered it seriously.

"I'm already better than I thought I'd be," I said at last, actually a bit surprised by the fact. "It seems I have a lot of good friends. So…yeah. I'll be okay."

I lifted my head to glance up the stairs and tapped Gou's head with a finger.

"I have to head outside for a little bit, again," I continued. "I just need to check a few things; I'll be close by. Still, you mind looking after Autumn and Adam for a little bit longer?"

"I will keep them safe," Gou nodded, staring up at me. "And you will keep yourself safe?"

It took no more than a thought to manifest Levant by my side, a smile wide on the small girl's face. She reached out to scratch Gou behind his ears in a mimicry of my own actions, and I laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Like I said, I have a lot of good friends," I said, not wanting to manifest the others inside the house. "You'll take care of me, right?"

Levant smiled and there was a quiet whistle of the wind around me, brushing my hair slightly.

"There," I nodded, smiling. "I'm safe as can be. But thank you for asking, Gou."

"Then I will go," He bowed his head before jumping off the couch and trotting over to the stairs. At the base of them, he stopped and looked at me with intelligent eyes. "Good luck Jaune."

I guess he understood what I was about to do, at least in some sense.

"Come on," I said, patting Levant's back slightly. "Best get to work now, then."

She hummed a wordless tune straight into my mind, following casually as I left the house and went deeper into the woods. When I thought I was far enough, I closed my eyes and let my power flow through me. A Sanctum first, then a Sanctum Sanctorum. Put a Temple over that and a Haven, just in case. It was a massive expenditure of power, but as I was now, I could feel what I'd spent swiftly returning, especially with the effects of the barriers.

Drawing my sword, I stabbed it deeply into the ground and then lifted my hands to the side. Fire sprayed from one and jagged arcs of lightning from the other, expanding for a moment before being drawn together into the shapes of Suryasta and Vulturnus. Bringing my hands back together slowly, water gathered together, pulled from the earth and air alike, and Xihai appeared, standing solemnly even as Levant moved to take her place, leaving us standing in a circle.

Putting my hands on the pommel of Crocea Mors even as the Metal Elemental appeared within it, I gave Suryasta a nodded. With a twitch of his fingers, flames erupted from the ground and just as quickly faded away, leaving behind a perfect circle with a star within. We each stood at one of the points where the two shapes meet, as if gathered around it to welcome the one who would appear.

I didn't need them for this, not really. But I wanted them beside me anyway—and not because of the summoning ritual. There was a lot that needed to be done and given the circumstances, well…who knows what could happen. Best to do it now, I figured.

Summoning my status screen with a thought, I glanced over my own profile. I had a lot of points to spend now and much to think about, but that could wait a moment longer. Simply to satisfy my own curiosity, however, I changed my title and returned to the form of Jian Bing once more and quickly removed my clothes.

Then, taking a moment to hope for the best, I called out to the new power I'd gained and activated Metamorphosis so I could see what happened. Immediately, dark spots began to appear on my skin, not as if spreading from some central location, but as if rising up to the surface—and from the shifting beneath my skin, I knew there was far more to come.

But I couldn't put this off. I had to know everything I could.

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [Low].'**

With the threat of another Rider on the horizon and the possibility of even more waiting in the wings, I couldn't afford to put this off any longer. I had to be sure of the extent of this ability and of my own power while I still had the chance. Against Conquest, things had been too hectic to truly experiment with my own power, but there'd been a number of questions I needed to answer now.

The first was both the most simple and most important—was I contagious while I was like this? In the battle, I hadn't dared get near my mother and even try to risk it, but the question remained. It may have been a disease to anyone else—but to me it was just a status effect, for whatever that meant. I knew better than anyone that this body of mine wasn't normal, but with what I'd learned against Conquest, I could no longer ignore _how_ abnormal it was. Treating things as status effects, ignoring wounds, recovering with sleep…for the longest time, I'd simply accepted that as the nature of my ability and accepted that I'd never know the answer.

And maybe that was true. Maybe I wouldn't ever really understand it. But I knew now that that didn't mean there _wasn't_ an explanation. Malkuth Theory or whatever else, there was something responsible for why my body was like this, for where my powers came from. Even if it was beyond my reach, I knew answers existed and if I could find them, it might lead to answers about everything else. I couldn't just take things for granted anymore; I had to _know_.

But that was for tomorrow and who knows how many days after. Today, what I needed to know was how far it went. For my body…I could look down at myself, at my skin, and see the very components of my body—but did that matter? I had a heartbeat, which implied a heart and blood, but with the way my body responded to damage, brushing off things that could—or even felt like they _did_ —tear me apart…

I could _see_ the growing darkness on my skin, of course, see the _evidence_ of the progressing infection, but I had to wonder. If I didn't get wounded or bleed, what other things did I ignore? I didn't even know if I _needed_ blood, really, especially with the skills Wisdom had granted me. Though for all intents and purposes my body looked 'normal,' the rules that applied to everyone else didn't necessarily apply to me. Very few things affected me like they did others, in fact.

So I reached out and plucked a nearby flower, holding it in my blackening fingers to see what happened. Logically, Conquest should spread to this flower through our contact, but though my body seemed to be changing, it was a 'status effect' to me, before a 'disease.' While I'd played games where certain creatures could give me some kind of sickness, I couldn't remember any that allowed my character to spread that sickness in turn. Even the description hadn't mentioned _spreading_ the disease, merely that it would continue to progress like it was doing now.

It was vital that I find that out as quickly as possible. If the disease could spread through me, then that was an unspeakable risk, making every use of the ability a chance for a major break out to occur—and that was something I couldn't allow. Even with the precautions my ability allowed me to take, if _anything_ went wrong…despite the power of the ability, it was too risky to allow. I'd have to be _certain_ that nothing that happened to me could make it spread, and I…well, I wasn't. If the disease spread, then I'd have to lock this ability away, at least for now.

But it didn't. Even as the dark spots continued to rise to the surface, even as they turned my skin black as night, the flower remained unchanged.

I had no idea why. I could see Conquest's cells in my own skin, literally touching the cells of the flower, but nothing happened. Why? Were they 'fake' cells, created by my power? Was there something keeping it from crossing over? It had to have something to do with the Gamer's Body, but what?

And seeing that made me wonder about what else it did. When I was attacked, how did I remain untouched? I felt pain, but nothing happened—was the damage repaired too fast for even _my_ eyes to track? Or did it never happen to begin with, preventing it somehow and just making me feel pain as a warning? Or perhaps there was something between the area defined as 'my body' and the rest of the world, a barrier of some kind which decided such things?

But truly, though I was _watching_ it happen, I couldn't see any cause. Maybe…maybe I could test it? If the White Rider allowed me to use some of Conquest's power, perhaps it would allow me to infect things, too. I could probably try, play with this strange force, maybe even learn something…

But I quickly decided against it. While the thought of reducing him to a guinea pig was tempting in its own way, I didn't think there was any situation that adding Conquest to wouldn't make worse. And God, if he somehow inherited _my_ memories from the process, some measure of power…no. I wasn't _that_ curious, at least not yet. Even in perfect conditions, the mere possibility that he might somehow send a message back to his father made it too risky to even try.

Still, I got what I wanted. However it worked, I could use this power without immediately putting thousands of lives at risk, despite appearances to the contrary. That was good to know, even if the appearance of this ability meant people would probably draw the wrong conclusions if they saw me using it.

Onto the next test, than.

Last time, I'd been in a hurry and couldn't afford to walk into a battle against my father with no idea of what would happen to my own body, so I'd accelerated the infection and limited my experimentation. This time, I let the experiment run its course normally, with one small change. Last time, it had been the human Jaune Arc who'd been infected; now it was the Faunus Jian Bing. The question was, did that matter? I wasn't sure. Logically, the infection should spread over my current body as normal, changing it accordingly. At the end, however, I knew that 'the White Rider' would automatically replace my existing title—and it was that title which made me a Faunus. With the infection spreading over my tail, what would happen when the title that had created it was removed?

I wanted to find out so I watched closely as the infection continued to spread. I'd note everything that happened to me in the process, as well as differences from the last time I'd done this. Of course, I'd need to do this at least several more times later to see how they did or didn't change. There was also the question of how this transformation would work with the Grimm masks I'd collected, if at all, but I didn't want to add too many variables at once and confuse the process.

What I did do, however, is multitask. With my MP regeneration as high as it was now, I could maintain something like the White Tiger of the West without difficulty anymore, even on top of everything else—and it would only grow easier with time. Already, my Aura was approaching level ninety-nine and there were a few skills close behind it, mainly the ones I'd had for a long time and was able to keep active around the clock. Most of the lower White Tiger skills were in the nineties and I could use and level them up for no additional cost so long as the White Tiger of the West was active. On top of that, Summon Elemental was only a step behind my Aura, trailed closely by a few other major skills I had, and with the experience increase I'd gotten from my Wisdom skills, I could expect them to level up relatively soon.

And since I was out here in the woods and could sense no one nearby…well, why not squeeze everything I could out of the time I had? And with an extra set of eyes and hands, I could keep working even while observing the disease's progression. Turning Bai Hu's eyes to my still open status screen, I considered it carefully. I was pretty proud of my stats, all things considered, though my relatively pathetic luck stat was hard to ignore. I'd need to head back to Juniors in the morning to heal his men anyway, so I'd try to make arrangements with the man then, but for now I was busy with more important things.

I had seventy points to spend and plenty of options to choose from—but I knew I'd spend at least twenty-six to bring Wisdom over two hundred. I knew it'd be worth it, both for the benefits and the skills I'd gain, after all, so that was a no brainer. The more important question was what I'd do with the _other_ forty-four points. I could invest them into Wisdom as well, raising it to two forty-four, which would put me a mere two levels away from raising it over two fifty, but I couldn't ignore the synergy between Intelligence and Wisdom, either. Mana Regeneration's effect on my, well, mana regeneration was immense and stacked with all the increases from my Wisdom. Intelligence had also given me some invaluable abilities like my Clairvoyance, as well as skills that had allowed me to make _other_ skills and which increased my MP immensely. I had no way of truly knowing what I'd get, but I could raise it to a hundred fifty-one on top of my other skills, which would give me a total of twelve abilities, if the pattern for skills held.

On the other hand, I could continue to increase my Wisdom and make progress towards an even larger number of skills, if more focused. Decisions, decisions.

I decided to increase my Wisdom over two hundred for now and wait and see what I got from it before deciding on what to do with the rest.

 **By raising WIS above 200, you have gained three random abilities related to your transcendent understanding.**

 **The skill 'Psychometry' was created.**

 **The skill 'Delusory' was created.**

 **The skill 'Tranquility' was created.**

 **By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Unity.'**

 **By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Soul Within.'**

 **By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Hidden Heart.'**

 **By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Unseen Form.'**

My physical body took a deep breath, smiling a bit as I felt the changes take hold, but dismissed them for the moment as they disrupted my line of sight. The infection was gaining speed now, enough that I stood and had Bai Hu turn to face me, looking me over as I continued to change.

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [Intermediate].'**

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [High].'**

 **You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX].'**

 **Title 'White Tiger of the West' unequipped.**

 **Title 'The White Rider' equipped. This title may not be unequipped while the status effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX]' remains.**

The armor grew over me differently, now—whether because I was Jian Bing or for whatever other reason. Armor segments made their way down my tail as other layers formed over my blackened skin. Even the mask was different this time, eyeless and smooth like the reward I'd gotten for Conquest's defeat. I didn't look anything like I had fighting Conquest, but instead had horns rising from my head and jagged ridges on my armor. Oddly enough, I didn't have any problems seeing in this eyeless form, as if the front of my mask served as a strange, compound eye. I flexed my fingers and swung my tail, carving a ridge in the ground with a flick of it, noting that unlike my previous, towering form, I had barely changed in size this time.

Yes, it seemed that even for me, the infection adapted to my body. Though many of the internal changes had been similar, this form was built far differently from the first. Perhaps with more practice and testing, I'd figure out more on why, but…simply confirming it was enough for now.

Then there was only one thing left to do.

As one, the Tiger and I knelt at the edge of the circle on opposite sides of Crocea Mors. I let my Aura flow into the earth, remembering the feeling I'd had when I'd used my grandmother's Dust so long ago, and realigned myself with the revealed song.

"I, Jaune Arc," I murmured, voice sounding oddly smooth for my monstrous form. "Call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee. I hope that you heed my call. Come, Earth Elemental!"

The ground within the circle's center shattered as if struck by my father's hammer, nearly exploding outwards before being sucked back into some invisible center. It liquefied, briefly shining with the light and heat of magma—and then there was a man standing there, as tall as any of the Elementals around him. Hair the color of dark earth and skin of bronze, he looked at me with eyes of literal gold. He wore no shirt, but had bands of gold around his wrists and throat, each gleaming in the moonlight. He stared at me for a long moment, as if contemplative—and when at last he spoke, it was with a rumble in my thoughts, like a small earthquake in my head.

 _You have summoned me and I have come to ask why._

If he was at all off put by being in front of a human looking Grimm and a glowing Tigerman, he didn't sound that way.

"I'll begin in accordance to the ancient rituals," I said in answer. "My real name is Jaune Arc. You have heard my true name; please tell me yours."

There was the rumble of another earthquake and I was gone. I felt the world turn beneath my feet, what seemed to be still in constant motion. Tectonic plates crashed together like the hammers of gods, driving mountains towards the sky and spewing fire and smoke. I saw a desert, a wasteland devoid of life, and watched as it changed into a green pasture full of towering trees. My awareness expanded, fractured, and I saw the earth beneath me flowing up to consume my body and leave me a statue, a demonic gargoyle set into the ground.

And then I felt my body breaking, wearing down like mountains did and being worn away. It hurt, it hurt terribly, but I'd known it would, just like I knew what would come next.

The Elemental laid a hand on my head and the stone skin broke off and fell away. I felt something warm and steady comforting me, like the whole world loved me and mourned with me for my recent loss. I felt a happiness, too, like coming home—like knowing that wherever I was, this _world_ was my home.

 _I am with you._ The Earth Elemental said. _My name is Ereb. And yours is Jaune Arc?_

"Yes," I said, taking a breath. My mouth was hidden, but I was smiling.

 _Then I stand with you, Jaune Arc._

"Yes," I said again. "We are together, Ereb."

 _Then we are one, as the ancient contract dictates._

"Our souls are one."

 _I am Ereb._

"I am Jaune Arc."

 _And until our souls meet their ends—_

"We will be forever one," I swore again.

Ereb nodded, golden eyes gleaming as he smiled slowly and inclined his head.

 _Then know that even if the whole of the world stands against you, I will be by your side—and I will grind them to dust._

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Clarification**

I watched the world turn, barren rock breaking down to sand and the growth of life covering it in a sea of green. The shapes and nature of what I was watching changed over what must have been an unspeakable amount of time, the species that covered the world shifting and changing over eons. Lifetimes could have fit into moments, but in time I saw what could only be the markings of mankind. Civilization grew in dizzying shapes, mining wonders from the earth in a thousand places as it grew from caves to gleaming towers that scratched the sky—

But then, like all things, it came to an end. I didn't see how, didn't even see anything like people, but I saw this place of wonders come to an end. I realized after a moment that I was sitting comfortably in the palm of a stone giant, a creature who towered over all the mountains of the world and made cities shake with his footsteps. He walked without care for what was around him or beneath his feet, crushing steel towers like they were ants and moving on without a care, but even more than that, I saw the world around us crumbling. For a moment, I looked upon a place long lost to history, staring at their works, but then there was nothing but lonely, level sands, stretching into the distance.

Yet the giant continued to walk and I sat patiently in the palm of its colossal hand, watching as we continued on towards something in the distance, nations rising and falling around us like grass in the summer.

And then I woke up, seated upon a throne of blackened stone that had been positioned atop a raised pedestal. I did not recognize it, yet I knew at once that it was Ereb's design and felt him through the stone behind me and the earth beneath my feet. As they had been the last time I'd done this, my Elementals were waiting for me, this time positioned around me on podiums of their own, though they lacked thrones. Suryasta stood in a bonfire, broken tree limbs gathered at his feet, and Xihai was submerged in a still pool of water. Levant's place was barren, open to the wind, while Vulturnus and Crocea Mors stood together, the latter standing at the center of a complex metal circuit the former was racing through. Ereb, the creator of this all, was beneath me, mirroring me underground on a throne of his own.

None of them moved as I awoke, but we were one and I knew they were as aware of me as I was of them. Why they'd bothered with this, I didn't know and didn't bother asking, but…

I took a breath and then exhaled, leaning back in my throne. I couldn't deny it made me feel pretty cool. I was naked and a bit dirty, but I corrected that quickly enough by using the nearby water to wash myself off and then accessing my inventory. As I reclined, however, I allowed my senses to expand and reached out to my house. I could feel Adam in the living room, watching TV again as he waited for me to return, but I shifted my attention passed him to the nearest clock. It was shortly after eight which meant it was time to get to work—I had a busy day ahead of me, after all. I needed to speak to Adam about that train car full of Dust, collect the shipment Ozpin had promised me, swing by Juniors to keep my promise and make arrangements, head back to the Hospital to see my mother and continue healing the others, speak to Ozpin, arrange my house, probably look into Ruby's situation…I had a lot to do, so I best get to it.

Rising, I looked around a bit and then down at myself. Taking a moment to activate all the skills that had turned off while I'd been sleeping, felt my Elementals fade to a less visible state, following just a step behind me as I headed back to my house so as to not keep my friend waiting.

"Hey," Adam said from the couch as I entered the house a few seconds later. He had a bowl of cereal nearby that he was eating pretty lazily, feet up on the table in front of him.

"Hey," I greeted brightly, not bothering to pretend I needed to eat anything. "Sleep well?"

He grunted sullenly, probably feeling the effects of the night before. I felt just fine, of course, and I made sure he was aware of that as I moved to sit on the other end of the couch.

"Anything about Junior's club?" I asked, glancing over the news.

"No."

"I'm gonna head back there in a bit," I said, happy to make conversation with my hung-over friend. "Still need to heal his men and help clean up the place. Think I need to worry about anything?"

"Maybe."

I nodded in acceptance. I knew that, of course, which is why I'd be wary. With what I'd done to chase of Yang, she might have told her father or uncle something. If anything she'd said had made them suspicious, well, someone might be keeping an eye on the club. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue for me, since I could just jog past the club as Jaune Arc, scope the area out thoroughly, and then return as Jian Bing if everything was safe—or even just step inside using Naraka. I needed to go into town anyway, so it wouldn't be any trouble either way.

"I'll just have to be careful then," I said cheerfully, putting my own feet up. "Hey, you want to come, too? You can watch my back and maybe we can get a few drinks out of the deal. I mean, we barely got to drink anything last night."

He turned to stare at me for a moment and then gave me a disgusted looking sneer and turning back to the TV.

"Son of a bitch," He said, but he couldn't put much vehemence into it. "You're not even hung-over, are you?"

"Nope," I drew out, smiling widely. "I feel fine. You?"

"Go fuck yourself, Jaune." He replied.

I laughed and punched his shoulder, holding back enough to just jostle him slightly. As I did, I healed him once, which seemed to take the edge off of the discomfort and he exhaled slowly.

"When do you have to leave?" I asked when his expression began to express a little less hatred for all life.

"Whenever, really," He answered. "I can waste a few days if I want to, though, since I just finished a mission."

'If I need anything' went without saying.

"Thanks," I said. "For everything. But…I really do think I'll be okay."

He nodded, excepting the words and then tossing me a piece of paper.

"That's the address for the Dust," He answered as he stood. "They're expecting Jian Bing, so just swing by in your other suit. If you need anything, Tukson or Raven can reach me."

"Got it," I said, memorizing the address and password. "I'll be in town today, so I'll pick it up. If something comes of this whole moving business, I'll tell you how to reach me, but…well, you have my number."

"I do," He said, putting the mostly empty cereal bowl on the floor for Gou to lap up and then walking away. As he was about to open the door, he looked over his shoulder and met my eyes. "Good luck, Jaune."

"You, too," I nodded. "See you around, Adam."

I watched the door close behind him and then I turned off the news, waiting for Gou to finish his snack before taking it to the sink. Making a note to do the dishes later, I turned around and leaned against the counter with a sigh, alone in the house. Glancing at the clock, I pulled up my Map and plotted out which route to take as I put together my schedule. Travel times weren't an issue, but I had to make allowances for the amount of time that talking to people was going to take out of my day—still, it wasn't a problem. Tapping the places I'd need to go, I put down markers and caused colored lines to appear as a result.

Multitasking, I opened my status screen and began browsing a bit with my other hand, pondering over what appeared. In the aftermath of both the Conquest fight and first waking up, there had been a fair number of things that had fallen down my list of priorities, but I had a few minutes to waste now. Scanning over the icons indicating my new skills, I decided to start with the ones I'd gotten from defeating Conquest.

 **Trespasser (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The ability to forcibly enter or exit a standing barrier. By carefully applying one's Aura, the user can slide through barriers that would normally keep him out or, at higher levels, destroy the barrier completely. MP cost is dependent on the power of the barrier in question.  
Currently, only low level barriers can be bypassed this way. **

Pausing, I pondered that for a moment and frowned to myself. Though situational, I couldn't deny that it was a skill that would be useful to me—so much so that it was suspicious. The ability to enter or exit a barrier…was this what Ozpin had used in those ruins or something else? Either way, it was rather convenient, wasn't it? Eventually, he and I would return to those ruins in the hope of entering that barrier again—and this seemed to be exactly what we needed to do it.

It would have been foolish to believe it was a coincidence. I mean, it made sense that I'd get this reward—it was similar to an ability that Conquest himself had used, after all. Just like when I'd gotten Naraka from a Monster capable of making Grimm, it made _sense_. But was that the _point_? Both the Goliath and Conquest had been sent at me, after all—it only made sense to be suspicious. Their father had claimed to know me and had been keeping tabs on me for a while, so could he be responsible for this? Could he be controlling what my own Semblance granted me?

Or was I thinking about this the wrong way. There was more to this story than _him_ , after all—I played a role, even if I wasn't entirely sure what it was. The interest he'd taken in me, the way he'd seemed to know me, the fact that he'd called me 'old friend'…somehow we were related.

But how? It went without saying that as far as I knew, I'd never met him before in my life, which left me with only a few possibilities. One, that he was a lying liar who was telling lies, which was probably true at least in part. I mean, he was definitely a murderer and a monster, so trusting everything he said seemed like it would be unwise—but could I afford to just dismiss him, either? No; he obviously knew a lot more about this than I did, whatever came out of his mouth, and he obviously wanted me to do _something_. Even if he was lying to me, there was a point to his actions and a purpose behind them I needed to uncover. So I put that possibility aside and moved onto the second; that I'd somehow met him and forgotten it. That seemed…unlikely, however; he didn't seem like the type of person one forgot.

Then I was left with the third possibility, which was at once the most _obvious_ explanation and rather concerning if true. He, whoever _he_ was, was obviously old. If he was truly the father of the Grimm and had been involved with Babel's destruction, then he was _millennia_ old, at the very least. And if I assumed that he was telling, at least in part, the truth, then if we were 'old friends'…then, well, what qualified as an old friend for someone of that age? I'd have had to have met him a long time ago. A long, _long_ time ago. As in, probably before I was even _alive_.

Which meant I had to consider the possibility of reincarnation being involved.

It wasn't that hard to believe, in fairness. The simple fact of the matter was that we knew souls existed, but no one knew how they truly worked or what happened to them after death. The most popular theories had always been that there was either some kind of afterlife or that souls reincarnated after death, with a somewhat less popular theory being that there was _nothing_ after death and we simply ceased to exist. Given those options, the idea that I might be the reincarnation of someone else wasn't completely ridiculous—the very aria for awakening Auras mentioned being unbound by death, after all. So…yeah, I could acknowledge it as an option. Really, it was _intriguing_ , if anything; that I might be evidence of the cycle of death and rebirth raised thousands of questions that were just begging for answers.

And yet, that was the problem as well. There were countless questions, but there weren't any answers for me to find. Who had I been? How had I died? How was it related to that man and the Grimm? There was no way of knowing and it just raised more questions. If that man and I were 'old friends,' which from his tone I took to mean enemies, and then what did that mean for me? I didn't remember any past life I might have had, which wasn't surprising either, since a common feature of 'reincarnation' was losing all of that stuff. But if I was different physically and kept nothing mentally, that basically meant I was a completely different person in every way. Did it matter that I was a reincarnation if nothing remained?

Or _did_ something remain? My mind and body might have been different, but reincarnation referred to the _soul_ …I'd dismissed it long ago, but my Semblance had awakened before I'd even activated my Aura. I'd told my dad about it and he'd seemed surprised—and why wouldn't he be? After all, a Semblance was supposed to be a personal expression _of_ one's Aura. It was something gained through training and effort, but _I'd_ gotten it before I'd done anything else. It was one of the many things I'd just accepted about this power of mine, but I'd effectively started running before even learning to walk.

It was a minor impossibility compared to everything else my power had proven to do, but it was important because it was the _first_ impossibility. Could this be an answer? I'd wondered so many times about the countless oddities of my power—was this why? Then, could this be the answer to other things, too? These things that seemed to be leading me somewhere, to Babel and those ruins…what if it wasn't that asshole doing it? What if it was _me_? Or whatever remained of who I'd _been_ , at least. But if so, how? Why? What made me different from everyone else?

And then, the biggest—and oddest—question: Could I trust myself? After all, it seemed I barely knew me.

I smiled for a moment but then sighed, for no answers seemed forthcoming from my empty kitchen.

Perhaps it was just as well that that was when someone decided to call my scroll.

I reached into my Inventory, plucking my scroll out of the air with a slight frown, snapping it open quickly to see who was calling. There was a pretty short list of people who had my number and, well…maybe it was because I myself seemed nearly incapable of calling people to give them good news, but I was immediately on guard. Seeing my grandmother's face staring back from the ID screen at once relieved those worries and increased them greatly. Still, she was probably calling, at least in part, to check up on me, so I answered.

"Hello, Grandmother," I said as her face filled the screen. On the off chance she was near anyone that might be watching, I made sure to wait until the third ring instead of answering instantly—it was one of those little things that people probably wouldn't notice unless attention was specifically drawn to it, but still, no point in being careless.

"Jaune," She answered, eyes flicking over me quickly. I could practically hear her thought processes—I'd answered the phone and appeared fine. Between that and what she knew of my ability, I'd probably suffered no meaningful injuries, for a rather broad definition of 'meaningful.' I don't recall the last time she'd been too my house, but I wouldn't have been surprised if she saw the cabinets behind me and realized I was at home, as well. When she slowly blinked after a moment, I could practically hear filing cabinets rustling in her mind as she nodded slightly and sorted the information away. After that moment's pause, she nodded slightly and tilted her head to look at me. "I heard what happened from Ozpin."

The way she said the words made it abundantly clear that she didn't believe for a second that she'd gotten the _truth_ , or at least not the _whole_ truth, but I nodded without giving comment.

"You'll be here soon, then?" I asked.

"Yes," She answered, watching me closely. "I will arrive in a matter of days. I've already spoken to your sisters, in fact, and did my best to coordinate things on that end; I've tried calling your mother, as well, but it appears that she is still resting."

"Ah," I said, rubbing my neck slightly. "Yes, I couldn't speak to her yesterday, either. Still, there's no need to worry; I'll have the house prepared by the time you arrive."

She nodded slowly, frowning slightly, and then surprised me a little.

"Your father was a good man," She said. "Though we had our disagreements, I've always thought that—or else I would never have let your mother marry him. Whatever his faults, he was a strong man and, even more impressively, he was a good man."

After a moment the surprise faded. My grandmother, true to her nature, had cut straight to the point and spoken of my father without dancing around the issue. It was very…her, enough so that it made me smile.

"Yes," I answered.

"You were with him, in the end?" She continued unflinchingly where others probably would have faltered, meeting my gaze calmly.

I thought of the battle in his soul and the words we'd exchanged. I had to close my eyes for a moment before nodding, it was so…

It was hard to describe. Despite everything that had happened, it wasn't a wholly horrible memory. Or rather, it was a horrible memory that I was thankful for? It was something I felt but which didn't fit well into words.

"I was," I said. "Not for the very last part, but…we got to say our goodbyes. I got to hear his last words, to say what I wanted to say knowing what would happen."

"He must have been happy," She mused. "Knowing he wasn't alone. Knowing he was loved to the very end—and that his children would live on. I think he would have been pleased with that. I take it he died well, then?"

I exhaled slowly looking up at the ceiling. I remembered my father's body on its knees, form twitched into a monstrous puppet. I remembered my blade coming down, his head rolling away, my father's body dying.

But I also remember what had happened before that. Of our last meeting in his soul, of fighting and defeating Conquest, a monster who had destroyed countless lives and then of facing his master. I hadn't seen the fighting, but I remembered that my father _had_ fought, against odds we both knew would be hopeless.

"Yes," I said, quietly after a minute, looking back down at her with a slight nod. "Yeah, he did."

She nodded once in acceptance, an air of finality to the gesture as if that matter had been settled for all time and there was no room for argument.

"And those responsible?" She asked. She didn't specify and she didn't need to.

"I settled things with one of them," I said. "The other is a work in progress, but I'll catch up to him eventually."

"We always do," She said. She smiled at me and oddly, I found myself smiling back. "And you, Jaune?"

I hummed once to myself, considering.

"Doing better," I mused. "Maybe even doing well. I spoke with some people, kept busy, that type of thing. And now…I'll be okay in time."

She nodded again and there was that same air of acceptance to it, as if it must be true if I had said it. She didn't question me or doubt my words, though she probably would have listened had I needed her to.

"I spoke to the medics already, but I trust your opinion more," She moved on, appearing to consider that settled for now. "When is your mother expected to recover?"

That is, 'when would I be able to heal her?'

"Soon, hopefully," I answered. "I'll be focusing on my healing abilities for the time being. If no results are apparent, I may have to look into alternatives, but I'll get the job done one way or another. General Ironwood has a robotic arm if I'm not mistake, so it's certainly possible. If I have to, I'll speak to Ozpin about it and see what I can do about making arrangements. Whatever happens, I'll find a way—for the mean time, though, I'll be hard at work in the hospitals, I think. As for what'll happen once she's back on her feet, I think you'd know better than I would, but I suppose it depends on the therapists."

"Yes," She said. "I will speak with her about that upon my arrival. There are no other problems?"

"Shouldn't be," I shook my head. "I gave her some preliminary healing yesterday and made other arrangements for her. I'll set have to go back and renew them later to make sure everything's still going okay, but she should be doing pretty well, considering."

"That is very fortunate," She smiled. "I'll leave that to you, then. You will be fine alone for a few days?"

"I've got plenty of money," I shrugged, giving her a smile I knew she'd understand. "And it's not as though I need much to get by, either."

"Marvelous," I heard her tap something with a finger off screen and tilted my head to the side. "Now then, that's just about everything. The rest of our business can wait until my arrival, I think…"

That gave me pause. I made sure not to react in any way, but I focused closely on her face, scanning it as well as the hologram would allow. Without seeing her in person, I couldn't be sure, but she _seemed_ to be my grandmother—which meant…

"Will that all then, Grandmother?" I asked politely, tilting my head to the side.

She met my eyes and though her smile didn't change in any way, it seemed abruptly toothy, like a wolf baring its fangs.

Just for a moment, but it wasn't something I'd miss and it confirmed what I suspected.

"Nothing worth the mentioning," She said. "I'll see you soon, Jaune?"

"Yes, Grandmother," I answered, remaining still until she hung up and then sighing quietly. "Raven, huh…"

We'd avoided the topics of Raven, Jian Bing, and Babel, completely, of course; we'd long since agreed not to discuss any important matters over our scrolls. Unlike me, my grandmother had no way of truly knowing if Raven was watching her at any given time, which made anything but face to face communications dangerously unsecure. I had to protect my identity as Jian Bing, after all, which wouldn't last very long if Raven saw my Grandmother talking to me about things I wasn't supposed to know about. I'm sure my grandmother wanted to ask about the mission that had crippled her daughter and killed her son-in-law, but she wouldn't ask about it over our scrolls.

So that we didn't talk about that wasn't so odd. That she mentioned the obvious by saying we'd talk about it later, however, _was_ —as were her parting words.

I wondered if Raven was actually upset with me over Yang. It was possible, I suppose, but I really had been extremely gentle with her, all things considered. Given who I was—or, at least, who my reputation _said_ I was—Raven would undoubtedly realize I'd held back for her sake, so I really couldn't see her as being _too_ mad. She couldn't really expect me to do _nothing_ if her daughter got involved, right?

Perhaps I was thinking about it the wrong way, then? Perhaps she wasn't angry, but merely wanted to set up ground rules or request I handle things in a specific fashion should it come up again. That would be ideal, really. Or maybe she was looking for me for completely different reasons that would undoubtedly draw me into trouble in the near future—or hell, maybe she just wanted to know what I needed a train car of Dust for. Thankful as I was for Adam's gift, I'd probably want an answer or two on that front, were I in her shoes.

Whatever the case, it all boiled down to the same thing. I added 'speak to Raven' to my already busy schedule, glanced at the clock, and stood up to face the day with only a slight sigh.

There was no rest for the wicked, after all—so I suppose this is what I get for having the gall to sleep _twice_ in as many days.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Tasks**

I decided to head towards Junior's club first. I'd left both his club and his men in a rather sorry state last night when I'd promised to help them, but—well, other things had just taken priority. Still, I felt bad about it and I liked to think I was the type of guy who kept his promises where possible.

Beyond that, Junior's club was also the place I was most likely to be met with opposition. If Yang had told her family what had happened—or if Raven really was upset that I'd punched her daughter out of a building—the proverbial scene of the crime was where I was most likely to find out. And if someone _was_ waiting for me, well, I'd rather find out now than later. Hell, if nothing else, it might give me a chance to Observe them and possible learn more about Summer and Ruby; a long shot, perhaps, but it wasn't like I had any other sources to tap.

That in mind, I jogged through to city and let my senses spread as I approached my destination. For obvious reasons, Junior's club had been closed, but there were still a fair number of people inside, cleaning up or working on repairs , as well as other's deeper in the building, where the nightclub's design gave way to neatly organized offices. Airflows and electrical currents led me to a room—first basement, the door at the end of the hall—that housed a single figure working at a computer. From the displacement he left in the air and the fluids within his body, I was fairly certain he was Junior, but there was no point in being careless. Retracing my steps a bit, I pulled my senses back through the locked door and noted the presence of two similar shapes in the third room on the right, watching TV on a large couch. Gauging their figures as well left me pretty sure they were the girl's from before, Melanie and Miltiades Malachite.

Since it seemed unlikely that Junior would be without his bodyguards so soon after an unknown attacked his club, it seemed safe to assume he was, in fact, the man on the computer.

Returning my focus to my actual body, I then scoped out the area _around_ the club. Glancing over every location that had a vantage point to the club, I reached through windows and doors to see if anyone seemed to have an eye on it. There were a pair of police officers in the coffee house down the street, but since their car was parked outside the club itself, I assumed they were just taking a break. It was hard to tell beyond that, since we were in a fairly busy part of town, but no one seemed to be obviously watching the building. Checking the rooftops as well showed no one, either. That was either good news or bad news, because it implied that there was either no one watching or that there _were_ , but they were professional enough not to stand out.

Well, it's not like I hadn't intended to be cautious. Continuing my jog without missing a beat, I took a few turns to find a secluded place and confirmed there was no one watching before slipping into Naraka and changing into my other suit. Returning to the club, I walked in through the front door and followed the path I'd scouted earlier, kicking down any doors that got in the way for the sake of expediency. When I came at last to Junior's office, I considered doing the same before materializing inside—but no, that would have been rude. Instead, I emerged in front of it and knocked politely.

Inside, Junior raised his head to look at the door and frowned. I felt a flash of confusion, suspicion, even a trace of fear, before he lifted his voice.

"Come in," He said loud enough for the girls in the room behind me to hear and I felt them react as well, but paid it no heed. Putting my hand on the doorknob, I confirmed it was locked with a touch and opened it anyway—stuff like that doesn't really matter to people with Metal Elementals. Giving it a nudge to make it swing open, I stood in the doorway for a moment to let him look at me and didn't move. The girls appeared in the hallway behind me and stopped, glancing back at the locked door at the top of the stairs to the open door to Junior's office. I felt the sudden tension in them all and gave them a moment to realize I wasn't going to attack them before speaking.

"Hei Xiong," I said at last. "I apologize for departing so rudely last night; something came up that had to be dealt with immediately."

He looked at me for a moment before glancing past me to give the girl's a nod. Slowly, but not without relief, they both relaxed—but didn't leave. It didn't really matter.

"The girl?" He asked.

I shook my head slightly.

"Something else," I answered, but offered no details. "I drove her off without meaningful injury. I cannot promise she will not appear in the future, but the matter is settled for now. Your men?"

"In the hospital," He said. "After seeing you heal Oakridge last night, I wanted to hold them here, but by the time the authorities arrived, it was out of my hands. I don't suppose…?"

"It will not be a problem," I stated. I'd heal them later—not as Jaune Arc, of course, but it wouldn't be very hard for me to pay them a visit in the hospital, especially since I'd be there all day. A few barriers here, a bit of speed there, and it wouldn't be a problem. "I would have fixed the damages above, but as it is your business, I felt it would be best to ask you first, due to the insurance aspect of things."

"It will not be a problem," He echoed. Whether that meant that he wouldn't have any problems collecting the insurance money or that he just didn't consider it worth the cost of being out of business for days or weeks, I wasn't sure, but hell, it was his place.

"Then shall I?" I asked, leaning casually against the doorframe.

"If it's not too much trouble, please." He replied, gesturing slightly.

I closed my eyes and took a slow breath, focusing on the invisible Elementals gathered around me. First, Ereb and Levant. I felt the two of them come to the forefront of my mind as if stepping forward, the images of them as vivid as if I were looking at them with my eyes. After a moment, the vision blurred and distorted, Levant fading as Ereb began to crumble to dust in my thoughts. In moments, there was nothing but a pile of sand remaining—and then it began to rise. Grains swirled upwards, gathering into a course looking skeleton followed by a shifting, particulate musculature that at last smoothed into tanned, androgynous features. The new Sand Elemental tilted its head and the resulting cascade of granular earth smoothed into shoulder-length hair mid-fall. As it formed, I felt my awareness expand, enveloping something new—but dismissed it, drawing Suryasta to mind next.

Sand met fire and disappeared into the flames. What appeared in its steed was another new figure, perhaps a bit closer to the masculine side of the spectrum, though it was rather hard to tell. It was composed entirely of thousands and thousands of colored shards of glass, which seemed to grow outwards from its heart. The center of its chest was a literal work of art, stain glass exploding outwards in beautiful designs, but it's face and limbs were more patchwork, made of hundreds of carefully arranged pieces of glass to make something at once humanlike and very not. His skin looked smooth, as did its hair, but with the riot of colors it definitely stood out.

Also, he had wings made of literal broken glass, so. That was a thing.

Still, the moment he appeared, all the glass in my vast range appeared brightly in my thoughts. With the damage having been done late last night and it only being early morning now, most of the debris were still here, if gathered into piles, and that gave me plenty to work with, which I immediately started doing. Bringing up the memory of how Junior's club had looked before, I set my Glass Elemental to work and my mental image of him spread its wings and rose swiftly into the air. I sent Crocea Mors following after moments later, to handle everything else, and considered the matter addressed.

"Done," I said, feeling the glass begin to move above us. Pushing off the doorframe, I gave Junior a nod and then turned away.

"What, that's it?" Junior asked before he could stop himself and then immediately backpedaled. "I mean, uh…"

"Your club is being fixed as we speak," I interrupted, stopping in place. "I will attend to your men later."

Junior paused before tapping several keys on his computer and staring at the screen. I felt surprise, awe, fear—

"How the hell…" Junior whispered before looking back at me. "What, did you just _will_ it back into shape?"

That was a bit of an oversimplification, but…

"In a word," I answered. "Yes. Is that all?"

"You're…" Junior paused for a moment to reconsider the question and possibly a fair number of other life choices before continuing anyway. "You're Jian Bing, aren't you?"

I looked back at him and smiled slightly.

"That goes without saying," I said. "As does the fact that you should not use that name lightly."

He nodded quickly and I turned my head back to the front. Feeling my Elementals finishing up their work above, I took a step and vanished into Naraka.

 **Unity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 3.49%  
An ability given to those who have surpassed all limits and seen the truth, glimpsing the light from which all things come and return. By grasping this truth, however slightly, the user has obtained a true connection to the world around them by understanding even that which is above the minds ability to comprehend. Through this hidden knowledge, Elementals may be combined into even more complicated forms and the user may draw upon the Element of Light.  
Allows for the use of the Element of Light through the combination of various Elements. Also allows for up to three basic Elementals to be combined into the form of an Advanced Elemental. Elemental Affinities are equal to the average of all component Affinities.  
Grants resistance to Elemental Attacks. Resistance to a specific Element is equal to the average resistance to all component Elements.  
25% less MP used for all Elemental abilities.  
50% increase to the effectiveness of all Elemental abilities.**

 **XxXXxX**

Picking up the Dust proved to be a simple matter. Shortly after I left Junior's I received a message from a store named 'From Dust Till Dawn,' telling me my order had been prepared and I swung by. Ozpin had already paid for it, it seemed, so all I'd really needed to do was confirm my identity—as Jaune Arc, of course—and sign for it. That done, I slipped into Naraka to change again and went to the address Adam had given me, bypassing all the doors to appear inside, startling a few people in the process. It had been pretty much the same thing, however, if with a few more passwords and masks. Still, they hadn't really questioned me about my intentions or anything, so it was simple enough to get what I wanted.

It would be a lie to say I didn't appreciate the clout being Jian Bing gave me or the number of doors my presence alone could open. Even when it came to getting something as large as a literal train car full of Dust, all it had taken was a word from Adam and a quickly appearance and I was on my way. I emptied the neatly arranged boxes—each marked with the symbol of the Schnee Dust Company, of course—and stored the contents in my Inventory before using Crocea Mors to melt the car and boxes alike down into more…inconspicuous forms, to help with their later disposal. No one questioned me about where the Dust had gone, why I needed it, or what I was planning next, which was fine by me; I thanked them for looking over it for me and then left.

My dwindling Dust supplies restored, I got to my main order of business and went to the hospital.

"Are you Jaune Arc?" The lady at the front desk—a woman named Acer Sharab—asked as I entered, making my raise an eyebrow.

"I am," I nodded, palming my ID absently to show it to her. Acer typed a few words at her computer before opening a drawer in the side of her desk. Shifting several papers to the side, she drew out a manila folder and held it out to me. I opened it and read the front page quickly before understanding. Basically, there were several forms I needed to fill out before I could work in the hospital as a sort of guest or volunteer healer. It involved listing everyone I healed, when, and of what, as well as a number of waivers that essentially put all the responsibility on me if anything went wrong—still, from the looks of it, it didn't seem like the type of thing that was handed out lightly. There were a few mentions of certifications and tests, but most of them had already been signed by Ozpin.

It seemed I wasn't the only one that had been making use of his reputation.

Plucking a pen from the counter, I signed my name where indicated before handing it back to the woman, who looked it over once before nodding and shifting the papers to another pile.

"Scroll, please," She asked and I hesitated for a moment before giving it to her. She swept it across a scanner and then types a few things on her computer to finish the registration process, before handing it back to me. "There you go. It's good to have you here, Mr. Arc; you're in the system. Just scan your scroll when you need to and you should be good to go, so feel free to get started whenever you want."

I took it and clipped it at my belt before giving her a nod, scratching my chin. From the sound of her voice, she seemed to think I was some medical prodigy brought in by Ozpin—which I supposed was true, but probably not how she imagined. Well, whatever got the job done.

"Professor Ozpin said he was going to speak to the Director about the use of my barriers," I said after a moment. "Is it okay to set them up, then?"

She tilted her head to the side, blinking slightly before shrugging a shoulder.

"Dr. Paean said to let you work, so I suppose so—as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the hospital, of course."

"It won't," I promised, setting up a Temple there and then, restricting its size to this one room. "I'm very careful."

"Then I wish you luck," She said, tone becoming a bit distracted as her computer pinged. I saw an alert pop onto the screen in the reflection of her glasses, a message from an incoming ambulance. Giving her a nod after a moment, I left her to her work and got back to my own.

First things first, then. Since Ozpin had gotten me permission to do so, I might as well run wild. If it was just Temples, then the cost to set them up wasn't all that meaningful; a few hundred or thousand MP was nothing to me anymore, especially not when it was paid over the course of an hour. As it was, I could regenerate the entire cost in a fraction of a minute, so setting up multiple barriers wasn't an issue anymore. Since I got experience from the process and I wanted to improve my healing anyway, I plotted out a schedule in my head, timing the barriers such that the cost never got too severe despite setting up a couple hundred. Setting it up so that the individual barriers covered only a room or two wasn't an issue, either, but by the time I was finished, pretty much the entirety of the hospital was covered.

With that many barriers and the bonus to experience I'd gotten from my Wisdom skills, that should level it up rather quickly. My barrier techniques were amongst the slowest to improve, but this should smooth things along nicely. That done, I returned to my starting point and went on another round through the hospital, this time stopping by to heal the patients individually and to cast Regeneration on them. As the largest hospital in Vale, it had well over a thousand beds, but relatively few were occupied at the moment, it didn't take me very long per patient, and my healing skills were high enough to deal with most things pretty easily. While status effects weren't necessarily covered by my Soulforge, illnesses and injuries were, and I could fix most of those with a touch. Even with the relatively steady influx of patients that a major hospital faced, I healed everyone I could in less than an hour, even after stopping to wait beside the beds of my sleeping friends and filling out all the information that was required of me. Even futzing with the numbers to arrange something with Junior's men didn't take me long.

In time, however, I was left with nothing to do but return to the front desk and take a seat in the waiting area to…well, wait. Specifically, to wait for the arrival of more injured people that I could heal, having run out of those I was capable of fixing. There were a few I hadn't been able to fix out of hand, mainly the particularly extreme cases, but I assumed I'd have to work my way up to healing those, just like I would need to in order to learn how to regrow lost limbs. Though I was pleased to be able to help so many people, if it was just a few hundred patients, I wouldn't be able to increase my healing skills very easily; I'd probably need to have my Elementals attack me again later, so that I could heal myself and get better results. Even if I'd reduced the number of wounded to a comparative handful of intensive care patients, I wasn't satisfied with being unable to heal everyone.

Well, even if I wasn't content, it was enough for me to get some odd looks from Acer at my early return—and for those looks to turn to something like awe as she checked the many reports that flooded her computer. I'd met most of the actual doctors as I made my rounds and they'd largely reacted with an odd mixture of gratitude, disbelief, amazement, and abject confusion, but as I'd largely left them without much to do, most of them had filed into the lunch or break rooms to waste time. Dr. Paean, the man Ozpin had spoken of, and stopped by to watch me several times, his disbelief fading into something closer to curiosity and contemplation.

Even he had left suddenly once I'd reached the end of my list, though, which had left Acer and I as pretty much the only ones doing anything. Even then, it was more that when the odd patient or emergency rolled in, Acer took their information and I healed them on the spot before releasing them back into the world again. Honestly, it got to the point where Acer joked that we could have installed a revolving door. Personally, I was a little concerned with the knowledge that the news would inevitably catch on to what I was doing and lay proverbial siege to the hospital and my private life—but, well, that might bring more patients flocking in, so…

Well, I guess I'd talk to Ozpin about it when he finally showed up. He probably had more experience at dealing with that kind of thing, anyway. He seemed to be taking his time arriving, but he was probably just busy, especially in light of recent events. It was just that hospital waiting rooms weren't the most interesting of places, especially when you aren't waiting on anyone _in_ the hospital.

Despite that, I waited patiently until noon came and the Headmaster made his appearance, leaving periodically to renew the Regenerations I'd cast on the patients. I sensed him coming, but avoided listening in on his conversation out of respect—though I noted that the man he was speaking to was Dr. Paean, who'd left at some point for 'lunch.' As such, it seemed safe to assume that they were talking about me.

"But Ozpin—" The Director said as they reached the hospital doors, sounding frustrated.

"Enough," Ozpin stopped him with a word, eyes turning calmly to me. "Hello, Jaune. I apologize for keeping you waiting—a rather large number of things came up."

"It's fine," I said, standing and nodding to the Director. "Did you have a nice lunch, Dr. Paean?"

"Could have been better," He snorted. "Ended up having to listen to a bunch of stupid, stubborn old men prattle on about some stupid shit or other."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee to hide a smile while I nodded as if I understood.

"Paean tells we you've become familiar with the hospital, Jaune," The headmaster said conversationally. "Would you mind escorting me again?"

"Of course not, sir," I shook my head. "Same as last time, sir?"

"Please," He answered. "We'll continue our discussion later, Paean. Ms. Sharab, excuse me, but I must steal your new friend for a time."

"I guess it's for the best," Acer sighed. "I'm pretty sure half the staff is about ready to just call it a day and go home. I should tell them to go do…something."

"I shall leave you to it, then," Ozpin answered. "Let's go, Jaune. We've a few things to discuss, I suppose."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Link**

"By any chance, were you at a club last night?" Ozpin asked without preamble.

I nodded at him as we walked through the halls, reflexively locking down the air around us to keep things from reaching people they shouldn't.

"A friend of mine has owed me a drink for some time now," I replied. "He heard the news and came by to check up on me; seemed like as good a time as any."

"Ah," The headmaster tilted his head slightly to the side in acknowledgement of the words. "Did you have a good time?"

"Not really," I shrugged. "Turns out I can't get drunk."

"Oh?"

"Well, it's not really surprising, I guess," I mused. "I figured that drunkenness would be shut down by the Gamer's Mind. Without that—or beyond it or in addition to it or whatever—my body just considered it a type of poison. I drank a bit, got an anti-poison skill, and there went that idea. I might have done something else to pass the time, but I was interrupted before I could start dancing or something and things just went downhill from there until I just gave up. I'm guessing you heard about Yang?"

"Indeed," Ozpin nodded, sighing quietly. "A pity that she ruined your night, but I thought it might be for the best to discuss it now, just in case it should matter later. Ms. Xiaolong is—"

"Raven's daughter," I finished. "I know. Grandmother mentioned the names of Raven's teammates back in Mistral and that she remembered Raven being close to a boy named Taiyang Xiaolong. Beyond that, well, if you'd seen her…"

"She looks a great deal like her mother," He nodded. "Qrow and Taiyang have mentioned that to me quite a few times; I should have guessed you'd see it, too. Then it will not be a problem?"

"I was gentle with her," I promised. "Or as gentle as I could be, at least, when she was so intent on picking a fight. I only hit her once and it was just to make a point and knock her into the street; I made sure not to really hurt her and I'd have healed her immediately if I had. Under the circumstances, I figured that was pretty reasonable—it should be obvious to Raven that I held back for her sake. If she wants more than that, then she should keep her daughter from picking fights with strange men."

"Her father has mentioned that, too," Ozpin answered. "After Raven's disappearance and Summer's death, Ms. Xiaolong became quite intent on finding news concerning her biological mother—almost to the point of tragedy. Since then, she's become more careful, but…I suppose it's not easy to go years without her mother and her frustration is understandable, but it might be leading to recklessness. She is strong for her age, one of the strongest fighters at Signal, and she's never lost any of her previous fights, but the world is a very large and dangerous place. I've asked Taiyang to be more careful with her in the future."

I eyed him contemplatively.

"You're watching her," I stated. "Like you watched me for my dad. Because of Raven?"

"That is a part of it," Ozpin admitted. "With news that Raven is still alive, the odds that Ms. Xiaolong might eventually find what she's looking for has become at once much better and much more worrisome. If she should find someone who _does_ recognize her mother or who can see the resemblance as you did…depending on how much they know, that could end very badly. Though I make a point to keep an eye out concerning news of all my Hunters and their families, I cannot deny that Ms. Xiaolong has gone up the list, as of late. With her mother and the recent news concerning her sister…in truth, it is very unlikely she will stumble across many opponents of your caliber from what I know of her methods, but if she does, I cannot imagine it ending well."

I nodded.

"My grandmother hinted that Raven wanted to speak to me soon," I said. "I don't know if it has anything to do with Yang or not, but I intend to bring it up even if it doesn't—better that she hear it from me than learn some other way and draw the wrong conclusions. Should I ask her to keep a closer eye on her daughter? Depending on what we find, I might need to mention what's happening with Ruby to her, since she probably knew Summer best. Unless you want to bring Taiyang or Qrow in on this?"

"Perhaps," Ozpin murmured and then shook his head slightly. "Before we get down to business, however, I wanted to inform you that the matter with Conquest has been completely resolved."

That drew my attention.

"Tyrian and Castanea came back?" I asked. "Were they…?"

Ozpin eyed me closely for a minute and I could literally feel him weighing his options before speaking.

"They were unharmed," He replied at last. "Conquest didn't even touch them, as far as we can tell."

"Oh," I said—because I knew what _he_ was saying and why he was watching me. If they were untouched despite how close they'd been to the blast, they must have left the moment the Pandora Shell opened, if not before—leaving the rest of us behind in the process. Perhaps it was a matter of range; they'd stayed close to one another all throughout the fight, but things had gotten chaotic enough that they could have been pushed away. Or maybe it was a matter of reflex? I knew better than most how little time there had been to think the moment things went to shit, and there'd probably been a lot less for those without high Intelligence, tremendous Wisdom, and flat-out time manipulation. All told, when they saw the bomb about to go off, maybe there hadn't been time to react properly. Or hell, maybe they'd tried and Conquest had screwed them over like he had me and Naraka. Maybe there was some limit to the ability I didn't know. Hell, maybe they'd just panicked and hadn't thought of it.

There were lots of possible explanations—but whatever the reason, the results were the same. They'd left their team for dead. They'd left _me_ for dead. It was only natural to be upset over that.

But was I?

On one level, yes. If they'd stayed, things might have been different. With two more hunters with defensive powers—and with their ability to shunt things out of time especially—I might have been able to save more people. If we'd been smart enough, lucky enough, we might have been able to trap the stolen Hunters, giving me hours to find a cure instead of minutes. If they'd been there, I might have saved my father. I couldn't help but think that and wish they'd been there and be angry that they weren't.

But at the same time, I understood it—hell, I completely empathized with wanting to get the hell out of that situation. I'd known even at the time that attempting to stop Conquest—and what's more, to _cure_ it while in the _middle_ of an outbreak—was obscenely dangerous, especially for those who weren't personally immune to him and who he didn't need alive; that's why I hadn't asked anyone else to help me fight him. My father's teammates especially, the people that he'd know well and who _Conquest_ thus new well, would have been outright _targets_ for him, especially given the nature of their powers. And really, if Conquest had seized them, the traps he might have been able to set…or if he had done that to _me_ , dooming the village…

They'd have been risking lives, theirs and maybe others, even trying, putting themselves in far more danger then me in the process. I couldn't ask anyone to do that—hadn't asked anyone to do that, though Mom had done so anyway. If they'd stayed, if they'd helped, things could have been different. They might have been better, or they might have been far worse; I didn't know. But…they hadn't. They'd tried to run as, really, anyone who wasn't crazy would have, and they'd kept their lives for it. Not everyone has to volunteer for a suicide mission; it was understandable that they hadn't.

And however much it hurt, it was over now. We'd all just have to live with everything that happened that day and wonder. Whether they'd have saved us or doomed us all, we'd never know, but maybe there were a few more kids that'd get to see their parents come home. My father would have liked that, I think.

Nodding to myself, I closed my eyes and smiled just a bit. It wasn't a big smile, wasn't anything that had my heart in it, but…like I'd told myself so many times, I'd be okay. Maybe we all would be, eventually.

"Okay," I said at last, opening my eyes to meet his. "That's good, right? I hope they're okay."

Ozpin continued to watch me for a moment before nodding to himself and smiling in return.

"They seem to be," He said. "Physically, at least. When they heard the news, however, well…you can imagine. I actually debriefed them earlier this morning, but they were rather shaken up."

I tilted my head to the side, wondering if I should have felt something at that news. I didn't, really, beyond some vague empathy. I figured living through the events still took the cake, but essentially waking up to that mess probably wasn't that great either.

"Does Mom know?" I asked after a moment. This time it was Ozpin who closed his eyes and sighed.

"Not yet," He said. "If she's awake, I'll tell her today. I debated with myself whether to tell her at all, given her condition, but given the circumstances and the fact that they were members of her team…besides which, there's no doubt in my mind that the first thing she'll ask me is how everyone who survived is doing, and I can't lie to her about this."

"And telling her while she's missing her arms and a leg might lower the chances of anyone getting stabbed in the face, maybe?" I guessed.

"I hadn't thought of that, but I suppose it's possible," Ozpin considered blithely, making me snort. "There is _some_ good news, however."

"Oh?"

"Though most things were destroyed in the cleansing of the area, one of the Hunters on duty found something that managed to survive. Though it's a little worse for wear, he identified it as your father's hammer. I suppose you disarmed him during the battle?"

"Yeah," I considered, eyebrows rising as I understood what he's saying. "Then you mean…"

"It'll need to go through a series of rather through checks to make sure that nothing dangerous has been left on or inside it," Ozpin warned. "But once it does, I should be able to return it to his next of kin, as is proper."

"Yeah," I nodded, swallowing slightly. Some groups had dog tags or badges that got given to the families of the fallen, but all Hunters had weapons that were unique, so they'd come to serve that purpose at some point. Under the circumstances, I'd written off my father's hammer as a lost cause and too dangerous to risk taking, but if it passed all the tests… "That would be…good."

"I thought you might think so," The headmaster said, taking a sip from his mug. "Now then, shall we get down to business?"

"What did you find out about Summer and Ruby Rose?" I asked him.

Ozpin sighed slowly and stopped to look out the nearby window.

"Not as much as I hoped, I'm afraid," He said. "I'd feared as much, with the trail this cold, but I suppose there's always that tiny part that wants to believe that maybe things will be simple this time."

"A little is better than nothing," I tried to be positive.

He shook his head.

"In many cases, yes," The headmaster replied. "But in this case, it's perhaps the opposite. The issue isn't so much _amount_ , for I do have a great deal of information about Summer—about all my hunters, really. The nature of bureaucracy and the nature of people make that almost inevitable, really; from the moment they enter Beacon or any other combat school, they become part of the system in one of the most important ways. From grades to required forms, mission reports and medical records, regular psychiatric evaluations both official and not, financial reports, and more, it's all kept track of. It has to be, for Hunters are treated differently in many regards thanks to their roles and _that_ means the information needs to be kept track of. All of which amount to a long, long paper trail, which, in truth, is working as intended, but while that can be helpful if a Hunter begins showing signs of erratic behavior, for an event that we hadn't realized happened and still don't know _when_ happened…"

"Ah," I understood, nodding slightly as I gave him a sympathetic wince. "There's a lot to work through, then?"

"I have records of Summer dating back to when she was twelve years old," Ozpin shook his head again after taking a deep sip of his coffee. "And what seems like every day of her life after that, now that I'm forced to look over it all."

"And we have no idea what we're looking for," I grimaced. "Which means going through everything to see what stands point. Though even then…"

"I'm sure you can imagine. I went through her mission reports first, of course, as well as any mission even vaguely involving her, however vaguely, looking for hints of…anything odd, really. And I found a great deal, naturally, at least in a certain light—times when she was separated from her group for some period of time, missions that went on longer than expected, injuries that were mentioned but were to minor to look into deeply, old enemies, old _friends_ , and far more. These are things happen to any Hunter, however, and mean nothing in and of themselves. In the time I had left, I tried to go through her tax records and purchase history to see if any odd expenditures were made, but while that was enlightening in a disturbing number of ways, such reports…even for civilians, many purchases can seem suspicious without context. For _Hunters_ , far more so."

I took a moment to remember the many strange items that had occasionally been dragged through my house and made a face.

"Ouch," I said. "Yeah, believe me when I say I can imagine. One time, when one of my sisters had to babysit me, she brought home five sniper rifles and a bomb and started messing with them. I still don't know why."

"Yes, well, there were quite a few things along that vein. Purchases of high explosives and heavy weaponry, sudden payments of tens or even hundreds of thousands of Lien and acquisitions of similarly large sums, on and on. Things that, in any other profession, would be tremendously suspicious—but which, for a Hunter, may or may not be signs of business as usual. The weapons could simply have been part of her normal duties, the payments made to acquire information or pay for damages, the money from rewards of some kind or favors to the powers, and so on. At the same time, they _could_ be signs of very, very suspicious behavior, but without any context, it's almost impossible to say which. In this regard, the Council's attempts to monitor Hunters has simply failed, but the biggest issue is threefold."

"Three?" I asked. I could think of two, but it took me a moment to jump through enough hoops to reach the third. "Summer specifically, her team as a whole, and…then Raven specifically?"

"Precisely," Ozpin nodded, seeming pleased. "The first issue is obvious—we lack any context for these events and we cannot ask Summer to give us one or explain her actions. Worse, over a decade has passed and so both evidence and memories of her are likely to have faded, so the only opinions we could truly rely on here would be of those closest to her."

"And they're likely to get suspicious if we start shaking them down for questions," I agreed. "And the only way we're likely to get anything solid is if _they_ know what they're looking for. That means explaining ourselves, convincing them of the truth, and by that point, we've basically brought them onboard—ignoring any reaction they might have to the news and suspicion we'd be directing at someone they loved, we'd need to be sure we can trust them, even though they were almost certainly closer to Summer, and now Ruby, then to us."

"Exactly," He said. "And all of it is made worse by the final issue. Assuming we can tell them and assuming they still remember enough to be useful after so many years—all of which itself assumes we're on the right track to begin with—there is a variable that we cannot ignore. Summer, for many years, was the teammate and best friend of a woman who could create _portals_. Any time we were not entirely _certain_ of her location, she could have been potentially _anywhere_ doing _anything_."

We were both silent for a moment. I don't think either of us had had particularly high hopes of discovering much a decade after the fact, but this…

"I could help," I said at last. "With all of it. For the records, I read really fast and my memory is as photographic as they come. I could see what I can find in the reports, maybe pick something up with my skills. I got a few new ones from upgrading my Wisdom again recently, though I haven't gotten much chance to test them out yet. I was going to check out Qrow and Taiyang anyway, to see if they were clean or not, and as for Raven…like I said, I was going to meet her, anyway."

"I know, which is why I brought it up," Ozpin said. "Indeed, Raven may be the most likely to know something and given your working relationship, you may be able to ask her if you tread cautiously; she and Summer were always very close. But while that is an opportunity, it is also a concern. Both were close and both disappeared under what we now know to be strange circumstances. Summer, it seems, was involved with the Riders even before her death—do you think Raven might have been, too?"

I had to pause to consider that, frowning to myself.

"I…don't know," I admitted. "I was never able to see her title when we met with one another."

"Your level was in the forties at Mistral, correct?" He asked. "And now it's…"

"Sixty-nine," I supplied.

"Almost seventy," He nodded. "You said you could see up to fifty levels above yourself, correct? Do you think you'd be able to see her now?"

"Maybe," I hedged. "Grandmother and I had…maybe hoped that would be the case. If the scale went up to ninety-nine like in most games, then after I was above fifty I'd be able to see anyone. But sir…I can't see _your_ level. I've never been able to."

Ozpin frowned at that.

"Still?" He asked. "Then that means…"

"It could mean all sorts of things. The highest level I've seen was ninety-four, so it's possible that the last five levels are special in some way. It could just be something about you and how your power works. Or, yes…it could mean the scale goes higher then we thought. I can't make any promises on what I'll see when I look at Raven."

"Unfortunate," He frowned. "Then we'll have to exercise caution."

"I will," I promised. "I'll figure something out when I see her next, just leave it to me."

"Are you sure, Jaune?" He sounded worried.

"As much as I can be," I nodded. "And I'm the only one who _can_ do it, anyway; no one else could get close, no one else has even a chance of being sure, but I do. And I did some tests last night, too, with the skills I got from Conquest, just to make sure. I can infect myself with Metamorphosis and it's not contagious, except maybe if I wanted it to be. I can even transform as Jian Bing and keep all the Faunus stuff. As the White Rider, I _might_ be able to provoke a reaction from the other Riders. I don't think that's a great idea to test on Raven, but if we have to and we're sure we can do it safely, I could attempt to draw out the Red Rider. And even if I don't dare try that on Raven, but I could still mention a few things to see how she reacts to them. I should be able to tell that much, at least."

"Perhaps," Ozpin mused, considering it. "Yes, it's possible. We'd need to be careful and it'd take time to arrange, but…yes, maybe. I intended to keep an eye on Ruby, regardless; you will watch Raven, I assume?"

"As much as anyone can watch Raven," I nodded. "But I'll see what I can do. Did you find anything about Ruby, by the way? Anything else that stood out?"

He shifted a shoulder in a neutral gesture.

"I looked into her records as well," He replied. "As I think we both expected, nothing obvious came up in her medical records, or else we'd have noticed sooner. Other than that, her record was much like her mother's—full of things that may or may not have been suspicious, but nothing definite. The only thing of note came when I looked into the sleeping troubles I mentioned previously, partially for lack of anything else to go on. It was…a bit interesting, under the circumstances, if a bit vague. It seems she has nightmares unless she sleeps with something covering her eyes or bed, which I thought a bit unusual. Furthermore, several of the doctors she's seen concerning the matter noted that the dreams appeared to be related to her mother—despite the fact that she would have been too young to remember Summer when she left. Do you think it could mean something?"

I spread my hands and shrugged.

"It _could_. This Red Rider might be the cause or something Summer did," I mused. "Or maybe it's related to the Red Rider's power in some way. It's something to keep in mind, at least, right?"

"I suppose there's little else we can do, as of yet," He clicked a nail against the window and sighed once more. "Then shall we both make arrangements and see what we can find? I'll prepare what can on my end, of course, but I understand that you'll be busy soon."

"I'll manage," I answered. "We'll meet again soon, then?"

"I, fortunately, am easy to find," He smiled slightly. "When you need to, you'll most likely find me in my office. It's in the giant, shining Beacon, if you recall."

I snorted slightly at that and nodded.

"It'll probably take a while to set things up with Raven, but I'll tell you if I learn anything," I promised. "If you get something before I do, I'll be with my family. Just come over whenever; I don't sleep much."

"Then until then, Jaune." The headmaster lifted his cup slightly in a mock salute and stayed by the window as I began to walk away.

"Yeah," I sighed, looking up at the white ceiling. "Until then."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Hidden Enemies**

As I walked away, I held myself in check and tried not to visibly react any more than I had already allowed myself to. I wasn't sure if such caution was necessary, but under the circumstances…well, it seemed like it would be wise to err on the side of caution, given the circumstances and what I might be facing.

His level wasn't the only thing I hadn't been able to see. Ozpin was clean—or, at least, I hadn't seen anything. On any other occasion, against any other foe, I'd have considered that confirmation enough because I had very, _very_ good eyes, but against these Riders and their father…I couldn't lie; I was out of my depth and I knew it. I had no idea what they were up to, who they were, what they were capable of, and so I couldn't let my guard down.

Especially since there was another pattern I'd noticed and I suspected Ozpin had, too. Two data points weren't enough to truly be certain of anything, but as the headmaster himself had said, it seemed safe to dismiss coincidence here, so I couldn't help but notice what I'd seen. Conquest had infected people through bacterial Grimm and this Red Rider seemed to spread through some type of substance in the blood. Given that, their apparent purpose, and the fact that Conquest claimed he'd been used to bring down Babel, we could go so far as to consider Conquest to be a 'biological weapon' and the Red Rider might be considered a 'chemical weapon.'

It wasn't hard to make the jump to types of Weapons of Mass Destruction, especially since it seemed to fit at least Conquest's MO. And if one was going to create weapons to destroy enormous numbers of people, it would seem logical to base them on…well, things designed to kill enormous numbers of people, so that made a certain kind of sense, too. And if there _was_ a connection there, it could tell us more about the other hypothetical Riders, too—at least, in theory.

In practice, things were less simple. The term 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' was vague enough that it could potentially apply to a lot of thing—which is why it had been officially changed at least _twice_ that I knew of and there had been numerous attempts to refine it even further. Biological and Chemical were fairly basic, so it would make sense for them to fall somewhere on any system used by people susceptible to poison and disease, which had been used as weapons longer than we had any records of. Making them WMDs was just a matter of…thinking a little bigger and even that wasn't very hard. Diseases could and _had_ wiped cities or even nations off the map and poisoning rivers or food supplies was a fairly ancient tactic, so it made sense for those two to fit. Beyond that, however, things got more complicated. The term 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' had first been coined about eighty years ago, when the Astras had been unleashed during the War and took the conflict to a whole new level.

Or, at least, a level that had been new to _us_. During the War, the use of Dust on such a massive scale had resulted in the coining of anywhere from five to twelve new type of WMDs, depending on who you asked, which definition of WMD you used, and often times _both_. In the aftermath of the War, pretty much all of those were consolidated into the term 'Astral'—thereby giving the ABCs a horrifying new meaning—and that had been considered enough for the treaties made in the immediate aftermath. It had been decided that the term required some clarification less than a decade later as more experiments into that power were made, though, and even now, the extreme breadth of Dust-based weaponry made the term a matter of contention.

The point being that 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' covered a lot of ground. As such, if the Riders _were_ modeled after such a pattern, who was to say they would match the model _we_ used? Those were what we considered WMDs, but what type of weapons could a civilization as powerful as _Babel_ create? A civilization that covered the globe, that didn't have to deal with the Grimm until the end, that knew so much more than we did about everything…what could they do? Just _considering_ the possibilities meant entering the realms of fantasy and science fiction, but I did have a few ideas and none of them were good. If I narrowed the possibilities down to only what I _knew_ or could reasonably assume, there were four main options. The first two, Biological and Chemical, were obvious and potentially represented by Conquest and the Red Rider but…while undoubtedly terrifying in their own ways, but I couldn't help but be more afraid of other two.

The first essentially boiled down to Astral, in some shape or form—the power of Dust taken to its destructive extreme. At this point, it seemed safe to assume that Babel had some relation to Dust, because they seemed to be involved in everything else in some way or other, so I kept this option on the table. As the War had proven, that could be divided God knows how many ways, from the spatial weapons that had crushed or rearranged entire cities to the nuclear explosions that had left craters half a kilometer wide and poisoned countless thousands. It could mean one rider or five or fifty, I had no idea, but I'd simplify the concept at least. I'd searched for any sign of that I could of such a thing in Ozpin, scanning down to his cells and through the entire Electromagnetic spectrum; whether it had been physical or even some strange type of radiation, I was confident I'd have noticed something if it had been there and I hadn't.

Yet I wasn't relieved, because that still left the final—and most worrying—possibility, because if there was one thing I knew about Babel for _sure_ , it was that they had a far better grasp of souls then we did now. Could they have weaponized that? Probably; if history has proven anything, it's that you can weaponize a whole lot, if you want to. After all, in a way _we_ weaponized souls by training Hunters in their use, so it wasn't hard to imagine that a civilization that actually knew what they were dealing with could do a lot more. How that might manifest, I could only imagine—weapons that attacked the souls, bombs that tore them out, or perhaps even creating souls designed to fight.

Hell, maybe that's what _my_ Semblance was, some attempt to produce a powerful, artificial soul—at this point, it might not surprise me. I mean, it may have been a little arrogant to think so, but I'd say I was pretty damn good as weapons went; less than six months ago, I'd been too weak to enter Signal, and now…now, I wouldn't be afraid to fight a trained Hunters or two with my bare hands. Weapons that learned and improved were a pretty common science fiction device and I'd say I learned pretty damn fast. That might explain a few things, even, and the possibility was enough for me to put it on the list.

But if I was right, if there _was_ a pattern here and I was anywhere close in my guesses, then that was very, very bad. If a Rider—or some of the Riders or whatever the fuck—was a weapon based on the _soul_ in some way, then that opened a whole new realm of paranoia. I knew it was possible, after all; I'd encountered some version of Conquest in my father's soul even though he had to infect the body to reach that part. Something that could remove the middle man entirely, though, that was…well, worrying.

Worst of all, it might even make _sense_. Ozpin himself had told me about how he'd survived those Grimm—how he'd been _allowed_ to survive them in circumstances as odd as my own. But if he'd been infected at that point, it'd make sense for them to let him leave; hell, in whatever hierarchy the Grimm used, the Riders seemed to rank pretty damn high. And after that point, he'd gone on to become one of the most powerful Hunters in the world, amassing power on a scale that boggled even my mind. He seemed to have friends in every single high place and had personally molded the minds of generations upon generations of Hunters. Ozpin had been in the business long enough that everyone seemed to know him and just take his presence for granted and he was in charge of so much it was frightening and let him largely act unabated.

Hell, if I wanted to go full on conspiracy theorist, I could go a step further—I'd met Conquest because of Ozpin, hadn't I? He'd chosen the mission and given it to my father, just like he chose the missions for every Hunter in Vale. If he was infected, he could have arranged that and countless other things; one of the perks, I imagined, of having the enemy general be one of your double agents. It could fit.

As could just about anything, if you forced it hard enough. In the end, all I had were assumptions and conjectures, with no way to prove whether or not Ozpin was infected. I'd checked his Aura, of course, but that didn't tell me anything; while for diseases, chemicals, and even radiation, I could check against a norm, all souls were different and Ozpin's looked the same as it always had. Which it would, of course, if he'd been infected long before I was born. No, the only way I would really know for sure is if I used Usurpation again and dove into his soul to check.

But I didn't dare to. I _couldn't_. What would I do, even if I found something? There were a lot of possibilities for how that story might end and none of them were good. If he _was_ infected then he might not know consciously, in which case the attempt itself risked awakening it fully. And if the Rider _was_ already in control, already running things, then…well, then he was running things. Beacon, Vale, and just about everything else he laid his eyes on, in some way or another. Even if he wouldn't kill me, I didn't dare face Ozpin alone and if I released everything I knew in front of every Hunter in the world, I was still a hundred percent sure who just about everyone in that crowd would side with. If Ozpin truly was a threat, if he truly was infected, I couldn't even risk finding out.

Not yet, at least. Not until I was strong enough to see for myself—or else to take the risk and bear the danger.

But until then, I couldn't trust Ozpin. Not completely. He was my greatest ally to be sure, but he could easily be my greatest enemy as well. I'd just have to live with that possibility, play along, work with it, and stay sharp until I knew more and got stronger.

But seriously, though—I hate my life sometimes.

 **XxXXxX**

"Jaune?" My mother asked, sounding groggy as I entered her room. She looked like she'd just woken up, but with her injuries and the amount of drugs they had probably pumped into her, she might just be in a general daze. I honestly wasn't sure how much of the last two days she'd spent awake, but all things considered it probably wasn't a whole lot.

"Hi, Mom," I said, taking a seat beside her bed and giving her a smile. "How are you doing?"

She was silent for a few seconds to long, like she was trying to get her thoughts in order but they were fighting her. When she turned my way her eyes couldn't quite focus on me and looked a little glassy.

"I'm okay," She said at last, drawing a deep breath before speaking as she tried not to stumble over her words. "You're fine?"

"Yeah," I answered. "You know me—I take a licking and keep on ticking. As long as I'm alive I won't stay down for long. Even fixed my body, see?"

"I see," She replied, eyes drifting closed for a moment too long. She shook her head slightly and forced them back open, meeting my eyes again and shifting her arm as if to touch my hand with her own in an unconscious gesture of support—only to freeze at the reminder that she had no hands. It was something at once so large and so easily taken for granted that I could see the pained realization dawn in her eyes as she realized that she'd forgotten and was reminded of what it meant. I could see it and I could _feel_ it, as the knowledge struck her and pierced her deeply and so I spoke without hesitation, interrupting the words I knew were coming.

"Don't worry about it," I said, making sure my smile was gentle. "I'll fix your body, too, I just need some time. I've been practicing while you were asleep, so it shouldn't be long now, just…bear with it for a few weeks, okay? I just need to train a little more."

"It's fine," She answered immediately, looking embarrassed and feeling worse. Barely pausing to take a breath, she continued speaking, almost rambling, as she just tried to put her thoughts into words through the haze of…everything. "It's just that I…its odd. It all happened so fast, it barely feels real, so it's like I went to sleep and had a dream, but when I woke up I realized it was all real. Everything's different and I keep forgetting."

I nodded in understanding.

"It all happened in something like thirty minutes," I said. "Even counting the fight before Conquest. Everything went to hell and then it was over as quickly as it began. It's understandable that it would take a while to sink in—it almost seems like a dream, doesn't it?"

"Or a nightmare," She sighed slowly and then gave me a lopsided smile. "I just feel…stupid when I forget things that are so important. I bet you were one your feet and working the moment you woke up, without even skipping a beat."

True enough, I suppose.

"I wasn't on any medication, though," I said aloud. "And I was also fully healed. I heard they have you on enough drugs right now that you invited Grandmother over."

She chuckled a little bit at that.

"I need to speak to her," She said after a moment. "Better now than later, I suppose."

I nodded in acceptance of that and didn't ask any questions when she didn't volunteer any answers.

"I spoke to her this morning," I said. "She's on her way, as are the others. They'll be here soon so I'll make sure the house and everything is in order, so you just concentrate on resting."

"Yeah," She said, smile turning sad. "I suppose we've all put this off long enough."

I assumed she was referring to my sisters and how they never seemed to come home, so I nodded slightly and waited when I felt that she still wanted to talk.

"It's stupid, but…I don't know what to expect," She whispered, looking up at the ceiling. "It's been so long…I don't even know what they look like now. I drove them away even as I made them strong and now…look at us all now. I'd hoped that strength would keep them safe, even if they were miserable—but strength couldn't even keep _me_ safe."

"Do you regret it?" I asked patiently, because she wanted me to.

"Maybe," She said and there was a relief in her that made me wonder how long she'd wanted to say this and if it was exhaustion or the drugs pushing them out. "I do and I don't. The power I gave them, without it they may be dead right now. I knew, still know, that they have to be strong if they're to survive in this world, that every bit of strength I can give them matters. I told myself that if it makes them even a little bit more likely to survive, if it improved their chances of survive by a single percent or a fraction of a percent or at _all_ , I didn't care if they hated me. But I _do_ care because they _do_ hate me. I never gave them a chance to be children, to be happy; I reduced them to weapons I had to reforge and make stronger again and again, no matter how much they hated it. It was for their own good, I told myself, but is it any surprise they ran away and never came back? They never even wanted to look at me again. But they loved your father—"

She paused again, closing her eyes as a flash of pain went through her. It was bright and hot, so vivid it felt like the touch of a real blade, and I understood. The last time we'd spoken had been in the immediate aftermath of the battle and though the emotion wounds might have been fresh then, so had her physical ones. With both arms and a leg missing, the pain must have served as a barrier against anything that tried to strike deeper but…that was gone now. There was nothing left to keep her from facing that reality, nothing I could say to change what had happened.

So instead, I touched her shoulder just to let her know I was here.

"They loved your father," She said, taking a shuddering breath. "They came to visit him from time to time. Never when he was in the house or near me, but I always knew. He told me about it sometimes and kept others a secret to try not to hurt me, but he was always the they liked best, who interfered when they were tired and hurt and who they went to when they were happy or sad or, or sick. They went to him about everything that daughters should go to their parents for, because I was never a mother to them, after the training started and they never thought of me as such. I was someone they at once hated and feared, something they wanted to run away from. I think they might have _tried_ , even, if not for each other; that if Violet hadn't been born, Bianca would have tried to leave. They only visited to check up on each other and even then they never stayed for long. And you…I don't think he ever really knew I was aware, but they came back when you struggled early on, and asked him not to let me train you or get you involved with any of this. If they could have, I think they might have tried to take you away by force. They…my own daughters, trying to rescue my son from me."

I listened silently, even though some of the words came as a surprise. I wanted to say something, ask questions, but I knew that more than anything else, she needed me to _listen_ to her, so I held off from satisfying my own curiosity.

"That's part of why I stopped, in the end. Why I never really tried. Your grandmother…I spent so long hating her for everything she was, for everything she did, but I realized then that despite everything she was a better mother than I'd ever been. They love her, too, maybe as much as they loved your father, because if nothing else, she loved them and would be there for them. She's done horrible things, looks at the world in a way I can't even understand, but she believes in family and she's…she's _good_ at it. She'll kill and backstab and exploit and extort, but then she'll come back home and listen to your problems and make fucking cookies and help you when you're worried about even stupid things. She can insult you and tear you down with words when she's mad, make you feel tiny and stupid and awful, hurt you in ways I can't believe, but she'll…she can be…"

She was openly crying now and I dress a cloth from my Inventory to wipe them away before pausing when I felt her humiliation at being unable to do even that. Instead, I folded it and put it down on my lap, letting her cry for now.

"It doesn't change anything. It shouldn't change anything, that she can be nice and kind when she's still a monster, when she's a…a _wolf_ dressed up in a woman's clothing. The things she's done…but they love her. Even her _men_ love her, her _friends_ , when she's so… _her_. I don't understand it, never understood it—in the end, I even _ran_ away from it. But sometimes I wondered when I'd be if I hadn't, if I'd stayed Isabelle Roma and stayed in Mistral. Would I have learned from her? Would I have been a better mother, if a worse person? I told myself that's no real trade, but sometimes I wonder what it matters if a hundred people I've never met love me if the child I gave birth to hate me."

"I don't hate you," I said immediately. "I love you, Mom."

She smiled a bit at that, but it looked forced around the edges.

"I know," She said. "You were…the only one I was a good mother to. Bianca picked your name, did you know that? I let her pick, before she left for Signal, and she chose Jaune, for my mother's name. That…that hurt, but…maybe it's a good thing, too. There was a lot of stuff that hurt, but it's what kept you safe and…and now here you are. When you fought, Jaune, you did well. Better than me—better then I'd have ever been able to. You've gotten strong."

"Because of your training," I murmured.

"We both know that's not true," She said. "You…even if you'd been alone, if no one had helped you, you'd still be strong, Jaune—because of yourself. My teaching methods might have helped a little, but you'd have trained anyway and never have given up. Even when you fought your father, you did everything and kept fight long after I gave up hope and you reached when I couldn't. Even with everything that happened, for a moment, you got to him and stood with him at the end, when I…I just fought, knowing I'd lose and just trying to give you time to get away. I never even considered _wining_ , but you believed it was possible until the very end. You're your father's son, Jaune."

"I am," I nodded, meeting her eyes. "But I'm your son, too. You kept fighting for my sake, even when you lost so much. Even if you thought it was hopeless, you kept fighting, Mom. Don't forget I got that from you, too. Whatever else would have happened, I'm glad you trained me and I'm glad you're my mother. And even after everything, everyone's coming home now."

She swallowed and closed her eyes.

"They're coming for your father's sake and for your sake," She said. "I'm sure of that."

"Are you?" I asked. "You said you hadn't seen them in years. If so much could change for us in half an hour, imagine how much they could have changed in the time they've been gone. We can't be sure of anything."

She took a deep breath, held it for nearly ten seconds, and exhaled slowly.

"Perhaps you're right," She said doubtfully.

"Perhaps I am," I smiled. "We'll find out soon enough, right?"

"I suppose so," She said, leaning back against her backrest, eyes still shut. Already I could feel her falling asleep and decided to heal her after, to let her rest. She probably needed it and definitely deserved it. "At least for now, it's over."

"Yeah," I said, lying to her face with that same smile, because it seemed kinder than telling her the truth. "It's over."

 **XxXXxX**


	9. Chapter 9

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Continue**

As she drifted off to sleep, I stayed by my mother's side. It wasn't until I felt her fade into a peaceful sleep that I healed her, careful to make sure I didn't wake her in the process. With that done, I did what I could to make sure she was comfortable with my power and returned to my seat by her bed. I gave myself a moment of peace by her side, distracting myself with my awareness of the hospital as a whole and the many barriers therein. It felt, if nothing else, like the right thing to do.

But in time I felt Ozpin leave the premise, felt things fall quiet, and then duty called.

Taking a slow breath, I searched the room carefully with my Clairvoyance, scanning for anything that might be monitoring us even as I flipped off the lights. There were several things, of course, most of them set to monitor my mother's condition—but not all of them. I sensed several tiny cameras, though whether meant as another layer of security or an additional defense, I wasn't sure. Either way, I couldn't let them see me.

As I exhaled, I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling my power rise easily to the surface. It expanded through the air, _weaving_ into it in a way that was hard to describe, and then took hold. It was something thin, fragile as a spider's web, but I could only hope it was enough for this.

I stood up from my chair, sliding into invisibility even as I left a copy of myself behind that I looked over critically, judging my work. It was surprisingly hard to make an illusion, at least the way I did so. The cost wasn't much of an issue any more, but it was an image in my mind given form. Imagine a person—not the idea of a person or their name, but everything about them; their eyes, their face, their whole body, all at once. Imagine holding every aspect of a person in your head at the same time and keeping it that way while trying to do something else, never letting it slip. It wasn't easy. I was kind of surprised it was even _possible_ , but I suppose I had my new skill to thank for that.

 **Delusory (Passive) LV1 EXP: 7.27%  
An ability born not from an understanding of lies but of truths. In grasping the nature of the world hidden behind the veil of perception, one has gained the power to manipulate that veil and craft illusions around oneself, transforming thoughts into light and light into ephemeral form. The energy required and difficult increases with the breadth of the illusion and decreases with skill level.**

I'd only practiced with it lightly—enough to make sure that the illusions themselves had some kind physical presence. I wasn't certain if the mention of them being light given form was literal or metaphorical, but I'd confirmed that they'd appear in a mirrors reflection and that a scroll could take a picture of them. I could even make noise with them, with some additional effort, though it was a lot easier to just use Levant for that. Even so, while they had about as much solidity and mass as light, it wasn't hard to think of uses for being able to make people see things, first and foremost being making them _not_ see things.

Well, in truth, invisibility was proving to be a tricky son of a bitch for the same reason as illusions—you couldn't just imagine there being nothing or you'd be a blank space; you had to make people see what would be on the other side of you, from every angle. Dust in the air, the reflection of and blockage of light, all of it had to be accounted for. I was still working on that, too. But for a bunch of tiny cameras in a dark room, it should be fine.

This shouldn't take long.

I turned back to my mother and looked her over carefully, searching for any sign that something more was wrong, using Observe and my Clairvoyance to be as sure as I could be that nothing was wrong. I didn't like it. I didn't enjoy it. But what I felt didn't really matter here, did it? With what I'd learned of the Riders, I had to _know_ and I had to be _sure_ —and I wouldn't put it past them to specifically target the people closest to me simply to cause me pain. Hell, I pretty much _expected_ them to, honestly. I'd scanned her yesterday to make sure Conquest hadn't left anything behind, but I couldn't be sure that was enough anymore and ignoring the possibility would just put her in more danger. If I didn't know something was wrong, I wouldn't be able to fix it and where would that leave me? So I had to face the facts, as disconcerting as they might be.

If I was to consider Ozpin as a possible Rider, then the fact was that he was a security _nightmare_. The list of people he _could_ have infected would have looked like a who's who of the four Kingdoms, including every Hunter in at least Vale, as well as all of the Councilmen—and through his allies in other countries, like Ironwood in Atlas, he could have systematically seized control of everyone and everything. It wouldn't even have been that hard, with no one knowing to even try to defend against him, and with the amount of time he'd had to work he could have done it a dozen times over.

That was a worst case scenario to the extreme, however, and one I had to assume wasn't really the case because if it was true, then we'd lost years ago and he was just playing with us. And while the Grimm seemed to _enjoy_ playing with there were other things they were after, too, things they'd likely want to use Ozpin to obtain. Maybe they _had_ , even, but the fact remained they hadn't gotten everything they wanted yet and we weren't working tirelessly to serve their goals. As such, it seemed logical to assume other factors were in place, though I didn't have the information I needed to say what. It might have been the time limit Conquest implied or something else; it was completely possible that the other Rider's didn't spread or infect like Conquest did, though there was nothing to confirm or deny that.

In truth, that was the biggest issue. I was fighting an enemy with completely unknown capabilities on every level, an enemy that I couldn't even be sure was there or not without triggering something. I couldn't even risk trying to be sure _Ozpin_ , my closest ally, wasn't working or being used against me. And if I couldn't be sure of him, how could I be sure of anyone?

Simple—through logic. I'd dived into my father's soul and seen it. Though I didn't have enough experience to determine how it deviated from the norm—especially since I'd seen it in a situation that sure as hell deviated from the norm—I couldn't be _sure_ of anything. But I hadn't spotted anything that I associated in hindsight with another Rider, even if I hadn't peered too deeply into my father's heart. For the moment, I could say that at least he probably wasn't infected a hypothetical soul Rider. That could have meant any number of things; that I was paranoid and there was no such threat, that the infection worked differently, or however many other things.

One thing it couldn't have meant, though, was _nothing_. If Ozpin was infected and he could infect others, then he could have taken my mother countless times before I was even _born_. When she was a student, whenever she came to get a mission, whenever she was weak or wounded—he must have had thousands of chances and there wouldn't have been much reason not to if he could of.

If she was safe, then that would have told me a lot about what I was facing, something I needed to know right now. Even if all it did was narrow my number of possible enemies down to an unknown number of just as unknown individuals with unknown powers who could be anywhere, well, it would have still be better than 'everyone.'

So I had to check. And if I had to check, who better to do so with then my mother? She had plenty of exposure to Ozpin, more than enough strength to be considered useful, and in her current condition, well, she wasn't much of a threat, either. Amongst all the possible candidates, she had the lowest chance of hurting people if something went wrong—and she was my mother. I had to know if she was okay.

And yet, I hesitated. Even though I was almost sure she wasn't infected, even though I had plenty of reasons to consider it the best option, even if the hospital was about as empty as any place I was going to find in Vale and I could easily layer barriers over it…I held back, because as unlikely as it was, as necessary as it could be, as important as the knowledge was, I couldn't ignore that I wasn't certain and that there was a chance she was truly infected.

There was a part of me that said that if that were true, it might be best to know now. It would confirm my worst fears and show me how horrible the situation was—but it wouldn't have been hopeless and terrifying as it might be, in knowing I might be able to do something about it. Perhaps there were those who were uninfected that I could find or who I could pull from the outskirts, perhaps I could use the White Fang to fight it. Perhaps in the other Kingdoms, I could find what I needed, a way to combat this threat and face it. So long as I knew what the problem was and didn't give up, I believed there would be hope. Even if it took me my whole life, even if what seemed like the whole world turned against me, I'd keep fighting to save it. I believed that, believed in the power of knowledge and hope, and it pushed me forward.

But one thing stopped me. The reality was that I had failed my father—not fully, perhaps; I'd save his mind, I'd saved his soul, I'd stood beside him and helped conquer Conquest. But I hadn't gotten everything I wanted, because I'd wanted it all. I'd tried my best to save him, done everything I could, put him before everything else and tried my absolute best to save him completely, and failed. I'd wanted it all, but I hadn't been able to get it. I hadn't had enough time, hadn't had enough knowledge, hadn't had the resources. I'd wanted it more than anything but I hadn't been able to get it.

That happens sometimes. What you wish for with all your heart and soul can still run headlong into cruel things like reality and gets crushed. Everyone in the world knows that you don't always get what you want and I knew it better than most.

But even so, I didn't want to fail again. I'd failed my father, but I wanted to save my mother, to protect the rest of my family, my friends, and everyone else. I wanted to save everyone and keep them safe from assholes like the Grimm and their godforsaken creator and I wanted to resolve things with the White Fang peacefully and I wanted…I wanted more then I'd ever be able to have. I knew that—and it didn't matter. The knowledge I couldn't save everyone one didn't change the value of saving as many as I could, nor did the knowledge I might fail her change the worth of trying.

But was it premature? Though this situation was ideal in many ways, was I prepared to see through here what I'd failed to do so against Conquest? Or would I just face the same thing again and lose my mother? Even if it was nothing but a remote possibility, could I take chances with something like _this_?

I drew up the profile for Usurpation and looked at it.

 **Usurpation (Active) LV1 EXP: 10.31%  
The power of the White Rider, the Knight of Conquest. By using a form that is capable of invading the body or mind of another, one can link to the soul of the target and invade it for a number of purposes, including possession. Requires the status effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX]' and a body capable of invading another.**

This was the skill I'd used to battle Conquest, turning his own power against him. I could do it again now and perhaps turn it on his siblings, use the knowledge I'd gained from that first encounter to win this one—perhaps. But if I won, what if I just summoned their creator again? I didn't have any way to truly be sure of that, either, beyond putting it to the test, but did I dare to? I could transform now and try, but if there was even a chance that I'd lose, the cost…

I closed the window and looked down at her again, fingers on her shoulder. I hadn't picked up anything wrong with her body and Observed showed no status effects that might indicate infection. I really was all but certain she was clean and in no danger.

But just in case, I was going to make damn sure I could save her if she was.

I leaned over the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you, Mom," I whispered, killing the sounds the moment the left my lips. "So just leave all of this to me—it's not even worth worrying about. You just get some rest."

With that said, even though neither she nor anyone else would ever hear it, I took a deep breath, taking a seat again for a moment before dismissing both illusions mere moments after making them. Rising, I padded out of the room silently and closed the door behind me.

Then I slipped into Naraka with a thought and tore through the wall across the hall because it was quicker than taking the door. Landing in the street outside, I felt pavement shatter around me and dismissed it. As one, my Elementals appeared, rising out of the earth, forming out of the air, and crafting bodies for themselves from the power that leapt from my fingers. Five of them stood around me, with Crocea Mors resting at my side, and I looked at them one by one.

For us, words weren't needed.

I said them anyway.

"Two days rest is enough," I said. "I need to get stronger."

They said nothing, but the earth rumbled beneath my feet and the clouds began to churn in the skies above. Here in Naraka, there was no one to get in the way or get hurt—and so there was no reason to hold anything back.

"Let's start by working on my healing," I continued as if they'd agreed—which they had, in a way. "So. Hit me with your best shots."

They attacked, obeying my command without a moment's hesitation or concern. Rather inevitably, Vulturnus lead the pack, striking through me as a lance of luminous heat that threw me back. I hit the ground perhaps twenty meters down the street and rolled to my feet even as the asphalt shattered from below and dozens of earthy hands reached up to grab my face and limbs. Hooked claws of black stone scratched at me, searching for a hold in my clothes and skin alike even as they dragged me partially _into_ the ground. At the same time a colossal pillar of stone rose from the ground and into the air above me before crashing down like a hammer. Lifting back up again, it smashed me further and further into the dirt with a series of strikes that shook the earth before being tossed away as Ereb expended much of his 'budget' and withdrew.

With barely a moment's pause, Suryasta took over and the space around me erupted into flames. It grew large enough, _hot_ enough, that in mere seconds it had melted a crater into the ground. Ereb played with that in turn, pulling the liquid earth up and over me as it tried to force me down and shut me in, holding me still while Suryasta tried to bake me. I held still, letting them work even as it left me feeling as though I were melting—but it wasn't enough. I felt myself freeze in place as I cut off the power to my Adamant Skin and Bai Hu rose around me as I tore my way out of it, literally swimming through the viscous molten earth as I felt the heat beginning to die down.

I broke the surface after a moment, shaking myself like a dog to cast away some of the burning liquid, pausing as I heard earth and steel groan. Turning my head to the side, I saw the earth shift and metal rise as the combined efforts of Ereb and Crocea Mors raised pipes to the surface and burst steel. Immediately, water came flooding out with such speed that I felt it _cut_ me even as I was thrown back. The water blaster stayed focused on my chest—or rather, on the vulnerable organs beneath—but the resulting spray pooled beneath me and flung itself at my face, surrounding my head in a vicelike bubble.

For a lot of people, that would have been enough of an attack—but my Elementals were more thorough than that. Though Xihai couldn't simply overwhelm someone's Aura and manipulate the fluids inside of them, there was a fair amount of leeway when it came to what counted as 'inside.' For instance, what of the nose and ears, the tear ducts and the mouth, and the other orifices of the human body? The flesh lining them was beyond her control, but were the empty openings and spaces?

No. At least, not completely—things didn't count as part of the body _just_ because they were in your mouth; you had to deliberately protect them. So she forced water into my eyes and ears, up my nose, and down my throat, enough to leave anyone else gagging and drowning. She pushed water in as far as she could go without losing control over it and then made them push against the sides of their respective paths until I felt like my head was about to pop. It didn't naturally, however, so she changed tracks.

All at once, spikes and barbs erupted from every centimeter of the sphere that touched me. They drove into my neck and face and eyes, but also into deeper places, thousands of blades that grew inside my head. Xihai appeared before me then, figure clear even though the water should have distorted it. She reached a hand into the sphere, fingers pressing in far enough to touch my face—and then pulled back, dragging the sphere away with her, barbs and all. I choked for a moment, coughing and gagging even as I reflexively tried to draw in air.

There was none to be found. Levant stood nearby, expression as cheerful and unchanging as ever even as she kept the air away from my lips. I struggled for a moment in sheer reaction, the need to breathe making me fight until the Gamer's Mind stepped in. Pausing for a moment to collect myself, I rose and stood, at once unbreathing and unbothered. I was above stuff like this now and I let her know so mentally, making her tilt her head to the side.

She shifted her focus to the air around me instead, tearing it away from a dozen hundred different points to create vacuums all around me. I felt pressure—more specifically, the _differences_ in pressure—build and pull at my flesh, tearing me apart even as I healed myself again and again—

But I wasn't satisfied. It wasn't causing enough damage anymore, even though I'd turned off my Adamant Skin and allowed most of the attacks through my Aura. I'd fed them all tremendous amounts of power and they now turned that against me, but the damage was still far lower than I'd expected. Was it because my Physical and Magical Resistances were too high? I couldn't control either, as they were passive effects and they'd have stacked with my other forms of damage resistance, including the Elemental ones. Even then, though…

I brought up my status screen again and watched as Vulturnus returned, stabbing at me with massive bolts of lightning. My health dropped with each strike, but just as quickly began to climb again, erasing more of the damage with every second, and it took me a moment to understand. I healed myself again as I shifted my attention, drawing up another window.

"Stop for a second," I said and my Elementals all stopped in the midst of their attacks, holding weapons at the ready as I gave myself a moment to regain my power, watching the process.

 **The Unseen Form (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.09%  
A skill granted to those of such enlightenment that they can no longer be considered wholly physical or spiritual entities, but instead a mixture of both. Existing in two worlds simultaneously, those with this skill may interact freely with either world and are more resistant to effects that come solely from one. Furthermore, by drawing from the power of their dual existence, they may rise above the concerns that bind others.  
Effects:  
Causes the user to exist as a dual entity, made as much of spirit as flesh.  
The user of this skill may draw sustenance from his soul rather than his body, circumventing the need for biological necessities, including air.  
As an existence that is at once body and soul, the user may draw upon both to fortify the whole. Physical Resistance and HP Regeneration are added to Magical Resistance and MP Regeneration. Magical Resistance and MP Regeneration are added to Physical Resistance and HP Regeneration. **

I'd known that already, but…had it taken into account the skills that had modified my Magic Resistance and MP Regeneration before adding them? It must have, to make this much difference. A quick Regeneration didn't seem to affect the process, but at the very least my passive effects must have been taken into account. Not just for my HP, either; the additions to my MP regeneration must have been modified as well. But if that was the case…

"More," I said, brushing away the windows. "I need you to hit me _harder_."

At once, Ereb, Levant, and Suryasta came, forming an angelic form from broken glass using my power. The others drew back in a metaphysical sense, reducing the amount of power they consumed to a minimum to give their new companion more room to work. Multicolored wings stretched outwards, catching the light as the vaguely male being turned my way. There was a sudden sound that so loud and pervasive that it took me a moment to realize it wasn't just a thought he'd placed in my head, but something real. All around us echoed the sound of glass shattering, a noise that did not fade but simply grew and went on until it was loud enough to shake the city.

The Glass Elemental blinked once and I saw his eyes move—that is, rotate within his head to show a different pair of irises out of the dozen or so that were seemingly painted onto the spheres. As he did, there was a sound on the wind and a storm of glass shards rose and glittered in the light of day, a marvelous display that hid the clouds with its beauty.

None of which changed its _lethality_ , however. At once, those shards began to fall towards me, millions upon millions of them driving at me until even I started to worry. I shut my eyes and lifted my arms reflexively as it started to rain a decent chunk of the city's glass. It drove into my flesh, cutting away at me like a thousand blades until it raked the bone beneath and seemed to tear me apart. It was a steady thing and, despite my brief concern, a meticulously controlled one that remained focused on me without the slightest bit of waste—and though weaker individually then the other attacks, they made up for it with speed and numbers. Used shards and those that had broken even further flew off back into the sky to join the rest, but the tide never let up. After a few seconds, the tide stopped the rise of my HP and started biting away steady chunks of it for me to heal. Using the power of the White Tiger, I further fueled the assault, sacrificing my HP to keep it going and to heal myself anew.

As we found our stride, glass that wasn't needed was discarded and tossed away and resources were freed up. I fed them back into my other Elementals and flashes of light lit up the broken shards in a marvelous display as Vulturnus rejoined the fray, flickering from place to place even as Xihai stayed where she was and waited for an opportunity to present itself. My Soulforge improved in accordance to what it healed, though, so I needed more—and this was a good opportunity to train, besides.

With a gesture, I drew a Temple up around us and covered it with my Sanctum Sanctorum, increasing my HP and MP regeneration greatly. As soon as it was in place, however, I Accelerated slightly and increased my energy consumption by leaps and bounds, driving my HP bar down even faster by consuming large chunks of it for fuel to make up for what my MP regeneration couldn't handle—which was a huge amount, but still seemed to fall short of my needs at times. But if I kept it low and healed constantly, it should be enough thanks to my Hidden Heart.

 **The Hidden Heart (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.04%  
A skill given to those of such spiritual wisdom and power that they have outgrown the limits of their own souls and reached beyond. Circumventing their own boundaries, the user crafted a nascent soul and merged with it to stimulate his own growth beyond the natural limits of both their mortal and immortal frames. This 'second heart', though young, shines with its power and potential.  
Double MP capacity.  
Additional effects with increased level.**

Yes, I had everything I needed—perhaps even _time_ , though who knows with my life. At the very least, I had to take advantage of it while I _could_ , though, so I closed my eyes and knelt on the shattered street as a storm of broken glass continued rip my body to pieces. Outside my Sanctum, I felt Xihai slaughter any of the Grimm that drew close with Crocea Mors in hand and decided to leave that annoyance to them while I worked and trained. I'd accomplished most of what I'd wanted to do today, so my schedule was clear until morning.

Fifteen hours should be enough to start with.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Increase**

I sat at the center of a now flattened field, everything around me long since scoured clean. Even with my eyes closed and my body in a constant state of being shredded, I had no trouble keeping track of what was happening around me. Though the process was painful at first, even being torn apart wasn't enough to infringe upon the Gamer's Mind, so I remained calm and still and, in time, got used to the storm of blades that swirled around me. For nearly fifteen hours, I didn't move from where I stood, take a break, or even breath, but simply healed myself again and again, mending the self-inflicted wounds as quickly as they occurred.

But even while stationary, I trained. I kept on almost all of my usual skills, discarding only the ones that improved my defense or increased my HP regeneration. I kept the White Tiger of the West active the whole time, both the title and the skill, and all the while remained in a mild but slowly increasing state of Acceleration, burning well over twelve million MP in less than a day, even though I wasn't going all out. Even for me, it was a flat-out astonishing amount of power, but I cast it off with no more concern than the sun did its light. As I was now, this was nothing.

All the while, I went over the events of the last few days, looking for any sign that I might have missed as I tried to prepare myself. Even now, though, I was trapped in a state of ignorance, with so much I didn't know and had no idea of how to find. I couldn't help but allow my thoughts to return to that, even as I tried to formulate countermeasures from the tiny fragments I'd been able to piece together.

It wasn't going very well. Even if I assumed my Weapons of Mass Destruction guesses were on the mark, it didn't tell me anything about how they might manifest. After all, Conquest was a biological weapon, certainly—but not one that worked the way I'd have ever imagined one to work in real life. He was a biological weapon that had about as much respect for conventional biology as the rest of the Grimm did. The simple fact of the matter was that creatures like the Giant Nevermore, Deathstalkers, Goliaths, and monsters like Ziz just shouldn't be able to exist; just their own weight should be enough to tear their bodies apart. Crocea Mors weighed the same whether it was a shield of a sheath, because its mass wasn't affected by its shape, but the Grimm just didn't seem to care much about any of that stuff.

I'd known that from the beginning, as did everyone else, but until now we'd just accepted it. Ancient people had thought it was because they were evil spirits given form while the popular modern theory was, essentially, that the matter their bodies were composed of was magic. It was a lot more scientific sounding than that, with cool sounding names for the theories and the type of matter, but it basically boiled down to us having no real clue how the hell it worked, with how their bodies disappeared and all. It's not like they were very interested in talking, either—except to me, of course.

Which made me wonder. Was this tied into Malkuth Theory, as well, or something related to it?

If I ever found out more about what exactly Malkuth Theory was, it would bear looking into—but for now it was just another question I couldn't find any answers to. For now, I had no choice but to accept that the Grimm just didn't care much about what rules we thought they should be bound by; this Red Rider, if he or she truly was a 'chemical' weapon, could be able to do just about anything. Maybe he turned into a gas that melted flesh on contact or killed in some other horrific way. Or maybe it would be more subtle, altering brain chemistry in some mysterious way to turn us all against one another. Or perhaps it would be more personal, when activated, shifting the infected into some type of semi-Grimm battle form like Conquest had done. I had no way of knowing without facing it, at which point it could well be far too late.

As such, I had no choice but to try to be ready for everything. That was pretty much impossible to truly do, but far better than doing nothing at all, so as inefficient as it was I tried to prepare myself anyway. If it was a gas of some kind, I could contain it with Levant or my other Elementals, perhaps even building a reinforced cage around the area. If it altered brains chemically, my experience with Conquest left me sure that wouldn't get past the Gamer's Mind, but I could grind resist poison later, just in case. The Grimm form…that actually seemed like a very likely possibility, in the host body at the very least. That is, though she looked normal while 'On A Red Horse He Rides' was Low, it wouldn't surprise me if she began to transform when it started to increase. That had been what all of Conquest's infected had done, after all, mutating its carriers more and more until we were as built for battle as any of the Grimm. That could have been something specific to its biological nature, but…I wasn't sure. It was just too…useful.

It had been more than just the physical enhancements, though Conquest had been good at making already powerful abilities exceedingly lethal—if he'd actually been willing to kill me, I'd have died over and over and over again in that fight, to any number of powers. But as flashy and frightening as those transformations had been, thinking back on it the most dangerous feature was probably that armor and the Grimm flesh beneath it. Boring, perhaps, but that didn't change the fact that it was what had allowed them all to fight like that. Even with the sheer amount of physical power Conquest had layered onto all of them, they shouldn't have been able to use their Aura's so freely. Carmine had enhanced every attack, Keppel had frozen everything around him, Tenne had guided nearly eleven times as many shots as normal, and my father…my father had controlled a thunder storm with enough ease to banter as he shot lightning bolts at specific people. While making bombs inside of it, no less! Ignoring the multitasking involved, they'd spent a lot of power in a short amount of time. Where had they gotten it from?

The answer was simple. They hadn't gotten it from anywhere; they'd simply used what was there in a different manner.

Specifically, they'd drawn from the well they would normally have used to defend themselves—because they didn't need as much, when they had the bodies of Grimm. Human bodies were more durable then some might think, but the simple fact of the matter was that they just weren't up to the things Hunters put them through. The Grimm were lifeforms—if they were, in fact, lifeforms as we understood the term—built for combat in a way nothing natural was, and so in order to combat them, Humanity as a whole and Hunters in particular had designed weapons that quickly exceeded what was feasibly survivable.

As a result, against anything they were expected to fight, Hunters needed to use their Aura to defend themselves. Running out of Aura wasn't the same thing as dying, in and of itself, but if you do so while fighting another Hunter or a powerful Grimm—well, if there was some magical effect that transfigured anyone who ran out of Aura while fighting into chunky salsa, it probably wouldn't change a whole lot. As a result, most Hunters keep a vast quantity of Aura in reserve; more than a lot of people knew, in fact. To use a hypothetical fighter with a thousand points of Aura as an example, at least half of that power is likely kept in reserve except in an extreme emergency. More realistically, that number is probably closer to seven or eight hundred, depending on the fighting style of the person in question. That was an enormous amount of power to keep locked away, but the fact of the matter was that most Hunters drew the power to fight from what was effectively their life bar.

In fact, thinking about it… I couldn't be certain, but I was pretty sure that what my power interpreted as HP bars were, in fact, a representation of the amount of Aura people generally used to defend themselves from attacks. After all, if something hit them hard enough to break an arm or leg, that could well decide the fight right there. That didn't matter much to me personally, because I had the Gamer's Body and could ignore things like that, but the truth of the matter was that in any fight involving Hunters, defense was the biggest expense, at least in terms of Aura.

But the Grimm didn't have Aura; they were just tough as hell. The stronger ones could shrug off sniper rounds and ignore blades that could cut through steel, they were so durable—and if you gave that power to a _Hunter_ , well….just look at me. I'd long since lowered the amount of Aura I used to soak damage, because I didn't need it as much anymore. By simply infecting and armoring those Hunters, Conquest had accomplished much the same, increasing the amount of Aura they could draw upon to fight several times over. And while that _could_ have been something unique to him, well…if you had an easy way to vastly increase the power of your soldiers, why wouldn't you use it? Laying low when they needed to act as sleeper agents was fine, but if a fight broke out, why not stack the deck?

It seemed like a pretty unfair advantage to give to ones strongest minions, so I figured it was safe to assume that it just came standard. At the very least, it would have been stupid to _not_ be prepared for it, so I did what I could. I'd need to learn more about Ruby when I got the chance, see if I couldn't predict how she might change. Conquest had altered bodies to best make use of their natural abilities, so I had a general idea—it would likely focus on further improving her speed, at the very least. That could be an issue; the fact that her power was Speed-related implied that she used a lot of Aura to keep herself from getting equal and opposite reactioned out of existence if she happened to run into something. Even before any leg or body modifications, the large supply to draw upon would probably translate into a dramatic increase in her speed and meant that there might be a chance of her escaping attempts at containment.

That was unacceptable, which was why I was training Acceleration now, on top of everything else—just in case. I was confident in my own speed, to be sure, but I didn't really feel like gambling with countless lives on the line. What else I might need to be on the look out for, I didn't know enough to truly say, but…I'd do my best to find out.

But for now, my time was up.

Exhaling slowly, I opened my eyes and lifted an arm to deflect the shards aimed at gouging them out. At once, my Glass Elemental stopped, floating in the air above expressionlessly. He blinked his eyes again, which did little to hide the fact that they were turning in his skull once more, slowly lowering himself to the earth. When I met his eyes again, a stained glass sun and moon looked back.

"Thanks for your help," I said honestly. "But it's five in the morning, now—we have stuff to do. You can rest now."

He tilted his head to the side and immediately crumbled to the ground in a pile of glass dust—except for his eyes. The sun and moon remained, floating in the air even as bodies began to grow from them, fire and air pouring forth. The dust beneath rustled and shook before rising in the form of Ereb and in moments all three were standing before me again.

Turning my head, I glanced over the horde of windows that that appeared while I'd had my eyes closed, closing them swiftly as I confirmed that they were just skill level updates. All but one, that is, which caught my eyes and made my eyebrows rise.

 **By raising Aura to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Aureola.'**

I frowned slightly at that, tilting my head to the side.

"Like the painting thing?" I murmured, checking my skills absently before shaking my head.

With this, I knew what happened when my skills reached level ninety-nine and I had a fair number of skills approaching that point, including my healing. I'd need to test this, work towards it, and train even harder from here on out—it might be the answer I was searching for.

But for now, I had work to do. I'd get back to training as soon as I could, but in all likelihood, one of my sisters would arrive today.

I should probably get the house in order. Hopefully I could train my new skill while I worked.

 **XxXXxX**

Collecting Autumn from Gou, I got to work as soon as I returned home. With the house having spent most of the last few days empty, there weren't many dishes to wash, but I cleaned the bowl Adam had used, put it in the dishwasher, and ran the machine. Vaguely remembering how much stuff a house of ten went through in a day, I went downstairs and started up the laundry machine as well. Leaving those machines running, I fetched some cleaning supplies, swept up what dust had gathered in the house while we'd been away, and then went upstairs, truly entering my sisters' rooms for the first time in years.

They were all pretty much empty, which was why I rarely bothered. With what I knew now, it was obvious that they'd all left without much intention of ever coming back and taken everything with them—and just as obvious that my mother had made sure to leave what little remained exactly the way they were. The only things that remained were the signs I'd left here and there—in traces of paint and crayon on the walls of Sienna's room, an old storybook Bianca had left behind for me but which I'd long since memorized, that type of thing. Nonetheless, I went up to the attic, brought down a several sealed bags of beddings, and arranged things the way I remembered.

Even moving deliberately slowly, it barely took me half an hour to get everything inside the house, leaving me mostly done before the clock even turned six. The only major thing left to do was to go out and buy everything that an entire family full of Hunters would need for a day or two, but with my money and Inventory, neither paying nor transporting it would be an issue. I made a mental list of everything I'd need, split it into groceries and household goods the way my mother always did, and double checked to make sure nothing was missing before deciding to go at seven. The supermarkets were open all day, but a lot of other places would be closed and since there were a few other things I needed to do in town, I might as well wait a bit. Besides, it gave me a chance to look over my new skill.

Setting up a Temple around my house, I shed much of the constant influx of power by using Green Thumb, both grinding the skill and feeding Autumn. At the same time, I used my status screen to quickly take off my hoodie and left Autumn be for a moment as vines grew around my upper body, partially liquefying into a green fluid as it went. In a few seconds, she'd wrapped most of my chest with a vest of vines and, after reminding her to withdraw the inch long thorns she'd grown over every inch of her body, put the hoodie on the old fashioned way, covering her up but for the rose blossom that now grew at my throat. As she did that, I reread and considered the profile of my new technique.

 **Aureola (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The manifestation of one's soul, now too large to be wholly contained by one's mortal frame. Through training and focus, the user's Aura has turned them into something much more than just a man, burning like a star to throw back the encroaching night. This skill enhances the user's Aura, giving them the power they need to truly face the darkness. The effect of the user's Aura may be enhanced by spending more MP.**

I considered it as Autumn continued to leech off my power. The description was a bit vague, but it got the point across. The original profile of my Aura wasn't something that had a cost attached to it, but it wasn't _free_ , per se—it was just that my Aura was pretty much my MP bar and any costs were taken into account automatically. I could control it and turn it on and off—or rather, willingly restrict the effect—but it wasn't quite the same as a lot of my other skills.

Now though, rather than just something I was able to turn on and off, I could _improve_ it. How much, it didn't say, but…

Well, there was an easy way to find out.

Slipping into Naraka absently, I stopped using Green Thumb and focused on my power, guiding it in a way that was at once foreign and familiar. Rather than 'spending' Aura, it would have been more accurate to say that I turned my power in upon itself—except that implied 'direction' to something that was really more 'magnitude.' Still, I shifted it, _changed_ it in a way I wasn't sure how to truly describe, and then felt it shining against both sides of my skin.

Opening my eyes, I realized I was glowing bright white, the way I had when I first used my Aura. But where that had died down in a few moment and slipped beneath my skin, this went on and on. I felt it rise around me—but more than that, I felt it rise _through_ me, like we were two different things that somehow inhabited the same space.

Though given the skills I'd recently gotten, maybe that was literally true.

Regardless, it felt amazing. I started small, allowing a few hundred MP to flow into it per minute, but even just that much was something amazing. It ran through my body, aligned with it until I knew each motion was backed by something far more than physical force—and then I channeled even more into it, a thousand MP per minute, then five, then ten, until I was standing in the midst of a white star, illuminating the dim morning air as if it were high noon. I didn't do a thing, stood perfectly still for fear of what any sudden movements might do to my daughter or our surroundings, but…I'd found something incredible.

Also, potentially inconvenient, I thought, bringing my mood down a bit. Amazing as it felt and visually impressive as it was, I could think of a few problems with running around inside my own personal star. It seemed like the type of thing that would attract attention, perhaps even a few raised eyebrows and questions, and, well, I would rather avoid anyone jumping to the wrong conclusions.

Or, worse, the _right_ conclusions.

Fortunately…

I took a deep breath, focusing on the image in my mind—myself, minus the lightshow. With my myriad senses, I traced the exact shape of my face, the motions of every hair, everything about my physical body, and imagined it in color so clearly that it was as if I was seeing it with my very eyes. Then, I made sure it was visible to _everyone's_ eyes, giving the image shape with Delusory. Slowly, I felt it take shape in reality, forming around me like a skin and hair tight shell.

As it did, the light dwindled and faded, hidden by my power.

Exhaling slowly, I sensed a few Grimm approaching my position and summoned my Elementals to deal with the matter while I was focused. I still didn't move, didn't even breathe, but remained as still as I possibly could to remain inside my illusion. I kept the image focused, adjusting it with every motion, from the slightest change in my hair to the blinking of my eyes. After a moment, I took a few breathes and mimicked them on my illusions form before twitching my fingers slightly and turning my head. With a deliberate, careful motion, I lifted an arm and took a step, moving the image even as I did my body.

This wasn't the same as becoming invisible and showing _nothing_. If anything, it was something far more difficult; showing something _rightly_. Displaying an image that was so accurate, so close to the truth but for that one change, that nobody would even notice. I forced myself to go through the motions slowly, to think through the things I normally did unconsciously as I paid close attention to myself. Every motion, I tracked with my senses and displayed on my image. It hard, because there's so many little things that had to be accounted for, so many slight changes caused both by me and things that interacted with me, and I had to account for them all, as they happened. It was _hard_.

But it would be good training. I could wear this image over my body and this way, I'd be able to train both my enhanced Aura and my Delusory skill in my everyday life. The other techniques I had that changes my body were too extreme to try this with yet, where the chances of me making a mistake were so high and the consequences even higher, but for now, this should work. I'd stay out of sight for a while, stay observant, and it should be enough. And if I used them around the clock every day, with the experience point increase from my Wisdom skill, I should be able to improve quickly.

Taking a breath, I slipped down to the basement just to be safe and crossed back over into the real world, walking slowly and with care. I adjusted my power output slightly, deciding to pin Aureola around ten thousand MP per minute, and started to divvy up the rest with care. The washer finished its work and I moved everything over to the drier before returning upstairs to wait, deciding in the process that I'd use the rest of the hour to practice this combination, giving myself a very, very light work out to test it while in motion.

About a quarter before seven, though, I paused in the midst of my pushups as I sensed a pair of figures approaching. Pretty sure I knew who it would be, I still checked them thoroughly before rising and moving towards the door, walking slowly enough that they started knocking when I was halfway there.

"Coming!" I said, raising my voice and moving a bit faster once I had an excuse. Opening the door, I came face to face with a pair of blondes. Both of them had shoulder length hair that made me think they'd probably either gone to the same stylist while living together or that they'd both just learned to do it that way—a swept, wavy look that framed their faces. One, the older of the pair, had blue eyes like my own, while the other had brown, and though both were tall, there was an inch or two of difference between them. Even so, they were obviously sisters.

My sisters, specially.

"Hey," I said, looking them over quickly. They'd changed a lot in the years since I'd seen them, though I suppose we all had—but even so, there was no doubt it was them. I didn't even need to glance above their heads to confirm it, though I naturally did so anyway.

 **The Light That Sears the Unrighteous  
LV 92  
Bianca Arc**

 **The Flames That Immolate the Damned  
LV 85  
Shani Arc**

"Hey yourself," My oldest sister replied, wearing a custom white suit with a black tie. To her side, Shani was dressed more casually in jeans and a red shirt, but each of them carried bags with them—and the Hunter's in them showed through, as the clothing and lethal weaponry were kept carefully separate. Even so, I saw uncertainty pass through their eyes, concern mixed with simple awkwardness. What did one say after meeting again after years of separation? And in a situation like this to boot? I could see them trying to come up with something to say and spared them the trouble.

"One sec," I said, halting Bianca. Placing a hand on top of my head, I slide it through the air to hover above hers, lifting my other hand to put two fingers beneath it. Shani snorted, looking away even as Bianca rolled her eyes—but she didn't bother hiding her smile. "About five centimeters. Guess you can't call me little anyone, Bianca."

"You'll always be Tiny to me, Jay," She said, smiling up—a fact that was very important—at me. "It's not about physical size—it's just a state of being inherent to runty little brothers that irritate their beautiful older siblings."

"And who might that be?" I asked, ducking as she swatted at me playfully.

"Case in point," Shani laughed. "Hey, Jay."

"Shani," I nodded as she punched me in the arm by way of greeting. "Vacuo been treating you okay?"

"Eh, it's Vacuo," She shrugged. "It doesn't treat anyone all that great, but hey, still a pretty awesome place. You doing okay holding down the fort?"

"Well enough," I nodded and we all smiled, falling back into things despite the years. It wasn't that things hadn't changed, but that something mattered enough to last. I stepped to the side, welcoming them back to a home they probably didn't find at all welcoming. Even so, they were here and that counted for a lot. Too bad I knew the good mood wouldn't last. Still, there was no reason it couldn't linger for a little while longer.

"I like the flower," Shani said as she stepped past me and paused for a moment. "And the _dog_! Mom let you have a dog?"

She quickly went to Gou's place on the stairs, sitting down beside him to scratch his ears as she asked her questions. Bianca followed more sedately, but looked surprised.

"Yeah," I said. "When I found him, he was badly hurt, but he's a survivor. I healed him and one thing led to another."

"Did you teach him any tricks?" Shani asked, picking Gou up and cradling him in her arms to scratch his belly.

I took a moment to just…consider that. There were so many answers, so much to say, but really, who was I not to take advantage of an open line like that? It's not like I was going to keep their niece a secret from them after all, and if I told them about Autumn, why keep this a secret?

So I smiled.

"Yeah," I said, shutting the door and leaning back against the frame. "Gou, speak."

"Woof," He obliged, pronouncing the actual word.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Reintroductions**

There was a long moment of silence following the words. Bianca tilted her head to the side, eyes flicking up and away from Gou for a moment to focus on a spot on the ceiling for a moment before she turned her head towards me, gauging my expression. Shani, for her part, furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, hand still petting Gou even as she frowned slightly. She contemplated my dog quietly, just…considering him, and I could almost hear gears turning. Neither said a word for nearly a full minute.

I suppressed a smile at the sight before realizing I didn't need to. Instead, I kept my illusions face perfectly straight and smiled as much as I felt like inside, waiting.

"So, uh…" Shani began. "I don't suppose you've been getting into ventriloquism, Jaune?"

"Nope," I said promptly. "He actually talk."

"Yeah," She nodded at me. "That's what I thought."

She considered Gou for another long moment, still scratching the happily panting dog behind his ears before shaking her head, leaning back on the stairs, and spreading her arms wide.

"Yeah, okay," My third oldest sister said. "I'll bite. What's up, Jay?"

"What do you mean 'what's up'? He's a dog that talks," I explained slowly. "I'd say it's pretty self-explanatory."

She snorted, kicking her legs out as she made herself somewhat comfortable. Before she could continue, though, Bianca rolled her eyes.

"You know what she means, Jaune," She chided. "How is your dog able to talk?"

"How are _you_ able to talk?" Gou said and if not for the tone of his voice and the taste of his emotions, I might have thought he was being sarcastic—but no, he was actually curious. Bianca seemed to notice that too, because she answered promptly.

"By passing air from the lungs through the vocal cords and shaping the resulting sounds with our mouths," She said matter-of-factly.

"And that's not how I do it?" He asked.

Bianca looked at him critically, glancing him over before shaking her head.

"You have lungs, naturally, but you shouldn't possess either the vocal cords or mouth parts necessarily to form the same sounds as a human." She stated before pausing. "Though, you _are_ doing so anyone, so perhaps you do? That would require some rather spectacular surgery above and beyond what would be needed to give you the intelligence of a human, however."

"Oh," Gou said without any particular movement of his lips, blinking slightly. I realized belatedly that in the chaos of the last few days, I hadn't had time to truly sit down and talk to him about his new existence as a Celestial Dog, whatever that meant, just as I hadn't been able to spend much time with Autumn. I felt rather bad about both of those facts, despite the necessity, and the thought killed my smile.

"When I found him, he was in a sorry state," I butted in. "So after I fixed him up a bit, I awakened his Aura, too. The talking thing is new, though—as in, it only started a few days ago—but that's probably why."

There was more to it than that, both in regards to why he could talk and why he'd started to a few days ago, but…it didn't matter right now. I wasn't sure what I should or was allowed to tell them and it's not like I really understood how Gou was able to talk, either.

"Oh, so it's an Aura thing," Shani said, just accepting the explanation at face value. Well, but my Aura had done far weirder things—hell, it was even responsible for this particular weird thing—so I suppose that was understandable. It was an explanation that reeked of 'it's magic,' but until I figured out more of what Babel had known about the soul, that's effectively was it was to us. I wasn't sure anyone had enough knowledge of the soul to claim they knew more than that, except _maybe_ whoever had created Penny, and even then I doubted they truly understood the process or I imagined it would be bigger news. Even so, it was one of the things I'd need to discuss with either Ozpin or Raven.

"Is it his Semblance, then?" Bianca wondered aloud, pondering Gou. "I suppose it would make sense for man's best friend to develop along those lines, to some extent or another. I can't say it's something I know much about, but I suppose it makes sense."

I shrugged at that. I knew the answer was no, but it was as good an explanation for any—and between the fact that he was my Familiar and also a, well, dog, I wasn't sure how the whole Semblance thing was going to work with him regardless. Either way, though, this seemed like a good time to move this conversation along.

"Like I said, I don't really know how it works," I said, which was true enough. "But I have an even bigger surprise, so let's all just agree that Gou's the best dog in the entire world and, really, isn't that what matters?"

Bianca smiled slightly at that, inclining her head in concession as Gou panted happily at the praise, but then frowned again.

"An even bigger surprise?" She repeated.

"It better be something, Jay," Shani said, pulling Gou into her lap without bothering to rise. "Because the talking dog is gonna be hard to top."

I chuckled slightly at that because, really, I'm pretty sure I could come up with an entire list of things to surprise them with if I wanted to. Shaking my head to dismiss the thought, I pulled my hoodie over my head again, fully revealing the vest of vines beneath. Touching a finger to the blossom at my collarbone, I smiled.

"This is my daughter, Autumn," I told them. "Your niece."

There was another long moment of silence. Bianca looked at me expressionlessly while Shani's lips parted slightly as she squinted at me. Neither said a word or moved or…anything—in fact, I think their brainwaves may have briefly flat-lined.

"Okay, so apparently I wasn't paying attention," Shani recovered first and made a show of cleaning her ears. "There, that's better. Say again?"

"This is Autumn," I repeated. "Around the time I awakened Gou, I started wondering about what might happen if I awakened a plant, too—so I did. And well, after growing up a bit, she turned out to be sapient. I couldn't very well ignore that fact—as the one who awakened her, I have to take responsibility for the life I effectively created, right? So, I did and…she's my daughter now."

Shani nodded as I spoke, but her eyes were blank as she did so and she kept nodding even as I fell silent. Bianca, for her part, shut her eyes, the middle and ring fingers of both hands on her temples, and began rubbing small circles. After a moment, she shook her head, clapped her eyes, and opened her eyes to look at me.

"You know what?" She said, smiling. " _Fine_. Okay, sure, big sis can roll with the punches. I thought I might have to have this conversation with one of you someday, though I can't say I expected _this_. I'll skip a few bits, but that was very mature of you, Jaune. Though doing such things on a whim, without proper care and consideration, and at such a young age was rather questionable and perhaps reckless, I'm proud that you took responsibility for the results of your actions and what you brought into this world and I want you to know that I support you. Despite the…circumstances involved, I am sure we are all glad to have a new member of our…pretty messed up family, so it seems congratulations are in order, little brother. Just remember to take proper protective measures the next time you start screwing around with nature or science or souls or whatever else you've been up to. Okay?"

"Will do, sis," I saluted good-naturedly.

"Wait a minute," Shani said, rising. "What do you mean you thought you might have to have this conversation with one of us? Are you trying to say that—"

Bianca put her hand in Shani's face, pushing her away and then ignoring her completely.

"You said she was sapient," My oldest sister continued, taking a step closer as Shani stumbled and sputtered indignantly. "Can she hear me, then?"

"Not in the conventional sense," I shook my head a bit sadly. "Even though she gained a mind by awakening, that doesn't mean she got eyes or ears out of the deal. I've been working on that lately and we've made some progress, but I mostly communicate with her using my Aura—like sign language, but for souls. She can feel that, at least."

"Then…" Bianca hesitated before shaking her head. "Can you tell her about me?"

"Sure," I said, guiding my aura easily. I explained that Bianca was my sister, that that meant she was a close relation of mine, and how that meant she was part of Autumn's family. I'm not sure how much of that my still very young daughter understood, but she got the general idea, at least. I asked her another question ad waited a moment for her reply before smiling. "You can touch her, if you want?"

Bianca considered that for a moment, still looking uncertain, but slowly lifted a finger and touched it to my covered chest and let her Aura flow into the point of contact. At once, small white flowers erupted around the point of contact, blossoming in the color of my sister's Aura. That seemed to make Bianca smile and grow a bit more confident, because she placed the rest of her hand on my chest and I was soon covered in blossoms.

"Oh!" Shani said, sounding jealous. "That's not fair! Can I touch her, too, Jaune?"

I took a moment to check, explaining who my other sister was and taking the time to tell Autumn that her other Aunts and Great-Grandmother would be arriving soon. Then, I asked her the same question I had for Bianca and gave Shani the okay. Deep red petals stood out against the white and soon a blanket of them covered my daughter's vines like a shirt. I was glad to see that the two of them weren't all that bothered by the whole plant niece thing.

Still, a glance at the clock reminded me that I still had a lot to do.

"Hey, actually, I was about to head into town when you arrive," I brought up. "Forecast says a Mistrali Horde is soon to befall my humble homestead. Need to pick up enough food and stuff to keep them all happy until they go away—"

Bianca flicked my forehead for that but still snorted at the image.

"—You guys want to come with me?" I continued by asking. "We can hang out, you can see how things have changed some, and you can help me pick up what we need. I already made your beds and stuff, but I'm sure there's a lot of stuff we just don't have in the house. What do you say?"

They glanced at each other and shrugged with matching smiles.

"Sure," Bianca said. "Why not? It's been…well, a long time."

"Absence and the heart and all that rot," Shani agreed. "Wouldn't mind checking out the old stomping grounds—or stomping on them again, as the case may be. Let us put all this stuff away and we'll go."

 **XxXXxX**

Within the hour, we were leisurely walking through the streets of Vale. Autumn had reabsorbed her petals and I'd hidden her under my hoodie once more, but Gou had decided to remain behind to watch the house. None of us were in any particular hurry, so we'd walked slowly, which I suppose was just as well since it gave me time to grow used to hiding within an illusion. Still, we were all familiar with the city and didn't have any problems reaching our destination. Once we were in the Commercial District, we talked a bit and agreed to split up to cover more ground and then meet again for lunch. Shani went one way and Bianca and I went the other.

I didn't miss the looks Bianca and Shani exchanged or the undercurrents of emotion that passed between them, but I went along with it. Years ago, I'd have been confused, but I was pretty sure I knew what this was about. And indeed, mere moments after Shani was out of sight, Bianca spoke.

"Are you okay, Jaune?" She asked.

"About Dad," I asked, giving her an out if she wanted it. She didn't take it.

"Not just him," She said. "Everything."

"I suppose," I answered slowly, giving the question some honest thought, because I knew how serious this was for her. "I…like myself better now than I did before all this began, but everything turned out to be a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. I mean, I guess I never thought it would be simple, but…"

"That's life for you," She muttered, smiling ruefully. "More complicated than anticipated. But you know what I was asking, I think."

I nodded.

"The present first?" I asked. "I know a lot about what's happening _now_ , but it's gotten increasingly obvious I have idea what happened in the past. I'll fill you in and then you fill me in?"

"Sounds fair," She exhaled, feeling exhausted, worried, and yet somehow relieved. I wasn't sure why; emotions were complicated things. "Are you okay with talking about Dad?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Then do you know if he…" Her voice faltered and she trailed off. "Do you know how?"

"I do," I said, understand both the question she asked and the one she couldn't. "I was there."

Her eyebrows went up at that and I assumed Ozpin hadn't mentioned that. That was fine—I didn't intend to tell her about the stuff that needed to be kept secret, just about Dad. I was on record for that mission, anyway.

"You where there?" She asked, sounding horrified even as her eyes darted over me as if making sure I was okay. " _Why_?"

"I went along as a healer," I explained, which was true.

"You're a _healer_ , now?" Bianca asked, surprise on her face. "When'd that happen?"

"A few months ago," I said. "Turns out I have a knack for it."

She squinted at me for a moment, as if gauging me, and then snorted.

"My little brother, the healer," She said, smiling suddenly even as she shook her head. She looked pleased. "That's damn good work, Jaune. I'm impressed; I'll have to brag about you if I go back to Vacuo. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Not everything," I shook my head. "Ozpin's orders. But I can tell you some stuff; it was supposed to be a routine mission and I was going to basically follow Dad around to get experience in the field. Ozpin okayed it and I went to heal any of the civilians. Turns out things were a lot worse than expected. Dad got involved and I…I did everything I could, but it wasn't enough to save him. Mom got badly hurt, too, and some of the others died, and…"

I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly.

"Oh, Jaune," She said, putting an arm over my shoulder. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to see that."

"I wish it had never happened," I admitted. "But since it did, I'm glad I was there. I was with him at the end. I like to think I made things easier for him, at the very least."

"Did he…when he died, was he…" She paused before frowning in frustration as she could find the words. I understood what she was trying to say anyway and so I looked her in the eyes and told her the truth.

"He died bravely," I said to her. "As bravely as ever the way he would have wanted to, I think. I don't know if he was happy, per se, but I think he was content, at least. I got to listen to him at the end and that's how he sounded."

"Good," She exhaled, nodding slowly. "Good. That's…that's good. I'm…I guess I'm glad. And I'm glad you're okay, at least."

She paused for a minute and I thought she might ask me about what he'd said, but she didn't. Instead, she took a deep breath, looked up at the blue sky, and smiled sadly.

"But I guess you know now," She said. "About everything. About our family. You must have some idea, at least."

I nodded wordlessly.

"We don't have to talk about it," She offered. "We—the rest of us—we discussed it, you know. We promised we could pretend nothing had happened, that everything was perfect and all right for all of us. We can still do that, if you want. I can smile and lie pretty well, you know? I think I could fake it okay."

"Probably. But I'd know," I replied. "And it's okay. You don't have to suffer for my sake."

She put a hand to her eyes for a moment and took three quick breaths before removing it.

"I saw you fight," She said, smiling a bit sadly at me. "In Mistral, I mean—against that Nikos girl. I don't really keep track of the tournament scene any more, but I heard she was supposed to be something special. You must have trained hard to beat her."

"I suppose." I answered. "I had to. My career isn't exactly safe for those who can't defend themselves."

She nodded.

"I've seen a lot of good men die because of that," She replied. "Because being a good man and doing good work and risking your life to save others doesn't mean some monster won't take it. I'm glad you're strong, that you can defend yourself. But…"

"You can ask," I said gently when she trailed off. "It's okay. I understand, see?"

"Did she make you do anything you didn't want to?" She did, nodding slightly my way.

"No," I answered quickly. "Mom's training…honestly, it didn't make much difference to me. I was training hard for weeks before she got involved, she just gave me some tips, some help, and a person to practice against. I didn't have to hide what I was doing anymore, either, but other than that, she usually just let me be, honestly. She and dad let me drop out of school and really, that was the biggest thing, since it gave me more time to train and all, but…I wanted to be stronger, to help people. Whether she was there or not, I'd have trained as much as I could."

Bianca looked at my face carefully, searching for any signs of a lie before nodding.

"She never hurt you?"

I shook my head before pausing and shrugging.

"Nothing worth mentioning," I said. "I'm lucky enough that most training isn't a big deal for me. Anything that happens, I can just heal from or brush off. But you…"

It was my turn to look at her and I'd say I saw a lot more than she did.

"It must have been hard for you," I whispered. "I'm sorry I never knew."

"You weren't supposed to know," She swallowed. "I never wanted you to know. Are you sure _you_ want to?"

"Not really," I admitted. "Even if it was just a lie, I always thought everything perfect and a part of me—a big part—wants to keep things that way. But this is my family we're talking about—and whether I want to or not, I need to know, or how could I do anything to help. What happened to you? To all of you?"

She sighed slowly, looking ahead of us before slowly closing her eyes.

"A lot of painful things," She murmured. "We all started about the same age, six or seven years old, and she trained us until we were ready to go off to Signal. That's what she always called it, making sure we were ready. That's what she said when she hurt us. I…I was the oldest, so it happened to me first, but even when she broke my arms, it didn't hurt as much as watching it happen to the others. I was nine when she started on Violet and eleven when she got to Sienna and Shani. She was just starting on Azure when I was leaving for Signal and I remember how it felt to leave them behind, knowing what they'd go through without me. There was nothing I could do, I know that, but I felt like a coward, like I was abandoning them. I hate to do this to you, because I know how she was like with you, but she hurt us so bad, Jaune—and when you hurt one of us, you hurt all of us. For six years, I came how knowing that she was waiting for me, for all of us, and that there was nothing I could do to stop her."

"Do you hate her, then?" I asked, feeling an odd lack of emotion behind the words.

"I did," She said. "For a very long time, I despised her. I thought about running away, I thought about _killing_ her, but I couldn't do either. I could leave the others alone to save myself and I'd never have defeated her in a fight, so I just…kept going. What she did, what I saw her do, to me and all of our sisters…I _hated_ her, but I kept going no matter how much she didn't want me to. She hated that we wanted to become Hunters, to help people even if it meant sacrificing our lives, and she made that obvious from day one—whatever she says, I know that's part of why she always hurt us so bad."

"And did," I mused, watching her closely. Talking about it all, she looked…numb. No, that wasn't quite it—she looked… _cold_. "You became Hunters."

"Yes," She replied. "And I did it, in part, with the skills she passed on to me—but not because of _her_. She messed us all up, Jaune. Do you know how many years it took to recover, what it did to my ability to work with others, to trust authority? No one helped me—I told people, teachers, the police, and nobody ever did a damn thing, because Hunters can do whatever they want when it comes to training their kids and maybe even beyond that. I couldn't believe in any of the people who were supposed to be there for me, because I knew they weren't, that if I was less useful then someone who hurt me, they'd cast me aside. And whenever I saw people hurt the others, when I saw them harm Violet and Shani and Sienna while we were at school together because they were jealous or because they were upset at me…"

She growled, a sudden, furious sound before taking a breath and calming in a flash.

"I knew then, that if that was how this system worked, so be it," She continued. "I sure a lot of people would like to take credit for me, but I trained constantly, day in and day out, to be the best and the most useful, so I could protect all of them. And you know what? I did. And I kept going and training until I was the best in my class, my year, my school. And the others did the same, one by one, until everyone figured out how to get with the program. That's why I'm strong now; for them, for you, for the others like us. And it was hard because I was a mess, but I got better even though it was hard, because I had to. She gave me strength, but neither she nor what she did to me are the reasons why I'm strong."

She took a deep breath and let it out, brushing blonde hair back calmly.

"So yes. I hated her," My oldest sister stated. "For years and years, I despised her. If I'd found her dying in the street, I'd have pulled up a chair and watched, for what she did to us. There were so many times I wanted to fight her, to defeat her and save my sisters, but I was never strong enough. For years, the only thing I wanted was to be stronger than her and anyone else that tried to hurt us. And eventually, I was strong. Stronger, maybe, than even her. I'd run and I hid and I tried and I suffered to get there, but eventually I climbed to the top. And looked around and saw that my sisters were safe and then I made sure you were safe, and felt I could keep you that way, at least from some things. I was happy then, content, and I still am—and I just had to laugh at everything and everyone that ever held me back. I don't hate her any more, Jaune. Because I don't think about her, at all. She's not worth my attention, much less my anger."

I looked down at the ground for that, sad but not really surprised. I suppose that was understandable, but…

"What about Dad?" I asked. "Where does he fit into all of this? Did you love him or…?"

She sighed wistfully and looked up. She looked at me for a moment, debating with herself whether or not to tell me, but finally answered.

"Dad loved us," She said. "He was even there for us, at times. He was the nice parent while mom was the horrible one. And I can say I loved him for that, at least. He wasn't perfect, wasn't always what I needed him to be, but he was what I had in those days and that has to count for something, doesn't it? But he had is flaws, even if I love him despite them—because he never stopped her. Not really. They argued about it a lot; I don't know if you remember some of the fights they had. Probably not, because you were so young and whenever they knew we were watching, they made sure to seem united. They were, really; they loved each other, truly and deeply, even when they disagreed. But there were times I thought they might break up, that dad would take us all away and we'd live happy ever after. Stupid, I know; we'd have probably ended up with Mom if that happened, anyway. But some days, I dreamt of it, wondered what it'd be like to have had a home that wasn't a place of pain and fear and quiet hatred."

She shook her head again, as if shaking the thoughts away, and looked at me.

"Dad wasn't perfect. He tried to be, sometimes, but he wasn't—and sometimes, he wasn't even great. He was gone a lot and however much he may have disagreed with Mom's methods or tried to hold her back, he never really stopped things. I love him, for being there at all, but I remember that, too. Some days, I even hated him for not saving me."

"Then why are you here?" I asked. It wasn't an accusation, just curiosity shining through. I could feel it in here, knew it was there, but—

"For you, obviously," She bumped my shoulder with her own. "Whatever happens, I'm your big sister, right? I'm not perfect either, not even great, and kind of messed up at times, but I'm here for you, at least. If all I'm good for is keeping you rug rats safe, then I'm okay with that."

I nodded, leaning against her slightly.

"You said before," I began before pausing briefly. "That if you went back to Vacuo, you'd brag about me. What do you mean 'if'?"

"Sometimes," She began slowly. "When things like this happen to Hunters—losing children or lovers or such—they put them on probation or paid leave or whatever they call it. A lot of Hunters have snapped in the past, gone crazy or rogue or both. The people in charge can't have their best soldiers running off or turning on them or killing themselves, so they make you sit down and take therapy and whatever. A lot of the times, they have the Hunters move in with family members, so people will look after them and make sure they don't do anything rash."

I nodded. I'd heard that from Onyx, if not phrased quite that way. But…

"And you think they'll do that with Mom?" I asked.

"I'm almost certain," Bianca said. "They'll probably ask me, since I'm the oldest, most successful, and just generally perfect. They'll probably either request that I move back here and buy a place or bring the two of you with me to Vacuo."

"Then…why were you talking like you'd never see it again?" I wondered, reading her emotions and tilting my head to the side. "After everything you just said, you'd take her in just like that? Give up you worked for and move back here?"

"For her? No. But for you? Yes." She said. "Big Sis has to take care of you losers, right?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Contested**

We walked the rest of the way in silence. It wasn't really an _awkward_ silence, but Bianca didn't seem willing to break it and I…I just wasn't sure what to say. I wasn't even sure if there was anything _to_ say. I wanted to come up with the perfect words to make everything okay, but after years of pain and separation, was there actually anything that could fix everything? There was nothing I could do to change what had happened. Mom had made her decisions and then my sisters had made theirs. Were those decisions right or wrong? I had no idea. Did right and wrong even come into it? I didn't know that, either.

But I thought, not for the first time, about how much perception mattered. Mom had wanted to protect them, to make sure they were safe, even if that meant they all hated her afterwards—and they may well have. That was understandable too, from Bianca's words and from the pain she'd described them all going through. Yet my mother had made the choice she thought was right and viewed it as necessary and Bianca had seen it as nothing more than something to endure and overcome. I thought, at least, that Mom's heart had been in the right place even if it _had_ been colored by fear, but even if the intentions and goal were noble, did that change how much pain she'd caused them? And even if she'd caused them pain, did that mean she hadn't done her best to keep them safe? Did that change anything though, justify it? If you try to go something good and hurt people in the process, are you entitled to forgiveness? I just didn't know and it made me wonder about myself.

The fact of the matter was, I'd done things, too. I'd dangled Weiss out of an Airship and threatened a crowd, because that's what I'd needed to do to save others. I'd attacked her again in order to protect her from the White Fang. Did I regret doing that? Somewhat; if there had been another way, I'd have gladly taken it. But at the time, with the options and time I'd had at my disposal, I hadn't seen any. I regretted that people had gotten hurt, but I'd done what I could to help people, even though it sometimes hurt others in the process. Even then, though, I knew that my actions had had consequences. Awakening Ziz, the socioeconomic effects from invading Atlas, and now I knew that the Grimm's creator had been watching me, interfering. I liked to think I'd done the best with what I'd been given, but people had suffered because of the things I'd done.

I'd known they would. Since I'd spoke to Adam in the woods—no, even before that. Maybe from the very beginning, I'd know I wouldn't be able to save everyone, much less please them. I'd accepted that, because I'd never asked to be perfect or loved by everyone. If I hurt people, then it was only natural that they hate me. I'd told myself I'd just have to try and make it up to them, but that wasn't because I was trying to earn their love or forgiveness; those were things that were _given_ , not _taken_. No, I'd just thought that as a man, I should take responsibility for my actions.

But…there were things even I couldn't mend or replace. The Hunters Conquest had taken, the one's I'd killed—they were gone and they'd left behind voids I couldn't fill. The blame for that lay with Conquest and his master, monsters that they were, but I still felt a bit of responsibility for that. It wasn't guilt, not really; it was empathy and understanding of what they'd lost that made me want to do something and a pain over the simple fact that I couldn't.

I wish I'd been able to save them. I wish I'd been able to find away, that I could have protected more of those people, that I could have made things better. There was even a part that wished I'd just been able to try harder. If I hadn't been able to save my father, it was doubtful I'd have been able to save the others, but I still had to think about it—about how much I'd focused on my father, in the end. That was something I'd do again, even if I'd know I was doomed to fail, but I couldn't ignore the fact that it was selfish to focus on saving my father, even when it meant casting aside the chance to save others, _because_ I would do it again.

Most of all, I guess that I wish that I was better, smarter, stronger—whatever I needed to be to somehow make everything right, to save everyone. That was an unreasonable expectation and I knew it, but I couldn't help but want more than I could have. Even knowing it was unreasonable, I wanted more from the world and from myself. I wanted to be a better man, a better hunter, a better son, and a better brother. Even if I'd known about the problems around me and in my family from the very beginning, it was doubtful I'd have been able to fix things, but I wish I'd known and I wish I could.

People do that. People make choices and wishes and live with the results of both; they dream of a better world then they have, so they can try to create it for themselves. I'd decided that even if I'd made mistakes and hurt people, I'd keep going and try to save lives, because I believed I could help people. I told myself that no matter what happened, I'd hold onto that. Even now, when I couldn't think of a way to help my sisters and my mother, I wanted to find a way to make all of them happy. Maybe there wasn't a way to do that now, after so much had been done and said, but wouldn't it be a little sad if things were left like this? Perhaps it wasn't a matter of changing anything, because this was simply the result of the choices they'd all made, but…

I sighed quietly, smothering the sound so as not to concern Bianca. Looking up at the clouds that now covered the sun, I thought, oddly, of Raven and of her daughter Yang, who even now, after all these years, was searching for her mother. Raven had her reasons for leaving, I was sure—I'd even caught glimpses of some of them—but did that change the fact that that she'd made her daughter grow up without a mother, left her friends and family behind? I wondered how she felt about that and if she ever wanted to go back or do things differently. I wondered how she dealt with what she'd needed to leave behind.

It probably wouldn't be wise to ask, but I couldn't help but consider it anyway. I needed to talk to her soon anyway, after all, so perhaps…

"Bianca," I finally said, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" She looked back, raising a blonde eyebrow at me and seeming almost surprised by the words.

"Is it okay if I catch up in a little bit?" I asked, pointing a thumb down the street. "I need to swing into a store down that way."

"You need something?" She asked, tilting her head and I could feel the flash of worry run through her at the thought she might be driving me off. I smiled at her reassuringly and shook my head.

"Not really," I admitted. "I'd just planned to talk to a friend while I was in down to day, to set some stuff up. Might as well do it now, since the next few weeks are going to be busy."

"Okay," She said, though the concern didn't fade. "I'll see you in a little bit, then?"

"I won't take long," I promised. "I'll catch up to you at Amalthea in just a few minutes."

She nodded and began to turn away until I stopped her.

"Hey, Bianca," I said and smiled gently. "I'm glad you told me. Even if it's a sad story…I'm glad I know what happened. I wish things had been different, that I could do something to make things right, but it's better than not knowing at all. At least this way, I understand—and I'm sorry I never noticed before. Whatever happened, I'm glad I had sisters looking out for me. I'll try to make it up to you someday."

She smirked at that, worry washing away as she straightened her tie.

"Don't bother," She said. "I was just doing my job as your big sister; it's nothing to keep track of debts over. We help each other when we can and get help when we need it; it's as simple as that. But… I'm glad. That you grew up alright and decided to help people. So just live your life, Jaune, and try to be happy. Okay?"

I shrugged slightly but nodded.

"I'll do my best," I said. "I'll see you in a bit, Sis."

She lazily saluted me and we split to go our separate ways. I kept track of her presence as we moved further and further from each other and then looked around carefully to make sure no one I needed to worry about was nearby. I checked for cameras, hidden portals, everything I could—and then I walked into the store to speak to my old friend.

"Hey, Tukson," I greeted the bookkeeper as I entered. "How you doing?"

The bookstore owner looked up at me, blinking once as he saw my face.

"Oh, Jaune," He said in surprised. "Haven't seen you in a while. Um…I'm doing pretty good, I suppose—school will be in session in a few weeks, so I get the textbook rush. Things are overpriced as hell, but I guess I can't complain, can I? Other than that, I mostly just run the store and things have been pretty quiet lately. What about you? Have you been okay?"

"Uh…" I considered that for a moment before shrugging and fibbing a little. "Pretty normal for me, too, I guess."

"That bad?" He asked, leaning to rest his elbows on the counter.

I sighed slowly, looking down and nodding.

"Yeah," I admitted. "That bad. I guess you heard about my father?"

"Ouch," Tukson said, wincing in sympathy. "I'd heard a little bit, but I only meet him once. Had a little hope it was someone else. Is it…anything you can or want to talk about?"

I shook my head slightly.

"Not really," I answered, not specifying why. "Things are…well, pretty rough for me right now, I guess, but Adam swung by and my family's flying in."

"Is that good or bad?" He asked before blinking and shaking his head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's just…my luck with family reunions is kind of mixed, personally. I didn't mean to pry."

"Its fine," I shrugged. "To be honest…I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I'm the youngest or maybe I'm just lucky, but everyone in the family loves me. But my sister's and my mother…"

"And of course, you're gonna get stuck in the middle," Tukson smiled grimly. "You love both sides, but…yeah. It's awkward."

"You've seen it all before, I guess?"

"Before Menagerie—" Tukson stopped and shrugged. "Yeah. I have some experience with stuff like this."

"I don't suppose it turned out well?" I wondered, not quite able to muster up a hopeful tone as I felt his emotions.

"I got shipped off to another continent," He said after a moment, exhaling slowly. "My mother and father…I guess I split them up. You probably noticed that I can hide what I am pretty easily and my mom wanted me to; stay behind, pass as human, just work through it all. My dad, he loved me, but…I understand why, looking back. Before everything happened, there was a lot of word about the Faunus all coming together, about how we'd forge a kingdom of our own and make Menagerie the greatest of the Kingdoms. With how we were treated back then, it must have seemed like a dream come true. I guess that was probably the idea."

I remembered Adam's story of a child with nothing but a knife and a murdered mother.

"It didn't quite work out that way," I stated quietly.

"No," He answered as if it had been a question. "Turns out when you take thousands upon thousands of scared people from hundreds of different walks of life, strip away everything they've ever known or loved, and trap them in a hostile environment, things do not end well. In fairness, we probably should have seen that coming."

"I'm sorry I asked," I said honestly, knowing how he felt. "It must be painful to think about."

"Yes," He bobbed his head. "And for a long time it hurt a lot more. My parents were never the same after that and then I lost my dad in the fighting. At the time, after everything I experienced in Menagerie…for a long time, I wasn't even sure I cared. I always thought about the life I could have had if I'd stayed behind and hid…I loved him and I knew he loved me and I knew it was just a bad choice, but I was the one who had to live with it and it wasn't easy. But…time pass and life went on, I guess. There are things I regret and things I don't, but I kept going. That's what you gotta do."

I nodded.

"I know," I said. "But thank you."

"If you ever need to talk about it," He shrugged again. "You know where to find me."

"I do," I confirmed. "And appreciate. But it's not really a matter of whether I want to or not. It's just…big."

"Big," He repeated, raising an eyebrow. "As big as Ziz?"

I met his eyes.

"Bigger," I said, my voice serious.

The bookkeeper stared at me, furrowing his eyebrows for a long moment before his eyes widened.

"God," Tukson whispered after a moment. "You get up to some shit, don't you?"

Do I ever.

"Every now and then, I suppose," I shook my head. "That's why I'm here, actually. I need you to arrange a meeting for me."

He nodded seriously.

"Who and when?" He asked.

In response, I withdrew a small metal disk with a symbol drawn on it in blacks and reds, placing it on the table in front of Tukson.

"She told me that if I ever needed to reach her, I should give this to a messenger I trusted and tell them to reach someone named Paloma. Can you do that?"

Tukson stared at the disk for a long minute, mouth wide open.

"Holy fucking shit," He said. "You mean…? You want to reach _Her_?"

"Yeah," I said, assuming he meant Raven. "Tell her we need to meet, preferably somewhere in Vale. I told her how to get in touch if she needed to reach me and one of the ways was you. Don't be surprised if you get a call and remember—I'm Jian."

"Good God…" Tukson said, closing his eyes and shaking his head before snatching the disk up. "I'll arrange it. You just…fuck, just please tell me if the world is about to end?"

"It's not," I shook my head. "Not for the moment, at least. I'll keep you posted, though."

He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out.

"And here I go again, thinking about how different my life would be if we'd done what my mother wanted. If I just picked a safe career; stayed in the army and far away from goddamn bookstores. Vacuo isn't _that_ bad this time of year."

I pondered him for a moment, considering that—and then decided to ask.

"How is it, then?" I asked. "Vacuo, I mean?"

Tukson blinked at the sudden change in topic, tilting his head and frowning at me.

"Why do you ask?"

I worked my jaw from side to side for a moment, looking up at the ceiling.

"Honestly," I began. "I just don't know how this mess with my family is going to turn out. Because of what happened and the state my mother's in…I've heard it from enough people that I have to wonder if I might be moving soon."

"Does that worry you?" He asked, watching me curiously.

"Not really," I said after a moment of consideration. "I mean, what's it matter, right? I me wherever I am and I can move fast enough that I don't really need to worry about being far away from stuff. But…I'd never really thought about it, you know? Not living here. I don't know where I might be going or if I'll really leave at all, but I want to know. Not just what I remember from the books, but what the place is _like_. If you don't mind me asking, I mean."

He mulled over that for a minute before nodding slowly as if he understood.

"It's been a long time, mind you," He warned. "But when I was there, Vacuo was a place of extremes. It was hot enough make you feel like you were melting in the day, but when night fell, the frost could get so thick, sometimes you couldn't tell the difference between sand and snow. I remember that whenever I went for an Night at school—it's a thing we do in Vacuo schools, now and then—my mom would pack my clothes and I'd have shorts and heavy jacket right next to each other. It's not a very formal place, either, because you can't go marching in uniform when it could hit forty-five in a snap. There are drills for storms and survival training was always an experience, but…I guess, in a way, it's a very free place. Maybe because it's so extreme, there's a lot of stuff people don't care about as much. Even before I left, I had some friends who knew about my parents and…maybe they were just young, but they didn't seem to mind. I still had to hide my claws in public, but in those days, that you could have five children playing with a Faunus boy willingly was something else."

He looked out the window a bit and smiled.

"Yeah," He said to himself. "It's weird, but…I remember the place fondly. I guess it was the place I felt least…I don't know. Trapped, maybe? But that makes were I am now sound horrible and that's not what I mean. It's just…I don't know. Some days I look around and think about going back, even though there's nothing waiting there for me anymore."

I nodded, at once feeling the emotions coming from it and struggling to nail them down. I guess that made sense if even he was unsure, though.

"One thing I will say," He said suddenly, looking up at me. "The weather in Vale is a hell of a lot better. You wouldn't _believe_ where sand can get and then everything freezes solid. One of the worst things in the world is having to work a dawn or dusk shift in Vacuo. I think the worst I remember was minus forty to forty in about two hours. You get used to one and then the other just body checks you—and I was border patrolling at the time. It was awful. It's one of the reasons I stay the hell away. If it's you, you probably won't even notice, but the rest of us? It's horrible. It's said Vacuo's never been conquered because nobody _wants_ the damn place."

"I'll keep that in mind," I mused, thinking it over. "I don't think I'll be heading that way for the time being, but…it's good to know. I'll have to visit sometime."

"I'll pray for my homeland," Tukson promised, making me chuckle.

"Thanks for everything, Tukson," I said, inclining my head towards him. "Oh, and if you can, do you mind keeping your ear to the ground for me?"

"No problem," He nodded. "Anything specific you want me to look out for?"

I thought of the Riders, the Grimm, and their hidden creator. I briefly considered telling him before dismissing the thought. No, if he knew, he'd see threats everywhere, like I was starting to. Best to have a grounded, unbiased opinion.

"Whatever catches your eye," I said. "Just…stuff you think might be worth looking into a bit more, send my way. Here, in the other Kingdoms, whatever. I'm feeling curious lately."

"I'll see what I can round up, Jaune." He replied, not asking any questions.

"Thanks, Tukson," I told him. "I appreciate it. Really."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
News Report**

My meeting with Raven so arranged, I caught up to my sister at the store as promised. I didn't spend much time shopping since I generally didn't _need_ a lot, but I figured out where everything in the store was in a second or two and methodically went about getting exactly what we needed. My sister browsed with a bit more whimsy, but we weren't in a hurry so I didn't say anything about it. I offered to pay for it, she stepped in and insisted on footing the bill, and then we left.

The downside of shopping with other people, however, was that I couldn't simply store everything in my Inventory. Between the two of us, we didn't have any particular trouble with the weight, but there were still several dozen bags for us to carry. Even if it felt light as could be, actually needing to carry stuff was a bit annoying. As Hunters, neither of us had much use for a car in day to day life, either, so we did it all the old fashioned way. It would be a lot easier if I'd had a chance to talk to her about my power, but I was still trying to decided what I should and shouldn't tell my family. I didn't really care about them knowing about the fact that I was the Gamer or even that I was Jian Bing, so I planned to tell them just to avoid needing to keep it a secret or having to reveal it at a less convenient time.

Even so, I was a bit concerned because once I brought them in on those secrets, it was going to raise a lot of questions about what had happened to me recently—it wouldn't take a genius to connect that stuff to the fact that I'd been involved in the fight that killed Dad, even if I hadn't told Bianca I'd been along. The thing is, what did I tell them? I couldn't get them involved in this Rider business; even if they were, as far as I could tell, _clean_ , they wouldn't be able to tell if the people around them were and the paranoia of that whole mess was enough to get to anyone. But on the other hand, with what had happened to Dad…I could leave out Conquest and just mention a Pandora Shell, but…

Should I tell them I'd been the one to kill him? I wasn't concerned with them being upset with _me_ or anything, because I was pretty sure they'd understand why I'd had to do it even if I was forced to edit out everything about Grimm-possessed humans, evil monster makers, and battles in the soul. But…did I want to force them to live with the knowledge that I'd been forced to kill him? Even knowing that I'd done everything I could to free his soul, that still hurt me; for them…

There were other things, too; stuff I couldn't tell them, mixed in with stuff I needed to. The stuff with the White Fang blended with secrets, the explanations for some of the things I'd done…I needed to tell them, but I also needed to figure out what not to say. There were things that would bring them nothing but pain and fear, secrets that would put them in danger, and flat-out awful truths. I need to choose my words wisely and maybe speak to Ozpin or my grandmother about it.

Beyond that, though, it just wasn't something I felt like talking about in public, even if I could shut down the sound around us. If nothing else, I had a feeling what I had to say would get some type of visible reaction, something other people might see. And then they'd wonder and ask for proof and examples, on and on—best to wait a bit until we were surrounded by people. And, well, to be honest…I just didn't want to have to explain it multiple times. It was going to be a long story as is.

It can't be helped, I thought at last, biting down a sigh as I balanced two cases of water on my forearms as my fingers hooked through the loops of many of the bags. Several more were stacked on top of the waters, partially obscuring my view, not that it really mattered. I followed my sister back in the general direction of the Residential District before swinging into a restaurant I'd never been in, but which the girls had apparently agreed on silently. That didn't matter to me much either, since I didn't need to eat, but I ordered something large enough to keep either of my sisters from complaining and set stuff down around the table. I thought someone might, you know, say something about that, but apparently my sisters left lasting impressions. The staff continued to work with a general air of 'Same shit as always.'

"Hey, I saw this while I was shopping," Shani said the moment I'd taken a seat. She held up a newspaper that I blinked at before glancing over it and reading the front page. It was me and how I'd healed the hospital, but the photograph on the front was at least a year out of date. I hadn't really waited around for a photo-shoot, though, so that was fine. "I didn't know you were a healer!"

"He mentioned it to me while we were walking," Bianca said, reaching over the take the page from Shani's hand. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Not _wrong_ , really," Shani replied. "Just…well, I was pretty surprised when I saw your name all over the front page. Is this the first time you got in the news, Jay?"

Hell no. Although usually, it was as a wanted terrorist.

"Maybe," I said aloud, shaking my head. "I did that thing in Mistral, remember? I might have gotten in the news over that—to be honest, I didn't really check."

Shani snapped her fingers and pointed at me.

"Oh, that's right," She replied. "That thing with the girl. I heard that was all over Mistral for a while, too. Grandmother's work?"

"Yeah."

"She does that, now and then," Bianca murmured, reading the paper. "Likes to show off the superbabies, but…wow, Jaune; I think this is more impressive. 'Hospital emptied by healing prodigy Jaune Arc,' it says. Is that true?"

"Uh," I shrugged. "Sort of? Not literally, because there were a few people too hurt for me to heal yet, but I fixed up most of the people there—and it'll be a while yet, but I hope to get good enough to fix the others, too. I can't regrow limbs yet and there are still a few things beyond me, but…I'll figure it out, I think."

"Wow," Shani said as Bianca continued reading. "That's amazing! Is stuff like that hard?"

"Saying no makes me feel kind of arrogant," I frowned slightly before shrugging. "But…no. Stuff like that comes pretty easily to me, to be honest."

"A talking dog, a sapient flower, and now this?" She wondered, shaking her head. "Do you have some type of Biological Semblance?"

"Not…really," I hedged. "My Semblance is responsible for it, though. It's not something I really want to talk about in public, honestly."

"Ah," She drew the sound out. "Keep your tricks a secret. I gotcha."

"Well, there's that," I nodded. "But really, it's just going to be a pain in the ass to explain and I'd rather not do it here. Do you mind if I tell you later? Or maybe…wait, no, never mind. I thought about asking Grandmother to tell you, but if she hasn't already, it's probably because she's feeling lazy too and wants to shove the task on me."

"Oh," Shani tilted her head. "Is it something like Indigo's thing, then?"

I thought about second youngest sister and her weird Semblance, nodding slightly.

"Something like that," I said. "I think mine is still stranger, though."

"Huh," Shani said after a moment, furrowing her eyebrows before shrugging. "Well, I guess you'd know. You two get everything?"

"Doubtful," Bianca said, finally putting the paper down with an odd expression. She appeared contemplative as she clicked a manicured nail against the surface of the table, pausing a moment before seeming to remember she was talking. "I'm sure one of you is going to have forgotten something you can't live without and well end up making a dozen more trips. But we got everything you _actually_ can't live without."

"Speaking of the others," I interrupted before Shani could reply. "Do you know when they're expected to arrive?"

"Sienna might be a bit late," Bianca said, looking at me. "She's been rising through the ranks quickly, but that comes with a lot of responsibilities attached to it. Given that it's a family emergency, she shouldn't have any problems getting time off, but she'll still need to make arrangements before she comes down from Atlas. Since they live near each other and work together, odds are Azure will come down with her, even if she has an easier time getting leave. Violet and Indigo will arrive quickly once they get the message, but if they're on a mission, they might not receive it until they're within range of the towers again. Still, last I checked, they were working somewhere in Mistral, so I wouldn't be surprised if they arrive with Grandmother and Olivia definitely will."

"Olivia's in Mistral now?" I asked, a bit surprised. "I didn't see her while I was there."

"You must have missed her by a few weeks," Bianca said. "She was actually up in Atlas with Azure until recently, but a good position opened up and convinced her move. I think she's going to start working at Haven when the semester starts."

"Wow," I blinked. "Haven already? She's been out of school for less than a year, right? Is that a record?"

"I think it might be for Haven," Shani said. "Since she graduated early after switching up to Atlas. That place attracts its fair share of geniuses, though, so it wouldn't surprise me if there was some ten year old running around somewhere. Olivia was really excited about it, though. They don't let just anyone teach the next generation of Hunters, you know?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Good for her. I'll congratulate her when I see her. Oh, I've got a scroll now, too, so we can stay in touch that way, now. I didn't know your numbers or I'd have given you a call."

"I'll give you everyone's numbers," Bianca promised before moving a hand over the paper. She looked down at it and then back up to me, concern written clearly upon her face. "But Jaune…about this…are you going to be okay?"

It wasn't hard to figure out what she meant. I'd have been concerned too, if I hadn't long since seen it coming. I looked back at her before glancing Shani's way, seeing the same thoughts on her face, if a touch more subdued.

It was understandable. Bianca was worried about the news report—not about the fact that I'd healed all those people, of course, but of the fact that now everyone knew about it. It wouldn't just be in the papers, either; for something as big as healing an entire hospital, I'm sure I'd made the news in all sorts of ways. She was worried because suddenly, I was famous. That if I wasn't already, I was soon to be the big new thing.

But with that came complications. I knew full well that the healing abilities I could all but take for granted were the things other people dreamt of. How many people saw their friends get injured, their families and loved ones left lying on a table, and dreamed of being able to just reach other and make it all go away? How many hundreds, thousands, or even _millions_ of people had wanted that at some point in their lives?

And now, they'd want me. Not just me, of course—healers in general were in enormous demand—but with what I'd done so casually, it went without saying that I could expect a fair bit of attention and interest, not all of it good. From the desperate to the greedy, people all over the world would be interested in me now, and that changed a lot of things.

I could see the concern in her eyes as she worried about it. About what I might be getting into so soon after Dad's death, about the people that would probably approach me, about the people who might be driven to extremes, about how I'd be able to handle facing tragedies and injuries every day or being on the receiving end of misguided anger and hurtful words.

In fairness, I couldn't deny that in many ways, dealing with this would be annoying. I'd figured this would happen and I was sure Ozpin had too, but that didn't change the fact that there was much to be done in the face of it all. But in the end, being famous wasn't all bad—especially for a famous _healer_. Whatever the cons were, there were also a number of opportunities; if there weren't, this wouldn't be happening to begin with. If he'd wanted to, Ozpin likely could have…perhaps not silence it, but certainly make it quieter. Hell, he could have just forbidden me from healing everyone in the hospital so blatantly. I might have felt a bit guilty about it, but I would have restrained myself and just touched up some of the people near the edge. Training in Naraka was far more effective then healing even an entire hospital full of people, so it wouldn't have even slowed me down that much.

But instead, he'd prepared the paperwork, pulled the strings, and all but commanded me to go forth and mend. And even if I had reasons to be suspicious, I could be sure of one thing—Rider or Headmaster, he wanted me to succeed, to, at least, grow stronger. I still didn't know why, but everything pointed in that direction, even now, so there must have been a reason for what he'd done.

In truth, there were several. If he believed me when I said that I'd learn how to heal my mother—and, after everything he'd seen me do, why _wouldn't_ he?—then the use of such a…commodity was obvious, especially if made public. If I could regrow limbs, heal the blind, cure the sick, _and_ rejuvenate even the horrifically wounded, I'd be a bargaining chip almost without compare. He could leverage it in negotiations, bargain with it or earn concessions, for what could be as little as a few minutes of healing. I could do all of that subtly, of course, but if people _knew_ about it, if it was an established fact that we could use, I'm sure it could go a long ways.

Somewhat more subtly, there was the simple fact that it _would_ be known. I knew as well as anyone how much reputations mattered and _this reputation_ …if need be, I could use it as an excuse to go just about anywhere, in a broad sense. I could invite myself to any city in the world without drawing suspicion—hell, with some well-chosen words, I could probably make _them_ invite me. It gave me freedom in a number of senses, to say nothing of the chances it provided to make connections and reach other to people. Few professions were as well equipped to getting friends in high places as a healer. With some proper planning, I could leave abruptly to handle medical emergencies, especially if Ozpin was the one making the call, or go along on operations that might otherwise be considered beyond someone, if needed.

And, of course, it served as an explanation. It would answer why my mother, missing three limbs and liable to remain that way for days or weeks yet, would abruptly be able to walk again and live her life normally. Why Onyx would regain his leg and Ren his hand, injuries that were already on record and which weren't known for spontaneously healing.

Yes, this was the path that let me heal my mother and save lives. This was the choice that might let me go where I needed to be, unquestioned. I could use this the same way I used Jian Bing—whatever else came up, I'd deal with it, or Ozpin would. It's not like I couldn't handle the burden or that I wouldn't be able to just leave if I felt like it; once my mother was healed up, I doubted I'd need to worry much about indirect threats, either. I still needed to speak to Ozpin about it, arrange some things, but—

"Yeah," I told her smiling. "I'll be okay. I've spoken to Grandmother and Headmaster Ozpin about it, so it's not like I'm in this alone—and if something comes up, I'll just make one of you handle it."

Shani snorted at that, rolling her eyes.

"And there's the catch," She said. "All these years and you're still gonna make us fight your battles for you? What's the point of all that stuff you showed off in Mistral, then?"

"Well," I replied demurely. "If possible, I'd like to avoid fights that would make me feel bad about myself afterwards. So how about I handle anything big that comes up and you just deal with everything else? You can be my bouncer!"

"Oh," Shani drew out the word. "Mr. Big Shot Healer's feeling full of himself, is he? I'll have you know, I'm pretty fucking expensive—"

I reached under the table and drew about ten thousand Lien from my Inventory. Lifting up the large stack, I flipped through it with a thumb, letting the sound of paper on paper do the talking for me. I'd have taken out more, but after a certain point, showing off how much money you have is hard to do with your bare hands; even in hundreds, a hundred thousand is…well, a thousand hundred Lien bills. Funny how that works.

Still, even if ten thousand Lien wasn't all that impressive at a table full of Hunters, it was enough to make a point.

"Son of a bitch," Bianca sighed. "I should have known after you told me you were a healer, now. I should have just made you pay for everything."

"Hey, I offered," I defended. "It's not a big deal for me right now, but if I need money, I can make it pretty damn fast in a _bunch_ of ways. You don't need to worry about me on that front."

"Ugh," Shani snorted in disgust as she looked down at the stack of bills. "You whippersnappers and your high-paying part-time jobs. Why in _my_ day—"

I was in the middle of a chuckle when I felt a sudden shift and turned abruptly, prepared for a fight even if I didn't so much as rise from my chair. For a moment, I was staring into an empty corner of the room—but the darkness exploded out of it, crawling from where the walls met. There was a chill as air flowed into the shadows, a flickering of the lights, and the corner was promptly occupied by a woman. She wore a light purple shirt beneath a black vest, pairing it with leather pants. Beneath her hat, her shoulder-length blonde hair was tied back clear of her blue eyes and a set of headphones lay hooked on her neck.

Recognizing her, I relaxed back into my seat.

"I finally found you," She said, taking off her hat and she approached and pushing it down onto my head, pushing down at me as she made my head bow. "The house was empty when we showed up. How have you been doing, Jaune?"

"Better then I think anyone honestly could have expected," I replied, turning my head slightly so I could smile up at her. "We were just talking about you."

"Good things, I hope," She smiled back, letting up to rest her arms on the back of my chair.

"Of course," I promised. "We were just wondering if you'd come over with Grandmother, since you were in Mistral. Did you and Violet just decide to go on ahead?"

"We just made good time," She shook her head as the shadow's in the room stretched to congregate around her own as if drawn by some type of dark gravity. Looking down at it, I gave my sister's shadow a polite nod and watched as it returned the gesture, tracing a clockwise path around her. "The others are waiting by the house."

"We shouldn't keep them waiting, then," I said, rising and reclaiming my money. I hadn't even gotten my food yet, but I guess it didn't much matter. Giving her a one armed hug, I tipped my hat at her. "Welcome back, Indigo."

 **The Shadows That Hunt the Night  
LV 90  
Indigo Arc**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Private Channel**

"We're home!" I said as we walked into the house, groceries in tow. The house door was open, leaving me to briefly worry about how Gou might have reacted—but no, I could sense him and he seemed fine. He'd have recognized my Grandmother, if nothing else.

"Jaune," Olivia appeared in the doorway to the living room, long golden hair falling down to the back of her green dress in neat ringlets. My youngest sister smiled at me, the expression coming easily to her face as she approached. Looking me over, she took a deep breath and lifted her voice. "Violet, Grandmother! The others are back and they brought groceries!"

 **The Queen of the Open Spaces Above the World  
LV 88  
Olivia Arc**

"So we should move as slowly as possible to avoid doing work? Good to know," An easy sounding voice answered from upstairs. My second oldest sister smiled lazily as she came to the railing above us, leaning over to rest her forearms on it. Her hair was styled so that it hung to the right side and covered an eye, showing off the gleaming stud of an earring on her left in the process. She was wearing a shirt just a few shades off of Indigo's, but she wore what seemed like an armored jacket over it. Metal plates were affixed to the cloth of her pants as well, guarding her shins and thighs.

 **The Chains That Bind the Earth and Sky  
LV 91  
Violet Arc**

"Violet," Bianca looked up at her calmly, making the younger girl roll her eyes.

"Bianca," She answered with a slight whine in her voice, but she was smiling teasingly as she spoke. "You obviously have it under control if you lugged all that stuff here. I still have to get everything in my room set up."

Bianca sighed.

"Indigo, go," She pronounced as a single word, now so timeworn that no one even reacted to it. Indigo slipped down into her shadow, dropping bags as she did, and the unattached shade slipped neatly up the walls to appear behind Violet. Indigo reemerged and put her hands on her older sister's shoulders.

"Come on, V," Indigo said. "Let's go help put things away."

Violet turned without missing a beat and jumped up, forcing Indigo to quickly move her arms to catch her.

"Only if you carry me down," She replied, hugging Indigo's head closer. I saw Indigo roll her eyes but start walking towards the stairs, making Bianca sigh behind me.

"You'll only encourage her, Indigo," Bianca said disapprovingly.

"Yeah," Shani agreed. "And if you're going to do that, there are better ways to do it. Drop her down the friendship stairs!"

Olivia and I, the youngest pair, turned and glanced at each other, silent words passing between us. As one, we nodded and began carrying stuff into the kitchen, making productive use of our time.

"Shani…" Bianca sighed again before shaking her head and focusing back on Violet. "You realize that if you just helped, we'd be done in seconds."

"Of course," She nodded. "I _could_ do it, but that doesn't mean I want to. You seem to have this weird thing where you mistake an _absence_ of work for a _desire_ to do work."

"Violet…"

"Bianca…"

Bianca closed her eyes again, took a deep breath, and turned towards the kitchen.

"Fine," She said, sounding annoyed. "Just laze around doing nothing, then."

"Sounds good," Violet replied as I came back to get more bags. As Bianca and Shani brushed into the kitchen, Violet smirked and gave me a thumbs up before speaking in a sagely tone. "Word from the wise—if you're completely worthless whenever someone asks you to do something you don't want to do, you get a lot more free time."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, smiling back, leaning down to pick up what Indigo had dropped.

"Really, though, do you need any help with that?" Indigo said, nodding at the bags I carried.

"Nah, I'm good," I answered honestly. "It's light as a feather to me. I was originally going to go shopping alone before any of you showed up, but Bianca and Shani got in early. I'm surprised you guys got here so fast, though."

"Grandma wanted us to make it here as fast as possible, so we cleared the skies," She said, lifting a hand to brush her hair to the side. As she did, she revealed her right eye, the iris a bright and gleaming purple in contrast to the blue on the side, with jets of the color spiking out into the sclera. She must have used her Semblance quite a bit on the way over.

"Well, whatever the case, I'm glad you're here, Violet," I told her, meeting her gaze evenly. "I was in Mistral not too long ago, but I didn't know you were around."

"Yeah; sucks, doesn't it?" She shook her head. "Indy and I were on a mission at the time, but I'd have been quicker about it if I knew you were around. I saw your fight after I got back, though! Not gonna lie, I dug the fire giant."

"Thanks; I thought it was pretty cool, too," I smiled at the praise. "I was actually gonna compete in the tournament, but some stuff came up and I just didn't feel like it. Well, it probably would have been kind of boring after fighting Pyrrha, anyway."

"Why bother with a competition when you can just challenge the champ, right?" She nodded. "Not much point in spending days on the fishies after you wrestle with a shark. I heard from Grandma that you introduced yourself to the other families?"

"Yeah; we fought each other and now we're friends," I considered that for a moment before looking down at her. "Is that normal for us?"

"More or less," She shrugged. "I fought some of their parents, actually. They're older than me, but I gave them the Ultraviolet Surprise!"

I chuckled at that but a voice interrupted me before we could continue.

"Jaune," My grandmother greeted, appearing at the top of the stairs as she clipped her scroll to her belt. "My apologies; I was in the middle of a call. I heard Olivia call?"

"Hello, Grandmother," I answered, looking up at her and shrugging. "It was just the usual. Let put these in the kitchen real quick, okay?"

Not waiting for a reply, I took the bags to where Olivia was busy putting everything away and silently helped her, leaving a few cans on the counter for when I'd make supper. The sausage, ham, chicken, and turkey mostly went into the freezer, but I put some of it in the refrigerator for later, alongside the small mountain of lunch meat, yogurts, milk, water, and pretty much every other consumable we'd been able to find. For the first time in years, the massive fridge we had upstairs approached something like capacity, but I knew from experience that it wouldn't last. If I didn't need to make another shopping trip by midweek, I'd be surprised.

"Thank you for all the hard work, Jaune," Olivia smiled at me as we filled a small shelf with condiments. "So, how have you been? I mean, beyond, you know—"

"Yeah," I nodded before she could begin stumbling over her words. "I've been pretty good. I heard you'll be working at Haven soon?"

She beamed at that, smiling lighting up her face and her green eyes.

"Yup!" She said, shifting so I could put a few jars of jelly into the fridge. "I was going to head up north and work with Azure for a while, but a position opened up unexpectedly. I sent my resume in and, well, they accepted! I mean, I'd always wanted to become a teacher, but the competition is so fierce, that they'd pick _me_ — I couldn't believe it!"

"You'll be the youngest professor Haven's ever had, right?" I asked, making her nod happily.

"I was going to try up at Atlas, originally," She admitted. "There's a general up there who's also a Headmaster and he works closely with Azure's department. I was going to work there for a few years and then ask him if I could be a teacher's assistant or something, but I never expected to make professor so early."

"I'm glad you did," I answered, bumping her shoulder as I reached past her. "I'm sure you'll be a great teacher."

She bumped me back.

"Stop that," She said, even as she beamed. "If my ego gets any bigger, I'll float away like a balloon again."

I chuckled at that memory and nodded at her.

"So, what about you?" She asked. "I saw your fight in Mistral and saw you in the news when we landed. You're a healer now, right? Given any thought to the future, yet?"

Only what seemed like all the time, I thought.

"A little bit," I said aloud, even as my mind turned towards the varied horrors I'd discovered over the recent months, so many of whom just seemed to be lying in wait for the right time to strike. "Actually, I was going to speak to Grandmother about it when I had a chance."

"Oh, then don't let me keep you," She replied, taking a jar from my hand as I reached past her. "Off you go, then."

"You don't mind?" I asked, drawing my hand back with a raised eyebrow. My other sisters, despite the argument they'd had about carrying things to the kitchen, had promptly made themselves scarce the moment that was done, so it was just the two of us for the moment.

"Not at all," She nudged me in the direction of the stairs. "We can always catch up more later; it's best not to leave these things be."

I inclined my head towards her and walked back towards the stairs, awareness expanding through the house. Shani, Indigo, and Violet had moved into the living room to watch TV or play games, Bianca had gone up to her room to finish unpacking, Olivia was putting stuff away—

Now was as good a time as any.

"Grandmother," I greeted again, seeing her still waiting at the top of the stairs, watching me scale them quickly. "Can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Of course, Jaune," She said in a relaxed tone. "Shall we talk in private?"

I nodded and followed her, already shutting down the air around us, ensuring sound would not escape.

"So," She began the moment she closed the door of the study she's apparently commandeered upstairs. "What is this really about, Jaune?"

I knew what she meant and didn't waste time beating around the bush.

"On our mission, we encountered a Pandora Shell," I said seriously. "And Crom Cruach blew it open amidst the fighting."

My grandmother stopped, somehow freezing in place even though she hadn't been moving. Her eyes focused on me, emotions playing freely across it before she focused it back under control—and even then, the storm continued beneath the surface. I felt shock, terror, realization, dread, and something like a pit of acceptance. She bowed her head, opened her mouth the speak, and cut herself off before she even began, turning her head away from me and closing her eyes.

For a long moment, she was silent—restrained, really—but at last she let loose a slow sigh.

"So," She said, making herself sound calm and composed as she turned my way. "This is going to be one of _those_ conversations, is it?"

I assumed that by 'one of those conversations,' she meant the ones were I told her stuff that completely altered her understanding of the world. Which, in fairness, I did sometimes. To be even more fair, this probably _was_ going to be 'one of those conversations,' so I nodded.

"Yeah," I answered. "You might want to sit down for this one, because it's going to be a doozy. Is there anything you want to say before we get into this? Because it's going to be a long story."

She took my advice, claiming my mother's chair for her own.

"I wanted to speak to you about what has been happening in Mistral, but suddenly I think you should go first." She muttered, knowing she didn't need to raise her voice for me to hear. "Start from the beginning, if you don't mind."

I nodded once in acceptance.

"Dad and I went on a mission," I said. "It was supposed to be a relatively basic mission to deal with a threat to a town before it got out of control. I was along as a way to get experience and build a reputation for myself—Dad's idea with Ozpin's approval. Officially, I went along as a healer and tended to the wounded. After that, however, I looked around and found out how the Grimm got into the town itself; there was a massive set of tunnels beneath the ground with several passages leading to the surface—"

"Tunnels?" Grandmother interrupted, furrowing her eyebrows. "Natural or artificial?"

"There wasn't really time to check," I shook my head. "But given what we found later, I'd bet they were artificial—though how long they'd been there, I can't say. And yes, the thought of more tunnels being dug beneath our feet has occurred to me; I formed a contract with an Earth Elemental and have been on the lookout since. I haven't noticed anything in Vale yet, except for the abandoned subway systems that let out to Mountain Glenn. Still…"

"It's something to be wary of," She nodded firmly, eyes shifting to the side as if looking at an imaginary checklist. "We'll need to make arrangements for you to confirm the safety of other locations, too."

"Yeah," I agreed. "But Grandmother, with Crom Cruach around, I can't be sure how much it matters. I'm confident I'll notice if anything happens beneath me, but he moved so fast that the minute I'm gone, I can't guarantee anything."

That gave her pause again and she tilted her head to the side.

"How fast?" She asked.

" _Fast_ ," I said. "He came up under me and a geokinetic named Onyx before either of us could really do anything. I wasn't expecting it and I didn't have the White Tiger active and most of the senses I could track Grimm with didn't work on things with hundreds of meters of earth between me and them—but he literally came up under our feet before we knew what was going on. I'd definitely peg him as being able to move underground faster than most Hunters can run. Maybe even faster than some airships can fly. With the tunnels he can leave behind, he could open a path for entire army's right beneath our feet without most people knowing."

"Well," She replied after a moment of silence. "That's…problematic. I dare say exterminating the beast needs to be something of a priority, but…"

"Easier said than done," I agreed. "But I put him on the list of things that need to die as soon as physically possible, don't worry. The good news is, there's some evidence that they can't act freely, but I'll get into that later. In the meantime, I'd seriously recommend investing in seismographs.

Though what any of us would be able to _do_ if they picked up on something, God only knows.

"I'll work on creating countermeasures," I continued. "With an Earth Elemental, I might eventually be able to take the fight to him, but I can't say how long it'll take until that's a feasible—much less winnable—strategy. Unfortunately, it gets worse. Once I relayed things to my father, he went down to scope out the tunnels with Onyx. Those of us up top called in reinforcements—Mom's team—and prepared for a fight. But the moment Mom's team showed up, the Grimm reacted, as if they'd been waiting for it. Even ignoring what happened later on, that town was definitely a trap arranged by the Grimm for us Hunters; the attacks were just to provoke a response of some kind. Soon as we walked into it, all of the Grimm rushed to the surface."

I blew out a breath and pursed my lips.

"The sad part is, that's only when things _began_ to go wrong. We held off the first few waves easily enough, turning the opening into a death trap, but as soon as things seemed to be turning our way, Crom Cruach shattered my barriers and turned the narrow gap into a full-on breach before slinking away. We kept fighting to stop the flood and when we managed to hold our ground, a Deathstalker crawled out of the ground carrying Pandora Shells on its back. We tried to secure it but Crom Cruach blew them wide open with some sort of beam cannon and everything went to hell."

"Jack," She whispered. "Is that what happened to him?"

"Yeah," I answered the same way, closing my eyes briefly. "He was taken, along with three other Hunters and a local. Mom grabbed me, turned the ground to lava, and sank us both into it before freezing the air solid above us to protect us both from the infection, but she almost died in the process; two members of Mom's team and Onyx escaped using their own means, as well, though not without costs of their own. Onyx had to tear off a leg, the other two escaped to another dimension of some kind, and…well, any attempt to really stop the Grimm at that point was pretty doomed. They swept right past us into the village and started tearing up the place. By the time I recovered from the burning and freezing and managed to secure an area enough to heal Mom, the situation was pretty bleak. And then the virus inside of Dad spoke to me."

I felt my grandmother react to that, a flash of confusion and then dawning understanding actually making it to her face.

"You mean—"

"I mean the virus," I nodded, predicting the question. "I know what the records say and they're wrong—it's sapient and it calls itself Conquest. When he gets inside people, he traps their minds deep inside, assumes control of the bodies, and then adjusts them as he sees fit. The reports of infected acting strangely and of the sickness driving them crazy? It's all a lie and a joke; he's in control the entire time."

"You're…" My grandmother's voice faltered and she hesitated, looking down at her hands. "You're sure? It wasn't just…it couldn't have actually been a case of the sickness turning your father against you? Or anything else?"

"I'm certain," I said firmly. "I dove into my father's soul to confront it directly and found my father trapped there in the process."

Grandmother opened her mouth at that, eyebrows rising and then furrowing even as her lips pulled upwards, but while she seemed to be trying to decide where to even begin, I kept talking.

"Once I'd confirmed that there was an intelligent Grimm present, I tried to learn what I could from him. He didn't give much away, but I managed to find out a few things during the whole thing; I'll get to that in a bit. Still, he's…Conquest is a huge asshole, but he's smart and a lot of the time he saw through my attempts, but there was one thing he confirmed. The Grimm want me for something—something they need _me_ to do. All the weird stuff that's happened so far, from Ziz to the Goliath, it was arranged for that purpose. Maybe not _just_ that purpose, but they went out of their way to keep me alive or make me stronger. I still don't know why, but I know that much for certain, because…Grandmother, I met the person responsible for it all. The one who created the Grimm."

Her mouth ceased trying to form words and simply dropped open, leaving her staring at me wide-eyed.

"What?"

"I met their creator," I repeated. "After I left Mom, I rushed into the town to learn everything I could about the disease and try to find a cure. I had to kill the other three infected Hunters in the process, but I returned with the power I gained from fighting them and faced my father again. I…well, that whole fight was a mess, but I managed to win and used the power I'd gain to force my way into my father's mind or soul or whatever. I freed him from the prison Conquest had made and together we faced him down and defeated them—but in destroying at least that part of him, we must have drawn the attention of his maker. We tried to fight him, but in the end we couldn't win, so we spoke one last time, my father ordered me to retreat, and…I did. And then I killed him, when He took over."

"Jaune," She whispered, tone strained. "That's…this is…"

"Hard to believe?" I answered. "I can prove it, if you want. I can show you the power I gain in Naraka or dive into your soul. I had Ozpin on my scroll the whole time and Mom was there if you want to ask her. You know about my power, about the Gamer's Mind. I'm telling the truth."

"I know," She replied. "If it was anyone else, I'd think they were lying or mad, but I know better when it comes to you. It's not that, it's just…This is all…"

I nodded quietly, giving her a moment before continuing.

"Yeah," I said. "It's a lot to take in even though I left out a lot. If you want, I'll try to show you everything I can later, but…should I tell you what I've learned thus far?"

"Why not?" She said, gesturing tiredly, and I began at once.

"Conquest infects the body and somehow uses that to seize control of the Aura. He confirmed our suspicions about Babel and claimed to have been responsible for their downfall—and honestly, I believe him. When I tried to save us from the Shell with Naraka, he shattered it and claimed he'd done it before, hunting down those who made the technique. He also displayed a great deal of knowledge about Aura, citing those he'd infected in the past as the cause. When I examined the infected and the mutations they experienced, I noticed that they _seemed_ to create matter out of nothing, but because of the absurd amounts of power that would require, I came up with an alternative theory—that they, and even _we_ , might instead be drawing from an external and possibly extradimensional source of matter and energy. When I spoke to Conquest about this theory, I managed to make him mention something called 'Malkuth Theory,' which might lend it some weight. I also managed to get confirmation on a notable set of Babel ruins I'll tell you off later and he implied that they, the strongest Grimm, were significantly more active in the past, implying that something was now holding them back, internally or externally."

I took a deep breath then, working my jaw for a moment as I considered my words carefully.

"Also, when we summoned his creator, he addressed me as 'old friend,'" I said at last. "Though his tone makes me severely doubt the friendship aspect of that, I do believe that he at least thought we had a history together and under the circumstances, I believe it might imply reincarnation in some form. Having given it some thought, it may actually explain some things, such as how my Semblance awakened before my Aura did, so…it's something I'm keeping in mind. At the very least, my power seems to be leading me in a direction I am not consciously aware of."

"Of course," She murmured, bowing her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. She was silent for a long, long moment, taking deep, slow breaths before at last looking back up at me. "Anything else?"

"Quite a bit, I'm afraid," I answered, looking her over carefully for the twelfth time even as I considered my options yet again. It had its risks but…no, I needed to stay focused here—and she was one of the few people I thought I could tell. Even so, I watched her carefully, monitoring everything from her physical body to her Aura to her emotional state, waiting to see how she'd react. Unlike Ozpin, I didn't have anything directly linking my Grandmother to the Grimm—I'd hardly read her biography, but there was nothing _obvious_ to be suspicious of. Furthermore, she'd long since expressed her opinion of Ozpin and though they were peers, they hardly seemed to be _friends_.

If Ozpin _was_ a Rider and if he _could_ pass that infection onto others, I could assume Atlas had long since fallen; the connection between Ozpin and Ironwood wasn't a hard one to make, and from there, the Riders could do as they wished with both Kingdoms. But Mistral, in the distrustful hands of the Families, might— _might_ —yet be safe. And if it wasn't, if he'd gotten even there, even to my grandmother and, if so, likely my sisters…best to find out now.

As it was, though, she was the closest I had to a safe test subject.

"Conquest was considered to be the 'White Rider,' a type of…Grimm Knight that, I believe, were designed to invade the bodies of living humans in pursuit of whatever their goal is," I said at last. "And there are more—I know of at least one for certain and I have suspicions of others. And if any of those suspicions are correct, I believe we may be in a great deal of trouble."

I watched her closely, paying attention to how she reacted to the news. She didn't know about my Empathy and so it was that which I paid the most attention to. She was afraid, of course—who wouldn't be in this situation? I knew she was smart enough to understand the implications, to realize what having an enemy like this _meant_. Creatures that could invade bodies, pretend to be just like us, steal the knowledge from our very minds. It was a security nightmare if there ever was one, something horrifying to even consider.

But more than that, the worst case scenarios must have been creeping in, worming their ways into her mind. Politicians, Hunters, Leaders, the most powerful people in the world potentially working against it. Beneath her fear, something harder emerged, something careful and considering. It didn't erase that fear, if anything it added to it, but it was something cold enough to work through such things. Understanding mixed with resolve and the fear never made it to her face.

"Who?" She asked, lifting her head to meet my eyes. "Who is it?"

"I can't be sure of anything yet," I admitted. "All of the evidence is circumstantial and currently impossible to verify. Under the circumstances, there remains a chance that it's just the paranoia taking its toll. But…the biggest suspect right now is Ozpin."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Building**

"Ozpin." She breathed, mask cracking at the edges as her eyes widened. Surprise—no, shock—mixed with a spike of terror so sudden it felt like a cold blade. I guess I didn't need to explain why Ozpin being a Rider would be horrifically bad and the emotions _seemed_ genuine. "Are you…how? When?"

"Years ago," I said. "I spoke to Ozpin about Babel, not to long before our mission. He said that in his youth, he went on a mission that killed several dozen Hunters and made it out as the only survivor."

"Yes," Grandmother nodded, eyebrows furrowed. "The mission near Jericho Falls; I've heard of it. Supposedly, the area proved to have an enormous population of very old Grimm. Was that not the case?"

"No, that that part was true," I shook my head before pausing. "Or, at least, it was true in the story he told me. However, they aren't the important part; after they killed his team and were about to kill Ozpin, _something_ interfered and shoved him into a barrier like Naraka, which presumably had existed alongside the area. Except, instead of being full of Grimm, the area Ozpin found contained an empty but otherwise intact Babel city."

My grandmother's jaw dropped again.

"A…an entire _city_? That's…" She trailed off, eyes turning to the side, seeming at a loss for words.

"It gets better," I told her. "Inside, he found something like a computer that he was unable to access due to a password protecting it. He and I began to develop a plan to get inside again and let me access the computer; I should be able to get inside the barrier with one of my new skills and I might be able to figure out the password as well. I still don't know what we'll find if we manage that, but given how Conquest reacted when I mentioned it, I'd say we really want to find out."

"Yes," She looked down at her hands with a frown. She nodded to herself as she considered it, but I could feel her distraction. "Yes, if we could somehow understand the information on it, the value of such a thing would be unbelievable. But how does this play into Ozpin having been taken?"

"Ozpin was stuck inside for a while, but he eventually escaped," I continued. "When he did, however, he was back where he started—completely surrounded by the Grimm that murdered over seventy other Hunters. But…they let him go."

"What do you mean they let him go?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"They just…" I shrugged. "They just let him walk away. Ozpin simply left and they didn't follow."

My grandmother looked at me for long minute.

"Okay," She bobbed her head once. "That _is_ rather suspicious. Anything else?"

I nodded.

"Originally, I believed that the Grimm were simply _unable_ to get past the barrier," I explained. "But Conquest claimed that he'd helped murder the people inside and he showed that he was able to at least get past my Naraka. If we assume that his words were true—and if nothing else, the barrier _was_ empty—then we must also accept that the Grimm _could_ have gotten inside. And if they consider the area to be important, which the number of guards would seem to imply, why wouldn't they have anyone inside of it? And given that it was one of the Riders who first displayed the ability, it could very well be another lying in wait. Furthermore, Ozpin didn't enter the barrier on his own, though he eventually learned how to escape; something _pushed_ him in."

"You suspect the creator of the Grimm?" She asked.

"Him or one of the Riders," I nodded. "The way Ozpin learned to escape might support that, too—but whatever the case, what happened there meant something. For the Grimm to have acted that way around him, he must be either an asset to them, which is what they seem to consider me, or an ally. The Grimm didn't attack my father or the other infected Hunters, for instance. The truth is, we don't know enough about what they're doing or how they work to say anything for certain, but…well, it's rather suspicious, you know?"

"Yes," She agreed, pursing her lips. "Could you see anything? I assume you looked him over. You saw Conquest, right?"

"I saw both Conquest and the Red Rider," I said. "The first was the easiest, if you can say that; he's a bacterial Grimm and he stands out. The Red Rider, though…the only difference I noticed in its host was the presence of an odd and seemingly inert chemical in her bloodstream; otherwise, she seemed like a normal human."

"How did you figure out she was a Rider, then?" My grandmother asked.

"Her title was 'The Red Rider,'" I explained and she tilted her head towards me in concession.

"Fair enough," She allowed. "And you can't see Ozpin's title yet? What level are you now?"

"Level Sixty-Nine," I answered. "And before you say anything, yes, that's a sex thing."

"Well, I'm not going to say anything _now_ ," She frowned. "Then…do levels go over a hundred then? Or is it something else?"

"I don't know for sure," I admitted again. "However, I believe I'm starting to suspect it goes over a hundred, because I can't see _your_ level, either. When I see her next, I'll check Raven out as well and see what other Hunters I can see now. I should be able to see levels up to one hundred and nineteen so finding someone that strong would confirm it. If that's the case, then increasing my own level enough should let me see Ozpin's title, which might tell us what we need to know."

She nodded.

"If it is Ozpin, though…" She whispered before pausing and seemingly having to force herself to continue. "If it is, then he would have had ample chance to infect…countless people. Every Hunter that's ever gone through Beacon at the very least; far, far more, realistically. And if he's spread his reach that far—"

"The good news is that I don't think he has," I said. "At least, not literally. Although Ozpin has a horrific amount of friends in high places, I believe his infection is on a personal scale. My leading hypothesis is that his infection is one of the soul and that it's not that it shows no symptoms but that the only symptoms I can see have been there since long before I was born. When I entered my father's soul, however, I found no obvious evidence of any infection but Conquest's—but then, Conquest's infection was rather extreme and might have hidden it. I intend to create a larger sample size to check."

She looked me over and I could practically hear the pieces click into place.

"Starting with your mother?" She asked, though it only barely sounded like a question.

"Yes," I confirmed. "She's worked with Ozpin for decades and is a powerful Huntress in her own right—and who, well, had a litter of other Hunters to potentially spread the infection to. Since she's currently disabled, she makes an ideal first test."

"She does," The Roma Matriarch acknowledged. "So why haven't you checked yet?"

I took a slow breath and closed my eyes for a moment.

"Last time I threw down in someone's soul, I lost," I told her as I opened them again. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm training my healing skill and a few other things before round two, just in case. There's too much on the line to act recklessly, regardless of the circumstances."

"There is at that," She smiled at me, traces of approval brushing my mind. "Then I suppose we should discuss what to do next, then? Even if you're correct and no one else is taken, that changes things only slightly—it may actually make things worse. As you said, Ozpin has a far reach in ways that have nothing to do with sapient infections; every Hunter in Vale would likely die to protect him. If we were to fight him directly, we'd most likely need to burn Vale to the ground to have even a chance at victory. Most likely Atlas, as well, though it's possible that Vacuo could be convinced to stay neutral for a time. Even then, however…"

Her tone made me tilt my head and focus on her a bit more intently. The implications of what she was say—the Kingdom's at war over the life of a single man, especially at a time like this—were horrific, but there was an undercurrent to the words that was, if anything, even more so. She wasn't talking like she was putting forth a plan, but more like—

"You don't think we could beat Ozpin, even if we went that far?" I asked.

She was silent for a moment, expression looking pained, before shaking her head.

"If I were to fight Ozpin, I would lose," She admitted, making a face as if the words themselves were bitter. "And if instead it was me and you and all of your sisters and the heads of the Mistrali Families fighting together…I'm not sure anyone would notice the difference. It is quite possible that the fight would be over before it began, in a rather gruesomely literal fashion."

"He's that strong?" I asked, feeling a bit surprised. I'd known Ozpin was a complete badass, of course, but I'd never seen him fight or even seen records of the battle. Ozpin seemed to fight only very rarely, from what I could tell.

"I've seen him fight," She said. "Once, a long, long time ago. During the War, Mistral assisted in the reclamation of Vale and…I was in the right place at the right time. I saw him fight the Queen's royal guard and the four Witches, if you can call it that. He's…he's a fucking time manipulator."

Ouch.

"How bad?"

"The worst I've ever seen," She answered. "He can stop it, slow it, speed it up, skip forwards and backwards in time, maybe other stuff—I've always thought he might be able to see the future to some extent, but that's just conjecture on my part, because the man has always had rather amazing timing whenever something important was happening. He appeared to be limited to 'local' time like most other manipulators, but even after all these years, I'm not sure how most of those men died. Fighting him directly…"

She shook her head.

"It would likely end very badly," She said. "He can be opposed in many ways, even defeated in some of them, but I've never thought of facing the man in battle. You…with your power, some day you might be strong enough to fight him, but…"

We were both silent for a moment at that.

"God thing I didn't intend to," I spoke at last. "I have my suspicions and I'm sure Ozpin suspects that I suspect, but I had no intention of throwing down with him any time soon—even diving into his soul is too risky right now. And like you said, fighting Ozpin means fighting something like half the planet, with a cost to high to make it worth it. Right now, there's nothing we can do about that and so I intend to continue working with Ozpin as normal; I just thought you should know, so we can work on solutions in the long term. I don't have a lot of people I can go to about stuff like this and even less who could help me. Right now, I'm just want to get you up to date, though."

"Noted, then," She sighed, lean forward slightly. "Who's the Red Rider, then? Hopeful someone who can be fought a little more easily, if necessary."

"Ruby Rose, Summer Rose's daughter."

Grandmother paused at that frowning again—probably wondering how that happened, like I had. After a moment, though, she shook her head.

"Could you defeat her?"

"Maybe," I said. "Currently, I'm worried that anything I do to her might awaken the Rider and I'm wary of making the attempt without further information of its capabilities. Ideally, my attempts to find a cure will bare fruit. But if they don't and it comes to that…I think so, yes. She's level fifty with an enormous focus on speed, but I'm fairly sure I can keep up with her as she is now and I've been training my own speed powers, just in case. There are, however, other factors."

"Of course there are," She closed looked at the ceiling and shook her head, seeming annoyed. "Her mother's team?"

"Partially," I nodded. "Her father is Taiyang Xiaolong, after all—but I'm actually more worried about the fact that her half-sister Yang is Raven's daughter. Should something happen to her, a response on that front seems likely."

"Naturally," She snorted. "Because why would anything ever be simple?"

She sighed slowly and rubbed at her eyes with a hand.

"I suppose now's as good a time as any, then," She muttered, perhaps to herself, before looking up at me. "Well, I don't have anything quite as apocalyptic to tell you, but things are happening in Mistral and I suspect Raven is involved."

"Oh?" I frowned. "What's happening?"

"I can't be certain—which in and of itself is rather concerning, considering that it's happening in _my_ city," My grandmother's lip seemed to curl slightly at the mere thought, baring her teeth slightly. "What I do know is that there has been a steady increase in White Fang activity as of late and Raven has contacted me several times to…reassure me that everything is under control. For the sake of our alliance, I have been staying out of this as much as possible, but it seems rather obvious that they're planning something."

"The White Fang?" I questioned. "Or that third faction we never found?"

That was a rather annoying loose end. I knew—or, at least, could be pretty sure—from the conversation I'd had with Mr. Fallow that the third party was a human, but that was pretty much all I knew. It implied a great deal in and of itself, however, because the White Fang seemed willing to work with them despite that fact, meaning it must have been someone with a lot of power. What _type_ of power, I didn't know, but I couldn't say I found the idea of an unknown running around very appealing. I hadn't been able to ask anyone outright without giving away that I had no idea myself, but even beyond that, very few members of the White Fang seemed to know anything.

Before I'd left Mistral, we'd decided to leave the matter be, figuring that with firmer ties between the Families and the White Fang, it was only a matter of time until introductions were made. And yet…

"Either or," She shook her head. "Raven herself has been irritatingly closed lipped on the subject and I haven't managed to find anything concrete. Whoever they are, they seem to work through several layers of proxies. I've found several I believe to be fairly high up the proverbial food chain, but as we are technically allies, interrogation wasn't an option. Alas."

"All this time and not a word?" I murmured. "That's surprising."

"It's insulting is what it is," She snorted. "First, I'd been unaware that Raven Branwen was working right under my very nose—now there's another and even having been tipped off, I'm struggling to learn their identity. It's even worse because I know who has the answers, but I'm not allowed to _take_ them. From what I can tell, however, they, whoever _they_ are, have taken great measures to remove themselves from the present scene. It seems likely that they are laying low and waiting for something, although for _what_ , I haven't the slightest idea. The White Fang is obviously involved, but as of yet they don't seem to _want_ anything."

"Odd," I agreed. "Perhaps Jian Bing would have an easier time getting answers?"

"The thought _has_ occurred," She tilted her head my way. "Allies we may be, but neither of our groups trust each other; I can't say I'm particularly surprised no one has opened their hearts to me. For _you_ , though…well, that's a rather different story, isn't it? And if nothing else, you have rather amazing eyes and ears."

"Thank you," I smiled at her, inclining my head back. "I've already arranged a meeting with Raven to discuss recent events, though I'm still deciding precisely what to tell her. I'll see what I can find out in the process—and failing that, I have a friend in the White Fang who I've asked to keep an ear to the ground. I should be able to learn _something_ , especially if they _are_ making a move."

I paused for a moment, a vague thought arising and slowly taking shape in my mind.

"Or perhaps…" I mused aloud, lifting a hand to my lips and nodding slightly to myself. "Perhaps this is an opportunity."

My grandmother looked up, raising an eyebrow as she saw my face.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked, resting an elbow on her knee.

"It occurs to me that this isn't a new issue," I said slowly. "This group, whoever they are, have likely been active in Mistral for quite some time."

She made a face at that, but nodded.

"And?"

"And I just remembered something from…well, it feels like a long time ago now," I cracked my neck, frowning. "When I returned from the White Whale mission, I found that Ozpin had been watching the whole time on my father's request. The implications of that are a bit more concerning in hindsight, but that aside, I remember him reacting very calmly to, you know, the whole international terrorism thing. He even mentioned something about whispers in Mistral and jokingly—or, at least, I assumed he was joking—proposed sending me to investigate."

"You think it might be related to this?" She asked. "Or…perhaps to the Grimm?"

"I don't know what to think," I admitted slowly. "But I can't help but think that between his concerns and your own…perhaps it deserves a more personal touch."

"Ah," She said, eyes widening for a moment and then narrowing in consideration. "You mean coming to Mistral?"

"I'd say it'd be a pretty good excuse to," I answered.

Because that's what it would be—an excuse. It would serve as a good justification for leaving Vale, at least for a while, and thus get away from the seat of Ozpin's power and from the watchful eyes of his cameras. I could cover myself with illusions, within Naraka, and even change who I was physically, but with Ozpin as a potential threat, I couldn't be certain if any of that was enough to _hide_ from him. Even more so, I doubted any of it would matter; we'd meet periodically to discuss what to do and prepare and I felt certain that he would monitor my growth closely, whether because he was a teacher or because he was a Rider. I could lie, but with the situations I might get into, the battles I might face…I couldn't be sure what I'd need to do or reveal. As allies, in appearance or in truth, trust would be expected and secrets thus harder to keep.

More than that, if he _was_ a Rider and he _was_ using his knowledge and power to guide me somewhere, then following his orders might be pretty dangerous. By staying _here_ in the city he controlled, letting him send me on missions and advise me in what to do, I could be doing exactly what the Grimm wanted me to—hell, they'd seemed disgustingly satisfied with everything I'd done so far, so maybe that was exactly what was happening. If I went to _Mistral_ , though, beyond where Ozpin could easily watch me, I'd have the opportunity to gain power, to plan and prepare. I could improve my skills and develop new ones, study everything I had access to, work in secrecy to develop countermeasures, and then return. It meant the advantage of surprise, the freedom to make my own choices away from prying eyes and subtle hands, and might, _might_ , be what I needed. If I could learn more about the Riders while I was away, prepare myself to face them, I might become strong enough to risk facing the Red Rider or to dive into Ozpin's soul to see the truth or—  
Or maybe not, I reminded myself. I still wasn't sure of anything. I'd considered it before, if the entire point of the Riders—Grimm that could, in theory, be anyone—was to drive us apart. We'd fear each other, question each other, doubt each other, and in our division, we'd be conquered. Ozpin had access to knowledge and power even I could scarcely imagine, control over all the Hunters of a nation and allies in many more, and decades of experience. I'd thought to myself countless times that Ozpin's help was invaluable. If I was wrong, could I afford to discard such a thing or push it away?

And if I was _right_ , did I dare to? If Ozpin _was_ a Rider, that would mean two—or at _least_ two—Riders were active in Vale doing who knows what. Could I take that risk, leave them unattended and unwatched? What if Ruby awoke or Ozpin did something major? Even with so many unknowns surrounding both, could I risk not being close by?

I had no idea. Each choice was filled with uncertainty, because _I_ was uncertain—lost, even.

But…even so, I had options. I knew enough to take a few chances and make some guesses. Looking back, remembering all of my conversations with Ozpin, the things that stood out the most were when the usually unflappable—even in the face of utterly horrific disaster—man was surprised. I remembered every time I'd seen him that way, but one…one stood out in particular.

When I'd told him about Raven.

She was the key, I thought to myself. If I had Raven on my side, even a choice as complicated as this one could be made simple. She could create portals from one Kingdom to the next like it was nothing, spy on people from massive distances, and so much more. With her help, I could get back to Vale in potentially moments, should it be necessary, and monitor the situation from the other side of the world. Just like that, most of the risks involved would disappear. And if so…

Slowly, the pieces began to fall into place.

"Yes," I said after a moment of silence. "It could work. And I think it might give us an opportunity, just in case our fears prove true. And…God, it's hard to say this, but in this particular case, maybe we're lucky."

"How so?" She asked, frowning at the words.

"I was thinking about the situation in Mistral—and that might help, I think, but even putting that aside, it seems things are already in order," I told her. "More than one person has taken me aside recently, to talk to me about what might happen next. Supposedly, a lot of Hunters who go through what my Mom has are…requested to move back in with their families, for a time. So that they can be watched over and looked after."

My grandmother said nothing for a long moment, looking down at her hands.

"Yes," She whispered at last and I knew she was catching on. Even so, I had to take a deep breath before continuing, choosing my words carefully.

"I love my sisters and my mother, but I'm not blind." I said. "I'm fully aware that the former have a lot of issues with the latter. I care too much about them to force them to take care of Mom and I care too much about Mom to rely on them to take care of her—and something tells me that any therapist that looks over our family is going to catch on to the problems of forcing them together anyway. And that…well, that leaves you."

She closed her eyes for a long moment, sighing.

"She hates me as much as your sisters hate her," She said at last. "For different reasons, perhaps, but…"

"But she was the one to call you here, wasn't she?" I told her and she frowned but nodded. "I think she did so for a reason. She probably knew how the system would handle her—and after everything that's happened, she wouldn't ask any of my sisters to take her in. So, she went to you. Will you do it?"

"Yes," She answered, sighing again and rolling her eyes. "Of course. She hates me, but the feeling has never been mutual."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Grandmother."

She grunted again, shrugging a shoulder.

"How long would it give me?" I asked. "To train and prepare, I mean."

"It depends on a number of things and how we handle the situation, I suppose," My grandmother considered. "The obvious answer is 'until she was deemed recovered,' but what that means is rather nebulous. For something as extreme as the loss of most of her limbs and the deaths of her husband and a teammate…three or four months wouldn't be unreasonable. Quite possibly as much as half a year, for safeties sake. We could also arrange things in other ways."

I nodded again, more slowly this time.

"Okay," I said to myself. "Okay. I'll make it work. I have to make arrangements and speak to Raven before we hammer out any specifics, but…I'll make do. Now then…there's some other stuff I need to tell you, but it can wait. Most of it's easier to show, anyway. However, there is something we should decide upon as soon as possible."

"Oh, what now?" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What should we tell my sisters?" I asked.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Presentation**

After we finished our discussion and came to an agreement, Grandmother and I went our separate ways to deal with our own business. Which, in my case, meant…well, not a whole lot. I got dinner started early, to compensate for the enormous amount of food that needed to be prepared, finished the laundry, and generally went about helping my sisters get situated.

When I left for the hospital later that night, my grandmother and Bianca were the only ones to come along. Mom was sleeping again when we stopped by, which didn't seem to concern Bianca much at all, but she and Grandmother spoke with Acer about her condition at the front desk. I healed Mom again to little effect and thought longingly about slipping into Naraka to train, but Grandmother and I had agreed I should wait for a while on that front, just until explanations could be given. Instead, I waited until everyone was asleep to fade into my dimensional barrier and spent the night grinding, leaving it at about four in the morning to make sure I was the first one 'up.'

Things continued along that vein for the next two days, the lot of us slipping into a new routine fairly quickly while Grandmother and Bianca made arrangements for my father's funeral. It was a fairly simple process, all told—in a profession like Hunting, people were taught pretty quickly to be prepared for death, and so my father had arranged his Will, funds, and all the paperwork long in advance. Really, it was mostly just a matter of juggling schedules and getting in touch with the right people at the right time. My sister's spent their days in town, making visits to old friends at Signal or Beacon, and, occasionally, wandering into the hospital for short, uncomfortable visits. But it was pretty obvious that we were all waiting for Sienna and Azure, for a number of reasons. The gathering wouldn't be complete without them, after all, and I'd decided to wait for everyone to arrive before telling them my fucked up story.

Although, I thought to myself as not being able to train as often became progressively more irritating, if they didn't show up soon, I'd just tell everyone here and let them get filled in later. Even though I gave myself ample time to train by visiting the hospital—which warded my sisters off like a plague—and I still had the nights free, I wasn't much for beating around the bush if I could avoid it. The only thing that held me back was the knowledge that things would likely go more smoothly if I dealt with all my sisters at once, so that I was on hand to avoid any misunderstanding.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait _too_ long. On the third day after my Grandmother and I spoke, the last of my sisters knocked on my door. I was making my way towards it before the first tap, having long since felt them coming, but opening door the to see their faces came as something of a relief.

"Sienna," I smiled. "Azure. Welcome back from Atlas."

"Jaune," The older of the pair said, giving me a sharp nod as her blue eyes met my own. She had a heavy coat and scarf hung over an arm and even with those removed, she wore a thick, long-sleeved shirt; a reminder of what the weather was like up in Atlas. She wasn't wearing the uniform she'd been in in the picture's my sister had shown me, but her outfit's colors were reminiscent of it, in greys and whites. She wore grey leggings, knee-high boots, and a dress skirt that looked like it had been ironed and pressed at some point. She peered at me for a moment with piercing eyes and seemed to wonder what to say after all this time—but after a moment she reached up to put a hand on my head. "You've grown like a goddamn weed."

 **The Prison of Frozen Screams  
LV 83  
Sienna Arc**

"Yeah," I said, smirking slightly. "It looks like I'm the tallest now, C."

She snorted and tossed her bag towards my face. I caught it out of the air wordlessly and threw it over a shoulder in one smooth motion.

"Then I guess you won't have any problem carrying all my stuff, huh, big guy?" She lifted an eyebrow challengingly, brushing back a lock of hair that had escaped from her bun.

"Not at all," I answered graciously. Truthfully, I barely felt the weight even as I picked up what seemed to be a bag filled with belts and belts and belts of ammunition. "I'll be glad to take it up to your room for you—you must be tired after such a long trip. Or I assume it was a long trip, since you're the last to arrive. Please tell me you're more punctual when you're on the job?"

She made a face, looking annoyed by the words.

"Forgive us," My other sister said, smiling at my apologetically. Unlike Sienna, she wore a light blue blouse and jeans, seeming to have already stored her jacket away in one of her bags instead of walking all this way carrying it. Her neck length hair was pulled back away from her face, and her smile was sunny. She didn't look much like a military scientist, but she did look just like I remembered her, down to the glasses that framed her blue eyes. Though last time I saw her, the glasses hadn't glowed or had quite so many buttons. "Had to make arrangements before we left, even for something like this. Are you okay, Jaune?"

 **Remnants of the Lost and Sunken City  
LV 89  
Azure Arc**

"Yeah," I said, smiling at her. "Now that everyone's here, at least—and I was just kidding, Azure. I know how busy you two must be. Here, let me take your bag—we're about to have lunch."

"You sure?" She asked as she looked up at me.

"Positive," I replied as I shifted out of the doorway to let them pass. I caught the strap of Azure's bag as she entered, but lifted it more gently then I had Sienna's, feeling the carefully packed boxes within. I turned as they went by and followed just a step behind until we walked by the stairs, where I broke off to put their bags up in their rooms. As I left, though, I heard my other sisters—or at least, those that had been waiting at the kitchen table—greet the new arrivals.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Shani began. "Do your superiors let you get away with being this—"

"Jaune already made that joke," Azure told her. "Minus fifteen points."

"Ugh," I could practically hear Shani grimace. "Dammit—I was gonna go with a Mountains of Madness joke instead, but I was unable to make it work in any meaningful capacity."

"Really, sis?" Sienna said with a sigh. "We see each other again after all this time and you barely put any effort into greeting me."

"Sienna, you're so _cold_ —"

"Nope," Azure said with an audible pop. "It's been ten seconds; you've lost your chance to make any ice related jokes or puns."

"Oh, come on—"

"Also," Sienna spoke over her. "It was a flat-out pathetic attempt. You can do better. Hello, Bianca."

"Sienna," My oldest sister greeted. "It's good to see you again. Is your job treating you well?"

"As much as ever," By the sound of her clothing, she'd just shrugged. "And you? How has Vacuo been since I left—"

"Indigo," I said as I pulled my attention away from my sister's conversation, glancing into the seemingly empty room on my left. "Sienna and Azure are here and lunch is almost ready."

There was a shifted and Indigo rolled out from under her bed, rubbing at her eyes with the back of a hand.

"I'm awake," She said. "What are we talking about?"

"Sienna and Azure are here," I repeated. "We're about to have lunch. Do you mind getting Olivia and Violet while I put these bags away?"

She stared at me blankly for a long moment, the words seeming to fail to penetrate, before she put her head in her hands and rubbed at her face vigorously. When she looked up again, she appeared calm and composed—or as much so as one could, having just woken up under their own bed.

"Right," She said, standing up. "I can do that. What are we having?"

"About six different types of soups and sandwiches," I answered. "I made your favorites, but I'll need to add some stuff for our new arrivals."

"Okay," She said, blinking rapidly. She looked around slowly, probably trying to remember where she was or who she was or why she was awake. Indigo tried her best, but she wasn't a morning person. She wasn't even a noon person. While my take on the subject was 'sleep is for the weak,' she was more of a 'sleep for a week' type of girl. Though looking at her now…

"You sleep okay?" I asked, feeling a bit concerned.

She frowned down at her bed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Not really," She answered at last. "But it's nothing. Violet and Olivia, got it."

"If you're sure," I said, a bit unconvinced. After all, I was able to feel her emotions. I made a note to check if she had any nightmares tonight.

But for the moment, I left the matter be and put my sisters bags away before going downstairs. Even having just woken up, Indigo worked fast and Violet and Olivia were waiting for me in the kitchen, talking with the others. I slid past them to do a bit more grinding for my cooking skill before getting everyone's plates ready. The moment I began setting food down, Grandmother walked in, as well—as per usual, by this point.

And for the amount of time it had taken to prepare, lunch ended in about two minutes, torn apart and devoured in a series of savage, violent displays. But that's a family full of Hunters, for you.

"So!" Shani said loudly, putting down her empty bowl. I hadn't bothered giving her a spoon and she hadn't bothered using one. "Now that the gang's all here, isn't there something you want to tell us Jaune?"

I smiled at her, a bit amused. She'd always been the least patient, though she'd respected my desire to wait until everyone was here.

"What?" Sienna lifted an eyebrow again, looking at her twin. "What's this about?"

"Jaune awakened his Semblance recently," Shani explained. "Got famous, too, and he said that was part of why, but he's been making us wait until he could tell all of us at once—and someone was _late_."

"I feel less guilty now that I know it meant making you wait," Sienna smiled but turned her questioning glance my way, as did Azure. Seemingly as one, the others followed suit, except for my Grandmother who was browsing on her scroll. She nodded her head slightly as I looked at her, however, and I smiled.

"Well, it's actually a pretty long story," I began. "And since we're on the topic, let's get some minor stuff out of the way."

I took a breath and Bai Hu rose around me, gently plucking the dishes from the table and depositing them in the sink without making me stand before placing his clawed hands on the back of my chair and standing quietly.

"First of all, I'm Jian Bing," I said, smiling.

My sisters just _stared._

I waited patiently with my glowing tiger at my back, calmly waiting for a reaction. I saw brows furrow, expressions slacken, and mouths open—but for several long seconds, no one said a word. They looked at me and then at each other, but seemed to struggle to form the words. To my surprise, it was Olivia that overcame her shock first, at least to some extent.

"Um," She began, looking down at the table and then up at me, raising a finger—and pulling it back to touch the side of her hand against her lips. She seemed to rethink whatever it was she was about to say before shaking her head and spreading her hands, seeming to give up. "What?"

I lifted a hand to stop her—not that she was going to say anything else, granted—and nodded in faux-understanding.

"Now, I know what you're thinking," I said. "'Jaune, you can't be Jian Bing—you're not a Faunus!'"

"Uh, that's…I don't really think that's what any of us are wondering. Rather—" Sienna began before I spoke over her.

"Well, the answer is actually quite simple," I continued, opening my status window and changing my titles deftly. One moment I was a human, the next I was a Faunus, my claws clicking slightly against the tabletop even as my tail wrapped around my waist. "I simple turn _into_ a Faunus whenever I feel the need, as part of my disguise. After all, who would ever suspect mild-mannered Jaune Arc to be the famous Jian Bing?"

"Did…" Shani was blinking rapidly. "Did you just use the words 'mild-mannered' in an actual sentence?"

"Now, I understand that you might find this concerning," I kept going, still smiling at them even as I shift back to my human form and ignored Shani's skewed priorities. "But don't worry—it's all just part of an international conspiracy. Grandmother's in on it, as is Ozpin if you want to ask him. I'm kind of a secret agent, though, so I'm gonna need all of you to keep quiet about this, so as to not blow my cover."

"Uh…" Violet looked around at the faces of the others, expression helpless. Beside her, Indigo seemed to regret being awake.

"Still, I wanted you all to know, just in case something happens," I told them, clapping my hands. "Now that you know my secret identity, you can call me in an emergency and you know not to, you know, kill me if something happens. Just remember that if we ever meet while I'm Jian Bing, we aren't supposed to know each other, so don't do anything to give it away. Also, there's a number of people who'll probably kill me if they find out about it, so try and avoid talking about it if you can—like, it turns out Raven Branwen's alive and part of the White Fang? And she can use these portals to spy on people from really far away without them noticing? So I'd rather she not hear about this just yet, because she might do something I'll regret, so just keep it to yourselves, if possible."

Bianca had her head down and was pinching the bridge of her nose as if a massive headache was coming onto her. Grandmother was playing some game on her scroll beside her, seemingly ignoring the proceedings, but I could see a slight smile on her face.

"I…" She began before her voice faltered.

"Don't worry, though," I assured her kindly. "That's just something I do in my free time and I just wanted to get it out of the way now. You see, I'm able to do all of this because of my Semblance, The Gamer, which allows me to live life as a game character. I have levels and can level up, I have stats and skills I can improve, I can see those sorts of things in other people, that type of thing. I'm really good at learning stuff because of it—the healer thing you and Shani asked me about? I've just been grinding my healing skill to a high level. I picked it up in a bookstore because my power lets me use 'skill books' to learn stuff, and that's how I got into the Jian Bing thing. Have you ever seen Bai Hu's temple in Vacuo? Apparently my friend copied stuff from the walls there and that's how I became Jian Bing. Well, various things happened to lead to that point, but that's more or less the story."

I looked around the table at all of their faces, took a deep breath, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Wow, it sure feels good to get that off my chest," I said. "I wanted to wait until you were all here, but it sure felt like a long time, you know? Well, I just hope that's clarified things so that nobody will be confused now. Does anyone want some ice cream to celebrate?"

The room was dead silent, though my grandmother seemed to be forcing herself not to laugh. I hoped she didn't hurt herself, because she was looking a bit strained. I looked around again, waiting for a moment, before shrugging.

"You know what? I'll get it." I offered, rising from my seat and going to the refrigerator, where I'd set the ice cream to thaw. Bai Hu reached out to open the cabinet and fetch several sets of dishes, as well as a scoop from the drawer. Nine scoops later, I walked back to the table, carrying the dishes between two pairs of hands and distributing them quickly before sitting down again. Even as I did, however, no one said a word, and I eyed them lazily before speaking again. "Also, for anyone who doesn't already know, my dog can talk—"

"Hello!" Gou shouted from the other room, breaking his somewhat prolonged silence.

"—And you're all aunts, now," I finished. "So, how have you been?"

No one answered for a minute until Azure let out a slow breath and pointed at me, mouth opening. It felt like a question was supposed to come out, but none came out and her finger was left bobbing in the air. She tried again, finger drawing a series of arcane shapes in the air as her mouth tried to form words. At last she just set it down.

"Wow," She said. "I, uh…I don't even know where to begin."

"Ask about his power," Grandmother whispered, making Azure nod, but her expression was so blank I wasn't sure she actually realized what she'd just been told to do.

"Right, right," She muttered. "So, uh, you have…game powers. You said that they…let you learn things fast? What kind of things?"

"Oh, all types of stuff," I answered. "I can project my soul into the material realm and do all sorts of tricks with Aura—"

Bai Hu waved at them.

"—Control the elements and summon Elementals—"

One by one, my Elementals appeared, Levant, Suryasta, Vulturnus, Xihai, and Ereb forming a loose circle around the table while Crocea Mors hummed quietly through the metal of the room.

"—Manipulate things like time and gravity—"

I Accelerated slightly to make my hands blur, even as I made the glass cup before me fall into the air and hang suspended upside-down.

"—And create pocket dimensions, among other things," I finished, snapping my fingers to shunt us into Naraka for a few seconds before returning us to regular reality.

Azure had started making small, strained sounds in the back of her throat around the time the Elementals appeared and rocked back in her chair for a moment before bracing herself on the table. She took several deep breaths before nodding and look up at me.

"That's nice," She said with more calm then I expected, looking around at the rest of our sisters. "So, uh, does one of you want to take this? I, um…I'm gonna need a minute. Jetlag and all."

"These are my friends, by the way," I nodded at my Elementals when no one said anything. "This is Levant, Suryasta, Vulturnus, Xihai, and Ereb, my Air, Fire, Lightning, Water, and Earth Elementals, respectively. And, of course, you remember Crocea Mors, who's now my Metal Elemental."

"Uh," Indigo said, drawing out the word for over ten seconds before swallowing. "Okay. Hello, everybody."

She lifted a hand and touched it to her face before just looking at the appendage silently, as if expecting answers from it.

"Bianca, _help_ ," Violet whispered harshly, making my oldest sister open her eyes at last, pulling her hand away from the bridge of her nose.

"Of course," She said, turning her head to face me full on. "You said Ozpin was aware of all this?"

"Yup," I said, reaching into my Inventory to draw my scroll out of thin air. She closed her eyes for a moment at the sight before focusing on me again as I went to contacts and found the Headmaster's number. He answered at the second ring.

"Hello, Jaune," He said. "Tell me it's not more bad news."

"Hope not," I answered brightly. "Are you alone, Ozpin?"

"Of course," He asked, furrowing his brow as he looked around warily, just to be sure. "I make a point to be quite careful in that regard. Why, Jaune?"

"Explaining something to my sisters," I replied, turning the scroll to face them. "You mind telling them that you're aware of the whole Jian Bing thing?"

"Ah," He said after a moment. "I suspected this would happen eventually. Welcome back to Vale, girls—I suppose this must be something of a shock. As Jaune has likely told you, I'm aware of his…shall we say, extracurricular activities and we have been working together. Needless to say, this is all heavily classified, for the safety of both your brother and your entire family."

"Of course," Bianca nodded once before gesturing vaguely at me. "But you know what's going on?"

"As much as I ever do, Bianca," Ozpin said before I turned the scroll back my way. "Will that be all, Jaune?"

"For right now, yeah," I nodded. "I'm gonna need to talk to you about something later, but I figured it was best to have this talk now and avoid any misunderstandings, you know? Hope it wasn't any trouble."

"Not at all, Jaune," He lifted his mug towards me and smiled. "Just stop by my office when you need to speak to me and take care."

"And you," I replied, hanging up before quirking an eyebrow at my oldest sister. Bianca took a deep breath and bobbed her head once.

"As long as someone fucking knows what's going on," She said. "I'm out. Anyone else?"

Again, there was a prolonged silence and I scanned the table slowly to meet their eyes one by one. Most of them were rather glassy, still, but I nodded and rose.

"I guess it's a lot to take in, huh?" I mused, smiling at them. "Well, perhaps a quick break would help us all. I'm going to go train in my pocket dimension for a bit, so why don't we continue this later?"

I waved at them once before fading into Naraka and walking off.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Silenced**

Once I was outside my house and alone within an empty world of my own creation, I took a seat and gave a sigh, the last hints of my smile fading.

"This…" I mused aloud, going back over everything I'd said and done. "This should be enough."

The way I'd spoken of it, breezing past the international terrorism and horrific danger as blithely as I could even as I emphasized the new breadth of my power…it should keep them from worrying too much, at least for now. I'd told them the truth, but colored it with so much improbability and ridiculousness that it shouldn't seem as bad as it might otherwise. By pairing the risks to my life with talking dogs, the dangers with a casual call to the most powerful man in the world, and by keeping the news coming fast and hard, I changed the tone of the story to something more to my liking. Shocked as they were, I knew they'd recover soon and start asking questions, but this should keep them away from the painful answers. The difference between a comedy and a tragedy was in the telling, after all.

This was what Grandmother and I had decided to tell them. Unfortunately, it went without saying that we couldn't let them know about everything that was going on; both to spare them the pain and to avoid putting them in danger, there were things that needed to go unsaid. Learning about the Riders when they had no way of telling who around them was or wasn't infected, knowing that I'd had to fight and kill our father, hearing about the Dust crisis that they couldn't really do much to help against…all those things and more, I couldn't tell them about.

With the way things were now, forcing those things upon their shoulders and making them live with the knowledge wouldn't make their lives better. It wouldn't even really make them _safer_ , not even the stuff about the Riders. No, all it would do is take away a lot of beautiful lies and give back a lot of painful truths. I couldn't do that to them, not without reason. Later, if there was a way for them to help without putting their lives in pointless danger, I'd tell them and ask for their assistance, but for now there was a reason we were keeping the news quiet and the word contained. It wasn't just a matter of trust, but one of cruelty and kindness.

So instead, I trusted them with some of my biggest, personal secrets—stuff that could put me in tremendous danger if word got out or even kill me, but which they could safely live with without too much alteration to their everyday lives. I did it and I did it fearlessly, because I knew they wouldn't let me down, not when they knew that I was acting with Ozpin and Grandmother's permission. That's why I'd brought it up, after all. However much I loved them—and however much I knew they loved _me_ —I recognized the dangers in not doing so. Because even if I loved my sisters, that didn't change the fact that we hadn't seen each other in years. They'd grown up, had lives of their own, probably developed loves and loyalties far away from me. That wasn't a slight against them, it was just a fact of life, and I understood it; after all, I'd done the same thing, hadn't I? In less than half a year, look how much I'd changed, how much I'd done, how many people I'd met. I'd made a lot of friends, found purpose and direction, and even, to some extent, made a place for myself in the world.

And even if I tended to live a more…extreme life than most, they'd done the same thing. _Everyone_ did, at some point, though we could go in vastly different directions—or directions that conflicted. In their case, they'd all passed through Beacon and then scattered through the world to find where they belonged as Hunters and defenders of all sorts. Sienna and Azure had even joined the military in Atlas, a place I'd robbed in several different ways, if for good reasons. I didn't want to make them have to choose between all of that and me, so…I'd found a solution. I'd told them—truthfully—that Ozpin already knew about it, that even everything had been done with his knowledge and permission. As people who'd been trained by him, they would be able to understand that, accept what I was doing with minimal conflict with their lives and without risk of later feeling betrayed, should they find out my secrets some other way. They'd know about me, about what I was doing, understand who I was if they met me in my other suit, and that…that was enough for now. I was as content with it as I really could be, given the situation.

I sighed and closed my eyes, my Elementals approaching and circling me silently both in an act of comfort and of preparation—but I didn't combine them just yet, because I still needed a moment to think. Everything was falling into place now; I still needed to meet with Ozpin and Raven and to finish up a few things, but then it would be off to Mistral to…continue planning and preparing, I suppose. But for now, that was pretty much all I _could_ do, wasn't it? When I was more free to act, perhaps I'd find a way to move off the defensive, but I didn't know enough about the plans I was at the center of to do anything at the moment.

Except for this.

Calling up my status screen, I considered it quietly for a moment, weighing my options one last time. Even with the possibility that levels went over a hundred, it hadn't been easy to decide how to distribute my points—after all, possibility didn't necessarily mean ease and gaining levels got progressively more and more difficult, while the reward remained static. No, it was best to be careful with my points…but I'd decided.

Slowly, I began to raise my Intelligence. Even though the benefit of increasing my Wisdom again was hard to ignore, so was the synergy between my two mental stats and, if my vastly improved MP regeneration was anything to go by, it would be worth the cost.

I just hoped what was true in theory was also true in practice.

 **By raising INT above 150, you have gained two random abilities related to your advanced mental state.**

 **The skill 'Extrasensory Perception' was created.**

 **The skill 'The Mathematician's Answer' was created.**

 **By raising INT above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Quick Soul.'**

 **By raising INT above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Hyper Soul.'**

 **By raising INT above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Mana Reactor.'**

I closed my eyes, shuddering slightly as I felt the changes sweep through me—and had to pause for a moment when closing my eyes ceased to do anything. I could still see the world around me, but in a way that was hard to truly explain. I could see my house, the street, trees, and also a general dimness that seemed to surround most of my body—

Without bothering to open my eyes, I tapped my status screen to remove my shirt and watched as my perceptions changed again, some of the darkness fading away. It took me a moment to truly wrap my head around it, but if I was seeing with my skin then the odd sensation I was feeling must have been light. Somehow, I could _feel_ the light touching my skin and it made sense in a way that my brain could interpret as an image.

And it wasn't just light, I realized as I opened my eyes. I focused on a nearby tree and…and felt how course the bark was with my eyes. In a way that was difficult to explain, I switched my senses and tasted it instead, before focusing down the street. At a thought, Vulturnus pointed and a distant tree split with a startling crack—a crack I heard long before the sound reached me, because I could _see_ it and as light carried the image to my brain, the sound seemed to follow it.

Somehow, it seemed my senses had…merge. I could taste, hear, smell, and touch anything I could see—or see what I could feel or see what I heard or any other combination. It took me a moment to focus my attention on my eyes, in fact, because with all five of my senses seemingly one, it took me a moment to separate my eyes from everything else.

And then a thought struck me. Was it just _five_ of my senses? Because I had significantly more than that.

I shifted my sight into the infrared and heard it before snapping back to ultraviolet to feel it on my skin. It wasn't simply seeing with my skin—I felt it and saw it and everything else at once, hearing and feeling the wavelengths for the first time. If it was like this, then I bet I could even listen to songs on radio waves or watch TV by looking into the sky. It was…at once really, really weird and amazingly cool, so I brought up the skill I suspected to be responsible.

 **Extrasensory Perception (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The inborn ability to perceive the world through the broad senses of the mind, rather than the limited ones of the body. Takes many forms dependent on the mentality and natural abilities of the user, but can grow with time and training. The power of this skill increases with level, INT, and through related abilities.  
Active effects:  
Expands Clairvoyance to encompass low levels of Clairaudience, Clairalience, Clairsentience, and Clairgustance. Improve by increasing level and INT.  
Low-ranked Clairsentience allows touch-range abilities may be used at a range of 5 meters. Improve by increasing level and INT.  
Other abilities will be unlocked with higher levels.**

I took a deep breath and considered that, letting my senses open up once more. As the world opened up into patterns of taste and sensation, I let my power flow out of me. As it said, I could feel the world in my immediate vicinity as if I were touching it with my hands, power ready to flow out of me and take shape beyond the reach of my skin, but somehow still contained within me. While I'd long been able to attack at range with Far Strike, this was something different and perhaps even more useful. Even just the ability to heal at range opened up many new options and that was far from the only skill I had that required touch—just taking into account my healing and my buffing skills meant that even a slight range increase opened up a world of possibility, and Longshot may well improve that further.

But that was what Intelligence did, wasn't it? If Wisdom let me make the right choice, Intelligence gave me more options to choose _from_. If this was what my new Extrasensory Perception was capable of at level one, I couldn't wait to see how it developed. Clairaudience, Clairalience, Clairsentience, and Clairgustance were the Clairvoyance equivalents for hearing, smell, touch, and taste and they all seemed to benefit from the strength and breadth of my enhanced sight—but if Clairsentience could let me 'touch' things at range, I wondered how the others would improve over time. Already, I could feel my senses sharpening, but only time would tell what would come from it and what other doors ESP might open.

And if this was just the effect of one of my random skills, what did my other skills do? I felt different, of course, not just in body but in soul—but I wasn't sure exactly what that meant. My Semblance had proven that it could change me in all sorts of ways, imposing things that others could only be born with, but simply standing here and feeling the change…the only way I could describe it was that I felt like a circuit, somehow, as if electricity were flowing through my veins instead of blood. Something powerful and quick, but oddly…not foreign, despite how alien the sensation of it was, yet I had no idea what such a thing _meant_.

I _could_ fetch the answers with a thought, however.

 **Quick Soul (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
Denoting an inherent malleability of the soul, this skill allows the user to easily shape their Aura into useful forms, greatly lowering the charge time of other skills in the process. The effectiveness of this skill increases with user and skill level.  
Reduce the casting time of all skills by 6.9 seconds. If this reduces the minimum charge time of a skill to zero, the skill may be cast instantly up to 6.9 seconds of charge; further charge time functions as normal.  
MP costs are unaffected.**

 **Hyper Soul (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those born with souls naturally able to contain and conduct great amounts of energy, this skill allows the user to channel great power into their other skills. By increasing the cost of a skill and charging it for a time, the user may greatly increase its power. The length and breadth of this skill increase with skill level and INT.  
All skills without prolonged effects may now be charged. Both cost and effect increase with charge time.  
Skills that already possess charge times increase their maximum charge time by the amount granted.  
Current charge time granted: 5 seconds.**

I stared at the screens for a moment, blinking once, twice—and then lifting my hands as that current inside me focused in an instant. After a moment's thought, I decide sticking with the MP base would be enough and in the next instant I held a Magic Missile in my right hand. Deciding on a target without turning my head, I pulled back my arm and hurled it with all my might, blowing a hole through a nearby tree's trunk and leaving it to fall with a heavy crash. Making back the MP I'd spent in a fraction of a second's time, another glowing lance appeared in my left hand and I sheered down another tree just as fast, before wrecking the ground floor of a nearby house with half a dozen more, only stopped as the building came crashing down with the sound of tearing wood and breaking glass.

This…this was another game changer. I'd all but expected it as it seemed to happen with every milestone my skills reached, but…this surprised even me. I'd long since abandoned any skill with a charge time, because in combat as high-paced as what I now had to deal with, it simply wasn't feasible. A six second charge may not _seem_ like much, but it's the next best thing to forever when you're moving fast enough to leave the sound barrier in the dust—and in those six seconds, I could easily exchange hundreds of blows with my hands instead and do far more damage through sheer quantity. With the amount of strength and attack speed boosters I'd gained especially, things like my Magic Missile simply weren't practical and I couldn't afford to use them in a fight.

The downside of that was that it meant not taking full advantage of my Elemental powers. After a certain point, they _needed_ a charge time—skills like Magic Missile, Far Slayer, and Flare drew upon too much power to be used any other way. As my Wisdom increased, I'd gained access to more Elements to choose from, but taking full advantage of them took too much time; I could do 'small' things like throw fire balls or even shoot a plasma bolt, but preparing something massive was simply unfeasible.

Except it _wasn't_ any more. Sure, the cost was relatively high, both because of the charge and the low level, but that wasn't a concern—compared to my swiftly regenerating MP, my time was a _far_ more valuable resource. Even with a base cost of eighty MP, I could easily use Magic Missile four times a second, which meant two hundred and forty times a minute, fourteen thousand four hundred times an hour, and three hundred forty-five thousand six hundred times a day, if I really wanted to train it. Far more than that, really, because the cost of the skill would swiftly drop if I cast it that frequently and the number of times I could use it would only increase as its level rose.

Suddenly, a wealth of new options had appeared before me. And with Hyper Soul backing it up…

I assumed that by 'prolonged effect,' it meant things like my buffs and barriers—which was a little unfortunate, but perhaps that would change over time. Even with that limitation, though, it was undeniably an extremely useful skill, which would greatly improve the effectiveness of the 'quick' skills I'd been using before, especially when paired with Quick Soul—to say nothing of what it would mean if it worked with things like Bai Hu's style. More than even those, however, what it could do to things like my _healing_ …

It was something I was excited to test for myself, but before that, I wanted to consider the rest of my newfound options. Of the five skills I'd gotten, those two seemed almost designed to work together—which made sense, honestly, as they weren't random skills. But what of the third, then?

 **Mana Reactor (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
Given to those with souls capable of drawing upon great power in times of need, this skill greatly increases the user's MP regeneration when their power runs low.  
Triple MP regeneration when MP is below 10%.**

I did some quick math in my head and smiled at the results. That increased my MP to over a thousand MP per second, so long as my total MP was low. If it was that high, I could greatly increase the number of skills I could grind at once—maintaining Acceleration's first level on top of everything else wouldn't be too difficult with that much MP. If I supported it with the HP to MP conversion that the White Tiger of the West allowed, then even more so. I'd need to adjust the amount of power I supplied Aureola to help keep my MP below ten percent, but…

Yes. It had been a good idea to improve Intelligence again, opening up a slew of new options. At this rate…without a doubt, keeping INT and WIS balanced seemed like the way to go. Already, Summon Elemental was climbing towards level ninety-eight and Soulforge Restoration was in the upper nineties as well. I'd been worried about whether I had enough time to truly prepare for what I was getting into, but maybe…maybe I'd be okay. Three to six months in Mistral was time enough to improve in all sorts of ways. I'd have the freedom I needed to train and hunt Grimm, time to experiment, the chance to truly access Alexandria's library—

Maybe this would be enough, I thought. Maybe I'd figure it out.

But I had one skill left, didn't I? Curious, I brought up the profile of the Mathematician's Answer.

 **The Mathematician's Answer (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
A skill granted to those who have learned to wield their great intelligence as both a sword and shield, applying mathematic principles to real situations. Although greatly improving the user's ability to perform calculations as a side effect, this skills main purpose is to broaden the natural effects of INT, owing to the user's heightened thought processes. INT may be used to improve or replace DEX and LUCK for applicable purposes, such as enhancing attempts at evasion, greatly improving the accuracy of attacks, or improving the likelihood of Critical Hits.**

I cooed slightly at the thought, lifting my gaze to a tree I'd left standing and quickly plotting out a number of different ways I could topple it, just to see if I could. With nothing but stationary targets around me, there wasn't any way to really check, but…I thought it felt a little easier to aim now. At the very least, I felt certain my attack would land exactly where I aimed it—so much so that I hadn't even thought about it when I tore down those trees before. It seemed as simple as breathing, something that didn't deserve or require thought. Regardless, while the skill itself wasn't applicable for what I was doing right this second, it would undoubtedly come in handy soon enough. I'd need to test it more, of course, but really, it was just amazing how gaining new superpowers can improve one's mood. Already, I was feeling a tad optimistic again.

Closing the various windows with a small smile, I stretched for a moment, cracked my neck, and looked at my Elementals.

"You guys must be tired of being Basic Elementals," I said. "And today's shaping up to be a pretty good day, all things considered. Let's see if we can't get Summon Elemental to ninety-nine to top it all off—and maybe we'll see what some of these new skills can do in the process, too."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Fourth Interlude – Bianca Arc**

It was amazing how much things changed, she thought as she made her final rounds through the house. And it was amazing how much they didn't.

Proving that old habits did in fact die hard, she'd quickly fall back into checking on the others before going to bed herself. It was an old tendency, born from being the oldest and needing to look after the others—but it was long since outdated. Even if she did nothing at all, she knew they'd be fine now, strong as they were.

But she checked on them anyway.

Olivia had fallen asleep with almost enviable ease. The only sign that she was at all put off by being back at home was that way her room seemed almost hazy, as if looking into a mirage. The moonlight swept in and refracted oddly, casting twisted shadows along the walls, and though the room was empty, there was a feeling of occupancy that surrounded Olivia, as if the room were packed with invisible figures. She stopped by the doorway for a moment before continuing on, knowing Olivia didn't need any help to feel safe.

When she came to Indigo's room, however, she made sure to go inside and check under the bed. Shadows slithered around her body like snakes, thick enough—real enough—that in places her limbs seemed to be consumed by them. In others, they actually _were_ , drawing Indigo literally into the shadows and creeping over her skin. Partially submerged as she was, she seemed too thin, almost warped. It reminded her of the first time she'd seen her sister like this, when in the darkness she'd mistaken the shadows for blood and thought something horrible had happened to her sister.

But that was a long time ago and she knew better. Despite the rumors that had been born from their different Semblances, they'd always gotten along well—and she was thankful for her sister's power and how it kept her safe. Putting her hand on the floor beneath the bed, she watched as her sister's shadow moved to touch her own; a gesture of reassurance from Indigo's guardian angel.

Reaching up, she gently turned off Violet's old headphones and stood to leave her sister to sleep. Whatever nightmares she had, the shadows would tend to.

Azure's door was unsurprisingly open, extending an invitation that she silently took. Leaning against the doorframe, she looked into the still well-lit room and saw Azure leaning back against her bed rest, eyes heavy. Their gazes met for a moment, but this was almost traditional now and neither said a word even though there was no risk of actually waking anyone. In moments they both turned their attention back to the proceedings.

Her sister had summoned her friends, animating the contents of a few water bottles into something far more. Their amorphous forms were blue at the edges, but they darkened swiftly as they approached the center until they were pitch black but for the many spheres that served as their eyes. _Those_ were pure orbs that glowed the color of the ocean and floated on the skin of the creatures, occasionally shifting position to better focus on their work. In a cleared section of the floor were scattered materials, with small blocks of metal, wood, and paper, as well as various other materials for them to make use of—and they had, forming things like mouths and claws to facilitate the process. Thus far, they'd shredded about a fourth of the blocks and had repurposed the remains into a series of miniature lathes, crucibles, forges, and various other implements. One of the small entities seemed to be using its own body to contain and mix chemicals, until the production of the glassware and basins were complete. Having watched the entire process several times, she estimated that they'd been at work for perhaps half an hour, and that it would be some time yet until they finished their end goal, whether by lulling Azure to sleep or by completing the construction of their broadcasting tower.

Either way, it was a process that never ceased to amaze her. When she'd gotten messages from her sister after first leaving for Signal, it had come as both a shock and a relief—and then she'd seen the full extent of Azure's power and it had left even that amazement in the dust. She'd known from the beginning that Azure would build great things, some day, and had spoken to a few friends at both Signal and Beacon to ensure she had the opportunity to excel.

And she had.

After perhaps ten minutes, she left, trusting that her sister's friends would shut off the lights when they were done.

Sienna's room she merely looked into, feeling the chill. It was silent in a way so deep it was hard to truly fathom, cold in a way that numbed at the touch, but her sister was then in the center, lost in her frozen sleep. She'd wake by morning, life and motion returning the moment it was time to rise, but for now she was still and gone. She whispered a goodnight at the door and moved on, swinging into Shani's room to straighten the covers she'd all but tossed from the bed. Her mouth was open and her limbs splayed to take up as much room as physically possible, but she seemed to be sleeping well enough. Knowing her sister as well as she did, she didn't hesitate to move her physically in the process of tucking her back into bed.

Finally, she moved onto Violet, who sat on her bed with her new headphones, listening to what was undoubtedly loud music. Her eyes were closed, but as she moved by her door, one of her eyes opened and light shined through the room from the glowing orb. She paused for a moment to look back at the first of her sisters, but there was no need to remind her of her bedtime any more so she just smiled slightly and nodded. Blinking her glowing eye, Violet smiled back, lifting a pair of fingers to her lips and then extending the fingers her way, blowing an imaginary kiss.

Having fulfilled her need to make her rounds, she went back in the direction of her room, pausing half way to lean against a wall and heave a silent sigh.

His room was still empty, even though it was approaching midnight. She wasn't worried, knowing he was surely safe in that…pocket dimension of his, but it had still been hours since he'd left. A part of her had expected him to return as soon as the shock wore off and another thought he'd come back once the storm rolled over, but there'd been no sign of him since his departure. It was an odd feeling, not knowing where he was or when he'd return.

But then, this entire day had been odd. They'd talked about it amongst themselves when he didn't return for supper, but it was still hard to wrap her head around. Her brother was Jian Bing, the wanted terrorist. Her brother was working with people like Ozpin and Grandmother, apparently as some kind of secret agent, tangling with the White Fang and terrifying figures like—apparently—Raven Branwen. His power apparently made him a video game character, whatever that really meant.

It was a lot to take in, but she understood the gist of it well enough. Her little brother had grown up, like the rest of them had, and he'd gotten stronger. Even if she struggled to understand his words and the true implications escaped her, she could understand that much, at least. She could even say that she was proud of the fact, glad that he had apparently found what he was looking for, at least in some sense.

But…she was sad, too. An odd feeling, especially for how conflicting it seemed, but one that was there nonetheless. She'd never wanted this life for him and had thought—or maybe hoped—that he'd find something else. There were lives that were…perhaps not as glamourous as being one of the defenders of mankind, but which certainly seemed to make one happier in the long run.

Because you don't live this life without losing anything, she thought. It doesn't matter how strong you are, how smart you are, or how lucky you are—you'll lose something eventually if you play this game long enough. It was just a matter of when and what. Eventually, something goes wrong or someone fucks up, and the biggest secret, the one that was hardest to swallow, was this: It doesn't have to be you. You don't have to be the one to make a mistake. You don't have to be the one that does something wrong or who messes up, but the consequences can still mess _you_ up. You can do everything right and still lose, because someone on another team made a mistake or because of something completely beyond your control or simply because reality can be a ruthless bitch at times.

And sometimes, you don't even need to be involved to lose something.

She closed her eyes and pushed the memories away, gloved hand rising to her heart. As she did, though, she couldn't quite push aside the worry she felt for her little brother. She wondered how long it'd take for something to happen to him.

Perhaps something already had, she couldn't help but think. He'd said that he'd been on that mission with their father—as a healer, he'd claimed, but she knew he was more than that now. What happened to him?

Or was she over thinking things? He'd seemed relaxed when he'd revealed his secrets, happy even. Like it was nothing he couldn't handle.

But then, she'd seemed that way, too, every time she'd lied to him about her training. She hadn't wanted him to worry and she was sure he must have been thinking the same thing about them. They'd all done this at some point—take everything onto their shoulders because it would hurt less than making the others bear any of the weight. She understood that, truly, but…

She was torn from her thoughts as the light changed. It was a subtle thing, something perhaps no one else notice, but for her the world was startlingly bright, even at night. She felt almost like she was standing in an endless, white plain as light poured down around her, the brilliance broken only by dark shapes and shadows—buildings, trees, people. It was too much to truly keep track of, but she felt something stir as a new shadow appeared, close to her home.

Close to her family.

An instant after the sensation struck home, she swung around, a point of light erupting in her hand. She felt its birth not as her power focusing as so many people had told her it should feel, but as a pulling and a rending, a gate opening to that white plain. It grew from a pinprick, a tiny opening that she summoned power from, but it was nothing more than light seeping out beneath the proverbial doorway as she prepared herself. For a moment, however, she considered opening it further, to unleash a torrent of power that would erase the intruder—

But it was just a though, a reflex she'd long learned to bite down on. She wasn't the little girl whose power would merely blow holes through walls, any more; if she opened that doorway here, it would burn a scar across Vale and kill thousands. As she always did, she took a breath and held back the power, focusing so that only a small bit would pass through the opening, and in that split second she recognized the shadow, however vaguely.

Drawing back her power, the doorway closed, smoothing into the rippling pattern she felt around her body. Focusing harder, she slide herself further out of the brightness and then walked down the stairs just in time to see the door open.

"Jaune," She greeted quietly. "Welcome back."

He didn't seem surprised to see her.

"Sorry for being late," He replied, smiling slightly at her. "I got caught up in the middle of something, but I wanted to wish everyone good night. Going to bed early?"

She nodded slightly, watching him closely. As far as she could tell, he looked exactly the same as when he left, but there was something…different about him. Something hard to pin down.

"There was nothing on," She said at last. "So most of us decided to go to our rooms after supper and just use our scrolls. And you?"

"I don't sleep anymore," He answered back, shrugging slightly. "I don't need to eat or drink, either, if you can believe it."

She thought back to days lost in the deserts of Vacuo, of scorching days and frigid nights that she hid from in her world of light. Days without food, water, or anything else and yet it had been like no time at all had passed when she reached the city walls again. She nodded at him once.

"I can," She told him, slowly making her way down the stairs. "You'll be fine, though? You're sure?"

"I'm sure," He said and she took a seat on the stairs, watching her for a moment before joining her. His smile was slight but easy as he stared ahead, seemingly relaxed. "I've tested it pretty extensively. I've only slept three times in about six months or so and I feel fine. And whatever happens, my body's really good at healing, so…I'll be fine."

Even now, even this close and searching, she couldn't feel anything from him. No, that wasn't quite true; it wasn't an _absence_ of presence, per se, but rather something that didn't stand out. He was there, but he seemed to blend easily into the world around him, something calm and natural. Even searching as she was, his Aura seemed as tranquil as the smooth surface of a still lake. It was a subtle thing—so subtle that when she'd first seen him, she hadn't picked up on it, hadn't noticed that anything was or should be different. But now…

She followed his gaze and stared out into the night outside their windows, wondering again about how much had and hadn't changed. Here they were again, the oldest and the youngest, so close and yet so far apart.

"You've gotten strong, Jaune," She spoke suddenly, but though his gaze turned her way, his eyes didn't change, almost as if he'd been expecting the words. "I'm proud of you."

"Aw, thanks," He said, bumping her shoulder as she voiced her earlier thoughts. "I'm proud of you, too."

She snorted, bumping him right back before resting an elbow on her knee and her chin on her palm.

"We didn't get a chance to talk about it, earlier," She brought up after a moment's consideration. "You have a minute?"

He leaned back, resting his elbows on the steps behind them even as he kicked out his legs.

"You're doing a lot of dangerous stuff, aren't you?" She asked, closing her eyes. "You talked like it was a joke, but…"

He sighed but didn't answer.

"It must be a family thing," She continued after a beat of silence. "To want to bear everything on our own and protect each other even if it hurts. I guess I don't have much right to call you out on it, so…so I won't. I won't tell you to stop, as long as you're sure you'll be okay. If you are, I'll trust you to handle it."

She opened her eyes to look at him and saw him considering her right back. She'd expected a quick answer, like Violet would have given, but he seemed to be choosing the words carefully. She was glad about that, at least, since it meant he was taking her words seriously, but it just reminded her of how much things had changed.

"What if I wasn't sure?" He asked, tone musing and curious in equal measure. "What if it was something I don't know will turn out okay but can't afford not to try?"

"Then if you were in danger, I would do everything I could to save you," She promised. "Even if it cost me my life. I decided on that a long time ago."

He sighed again and then gave her a half smile.

"Stuff like that is why I wouldn't want to call you for help," He told her before clicking his tongue. "I guess I'll just have to become strong enough to handle things on my own, then."

She huffed out a slight laugh and shifted her stare back forward.

"I'd say something about that not being the healthiest of mindsets," She began. "But I'm not really one to talk. Just remember that I…that we're here. Whatever else you are, you're our brother and if you need help, we're here."

"I know," He replied, his voice a low murmur that still seemed to carry. The smile on his lips hand faded, but the quality of the expression seemed to change. "And I'm here, too, you know. I've gotten stronger—strong enough to help you if you're in danger. Whatever happens, if you need me, I'll come running."

"It'd be really embarrassing to need to be saved by my little brother," She chuckled again. "But I'll keep it in mind."

They were silent for a minute and then she sighed, turning her head to face him.

"If something happens to you," She started only to pause. "If you find yourself in danger as Jian Bing—"

"I won't let it be traced back to any of you," He promised, eyes meeting her own. "I won't let my choices infringe upon your lives."

She frowned at him and shook her head.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," He whispered and the smile he gave her was a bit sad. "But let's leave it at that, okay? It'd be embarrassing to get saved by my older sister, you know?"

She snorted again, rolling her eyes and looking away.

"If it comes to that, things will be very bad," He continued, tone changing again. To _what_ , she wasn't sure; he was hard to read now. "So I'll try to avoid that, okay. But if it becomes necessary, I'll make arrangements for all of us. Okay?"

"Well, you are the one who's a secret agent," She replied. "I guess it's only natural to leave that stuff to you."

He nodded once and leaned his head back, to stare at the ceiling.

"I think I'll be going to Mistral soon," He abruptly said, seeming to think it made complete sense in the context of their conversation.

"Mistral?" She asked, surprised. "Why?"

"A lot of things seem to be pointing me that way," He said. "I've got a mission there and some opportunities. And Mom called Grandmother in for a reason."

Ah. That explained that inconsistency.

"Are you okay with that?" She wondered, frowning slightly as she looked at him.

"Yeah," He nodded. "One place is pretty much the same as any other to me, but it means I'll be able to see Grandmother more often, as well as Olivia, Indigo, and Violet. Not sure how long it'll last, anyway, but…it gives me a chance to grow and that's all I can really ask for."

She nodded slowly, still watching him.

"Are you going to Haven, then?" She asked. "I guess you probably don't need the help, but…"

He shrugged.

"Probably just do some independent study," He said. "Not to sound arrogant, but I don't think a school is going to teach me the things I really need to learn. But who knows? Even I'm not sure what I'm looking for."

"Ah," She said. "I hope you find it, regardless."

"I will," He swore. "No matter what it takes, I'll figure something out. That's why I've been training so hard, you know?"

She smiled at him and nodded, inclining her head towards him. But—

"Can you show me?" She asked before she could stop herself. "Your real power, I mean? I'm curious."

For the first time, one of her questions seemed to surprise him, if only for a split second. Then it was gone and he nodded, standing.

"Do you mean a fight?" He asked, tilting his head. "Or a demonstration?"

"I'd prefer a demonstration, if you're up for it," She said, shrugging a shoulder with a slight smile. "It's right before bed time and, well, my powers hard to use against the people I love."

He nodded again, seeming to understand and accept that before snapping his fingers. At once, many shadows vanished from her world of light and others grew in their place.

"Your pocket dimension again, correct?" She checked, lifting an eyebrow.

"My Naraka," He replied. "It's just you and me, more or less."

"More or less?"

He shrugged and one by one his Elementals began to appear around him. But they seemed different now, as if they'd aged years in the time since lunch. When she'd first seen them, she'd have guessed they were in their early teens at most, but now each of them seemed about Jaune's age. A side effect of the dimension or—

Giving a unified nod, they vanished as one, slipping away in moments.

"There," Jaune said easily, stretching. "That settles that. Now, let's see…I actually haven't had much of a chance to test it myself, but…"

Something like a mask fell away and light rose around her brother. The darkness of their home was cast away as if a star had been born within the walls and if they stepped outside, she'd have had no problems believing he'd have illuminated the neighborhood like the midday sun. From that light rose the tiger she'd seen earlier, shaping a form for itself from his Aura and surrounding his body like a shield. The light increased after a moment, both in size and motion, and she could feel power gathering.

More than that, she could see it. In the brightness from which she drew her power, this world was nothing but an array of countless shadows—but people were different. They were connected to it like she was—or connected to something like it, at least. If people were shadows in her world, then they were unique in that regard.

And Hunters, Aura users, were something even more special. She'd long since stopped mentioning the things she saw in her light, but that didn't mean they weren't there, with the shadows of people at her feet. Some of the councilors she'd spoken to had suggested it was just a side effect or her power; some of the experts had considered that it might be related to the mentality of the person she was observing. Even they had dismissed the thought after she described the images—and one had even put forth requests that she receive therapy.

But not Azure. Even when she'd described the image she'd seen overlaid with her sisters form—a creature with five spiderlike legs and four spindly arms, of four eyes and three mouths and batlike wings—Azure had taken her seriously and theorized that perhaps what she was seeing was the Aura of others, in a way beyond what anyone else could see; that she was seeing their very souls, beyond any disguises. She wasn't sure if she was comforted by that thought—by Violet's raging storm or Indigo's living shadows or the various other imagery she'd seen in her time as a hunter.

But what she saw when she looked at her brother went beyond any of them.

It was a figure of size beyond words, of eyes and mouths—the most massive figure she'd ever seen, brushing the sky of her world of light and then covering them with wings that stretched as far as her eyes could see. Were there a dozen of them? No, there were more; two or three times as many, of such colossal size she couldn't tell. But what really drew her attention were the eyes and the mouths that decorated the whole of its form; there were enough that there had to be hundreds of thousands, with eyes staring in every direction and mouths that constantly murmured words she couldn't hear. Even so, they wrote themselves on the beings skin and the air around it, sinking into space and flesh alike as it grew, and into the pages of the massive text it held in its hands.

In the world of shadows, her brother finished calling his power to himself and she blinked, smiling.

"Ready?" He asked, lifting a hand.

"Yeah," She said. "Though I've already seen what I wanted to. You're strong, Jaune—and you'll get stronger."

"Of course," He said, though he sounded happy. "I don't mind showing off a little though, if you want me to."

"Why don't I go first?" She offered. "It's only fair, since you showed me your own power. And if this world is empty, it's a good chance for me to cut loose. You mind?"

"Oh, please," He gestured for her to go ahead—and at once, she slid into the light, hand outstretched.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Status Update**

White light glowed around my sister's outstretched hand, surrounding the limb in a corona of her Aura that seemed to push _inward_ , against her flesh. In moments, it had consumed the limb completely and in its place glowed what seemed to be solidified light in the shape of a hand. Her fingers twitched once and it seemed to be enough to disrupt the careful equilibrium and cause it to lose shape. Whereas before, it pushed inwards, now it expanded violently—

There was a flash of light and a sound I'd never heard the equal to. In an instant, a column of utter destruction was carved across the city, throwing up towers of steam from the coast and setting everything between here and there ablaze.

I whistled lowly, sharp eyes picking out the details. I'd known my oldest sister was strong, of course, but even I'd been a tad surprised to see that her level was higher than Mom's. Now though, seeing her _really_ cut loose, I had to wonder how the hell she was _only_ level ninety-two with destructive power like that?

Or was that itself the reason? I guess it was hard to use this much power in the real world, what with the sheer collateral damage. Did it take into account the purely mental restrictions she had to impose upon herself? Certainly, if I was going to go up against someone with this much destructive power, I'd make sure they were put in a situation where they couldn't draw upon most of it—which in this case would be anywhere even vaguely populated. It reminded me of the tactics I'd employed against Weiss and Penny, what seemed like so long ago.

In which case, should I be impressed that she was level ninety-two _despite_ all that?

"How's _that_!?" Bianca laughed, rolling the wrist of her brightly shining arm. If burning a path of destruction across a major city had taken anything out of her, it didn't show beyond a light sweat on her face.

"Pretty impressive, sis," I answered. "You could probably take down a Goliath with a blast like that."

"That's why I spend so much time on the Wall," She replied, rolling her shoulders. "It's hard as hell to control, but if you don't care about anything in a general direction, I'm your girl."

"Can't say I have anything quite as destructive," I admitted. "I like to focus on ease of use, myself. Battles of attrition tend to go in my favor pretty quickly, you see. But I did practice this trick a little bit, recently."

I took a deep breath and both Bai Hu and I held out our arms, a Magic Missile appearing in each of our four hands. In a moment, all four of the glowing spears were sent sailing through the air, flashing through houses, trees, cars, and anything else that got in the way—and the moment they left our fingers, new ones took their place. Falling into a pattern in a moment's time, my four arms moved in a steady rhythm, hurling destruction at whatever my sister left standing. In seconds, the surrounding neighborhoods lay shattered. Within a minute, I'd broken much of the surrounding residential district with sheer, accumulated destructive power and showed no sign of slowing down. I'd kept a steady pace until I was at a tenth of my power and then my increased MP regeneration left it sustainable.

Bianca laughed again at the two minute mark, brushing aside a lock of hair.

"I see your point," She said, mirth coloring the words. "Do you ever get tired?"

"Sure," I said, pausing in my steady assault to shrug and smile back. "Just not for very long. If I exhaust my Aura, I can restore it completely in about half a minute and healing myself tends to any physical exhaustion. I spend a lot of days training around the clock."

"No wonder you've come such a long way," She said before the light of her arm began to crawl up her shoulder and replace parts of her suit. In seconds, she was completely gone—a faceless, featureless figure of pure light. She rose into the air without so much as a twitch and I followed her, the wind rising to carry me into the air. When she continued to speak, though, I was a tad surprised that her voice hadn't changed in the slightest. "Anything else?"

"Of course," I said, taking my place in the air beside her as she came to a halt. "It's only recently I've been able to seriously experiment in this direction, but you remember this, right?"

I flung a hand out and a ball of fire expanded out from the impact, swathing everything around it with the consuming heat of my Flare.

"From your fight with that girl?" She asked, to which I nodded back. "You've certainly gotten faster with it."

"Yup," I nodded with a smile. "I had to abandon a lot of that stuff because it was too slow to use in a fight, but I managed to figure out how to get past all that. Now I can do stuff like this easily."

"That was fire," She noted, tilting her featureless head to the side in consideration. "Have you tried any of your other elements?"

"Yeah," I answered, flicking a wrist to carve a vast furrow into the ground with Far Slayer. "That was wind and my Magic Missiles—the spear things—were Metal. Now that actually using them is viable, I'll start working on skills for the other Elements I have and focus on the ones I like best for a while."

"Is that hard?" She asked curiously. "Making new skills like that?"

I shrugged my shoulders and gathered my power. Instinctively, I split half of the gathered mass between each hand and shifted both in a way I felt sure corresponded with positive and negative. I let the power flow out as I brought my hands close and captured it a moment before the reaction occurred, holding them close yet also apart. The result was similar to Magic Missile on a basic level—it was very similar to one of my spears in its design, but with two 'caps' that sent currents of power occasionally streaming down its length in arc streams. I twirled it once, tossing it back into Bai Hu's hands, and he flung it hard into the distance.

Trails of lightning arced into the sky as thunder rumbled underfoot.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with charged elemental power, 'Thunderbolt.'**

"Not really," I said at last. "Not for me at least. I have a lot of skills to make this kind of thing easier—and my Elemental Affinities just went up besides."

"Oh?" She asked without a visible mouth. "Why's that?"

I tilted my head towards where my Elementals were slaughtering any Grimm that appeared, my smile becoming fond. Lightning fell from the sky and pillars of fire rose high into the air as my thoughts turned their way, wreaking havoc on the surrounding city. It was enough to make me think back to the dreams I'd had after each contract and wonder if they were glimpses into eventual possibility.

"You saw how they looked different, right?" I replied. "That's because I got my Summon Elemental skill to ninety-nine and it upgraded. They used to be Basic Elementals, now they're Lesser Elementals."

"I was wondering about that," She admitted, lifting a brightly shining hand to a just as shining face. "So they're more powerful now, I assume?"

"Yeah," I nodded again. "And they'll only get stronger. They got a pretty big power boost from the rank up and the skill's only at the first level. Give it some time and they'll get even stronger."

She hummed again, probably because it was hard to give facial cues in a form like hers.

"A group like that and you could pretty easily make a team of your own," She said. "Is there a reason they've never shown their faces? Or have they? I followed the news about Jian Bing, but not as closely as some."

"No, I've kept them secret," I said, frowning a bit at the thought. "I never wanted them to be associated with anything bad, I guess—they're my friends, after all. I didn't want the attention it would get me at the time, either, and I guess they're one of the biggest links between my different identities, so I've been careful not to reveal them, but…I don't know. It seems like every month, where I stand changes—I didn't want to be famous, then I didn't care, I kept my powers under wraps and then I showed them off. I'd say I was saving them for a trump card for either Jaune Arc or Jian Bing, but as is, I've sort of got a list of trump cards now. I guess there just wasn't a chance for it in all the fighting and training and the timing never felt right. I gave it a little thought when they…evolved, I guess, but still…"

"You feel like you have to look after them," She finished.

"Like they look after me," I agreed. "It sort of silly, since they're pretty hard to hurt in ways that actually matter, but…since everything they do, they do for my sake, I feel responsible for it and them."

"They're family, then?" She asked. "Like Autumn and Gou?"

I considered it for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "I guess they are. It's…hard to explain, but the contract between me and them was something special. We sort of swore to be together always—one of the lines of the contract is 'until our souls meet their ends, we will be forever one.' So…"

I shrugged again.

"You probably understand that stuff better than I do, but I get the idea," She told me. "They're yet another weird-ass part of our seriously messed up family."

I chucked at that.

"Yeah."

"Although," She tilted her head and if she'd had eyes, they'd likely have squinted at me. "Is that soul stuff literal?"

"You know, I honestly don't know," I considered before shrugging. "I've done some thinking about what the hell is up with souls lately, but honestly? I have no idea."

She nodded and was silent for a moment.

"Yours looks like an angel," She said suddenly, surprising me. I turned her way with furrowed brows and tilted my head. "I can see them or at least Azure thinks I can."

I Observed her for a moment and nodded.

"I see," I replied, thinking about that for a moment. "That's pretty cool. Supermodel angel or 'Be not afraid' angel?"

"The latter," She answered. "A huge giant with lots of eyes, lots of mouths, lots of wings, and a big book."

"Ah," I absorbed that, wondering what the hell that meant but nodding in acceptance. "That's kind of cool. Thanks for telling me."

"No problem," She said, sounding vaguely bemused. "I guess it's getting late. If you want, we can continue this later, with the others. I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting a chance to play. Moving back home on short notice, there's not a lot to do."

"Sure," I nodded. "Maybe tomorrow, then. But let's ditch the lightshows and head back for now. Tomorrow's gonna be another big day."

"Oh?"

I drew my scroll from my Inventory and gestured at her with a half-smile.

"I got a few messages when I exited the first time," I told her. "Ozpin might be coming over."

"Did he say why?"

"Yeah," I looked down at the scroll, brushing my thumb over the surface. "Dad's stuff made its way through inspection. He wanted to drop it off personally. I guess I'll talk to him about Mistral while he's here, too."

 **XxXXxX**

I returned us to our normal dimension without incident and bid goodnight to everyone that was still awake. With my sisters more or less informed of my capabilities, I felt no guilt in returning to Naraka for another night of training while they slept and so continued to grind my healing and test my new capabilities. Between my massive MP regeneration and the multitasking that the White Tiger of the West allowed, I was even able to do both at once; it was easy enough to have one pair of hands focused on firing attacks while the other busied itself with healing. With the sheer pace I was able to maintain, it was a simple enough matter to polish some of my long neglected skills and hone them to a razors edge.

But I was more interested in how my Elementals had changed. As I'd told Bianca, I'd finally raised Summon Elemental to level ninety-nine and graduated from Basic Elementals, but…it was a sudden change in a number of ways. It went beyond the physical changes to something more subtle, something that resonated between us. They weren't simply larger and more powerful—they were greater, _deeper_. It was enough of a change that I'd hesitated to unleash their full power, simply because I didn't know what to truly expect. However much they'd changed on the surface, the true differences lied beneath, and like I told my sister, I'd been hesitant to unleash it.

Which wasn't to say the physical changes weren't striking. In a moment, my Elementals had gone from appearing like preteens to young adults, carrying with it a host of physical changes that made me wonder if this truly was some kind of magical puberty. Levant had grown until her white hair reached my shoulder, ever-shifting patterns growing into place on the fabric of her now formal-looking gown. Suryasta had grown until he was of a height with me, the flames he'd worn shifting into something at once more and less solid, at once writhing flame and glowing armor as heat and light gathered just above bronze skin. Ereb grew what looked like royal gems and jewelry from his skin as he grew to almost match Suryasta's height, gaining a presence that made him seem both softer and more solid, while Vulturnus seemed to unravel even more, becoming an image that writhed and flickered between human and bestial shapes with something almost like disdain.

Perhaps the largest changes—or, at least, the ones most easily pinned down—had come to my Water Elemental. Xihai's amorphous legs had…solidified wasn't the term, but had taken shape, at least, growing into the long, scaled form of a snake up to her hips. Her blue gown had sunk into her skin and become something like armor, swathing her upper body in a fashion similar to her scales but gleaming blue and white. Even her hair had grown until it cascaded down her back like a waterfall to stir the waters at her waist, leaving only her gleaming black eyes unchanged. By contrast, Crocea Mors had barely changed at all, remaining a reflective image that merely seemed to have somehow gained more depth.

They'd all grown and so I let them stretch their legs in the hours before dawn, bringing disaster and ruin to a meaningless simulacrum of a city while I trained. It wasn't until a dim sun began to rise in the skies of Naraka that I called it a night—or a day or whatever the term was in this case—and returned to reality to make breakfast and await my guest.

I didn't have to wait long.

"Good morning, Jaune," The headmaster greeted as I opened the door. It was early enough that most of my sisters hadn't even gotten out of bed yet, but that didn't seem to bother the man—possibly because of the coffee he was already in the midst of drinking. He was carrying both his cane and a large black case in the hand not occupied by a coffee mug and he gestured towards me with them. Nodding once, I took the bag and stepped aside, letting the man into my house. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Nah," I said. "I just put on breakfast; most of my sisters are still asleep."

Which, I figured, was probably at least part of the point in his early arrival.

"As promised, I made sure everything was in order," Ozpin continued, smiling slightly. "That was everything we were able to recover."

"Thank you," I answered, bowing my head slightly his way. I really did appreciate it. That didn't mean I wasn't going to scan the ever-loving shit out of the thing to make sure it truly was safe, but it was a kind gesture even so. "Sir, there was something I wanted to speak to you about."

"I figured as much when you gave me that call yesterday," He replied, scooting a chair neatly out from under the table. "Though I'm sure the experience itself was amusing, you never struck me as one to do such a thing without reason."

I absently checked the air as he spoke, making sure sound didn't travel too far and risk being overheard before replying.

"No, sir," I nodded. "Though this is actually for something else. I mainly did that to…well, I'd say it was to prevent misunderstandings, but really, it was to create them in some ways while avoiding others. I told them my story in broad strokes but I had to phrase it right."

"I see," Ozpin mused, seeming to consider it for a moment before nodding. I believed him when he said he grasped the concept, though. "It's a marvelous thing, language. So many meanings can be ascribed to words simply by how they are spoken and they can change in an instant because of context."

"Mm," I agreed. "But sir, I wanted to speak to you about something else. Do you remember when we first met? Officially, I mean; after the White Whale incident, when I returned home."

"But of course," He gestured lazily towards me with his mug. "You made quite an impression even then, Jaune. I'd be rather hard pressed to forget it."

I smiled a little at that but stayed on course.

"You said something about whispers in Mistral at the time," I continued. "Do you remember that?"

Ozpin frowned down at his coffee and then nodded.

"I do," He said at last, lifting an eyebrow as he looked up at me. "I'm rather surprised you do, however, I must admit."

"You made an impression, too, sir," I assured him. "And I like to think I have a fairly good memory. Do you recall what those whispers were about?"

"Nothing substantial, sadly—hence why I called them whispers," He replied. "A few of my contacts have been noticing strange activity in the city for quite some time. Unfortunately, given what Mistral _is_ , 'strange activity' is somewhat hopelessly vague and could mean any number of things. One of them claimed it might be something serious and it seemed like it would be wise to check. Of course, you know how that went—"

I nodded, remembering the trip my mother and I had taken.

"And when you returned with news of the White Fang, I'd considered the answer found, at least to some extent," He paused to look at me with piercing eyes. "Was I mistaken?"

Not for the first time, I mused that not much got past Ozpin. How _I_ was going to get anything past him, then, remained something of a question, but I started by considering my words carefully and sticking as closely as I could to the truth.

"Perhaps," I hedged. "In Mistral, Grandmother and I came across some pretty solid evidence that a third party was making deals with the White Fang, but neither of us saw them. I left the matter in Grandmother's hands when it was time to head home, but she hasn't had any luck in the time since, either."

"She hasn't found anything?" He asked, eyebrows rising. "Your grandmother…whatever else might be said of her, she's always run a very tight ship in Mistral. I'm…I must admit, I'm quite surprised she hasn't found anything."

I shrugged a shoulder.

"So was I," I admitted. "But it seems to mainly be because Raven's running interference for them. She pretty much told Grandmother to back off, in fact."

"Curious," Ozpin said, his eyebrows lowering slowly only to furrow. "And concerning. Do we know anything of them?"

"They're human," I answered. "I got that from a White Fang agent. I get the feeling that the White Fang as a whole isn't super happy about working with them, given that, but it's rather telling that…well, they are anyway."

"Indeed," He nodded slowly. "It's something worth looking into."

"I was thinking the same thing," I agreed. "And it seems like I'll be well positioned for it."

He tilted his head to the side again, looking at me for a long moment before sighing and giving me a nod.

"I can't say I didn't expect it when your mother elected to call Jeanne," He told me. "Given your…family situation, it seemed like the most likely result. You'll be headed to Mistral, then?"

"It still depends on what my Mom needs," I hedged again. "But…it's looking that way."

"Well," He said after a moment's consideration, lifting a hand to his chin. "Under the circumstances, it seems like a good choice. This will give you a chance to investigate with our hidden third party, work more closely with the White Fang's assets, and train with the freedom being a Roma will grant you. We can always stay in touch via our scrolls, though it has its risks—and if need be, I'm sure you could just swim across the ocean or something. You've made arrangements?"

"I've spoken with Grandmother," I said. "I still need to hammer things out with Mom, though, and Jian Bing has a meeting planned with Raven that's coming up soon. I'll see what I can dig up on that front before I jump into things."

"Careful, Jaune," He warned and didn't need to specify to be understood.

"I know." I replied. "I will be."

I glanced over his shoulder a second before the timer in the kitchen went off and stood, stretching slightly. At the same time, I could feel my sisters begin to move upstairs, drawn back to the realm of the living by the smell of fresh food.

"Well," I smiled as I did. "Since you're already here, why don't you stay for breakfast? I made extra because I knew you'd be coming and I'm certain my sisters' will be pleased to see you again. We can continue this afterwards, if you'd like."

"Well," He smiled back. "If it won't be a bother."

 **XxXXxX**


	10. Chapter 10

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Wounded**

I paid close attention to Bianca without using my eyes, choosing to watch her out of the side of my neck instead. She'd been the first to stumble down to get some coffee and though she'd seemed surprised to see him so early, she'd happily engaged him in conversation.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of that. After she'd told me about the side-effect of her power—the apparent ability to glimpse souls, if often in monstrous shapes, I'd immediately decided to invite Ozpin to breakfast to let her get a look at him—which she had, to no real reaction. I hadn't felt anything from her emotionally except a dull, tired surprise, and even that had faded in seconds.

Maybe it was a good sign, I thought to myself. Maybe there really wasn't anything there and I was just overly paranoid. Maybe he was perfectly clean.

Or maybe one horrifying monstrosity looked pretty much like any other. Given how she'd described me, I wasn't sure what it would take to stand out to her—and besides which, she was in the same boat I was, having been born so long after the time period where Ozpin might have been infected. If there _was_ something to indicate an infection, even if it was a major sign, neither of us were likely to notice it, having no way to spot any such changes. Even so, I began to consider ways to phrase questions to my oldest sister and ask her to describe Ozpin's soul in detail—even if it was only a tiny hope, it was all I had to go on at this point.

Although, there was always the alternative, I considered. I could tell her the truth and tell her about the Rider situation. If there was a chance that she could see the Riders and distinguish them from normal humans, then she might be safe to tell. Trust wasn't an issue, I just didn't want to plunge her into a world of suspicion without any way of confirming who was safe or not. Quite frankly, I was paranoid enough for the all of us. But if she _could_ see them…

But that was the question, wasn't it? I'd seen Conquest inside my father's soul, but I hadn't seen any sign of the monstrous figures Bianca had mentioned, so I couldn't take for granted that she'd see things the way I did. Or had we been looking at two different things to begin with? I'd considered the possibility that I'd dived into my father's _mind_ instead of his soul—though, truthfully, I wasn't sure if those were different things in this case—in which case perhaps my father's soul had been untouched? Certainly, his Semblance hadn't changed, but I didn't know if that was an indicator of anything. Perhaps—

I stopped myself, making sure nothing touched my face. At the moment, it didn't matter. I'd need to test it before I could say anything one way or another, though I wasn't sure how. Would anything stand out on Ruby? Would _my_ soul change if I became the White Rider, despite being immune to the mental effects?

It was worth testing, but what would I tell her? I could let her know that we'd encountered a Pandora Shell without necessarily saying anything about Conquest or the other Riders, which would handle my own transformation, but that probably wouldn't be enough to cover Ruby—at least, not in-depth enough for what I had in mind. Then again, Ruby would be the same as Ozpin; she'd have never seen her before infection, so there'd be no obvious signs of symptoms. No, it'd be preferable for her to watch the process of a change, which left just me and I was enough of an outlier that I wasn't sure I'd be a good example.

But perhaps I was…well, 'lucky' didn't seem like the term, but perhaps she'd encountered Pandora Shells before? With my sister's power, it was possible that she'd been on disposal duty before—though it was just as possible that they'd kept her way the hell away from anything even vaguely related to the Pandora Shells, considering the consequences if she somehow got infected. Either way, there was only one way of knowing.

The only issue was…once she knew we'd encountered a Pandora Shell, it wouldn't take a genius to piece together the rest of the story. It wouldn't take long for her to wonder if dad had been killed by someone who was infected or if he'd been infected himself—in which case, the follow up question would still be who had actually put him down. All it would take was a quick check to see who made it out of that fiasco alive and who didn't to get a rough idea of what happened. I could imagine her going down the list as she considered the idea of who'd done in dad: Probably not the other guys who died. Probably not the dude missing a leg, either. Mom might have had some difficulties what with missing three limbs and all, which left two unknown kids, one of whom had lost a hand, and her apparently completely unharmed little brother who'd gotten _superpowers_ while she was away.

But who could it have been?

I held back a snort and sigh in turn, looking down at the bag I still held in my hands. Bianca was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid. I'd escaped apparently untouched from a battle that had flattened, dismembered, or killed pretty much everyone else involved; it wouldn't be difficult to guess who'd 'won.' If I told her we'd encountered a Pandora Shell, the thought of what I'd done would occur to her in short order.

She wouldn't hate me, I knew that; she wouldn't feel anything but love and pity, sadness for my sake and worry. I had nothing to fear from her in that regard, except for the pain it would cause her. Together with the dangers of the knowledge involved, I'd considered that reason enough not to say anything—but if needed, I could easily edit the story by simply leaving Conquest unmentioned and she'd never need to learn more if the tests failed. With that risk out of the way, the opportunity this presented trumped everything, especially my own reservations.

Because facing the idea, I had to admit the truth; I hadn't really wanted to tell her. Yes, a lot of it was to keep her safe and keep her from having to live with the knowledge of what I'd done, but I knew my sisters—all of them—were strong and that I could have covered the confidential bits up. In truth, I just didn't want to tell them what I'd done to our father. Because I'd saved him in a way, yes, but I'd failed him too and killed his body because of it. I knew they'd understand, could even edit some of the bits in his mind, soul, or whatever to make them tell-able and explain how much I'd done, but I didn't want to admit that after everything I'd done, in that battle and as Jian Bing, I'd still failed where it mattered most.

But reason trumped all of that. Today, I'd tell her the truth. Hell, maybe telling her would even make me feel a bit better about it, though I somewhat doubted that. Even my optimism had limits.

I tapped a finger against the bag I held, listening to the softened contact against the metal within. If I was going to face Bianca, then there was no point beating around this particular bush, either. Calling to Levant to help me close the area off just in case, I opened the bag and drew out a case that looked like it could have held an instrument of some kind. Embracing my paranoia, I took note of both Bianca and Ozpin's emotions as they looked my way and focused my many senses on the box. Nothing noticeable popped out at me from either direction and so I opened it, still on guard and ready to drop a Flare on this box if there was so much as a single Grimm cell on the thing.

But it was clean as far as I could see—and I could see pretty goddamn far. I stared at my father's hammer for a moment longer and then closed my eyes and bowed my head in only mostly feigned grief. Naturally, I continued to watch the hammer through the skin of my face, on alert just in case anything bad dared try to happen, but there was nothing.

"Jaune," I heard Bianca whisper and opened my eyes, drawing the hammer from its case. I let Crocea Mors flow into the steel as I turned it this way and that, but when I caught sight of him in the hammer's reflection, it was my father's face staring back. I held back a twitch and patiently waited for him to finish his scan, making sure there were no traps or places a stray cell might have fallen into that I'd somehow miss. But no, it seemed whoever had looked it over had done their job well; it was safe.

Which meant I was fresh out of reasons not to do this. Shifting my hold on the hammer, I took a deep, unnecessary breath and felt something click into place.

 **Psychometry (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
A skill given to those with the ability to feel the impressions left on objects by the Aura of living beings and draw information from them. By piecing together thousands of different markings on an object, entire scenes may be reconstructed, potentially long after the event itself occurred. Powerful scenes may leave stronger impressions, but the user's ability to piece together faint traces, as well as to draw information from them, increases with both WIS and skill level.  
Base time: 1 week. **

The images came over me in a rush, flashing across my mind as if thrown into it by a storm. I felt something tense in me and reached out, prepared to either stop the storm or pick something to focus on, but I drew back at the last second and let things play out. It was at once a rapid process and a drawn out one, with scenes slowing down and then skipping ahead—or perhaps backwards, in this case—seemingly at random. Most of it was of labs and cleansings, of heat and careful washings and more, but I barely paid those attention and the process seemed to pick up on my impatience because it hastened accordingly until it reached the image I…I wasn't certain if 'want' was the word or 'need,' but the image I had to see.

For a moment, I saw my father's face again. For a moment, I heard his voice again. I stood beside him again as he fought and I watched him die again. Then I went back further to see everything that led up to it, though the images became harder and harder to focus on.

Then the moment passed and I drew back, closing my eyes once more and keeping my expression blank.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By drawing on the experience of a fallen master, the skill 'Hammer Mastery' was created!**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By drawing on the experience of a fallen master, the skill 'Thunder Hammer Technique' was created!**

"Jaune," Bianca said again, as if only a moment had passed—which I confirmed was the case with a glance out the back of my neck, checking the clock on the wall. Even as I did, though, the majority of my attention remained on Bianca and the concern on her face. "Are you okay?"

I took a moment longer to organize my thoughts and review the new experience. I'd relieved the battle against Conquest—or at least, the part outside of my father's mind or soul—but from the perspective of my father's weapon. It had been an odd way to experience the battle, composed as much of motions as images, but it was still enough to fill in some blanks. Even though the edges were blurred as I went further back, I'd felt the traces of Aura come together at my will and recreate the battle, even filling in a few parts I'd been absent for and left me feeling reassured that it was over, that Conquest hadn't pulled anything while I was preoccupied.

The bonus skills were a surprise, but I suppose it made sense enough when I considered it; I had, after all, experienced their own uses. I'd picked up a skill for using both hammers and my father's personal style by experiencing both, so I suppose it made sense—and I guess I couldn't complain about free Passives, even if neither were really a match for my particular fighting style. It made me wonder what other skills I could gain from Psychometry and it certainly seemed like something worth testing; at the very least, I should be able to pick up other skills relating to particular weapons and fighting styles. It seemed likely that skills directly related to the physical use of objects would be possible to pick up with a touch, but I'd need to test it before saying anything about Aura techniques and skills that came entirely from the user.

Still, even if it _was_ potentially limited, I could live with being able to pick up new skills at a touch, difficult though such a burden might be.

Smiling lightly at the thought, I nodded to Bianca at last, watching as she abandoned her conversation with Ozpin and slid over a few chairs to sit face-to-face with me. For his part, Ozpin stared into his coffee cup as if he could learn all the world's secrets by doing so, seemingly oblivious to us both.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bianca asked, apparently considering that privacy enough.

I considered her for a moment before nodding slowly, seeing my chance.

"Yes, actually," I replied before quickly checking on the locations of my other sisters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there seemed to be lines forming near both of the upstairs bathrooms, but already several had finished and were preparing to come downstairs. I tilted my head in the direction of the stairs and Bianca nodded back slowly in acceptance.

"Perhaps you can show me more of your techniques later, as well?" She offered, the hidden message rather obvious. "In Naraka, I mean."

"Sure," I said. "I think I'm getting used to Aureola and there are some other skills I wanted to show you besides. Tonight okay?"

"Of course," She answered before looking down at our father's hammer for a long moment. I followed the gaze, sensing the undercurrent of emotion running through her and understood quickly—needless to say, the weapon was far from pristine condition after both the battle and the procedures to guarantee that it was clean. Though the latter had erased any sign of the dirt and blood that had once clung to it, it hadn't done anything to help with the dozens of nicks, dents, and cracks that peppered its surface. It was hard to look at it and note be reminded of what it's wielder had endured.

"Should I fix it?" I murmured, drawing her gaze again. "Or should I leave the signs of his final battle."

Bianca seemed to honestly consider that before slowly nodding.

"Dad never was one to hold onto the bad times," She said. "And I think he'd be appalled to see his trusted weapon in such a state."

I nodded back in agreement and let Crocea Mors flow through the steel, popping dents back out, mending cracks, and quickly restoring the weapon to its normal condition. In seconds, it looked good as new and I gently returned it to its case, knowing the others wouldn't want to see it—and like Bianca had said, I thought they'd like it better looking that way then the alternative. Out of the back of my hands, I saw Bianca smile for a moment.

It faded quickly however as she looked back up at me and glanced towards Ozpin, who appeared to still be seeking wisdom from the coffee gods. At my sister's glance, they seemed to tell him to go admire the portraits in the front hall, because he rose and left the kitchen for a moment. However he appeared, I knew he was fully aware of everything going on around him and was somewhat doubtful that being on the other side of the house would meaningfully change that—but I couldn't very well throw stones in that particular house and both of us appreciated the gesture. Bianca looked back at me, hesitated a moment longer, and took a breath.

"Jaune," She slowly began. "About Dad's funeral…"

"I know," I answered quietly and gave her a slightly sad smile.

Funerals were…well, even when I had been too young to understand what they truly meant, I'd found them odd. It went without saying that a large gathering of grief-stricken individuals was a horrifying risk when the Grimm were attracted to negative emotions—perhaps even a suicidal one for villages on the edge of the Kingdoms or past them. Even within the walls of Vale, it wasn't something that was often done and was often frowned upon. As a result, other ways to mourn the passing of loved ones had been developed over the ages. There wasn't any standard method, owing partially to the fact that the Kingdoms of Modern Remnant were descended from many fallen cultures and partially because people were people and liked to both show off and be unique, so it was enough to produce some fairly odd results now and then.

I still remembered feeling odd when the whole city had celebrated for an entire day when Councilman True passed away, but though they usually weren't of such a massive scale, parties to honor the dead weren't uncommon.

But there were many groups that had their own ways of mourning the fallen and Hunters were amongst them. Before they knew what I'd gotten up to and was capable of, my sisters had probably been expecting to put those aside to have a more normal funeral, but with his fallen weapon on the table between us, I could see the question in Bianca's eyes and nodded in response.

"We'll send him off the old fashioned way," I said. "If needed, we can even use Naraka for it."

"I think he'd like that," She whispered, but her smile was real. "I think the others would, too."

"Mhm," I agreed, my smile becoming a tad happier at the thought. I'd come across the tradition in my studies, so I knew the basics though I'd never seen one myself. Rather than any words about the lives lost, it would start with a listing of the many people he'd saved over the course of his career—in a broad sense, of course, for the sake of time—and other marks of honor. From there, the ceremony really depended on the participants, but it always culminated in the same way; a thanks for their service and a display meant to prove that those left behind would be able to carry on without them, letting their souls rest in peace.

In our particular case, something like that was probably going to be at least mildly cataclysmic, though.

"That's enough talk of death for now, then," Bianca smiled, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. "Let's talk about life, instead. Have you given any thought as to what you want for your birthday?"

I tilted my head, stared at her for a long moment, and actually had to mentally check the date. Sure enough, my birthday was only a few weeks off.

"You're looking at me like I just started speaking in tongues," Bianca rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

"Maybe a little," I admitted. "I'd have remembered eventually, but it hasn't been a priority. Besides, it's still a ways away. We've always been pretty sedate about stuff like that anyway."

Bianca made a face but couldn't deny it. For my last two birthdays, my sisters had just gotten me online gift cards which, honestly, I was more than happy with. It was the era of internet purchases, after all.

Well, but I didn't need stuff like that anymore. Or…much of anything else, really. If I developed a sudden, pressing need for something, I had my fair share of ways to get it without waiting for a specific day to roll around, not least of which being to just buy it. In fact, all of us could do that, more or less; one of the benefits of being a Hunter family.

"True enough," She admitted before musing to herself. "Still, we should do _something_ special for your seventeenth birthday—it's kind of tradition, even if the reason why doesn't really apply in your case."

I snorted at that and nodded. It didn't escape me that if I were a normal Hunter kid—that is, nothing at all like who I was now or who I'd been before I got this power—I'd be frantically preparing for Beacon right now, preparing to take that major step and decide my life. As it was, with everything that had happened to me over these last few months, it was just a nonissue. I was a Hunter now, if not an official one, and had already decided my future even if I wasn't sure where it'd lead me.

"I'll try to think of something," I offered regardless, even as I rose and collected Ozpin's plate from the table. "We'll talk about it later, along with…you know."

"Yeah," She said, still absently poking her food. The rest of the food was already in place around the table and I was keeping it warm until they got down here, but Bianca absently picked off a few choice bits here and there, evidently deciding that first come, first serve was the rule of the day. The others were taking their sweet ass time, so I didn't mention it. "Are you going back to training now?"

"I will in a bit," I answered back, putting the dishes in the sink. "Still need to talk about a few more things with Ozpin."

She nodded and went back to the plate before her, silently enjoying somebody's country ham as I left the kitchen and found Ozpin looking at the pictures of my parent's victories. Unlike me, he probably recognized most of the scenes and a few, where my mother and father looked almost bizarrely young, had captured his attention.

"Their first unsupervised mission," He said without prompting as I joined him. "From their second year at Beacon."

I nodded and glanced over the picture again. I'd walked past it a thousand times but it had been quite a while since I'd really looked at it. Now that I did, I could pick out details I hadn't noticed before, of buildings I didn't recognize, trees that were unusual for Vale, the angle of the sun on their faces. They and their teams smiled at the camera and looked happy, triumphant, and younger then I'd ever seen them—barely older then I was now.

"Another village protection mission?" I guessed from their surroundings. I didn't recognize the town, if it even still existed. This would have been over thirty years ago and if I'd learned anything its that things can change very quickly, whether you wanted them to or not.

"Yes," He said. "Though nothing as…notable as your own, thankfully."

Raising his mug to his lips he took a deep sip and closed his eyes for a moment before continuing.

"When do you plan on leaving for Mistral?" He asked at last.

"Soon," I replied. "I've been focusing on grinding my healing skills in the hope that they'll either grow strong enough to heal Mom and the others or develop into something that will. It shouldn't take more than a week to get Soulforge to ninety-nine, now—maybe even less. I hope that'll be enough, but if it's not, that's even more reason to head to Mistral; if there's no solution here, Alexandria's Library is my best bet."

He hummed and nodded slightly.

"When you regrow her limbs, I can deal with any questions raised," Ozpin said without me even needing to ask—and he said 'when' in a tone that indicated he felt it was inevitable, which I appreciated. "I've already had the therapists begin to evaluate your mother, though they're currently under the impression that she's a candidate for cybernetic prosthetics. If need be, I can arrange for that to happen in truth, but given the amount of time required to adapt to such limbs and the expense, it seemed wiser to let you work first."

"It's a good backup plan," I mused. "But yeah, I don't think it's necessary. One way or another, I'll figure this out."

He nodded again, eyes still on the pictures.

"When you figure out how to regrow limbs," He continued. "I have several old friends that you might be able to help, as well."

"Like General Ironwood?" I asked.

"James is one of them," He admitted. "Though in his case, I'm uncertain he'd take me up on the offer, though I'm sure he'd appreciate it. As you might expect, he's done some rather extensive modifications to his arm and though I'm certain he misses his flesh, he might miss the steel as well. It never hurts to ask, however, and he might consider incorporating the technology involved elsewhere, but I can't be certain after all these years. Still, there are many others—Hunters that were grievously injured in the line of duty, primarily, but…"

"Political figures," I guessed again. "Or those close to them, as a way of making allies."

"A cold way of putting it," He said. "But not inaccurate. There are a number of people your power could help—and a number of people who could help us. I see little harm in repeating what you did at the hospital a few times, however."

I nodded in agreement.

"It might be a good idea to make a few public displays as well, to build the right kind of reputation," I noted, making Ozpin smile.

"So cynical for one so young," He said, shaking his head in amusement even as I chuckled.

"Things can be done for more than one reason," I replied. "Pragmatism and kindness aren't mutually exclusive; I'm just pointing out that I can tell which is which. You don't need to dress things up for me; I get it."

"Why bother telling you what you already know?"

I chuckled again at that and inclined my head towards him.

"Fair enough," I allowed, noting my sisters moving upstairs before refocusing on him. "Speaking of dressing things up, though…I meant to ask you about the press before. I figured you had something in mind since you gave me the go-ahead, but I never got a chance to ask what. I saw what I did in the hospital made it into the paper, but I also noticed that no news vans have showed up outside my house lately."

Ozpin smiled at that, looking slightly amused.

"Fame is a double edged sword and thus one which is best handled with care," He replied. "I'll ensure nothing troublesome happens while you remain in Vale, just as I'm sure your Grandmother will in Mistral, leaving us to apply the benefits of such a thing with care."

I nodded, understanding. It wasn't that surprising, really; working on the principle that sometimes no news was good news, I knew the upper echelons of the government were occasionally empowered to…well, pretty much decide what was or wasn't said. Because of how the Grimm were draw to negativity, spreading the wrong news could endanger thousands of lives, which made such control an unfortunate necessity. Even so, I was a bit surprised at how far such reach went—stopping anything from being said was one thing, but spreading news and controlling how it was reported and acted upon was something else. At the very least, I'd have expected someone who'd been badly hurt to try and draw my attention, but as far as I could tell, no one had even gotten close to our house. I'd spent a lot of time in Naraka lately, but still…

"What about the civilians?" I asked.

"Arrangements are being made at the hospital," He gestured. "There are already systems in place to control how civilians are able to draw upon the aid of Hunters for things such as construction and other civic concerns—it was a relatively simple matter to expand it to cover you. It's primarily a matter of paperwork and reviews, but it's strictly enforced, so it should be sufficient for the time being. Mistral handles things with perhaps an even firmer hand, so it should be easy enough to control, though your Grandmother would likely be more familiar with the specifics than I. I think we can all agree that allowing you to stay focused on the matter at hand is worth the cost, however."

"I see," I said, considering his words. "Okay, then. I'll speak to her about it later. Is there anything you need me to do on that front?"

"Nothing unusual—it's mainly just a matter of keeping you from being hounded at home," He shook his head. "Paean knows how good—and how fast—you are at healing so, so it's mainly a matter of organization and registration. There will likely be a number patients coming your way in the near future and you may be called in emergencies, but otherwise, it's nothing different from what you've been doing. There may be some issues when you change locations, but otherwise…"

"Cool," I said, turning to face the stairs as Olivia came around the corner, her hair still slightly wet. "Good morning, sis."

"Jaune," She yawned before spotting our guest and blinking suddenly. "Oh, and Professor Ozpin! I didn't know you were coming over, sir."

"Good morning, Olivia," He nodded his head in greeting. "I simply needed to drop off a few things and speak to Jaune, but he invited me in for breakfast."

"Ah," She said, nodding as a half-conscious looking Azure followed her around the corner and poked her wet hair. The water in her hair darkened and shifted into one of Azure's friendly creations, which quickly went about doing Olivia's hair. Olivia didn't even react to the process, merely furrowing her brows in mild concern. "Is it about the whole…you know. The thing?"

I waggled a hand.

"I was just telling him about the arrangements I made," I said. "I'll be moving to Mistral soon—didn't Bianca tell you?"

"I was going to, but she was already sleeping," Bianca said from the kitchen, raising her voice to be heard.

"I see," I turned my head to meet my youngest sister's surprised eyes and shrugged. "Well in that case, I'll be moving to Mistral soon, Olivia."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play**  
 **Sendoff**

"Mistral?" Indigo asked once the liquid grace of coffee had returned some semblance of life to her eyes. "You're returning with us to Mistral?"

"Mhm," I sounded back, leaning a shoulder against the doorway while my sister's scarfed down the food on the table with a ravenous hunger. Bianca got a fair number of dirty looks for stealing the choicest bits beforehand, which, given her emotional state, seemed to do nothing but make the food taste better retroactively. Ozpin had just left, having business to attend to in Signal, probably related to the upcoming batch of graduates, but he'd promised to send all the necessary files to my scroll as soon as possible.

After he'd left and the rest of my sisters managed to filter down to the kitchen, questions had abounded. Azure and Violet had already known, but to the others, my plans were news.

"That means half of us will be in Mistral," Olivia mused.

"We are returning to the motherland like magnificent salmon," Violet rephrased, tapping Olivia's shoulder. Unlike everyone else in the room, she was sitting on the back of her chair, resting one foot on the seat itself and another on the armrest.

"What about the rest of us?" Shani wondered.

"You're not magnificent," Violet explained. "You're just salmon."

Shani just looked at her and shook her head no, while Indigo leaned over to rest an elbow on Violet's free arm rest.

"Was it salmon that swam up a waterfall to become dragons?" She asked. "Because I could live with that."

"You mean the Vacuo legend thing?" Violet frown and slowly shook her head. "I think that was carp. But I'm pretty sure salmon do swim up waterfalls, so it probably counts, right?"

"Are you going to go to Haven?" Olivia asked curiously, completely ignoring the conversation going on beside her—a skill which had been deeply ingrained into all of us and which she had perfected. Shani, seemingly upset out of her lack of magnificence, had failed to do so and was trying to refute the point, moving to the other side of the table. "I'm actually not sure what the rules would be in that case, since I'm going to be a teacher."

"Probably not," I answered. "But even if I did, I doubt it would have any real problems. I know there are at least two teachers at Signal who have relatives going to school there, and I'm sure plenty of teachers at Haven and Beacon have had children that wanted to be Hunters. And besides, Grandmother could sort things out if there was an issue."

Down the table, Sienna chuckled a bit at that and muttered about 'making them an offer they could not refuse' under her breath. I doubted she'd even need to, honestly; if the Headmaster—or Headmistress? I actually didn't know—hadn't been handpicked by the Families, I'd eat my shoes. I couldn't imagine they'd leave the training of the most powerful warriors in their Kingdom to someone that wasn't completely loyal.

"Where is Grandmother, anyway?" Azure asked from beside Sienna. While most of the others had taken coffee or tea with their breakfast, she had chosen a glass of water, which she drank until it was half-full—and it was definitely half- _full_ , because she had promptly animated it into one of her minions and had it crawl out and onto her plate. At the moment, it was in the process of making a castle out of her scrambled eggs and was lining the walls with hash brown-based weaponry. Sienna had shifted her body to hide the construction from sight, but already it was nearing completion and taking aim. I could tell she'd given it some thought, too, because none of the people that had noticed the process were being targeted—and thus, were placidly allowing it to happen.

"She brought her work with her," I told her, knowing what was to come and watching it amusedly. "Can't just abandon her work, right?"

Azure nodded and a moment later, the hash brown weaponry flew. Shani spun on a dime and destroyed the projectile with the flash of an eye, but Azure had planned her attack wisely and using some combination of syrup, sweetener, hot sauce, and various other food items, had rigged something to react to the counterattack. It exploded into a dusty mist.

Olivia didn't even look up as the powder was guided away from her and Indigo's shadow rose into an impossibly thin wall to block it, but though Shani's eyes flashed again and most of it vanished, some of the dust touched her face and clung there. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, lifting a finger to brush away the specks.

"Because I'm older and vastly more beautiful and mature then you, I will give you the chance to surrender now before I take your actions as a declaration of war."

Azure looked at her mildly and blinked once before sliding her eyes over to Sienna. Without so much as glancing back, Shani's older twin reached over and grabbed Azure's little friend off her plate. The tiny, amorphous creature curled instantly into a ball as she drew her hand back and threw it hard at Shani's face. Shani's eyes flicked to it the moment it was raised into the air, but none of us would seriously harm one of Azure's creations, so she leaned to the side and let it go soaring past instead, passing between her and Olivia—before abruptly changing direction and splattering over her face as it came back. Shani jerked once before spinning to face her youngest sister.

"The hell was that for?" She demanded.

"It was a refutation of your baseless claim to magnificence," Olivia replied, taking a sip of her tea. Violet laughed and hopped over from her chair to fall into Olivia's lap bridal style, and almost instantly the room seemed divided by Kingdom. Shani lifted a hand to the creature that still hugged the side of her face and it immediately fell off, rolling up into a ball once more. With the calm that proceeded a karmically retributive storm, she gently tossed it back towards Azure and it changed shape at the apex of its arc, most of its mass unfolding until it was a parachute attached to a tiny ball and could glide to safety.

"So," She said as she rose. "Evidentially, some of you have forgotten your places while you were away. Well, class is back in session. Now it's—"

She paused abruptly, looking around with a frown.

"What teams are you guys?" She asked. "Bianca and I are team Beautiful Disaster, I remember that, but did we ever do Sienna and Azure? I know we didn't do Violet, Indigo, and Olivia."

"We did Sienna and Azure once," Bianca sounded more amused by the apparent draft than anything else. "I don't think we ever decided on a name though, partially because it never happened again and partially because you kept swearing. I'm pretty sure you were initially the Ice Bucket Challengers, but you spent more time getting called the Stone Cold Bitches."

"I'll allow it," Sienna nodded before raising an eyebrow at the trio. "That still leaves you three nameless, though."

"Magnificent Fishies," Violet supplied immediately, making Olivia lean over and tap her arm to draw her attention.

" _Magfishicent_ ," She whispered conspiratorially, causing Violet to point at her and nod.

"That one's better," Violet agreed before tilting her head. "What about you, Jaune? You want to play?"

I raised an eyebrow from where I'd been observing as all the attention in the room turned my way. I'd always been more of an observer to my sister's rougher games, but…well, things change.

"Uh…sure, why not?" I said. "Team Jaune is ready whenever. What are we doing?"

Shani, the challenged, opened her mouth at once to supply the rules of the game, but Bianca interrupted.

"Jaune and I spoke earlier," She began. "About Father's funeral."

The room fell silent at once, turning her way and then mine. Our eyes met and I understood at once. I'd expected it, of course, but even I was surprised that we were doing it so soon. But—

"Yeah," I said. "Shall we send him off in style, then?"

 **XxXXxX**

In moments, we stood in a loose circle, safely fenced off from normal reality by my barriers. With the issue of cutting loose rendered null and void, the only things left to do were to set the ground rules and start the fighting.

"Should we start in five?" Shani asked. "Go our separate ways and then get things rolling?"

"If we all go crazy in here, I'm not sure it'll much matter," Azure mused, looking around. "Will this thing hold up, Jaune? I can't really say portable pocket dimensions are my forte."

"Destroying it isn't a matter of destructive power," I answered. "There isn't a physical barrier to actually hit or anything—the 'barrier' is between this world and the real one. While you might want to avoid doing anything you think might affect it, just in case, I don't think simple firepower will touch it.."

She nodded, considering that.

"But there are ways to break it?" She asked.

I nodded, remembering Ozpin and Conquest.

"I've seen it happen twice," I told her. "Both times it seemed to be an attack directed towards the… _structure_ of the barrier. I'll keep an eye out, regardless, so just be prepared to stop if I say so."

"And, not that it needs to be mentioned, keep an eye on your Aura," Bianca put in. "You're all smart enough to know your limits, so remember them and don't put yourself at risk. Don't do anything that might put anyone _else_ at risk, either; tempting as it might sometimes be, we're not trying to kill each other."

She drew her scroll from within her suit, typed a few things, and held it out expectantly. One by one, we followed her example with our own scrolls and there was a chorus of high-pitched beeps from each. Bianca opened hers up to check and saw all of our names and faces beside bars measuring our Aura's, each very similar to the ones I could see above their heads and with Observe.

"I'll keep an eye on that, too," I promised. "I can see that type of thing on my own and I'm the best equipped to get messages out fast."

"Anything else?" Shani asked, looking a bit impatient. "Or can we get this show on the road?"

"One last thing," I replied, smiling at her apologetically. "While physical force can't break into or out of Naraka, there is one thing to look out for—the Grimm can still get inside."

"Fuck, really?" She sounded incredulous. "Those sons of bitches can get anywhere, I swear."

I nodded and shrugged as they all shifted slightly, not as if afraid, per se, but in simple preparation for the possibility of danger.

"I do my best to keep them out," I answered, lying about how my barrier worked. "Only the smallest can usually get in—Beowolves and such. Nothing for any of you to worry about, but just be on guard."

Bianca nodded once at that without so much as a glance my way and then patches of white light began to appear on her skin.

"Five minutes, then," She said again as she rose into the air. "Go."

I felt Bai Hu rise around me and threw myself back, watching my sisters as I did so. Violet and Indigo vanished with a flash of light and a tide of shadow respectively, while Olivia rose into the air after Bianca. That left Azure, Shani, and Sienna—the ones who needed to walk to get around—moving much more slowly, which was part of the five minute rule, the other being a matter of preparation for those who needed it.

I didn't, thankfully—my power leant itself well to dropping out of the sky and laying waste to the place. Within a few seconds, the vast majority of my powers were equipped and I was on the move, tearing through the walls of the house so easily I barely felt them. The moment I was outside, I twisted in place and landed on all fours, title and body already shifting to show the face of Jian Bing, and then I _Accelerated_. Exploring the true power of my Aureola for the first time, I felt the air impact my skin like it was solid but pushed through it as easily as I'd done the walls, fire burning hot against my Adamant skin in the process.

My sisters were undoubtedly heading towards positions that gave them the biggest advantages and so I was quick to do the same. While I considered following Bianca and Olivia's example and taking to the skies, I could already tell that was going to get crowded soon—so instead, I headed for the river, rushing onto the water as if it were ground and turning to follow the stream up to its mouth. When I reached the center of the massive reservoir, I shifted my feet and stomped with my next step, the force of the blow sending a tall wave and pillars of steam rising in every direction, even as it let me fling myself high in the air. As I rose over the cliff, I switched off Acceleration to save power and picked my target, hands out to my sides. Thrusting both down at the same time, I switched directions and flew even higher into the air, contorting my body in midair in anticipation of my landing, slowing my descent even as I did.

With barely a sound, I landed on top of Beacon's highest tower and sat down to wait out the other four minutes and fifty-nine or so seconds, letting my power return as I looked back over the city of Vale. Looking back the way I'd came, I could see the trail of fire and steam I'd left in my wake and Bianca and Olivia hovering in the sky, eyes fixed in my direction. Bianca's face had already been consumed by her light form, but I was able to see the surprise on Olivia's face, as well as the consideration. Slowly, her eyes dropped to the ground below and she began to float away from Bianca's stationary form and, presumably, in the direction of Violet and Indigo. Setting down on a building nearby, I saw her power begin to take effect, spilling out into the space around her slowly.

Of the eight of us, she and Azure would benefit the most from these five minutes, given time to work—though on the other hand, that might well make them the biggest targets once we began, with the possible exception of me. Absently, I began to set up a few barriers around myself, raising my Haven, Temple, Sanctum, and Sanctum Sanctorum in short order. The already rapid pace at which my power returned to me increased even more, paying back what I'd spent in seconds, and should Violet or Bianca attack me, the physical barriers might even buy me a moment to think.

Keeping my eyes focused on the city, I wondered how the battle would begin. While weak at the beginning, allowing Olivia or Azure time to work would be foolish. On the other hand, while they were great dangers late in the game, it wouldn't do to ignore the threats in the here and now, either—sure, Bianca's power may not grow as the battle drew on, but she was horrifyingly dangerous to _start_ with. Bianca and Shani had enough power between them to be a dire threat to begin with and everyone knew it, so if I were the others, I'd try to keep at least Bianca busy. Team Magfishicent would have the easiest time of that, both as a three member team and as the team with Violet on it. She and Indigo would likely focus on safeguarding Olivia until her power was fully in place, which would give them a massive advantage. I'd say those three were probably a bigger threat then Sienna and Azure, but they'd also be the threat that would be focused on, giving Azure time to set up shop.

Tilting my head, I watched as they reached the river side. Azure thrust a hand into the water and color spread from it to darken the surrounding liquid. She keep it up as the seconds ticked by, focusing on it for nearly a minute as her power spread both out and down. At last, she leaned back from the water's edge, taking deep breathes as the new creature rose. It was much like any of her creations in that it was an amorphous blob with transitory eyes and mouths, but there was one thing that set it apart.

It was the size of a subway train.

Calmly, Sienna and Azure stepped aboard and some of the creature's mass rose around them as a shield before it slipped into the depths, form twisting and shifting until anyone without my eyes would have seen nothing but a vague and distant blur beneath the water. Even in my case, I had to unscramble the refracted image to get anything sensible out of the bizarrely distorted image. Moments later, other shapes began to rise, smaller creatures climbing onto the shores to attack anything they could reach, transporting parts back to their mistress.

Yeah. Ignoring those two would be a bad idea. Already, I could count over a dozen creature's and with Azure's Aura, there may well soon be a hundred, all working in perfect unison to construct things far from sight until Azure was ready to rise on a wave of twisted beasts and horrifying technology. Stuff like this was why nobody complained about the disproportionate team sizes.

I wonder what it said, that my team was the smallest. But then, I suppose it wasn't, was it?

With a vague thought, my Elementals were by my side once more waiting for my signal- seven of us for seven of them, which I supposed was fair enough under the circumstances. I left them in their spirit forms for the moment, but moved to get into place, Xihai in particular preparing to dive off the cliff into the water below. At the same time, I switched my clothes with Airavata, donning the armored kasaya with a gesture on my status screen. I belted it with Orion and slipped Hero and Leander onto my ring fingers. If we were sending off my father, then it seemed fitting to send off the others as well. I drew Kronos from my inventory as well, brushing a thumb over the chain necklace as I looked down at it.

I'd gotten Hero and Leander from Keppel and Carmine, while Tenne had dropped Orion. Kronos, however, I'd received for killing my father—and I hadn't looked at it since I'd stored it in my Inventory, had never even put it on. I could say it was because I hadn't needed to fight anything meaningful since that battle or that I'd been busy, but while both of those things were true, I was too Wise to lie to myself. Maybe they were part of why I hadn't put the necklace on yet, but they weren't the only reasons. When I'd gone to fight Conquest, I'd worn the items dropped by the other Hunters, telling myself I was borrowing their power to turn it against the one who'd truly killed them—and I'd believed that then and I believed it still.

And yet, somehow it was harder to tell myself that while looking at this delicate looking chain. Maybe it was because Conquest—or at least the part of him that had done these things to us—was dead or because it was my own father, but either way, it was the truth. In the same way a big part of me didn't want to tell my sisters about my involvement in our father's death, it didn't really want to wear the chain my father's death had awarded me, either.

But funerals weren't for the dead, I thought. They were meant to comfort the living and the people left behind. So if there was ever a time to wear it, it was now. It felt wrong to wear one of the masks of Grimm to send of the Hunters who had fallen in battle, whether the ones in my Inventory or the ones I grew for myself—but this was to show them that we'd be able to carry on at once without them and with all the things they'd left behind. Friendship, knowledge, memories, and, in a more literal sense than normal…these.

So I put it on.

 **Kronos—Rank: Mythic  
A necklace named for the scythe of time. Crafted in ancient days by the hands of a desperate father, it was intended to render the wearer immutable, immune to harm, disease, and even the passage of time. Yet the nature of time is that it runs out and he failed in his mission—yet from his grief was created this wonder. What he intended to save a life, however, brought only greater death as blood was spilt for generations to obtain it, until it too was lost to time.  
Increase all resistance to all harmful effects by twenty-five percent, up to a maximum of ninety-nine percent.**

I took a breath and exhaled slowly, fingers rising to touch the golden chain.

"I guess even now you're looking after me, huh Dad?" I whispered before looking up. "Then watch this."

The five minutes of peace came to a close with a light that split the sky.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Team Deathmatch**

The layered barrier I'd set up shattered almost the instant that crooked bolt of light touched it—but it was enough to give me a moment to respond. Recognizing the attack, I Accelerated as much as I could afford to, speeding up both my mind and body.

As I did, I was able to clearly see what was happening. The barrier shattered not instantly, but in pieces, cracks spreading from the hole that had been torn through it. At the center of that broken opening was a twisted bolt of lightning, spreading out from the point of contact like the branches of a tree. Forks formed in the lightning as it took an almost uncertain path towards me, winding one direction and then the other and occasionally shooting off other branches and tributaries. Like a blind man's hands, I saw those streams reach out and try to map out a path to earth, seeking the connection that would ferry Violet's great power.

This wasn't lightning, not really. These were the step leaders that charted the lightning's course, something vastly slower in comparison—thankfully. They were slow enough, in fact, that I had time to think and prepare, even as my body sluggishly tried to catch up with my mind as the fingers of my right hand curled. Spreading my sight through the whole of my skin, I took in the world around my, focusing first on the many trails of light before me. Paths were born as others faded, but at the moment I saw only three that seemed likely to reach a destination and so marked off a general area where they were likely to land even as fingers began to curl.

Turning my attention past the forks of lightning, I saw that a pillar of light had stretched down from Bianca's hand, falling on Olivia's position like the hand of God—or it should have, at least, but as it entered the pulsing, growing sphere of power that surrounded her, it abruptly bent at an angle and swung like a living thing to scythe down buildings in a wide arc, clearing everything between Olivia's tower and the river, likely in preparation of Azure's eventual attack. Olivia faced the sky, standing fearlessly in front of the blast that curved impossibly around her, and her arms were relaxed at her sides.

Even so, I could see beads of sweat forming on the skin of her face for the exertion of controlling so much space, the beginnings of tension forming in the muscles of her neck and back. Like Azure, she'd had no choice but to go all out from the very beginning, as pacing herself would mean nothing if she lost in the opening seconds of the battle.

But it made sense, I thought—Violet had left, considering Olivia able to hold off Bianca's attack. My left hand began to twitch closed as I peered carefully at the patterns of Aura the surrounded my youngest sister, trying to get a feel for the area around her over the vast distance between us. After a moment, however, I shifted my attention again, focusing on Xihai for a moment to command her to act before focusing back on the city. Olivia was in place to hold of Bianca and Violet had struck at me, which left Sienna, Shani, Indigo, and Azure. I'd bet anything that Shani was preparing an attack and Sienna a defense, but while Sienna would likely focus on protecting Azure, who would Shani go for? I was too far away for her to focus on me first, but would she try to help Bianca? Go for Indigo? Attack her twin?

I'd need to keep an eye out, but I suppose I had bigger things to worry about at the moment.

The fingers of my right hand finally closed and I focused the power I'd gathered between them, forming a Thunderbolt in a flash of light. Taking aim, I called upon Vulturnus and felt him slide into the attack as easily as Crocea Mors did into my blades. Flicking my arm out, I sent the glowing spear hurling through the air with all the speed I could muster. It sank into the ground perhaps five meters away from me, driving deep into the stone, but even before it landed, I could see power rising from the attack. The opposite of the downward leader, the upward stream reached into the sky, guided by my and Vulturnus' will. In moments, it touched the nearest of the leaders, curving its path away from me—and lightning struck with a brilliant, purple flash.

I shifted my perception of time, as well as my movement through it, and danced back a step, my other hand rising and hurling a Magic Missile into the distance. I monitored its flight with part of my face and focused on the new arrival. Where the lightning had struck, Violet now stood, both of her eyes now brightly glowing orbs. Her right arm had ceased to be made of flesh, unraveling into a crooked, writhing claw of violet energy, massive in comparison to her left hand, and though the fight had just begun I could see patches spreading over her body like veins of electricity. Though she seemed to have no irises or pupils, I felt it when her eyes focused on me and light shone from the back of her throat when she smiled.

"Hey, little bro," She said, her voice odd modulated as if static were disrupting her words.

"Hey, sis," I said and triggered the Thunderbolt. Lightning flashed up around her and Vulturnus rose with it, crafting a form out of the destructive power. Violet's attention immediately shifted, her mutated arm already reaching out in reflexive response. With a blinding amount of speed, her hand touched Vulturnus and the both of them were abruptly gone.

A moment later, I saw lightning flash in the clouds above us, noted the rough location, and went back to work. Focusing on my flying Missile, I saw it enter Olivia's range and abruptly change direction, curving hard to the right when it hit one of the many patches of Aura my sight revealed. Four more Missiles formed in my and Bai Hu's hands and were immediately in flight. I saw Olivia shift in place, trying to get a bead on me even as she kept back Bianca's assault, but all she saw were four more attacks. One reached the edge of her control and was hurled down and right, the next penetrated several meters before flying straight up, and the remaining pair both turned hard to the right, even though the landed meters apart. None of the attacks came close to her and wouldn't have even if they hadn't been interrupted, but it worked as a test.

All around her, in a steadily growing sphere, were layers of Aura, each broken up further into multiple parts. Some patches were darker than others, some twisted into whorls or slid like brush marks across a particular layer, but there were hundreds and more grew with ever second, even as existing ones shifted. Above her, I saw Bianca turning her narrowly focused blast to strike at different areas of the sphere, forcing Olivia to focus and adjust, and I paid close attention to how the sphere around her changed in the process, considering. At the moment, Bianca seemed focused on wearing her down by forcing her to change and adapt constantly, looking to exhaust her before the sphere could grow large enough to take in anyone else, but—

My thoughts were interrupted as I felt a change and more stepped leaders fell from the sky, angled behind me. Vulturnus was still far above me, somehow seeming weakened and drained, but too far away to help right this moment regardless. I made do without him, another Thunderbolt forming and flying after a moment's aim, positive side directed upwards and streamer stretching high. Lightning flashed once more and Violet reappeared, veins glowing more brightly as electricity crackled around her and wiggled its way under her skin.

"You've gotten pretty fast, Jaune," She continued as if our conversation hadn't been interrupted, hand reaching down to grasp the Thunderbolt and tear it from the ground. Without so much as a pause, she lifted the blast to her mouth, teeth sinking into the energy before tearing a chunk away. The mass as a whole lost its shape and twitched, rising out and down her throat as she literally devoured the attack.

I waited patiently for her to finish, turning and watching the city behind me out of the back of my neck.

"And you're as fast as ever, Violet," I replied politely, still focused.

Her smile widened slightly at that, trails of light shining between her lips. From behind her concealing hair, I saw the glow increase as the light spread outwards from her eye socket, consuming skin.

"Figured out the lightning thing, huh?" She asked.

"I read a lot of science books," I shrugged and explained. "The hardest part is just being able to actually see what's happening and react to it."

"Heh," She chuckled. "Well, even if you say that, only a few people have ever done it. I'd say it's pretty impressive, Jaune."

"Thanks," I answered, watching her carefully. She just smiled at me, completely still for a moment—and then her arm unraveled further, exploding into dozens of stepped leaders again. I could just barely see them, but with only meters between us, there wasn't time for another Thunderbolt, much less a chance to dodge. I had only a moment to take in the sight and determine which leader would touch down first—

And then there was only time for reaction. A hand like a searing brand came down on my shoulder with force enough to shatter much of the roof around us. Bai Hu slid through my body to try and shield me from the attack, claws reaching for Violet as I was shoved back. I brought up and arm in defense and the metal beneath my feet rippled as another lightning bolt came down, carrying Vulturnus down from the clouds now that he'd had a moment to recharge. Lightning and Metal worked together to draw in the current as it slipped through me and carry it away, but I had to catch myself and dig the Tiger's claws into the roof before I was hurled off.

Violet whistled from where I'd stood a moment before, the glow in her form more prominent, the amount of flesh visible lessening. She ignored the electricity crackling along the ground completely and cracked her neck once.

"Not bad, not bad," She praised before raising a somewhat taunting eyebrow. "Are you gonna fight back, though, or what?"

I rose and Bai Hu rose with me, a Thunderbolt forming in each of our hands. Violet's smile widened along with the glowing gaps in her skin, her eyes brightening as she leaned forward in anticipation.

She seemed surprised when I threw all four of them behind me, compensating for the awkwardness of such a tactic as a matter of course. Confusion turned to surprise as the glowing spears sailed through the air, covering the distance to the city in a moment. I doubted she was able to see the first Thunderbolt drag hard to the left or how the second one connected to it and drove it back forward three meters from its staring point. She probably didn't see the third shift the course of the second, the fourth shift the third, the third shift the first, or the first readjust the second, much less the pattern that followed after.

But she definitely saw the lightning that reached for the sky moments later, rising from where it drove into the roof less than two meters from Olivia—and saw Bianca demolish a nearby building moments later as Olivia was distracted. I saw her head snap up to look past me, an expression of focus coming onto her face for a moment, and then she returned her gaze to me.

"Tch," She clicked her tongue and unraveled again, closing the distance in an instant. I was prepared for it this time and Bai Hu shielded my chest with his own, but it was still force enough to drive me back and fling me from the roof and over the cliff below. I angled my body into a picture perfect dive moments later, adjusting my course with Levant as I went, but I saw lightning flash in the clouds again as Violet returned to Olivia's side.

Then I slammed into the water hard into that it felt like solid steel. Even so, I plunged through it, falling into the depths with enough speed and force that I felt water steam against my skin, and then shifted to slow myself as I reached the bottom. My eyes adjusted to see underwater, all five senses working just fine in the liquid environment, and so I took a moment to decide on my course of action. Given where I was now, it wasn't that hard, so I closed my eyes and reached out. While I waited, I cut off my power to the remaining barriers above me, set up a new Temple and Sanctum Sanctorum, and patiently waited.

It only took seconds for Xihai to return from her mission and answer my call, pressing her hands against the solid barrier and looking at me with pitch black eyes. Smiling at her, I calmly swam to the edge of the barrier, put my hand mirror to her own, and waited several seconds more before turning off these barriers as well.

Then I calmly took Xihai's hand and we went to invade Azure's aquatic empire.

Moving through water was very different than moving through air. Sure, I could move in three dimensions either way, but it goes beyond that, simply because liquids were different then gases. From the increased resistance to the natural refraction of light, the difference was hard to ignore and the simple fact of the matter was that I didn't have a lot of experience fighting underwater.

But I made do, letting Xihai pull me along as I adjusted. The first thing I did was focus on my most important asset, namely my senses. Visually, things underwater seemed to fade as they got further away, blurring before they disappeared completely. It was simple enough to fix, thankfully; simply a matter of changing how I unscrambled the light, and in moments my vision sharpened as if I'd donned a much needed pair of glasses. Focusing into the distance, I could already see my target.

Azure's creations were hard at work. Though they'd had at most five minutes to build, they'd taken to it with their usual enthusiasm and with each moment I saw more and more of the creatures bring down materials from the surface, ferrying them to a massive, underwater dome made entirely of ice. Adjusting my vision again, I peered through the frozen water and glimpsed inside the dome and saw the massive creature Azure had made before filling much off it. What looked like a miniature city filled much of the remainder, built on top of the massive beast, to the point that I could see much of its giant mass flowing up and into the constructs, operating controls that weren't designed for anything else. In the center of the dome, I saw Sienna and Azure standing inside of what looked like the cross between a snow globe and the control deck of some advanced space ship, seemingly coordinating the process in silence.

Drawing back, I pondered the dome itself. Such a thing could only be Sienna's work, but she had more control then I remembered. At various points upon the dome's surface were what had probably been entry hatches before Azure's creations modified them into gateways, each near a construction site inside. The smaller minions created parts outside the dome and were then allowed in to add it, the gates themselves opening and closing only to allow such entry.

It was a defense against Bianca, I thought at once, considering it. Possibly Shani as well, but it was definitely focused towards their eldest sister. Sienna had frozen the space around the massive creature with her power and it was simply the resulting lack of motion had created the ice. Though a fair defense in its own right, the halt areas themselves would protect against Bianca until Azure finished her construction within, facilitated by the few entry points allowed into the hemisphere. _Those_ areas were more vulnerable, but they were small and above the water you'd need to be _very_ lucky to hit one. So long as Sienna had power, Azure had time to work—and giving Azure time to work never ended well for those she was working against.

I suppose that decided that.

Drawing further back, I let Bai Hu sink back beneath my skin as Xihai dragged me down to the riverbed and we continued our swim along the bottom. Xihai drew up the dirt and detritus that layered the bottom, pulling them around us to add another layer of concealment to our approach. Though my eyes could decrypt the natural refraction of light in water easily enough, the opposite probably wasn't true, though I admittedly wasn't certain about the visual acuity of Azure's creations. Unless it was truly amazing, however, I had an even greater visual advantage then usual and I intended to exploit it. Xihai kept our passage from stirring the clouds too much and we approached as fast as we could without drawing attention, stopping perhaps a hundred meters from the dome. I looked over the weak points in its surface, peered within to chart my course, and took a moment to adjust my other senses as best I could, focusing primarily on my hearing.

Through Xihai and my eyes, I saw and felt how sound traveled differently through the water. As I often did with Levant above the water's surface, I asked her to reach out to the sounds, to adjust and mimic them for my sake, and then merely changed my hearing to compensate for what differences remained. In moments, I could hear everything around me—touched by being done underwater, perhaps, but still audible and at least somewhat recognizable. I heard Azure's minions craft their machines with the slick brush of metal and the turning of joints. I heard how the creatures squelched and shifted and bubbled in the water, how they squeezed in and out of the gates, how they tore materials into smaller, more workable pieces.

And beyond all of that, I heard my sisters. Blotting out the sounds of their beating hearts and the creaking of their muscles, I focused on their voices and listened.

"Violet's returned to distract Bianca," Azure said in a dead serious tone, as if this were a war for their very survival.. "Olivia's trying to consolidate her control over the South-east. Once she does, the Magfishicent will undoubtedly use the chance to stage an attack against the SCBs borders, or else attempt to drive Bianca towards us."

"And Jaune?" Sienna asked grimly, a veteran preparing herself for the worst.

"Unknown," Azure said. "He moved out of our sensor's range early on, though Violet seemed to engage him at the beginning of the fight and abandon it moments later. I suspect he was responsible for the attack on Olivia, but his present location is unknown."

"What about the others?"

"Shani and Indigo have yet to show themselves either."

"Melting ice caps," Sienna…swore? I guess? She seemed to be getting into this. "There's only one thing we can do. Azure…charge the laser."

Several massive structures within the dome began to glow, making me roll my eyes.

Of course there's be a giant laser.

"Let's go," I said, using Xihai's power to modulate the sound into something I could hear normally, just to see if I could. "Time to, uh, melt their ice caps or whatever."

Xihai nodded seriously, having no idea what I was talking about and seeming completely unbothered by that fact.

The core idea, however, seemed to translate just fine.

I brought up my arms and let Bai Hu rise around me once more. At once, I saw Azure's creations turn their twisted attentions my way, but it was too late—Xihai thrust out a hand and the nearest of the gateways exploded inwards, water rushing through the opening. I felt the current pull me along and brought down my hands with all my might, Accelerating as I went and pushing myself through the opening the moment before Sienna reacted, freezing the areas over the gateways in response.

It was a bad move, made worse by being exactly what I expected. I reverted Xihai back to her spiritual state and drew her past the physical barriers before recreating her inside and then—

And then I began to swim.

I swam as fast as I could, drawing upon my Acceleration, Bai Hu, and every other speed booster I had. I made a score of laps around the dome's circumference in a fraction of a second, starting high and going lower with every ten or so revolutions. The massive beast below us tried to react first, but Xihai turned the water in the dome against him, not so much using it to hold the beast down, but simply asserting control over several carefully picked regions of the interior. The dome was packed tight with water and with all the ways in or out sealed, there few places for the water to go and she simply reduced those options yet further.

It tried to rise, but the water refused to flow past or around it, pinning it down by simple refusal to move or be compressed. It tried to fight anyway, tried to lift the unspeakable weight above the boundary Xihai erected, and it wasted precious seconds on the futility, seconds where I continued to swim. The friction against my skin boiled the water on contact and Xihai split her focus to aid in the process as the ice on the inside of the dome swiftly began to melt. I heard Azure catch on to my plan at the sight, hissing something to Sienna about pressure cooking, but I didn't stop swimming. Moving in steady circles, I raised the heat and pressure higher and higher, directing it with Xihai's natural power even as my passage shattered buildings. In some places, I was gliding on steam more than I was swimming, which was actually kind of fun.

Well, for me that is. The rising temperature and my catastrophic displacement of water seemed to be wreaking havoc on the fine machinery within Azure's city and the steam was making the massive creature squelch in displeasure. Abruptly, an impossibly solid wall appeared in front of me and I narrowly avoided running into it as ice gathered upon its surface and nearby structures. I merely adjusted my course around it, swinging sharply again as several more walls appeared to try and box me in, but I saw them as they form and twisted sharply out of the way. Seeming to have enough, Sienna brought both of her hands down and made two walls in the sphere, freezing everything from the center to the circumference as if marking out the area of a giant slice of pie, filling the area inside with ice in the process.

That seemed like my sign to leave, so I dove hard the moment I saw the structures forming, heading for the bottom edge of the dome before Sienna could start taking shots at me again. Xihai peeled the edge of the creature up as if lifting the corner of a rug—electing another squelch of displeasure in the process—and I hit the dirt full force, calling to Ereb as I did.

As easily as if I'd gone down a slide, I went right under the dome and continued upon my merry way, waving back at my sisters as I left, sure they could see me somehow. At the very least, I could see them—and I could see them pouting at me. Well, they probably thought they were frowning in displeasure, but really, Azure had never been able to get past a pout.

That should keep her busy for a little while, I thought as I rose to the surface. I hit the air in a moment and my momentum carried me high into the air until I caught myself on a platform of air. Withdrawing Bai Hu again, I slid an illusion of absence over myself and knelt, looking down to see Xihai slithering atop the surface of the water.

Without a word, we both reached into the river beneath us, at once pushing and pulling at it. I focused my power and felt it spill out of my, flowing like water poured onto a smooth surface and yet trying to form something solid.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with flowing elemental power, 'Tsunami.'**

I didn't release the attack just yet, watching Violet and Bianca rage in the sky, light against lightning. Olivia was still expanding her territory, Azure and Sienna making repairs, and for the moment I had time to myself—so I used it. I charged the attack for most of twenty seconds, hanging silent and unseen in the air as my siblings clashed.

And then I let it go.

What seemed like the whole of the river rushed forth, flooding its banks and then rising high. Water came gushing down from its mouth and up from the sea, Xihai helping me feed the attack and push it forth. It rose over thirty meters into the air, then fifty, and then even higher as it hit shore, before crashing into the city of Vale like a fleet of airship.

Glass shattered. Buildings fell. Neighborhoods were flattened as water poured forth and crushed it beneath Nature's might. Bianca rose and Violet arced high into the sky, but Shani, Indigo, and Olivia had no choice but to weather the attack—and I felt them do so, bright in my mind as Xihai whispered their locations to my thoughts. Keeping my illusion tightly around myself, I leapt down, landing in the mud and debris at the edge of the river and prowling quietly—

My scroll started ringing. An alert popped up to inform me of it, but more then that I could _hear_ it, even I my inventory—my Clairaudience at work. Except, no one should have been able to reach my scroll in Naraka; it wasn't a place that got much in the way of reception.

Given that, there was really only one possibility as to who it might be and a glance at the incoming signal confirmed it. I considered ignoring it, truly, a part of me half-expecting what was going to happen, but…in in the end, I heaved a sigh and answered, solely because I knew it would make her happy.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Azure Beam!" She shouted into my ear at the top of her lungs, drawing out the last word.

A moment later a column of light as wide as a small neighborhood slammed straight into me and threw me through most of the city.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Turns**

When the light and sound around me faded, I was flying through the air of the Industrial District. My skin felt raw and I could feel steam rising from it, but my clothes seemed more or less fine. I guess the gear I got from slaying the creatures of Grimm was a bit more durable then the average shirt and pants, or else it had been protected by my Aureola. Either way, I was thankful that I hadn't lost any of my items in the blast, and it kept my sisters from ribbed me about running around naked, too. I'd chalk that one up as a win, except…

I was surprised. I'd known an attack was coming the moment Azure had called me, but I'd expected it to come in a different form given the amount of damage I'd caused to her city. I had to wonder how she'd managed to make repairs so swiftly; she must have incorporated redundancies into the design or built replacement parts ahead of time or something. And the blast itself hadn't been anything to sneeze at, either, especially considering that she'd been able to generate such a powerful blast without access to Dust. How had she fueled it then? With her Aura? Something else? The fortifications within the city had seemed to be drawing power from all around themselves, but to generate so much energy.

Maybe she was simply taking it from the battle, I mused as I smashed through a brick wall and came sliding to a halt within some factory and several tons of rubble came piling down on me from above—remnants of this building and the others I'd been hurled through. Beneath the weight, I frowned and considered the idea carefully before shaking my head; it couldn't be as simple as using just _any_ power. While drawing upon, say, Bianca's power would certainly yield enough energy to create such a blast, if Azure was capable of containing and using that destructive power so casually, I wasn't sure Remnant's energy concerns would still be a thing if we could just pop powerful Hunters in like batteries. No, it had to be something _specific_ , though I might have been on the right track.

I considered who Azure was closest too and my thoughts changed track to Sienna. She could halt motion within areas, dropping their temperature to Absolute Zero as a matter of course and freezing everything nearby. Except the heat _couldn't_ flow into those areas, because her power kept any motion from occurring, whether it originated from inside the stopped area or not—while the mechanism seemed to be spacial instead of temporal and that caused a fair number of differences, in a lot of ways the targets might as well have been stopped in time. So how did the whole ice thing work then? I mean, heat normally flowed from the hotter point to the colder point, but it shouldn't have been able to in this case, so how was ice being generated? She'd been able to freeze things for as long as I remembered, but now I had to wonder how.

Perhaps the walls she made _weren't_ inviolable, I thought before furrowing my eyebrows. No, rather, they obviously _weren't_ inviolable; they wore off eventually, which meant there was something involved that changed over time—I'd already thought to myself that she had to maintain the areas with her Aura and that the process was costly, hence why she usually froze things in paper thin sheets. I'd seen Shani break the frozen spaces, too, though I'd always considered that to be because of their opposite powers, but what if…what if energy didn't fail to interact with the frozen spaces, but simply appeared to? She couldn't destroy the energy, so she must have moved or changed it somehow. Did she absorb the energy, then? If she did, I suspected the power would be less exhausting—but perhaps _Azure_ could absorb some of it, the heat being shifted, if not the power that was making it move in the first place.

I imagined the area of the dome. Large enough to fit several houses into easily and surrounded by a frigid dome. If you took all of the heat from the area around it—and all of the heat from the areas she'd frozen trying to stop me on top of that, plus the constant inflow trying to warm the frozen areas—we were talking about a fair bit of power simply because of the area involved. And she wasn't just dropping things to zero; she was pulling them hundreds of degrees _below_ it. Take that much heat, whether on its own or converted into another form of energy, and you'd have a pretty hefty blast. Focus it into a small area, it would be horrifically lethal, but even blown up to massive proportions…

Might be enough to blow someone across a city, I decided. It was conjecture, but it could have worked—and if it did, it was something to consider in the future, when I counter attacked. I'd largely avoided the frozen areas, but if they added to Sienna's strain, they might be a target all their own.

It was something to keep in mind, but I had bigger concerns at the moment. Before the rubble even stopped falling, I sent my senses reaching out to case my surroundings. However she'd done it, her blast had put a fair bit of distance between us, but it had also thrown me in the same direction my sisters had gone—and despite my concerns about a second attack, I could already feel threats lurking nearby. My sisters having retreated further into the city to escape my tidal wave and two of them were closely. Shani was three streets over, more than close enough to be a threat if she became aware of me, but even more concerning was Olivia, who stood less than a block away.

Even without seeing the Aura in the air around me, I knew I was well within her range and in a whole lot of trouble if she knew it. Did she? I'd been tossed this way by a bright massive lightshow, which might have hidden who I was and where I landed—or not. I was confident I'd have seen me in her place, but I couldn't be sure when it came to eyes that weren't as good as mine. If she _didn't_ know…I might have a chance to do this the easy way.

 _One_ chance.

I picked a course, taking in the strange patterns that filled the air around me before plotting an escape route. I could feel which way was closest to the edge of Olivia's range, but with her power, that might not be the _safest_ route—though without time to test exactly how the area around me worked, I had no way to be sure of anything. Still, I shifted my route slightly, adding a bit of distance to take a course I thought would keep me out of her line of sight, drawing in my power. I Accelerated first, before shrouding myself with Bai Hu's light and Lunging with all my power towards freedom-

Before smashing face first into the ground hard enough to shattered everything with several dozen meters, a victim of my sister's ability to control direction. Given that the entire area around me was apparently pointed downwards, it seemed safe to assume she knew I was here.

Which was, you know, not great. Olivia's power may not have been as flashy as Bianca's, but if you got caught inside of it, you were very nearly as screwed, because she could decide how things moved around her. I'd seen it before—though nowhere nearly as clear as I could see it now—and I knew what it could do; during the Vytal festival a few years ago, I'd seen her fight in the tournament against some speedster guy.

He'd moved really fast, until Olivia made him move really fast straight down. Then he'd broken both of his legs and that had been the end of that.

Thankfully, I was a bit more durable than that, though crashing full speed into the ground and eating concrete wasn't super fun. I tried raising my arms experimentally, testing against the force, and failed, pretty much as I expected to. I tried reversing the motion and pushing down, which worked fine but unfortunately didn't allow for any reverse control scheme shenanigans. I was pointed down. Attempts to move in other directions were changed to point me down—and trying harder meant going down harder, because this wasn't an issue of magnitude, but one of direction.

Okay, I thought. I can work with that.

I reached into the earth and felt Ereb form far beneath my feet. He didn't create an empty pocket to stand in or anything like that—suddenly an Ereb shaped patch of dirt _was_ Ereb, the earth around him tight against his skin. Yet when he moved, it shifted like water, flowing into the space left behind as he raised his hands.

At the same time her did, I closed my eyes and gathered my own power. I didn't directly call upon Ereb and Xihai's—and even, to an extent, Crocea Mors'—aid as often as my other Elementals, for several reasons, the most simple of which being that it was just more effort than it was usually worth. Unlike Suryasta and Vulturnus, who controlled reactions, and Levant, who ruled over a gas, those three controlled more physical things and…well, they were heavy and I had to spend energy in order to move that weight. Moving, say, a ton of water might sound impressive, but it doesn't take much, volume-wise, to hit that weight. When it came to earth and metal, sometimes that was even more true. Even with Xihai's help and over ten seconds of charge time beyond what Quick Soul granted, that tsunami had taken nearly five thousand MP. When it came to things like fire or lightning, I could get a lot more bang for my buck, while Levant could control a larger volume for the same amount of energy, thanks to air's relative weight.

Worse, earth, water, and metal needed to be kept under control to me truly useful. I could animate a sphere of water to drown someone, for instance, but if I stopped controlling it, it'd just splash onto the ground. Something like fire has the advantage, because…well, its fire. If you light someone up, they'll stay that way until they put it out and it can grow and spread on its own, burning buildings down, forests, more. In theory, you can get a lot out of an initial investment there, which is why fire has been weaponized since forever. You didn't really need to work to make it dangerous, either, and a lot of things get pretty nervous when it comes to getting burned alive.

So things like water and earth were harder, needed more control, and required time to use properly. It was usually easier to lob a fireball at someone's face or strike them with lightning.

But then, I had some time to kill at the moment—and recent advancements, I had MP to spare and time was a bit less of an issue.

So I focused, reaching down deep into the earth and felt myself touch the forces I remembered from my meditation sessions. I grasped that power with my own, making a connection through which to guide that potential, rather than force it to obey me—to give it a route through which to express its own power, not to bury it under my own. Even so, despite using a careful, gentle hand, it was hard work and _long_ work. Even Quick Soul wasn't enough to use it on the fly and fully charging it took nearly fifteen seconds.

But I kept that power flowing and felt myself sink into the ground as if it were water—Ereb's work, not mine. I sank like a stone, down the path Olivia had decided, and kept guiding and gathering my power.

And then it was as simple as knocking over dominos.

Except, you know, with buildings.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill of catastrophic elemental power, 'Tremblor.'**

The ground beneath the city shifted like a beast in its sleep—but even that was more than enough to cause devastation to the mortal city above. Glass shattered in waves and rained down on the city streets while buildings groaned upon their foundations, shaking and breaking as the power of the assault grew, sending massive structures toppling and casting away the effort of years like a dog shaking water from its fur.

I felt the already ruined city tear itself apart through Ereb's eyes and gained some insight into him in the process. The Earth Elemental watched the city fall with apathy, having seen such things—in a sense wholly different from how he now perceived the world but nonetheless real—happen countless times before. As it all came tumbling down, he merely curled an arm around my chest and pulled me away from where Olivia now moved through the city, pulling me far out of her range before drawing me back up to the streets and standing by my side. For a moment, as light glinted off the gold and jewels set into his skin, I wondered about that and about the many nations history left behind. Looking around at what my sisters and I had quickly made of Vale, it was hard not to consider how easily the things we believed might last forever could fade in moments.

Shaking my head, I filed that thought away and reached out without moving. Olivia was directly in front of me, if a hundred meters away and separated from me by rising walls of dust and smoke. Past her and to the right I could feel Shani, though Indigo was still unaccounted for, making me wonder how long she was going to wait before making her move. Above us, Bianca had turned to focus on Violet as best she could, apparently deciding that Olivia was being dealt with, and the two of them were figures of light and power in the sky.

As Bianca seemed willing enough to ignore me for now, I returned my attention to Olivia. Creating such a massive attack had cost me more than a little energy, so I decided to take things easy for the moment, until my power returned. To that end, I formed a Magic Missile in each of my and Bai Hu's hands and settled into a relaxing cycle by hurling bolt after bolt after bolt. The moment one left my hand, another was already rising to be thrown and another attack was forming in the free hand. Yet one by one, they hit Olivia's range and were flung away without reaching their mark. Some tore trenches in the earth, some blew holes in the clouds above, and some wrecked what little remained standing in the Industrial District. Though I ran a wide circle around her, targeted dozens of points, they were all tossed in seemingly random directions.

The key word being seemingly. As I tested her defenses, I watched her Aura closely and noted the patterns left in the air. Though none of the attacks had come close to her yet, quite a few had reached past the edge of her range and flown deeper before shifting paths. If her power was as simple as it appeared as first glance, why not just set the surface of the entire barrier to away and toss attacks back the way they came? I suppose air might have been an issue, but in a large enough area—such as the one she had now—it was a relatively minor issue and she could easily just buy one of the gas masks with a built in air supply. Was she just holding back for the sake of the game?

It was possible. None of us were really _trying_ to hurt one another and I knew that at least Bianca and I were tailoring our fighting style to make this enjoyable. I still wasn't sure of the full extent of their abilities, but I figured the others were probably doing the same, to one extent or another. So it was a possible explanation, but…

What if it wasn't a matter of choice? What if her power wasn't as simple to use as a normal glance might imply—because it sure didn't look simple to _me_. There wasn't just some highlighted volume of control or a bunch of arrows that pointed things in the right direction; instead, it looked almost like a puzzle of sorts, with a thousand different shifting flows of Aura coming together to form a massive whole. It looked, if anything, like a work of art—and if so, perhaps altering it wasn't as simple as changing just one specific thing, but a matter of redrawing entire aspects to form a new image. It was conjecture, perhaps, but that's why hypothesis were tested, rather than simply accepted.

So I tested mine. Stopping as I completed my circle, I focused my attack and watched as my Magic Missiles were forced along the paths set out for them—until they collided with other Missiles and were deflected, bouncing into other streams and paths. They slid again and I reacted, sending an attack high so that it'd be drawn into the path of one below, quickening my pace as my power returned to me. In several seconds, a pair of shots crossed and carved trenches on either side of my sister.

She moved at once, dragging her territory along with her, and yet the artistic patterns in the side facing me shifted, a ripple of change spreading over the weak points I'd exploited, but also the areas around _them_ , reorganizing into a new pattern.

I smiled and continued the assault for a little longer, letting my energy spears be guided by her power until I understood the pattern once more. I exploited it immediately, of course, but not to attack Olivia—instead, I allowed a trio of shots to be drawn through her control and sent flying away. Each of the shots came dangerously close to hitting Shani who immediately turned and fired an attack through the dust, disintegrating and combusting everything in its path. Because the attacks had effectively changed direction in midair, turning her power against the apparent source meant another attack for Olivia to deal with, and after hurling a few more attacks for good measure I drew away.

That should keep the two of them busy for the moment, I thought as I went. Shani would keep up the pressure on Olivia for now—if nothing else, she'd be drawn in that direction and realize she had to, with Bianca preoccupied. Given that Olivia had assisted Azure in tossing food at her, I didn't think much effort would be needed to provoke that fight, but I sent out Levant to start shifting the dust clouds to ensure that Shani would see her before moving too far into Olivia's range.

At the same time, Olivia was a good distraction. Because of her defense and the threat of her control, she'd keep the others working hard to wear her down, wearing _them_ down in the process. Given that I was fairly sure I could get around her defense if I had to, there was no reason for me to take her on here and now, was there? I'd find another target—which currently meant hunting down Indigo or going back towards—

Something like fireworks started exploding in the sky, drawing my—and probably everyone else's—attention. Electric blue in color, they burst into dozens of tiny shapes that shifted in midair to form an image.

Namely, Azure and Sienna's faces, both wearing tremendously serious expressions. Beneath their heads were written the words 'Stone Cold Bitches', words joined shortly after by claims like 'Not Magnificent,' 'Unfabulous,' and 'Your Team Name Sucks.' Who said words were directed towards was kindly made obvious by cartoon renditions of all our faces, with exes for eyes and our tongues hanging out in defeat.

Absently, I wondered what was wrong with my team name, but as lasers pierced the sky—both from Bianca above and Azure's weaponry below—I focused on what was dragging its massive bulk from the river. Azure's massive creation crawled out of the water bearing…her other massive creation, the entire city apparently weaponized. Everything from rockets to lasers fired into the air, many exploding without hitting anything for the apparent sake _of_ exploding. Though a part of me wondered what Azure might have been able to make if she hadn't taken the time to craft all this pointless stuff, what _was_ real seemed plenty to wreck whatever parts of the city hadn't already been wrecked, even as the creature kept Bianca busy.

Seeing Violet draw away, presumably to go help Olivia, I sighed and ran towards the enormous thing. Hundreds of orb-like eyes dotted its surface, most of them focused on Bianca past the shielding wall Sienna had likely raised as it pressed on further into the city. With their sphere wrapped almost entirely in its bulk, Sienna and Azure rode their jiggly blob into the city.

I tossed a Magic Missile at it, figuring Sienna couldn't be stilling it while it was mobile. Apparently seeing me coming, Sienna raised a hand in my direction and a shimmering wall of stopped space appeared between us to tank the blast. I Lunged to get on the other side of her and threw another, forcing her to raise yet more walls, but they refused to freeze the sphere and pushed forward. Inside, Azure clenching one hand into a fist and extending the other fully above her.

"Onwards, my noble steed!" She shouted. "To battle!"

I drew back for a moment, just to watch the thing creep with surprising speed over the land, withstanding Bianca's assault. All along its surface, machinery began to glow with power, preparing something even as music—loud, obnoxious music from a pair of massive speakers—began to blare Azure and Sienna's voices. Calling the result a song might have been a bit generous, given that neither seemed to be paying attention to what the other was saying, but whatever made them happy, I suppose. Given it was a victory song, though, I don't think any of us could take this lying down.

Sure enough, a shadow took that chance to appear in the middle of Azure's orb and Indigo began to rise amidst a curtain of black blades so thin that I couldn't tell if they even _had_ width. And then I realized the truth—they didn't. They were animated shadows, two dimension objects being made to exist in a higher dimension world. With her headphones tight over her ears and presumably playing something more pleasant, she stepped forward and drove blades at the backs of both.

Two down, I thought as she swung at both of their backs.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Battle Royale**

The blades don't slow in their thrust towards my sister's vulnerable flesh and if I hadn't had complete trust in all of my sister's, I'd have been seriously worried. Indigo's blades were no joke and were capable of cutting through just about anything—and now I knew the reason why. Being two-dimensional, the blades were perfectly flat and yet her power allowed them to exist in our world regardless. In cartoons and comics, it wasn't uncommon to hear about swords and stuff that were absurdly sharp and thin, but even monomolecular blades would have looked wide next to Indigo's strikes, because they didn't _have_ a width any more than a shadow had depth. Though she was only able to express them in a limited range around herself, those blades were sharp enough to cut even experienced hunters to bits, unless she held back.

But I knew she would, even before I felt the touch of her emotions against my thoughts. Sure enough, at the last moment, the blades returned to a shadowy state, moving across Azure and Sienna's skin as if someone had lifted a hand into the air shield them from light, rather than stab them in the back. They slid around their rib, over their chests, and then bubbled back up into reality on the other side of their bodies, giving the illusion of impalement and making both of the girl's look down in shock.

"You should know to watch your backs, ladies," Indigo said, the shadow of her hat creeping down to hide her face. "You were both full of openings."

Azure lifted a trembling hand towards the shadow sword, but touched nothing but air in the end as Indigo drew back, pulling the blades loose. Sienna stumbled and fell to a knee as she 'came free', jerking as if to turn in place, but Indigo caught the back of her head and pulled it up at an angle, leveling another sword just out of range of her throat. For her part, Azure slumped forward onto the control panel in front of her.

"A-Azure," Sienna cried out as the massive creature beneath them came to a halt and began to slump. She reached out towards Azure, all but pushing herself towards the blade to reach out and catch her hand. Holding her fingers as if in desperation, she tried again. "Azure, wake up!"

"Sienna…" Azure twitched, sliding down the control panel as if pulled off balance by Sienna's hand. There was a certain dullness to her tone as if she didn't understand, or couldn't believe, what was happening. "Sienna, I feel cold. What…what happened?"

"Nothing," Sienna said desperately, tears gathering in her eyes. "Azure, you're going to be fine, just stay awake. Do you hear me? Just stay awake, Azure!"

Azure twitched, moving her head slightly as if doing so meant lifting the weight of the whole world. Slowly, her eyes focused on Sienna and she gave a quivering smile.

"Y-you never were a very good liar, Sienna," She choked out as she wept silent tears. "This is it for me, isn't it?"

"Azure," Sienna's voice shook and then faltered, leaving her unable to do anything but continue to cry.

"It's okay," Azure continued, still forcing the smile. "Even if this is the end, I'm glad I got to fight beside you, Sienna. The two of us…we did okay, right?"

"Yeah," Sienna jerked her head in a meager nod. "Yeah. You…we did great, Azure. W-we—"

She closed her eyes and kept weeping. Though her face was still hidden in shadows, I could clearly see Indigo roll her eyes behind them.

"You know," Indigo drew the word out as she shook her head. "I was giving you some leeway for the whole death scene thing, but…since I stabbed both of you in the heart, I feel like this should be going faster."

They both ignored her and just kept going.

"I'm sorry," Sienna whispered, just loud enough for her voice to carry. "I'm sorry I got you into this, Azure. If not for me…"

"No," Azure said, one of her hands abruptly tightening on the control panel, as if trying to hold onto it as well as her life. "Don't be sorry, Sienna. Not for this. No matter what happens, I'm glad I got to fight by your side."

"Azure…"

"So…goodbye," Azure's hand weakly grasping Sienna's own. "Captain Sienna."

At last, she let out an explosive sigh. The massive creature let out an eerie, sorrow-filled cry and then began to melt, its body returning to the water from which it had been made but leaving the technology behind—though much of it also cracked and shattered as it tumbled to the earth. Indigo moved her blade away from Sienna's throat but stood unflinching as the sphere hit the ground, bounced ever so slightly, and began to roll. Even when she was periodically upside-down, she didn't fall, her feet retreating into the shadows beneath her to keep balance. She held onto Sienna as well, but Azure's 'corpse' bounced around the inside of the sphere, slamming into all manner of things with surprisingly lifelike grunts. Indigo did nothing to help her, watching her with pitiless, shadowed eyes.

"So are we done now?" She wondered. "Do I need to decapitate you guys, too, or…?'

"I'll see you soon," Sienna whispered, still ignoring Indigo as she reaching out one last time. "Azure…"

"Decapitation it is," Indigo resolved, nodding to herself as she swung her blade. Once more, it returned, in part, to its shadow state before it struck, so that the blade merely crawled over her throat instead of passing through it. Even so, Sienna jerked once, hand remaining extended for several long seconds before falling at last. Only then did she topple over.

Indigo shook her head once and then cut herself a doorway out of the sphere.

"Note to self—headless enemies talk less," She muttered to herself, a hand reaching up to rub at her eyes. "Should have just done that to begin with…"

I considered attacking her while she was off-guard, as she had done to Sienna and Azure, but after a moment I chuckled and leapt from my hiding spot, landing just over five meters away.

"Indigo," I greeted, tilting my head to smile past her. "Those two sure took their time bleeding to death, huh?"

She pondered me for a long, silent moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I noticed that too," She shook her head. "Heart wounds just aren't what they used to be, Jaune. Were they the first to go down?"

"Yup," I replied, looking past her in amusement to watch Azure slowly reach up to push a button on one of the remaining consoles. As she did, a small light came on, consolidating into an image after several moments.

 _"Hologram activated,"_ It began, mechanical voice shifting into Azure's warmer tone. _"If you're listening to this, then the worst has happened. A shining star of beauty and genius has, through some unspeakable cruelty, left this world. However, fear not, brave citizen, for I—"_

The hologram shut off as the machinery it was produced by was torn to pieces by a swarm of grasping shadows.

"No," Indigo said without looking away from me. "None of that."

"Aww," Azure's corpse whined before twitching. "Er, I mean… _brains!_ "

Indigo took another breath before shaking her head again.

"Bianca left while those two very slowly died," Indigo noted. "I assume she went back to Olivia when she saw me take them out?"

"Mhm," I nodded, holding back a grin for her sake. "All of the others are over there now, fighting it out."

"So you decided to fight me?" She guessed before cracking her neck.

"Unless you made other arrangements…?" I offered, shrugging at her look. "I admit, there was a part of me that wondered if you'd just gone back to sleep."

"I'd never do that," She denied. "Not during Dad's funeral, at least, and certainly not with all this racket."

"So that's a yes, then?" I asked.

She sighed and looked at once wistful and tired.

"On one condition," She said, shaking her head at me.

"Oh?"

"If I win, die like a normal person," She requested. "Please?"

"Won't be an issue," I assured her. "I like to think I'm pretty hard to kill."

"I suppose you'd have to be, considering," She said, biting down on a yawn and blinking twice. "What with the Jian Bing thing and all. Shall we get started, then?"

"Sure," I agreed, releasing the power I'd been gathering all this time. Once again, I felt it reach down into the earth and touch the forces within—but the target, this time, was different. I felt it spread out like water spilled on the floor, before sinking yet deeper into the thirsty ground, before flowing back to me as if in reverse.

And as it did, all of that force was dragged along with it. Debris jumped into the air, along with drops of water and the slowly settling dust. Even things as large as Azure's machinery weren't immune and rose a quick step into the air, as if gravity all around us had abruptly turned off.

Which, you know, it had, though only for a moment. Or rather, it had been concentrated and focused into a much smaller area then normal—namely, everything within five meters of Indigo.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with crushing elemental power, 'Gravity Crash.'**

In an instant, everything near her was crushed flat. Proven wood and twisted metal alike sank into an almost smooth surface all around my sister, who staggered once against the abrupt and enormous weight set upon her. Everything from the atmosphere around her to the very flesh on her bones had their weight multiplied dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of times over in that brief second. Had my sister been a normal human, every bone in her body would have shattered and the fluids within would have exploded outwards as the vessel within was crushed.

But she wasn't and they didn't. Instead, with her eyes widening, she staggered and fell to one knee, her hands and feet leaving deep imprints in the ground as she sank up to her thighs and elbows. Even though it only lasted a moment, her physical body collapsed and was left unguarded as it just tried to hold itself upright against the strain.

Her spirit, however, barely seemed to notice. The animated shadows all around her didn't so much as twitch as gravity skyrocketed, being essentially weightless to begin with. As their creator staggered, they reacted by drawing close, curling around her in preparation to attack or defend. Though my skin was made of Adamant and I had raised all of my defensive abilities ludicrously high, I knew better than to test my luck head on against those blades and didn't even try. As the first attack faded, I lifted my fist and delivered a punch with each of my arms, backing up every blow with Far Slayer. Just as the technique from which I'd invented it, Far Slayer allowed me to deliver a melee attack at range. But thanks to the energy I put into it and the now-negligible charge time, the results were…a bit more impressive.

Indigo flew into the air, a series of trenches being gouged into the ground all around her as if carved into the ground by a giant's hands. Tearing her away from the ground also meant tearing her from the shadows upon it, and though they tried to catch her, each blow had tossed her farther and faster. Once she was soaring over the area formerly known as Vale's skyline, the shadows on the ground quivered and faded away.

"Kuh," I heard her grunt, the sound from the initial impact reaching me at last. In the air, I saw her grit her teeth and cross her arms over her chest, forming shadows on the top of her vest even as others squirmed from every nook and cranny. Under her hat, from beneath her shirt and vest alike, from wherever there was the slightest shadow, they slithered out like vicious snakes and rose into the air as living blades.

I smiled. I'd figured she'd have a counter to such an obvious tactic and had suspected the layers she wore to be a part of it, but…I guess there was no simple way to separate her from her weapons. It was just as well, I suppose, or else this wouldn't be any fun. My main goal, to keep her from diving into her shadow and hiding, might still be effective besides.

I guess there's only one way to find out.

The ground shattered for a good distance all around me as I Lunged into the sky fast enough to set the air ablaze again. The shadows around Indigo twitched, with blades of shadow thickening around her arms and back. The former weaved themselves into a pair of blades that rose from the back of her hands, but the latter…first they crafted a skeleton of dark bone, before covering it with layers of shadow-flesh, forming a wide pair of wings that spread to slow Indigo flight. After a moment, they flapped experimentally, gaps that were only visible because of my enhanced eyesight opening and closing carefully. In moments, Indigo's fall changed into something more controlled and then into something just a hairs breadth from flight. As I closed in, she turned towards me, expression calm and controlled, and swung her swords.

I dodged in two different directions, physical body going up while Bai Hu went down, letting the swing pass between us just a few centimeters short of the tail that connected us. Indigo's wings moved oddly and were abruptly in both of our paths and our fists stopped just short of a collision with the two structures. Flapping open, this time moving through conventional space to do so, both of my bodies withdrew to avoid the attack—and kept moving as additional shapes bubbled from the interior of the open wings, spewing reaching blades to try and strike us down. Lifting our hands, a pair of Flare's collided with Indigo, pitching her further back even as the dark swords kept coming, and so I shifted until both of my bodies occupied the same space, absently releasing the platform of air on which I'd stood. A quick gravity crash multiplied the speed at which I fell many times over and I touched ground in the midst of a massive crater and a massive explosion of dust. Briefly hidden from my sister's sight, I grew an illusion of absence around myself and slid into the ground like it was water.

Feeling the ground ripple as I swam, I lifted Bai Hu's head above the ground as I rose near the surface some forty meters away. From every inch of his invisible skull, I could see, and I spotted Indigo with an ear as she glided to a safer position. Apparently unwilling to use her blades on a target she couldn't see, likely for risk of hurting me, her blades had instead stabbed into the ground and crept along its surface as shadows once more. Despite the flares, Indigo appeared unharmed and relaxed, but her headphones were off and her eyes were narrow.

Shifting in place again, I sent my thoughts toward Ereb and he acted without hesitation. Bai Hu rose above the surface, form still invisible, but I stayed beneath and swam through the dirt below his feet. I felt my claws curl, power and light forming in my hands, and I hurled them at once in the shape of a Magic Missile.

Indigo spun in place, one shadow sword rising to slice the Missile cleanly in half. As it passed through the attack as though it were no more than air, the shadow split in two, pushing the attack in either direction, and instead of striking her they exploded behind her and off to the sides. Without hesitation, Indigo sent bladed shadows crawling through the air as though it were any other surface, and they swung gently through the air where one of myselves had stood, hitting nothing.

Dropping the illusion, I exploded from the earth twenty meters away and tossed the attack I'd been charging while submerged, hurling a massive Flare into the air. Once more, Indigo shielded herself with her wings, but the explosion of released power was massive and fire rained from the sky for several seconds afterwards. I was already drawing another illusion around myself as Suryasta rose from the flames and sucked them up in a sort of reverse tornado, drawing in the flames to create another massive body for himself, as he had against Pyrrha. At once the demonic figure looked towards Indigo, mouths opening wide to send flames screaming into the air, but Indigo simply lifted one wing to defend herself and sent a tide of blades from the other to rip the giant into a hundred pieces.

As said giant was completely composed of fire, it didn't make a whole lot of difference and Suryasta merely drew them back into his form. His power struck out at anything nearby, such as all the broken wood, and it…well, it fueled the fire, letting him grow. Indigo frowned and struck him again, also to little effect, before turning as if to find me.

And she did, suddenly diving from the air with blades outstretched in either hand. She closed the distance to fight close, likely because it would be safer for me if anything went wrong with her ludicrously lethal Semblance, and shattered the ground as she landed beside me, swords whirling towards me even as they turned to shadows to make sure nothing was harmed. Though I suspected they wouldn't kill me any more than Carmine's blows had, house rules meant we were out at one 'lethal' blow, which they certainly counted as, and I'd lose on a direct hit.

Even so, I didn't flinch, shedding the illusion as I stepped forward. My hands were wrapped in claws as Bai Hu slid over me and shifted forward until my upper body was almost parallel to the ground and I Lunged towards her as she brought her weapons to bare, angles of attack bright in my mind. As one impossibly thin blade rose, I slipped a hand fearlessly into the fray and pushed her wrist to the side with gentle force. The other kept coming for my throat, but with the opening made by the first block I slid in and caught her arm with my own. At once, her wings exploded into a rain of general lethality, every bit of which came rushing towards me, but the moment I'd blocked the second attack, Bai Hu rose from his overlaid position and reached for my sister's throat. As fast as I was moving, I'd get to her before her wings got to me—

But not before her sneak attack struck me in the back, I noted. The moment I revealed myself, I'd felt it—a strange movement in the air above my shadow. I suppose it shouldn't have been surprising that her ability allowed her to sense such things, which must have been how she'd found me while I was hidden, but the moment I began to close in, there was a major reaction. The moment I attacked her, my shadow betrayed me and exploded upwards into something very much like a coffin.

I watched it all happen out of the back of my neck but didn't stop my attack. As the black pit drew nearer, I closed my eyes for a moment and shed my secondary illusion—and the light of Aureola came flooding forth in a fountain of light.

My shadow vanished.

Claws closed around Indigo's throat.

Everything stopped.

"It looks like it's my win," I said, drawing an illusion over myself to hide the light again. This close to me, Indigo had been forced to turn away and shut her eyes in the face of it, and even then the sheer brightness must have hurt her through her eyelids. Even so, she nodded once and her shadows faded as she slowly opened her eyes again, blinking fast.

"Yeah," She said, smiling lopsidedly. "You really have gotten stronger, Jaune."

I returned her smile with one of my own and released her throat.

"Any last words?" I asked playfully, making her snort before nodding and drawing in a deep breath.

"Alas, I am slain!" Indigo shouted to the heavens before falling to the ground. At once, her shadow moved, drawing itself protectively around her like a—

Like a blanket.

Indigo closed her eyes and seemed half way to sleep in about a second.

"You know," I whispered. "That's not normally how people die either, Indigo."

Her lips twitched but she said nothing, shadow carrying her swiftly away. Watching her leave, all I could do was shake my head and chuckle before turning away.

Three down, I thought as I looked in the direction of the others. And given the amount of light coming from that direction, more were about to follow.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Removal**

I moved in swift silence, drawing another illusion around me as I floated into the air. I kept my distance, since my eyes eliminated any need to get close, and simply observed for a moment.

At the moment, it was two vs. two—Olivia, Violet, Shani, and Bianca fighting in a section of the city that had seen better days, counting most of the War. Violet flickered around the battlefield, staying outside of Olivia's range except when she needed to withdraw briefly. Each time she stopped, she looked a bit less human, until all that remained of her flesh was the skin around one luminous eye and small patches of skin on an arm, a leg, and her midsection; the rest of her was brightly glowing light.

It was obvious from just a glance that her main target here was Shani who, though possessing pretty tremendous destructive power in her own right, wasn't a good match for Violet or Olivia. Her ability to accelerate matter within an area of space was obscenely dangerous, especially with a line of sight range, but though it vaporized most of what it hit, the narrow blasts she was using now would never hit Violet, much less penetrate Olivia's layered defense. Like Bianca and Indigo, her power wasn't very well suited to friendly spars, so she had to hold back a great deal—more than the rest of us, I mean, because of the risks of seriously hurting someone if something went wrong. We all _could_ inflict horrific injuries upon others if we had reason to, but some of us were better at _not_ doing so then others.

When your superpowers were disintegration beams, shooting doom lasers, and wielding absurdly sharp blades, there's only so much you can do to hold back the lethality. In a fight like this, those of us who could fine-tune our powers to the occasion had a huge advantage over those who couldn't.

Still, she was doing fairly well, considering; she hadn't been defeated by Violet outright, after all, and so she was able to keep Olivia that much more preoccupied. Shifting my vision a bit down the spectrum, I saw the touches of heat surrounding her, shifting the course of the lightning ever so slightly as the leaders came near. She couldn't _control_ the paths the way I did, but she could set nature up to take its course and cross her fingers. Eventually her luck would run out—as luck was wont to do—but she wasn't down yet, at least. From the way she and Bianca were fighting, their plan was to exhaust Olivia enough that she'd forfeit and then probably have Bianca focus on defeating Violet.

It was their best option, I acknowledged, but that didn't change that it had its problems. Problems they couldn't really _do_ anything about, granted, but if Olivia went down, there would be nothing holding Violet here and since she had—despite the element of chance involved where the landing was concerned—a huge speed advantage over all of us, she'd be free to lead us all on a merry chase as we tried to catch her. Admittedly, she was almost as untouchable with Olivia's support and potentially far more dangerous, but the fact remained that within the bounds of the spar and with the limits on anything that might actually hurt one another, Violet could easily get away if she wanted to.

That made her the priority target, I decided as I continued to scan the battle field. Followed by Shani and Olivia, who I was confident I could defeat fairly easily on these terms. But how to do it? What did I have to work with? The playing field itself was fairly level—or, rather, _leveled_ —but I had a few options. With the advantage of surprise, I could turn their own power against them, using Shani and Bianca's blasts, Olivia's territory, and even Violet's movements. But for this…

Remaining invisible, I sighed slightly and nodded to myself. Though the risks were fairly negligible given how careful they were being, I didn't want Violet to get hit by one of Shani or Bianca's attacks, so I'd just have to do it myself. No, more than that, I'd take a note out of Indigo's book and milk the element of surprise for all I could. I began to gather my power, first in my right hand, then my left, and finally in both of Bai Hu's. The first attack was a Thunderbolt while the rest were Magic Missiles, but I held on to each and charged them. As I did, I watched Olivia's sphere of control and paid close attention to how attacks moved through it, drawing on my own experience with it as I did so. With other parts of my face, I focused simultaneously on Bianca raining light down from above, on Shani unleashing her vaporizing blasts, and especially on Violet's movements. As I did, I silently began counting down.

When I counted to ten, I drew my right hand back and prepared to throw. With several different 'eyes', I patiently watched as Violet's Aura fluctuated, spinning off energy throughout the Electromagnetic Spectrum—and recognizing the signs, I threw, hurling the fully-charged Thunderbolt as hard as I could. It flew into a pre-marked spot on Olivia's sphere and turned sharply to the left, hurling into the ground about ten meters away. Within the projectile, Vulturnus immediately reached out and an upward streamer reached high into the air, course set right for one of the stepped leaders that appeared as Violet unraveled again.

Before the Thunderbolt had even landed, I hurled the Magic Missile I held in my left hand along the same path, adjusting the angle only slightly as I threw. When lightning struck and Violet's form came back together, it flew past her, missing by perhaps a fourth of a meter. When it hit the ground behind her, however, the charged shot blew another trench in the already ragged battlefield. Expressionless, if only because she no longer had much of a face to make expressions with, Violet looked over her shoulder and made a static-filled sound.

Without even waiting to see if the first attack worked, I moved onto the next target, hurling both of my remaining Magic Missiles with all my might. The first arced high over Olivia's field and crashed into the ground like a bomb right next to Shani, but the second was tossed straight at it. By the time the last shot was fired, two more Missiles were in my human hands and I angled them to collide with the first at two different places. Accelerating as the attacks left my hands, four more appeared in my grasp and were in the air fast enough to just barely be behind the first three, and the seven shots hit with less than a tenth of a second between them. Within Olivia's territory, the attacks went mad, smashing into one another perhaps two dozen times with no seeming rhyme or reason—but in mere moments, the first Missile, the one that I'd charged, shattered the ground at Olivia's feet.

For a moment there was silence. Then, a sigh and two groans. Bianca stopped her attack and hung quietly in the air as I Lunged across the intervening space and made my appearance.

"Surprise attack," I said maturely as I lifted a hand and pointed at my three sisters in turn. "You know the rules; you lose, you lose, you lose."

Olivia and Violet rolled their eyes but glanced at each other and took a seat, looking tired.

"Tch," Shani said, looking put out. Maybe it was because of how she'd had to hold back or her lackluster showing because of it—but she didn't argue. She did, however, mutter under her breath. "I barely got to blow anything up…"

"Beacon's still standing, if you don't have anything better to do," I informed her. "You guys might want to move somewhere else regardless, just in case. I'd tell you to head back to the house, but, well, somebody destroyed it."

Looking up, I made my expression prim.

"Bianca," I said mildly.

Floating downwards, she snorted, the sound carrying an odd reverberation to it.

"Bitch, please," She replied. "You're just jealous I got to it first; you'd have wrecked it in that tidal wave or earthquake anyway."

I flashed a smile at that and shrugged at her mildly.

"Yeah, probably," I agreed. "Still, you're lucky my memory's so good, because we're going to show up wherever we leave Naraka. You wouldn't want to pop into some poor guy's house, would you?"

"Would never happen," She denied. "I can fly, so I'd just go up high enough to avoid any buildings. Might show up in the newspapers as the coming of a beautiful angel, but I'd never end up in someone's house."

I chuckled and shrugged before glancing at Olivia and Violet, who hadn't said anything. Though the former seemed focused on taking deep, steady breaths, Violet didn't seem to have lungs at the moment.

"You okay there, V?" I asked, Observing her silently. She wasn't hurt or even really tired, but she had a status effect called 'The Chariot of Thunder' and it was rated as High.

She glanced at me, the flesh on her face now entirely gone, and nodded once.

"Fine," She said, the words barely intelligible over the interference in her voice. "I'll just need awhile to return to normal."

"It's probably for the best that you stopped," Bianca noted. "A little longer and you'd have needed to regrow everything again."

"Not like I have any plans for the next few days," Violet shrugged, the motion jerky as if her body was snapping from one position to the next. Olivia?"

"Just tired," She said, voice calm. "You all always gang up on me whenever we do this."

The words were spoken in such a way that they would have been a whine if they hadn't been said about five million times. As is, they seemed more like a routine. So did Bianca's response.

"Take it as a sign of respect," The oldest replied. "After that first time, we know better than to let you be."

Olivia made a sound of time-worn displeasure in the back of her throat, but after a minute, she closed her eyes and she and Violet began to float into the air, another, smaller sphere forming around them. Evidently, they'd stay and watch.

Nodding to them in acknowledgement, I glanced at Bianca and then looked around.

"The city's looking pretty absent," I noted.

"Dad would appreciate the general mayhem," Bianca agreed with the unspoken statement. "And no one even got hurt."

I nodded, smiling slightly.

"I still need to talk to you about something," I continued. "But it can wait until after if you want to keep going."

"What's the score?"

"I've got four and Indigo has two," I replied. "No one else has any."

Bianca shrugged.

"I think we've proven what we set out to," She mused. "But I wouldn't mind testing you a little bit. On three?"

I nodded and thought she might have been smiling.

"Three," She said and a blast of light promptly flung me high in the air.

The first attack tossed me over what would have been several nearby buildings, if not for, you know, us. More than that, it hurled me high over them, as if I were a bullet shot from a gun, the sheer force of the blast carrying me into the distance. Pressure and weight weren't generally words I would associate with light, but the bright power that came rushing from my sister's fingers and hands was more than light, deeper then it. Even as it heated my Adamant skin, I looked into it and through it, to the shining hole in space that had replaced a forefinger of my sister's hand—and yet there was something to it I couldn't understand any more now than I had when she'd first shown it to me. I wouldn't go so far as to say the light that tossed me several hundred meters into the air was _alive_ , but it was…I don't know. It was _more_ than most things were, in a way I couldn't explain beyond that.

It was hard to truly focus on the intriguing aspects of the sight when it was tossing me around, however, so I took a moment to organize my thoughts and shoved it to the periphery of my mind. Gathering my power, I pulled myself to the ground with another Gravity Crash, leaving the beam of light to continue unimpeded as the ground shattered beneath my feet. Through the skin of my arms and face, I immediately caught sight of Bianca as she rose swiftly into the air—and I could tell from how she moved that she was somehow certain of exactly where I was. As the increased effects of gravity faded from around me, I tried to dodge, but against an attack that moved at the speed of light…well, it worked about as well as you might expect.

Another blast of light hammered me downwards, but this time, at least, I was a bit more prepared for it—and it came from above, rather than the front. Despite my strength and defensive enhancements, I didn't weigh significantly more than I appeared to and so neither of those things kept me from being thrown around by forces unless I could properly leverage them to the task. From this position, I could at least stand against the onslaught as the crater around me widened and I was pushed further and further down, and so I forced myself to rise, lifting my arms against the blast. Bai Hu rose with me, a pair of Flare's gathering in both of his hands and flying immediately towards Bianca, expanding into massive blasts of fire as they went.

They were about as effective on my sister as I expected, which was to say 'not at all.' They came into contact with her form and she didn't even twitch as the fire flowed past—or maybe even _through_ —her body. Bai Hu kept up the attack, palming Magic Missiles, Thunderbolts, and even attempting a Gravity Crash, but none of the attacks seemed to affect the altered space that composed her body, at least not enough to matter.

That's how she was flying, I thought. Normal forces like gravity simply didn't affect her as much when her entire form was shifted.

Interesting. I'd noticed that her power was similar—and dissimilar—to Raven's in that it seemed to create some kind of gateway. The difference, from what I could tell, was that Bianca made said gates from her own body and they could only go to one place. Bianca hadn't seemed to really know where and neither did I, but given what little I knew about Malkuth Theory, I couldn't help but wonder if they were connected. At the very least, however, it seemed to give her a lot of resistance to many forms of attack, by simple virtue of being absent. Attacks seemed to pass through her body as if it were an open doorway, doing little harm as it passed through.

The question was, how little? How far did this defense of hers extend? Neither fire nor electricity had worked and the Magic Missile had passed through her hand like it was nothing, but I knew my sister wasn't invincible—I'd seen the injuries to prove it, after all, though her power had grown greatly since then. But assuming that she still had vulnerabilities of some kind, how did I exploit them?

I suppose I could try to outlast her. Though the amount of Aura she was using seemed wholly out of proportion with the results, she _wasn't_ burning Aura to do this. Even though we had only been fighting for a matter of minutes, a great deal of her Aura was gone. In theory, I could play this defensively and wait for her to run out of power—assuming she didn't notice what I was doing, change tactics, escalate by making a somewhat larger gateway, or simply get bored, which all seemed rather silly to assume.

I could also try crawling underground and escaping her notice that way. I wasn't entirely certain if that would hide me from whatever method seemed to alert her to my location and the sheer destructive power of her attacks might unearth me, but I could try to wait her out that way. If she wasn't fighting, however, it would take a long time—and more to the point, it would be rather boring. This fight wasn't just about winning, it was about proving something.

So to that end, I stood my ground and let Bianca's destructive power continue to rain down upon me, taking a moment to let my power gather. Through the light, I saw Bianca uncurl a second finger, doubling the force she was unleashing upon me in the process, but it wasn't enough to make me back down. With Kronos around my neck and my defenses layered, a half-hearted attack like this wouldn't knock me down—it barely even seared my skin, which was a negligible wound as I was now. In Bai Hu's hands, I gave my power form, shifting and altering the Searing Light I'd used against Conquest into something greater before letting it loose.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill of unbound elemental power, 'Plasma Cannon.'**

As Bianca rained light down upon me, I returned the favor with an attack that turned the air between us into plasma, buying time to work on a hunch. While it was far from a rule, people could have Semblances that were similar to those of their parents, owing—presumably—to the fact that people themselves could be similar to their parents, in a number of ways. Even beyond genetic traits, after all, the people who raise you can pass on a lot of things; beliefs, goals, grudges, preferences, and a lot of other stuff. At the same time, children could easily be nothing like their parents and have wildly different Semblances.

In my family, the latter would seem to be more of the case—though there were occasional similarities, their powers were very different from both Mom and Dad's. However, if you looked at them side by side, there were certain patterns; while Violet's power didn't seem very much like Dad's telekinesis, it was very similar to Bianca's power, and both _might_ have been influenced, if very distantly, by Mom's phase shifting power. Shani and Sienna's powers were just aimed in different directions and focused on changing things at a small scale to achieve very large effects. A lot of it was just guesswork, but I suspected there was _something_ there.

However, though there might have been vague ties to my parents, the ties between my sisters seemed a lot firmer, especially the ones born close to each other. Bianca and Violet especially had a lot of striking similarities in how their powers worked—and Violet was always the one sent to keep Bianca preoccupied in fights like these. I wasn't sure if that was because there was some underlying relation in how their powers interacted or if the forces they wielded affected one another, but there was _something_ there, which told me…

I had no idea what. Though the effects were vaguely similar, the forces involved were vastly different—as different as, well, light and lightning. I knew from Violet that forces that could affect the powers they wielded could theoretically affect them, but even then, Bianca and Violet expressed their powers very differently. For instance, though Bianca was promptly consumed by the wave of plasma, it didn't affect her as it might have Violet's lightning. She didn't seem _hurt_ by the attack, though she at least seemed to notice it and raise a hand to touch it as it passed over her. Since neither lightning nor plasma seemed to work on her, I could safely rule out both of those as reasons why Violet could oppose her, which left…what? Dimensional shenanigans?

It would make sense, in a way, given that Bianca had pretty much turned her body into a dimensional doorway. It raised several rather interesting questions about some of the injuries she'd sustained in her career as a hunter which bore looking into but…how did that help me here and now? At the moment, Bianca and I were locked in a stalemate, where I couldn't hurt her and she couldn't meaningfully harm me without using more power then she would like to in a spar. I had a few skills that directly affected dimensions, most notably Naraka and Trespasser, but I was a bit leery of using them given the horrific consequences that might arise if Naraka were to shatter here and now.

Beyond that, my gravity attacks hadn't worked, not that I'd expected them to with the relatively negligible force I could muster for them. While enough gravity could do all sorts of strange things, doing stuff like affecting light or space in a major way involved energy that was quite a bit beyond my means.

What options did that leave me then? Not a lot of good ones, but…

"Now's as good a time to test it as any," I said to myself as I looked over my shoulder. I nodded back with my other head before stopping myself, realizing that behavior was a tad odd, but curled Bai Hu's claws and gathered my power yet again.

Focusing on light was rather easy, given the circumstances, but though my power immediately moved to guide my metaphorical hands, the complexity of the process quickly became apparent. Imagine white light passing through a prism and breaking into a myriad of colors—and then imagine the process happening in reverse. I gathered four elements and held them firmly but separately in my mind, before bringing them together as one. No, more than that, it was like I was returning them to some prior form, putting back together the broken pieces of a puzzle. For just a moment, I thought I understood why the skill that allowed this had been called Unity.

And then I felt the thing I had created take on a life of its own. For a moment, I felt light shine from my eyes and mouth, glowing beneath my skin as it pushed against the inside of me and strove to get loose. I tried to give it form through Bai Hu's hands, but as I did, I felt him sink into me and return to the whole. The light around me, from both Bianca's attack and the Sun's light, dimmed as one, as if some massive beast had taken a deep breath and sucked in the luminance in the process. I felt power course through my veins like fire, yet it didn't hurt or burn. It just flowed and grew, from the crown of my head to the bottom of my feet, or maybe the other way around.

My heart beat once to the pulse of that flow—and another heart beat in return, but it wasn't my own.

I realized then, in a way that even I couldn't truly grasp, that I was putting this power to a use that was almost unworthy of it in its simplicity, just as I realized that I needed to get this power out of me before it broke loose.

Exhaling a breath that I didn't remember taking—would swear I _hadn't_ taken—I let that power rise up to my hands, pushing back against Bianca's attack like it wasn't even there and releasing my creation.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill of supreme elemental power, 'Lux Aeterna.'**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Privacy**

The world around me darkened even further as I felt my power flow and it took me a moment to realize the reason why. It should go without saying that holding an arm up against Bianca's light did little to stop the majority of it from slipping past the limb and scorching both my skin and the ground around me—but as I unleashed my new attack, all of that changed. The destructive light swirled around me, seeming to bend away from the ground and spiral up my legs, chest, and arms. Even beyond that, light seemed to flow _into_ me, dulling and changing colors as it went until the pressure of the attack seemed to almost vanish. I stretched out my hand, feeling something scorching and burning as it coursed through my body, and…

And then there was light. A tremendous amount of pure, focused light, brighter than anything I'd ever seen before—and while I wasn't sure how _anything_ managed to look bright against the background of Bianca's assault, it did. For a moment, I thought that the attack was somehow _pushing_ Bianca's beam away from me, but it only took me a second to realize how ridiculous the mere idea of that was and see the truth; it wasn't pushing anything away, but rather still drawing light in. As Bianca's light met mine, it dimpled and narrowed and swirled around it, drawn into the thin cylinder that flooded from my hands, starting with the part closest to me but growing quickly to encompass the rest.

In moments, the entirety of Bianca's attack seemed to writhe in the air as if trying to fight against the pull, but it couldn't escape as it was twisted again and again into the almost smooth shape of my attack. Even as it did, the sky seemed to darken further, day turning to night in the midst of the attack as my power called to the light around us and swallowed it whole. As the source, it felt more like I was holding onto it than anything else, but…I could feel it. I could feel Bianca's attack flow into mine and the light of the Sun follow suit, driving the attack to greater heights as pieces became part of a whole—but underneath all of that, I felt the power that came from _me._ The additions made the attack's power swell, but even that seemed relatively minor in comparison to what I was barely holding in check.

Because beneath everything else, beneath all that power, it was me. It was my light that was drawing in everything else, swallowing everything less than itself, and that light came from _me_ in a way that I could only loosely grasp. It was more than just physical illumination, the same as Bianca's was, but as different from her attacks as I was from her—because this _was_ me and that _was_ her. The light of our souls in an exceptionally literal sense, given form and power and purpose. It tore through everything, making my illusions unravel and the light of my Aureola spring forth, and then that too flowed into the attack that gave shape to everything I was, because it _was_ everything I was. Just as white was the result of merging all the colors of Dust, light was the result of merging the Elements—and of combining everything I was.

This was why the skill was called Unity, I thought again as the world seemed to freeze for a moment.

And then the moment passed. My light—my Lux Aeterna—split the same darkness it had plunged the world into. For the briefest instant, we were the only things visible in the night I'd made of everything near us; a blindingly bright line that connected my sister and I, flowing from my hand into the luminous portal she'd made of her body—

But then everything was back to normal as the attack ended and more light streamed down from the sky. At once, I was back to standing in the middle of a melted crater and Bianca was high in the sky, features completely hidden within the light of her altered form, no longer attacking. Slowly, she lifted a hand and rested it just below her ribcage, holding it there for a long moment.

"Ow," She said at last, the tone of her voice a touch surprised. "I actually felt that."

Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground, and though her face was gone, I felt sure her eyes were on me. Abruptly, I realized I was sweating and that I felt tired, two things I hadn't felt in quite a while, so as Bianca landed, I gestured at myself and allowed Xihai to pull the sweat from my skin before healing myself and brushed away the touch of exhaustion. A lot of my MP was gone, but that would sort itself out soon enough, so I turned my attention back to my sister.

As her feet touched the ground, Bianca's form changed, seemingly random patches of cloth and flesh bubbling up to the light's surface, returning her to her normal state. She was smiling at me even as she lifted a hand to touch the same spot as before, seeming uninjured despite her words.

"What _was_ that?" She said, quirking an eyebrow.

"A new skill of mine," I answered. "Called Lux Aeterna, apparently. I just made it now. I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"

She hummed once, tilting her head to look up into the sky as if to see it again, and I took the chance to Observe her carefully. She's taken some damage, but it was relatively minor and her Aura was already working on it. I'd heal her in a moment, but there didn't seem to be anything _physically_ wrong with her.

"I'm not sure," She admitted. "It felt pretty weird…and familiar. Not quite like my stuff, but…"

"I know," I nodded. "I felt it, too."

"When it hit me, I felt like it was trying to twist me up and draw me in, like it did with the rest of the light," She continued. "It felt pretty odd, I'm not gonna lie. Still, it sure looked cool, didn't it?"

I smiled brightly at that and nodded.

"Maybe I should get you a suit like mine," She mused, taking a step back and looking at me with one eye closed. "For your birthday, I mean; you're getting to about the age where you'll need one and after that show, well…you deserve it. The oldest and the youngest, making our lightshows."

"I'll think about it," I hedged, shrugging a shoulder. "We're done, then?"

"Seems like as good a place to stop as any," She smiled, coming over to put a hand on my head and ruffle my hair. "You took a decent shot from me without flinching and threw back one of your own, so why don't we call that your win? I was just going to test you for a bit, but I'd say you've exceeded all expectations, so there's not much point in going further right now, is there? It's plain to see that you can take care of yourself."

I snorted quietly and smiled a bit wider at the praise.

"Thanks," I said, making myself sound causal. In response, she just ruffled my hair a bit harder.

"I mean it, Jaune," She whispered, meeting my eyes. "You've done really well. Dad would be proud, knowing that you're strong enough to keep going, no matter what happens. That you'll be fine, even though he's gone."

I was silent for a moment at that, before nodding slowly, returning the seriousness of her expression.

"We all will, right?" I returned.

"Of course," She answered. "Everyone knows we're all amazing. It's why everyone loves us so much."

Chuckling, I looked around at what was left of Vale. I wouldn't say there wasn't a brick left atop another, but…well, they were pretty rare, all things considered.

"Maybe," I acknowledged. "But do you ever get the feeling we're like those kids in school who make a lot of noise, party too hard, and ruin things for everyone who's trying to study or whatever? Because, uh, this place is kind of trashed."

"Nope," Bianca replied promptly. "Everyone at Beacon agreed I was perfect, beautiful, and a general joy to be around. It was in the yearbook and everything; I can show you."

"Did you make them say that?" I asked, smirking.

"No, no, of course not," She said, shaking her head—but her lips twitched as she did. "Well, maybe."

"Wow. We're already down to maybe?"

"Possibly." She shrugged. "What matters is that everyone loved me and will fondly remember me always."

"Well," I tilted my head. "As long as there's _that_."

This time, it was her turn to chuckle.

"I guess we should find the others," She said. "Shouldn't be too hard, what with everything in the way gone and all."

"Really, when you think of it like that, it's flat out _convenient_ ," I agreed. "I already know where the others are, though, and Violet and Olivia are right there."

I jabbed a thumb towards the slowly approaching pair, watching as Olivia's territory adjusted to bring them closer.

"Oi, you two!" Violet shouted as soon as they were close enough. "What the hell was that!?"

Bianca and I looked at one another and promptly decided not to tell her.

"I'll go get everyone else," I said, rising into the air again.

"We can talk about whatever you wanted to once we get everyone back home," Bianca promised.

I nodded again, smile widening as I rose high above the mess we'd made, the city we'd destroyed in our father's honor. Looking over it all and seeing my sisters smiling below…it made something within me relax for the first time in a week.

Yeah, Bianca was right. No matter what happened, we'd all be okay. And I…I'd make it through all of this and find a way to figure things out. I'd save mom and then I'd save everyone else, no matter how hard it was or how long it took.

So…goodbye, Dad.

I'll handle things from here.

 **XxXXxX**

A few hours later, after a round of showers, another meal, and a traditional toast that wasn't quite celebrating and wasn't quite mourning, I found myself at the foot of the stairs, waiting silently. No one said a word about it, but my sisters made themselves scarce, going off to the living room or their bedrooms to give us privacy.

I felt her approach long before she arrived, but didn't say anything about it until I heard the stairs creak behind me.

"Are you free to talk now, Bianca?" I asked, the words coming more easily than I expected as I looked steadily forward into the street. I thought this would be hard or at least painful, but…it wasn't. Whether because of the sendoff we'd had earlier or just because of the Gamer's Mind, it wasn't.

"Yeah," She said, taking several more steps before taking a seat beside me. "The others will leave us be, but we can take about this in that barrier of yours, if you'd rather."

"Don't worry about it," I shrugged. "I already turned on my privacy settings."

She turned to face me, brow furrowing lightly as she glanced me over. If she was looking for something on my face, she didn't find it—but then, that face was nothing but an illusion projected by my mind.

"Really?" She voiced after a moment, sounding uncertain.

"No," I replied, smiling slightly. "Not really. I just used my powers to shut off the area around us and keep anyone from overhearing."

She shook her head, expression a touch bemused.

"You're power's weird enough that I've have believed you either way," She said, leaning back to rest her elbows on the stairs behind us as she stared up into space for a moment—and I could literally feel her considering something before she spoke. "Jaune…what's wrong? I thought something was, but you've gotten a lot harder to read. I wasn't sure if it was something big or something you wanted to keep to yourself, but…that's what you want to talk about, right?"

"Yeah," I mused, considering her words with a slow nod. "I suppose it is."

"Then what?" She asked. "Is it about Dad?"

"It's about Dad," I confirmed, turning to meet her eyes. "And the mission in general, really. It's…some of it's supposed to be secret stuff and there are parts I still can't tell you, but this part is pretty open. With the amount of survivors, it can't really be a _secret_ , though they can keep it quiet, and…you get the idea."

She nodded without a word and let me talk, an action that made me wonder if I was stalling. Maybe, I thought and took a needless breath.

"It was a Pandora Shell," I said at last and saw emotions flicker across her face—and felt them far more closely through her Aura. My sister was many things, but she wasn't stupid, and I could all but feel her working her way towards the truth. I'd told myself before that it would be easy enough to do so and after the display I'd put on earlier, that was more true than ever. And though I couldn't truly read her mind, I felt the exact moment when she realized what I'd done, written in shock and sorrow and pain across the face of her Aura.

"Oh, Jaune," She whispered, leaning her shoulder against mine. She didn't say anything else—though, really, even I wasn't sure what there was to say. That I'd done what I had to? Probably. That I'd done my duty as a Hunter, even if I wasn't officially one? Quite possibly. That I'd done what my father would have wanted? Definitely. But none of that really changed things. She didn't say that I shouldn't have had to face such a thing, because she knew my power and respected both it and me, just as she knew about the lives I _had_ been able to save. So in the end, she just leaned against me silently, the gesture simply one of support and a reminder of her presence.

Even though it was pointless to tell her what she already knew, maybe that was why I kept talking.

"When the Shell opened," I shook my head. "Well, you can imagine. It was chaos and no one else was in any condition to do anything about it. Half of the Hunters there were caught in the blast—Dad, Keppel, Carmine, and Tenne. A guy named Onyx, who was part of Dad's team, tore off a leg to escape the disease, while Tyrian and Castanea slipped into some kind of time-stop barrier thing and only came back a day after everything was over. Mom nearly died shielding us from it, though I managed to heal _that_ damage at least. Once I'd done that, though, it was…well, we were in a bad spot. Mom tried to fight Dad and hold him off, but that left three other Hunters infected and they got to a local, too. Someone had to stop them and…well, I was the only someone in town."

She put her hand over mine and squeezed it gently, but didn't interrupt.

"I tried to save them," I continued. "Reach them, heal them, cure them…but I couldn't. I couldn't figure out any way to do it and truthfully, I was in a bit of a rush. I'd like to say I gave everyone there a fair chance, but with so much at stake and with Dad infected…I didn't. I stopped them, but they kept fighting and I couldn't risk it when I couldn't help them, so I killed them and moved on, so I could get back to Dad. I helped everyone I could along the way, made shelters for the civilians to keep them safe from the disease, but I won't lie—I was trying to save Dad. More than anything else, I wanted to save him and I tried, I tried _everything_ , and I still couldn't. So in the end, we fought and I won and he died."

"Jaune," She whispered. "It…he was…"

"I know," I said—because I did know, better than anyone else in the world. "I know I'm not really the one responsible and I know who to blame, but I still…I failed, Bianca. I did everything I could and it wasn't enough, so in the end, I watched him die. I _helped_ him die."

"Shh," She murmured, putting her arms around me gently. And for a moment, we just…sat like that.

"Can I ask you to do something for me?" I asked her. "Something big?"

"Name it," She said at once.

"I…" I considered my words carefully for a moment. "There's a reason I didn't want to do this in Naraka. It's empty, except for whomever I draw into it and I didn't want to give the wrong impression. After the Pandora Shell opened, though, I called Ozpin to supervise and help me. In a situation like that, paranoia is survival trait, but when nobody can trust anyone else, it can be hard to…well, to trust anyone else. I needed an outside observer to help coordinate and explain and to verify, so I knew who I could trust and people knew who could trust me. He was with me every step of the way and can tell you everything he saw and you know he still trusts me. So just remember that when I tell you this next bit, okay?"

She nodded, pulling away just far enough to look at me in concern.

"Okay," She agreed. "What happened?"

I took a slow and pointless breath and faced her fully.

"I was infected, Bianca," I said. "By the Pandora Shell."

To my slight surprise, she didn't recoil in shock or terror, though it may have been because her first reactions were incomprehension and then confusion. When that passed, she stiffened, as if to react, but seemed to force herself not to pull away, likely fighting against every instinct she had as a professional Huntress in the process—and all for my sake.

"You don't have to hold on to me, if you don't want," I told her. "But I'm not currently infected, if that make things any better. My power…part of it's called the Gamer's Mind and it makes me immune to stuff that alters my thoughts—even the virus couldn't get through. I remained myself and fought Dad, even when my body mutated, and afterwards I slept it off. That's part of another of my powers, the Gamer's Body; I can cure any status effect by going to sleep for a while. Even when my body was twisted beyond recognition, it was simply a matter of going to bed and waking up in a hospital later. You don't have to believe me, but I can show what I look like under a microscope or call Ozpin or—"

"I believe you," She said, slowly forcing herself to relax despite being told that the person she was holding onto was a, supposedly former, victim of the worst plague known to Remnant. "It's just…I was surprised. But what…what does this…"

She still seemed at a loss for words, but I understood regardless.

"You told me that you could see my soul, or something like it," I replied. "While the disease ran its course, I gained several skills, including one that allowed me to…sort of re-infect myself. Though the transformation itself is somewhat awkward, it carries a great deal of power with it, but I'm worried…"

"I understand," She nodded slowly.

"I've tested it carefully and my transformed state can't spread the infection, so it's safe to see, at least," I continued. "I can make a few barriers and lock myself down, too. But…I want to know."

"Okay," She said after a minute, taking a deep breath. Slowly, she stood, letting go of me and striding carefully away even as she watched me carefully. "Whatever happened, whatever happens, I trust you Jaune. Do whatever you think is necessary and I'll help you."

"Thank you," I replied, barriers already forming around me—and then I started to mutate.

Drawing up the power of Metamorphosis, I rose slowly to the fullness of my height and then most of a meter above it, towering high above my sister as plates of armor grew from my skin, followed by masklike faces and unblinking eyes. She watched me silently as long spikes rose from my back and my hands twisted into lethal claws, not saying a word as the transformation finished. It only look several seconds this time, thanks to the healing I did, and then there I stood, looking the same way I had when I faced Conquest.

"How do I look?" I asked, knowing she'd understand what I meant.

Looked me up and down, craning her head to do so, and then sighed slowly.

"On the inside, you're still the same," She said. "Stuff like this can't change who you are."

I'd have smiled if the masks allowed for expression, though I wasn't quite certain how to feel. She'd never seen me before I'd awakened my power—but I honestly hadn't had Conquest's status effect a few minutes ago, so it was the closest thing to a true test we'd get without actually infecting someone. It didn't necessarily mean anything, but it might have and it was worth remembering. If I asked, I could get her to look at Ruby, perhaps, and see if anything stood out, though I couldn't imagine what would really stand out in Bianca's eyes, nor did I know what I was looking for. But…

It was something.

Maybe.

"That's good news," I said, hiding my doubts. If nothing else, I really did feel better after talking to her about things. "I suppose I should go sleep this off, then, though I might train a bit beforehand. Thank you, Bianca."

"Any time," She said, still looking up—and up and up and up—at me. As I began to turn away, however, she stopped me. "Jaune…whatever happens, just remember you're still my little brother. Don't worry about stuff like this too much, okay?"

"It's hard not to," I mused. "But I'll try—"

I paused, lifting a finger her way as a notification appeared before me. Absently reaching into my Inventory, I drew my ringing scroll and flipped it open, quickly scanning the contents.

"What is it?" Bianca asked, tilting her head upwards at the scroll I held high above her head.

"Just a message from a friend," I answered back, considering the message. "We've been meaning to catch up so I tried to arrange a meeting. Seems things finally worked out."

"Just remember to wear your other suit if you go visiting."

"As a matter of fact," I chuckled, snapping the scroll closed. "I will, in fact, be wearing my other suit."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Reconnect**

After a good night's sleep, I was back to my normal form. I'd crafted an illusion around myself easily enough, to hide myself as I walked up to my rarely used bed, and none of my sisters commented on it. It probably didn't matter that much, with Ozpin and Bianca on my side, but it saved me from a repeat explanation—and after the message I'd gotten, I had bigger things on my mind anyway.

The next morning, I was in town before the sun had finished rising, wandering as I wasted time. With my senses outstretched as they were, I could stay some distance from my designated target without it making any real difference, so I swung into the grocery store to mend the general emptiness a house of nine Hunters tended to put in food stores. This time, I was able to simply store it all in my Inventory without worrying about answering any questions about it, too, which was nice. The benefits of mostly full disclosure.

She still hadn't arrived by the time I finished checking out, however, so I swung by Junior's place. I didn't go inside, of course, but I didn't need to in order to scope the entire place out completely. This early, there were few people inside, but the place seemed to be in order still and hadn't been wrecked by any vengeful Hunters or Huntresses, so I suppose that was good. I'd need to stop by to gamble again sometime, but I had more pressing things to train at the moment—though given who my grandmother was, I'm sure I wouldn't have had any real trouble finding a place to take my chances in Mistral.

When I'd finished that, however, I pretty much ran out of things to do, took a seat on a nearby bench, and just waited and listened. As always, the city was full of sounds and smells, but to my new senses such things meant a great deal more than before. Every sound carried images, sensations, and more, the totality of it as detailed as if I'd seen it with my eyes. Levant flexed her new power and carried to me sounds from an even broader range than usual, showing me thousands upon thousands of different things. Garbage rustled as a tabby cat shifted through a dumpster, some four blocks away. Silverware clicked against plates as forty-two people dined in the restaurant on Seventh, while the staff moved between them. Hundreds of cars rumbled as they drove through the streets of Vale and I could see and feel and smell them from that sound, as if I stood beside them and within them at the same time or had cracked the hood to peak at the workings.

Even with my eyes closed, even without really trying, I was aware of everything around me. From my configurable senses to my passive Empathy, I felt everyone and everything, all the time. I could probably thank the Gamer's Mind for how it never overwhelmed me, though which specific aspect of my power allowed me to make sense of so much information, I wasn't sure. Still, once you got past the thunderous immensity of it all, it was a simple enough matter to simply fall into a lull of observation. Seven blocks away from me, there was a movie theater, so I watched everything that was playing—which wasn't anything worth mentioning, sadly, but the given the time of year, I guess that was to be expected.

But finally, I heard the sound I'd been waiting for. An old floor creaked almost imperceptibly as a foot was set upon it—from a person who simply hadn't been there moments before. As soon as I shifted my attention towards it, I could see her in my mind, wearing the same clothes as before and prepared for anything. Tukson's bookstore was empty now, with a customer having left some minutes prior, which was probably why she'd only just appeared.

Even so, Raven Branwen was back in town.

I rose, slipping both of us into Naraka as I did so, the sounds of city life dying away abruptly. I opened my status screen with a thought and changed myself with a gesture before changing my clothes to follow suit. I left out the rings, belt, and mask for the occasion and didn't bother transforming Crocea Mors—but I kept Kronos hidden under Airavata, just in case things went horribly wrong.

A few seconds later, I walked into Tukson's book trade and looked at the most dangerous woman I'd ever met.

"Raven," I greeted, tilting my head her way.

"Jian," She nodded back. "My apologies for the delay; a young woman was looking for a book rather insistently."

"I know," I replied, stepping past her to take a seat on the front counter. I considered asking her how she was and making conversation, but from her tightly controlled emotions, I knew she wouldn't appreciate it. She seemed like the type of woman who was most at ease doing business, anyway. "You wished to speak to me?"

Her mask hid her face, though that did little to stop me from seeing the brief shadow of a frown that crossed her face.

"As I recall, you were the one to arrange this meeting," She said in a voice that wasn't quite chiding.

"Yes," I acknowledged, watching her with mostly faked amusement. I still couldn't see her level, unfortunately, but I took the chance to scan her as best I could, checking for irregularities. When she didn't say anything after a moment, however, I smiled slightly and gave a conceding nod. "But very well; I will go first. Several things of note have happened recently, but to begin with, I feel it's best to be upfront and honest—I met your daughter recently."

Raven had a good poker face and mostly kept her reaction from her body—had I been anyone else, I likely wouldn't have noticed the change at all. But I was me and my senses encompassed a list of superpowers, so I both felt and saw the surprise she felt, as well as the other emotions that slowly bubbled to the surface in its wake.

"Oh?" She asked, tone mild.

"I take it Adam didn't inform you, then," I noted, shamelessly shifting the blame as any real friend would. "He and I were meeting in a local club owned by the Xiong family when she came in, looking for information as to your whereabouts."

Raven gave another of those brief frowns, though from the angle of her eyes, it didn't seem directed at me.

"I see," She said after a moment. "Was that all?"

"Unfortunately not," I shook my head. "She interrogated Hei Xiong, but he didn't have any information about you. The methods she used ruffled a few feathers, however, and things degenerated into violence."

"What methods?" She asked, tilting her head very slightly to the side.

"She grabbed him by the balls and then punched him through a wall," I elaborated, making her close her eyes for a moment.

"I see. And I take it you intervened?"

"As a guest, it seemed only proper, especially as the Xiong family has aided us several times in the past," I nodded. "I tried to settle things peacefully and ensured the Xiong family wouldn't seek reparations for the damages, but…your daughter is quite stubborn and seemed intent on fighting me. I didn't tell her anything about you, figuring that if you wanted her to know then she would, but I don't think that answer satisfied her."

She seemed to have nothing to say to that, though her frown lingered a bit longer. I didn't sense any threat of imminent death from her, either—which I found rather lovely—but quickly explained.

"Rest assured, I left her unharmed," I continued. "Except for her pride, perhaps. I did not lay a hand on her and I sent her on her way afterwards—however, it occurred to me that I never asked you how you'd like me to handle such matters, as I did not anticipate meeting your daughter in such a way."

"You handled it well," She said after a long silence, measuring her words as she watched me. "I appreciate your discretion and the care with which you handled it. Should it happen again…"

She paused, considering the idea with another, deeper frown.

"It shouldn't be difficult for me to avoid your daughter, if you wish," I told her. "Matters will be drawing me away from Vale soon, regardless, and I would understand if you would like me to try and avoid her. In truth, I am more concerned with how you would like me to handle Taiyang and Qrow, should our paths cross."

She watched me for a long moment before nodding decisively.

"Should such things occur, I will endeavor to handle them personally," She said, her voice firm and confident. "Should I be unavailable, however, I will trust you to handle it as you see fit."

"I will do everything in my power to leave them unharmed," I told her, masking any uncertainty I felt over the responsibility.

She tilted her head my way for thanks.

"And you?" She asked. "Do you have any family you wish for me to keep an eye out for?"

I thought of my bizarre family, from my sisters to Autumn, Gou, and my Elementals.

"Not in the sense that you do," I said at last, musing even as I considered the possibilities and weighed my options. "It shouldn't be a concern—though I had intended to extend Mrs. Roma the same courtesy, as an ally. My family, however, is rather complicated."

"Business first, then?" She allowed.

"Please," I smiled. "I'll make introductions later, though rest assured, none of them should oppose you. Now then…do you have any good news, perchance?"

She considered that.

"Not really, though it's not necessarily _bad_ news," She mused.

"That's wonderful," I said. "Because I'm afraid I've nothing but terrible news. Would you like to go first?"

She frowned at me again, relying on her mask to conceal the expression—but I could see the consideration on her face. She was wondering if I was serious.

Unfortunately, I totally was.

I faced her full on and dropped my smile, letting it sink in that I was being honest. She hesitated and I could feel her curiosity and confusion as she considered asking me, but just as quickly she closed her eyes and schooled her expression.

"Very well," She said. "What do you know about what's happening in Mistral?"

A tough question right off the bat, I mused—because the truthful answer was 'not a damn thing,' but I couldn't very well tell her that. On the other hand, I couldn't act like I knew everything, either, because this was information I needed her to tell me. I couldn't be ignorant and I couldn't be omniscient, which meant I had to strike a careful balance.

Thankfully, I could reinforce my position with things _I_ knew that _she_ didn't.

"Not as much as you, I'm afraid," I said carefully. "Recent matters in Vale have kept me rather preoccupied. I know that our associate has been moving with your permission, but as you are more familiar with them then I, it seemed wise to leave things in your hands."

Again she refrained from asking, inclining her head in a nod of acknowledgement.

"They're moving, but I'm afraid even I cannot be sure of their purpose," She sounded personally offended by that fact. "Whatever their plan is, only _she_ knows, and she shares that knowledge with her men on a need-to-know basis. I've kept a close watch on them, but she's yet to let slip anything truly enlightening. It's…annoying."

"Annoying," I agreed. "And perhaps tailored specifically to keep you in the dark."

"I made that connection as well," She jerked her head once, the gesture moving her hair slightly. "I can't confirm it, but it would seem to be the most likely explanation for her secrecy."

"It would seem she's suspicious of us," I said with a touch of forced amusement, because I didn't know who we were talking about and was putting things together based on context. "Though, in fairness, I'm rather suspicious of her, as well."

"You would be a fool not to," Raven nearly scoffed. "But her usefulness is undeniable. Her skill with Dust, her connections, and her grasp of our enemies is unprecedented."

I lifted an index finger in a salute.

"True," I said, before leaning back slightly. "Nonetheless, I cannot say I've ever been a fan of lacking information—I loathe it almost as much as I do _misinformation_ , in fact. All of a sudden, I believe I've developed an interest in learning more about our dear friend. I assume you've already taken measures of your own?"

"Adam," She stated. "Currently, I am having him work as an intermediary who empathizes with her methods—or who will come to over time, at least. Such things can't be rushed and she will undoubtedly be suspicious of him in beginning, so time and effort will be required in order for him to get close enough to learn more. Beyond that, I continue my watch over her and her close associates, when possible."

"Patience is a virtue," I mused aloud. "And it is often best to be careful and discrete in matters such as this. However…there is a part of me that fears time is not on our side and if she continues to be as careful as she has shown herself to be thus far…"

I shook my head slightly.

"I would hate to learn the truth only for it to be too late to make a difference," I muttered to myself, but for her benefit. Pursing my lips, I lifted my head towards her again, considered what I'd said thus far, and took a chance. "Where is she now? Has she changed locations?"

"She continues to pose as a student at Haven," Raven replied, which came as a shock. Even so, I kept it off my face—illusory or otherwise—and made a show of considering it carefully, deliberately tapping a claw on Tukson's countertop as I did so.

I had a location which gave me a way to potentially learn far more. More than that, this specific location came with opportunities I could exploit—but did I risk doing so now. Whoever our third party was, they were almost certainly dangerous, made even more so by the fact that we had no idea what they were up to, and they were obviously criminals besides. Granted, we _all_ were, but…

Did I risk it? Doing such a thing might endanger her…but on the other hand, it might make her safer than ever. I hadn't discussed it with her, but even with an unknown threat, Raven's protection might be worth it. If I told her about it, she'd want to be involved, too, and Grandmother already was, so perhaps—

"I have a card I could play," I slowly began, making a show—and only a mostly faked one—of considering it. "Though I hoped to keep it in reserve."

"Oh?" Raven asked.

"Recently, one of Mrs. Roma's Granddaughters—Ms. Olivia Arc—moved down from Atlas," I began, hoping I was making the right choice. "You see, she recently received a rather amazing offer—the chance to teach at Haven as the youngest professor it has ever had. Naturally, she accepted the offer and will begin teaching with the coming semester."

"Fortuitous," Raven said dryly and I made myself smile and tilt my head.

"It is rather convenient, is it not?" I answered, quirking an eyebrow ever so slightly, the gesture something of a challenge. "Nonetheless, she is not currently aware of our predicament. It would be easy enough to ask her to look after a student or two, though I'd hoped to wait on that front. I'm sure you can imagine the usefulness of someone in her position and I had not wished to jeopardize it."

"Of course," Raven said at once, obviously considering the possibilities. "Especially with the chance that she might have no more luck then us. But she can be trusted?"

"Within limits," I replied. "But rather broad ones, thankfully. As part of our agreement, I have been looking after Mrs. Roma's blood for some time now, much as I would try to for yours. They know me and trust me, in turn—but they have rules they will not break. I have no fear of them ever exposing me, but it's important to keep in mind."

"They are Huntresses," Raven said, as if that explained everything. Which it did, sort of. "I had not considered that _she_ might bring her family into this—though in hindsight, I have to wonder why I didn't. Remind me of them?"

"There are eight; seven young women and a boy," I said, really, really, really hoping I was right about this. "Two of the girls man the walls in Vacuo, one is in the military in Atlas and another is a scientist who works with her closely. The remaining three are in Mistral or will be soon."

"The teacher and the Hunters," Raven nodded. "A diverse bunch, aren't they? And the grandson?"

"He's lived in Vale for some time now," I smiled. "Though arrangements have been made for a prolonged trip to Mistral for him as well. You might remember him, actually; I had him put on something of a show in Mistral, several months back. You could say he's something of a protégé of mine, even—I've leant him to Adam, on occasion, though only briefly. He serves his purpose best by being unaffiliated."

"I see," She murmured. "Yes, I vaguely recall him. He'd be about…seventeen?"

"He will be soon." I nodded.

"A convenient age," She considered. "Will he be enrolling in Haven?"

"If necessary," I said. "I have other things in mind for the boy, but I do like to keep my options open. If nothing else works, he can be trusted to learn all sorts of things."

Raven tilted her head to look at me, expression contemplative beneath her mask.

"Indeed?" She asked. "Had you intended him for Beacon, then?"

"Originally," I lied, rolling with it smoothly. "Unfortunately, that recently fell through and I've been forced to move on to one of my backup plans. It's tied into my bad news, in fact."

Raven stiffened ever so slightly.

"Is Ozpin aware?" She asked, not specifying what—but her tone was deeply concerned and her emotions far more so.

"Thankfully not," I replied. "Rather, the boy's father recently died in the line of duty and his mother greatly injured. I will tend to that shortly, but as Jacques Arc was a close personal friend of the Headmaster, he has taken a keen interest in their son. And while I don't believe he is suspicious of anything as of yet…I would rather not take any needless risks under his watchful eye."

"Those who make mistakes regarding Ozpin tend not to make any others," She agreed, relaxing. Once again, I was reminded that I'd never seen one of her portals around the Headmaster.

"Indeed not," I replied. "And under the circumstances, I'd rather not tip my hand to him. If possible, I would like at least another four to six months to prepare for that confrontation—longer, if possible. You are aware of his Semblance, I assume? Of his power over time?"

"Yes," She answered, though she seemed a touch surprised that I was.

"I have a number of countermeasures for such tactics," I continued, raising my hand and Accelerating it as I gestured. "I even possess some skill in that area myself. But…though my power grows steadily, I'm not at my full strength as of yet and against such a powerful time manipulator, I'd rather not take my chances. Such opponents are…bothersome and Ozpin more than most. As such, I have adjusted my plans for the time being."

"I…see," She whispered, blinking rapidly beneath her mask before nodding sharply. "Then we shall address the matter of our allies upon your return to Mistral?"

I inclined my head.

"It shouldn't take me much longer now," I assured her. "I merely have several obligations to fulfill before my departure. Mrs. Roma's daughter lost three of her limbs and while healing such injuries is relatively simple, I need to insure that there are explanations for such a miraculous recovery, which has taken time."

"I would imagine so," Raven said after a bemused moment before blinked. "How did she sustain such injuries and survive? You said her husband died in battle?"

"I intervened," I explained. "However, things were…complicated."

"Complicated?" She repeated, raising an eyebrow. "How so?"

I sighed and shook my head.

"There was a Pandora Shell," I told her. "Which would have been a troublesome issue, in and of itself, but unfortunately that is merely the _start_ of my bad news."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Concealed**

"A Pandora Shell is just the _start_ of your bad new?" Raven asked, tone of voice a split between vague disbelief and general regret—presumably over the fact that he'd gotten out of bed this morning.

"Surprising, isn't it?" I answered, smiling slightly. "But sadly it's the truth. Mr. Arc's team walked into a situation that turned out to be a great deal more than it first seemed. The Grimm had created a massive series of tunnels beneath the town they'd been sent to protect, allowing an enormous number of the creatures to get right under it with none the wiser. Upon noticing a small tunnel that lead to the surface, which had allowed for the reported attack that drew them there, they realized this and called for reinforcements—but even that turned out to be trap set by the Grimm. The moment their backup arrived, the horde beneath them moved to attack, which eventually culminated in the Grimm intentionally triggering a Pandora Shell in the Hunter's midst."

"That's…" Raven paused, frowning. "That's very intelligent behavior, even for older Grimm. _Strategic_ behavior."

"Indeed it is," I agreed. "Which, more than anything, made me suspicious, especially in regards to precisely _how_ they opened the Shell. It was carried to the surface by a Deathstalker and was then blown open by a long-range energy attack by Crom Cruach, who was most likely responsible for the tunnels in the first place."

Raven opened her mouth with what must have be a reflexive response before hesitating and restraining herself for several breaths.

"Crom Cruach," She repeated at last, with only traces of incredulity in her tone. "You're certain it was Crom Cruach?"

I shrugged a shoulder casually and nodded.

"I saw him," I told her. "And he's rather hard to mistake for anyone else. But…it's worrying, especially after Ziz's awakening several months ago."

"When _you_ awoke Ziz, you mean?" She asked, the jab coming effortlessly to her lips and making me smile—but also shake my head.

"I'm afraid that while that's true, it is also somewhat more concerning then it might first appear," I replied. "For you see, Ziz had been in that location for quite some time—and I'm sure that the fact that it had been positioned so close to Vale was not a coincidence—but it had been sleeping long enough for countless people to come near it without any response. From airships to Hunters heading that way to even just explorers, there is no record of Ziz doing a thing over several hundred years of history, yet the moment I drew near it reacted. Yes, I woke it up, but not by proximity. I'm afraid it recognized me."

"Recognized you?" She repeated again. Had she been a less intimidatingly powerful woman, I'd have made a parrot joke. "You mean…?"

"I have something of a history with the Grimm," I admitted, which was apparently the truth even if I had no idea what said history _was_. "A long, long history."

"I…see," Raven said slowly. "And did Crom Cruach also recognize you?"

"Almost certainly," I nodded. "In fact, it's even possible that the situation was engineered to ensure my involvement. In truth, the awakening of Ziz was as alarming for me as it was for the rest of the world, if for somewhat different reasons, but after it returned to its slumber, I had hoped that would be the end of things and that I had simply been unlucky enough to stumble across an old acquaintance. When I saw Crom Cruach, however, I had no choice but to believe that it was far more than that. Ziz nearly ruined everything simply by its presence while Crom Cruach engaged in what couldn't be called anything but enemy action—and when the Pandora Shell opened…"

I sighed and looked up at her, making a show of gauging her before speaking.

"Most people are under the impression that the disease within the Shells corrupts all who touch it, driving them mad in the process—but this is not the case," I told her. "The bacterial Grimm within the Pandora Shells have something of a consciousness , especially once they seize control over a living body. The entity refers to itself as Conquest and can assume total control over a person, suppressing their mind completely while wielding their powers as if they were its own. It's an old being and one of the most powerful of the Grimm; one of the Knights of their kind known as a Rider."

"You—" Raven began before cutting herself off again and falling silent for a minute. "How can you be sure?"

I sighed again.

"Because Conquest was one of the beings responsible for the fall of Babel," I said, again going with the truth, if with the intention to distract and mislead. "He helped destroy it at the command of his creator."

"His…" Raven trailed off, expression stunned beneath her mask. "His creator? He…the Grimm have a creator?"

I nodded in quiet confirmation.

"You're one of the few people I've ever told this," I said quietly. "But I don't need to tell you how important it is that such knowledge is used carefully."

She looked down, still blinking, before swallowing slowly.

"I…" She began before shaking her head, apparently still reeling. She took a deep breath and seemed to force herself to recover, closing her eyes for just a moment before continuing. "I don't suppose you have any proof of such claims?"

"I do, in fact," I said, which may or may not have been a complete lie. "There's a set of ruins that are heavily guarded by the Grimm and alongside them exists a city—the last remaining city of Babel, held in a pocket dimension much like this one. It's now devoid of life, thanks to the Grimm, but at the center of the city there is a…lab of sorts and the Grimm guard it fiercely for a reason. There's a Babel computer within it that holds a wealth of information, placed there by someone who fought the Grimm a long, long time ago."

She looked at me for a long moment, eyes still wide enough to see the whites all around them, but she nodded slowly.

"Shall we go then?" She asked. "If what you say is true, then—"

"Neither of us would enjoy the experience, I'm afraid," I shook my head. "Does a place named Jericho Falls mean anything to you?"

Raven paused yet again before nodding hesitantly.

"Jericho Falls…I suppose that explains why so many Grimm would gather there," She murmured, shaking her head. "And could we not use this pocket dimension of yours to avoid them?"

"The Grimm murdered the people who _created_ Naraka," I shook my head right back. "The weaker Grimm cannot get inside, but the Riders have proven themselves quite capable of it in the past. As I am now, I would not wish to fight all the Grimm in that location—so I've no choice but to wait until more of my power returns. Or…at least, that's what I'd hoped to do by buying time, but there's a chance that we may no longer have that luxury with the Grimm moving once more. Even so, I will make myself ready in the coming months and we'll destroy everything that stands between us and that computer."

"So quick to use 'us,'" She shook her head, but I could tell she didn't really mean it. If nothing else, she seemed intrigued. "Who's to say I'd even follow you into such a place? The last hundred or so Hunters who went to Jericho Fall never came back out."

If the place had, as I suspected, been a last ditch effort to survive Babel's fall, it had likely been the grave of far more than that—but I kept such thoughts to myself and instead simply raised a challenging eyebrow.

"If you wish, you may watch from a safe distance," I offered, my tone gentlemanly. "I will gladly fight your share, if you have something better to do that night."

She rolled her eyes beneath mask, but her lips twitched upwards.

"I'll see what my schedule allows once you've finished your preparations," She allowed. "For now, tell me about these Riders and their master."

I considered her for a moment before nodding.

"Conquest is the one I know the most about," I said truthfully. "He's the White Rider and takes the form of a biological weapon—what you know as a Pandora Shell. If you examine him closely, his true form is a bacterial type of Grimm. Though each of these Grimm cells is a separate entity, they are as capable of acting as one as any other group of Grimm and, through a process similar to normal bacteria, may exchange information between themselves. In fact, they work so well together that for all appearances, each cluster can act as a single being, but there's an important difference between what they have and a hive mind; namely, this sharing of information is not immediate and requires physical contact between Conquest's different pieces. This means that those infected may not have access to the same information and may react differently unless given time to properly coordinate, and this can be used against them."

"Assuming you can survive getting close with your mind and body intact," Raven noted.

"Assuming that," I agreed with a sigh. "Truthfully, exploiting this weakness is far more difficult then I make it sound; though Conquest is a horrible creature that doesn't deserve to exist, I can't deny that he's very intelligent and he backs said intelligence up with millennia of experience in destroying lives. Though he doesn't know everything, he likely knows more than anyone currently alive because of the sheer amount of people he's infected—he was personally responsible for a great deal of Babel's fall and infected many brilliant scientists and skilled warriors. Though he can definitely be fooled, he's pretty good at staying out of his own way and refraining from saying anything helpful."

I shook my head and shifted my expression to one of semi-honest regret.

"More than anything, though, he's a problem that needs to be shut down as quickly as possible whenever he appears, simply because if you give him time, he spreads like a…well, a virus. If he doesn't know how to get around an obstacle, which requires no one he's ever infected knowing how to get to you, then all he has to do is find _one_ person knows how to fix that. To make matters worse, he considers it a hobby to seek out those who consider themselves safe from him and proving that they aren't—and he enjoys causing pain on a level above even the other Grimm."

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, making me tilt my head and consider how to explain it—but then, it was as simple and remembering the examples he'd given, wasn't it?

"Pretty much any Grimm will kill you," I began. "They'll tear you to pieces and eat you while you're still alive, whether you're a man or woman, young or old. But Conquest will do it in the body of someone you love, after using their body to eat your children in front of you, simply because of the additional pain it causes you."

"I…see," Raven said slowly, the expression on her face telling me she was imagining it before she shook the image off. "He's a monster among monsters, then? By design or…?"

"I honestly can't be certain," I admitted. "It may simply be that his greater intelligence and his knowledge of human nature makes him better able to inflict the pain that all Grimm seem to desire causing—and just as possible that he was built to act in an especially cruel fashion or grew that way over time. Figuring out why he was a monster wasn't my main concern on the occasions I met him, I'm afraid. He's rather skilled at making people focus on his demise."

Raven tilted her head in concession to that.

"And the infection?" She asked, tone changing slightly as her emotions shifted. "Is there a way to cure it?"

I blew out a breath, feeling a bit tired in response to the memories her words brought up.

"You ask a tough question," I told her. "The answer is both yes and no. First of all, it must be understood that Conquest values causing pain _far_ above the deaths of one of his hosts and though he won't throw away useful assets, that's not to imply that he isn't willing to sacrifice them. On top of that, whether because a reclaimed asset likely becomes a liability or because he's tremendously spiteful, he will attempt to destroy any hosts that are likely to be cured—and as you might imagine, he has a fair number of ways of doing so. Attacking the host's body from within, forcing it to kill itself…if all else fails, he can event just accelerate the metamorphoses of the host into a Pandora Shell in a process that ignores most attempts at healing. But if you know how and you can get past all of that…in theory, yes, there are ways to cure the disease."

"Only in theory?" She asked. "You've never seen it done?"

I shook my head.

"My efforts to that end have thus far been met with failure," I admitted. "Conquest's pestilence works by infecting the body and using that to seize control of one's Aura and bind the soul. The process can be reversed by entering another's soul to fight Conquest directly and then reverse the process from Soul to Aura to Body—"

Raven lifted a hand to stop me.

"What's this about entering souls?" She asked. "You can do that?"

"I like to consider myself something of an expert when it comes to matters of the soul," I said, which was probably true from a comparative standpoint. "Really, it's simply a matter of leaving one's body fully behind and entering another's. If you wish, I could demonstrate, but you might find the process invasive on a number of levels. At the very least, however, you've seen this before, no?"

I manifested the White Tiger of the West, letting it rise fully from my body again. Raven didn't react visibly, but I sensed a change in her emotions as if I'd just drawn a gun—which was fair, as I'd drawn something far, far greater.

"This is…me, to put things simply," I said, gesturing at myself. "For the sake of convenience, I usually refer to him as Bai Hu, but we are one in every sense that matters, for he's simply my Aura given a more physical form. Notice how we are _connected_ , though; we need to be for this technique, as my aura and Soul reside within my body—but it was relatively simply to go a step further and separate those things from my flesh. From there, it was merely somewhat more difficult to enter another body."

"I…will take your word for it," She decided, shaking her head. "Then I take it you are inhabiting a borrowed body right now?"

"This particular body is quite a bit more complicated than that," I hedged. "If you could consider Bai Hu a form of astral projection and my ability to enter the bodies of others a form of possession, then this particular case is more like reincarnation. If possible, I'd rather not explain the science behind that at this moment, as it's somewhat convoluted."

"The science behind reincarnation?" She asked. "I wouldn't have thought the terms went together?"

"Why not?" I asked in turn. "Science, in the end, is simply the process of asking questions and seeking answers. To that end, it goes together with pretty much everything."

"I suppose," She acknowledged after a moment of silence. "And I assume that you're a scientist, then?"

"I suppose I don't much look the part, do I?" I asked, smiling. "But yes, that would be a fair assessment—I value the power of my mind a great deal, you see. I am simply aware that neglecting other things would be unwise, in a world such as our own."

"From experience?"

"Yes."

"I see," She mused, nodding to herself. "Very well, I will accept that for now. So you enter someone's soul, face Conquest, overcome the infection, and…?"

"Their maker gets involved," I replied. "Unfortunately, the Grimm are… _connected_ in a way to their master and slaying Conquest within a person can apparently draw his attention. I learned that the hard way with Mr. Arc and in the end I was forced to put him down, along with the other infected."

I didn't have to fake the regret in the words and Raven raised an eyebrow slightly, making me send a rueful smile her way.

"Believe it or not, I do not like killing and avoid doing so if at all possible," I informed her. "Where I come from, we could ill afford to waste lives that could be put to better uses, you see. Though they were not wholly our allies, the loss of those Hunters was regrettable for at least some of what they did served the whole world."

"True," She acknowledged, inclining her head. "What were their names?"

"Jacques Arc, Tenne Coup, and Keppel and Carmine Cordelia." I replied.

"I knew them, if only distantly," She nodded slowly. "They were good Hunters and good people from what I knew. It is a shame."

"I thought you might think so," I smiled at her, making her roll her eyes slightly.

"Are there any methods to _prevent_ infection, then?" She asked, getting back on topic. "If it can't be cured…"

"There are several methods that have shown various degrees of success," I nodded. "The simplest but also least desirable is to remove infected parts of the body. Beyond that, I can create airtight defensive shields around people to protect them within infected areas, but combat with the infected remains risky. I'm working on additional methods at the moment, but…"

"How do you resist infection, then?" She asked. "If _you_ fought them directly."

Observant, I thought with a smile.

"I have several advantages, owing to the unique nature of my body and soul," I answered. "Simply put, my body is simply less important to me then it is to you, so if it's damaged or changed, it's simply a matter of restoring it back to its natural state."

"What?" She asked.

"Allow me to give you an example," I offered, extending an arm to the side. Bai Hu gripped it tightly, one hand at the shoulder and one at the elbow—and then he tore it aware with the Tiger's Jaws.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to show me," Raven stated after several second when nothing visibly changed.

"That was me losing an arm," I explained. "And restoring it very quickly, of course. If you'd wish to test for yourself, you may use your sword to remove it."

She frowned at me, looking at me both like I was mad and, with slight alarm, the realization that I was serious.

"Go on," I chuckled. "I assure you, even if I did lose an arm, I could easily reattach it."

She was silent for a moment before shaking her head.

"Very well," She said, hand going to her sword—and in a blur of motion, I felt my arm fly off and my HP drop.

Looking down at it, I flexed my fingers once and healed the damage that light blow had caused.

"See?" I said, still smiling under her stare. "Good as new."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Consolidation**

Raven held her sword up to the dim light of the room, letting it gleam off the edge as she looked it over. Though I'd long since Observed her weapon and scoped it out as thoroughly as I could—which was very, very thoroughly in my case—this was the first time I'd seen it in its active state, so I took the chance to do so again. The blade was long, far longer than its sheath in fact, due to how it had expanded upon being drawn, but what was more interesting than that was the material the blade itself was made of.

It was Dust. It and the dozens upon dozens of other blades kept in the revolving sheath were made of a Dust alloy in all the colors of the rainbow and then some. Even amongst Hunters, it was one of the most impressive weapons I'd even seen, and must have been one of the most expensive as well. And though this particular blade was pristine, the weapon as a whole must have seen quite a bit of use throughout Raven's career as a Huntress.

Some might have wondered what things such a blade had seen, but I could do more than that and shamelessly did so. While Raven pondered the blade, I took the opportunity to take a deeper look, reaching out to 'touch' it at range and activate my Psychometry, bring up an immediate rush of images.

Very, very boring images, primarily. The vast majority of it was just darkness, presumably owing either to the fact that the blade was normally sheathed, that it used disposable blades, or both. I suppose that neither would really surprise me; someone like Raven probably didn't have much need to use her sword in the average week, beyond some training to keep her skills sharp—and for a weapon that used as expensive 'ammunition' as hers did, she probably had a practice sword of some kind that she used instead. Actual uses of the blade in the memories were few and far between with nothing especially calling out to me, but then if she _did_ actually draw her blade, it was probably over before anyone knew what was going on.

It was a little disappointing, though not particularly unexpected. Psychometry allowed me to pick things up from objects, but that wasn't the same thing as learning everything that had happened around them. Raven's sword didn't have eyes or ears, after all; the things I picked up from it were merely the marks the Auras of others had left upon it that I then analyzed visually. Objects were most strongly marked when they were in use—and for a weapon, that was mainly when it was being used to attack or defend—or else exposed to scenes of high emotion or the use of Aura. With it usually at rest at Raven's side, all I really saw was its owner and the immediate surroundings illuminated by the light of her soul. At various points in time, I saw vague figures in the distance, the signs of people who'd come close—but not _too_ close—to Raven. At various points, the images clarified, probably because Raven was using her Aura to watch something through a portal or created one to travel, but…

Oh well, I thought. I hadn't really expected much, but it was worth a shot and it was hard to truly be disappointed with it when I got a new skill out of the deal.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By drawing on the experience of a grand master, the skill 'Iaido' was created!**

But only one skill, I noted. Probably for the same reason as the vague imagery; Raven hadn't needed use the sword enough in the last few days for me to really derive much sense of her personal fighting style. I'd picked up my father's but then, he'd fought for his life even before Conquest took ahold of him and started up _that_ colossal mess and there'd been Aura flying around all over the place.

For Raven, though…I guess I'd have to try again later, after she'd fought something.

"Certainly, I felt my blade connect," She mused, turning from it to me. "It even passed through you with some resistance and yet didn't leave a mark. I didn't even see a wound…you can heal yourself that quickly?"

"I have to be able to," I replied, focusing at once. "After all, what if someone destroys my head? That's not a situation that allows much time to respond so I have to make sure I can recover quickly."

"You can heal even from wounds like that?" She asked, sounding impressed.

"Yes, though it's a touch more difficult," I admitted, as it _was_ a critical hit location and attacks to it caused more damage. "I endeavor to take care of it, but I've learned to be prepared."

"So it would seem," She mused, lifting a finger to touch the side of her sword, as if checking to see if I'd left some kind of stain on the blade. "That must be useful from time to time."

"Very much so," I smiled. "Should you ever have reason to suspect that someone is impersonating me, feel free to use this as a test method, provided you give me some warning. Needless to say, nothing has managed to kill me since I perfected this ability, but there are always certain difficulties in testing what you're capable of surviving. It shouldn't be an issue, but I would appreciate the courtesy."

"Noted," She said dryly. "And this allowed you to defeat Conquest?"

"This time, yes," I replied. "Though by his nature, Conquest's power is dependent at least somewhat on his host and varies a great deal. Though I defeated the Hunters present fairly easily, there are a number of opponents who would have been more difficult to deal with, for a variety of reasons. We are fortunate that none of the taken possessed powers that allowed them to move between locations quickly. Should a portal maker with power such as yours have been taken, the results would have been rather catastrophic."

"I can imagine," She murmured before shaking her head. "And what of the other Riders?"

I'd already considered what I wished to say here and so shook my head slowly.

"To be completely honest, my information dwindles rapidly from this point on," I admitted. "Conquest was the one I knew the most about and it took a great deal of quick thinking to overcome him the way I did. My ability to leave behind my body and enter another's were things I created out of necessity, as were various other things. In truth, I've only met one other Rider, as far as I am aware."

"As far as you are aware?" She asked, tone vaguely concerned. "What do you mean?"

I sighed slowly and turned my face deliberately away from her.

"Matters are complicated by the nature of our enemy," I told her. "The Riders are called such because they 'ride' host bodies, in various forms. Although those touched by Conquest quickly mutate into monstrous forms, this isn't necessarily the case with all other Riders, and evidence would support that it's not. I've honed my senses enough that I'm all but certain I'd notice them, but there remains a slight risk. Worse, in some cases, I may not recognize the symptoms due to a lack of familiarity with the subject. Though I can easily spot the presence of bacterial Grimm, I nearly missed the Red Rider when I first saw them, for rather than an invasive organism, they took the form of a chemical substance in the blood that was all but indistinguishable from its surroundings except when viewed in the upper portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum."

One of Raven's eyebrows lifted slightly at that.

"Because of this, I can't be entirely certain of what I'm looking for until I'm sure someone is a Rider," I continued regardless. "And until I do so, all I can do it notice discrepancies and make theories until I think it's safe enough to act. I have several suspicions, but…"

I shook my head.

"Suspicions," She repeated, frown returning briefly. "So there are those you suspect of being Riders? Within the Kingdoms?"

I didn't have to fake my hesitation before replying to that.

"Yes," I admitted carefully. "In fact, I know where the Red Rider is for certain and there are many signs pointing to the location of another. However, while I feel you should know, I also think that you deserve to choose for yourself whether or not to listen to me. You see, paranoia can be a plague as dangerous as any Rider and I may already have been infected by it. Spreading it deliberately may not be wise and should I be wrong, it might color your views against the wrong target. Do you wish to know regardless?"

"Yes," She said in a tone of voice that implied I was asking a stupid question. "Who would choose ignorance over knowledge?"

I chuckled at that, if a bit bleakly.

"I can't say I don't feel much the same way," I replied. "And under the circumstances, I believe that you, if anyone, should know and I would have had to ask you about it at some point, whatever choice you made."

Taking a slow breath, I met Raven's eyes through her mask.

"The Red Rider currently lingers in an inert state within the bloodstream of your daughter's half-sister, Ruby Rose," I said. "And I suspect it has something to do with the death of her mother."

I felt her react to that sharply, the implications of the words striking her deeply enough to keep the emotions from even touching her face. For a long moment, she simply stared at me, silent and still.

"Attacking her outright may awaken the Rider within her," I continued, making sure I didn't say the words too quickly. "And as its capabilities are unknown, I felt that would be unwise. But I also felt you deserved to know, given her proximity to your daughter and former teammates. I have not gotten the chance to examine either Taiyang or Qrow, but Yang did not seem to have been touched by the chemical within her sister, which is part of why I believe it to dormant. But I cannot say _why_ it's in such a state, nor to what end, nor even when it is likely to wake. Should that happen…"

I shook my head slightly.

"I am, of course, working on a way to cure her, just as I am continuing to do so for Conquest—but I cannot be certain of how successful my methods will be. Should their maker get involved again, I can't make any guarantees, but even beyond that there's just no way of knowing how the Rider may react to an attempt to remove it. Worse, though I've had plenty of chances to examine the progression of Conquest's disease, I cannot say the same for this one and I honestly do not know how it will affect her or even if it already has. Her medical records indicate a history of severe nightmares that might be related to her mother's death, but I had no way of confirming that without getting very close to her."

Raven nodded, remaining silent though I could feel her emotions changing rapidly. I could tell without asking that she knew what could happen and what might be necessary, but even I wasn't sure how she felt about the thought—mostly because I doubted _she_ knew, given what I was feeling from her. But it never touched her face and she never said a word.

"Should it become necessary, I can deal with the matter alone," I offered. "It may be safer that way, as I am the one most likely to be immune to whatever the Red Rider might bring to bear. And though I don't particularly enjoy the idea, I can kill Ruby Rose if I truly must."

It wasn't a bluff. Before, I might have wondered if I could do it, though I knew the power of the Gamer's Mind—but after cutting off my own father's head and slaying three friends of the family, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I could do it to some girl I barely knew, if I absolutely had to. If I couldn't cure her and if her infection put the lives of others at risk the way Conquest had, I could kill her. To save thousands of others, I could.

And I was pretty sure Raven could, too.

"You can prove she's infected?" She asked, speaking at last.

"I can prove that she has a unique and foreign substance in her blood, given an access to some of it," I mused. "Proving that it's the infection itself would likely require awakening the Red Rider, but I could do that to, provided we could extract her to an isolated location where others would not be at risk—and given time to properly prepare for whatever might come from the awakening, of course."

"But you're convinced she's infected?" She pressed on, to which I nodded.

"I am," I said. "I've seen it within her, after all, and I trust my eyes a great deal."

She nodded again, an acknowledgement more than an agreement.

"If you can prove it and should there be no other way, then I will do what is necessary," She stated at last, her tone low. "If I can approach her safely, I will handle the matter myself. I owe Summer and Taiyang that much, at least."

"Very well," I replied. "For your sake as much as theirs, I hope that does not happen and will do all I can to prevent it. For now, however, I believe we should keep our distance. With your daughter so close to her, though…"

"Thank you," She said quietly. "For informing me. I will be sure to keep a closer eye on them all in the future."

'Closer,' I noted. Well, I'd figured she'd probably checked in on the people she'd left behind every now and then—I mean, who wouldn't? With portals as hard to detect as Raven's, there was little harm in it, beyond whatever she must have felt watching her teammates mourn and then move on, her daughter grow up without her.

So probably a fair bit of harm, but it was the type of pain that probably wouldn't make someone stop.

"Do you know what happened to Summer Rose, Raven?" I asked her after a moment of silence. "Whatever is now happening to her daughter, I feel like she must be involved. Too many trails lead back to her for her to be anything else."

"I looked into it, when I heard the news," The Huntress replied. "I didn't notice anything particularly out of the ordinary—she went on a mission, she never came back, no body was ever found. She was originally listed as MIA, but as the Grimm tend to devour corpses, her status was changed to KIA a few months later when nothing more was found."

"Like they did with you," I noted.

"Yes," She agreed. "Which is why I tried to search for her anyway, though I had little luck in that regard. It doesn't necessarily mean anything as the world is a very large place, but after several months of cursory searching, I stopped. If no one had heard from her in that time, she was either dead or didn't _want_ to be found. Either way, it stopped being a priority."

"But you kept an eye out," I guessed and made it sound like a statement. "And you peeked on the other people searching for her, to coordinate your own efforts."

Beneath her mask, she nearly smiled.

"Of course I did," She admitted. "There was a part of me that wondered if she might follow my footsteps, so I keep an eye out for the appearance of any powerful, mysterious women—something that lead me to several allies and enemies, in fact. But when I first began searching for her, I started by gathering what information I could about her mission. Qrow and Taiyang were heavily involved in the search, so it was simple enough to learn about what happened. Even so, I didn't find anything useful; the Mission took her into Southern Vytal, to some set of ruins. When I checked, the ruins themselves were leveled but I didn't find any sign of Summer."

"Ruins," I mused. "My type of ruins?"

"I'm not sure," She replied. "All I ever saw of it were smoldering ashes and broken rocks. It looked like there had been some sort of structure at the center, but it had been almost entirely crushed, along with much of the surrounding forest. When he examined the site, Qrow thought it might have been a Humbaba or some other massive Grimm and I agreed. But from what you've said…I suppose a Rider could have been responsible as well."

"But how would it have gotten from some destroyed ruins to her daughter in Vale?" I wonder aloud before tilting my head. "What type of mission was it?"

"Scouting, it would seem. Another team had discovered the ruins several weeks prior but had avoided it because there were signs of Grimm. Summer had been sent to investigate and record everything she could of the interior and exterior, for the sake of determining if it was worth the risk of sending a team for a more thorough search."

"So she would have wanted to preserve the ruins, too," I considered. "At least until she finished examining it. She would have tried to avoid drawing Grimm to the place, as well. But obviously something went wrong anyway. Logically speaking, the most likely explanations are that she either found something inside or something followed her without knowing."

"I came to the same conclusion," Raven agreed before spreading a hand. "Most things that can destroy ruins aren't very subtle though, so I favored the former. The wreckage didn't tell me much as to what it might have been, however."

"Perhaps I should take a look," I said, mulling the idea over. "Though any trails are likely very, very cold by now, I could likely get a feel for what the ruin's had once looked like. If the creature had been lurking unnoticed within them, that might give us a rough indication of its size—and perhaps of the ruin's purpose. Would you?"

Raven swept her sword in an almost lazy arc and tore open a hole in space.

"After you," She said, lifting a hand toward it like she was holding open a door, at once checking if I trusted her and possibly threatening me with the knowledge that she could send me to all sorts of unpleasant places. I merely smiled at her, though—and also sent my senses through it to verify the shit out of it, making sure I knew exactly what was on the other side. I checked the air content, the ground, the ambient temperature, and then the sky, piecing through the veil of refracted light to see the stars as they truly were and gauge the location of the place on the other side. Somewhere in Southern Vytal, as she's said, and I didn't sense any signs of betrayal from her either. It was safe, as far as I could tell, and I could tell a whole damn lot.

Even as I was doing that, I tried Psychometry on her blade again and got nothing new, which I'd pretty much expected. Even if she'd swung a sword to make them, it had been Raven's power that had made the portal, not anything she'd done with the blade. I'd already checked to see what types of skills my Psychometry could let me pick up from objects and it didn't include things they were merely 'witnesses' to or Semblances, but…

Oh, well. It had been worth a shot.

"Why thank you, Raven," I replied as if I hadn't done anything and rose from my seat on the counter—and with the fearlessness of someone certain of their own safety, I stepped into the swirling void.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Puzzles**

I stepped out of the portal onto wild grass. Naraka's tinted sun was hidden by the branches of scarred and ancient trees, letting only small streams of light slip through the canopy. Almost the moment we touched down, I could hear the distant shifting of the Grimm, Beowolves spawning in the darkness of the forest in response to the change in my location.

But I didn't care about that. Generally, I kept the Grimm Naraka spawned deliberately weak, simply to avoid the bother, but they weren't very threatening one way or another. I'd tested it a fair bit as it leveled up at a glacial pace, summoning things like Nevermore instead of Beowolves—but while they weren't actually dangerous, their ability to fly made killing them en masse more trouble than their piddling experience rewards were worth. After enough time, a Giant Nevermore would appear and I could kill that instead, but the spawn rate was pretty abysmal for the level I was at now and killing something that many levels below me every few hours was more tedious than anything else. As such, I usually stuck to the Beowolves who, if tremendously unrewarding, at least were not _annoying_ and didn't require any actual attention on my part that would disrupt my efforts to train. They also appeared in greater numbers than Ursa, so they…well, they didn't really make up for anything, but they won the quantity vs. quality argument in a technical sense. In terms of pure numbers, it was the better options between the two, even if it didn't amount to anything of much value.

Holding back a sigh, I turned my attention to the ruins before me—which were really ruins _of_ ruins, at this point. Though I could see where there had once been buildings, now there were mainly just fields of shattered stone, the vague skeleton of a foundation, and some structural support that had managed to survive. Plants had grown around or upon the rubble, the wind and rain had worn away at them, and much of the metal appeared to have rusted. I couldn't tell without having seen how it had looked before, but it seemed likely that the local wildlife had probably claimed various bits and pieces of the wreckage for their own purposes as well, to say nothing of what any Grimm that came passing through might have done.

All told, it looked exactly what it was—the broken remnants of something that had already been a broken remnant, left to rot for about a decade. It was a dim shadow of whatever it had once been and after this much time…well, picking through it for clues would be a pain in the ass for just about anyone.

Thank God I was me.

As I pondered the best way to go about this, Raven stepped through the portal to join me in front of the ruin, eyes focused on the back of my head as she came to a stop just behind and to the side of me.

"Find anything yet?" She asked.

"Patience," I murmured. "I've been on the case for less than ten seconds."

"And you haven't found anything yet?" She clicked her tongue chidingly, making me smile slightly even as I continued to slowly look around. After a moment, I nodded to myself and made a decision.

"I've been busy despairing over the general ambiance," I told her. "Which is why I'm about to close Naraka. You may wish to prepare yourself for whatever might be waiting on the other side."

Her hand dropped to her sword in a way that seemed bizarrely casual, as if the weapon had just happened to be there. As she did that, I closed my eyes for a minute, mustered my will, and shattered the barrier, returning us to normal reality with a feeling like static inside my body. At once, I let my senses flood out in every direction, training over rock, tree, animal, and Grimm nearby. The latter I singled out to examine more closely—and, when I didn't find anything deserving of concern in our immediate vicinity, sent Ereb and Levant out to handle the matter.

Those close enough that they might notice our presence found themselves abrupt sinking into the ground, their howls and screams muffled almost before they left their throats. They fell in quick succession, as if the dirt had turned to water beneath their feet, and then the earth tore them limb from limb beneath the surface. One by one, they died, taking no more time to fall then a stone would take to fall into a pond, and not even one of them got off an audible sound.

From her slow exhale, I figured Raven had probably scoped out the area, too, and had likely seen at least some of what I was currently doing—but she didn't comment upon it and neither did I. Instead, I remained focused on the task at hand and the sight before my eyes, contemplating the ruins one last time, seeing what differences there were in the real world.

"I can never be certain of what carries over to Naraka," I said, because a part of her was wondering why we'd left the barrier. "It's based on the real world, but there are minor differences. You've seen how the sun's dimmer there, but there are other differences too, in ways people wouldn't usually notice. Some bacteria remain or exist there naturally, while others fade, and the air molecules are in slightly different locations then they were before the barrier opened; that type of thing. Then there's the odd emptiness you can see sometimes, where things that should be there are simply absent."

I nodded towards the ruins.

"Biological evidence doesn't tend to appear in Naraka," I told her. "If I used it at the scene of a crime, things like broken glass and such will remain, but bloodstains and corpses won't, unless I specifically brought them along, and graves tend to be empty. If I don't limit the barrier to prevent it, more obvious changes can occur as well."

"What do you mean?" She asked, a finger tapping the hilt of her sword as I finished drawing the last of the nearby Grimm beneath the ground. She seemed to realize this was my attempt to make conversation as I cleaned up and prepared.

"Though I've yet to find a way to make a place completely inaccessible to the Grimm, I can force it to only allow, say, Beowolves to form," I explained as I checked our surroundings again, as well as the spaces above and below ground. "This tends to result in worlds very similar to our own. But if I don't restrict it in such away, or if I allow the 'cracks' within the barrier to widen as they're inclined to do, then things change more obviously. Though the trees and plants within Naraka aren't alive, they seem to be at first glance, but the leaves could fall out as the world darkens. Running water might turn stagnant as well, among other ominous things. Personally, I think it's a bit much; if you're going to attack someone, it may as well be on a nice day. There's no need to darken the sky or make a city look more rundown."

Raven hummed, a sound that was, again, in acknowledgement rather than agreement. Beneath the ground, the last of the Grimm ceased twitching and I called Ereb and Levant back to my side.

"Though it usually doesn't make much difference, the things left behind by Naraka might disrupt an investigation like this one, hiding things we might otherwise find," I continued. "On the other hand, it means things that otherwise wouldn't might find us, so be on your guard. I've cleared the area, but more Grimm may come—and though it's rather unlikely, whatever did this might still be around, waiting for my intruders. Just in case, I'd rather it not find us."

Raven tilted her head and calmly swept her eyes over the field of rubble laid out before us.

"Noted," She said dryly. "Though I'm more concerned with how _we're_ going to find anything."

"Simple," I looked over my shoulder and smiled at her. "Think of it as a giant puzzle—all we need to do is put the pieces back together in the proper order."

"The hundreds of thousands of pieces," She noted.

"I count one hundred thirty-three thousand five hundred and eighty-six pieces of meaningful size, myself," I pondered the mess for another moment. "Though that's for a rather broad definition of meaningful, granted."

"I've never liked jigsaw puzzles," Raven continued. "Putting a broken building back together seems like it would be significantly more miserable."

"It's too early in the morning for such a negative outlook on life, Raven," I shook my head at her.

"It's too early for any of this, too," She replied, gesturing vaguely at the mess. "But here we are. I assume you have a way to expedite things?"

"Expedite?" I repeated, smile widening. I considered commenting on her word choice, but simply shook my head in the end. "As a matter of fact, yes."

"Go do it, then," She ordered. "I'll supervise from here."

"How kind of you," I chuckled, slipping to one knee and placing a hand on the ground. With a silent command, I let Ereb slip into the earth again and sent him reaching out towards the mass of stone. Crocea Mors followed a moment later, sliding into the surprising amount of steel that had apparently be a part of the building, and then I drew upon Levant and sent the air gliding over the debris. I felt the objects clearly in my mind, but though the sheer amount of them should have reduced it to a singular blob of sensation, I had no trouble discerning between the many, individual pieces. I checked my math again quickly and felt gratified—as I'd thought, there were one hundred thirty-three thousand five hundred and eighty-six pieces of this puzzle.

Now all I had to do was put them all back together in the right order, to compose an image I'd never seen, from over a hundred thousand massive pieces.

Like I said. Simple.

It's a good thing I like games, I told myself as I held back another sigh.

Shutting my eyes—not that it made much difference anymore—I finished up my preparations, summoning a Temple and Sanctum Sanctorum around myself to boost my MP regen. With that raised, I let my Elementals spread through and into the stone and steel that remained, making the valley of rubble shift and shudder in place. Even those small motions required moving a tremendous weight and I felt it as a drain on my MP, but that didn't matter now. In real combat, how I used my MP could make a world of difference and be the decisive factor between victory and defeat, but in a situation like this, when I had time to spare…

Well, spending a few thousand MP was nothing. Not to me—especially when I _wanted_ to push my MP low to take advantage of my skills.

To that end, I took the chance to Accelerate, increasing the rate I moved through time several times over. Even without opening my eyes, I could fell—and thus, see, hear, taste, and smell—the difference in the world around me. Though the effects of Acceleration were, in many ways, identical to super speed, they reached those ends through different methods and it was those differences that mattered with powers. If speed was distance over time, then superspeed increased the former while Acceleration decreased the latter, and that changed the way I perceived everything. Even things that should have been mathematical constants shifted, because the speed that light could travel in a second became a nebulous thing when the length _of_ a second became variable.

So light shifted oddly, in ways that were hard to describe or define. At the same time, the air near my skin seemed to heat, an illusion caused by the heat that was trapped between two different 'time zones.' The world quieted as sound lagged further and further behind me, the faint breeze softened—so many things changed as the world slowed around me.

And then my eyes blinked open again and I got to work. It was just another puzzle, I reminded myself, comparing edges and the remains of markings as I tried to get a feel for the pattern. With each glance, I felt as if I were brushing my fingers carefully over every stone, tracing every edge as I carved them into my memory. I separated them by the information I gathered from each—by markings, materials, and so on—and then began to extrapolate.

It wasn't as simple as merely glancing at the broken edges of the stone, not even when I could see things on a molecular level, because the same thing that aided me now had worn away at these ruins. In the decade since this place fell, the wind, rain, and nature as a whole had gone to work, dulling edges and washing away signs. Traces still remained, of course, but I knew better than anyone how quickly things could change, to say nothing of the fact that I may well be missing pieces of this puzzle, with vital bits having been stolen away while this place was left to rot.

But I made do. Based on their position in the rubble, I could take a fairly good guess as to which pieces had hit the ground first. Starting with the largest piece, I reached into the material and glanced it over, getting a feel for the patterns within it—not merely of those craved on its surface, but of those within the stone itself. From there, I drew upon my analysis of the other pieces nearby, singling out those that seemed most similar in my thoughts, and then set them to shaking in a slightly different fashion from the other pieces.

Moving on, I expanded the process to the surrounding stone, touching upon the bits and pieces in the next layer of debris to repeat the process. Where I found bits of stone that seemed to fit with the first batch, I set them to shaking in the same fashion; others got their own different tunes. And there _were_ others—hundreds of them, with large chunks of stone that could be as big as a wall surrounded by hundreds or even thousands of tiny stones.

I didn't move anything from their original positions, however—or, at least, I didn't move them more than the teams that had been here before us already had. Simply by making them shake slightly, I was able to divide them into groups and move on, working my way from the bottom up, 'oldest' to 'newest.' When I was done and the entire field was trembling with perhaps a hundred different tunes, I focused on the pieces I'd left by the wayside in the initial run through, where they hadn't seemed to be an obvious fit anywhere, looking at them again with most of the pieces divided. Most of the pieces that didn't seem to fit with the lower levels matched with higher ones, so I adjusted a song here or there and drew back for a moment to observe my work.

All told, I spent about twenty minutes merely sorting through the rubble—which was perhaps five, outside of my Accelerated time. Simply moving all the pieces in so many different ways while so Accelerated was a massive strain, despite the boosts from both my barriers and Mana Reactor, but after looking over my math again, I thought I had the right of it.

At last, I rose—and layers upon layers of steel and stone rose with me. Where I'd sorted the pieces from the bottom up, I now worked in reverse to rebuild the ruins, lifting those on the upper most layers into the air. Lifting a hand, I curled my fingers as if squeezing something and dozens upon dozens of pieces changed position in midair, smaller parts connecting with larger ones or else gathering _into_ larger ones. I watched carefully as the pieces came together, shifting positions slightly here and there as I saw new patterns emerge. Then, with the flick of a wrist, I set the giant stone block down.

Lifting my other hand, I drew a hundred more pieces into the air and started to arrange them as I saw fit, fingers curling again as I did so—but this time I didn't even wait until it was finished to raise my right hand again. Another tune, if one only I could hear, rose to a crescendo as the pieces fell into place again and again and again, and I set down block after block, arranging them in rows I could all but see from the wreckage. Within mere seconds, as broken carvings gave way to complete or near complete images, I was certain and that surety made me move even faster.

In perhaps two minutes, the majority of the massive structure had been assembled from the wreckage, rebuilt in the opposite order in which it had been destroyed, as if I'd pressed rewind on an extremely convincing hologram. It was an enormous step pyramid—almost a ziggurat, really—or so it seemed on the surface. But…

Behind me, Raven exhaled slowly again, eyes focused on me. She wanted to ask, but didn't want to give the question voice, so instead she chose to say nothing for several long moments. For my part, I stood like a statue, arms falling back to my sides, and simply allowed myself several seconds to regain my strength.

"It's odd," I said at last. "I'd noticed how there seemed to be a surprising amount of metal in the rubble, but now I'm sure—it's not solid. There are hidden chambers within the pyramid and an entrance beneath the altar at the top."

"An altar?" Raven asked, tone considering as she elected to focus on the task at hand. Glancing over my shoulder, I nodded at her. "A normal altar or…?"

"It's what you think," I told her. "The type they used for sacrifices. Probably _human_ sacrifices, in fact."

"How can you tell?" She murmured, taking a step to stand side by side with me as we both looked back up at the pyramid. "Do you see something?"

I nodded.

"Blood stains in the Ultraviolet," I said. "Enough that I can still see some of it after who knows how long, all the way down the stairs."

She considered the pyramid silently for a long moment.

"Those stairs must be a hundred meters long," She said.

"A little more than that," I replied. "But yeah."

"It would take a lot of blood to leave stains down a stairway that long," She continued. "A lot of people."

I nodded as she looked around again.

"Any moral abhorrence aside, it seems like a rather odd place for it," She mused. "I did not see any other signs of civilization nearby. Could this place be so old that it's the only things that remains?"

"I doubt it," I answered, following her gaze. "Not so completely that _nothing_ remained, at least. I doubt this place is more than a few thousand years old; if there was a city here, I'd think there'd still be something to show for it."

"The Grimm can be quite thorough when they wish to be," Raven noted. "Such as with Babel."

"True," I nodded. "But I think the Grimm are _why_ this was built out here, far away from anything else. That many people waiting in line to be sacrificed on an altar would draw them in like moths to a flame."

"But then why do it?" She wondered. "Why sacrifice that many people, knowing the Grimm would come by the thousands?"

"Perhaps to _make_ them come," I murmured before shaking my head. "But I honestly don't know. But if we want to find out, I can think of a few ways to do it."

And with that said, I started walking up the once-bloodstained steps.

Raven followed with another quiet sigh.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Temple**

In the process of putting it back together, I'd already memorized all the symbols on the pyramid, but on the way up the stairs I took the chance to get a second look at the ones I deemed most important. Though it was unlikely, there was always the chance I'd missed something in the midst of putting an entire building back together or that I'd gotten a misleading impression from what I'd felt. For something of this magnitude, it was best to be cautious and double check.

The pyramid was ornate, with the surface of each and every block carved. Here and there, chunks were missing, simply because not all of the pieces had been present, but the vast majority had been reassembled into a whole and fused back into one piece by Ereb and Crocea Mors. As it was, the designs on the stones flowed smoothly as if they'd never been broken, with the majority simply being a complex array of lines. Curves and angles crossed stones and steps alike in a complex and beautiful array centered on the temple at the pyramid's summit. Though I couldn't tell what, if any, meaning the design held, I could filter out everything else to feel the sheer magnitude of it all—and knew that if it were seen from above, it would have looked like a beautifully constructed mandala.

So beautiful that I had to wonder what it was doing on a temple with bloodstained—or, at least, _once_ bloodstained—steps. Was it ironic that a place of so much death had been designed to be beautiful? And if so, was it _intentionally_ ironic? Had the temple been adapted from some other purpose or was it a cultural thing?

Looking around, I couldn't be sure. Around and through the greater carvings were what I could only assume were words in languages I didn't recognize—plural. Even if I couldn't read any of them, it was easy to tell them apart because most were so vastly different. On one side of the temple were rows of hieroglyphics while another was lined in what seemed to be some kind of cuneiform. A third was covered in markings that I would have thought had been the result of brush strokes were they not set into stone, while the last of the pyramid's faces were covered in some kind of runes.

Each language occupied one and only one side of the pyramid. Given that, they might have said the same thing in four different languages, though it was impossible to say for sure as each seemed to be arranged differently. Each of the sides left the upper and bottom most layers bare, but the remainder was variable in how it was covered. From the positioning of the symbols and characters, I was pretty sure at least one of the languages was read vertically, for instance, and the hieroglyphs and runes covered very different amounts of space.

At seemingly random points, either a row or a column of blocks were left clear of any words—presumably based on which direction the language was read—and then the markings continued in the same language but…but _differently_. If the previous parts had been written in sentences, then those that followed were fragments at best; they might have been names or a list of things or who knows what else. Even though my vision was almost impossibly sharp, there was only so much I could discern from the words, though I could tell that they hadn't all been carved at the same time, except for certain parts like the 'sentences.' Beyond that, pretty much all my eyes did was let me clearly see that I had no idea what any of these words meant.

Even so, it was an archeologists wet dream. Someone who knew even _one_ of these languages might be able to crack the code of the other three, given enough time. Granted, I didn't have the slightest clue what _any_ of these languages were so it wasn't the type of possibility that helped me right this moment, but if I could figure it out and begin translating it, who knows what I might find? Even if it wasn't anything useful, merely doing so might be enough to let me develop some type of skill for languages that could assist me with Babel someday. If I could do that…

But it would have to wait. I'd memorized all the languages so it thankfully _could_ and the libraries of Mistral might help me the rest of the way, but I had bigger things to worry about right now—namely, what was at the top of the pyramid.

Raven and I climbed the stairs in silence until we stood before the altar. It had a square roof but no walls, so each direction led to facing a different set of stairs, and furrows in the floor had ensured that blood had flowed down each. Even though time had brushed them away, they were as clear to my eyes as if they'd been freshly spilt and it was a grim reminder of the amount of death that had occurred here. And for what?

The closest thing I had to an answer was on the temple's stone roof. A spiral was set into the square, the carving detailed and intricate. At the very center was a small figure that could have been a boy or a man, laying as if on the altar. The next image showed what was presumably the same man, surrounded in an aura of power—or perhaps an _Aura_ of power. The next showed him with a sword, standing amidst slain enemies, monstrous and human alike. The next few simply built upon that theme, with more men and stronger Grimm and different weapons, until the shape of the man began to change. In the next image, he had armor that covered the whole of his body which swords and spears seemed to break upon, and it was followed by a number of arms that each wielded a different weapon, and then strange markings that seemed to hover over fields of corpses as if he'd cursed them to death. With each image, the man's presence seemed to grow, as did the extent of his victory, until all his enemies were gone and an army cheered behind him.

Just a step behind me, I could feel Raven following my gaze and hear the muscles in her face shift as she frowned. I gave her a moment to look over the images, dropping my gaze back to the altar's surface. There were stains in it, of course, but other things, too. Sweat, perhaps, and maybe the remains of oils; signs that it had been laid upon. The sacrifices had gone here, but perhaps…

"What does it mean?" Raven asked at last.

"I can't be certain just from these images," I answered honestly, remaining focused on the altar. "However…the spiral is obviously a progression of some kind."

"Time is a river and all that rot," Raven mused, tilting her head at the image. "I figured that much out myself, but…I'm not sure I understand _this_ progression and how it's connected."

I pursed my lips for a moment and glanced back up at the diagram before shaking my head.

"I think I do," I whispered. "I might be wrong, but I think I understand the purpose of this place. Do you see that second image?"

"Yes," She replied. "It would appear his Aura was awakened. For a moment, I thought this place might have been used as a primitive way to do such a thing, but the rest of the images tell a rather different story."

"Do they?" I asked, nodding at the first image. "Ignore the images later on and focus on the beginning. First, we have a man whose Aura is awakened. He gains martial prowess and slays his enemies, growing stronger and stronger with each image."

Raven's frown deepened for a moment before vanishing as she shrugged.

"I suppose you would know better than I," She replied. "You think this place _was_ used to awaken Auras then?"

"No," I shook my head, confidence growing as I continued to look around. "Not just that, at least. This place was used to create _Hunters._ "

"What?" Raven asked, blinking once. "What do you mean?"

"The images don't stop with the man awakening his Aura, do they? We see him go on to become a fierce warrior, too, winning battle after battle."

"I suppose," She acknowledged. "They trained them here, then? Or did they—"

"No," I shook my head again, looking from the image to the altar again. "I meant exactly what I said. This place was used to _create Hunters_. There are no images of the man training and I don't think they just left it out. No, in the first image, the man is on the altar and then he gains power and then he goes into battle, just like that. At first he was a normal man, but he gains a skill with weapons, an Aura, and more—and suddenly, he's a skilled Hunter, leaving behind piles of Grimm and men."

"But that's—" Raven paused, stopping herself for a moment. "Is that possible? To just… _make_ a normal man into a Hunter like that?"

I was silent for a moment, mulling it over one last time before speaking.

"I want to say no, but…I can think of a way," I said at last. "Conquest…he gained the memories of those he infected, learnt from them. More than that, you've probably seen what he's done to people's bodies, mutating them into—"

I gestured at the later images.

"Extremely powerful monsters. Now imagine it," I continued. "Imagine if, all of a sudden, a warrior could be blessed with the skills of every fighter that came before him. If in a day, you could make a normal man a master of a hundred different weapons. If you could make him stronger, faster, make him heal more easily, make him brush off even horrible pain, and give him the experience of all those who came before him—and then imagine if you could do this to _anyone_ you wanted. Or, if it helps, imagine if the _Kingdom's_ could."

"People would kill for something like that," Raven answered in a tone just as low.

I tapped a foot on the bloodstains that trailed down every side of the pyramids like rivers.

"People _did_ ," I replied.

She fell silent for a moment after that, looking down at the stone altar. I wasn't sure of exactly what she was thinking about, but I could guess the basics—of what people would sacrifice for power.

"You think they were infected, then?" Raven asked at last, tearing her eyes away from the altar to look back up at the images again. "By this second Rider? How?"

"I don't know for sure," I admitted before gesturing around. "But there would seem to be a common denominator. The Red Rider was dormant in Ruby's blood and here we are at the scene of thousands of blood _sacrifices_. It seems safe to assume it's not a coincidence."

"Okay, it has something to do with the blood, then," Raven nodded as the frown on her face deepened. "Vague, yet unhelpful. A better question, then— _why_? Why would they infect their own people with a Grimm pathogen?"

"Perhaps they simply didn't know," I answered, nodding at the spiral above us. "By all indication, the people empowered looked normal at least at first. Conquest mutated his hosts immediately and obviously, darkening their flesh and then growing plates of armored Grimm bone—but what if the Red Rider doesn't? If there are no masks and spikes, if the person infected acts the same way as before, why would they think it had anything to do with the Grimm? Look at all the fallen Grimm in those images; the people empowered were Hunters, protectors of the people, and _heroes_."

"But that's just it," She replied. "They _fought_ the Grimm. Why would they do that if they were infected by a Rider? Did they control it, somehow? Did they manage to bind it to their will?"

I considered that for a moment, looking around with pursed lips. Truthfully, there wasn't any way to be sure when I had no idea what any of the words on the temple _meant_ , so I had to consider the possibility, at least, but…at least from what I knew right now, that didn't add up. Because…

"In my experience, you usually don't sacrifice thousands of people to your servants," I mused. "That sounds more like an attempt to earn the favor of a god."

"It could be a ritual, perhaps," Raven suggested, gesturing at each of the temple's four sides and the stairs they led to. "All these symbols and markings could be…some kind of spell? Some way to control the Rider, maybe?"

"As far as I can tell, they just look pretty," I shook my head, though I glanced over the markings with all of my senses for the umpteenth time. As before, they seemed to be just normal stone under every form of sight I had—if there was anything special about them beyond the power I'd put into piecing them back together, I couldn't see it. "I suppose it's possible that there was something there once and the temple's destruction broke it, but if so, I cannot see any evidence of it anywhere."

"So there's no point to this temple?" Raven asked, nudging the stone altar with a toe. "All of these things are just… _decorations_?"

"Decorations, perhaps—but why would that make them pointless?" I questioned back, treading carefully over this particular subject. "After all, it certainly _looks_ important, doesn't it? Real enough to make someone wonder, at the very least. Abstract designs, all those words, and more…perhaps it's a lie, but it could _seem_ authentic in the right light, and in this case, that may be what matters."

"How so?" She tilted her head as she turned to me.

"Think about it," I whispered. "You asked 'why,' but think about the implications of this place. Assume I'm right and that Hunters could be _made_ on this altar. But nothing is ever _free_ , is it? And from the amount of blood spilt here, I think we can guess what this particular cost was."

"Human lives," She answered.

"Yes," I agreed. "Many, many, many human lives."

"Then it's…a ploy?" She guessed, eyebrows furrowing as she tried to imagine it. "An attempt to make Kingdoms kill their own people for power?"

I looked at her for a moment, hearing the tone of her voice. She said it like she could see it happening—which I supposed was fair, because I could to. Not willy-nilly, perhaps, but in the right situation, when things got bad enough…I could see it.

But no. This…this went beyond that.

The _Riders_ went beyond that.

"Think bigger," I told her, feeling more certain by the second. "Imagine what might have happened. Someone—perhaps a god, to all appearances, or perhaps someone claiming to be a servant of one—tells people of this place and the power it holds. He tells them of how he could give them warriors to protect them from their enemies and slay the monsters at their door, give knowledge and wisdom that has been lost for ages, and save them from the darkness. But in return, he requires something from them. He could dress it up, say that it's some sign of faith or a necessary evil to keep their god strong or whatever else, but in the end, the truth is he needs something and something big. Let's say the lives of a hundred normal men to give strength to one Hunter."

"I've known people who'd take that deal." Raven noted.

"I know," I nodded, smiling at her. "But it's not a single person involved here, is it? And a hundred lives might seem a bit more costly when one of them might be your own. Imagine some government official coming down and telling the entirety of Vale that the cost of Hunters would be paid in blood from now on. How do you think they would react?"

"The words 'Oh shit' come to mind. So do outrage, objections, and panic."

I had to chuckle a little bit at that, but nodded again.

"Indeed," I agreed. "And I'm sure a great many people thought something along the lines of 'Oh shit' when they heard it would cost a hundred or a thousand or however many lives to do something like this. But after a while, with the Grimm attacking and so much on the line—the lives of an entire _nation_ at stake—I imagine someone would eventually stop for a moment and think to themselves 'You know, he didn't say it had to be _our_ men.'"

Raven looked at me for a moment, blinking quickly beneath her mask.

"You're talking about war," She said. "That this message would make a nation go to war to capture sacrifices."

"It's not _a_ message," I shook my head, gesturing to each side of the pyramid in turn. "It's _four_ messages. There's a language on each side of this pyramid, each completely different from the other. Four languages and, presumably, four different kingdoms to speak them. And each was told the same thing—what it would cost them to keep their people safe."

"And they turned upon each other to pay that cost," Raven whispered as she puzzled it out. "Even though they'd have had the same enemy, they'd have been at each other's throats, weakening each other every time they fought. But every time they captured enough of the enemy, they could sacrifice them here, kill them by the hundreds, and new warriors would be born."

"And each time that happened, it improved the position of whoever did it," I said. "It made them stronger, safer, and better able to win _more_ battles. The only response, then, would have been to get more Hunters of your own. They'd have fought each other and amongst themselves and worse over power like this, bleeding each other dry as the entire region was destabilized by the fighting."

"Divide and conquer," She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"It's a classic strategy for a reason," I told her with a shrug.

"And when it was over?" She asked. "When they finished fighting?"

"In a war where the enemy can profit so much from death?" I lifted an eyebrow. "By the time they'd finished, only one kingdom would have remained—and from the blood of their enemies, they'd have empowered thousands of Hunters, maybe even _tens_ of thousands. An army like that would be terrifying in any era, and coming off such a vicious war…"

I shook my head again.

"Maybe they simply continued," I said. "Turned on other nations to further the growth of their power or to satisfy their god or whatever. Or maybe, once they'd killed the other three kingdoms, they felt safe and content. In the former, they'd continue, tearing apart everything that got in their way, but in the latter…when they stopped, they'd have had one of the strongest armies in history. And every single member of it would have been a pawn of the Red Rider."

I held out a hand and set it on the altar, closing my eyes for a moment. Thick as the bloodstains seemed to my eyes, they were long since faded and there was nothing for me to gather with Psycometry—but I didn't need any skills to image how many people must have died screaming on this altar. I wondered how many of them had been surprised by who put them there.

"You wondered why the infected would kill Grimm, Raven," I continued without lifting my eyes. "But it doesn't really matter how many Grimm die, does it? We know that, in the grand scheme of things, a few hundred or thousand or ten thousand Grimm wouldn't make so much as a dent in their population, and though they're careful and cautious, the Grimm do not hesitate to sacrifice themselves when needed. And for this? The deaths of entire _nations_? They'd die gladly by the thousands, throw themselves on as many swords as they needed to convince the people they were safe. These kingdoms could have stood as one, united as fellow men to stand before the threat of the Grimm, but they didn't. All because of this decorated pile of stone and a Grimm that probably thought it was funny to watch."

Raven looked down at my hand and the altar beneath it.

"Perhaps," She whispered. "It's a good theory, but there's no way to know for sure and so we can't simply assume its fact. And even if it _is_ true, doesn't explain what happened to Summer or Ruby."

I looked at her for a moment.

And then I pushed the altar to the side, revealing what lay beneath.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Raiding**

Beneath the Altar was a trapdoor. It was well hidden—or would have been for someone without my eyes, Elementals, and the fact that I'd literally built this place and knew every nook and cranny within it—being more of a fake block of stone than anything, but on the other side there were latches and supports to keep it in place. With a thought, I made them shift and the block lifted into the air, raised by my and Ereb's will. Setting that aside as well, what was left was a doorway into the temple's hidden interior.

Without a moment's hesitation, I stepped forward and dropped onto the staircase within, fire pooling in my open hand as I went to give light for Raven when she dropped down a moment later. Every few steps, I let the flames slip from my hands and hang suspended in the air, like woodless torches illuminating our path.

The staircase spiraled down—further down then the Pyramid was high and every bit of it was…well, it had obviously been done by the same hand that had crafted the exterior. The walls were covered in delicate tracery, showing images of battles and heroes with enough detail that I felt certain that the scenes were of either mythical or historical figures. I didn't recognize any, but the ones given the most importance all looked unique enough that they probably would have meant something to…whoever was intended to come here. Each side of the pyramid had a different art style with its own figures, the forgotten legends of forgotten nations. The staircase spiraled down the center with tight circles, leaving plenty of room on each side even as it forced you to see the whole of it. When we reached the base of the pyramid, I had to use my power to open another hidden doorway and we continued our downward trek into the earth.

We walked down perhaps three hundred meters further, until the inside of the pyramid gave way to a massive room—and I mean _massive_ , with each dimension being over a hundred meters in length. There was a throne at one end that could have seated a giant and the length of the hall leading up to it was marked by adorned columns. The ceiling was painted in a beautiful imitation of the stars and the walls decorated in much the same way that everything in this place seemed to be. Instead of the glory of heroes, however, it seemed to tell the story of a god of some kind, appearing in many forms across the earth. At one end, opposite the throne, was a carving of some kind of egg or jewel, and spiraling outwards from it were scenes of its birth, of a god descending on a war-torn earth to combat the darkness, and legends and tales I had no context for.

Beside the statue, however, there was an image that caught my eye, even though I'd sensed it long beforehand. It showed a figure of light, features apparently hidden by his own radiance, but with wings outstretched and a sword in hand. Lesser warriors stood beside him, hundreds of different shapes and just as many weapons, united against a monster with countless eyes and mouths and three dozen wings. In the next image, the monster laid dead, but the other figure was simply…gone. The back of the throne was carved like a tablet, covered in giant words I couldn't read, a message of some kind that was lost on me.

Even so, I couldn't help but not that the monster in that image looked a lot like how Bianca had described my soul. And if so, then the other figure would be…the father of the Grimm? Someone else? Something that had been completely fabricated, like the rest of this temple?

At the moment, I had no way of knowing, so I turned my attention to the floor of the room. It was oddly carved, with most of it set deep into the ground, with an elevated walkway that led from the foot of the stairs to an empty circular platform in the center.

"What is this place?" Raven asked behind me, voice low.

"It's where the Rider lived," I answered back, having already drawn a tight shield of air around us, just in case. "See how the floor is deep there? I think this used to contain a pool of sorts."

"Of sorts?" Raven asked, tilting her head for a moment before lifting it slightly in understanding. "I'm guessing it wasn't water."

I shook my head.

"There are quite a few blood stains," I said. "And other things, besides, though I don't think any of it was what truly filled the pools. I can see what I think are signs of the same chemical that's in Ruby's blood—enough that it left marks all over the bottom and walls. I figure they'd probably seemed like blood, but…."

"Should we be here, then?" Raven asked, drawing her power in to make a portal, if she needed to escape. In response, I simply lifted a hand and knocked on the air in front of me like it was a door.

"I'm shielding us," I told her as she reached out to press a hand against the space near her. "Even if I wasn't though, there's nothing here. The Red Rider's gone, whether because he left or because he died and vanished like all Grimm do; he just left markings behind when he left. Still, I don't recommend touching anything."

"I didn't intend to," She answered distractedly, pondering the empty pools. "If the Red Rider was here, was this where the Hunters were made, too?"

I shrugged lightly.

"Perhaps," I said. "Though not necessarily. This seems like a place used for important occasions more than anything—look at the images and the throne. I think this was where people met their 'god,' while the altar was for rituals and sacrifices. Why they'd need this place, too…I'm not certain, but it seems fairly safe to assume that whatever blood sacrifices they carried out above, they probably weren't actually necessary for the Rider to infect others. Instead, once he received whatever he considered to be a satisfactory amount of sacrifices, he most likely infected them through some other means, which probably involved the pools here in some fashion. As the Red Rider seems to be chemical in nature, however, I can't be certain of what that entails. Signs indicate that he was in a liquid state here, at least, but I wouldn't be surprised if he possessed a gaseous state as well. Did you see the image upstairs where the man looked like he'd cursed an army to death?"

"I did," She nodded. "You think it was an airborne toxin?"

"I think it could be," I shrugged. "Could also be some type of Aura technique or any number of other things—but a sapient chemical probably has a fair number of ways to kill people without drawing upon any of that. As is, I can't be sure of _which_ means he might have used, whether to kill or too infect, but considering its nature…contact, ingestion, injection, and inhalation seem like the most likely possible means of infection for the Red Rider. Whatever method he chooses, he could easily infect people without needing to bring anyone here, so it may have simply served as a backup site or a way to make the lie more convincing."

"Possibly," Raven mused. "But what does any of this have to do with Summer or Ruby?"

I lifted a finger.

"Let us assume for a moment that Summer didn't abruptly decide to engage in any ritualistic behavior upstairs," I said. "Though you would know her better than I, it seems unlikely that her first reaction to seeing the altar above would be to spill large quantities of blood on it."

"I don't recall her ever engaging in sudden human sacrifice," Raven agreed. "And somehow, I fell as though that would have stood out to me."

"And yet somehow, she managed to encounter the Red Rider," I continued. "And as it happens, we aren't the first people to come down here."

Raven frowned and looked around.

"Let's pretend for a moment that you see something I don't," She replied after a moment.

I smiled at that and nodded slightly.

"There are signs," I gestured. "Mostly faded biological evidence, some dirt from old footprints, things like that—someone was here, relatively recently. Given that Summer was in the area ten years or so ago, she seems like the most likely suspect. And notice the condition of this part of the temple."

Raven frowned at me for a moment at that before pausing and taking a slow look around—at the dust, the paint, and the carvings. But it wasn't what was there that mattered most, but what _wasn't_.

"Did you repair this place, too?" She asked. "When you fixed everything else."

My smile turned a bit sad at the question.

"No," I said. "Only what was above ground and part of the stairway was destroyed. This room was completely intact."

Raven considered that silently, taking a step to stand shoulder to shoulder with me. I watched her out of the left side of my face, observing as she turned slowly to take in the massive room. Without waiting for her to ask, I let more flames float from my fingers, positioning them quickly throughout the room to provide illumination. I felt her contemplation as she considered the images, trying to discern some meaning from the pictures—but she probably had even less context for them than I did, which was saying something.

At last, she turned her gaze to the giant throne, looking at the words carved into its back.

"Why?" She asked after another moment of silence. I wasn't entirely sure if she was asking me or herself, but then, she was probably aware that neither of us had an answer. "What's so special about this room?"

I shook my head.

"Process of elimination would say it has something to do with the imagery," I replied. "There's nothing special about the stone and the paint beyond that, as near as I can tell. Perhaps it meant something to the Rider, perhaps it serves an 'ordinary' purpose, or perhaps something else entirely."

"Then what does it mean?" She wondered, turning around to look at the image of an egg. "A birth of a…god? Hero?"

"Possibly," I nodded. "Although, remember that this place was most likely constructed by the Grimm and housed one for quite some time; this 'hero' might not be such from our perspective."

She nodded, turning her head to glance over the walls to either side of the egg-like image. Those were by far the vaguest of the images, featuring groups of strangely-dressed men and gleaming towers, with the 'hero' standing over each. At the top of the walls, the sky was bright white, as if lit by a second sun, but with each segment of the wall, more of the 'monster' lowered, until at last the 'hero' challenged it.

"If we assume that, then he's most likely…" Raven pursed her lips, frowning. "One of the Riders? The creator of the Grimm? Would those cities be Babel, then?"

"That's my guess," I agreed. "Assuming the images mean _anything_ , of course. It seems unlikely that the Rider constructed this place to aid in history lessons."

I had to pause for a moment to give that some thought.

"Or perhaps he did?" I mused aloud, drawing Raven's attention. "Perhaps not an _accurate_ history lesson, but then, history is written by the victors."

"But if it's a lesson, that implies it's being taught to someone," Raven said, making an encompassing gesture with a hand. "Who could _this_ lesson have been meant for?"

I considered that for a moment. It could be me, I suppose—the Grimm had shown an interest in guiding me towards something, presumably an end I wasn't going to enjoy. Could this be part of that? An attempt to deceive me or shape my thoughts?

It didn't seem likely. If there was some kind of poisonous message hidden here, it was entirely lost upon me, since I had no idea what any of it meant—and though it might have been arrogant of me, I considered myself a fairly wary person. Even if I hadn't been aware of the Riders and didn't know they were connected to this place, I don't think I'd have taken it at face value. Taken it into _consideration_ , definitely, but I didn't think of myself as the type of person who'd simply trust whatever some carvings told me, much less in a place that was stained so heavily in blood.

More than that, though, there was a big problem with it being for me—namely, getting it to me. I was only looking at it now because of several coincidental meetings, a number of past connections, and the fact that I was acquainted with a teleporter who'd known about it. Granted, I could have found myself here other ways by following Summer Rose's trail, but…

No, it seemed more logical for someone else to be the target. But how? Who could possibly walk into this room, look around, and go 'oh, I get it!' From the carvings above to the ones in this room, this place was pretty opaque. Maybe it would have made sense to someone hundreds or thousands of years ago, but now? You'd need someone to explain every detail.

I paused again, frowning as I took a look around.

 _Had_ there been someone to explain it? Sure, the room was empty _now_ —but had it been that way when Summer had seen it? I didn't see any signs of inhabitation beyond the remnants of the Red Rider, but perhaps that would have been enough. Could it have been capable of speech, somehow? I wasn't sure how a chemical substance would have been able to communicate vocally, but hell, if we were getting into things that the Grimm shouldn't have been physically or biologically capable of, there were several lists worth of things before getting to that. A chemical talking was no more ridiculous than the idea of a Giant Nevermore flying on its own power. Beyond that, it _was_ a chemical, so perhaps it was capable of several mind-altering effects, such as causing hallucinations?

Having someone here to explain the pictures, possibly in the guess of the god of this temple…that was a message that might be a little more easily grasped.

"Perhaps it was meant for whoever came here before us," I said, taking another look at the stains in the stone. It was easy to see that the Red Rider had lain here for a long time, but it was a touch harder to tell how long he'd been gone. A few years, at least—maybe even about ten years. "Perhaps Summer found something more than an empty room."

Raven was silent for a moment at that, bowing her head even as her eyes closed beneath her mask.

"You wanted to show me something related to her," She said. "When you moved the altar. Did you find…?"

"That's the interesting part," I said. I took another look around the room, making sure I would remember every inch of it across the entire spectrum of my senses. Then I turned around and began walking back up the stairs. "Follow me."

Raven glanced up at the massive staircase with a slightly sigh but followed without complaint. Once we'd left the giant room and made it about halfway up the stairs, I killed the lights I'd below us and held up a hand to stop her, placing the other on the carved wall of the vertical tunnel.

"When I first sensed this part of the pyramid, I was surprised to senses how intact the room below was," I explained, tracing a finger over the marks on the wall. As I did, parts of it began to crumble, slowly breaking away from the wall and falling as if through syrup. "But more than that, I was surprised to sense _this_. This was the lowest sign of damage to the temple and it was done by human weapons."

Raven frowned and leaned closer, looking over the deep cuts that began to slowly appear in the wall and reaching out to touch one.

"It's Summer's," She said after a moment. "I'm almost sure."

I nodded and took another step up the stairs, gesturing for her to follow. All around us, damage was written on the walls in slow motion, scratching away carved faces.

"Watch what happens as we go up," I nodded towards the slowly forming scratches as we went.

Her frown deepened as she caught on, keeping pace even as she made sure her passage didn't disrupt the slowly expanding rubble. When she realized what _that_ meant, however, she stiffened and reached out to catch my shoulder.

"Is this how the temple was destroyed?" She asked, a note of urgency to her tone. "In this order?"

I nodded at her, because it _was_ , or as close to it as I'd been able to guess.

She swallowed once and opened her mouth before shutting it with a click.

"Move faster," She commanded after a moment, before hesitating with a twitch of her lips. "Please."

I nodded again, understanding how she was feeling, and hastened both my ascent and the redestruction of the pyramid. In a few seconds, we came up through the trapdoor again and for a moment, we simply stood at the top. Raven's eyes focused on the signs of destruction that began to carve themselves into one of the sides of the pyramid before cutting across to another. With each passing moment, the pace of the destruction rose, until entire chucks of the temple were being torn away. The process appeared, at first glance, haphazard, but it was a methodical kind of destruction, tearing down the entire structure with devastating speed and leaving it an utter ruin.

Holding out a hand to Raven, I waited patiently as she glanced at it, unsure. When she took it, however, I took a step and rose into the air, and though she paused for a moment, she quickly followed. Instead of walking diagonally down the temple stairs, we walked straight forward and turned to look as it slowly crumbled. In a few minutes, the temple was back to the state it had been in before our arrival—exactly the same state, ignoring some disrupted plant life.

And through it all, Raven was silent. I knew what she was thinking, of the how the destruction had progressed up the tunnel and then how it had turned upon the exterior. I could feel the storm of her emotions rising, but she simply watched the rubble.

"So," Raven whispered at last, the lowness of her tone the only thing giving away what she felt. "Summer's alive."

I looked at her for a moment before answering, choosing my words carefully.

"I can't say that conclusively," I shook my head as I followed her gaze down to the ruins, gesturing at it with a finger. "But at the very least, she didn't die here."

"She walked away from this place," Raven murmured and though it wasn't a question, I nodded.

Whatever had happened, whatever she'd found in that room below, Summer Rose had survived the experience and walked away.

And I was betting she'd taken the Red Rider with her.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Funeral Rites**

We returned to Vale in silence, slipping into Naraka and then another of Raven's portals. It took mere moments and then we were atop one of the city's skyscrapers, looking over the empty city.

Raven hadn't said a word the entire trip back, but I didn't press her on it. I knew what she was feeling as well as she did, but also knew she wouldn't want a blatant gesture of support. Instead, I simply stood beside her silently, watching the city gleam. Beowolves spawned in short order and began to tear apart the city beneath us. In moments, the sounds of windows breaking and doors splintering began to rise in the distance and I knew from experience that sheer accumulation of damage would soon topple buildings. Within an hour, much of the city would be in ruins. By the time night fell, it would seem like a mutilated corpse of its former self.

Amazing how quickly even the weakest Grimm can destroy things, given the chance. It was a reminder of what would happen if Humanity ever fell or stopped fighting.

It was also a rather dismal sight, all told, though it seemed to match Raven's mood—which was why I restricted my Elementals to slaying only those that drew near our tower, killing them without physically moving while leaving the rest to run rampant. Raven didn't feel any joy watching the scene, nor anything like pleasure, but one didn't always need to feel something positive to draw strength from a sight. And as she looked down on the Grimm in bone-deep contempt and hatred, Raven seemed to feel a bit better. As a Huntress, I figured she'd just learned how to keep going on sheer spite when things got bleak; given the job, it was probably a survival trait.

And this situation was…not _necessarily_ bad, but neither of us seemed able to muster up a lot of optimism from the picture the facts seemed to paint. Even if we didn't know the specifics, Summer had almost certainly been the one down in that room and had almost certainly encountered and contracted the Red Rider, in whatever form it had taken. And after that, she'd _vanished_ , and though there was no way to be certain, she seemed the most likely cause of Ruby's infection. Whatever had happened, she hadn't told any of her loved ones about what had occurred or how she was—that is, not only had she never spoken to them directly, but she hadn't, as far as I was aware, even picked up a scroll to call them. If Summer had managed to keep ahold of herself, to whatever degree, there was no reason for her not to try and inform _someone_ of the risks and the dangers, if she'd been aware. And there certainly wasn't much reason for her to have gone completely unheard of for at least a decade, had she been in her right mind.

But then, her having retained her own mind _at all_ was unlikely in the extreme, and both Raven and I knew it. Even without knowing anything concrete about how the Red Rider worked, we knew one thing—neither it nor any other Grimm were natural.

They were _designed_. They'd been made—as weapons or whatever else—by an intelligent and ruthless being, for some purpose. And that being the case, we could thus assume that _they'd_ built intelligently.

As such, it seemed rather unlikely that the Red Rider gave power to humans without a firm way to control them afterwards, because…well, that would have been a rather glaring design flaw. I mean, why would you do that? Even beyond the general issues of creating super soldiers you couldn't fully control, doing so via a drug which could, most likely, only be used by your _enemies_ was…stupid. Sure, the temple set up all but guaranteed that the surrounding nations bled each other dry, but that's still no reason to not include a way to ensure the created soldiers loyalty to their maker's cause. Or at least a kill switch of some kind. Sure, it's not exactly fair to your enemy—but that's exactly why you would do it. And Conquest proved the Grimm had at least one way of controlling a host. Even beyond a similar means of taking over a host body, for a presumably sapient chemical…

Mind-altering substances were on the table—or perhaps even direct tampering with the host's brain chemistry. Addiction was a possibility, too, I suppose, though that seemed like it would be harder to ensure absolute obedience.

Whatever the case, Summer had left the temple and vanished without a trace for ten years. Logic dictated that she was probably compromised; I knew that…and Raven did, too. Which meant she'd been told that a friend she'd long thought dead might still be alive—and also told that she would likely have to kill her next time they met.

Though if the Red Rider's hosts were in anything like the state Conquest's had been, trapped in their own minds and forced to watch the horrors their bodies wrought on the things they loved—and really, when you're a godless abomination, why not, right?—then death might be a mercy. Even if her body existed, if likely in an extremely mutated state to fit the Rider's purpose, god only knew what had happened to her…everything.

But saying that aloud would have been callous and Raven was probably thinking it anyway, so instead I waited for her mood to…not quite lighten, but achieve a more lively shade of black, and then spoke.

"Even now, I look for a way to cure those taken by the Riders," I said, still staring out over the city—with my eyes, at least. The rest of my body was looking all over the damn place, as per usual. "No matter what's happened or will happen, I believe it can be done and I won't give up until I find a way. For the sake of all the innocent people that have been taken by those monsters and all the heroes that have been tortured by them, I'll find a way, even if it takes me a lifetime. And if I should find a way and encounter Summer Rose, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to help her."

Raven didn't so much as shift her gaze as I spoke, but I'd felt the entirety of her attention fall on me the moment I opened my mouth. After a long moment, she nodded once.

"Thank you," She said at last, the words simple but meaningful.

I nodded back and lifted my gaze slightly to watch the clouds as Raven's eyes closed for several seconds. One of the many, many perks of having eyes as keen as mine was that I could watch the stars whenever I wanted, piercing through the refracted light that colored the sky with ease. Toggling my vision further revealed all sorts of things, from cosmic explosions that lit up the heavens to faint shifts in the stars that revealed more about them. I took a closer look at several, my Clairvoyance reaching far without the curvature of the planet or any obstacles getting in the way. After a moment, I turned my sight to the broken moon and its many pieces, mulling over the sight as I sometimes did and wondering how it might have gotten that way. Not for the first time I pondered exactly what one would need to make the trip there and back on their own power. If I was right, it might have been within _my_ power, though preparations would need to be made, but…

It would have to wait.

"I heard you were a healer," Raven spoke after a few seconds of silence, drawing me from my thoughts. "I admit, I was a touch surprised. From what I'd heard of your reputation up to that point, you hadn't seemed the type."

"I'm a man of many skills," I replied, lifting my hands and lowering my gaze to them thoughtfully. For a moment, I pondered them and considered everything I could do with them in better circumstances. "Healing is one I value a great deal. Had things been different—had there been no Grimm to face or discrimination or any other problems I couldn't keep these hands from—I do not think I would have minded being a healer for a living. Or a scientist or…well, I suppose I've done a bit of dreaming of what could have been and could be."

"Haven't we all," Raven whispered, making me smile slightly.

"I don't get to sleep much of late, but I do like to dream, when I have the time," I said. "And I like dreams where I manage to make things better a great deal, as from time to time it seems I make things worse. Perhaps that's why I like healing people—I know I've definitely helped someone in a tangible way. I like to think I help people in many ways, but most are harder to measure or point to, and sometimes the costs…."

I shook my head.

"And perhaps…" I mused slowly, not hiding the emotion on my face. "No, without a doubt, I sometimes dream of healing, because of the lives I didn't manage to save. In the end, there were those I couldn't save, no matter how hard I tried…so I'll save others. Not out of grief, but so other people don't _have_ to feel grief, and because I think _they_ would be proud of how I've lived without them. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," Raven replied without lifting her voice, the single word carrying certainty. At last, she turned her head to look at me and met my eyes with her own. "I will leave it to you then, Jian."

 **XxXXxX**

With our business concluded and arrangements made, Raven and I went our separate ways, promising to meet again in Mistral. I dropped Naraka to let her go, watching as the damage faded and life returned to the city—only to slip back into Naraka the moment she was gone in order to get back to work. The way things were now, I had to finish up my training here in Vale and tie up the remaining loose ends as quickly as possible. My family was aware—more or less—of what I was doing now and so wouldn't worry too much about me while I was gone, but I noted the time anyway and absently started a running count of the seconds in the back of my head. If possible, I'd try to go home before they had cause to worry, but this was important enough that I'd stay here for a few days if I had to. Things were beginning to move and now that I knew how…

Well, there was nothing to do but move even faster.

In the blink of an eye, my Elementals were around me, calling their power. I felt their forms muddle in my thoughts, the process almost routine now, and a storm began to rise out of the echoing crash of breaking glass. I closed my eyes as it happened, because there was no real need to keep them open when no one was around, and continued to prepare myself. I removed my clothes with a gesture, just in case, and then stored Kronos away as well—and then I drew time around me like a suit of armor in their place, compressing it into a shell between me and the outside world.

At once, the sound distorted and stuttered, warping as I Accelerated. The first of the glass shards, razor sharp and as long as my hand, slowed in its approach and seemed to gleam in the midday light as it sluggishly approached. Bai Hu rose around me, taking a step out of my body until only the tail around my ankle connected us and then turned to face me. Without a moment's hesitation, a Magic Missile appeared in his hand and flashed through the short distance between us, hitting me in the upper arm—and even through my Adamant skin and all my defenses, I felt it drive a clean hole straight through my arm, my HP dropping a fair bit as it went.

Good, I thought, paying no real attention to the blade that found its place in my throat a moment later, shattering against it. I took a moment to gauge both the damage I'd taken from the Missile and the miniscule amount the glass shard had chipped away, double checking my math.

Then I cut the power to the Adamant Serpent's Skin and tore my way out of the shell of my flesh. For a moment, I felt, well, _skinless_ , but all it took was a quick healing to erase the sensation. A moment later, the next storm of shards followed in the wake of my testing attack, ripping through my flesh like bullets and scrapping hard against my bones. I felt pieces of myself fall away, kilograms of my body being shorn from my frame, but I ignored that, too.

Amazing what one can get used to, given time—though the fact that I had gotten used to _this_ probably said something about me. I liked to think it would be about my ability to endure pain, persevere for the sake of others, or something similarly heroic, but given all the things I'd done and intended to do, one could probably make an argument that I was crazy, or at least that I reacted differently enough from the norm to seem that way.

Especially since I didn't think it was enough anymore. I pushed my Acceleration to give myself more relative time to work with and shifted my power, curling my fingers—Bai Hu's fingers—around another Magic Missile and firing it point blank at the exact same spot as before.

This time, I felt my arm explode right beneath the shoulder, the attack tearing it away despite my Physical Resistances. I kept myself from stumbling in the face of the attack, healing myself as the swirling storm of glass shards added more wounds to my body, and waited for my other arm to be blown off. I didn't keep myself waiting long—I had too much self-respect to do such a thing—and was quickly in need of another healing.

The process repeated five more times, the attacks carefully hitting different parts of my body to allow me to observe the results. After testing it on each of my legs in turn, I blew a trio of careful holes through my chest, targeting them precisely. Mentally noting the results, I nodded to myself, nodded back simply because I could, and fell into a rhythm. Glass shards swirled through the air, tearing at me viciously, but Bai Hu's attacks were far fiercer as he shot me through with Magic Missile after Magic Missile, the attacks coming exactly as fast as I could heal them, which was quite quickly at my current speed.

It took a bit of getting used to. My Magic Missile was an attack with Defense Penetration and I'd been grinding it for some time now. Once there'd been a time when I'd have been pleased to level a skill from zero to ten in a day, but I was a fair bit faster now then I was then and had MP to burn besides. The skill had improved quickly and its power had risen with it, enough so that I needed to control precisely how I used it—but for the same reason, directing the attacks upon myself caused enormous amounts of damage and gave me a great deal to heal.

Enough was enough—it was time to rank up Soulforge Restoration and see if it would yield something I could use. If it didn't, I'd have to find something else to do so, which might require leveling up an entirely new healing skill, but I was hopeful. Hopeful enough that I stood in the center of a storm of glass shards and repeatedly blew giant holes in my own body until the sun set and the moon rose more visibly in the sky.

That was about eight hours, seventeen minutes, and thirty-nine seconds, real time—and several times longer for someone within a pocket of Accelerated time. I'd have complained, but honestly, I got used to _that_ pretty fast, too. So quickly, in fact, that a part of me wondered what I would do if someone ever managed to somehow capture and torture me.

Get really bored, probably.

But none of that mattered, because beneath the moonlight, with a final throw, I did it. I pierced myself through the stomach with a lance of light and a window appeared.

 **By raising Soulforge Restoration to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Soulforge Reformation.'**

At once, the storm stopped. Glass shards halted abruptly in midair and then fell as one, Bai Hu drawing back into my frame as it did. I took a moment to take a deep breath, hoped for the best, and drew up the window.

 **Soulforge Reformation (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:500  
Within the darkness, Man learned the truth—that the soul is something infinite in distance and unbound by death. By releasing it, they found immortality even in their own passing and hope in even the bleakest of days. In her search to cure the pains of man, the healer Zaltna created this skill, perfecting her own abilities over decades as she devoted her life to mending the broken.  
Without Dust Crystal, 5000 HP restored, high-ranking Illnesses removed, low-ranking negative status effects removed.  
With Dust Crystal, 5000 HP restored, 2500 MP restored, high-ranking Illnesses removed, low-ranking status effects removed, mid-ranking status effects applied depending on type of dust. **

"Yes," I whispered, hands curling into fists by my sides as a smile grew across my face. " _Yes_."

I _knew_ it—or, at least, knew there was a good chance of it. For a technique that could already heal such massive amounts of damage and even erase some status effects, the next step would likely build on that. I hadn't been sure, but I'd _hoped_ , and I was _right_. If this worked the way I thought it would, fixing my mother would be simple. It might even be possible to—

At once, I felt my body begin to change, mutating as I began to undergo a Metamorphosis. I helped the process along with Soulforge Restoration, raising Conquest's status effect to Max in short order. I felt power flow through me, immense even though this skill was still at level one. When the only way to return to normal was to sleep for six hours, it was a difficult skill to grind, but if I was lucky…

Putting my hands together as if praying—which I might have been, just a little bit—I used my new skill for the first time and felt a change. Opening my status window as I grew excited, there was no change, but I was _sure_ now—sure enough to try again, charging the technique as much as I could, paying ten times the normal cost in the process. I pushed it hard and _felt_ something hard to describe; like black sludge in my veins and light rising up beneath it. In a way, it reminded me of when I'd used Lux Aeterna, drawing upon _something_ , and so I focused on that feeling, grasped it, and called to the same light as before.

The armor covering my hands cracked and pieces fell away, revealing hints of the dark flesh beneath. Watching the process with wide eyes, I did it again, lengthening the cracks, and pushed on.

When I'd done it ten times, the status effect dropped from [MAX] to [High], and my armor had fallen away. By the twenty-ninth, it was [Intermediate] and I could see spots of human color in my hands. By the forty-seventh, it was [Low], over half my body was clear, and I was laughing in sheer, unadulterated joy. I kept going, pushing more of the color back with each healing, drawing closer and closer to normal.

But when I hit seventy-four and the status effect didn't disappear, I realized something was wrong. When, determined, I pushed on to a hundred and then a hundred and fifty and then even more and it still didn't vanish, I was certain.

Spreading my hands, I watched as spots of black slowly began to form on my skin.

"Should have known it wouldn't be that easy," I glared at my own skin. "You persistent son of a bitch."

Was it because the Riders were entities in their own right in addition to being status effects? Because they were Grimm and somehow resistant? Could they somehow impose themselves again when they should disappear or was it because Conquest was tied to my Aura as well as my body?

I had no idea.

But…

It was progress. And I'd gotten what I'd wanted, if not completely. I could practice with this—train, experiment, learn, and grow—until I found a way, but for now…

"I'm not quite there yet, but…if I'd had this, maybe I could have saved you, Dad," I sighed to myself before smiling. "But don't worry. I'll make up for it by fixing mom, so rest easy. I'll keep trying until I find a way, even if it means going away for a while."

I looked out over Vale, knowing I'd be leaving soon and not sure for how long. Even so, I kept smiling.

"So for now…goodbye." I spoke to the open air and turned away.

 **XxXXxX**


	11. Chapter 11

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Full Recovery**

I knocked on the door, my grandmother standing just a few steps behind me. Though I dressed as casually as ever, she was wearing an expensive-looking business suit, as if she were planning to spend the day hammering out a contract with an associate.

Hell, given the circumstances, maybe that was _exactly_ what she was planning on doing, listing the specifics of our coming stay in Mistral. It was a little odd to think about as any planning at this point was just a formality, as everything was already in place; the therapists had made their judgements, with or without outside influence, grandmother had arranged rooms back home, those who kept track of that type of thing had already been informed, and so on. Everything was already in place and we all knew it, but the moment I'd told her I was going to heal my mother today, Grandma had gotten dressed for legal warfare. She even had a briefcase in one hand and a series of notes prepared on the scroll at her side, presumably all to assist her in the demolishing of paperwork, red tape, and other such sundry beings.

And yet, despite the fact that she seemed prepared to commit assault by contract the moment Mom fulfilled at least half of the 'of sound mind and body' criteria, I didn't get that feel from her. I was pretty certain she'd have been fine with letting Mom stay in Mistral for as long as she needed with no strings attached.

But maybe _Mom_ wasn't, I mused. Maybe she'd feel better about this if there seemed to be some very obvious strings to be wary of and if her mother came calling for her to sign her name in blood the moment she was physically capable of holding a pen again. If instead of kindness—or, as she might see it, pity or charity—this was business, with cold terms and conditions and obligations that she could argue over, wiggle through, and make her own peace with.

Yeah, that sounded about right—and it would give Mom the chance to try and manufacture her own silver lining from the storm clouds she'd been dealt. I wondered if Grandmother would show her some mercy and throw her a few bones, to subtly help her out.

…Probably not. Even when it came to taking care of each other, my family could be a bit dysfunctional.

"Come in," My mother's voice answered, sounding a touch hoarse. I wondered if she'd been drinking enough water; there was a machine there to assist her with it, but I could already tell she'd have preferred to do it herself. Hopefully, that wouldn't be an issue for much longer.

"Hi, Mom," I said with a smile as I pushed open the door. Glancing her over once, I called to Xihai and drew water through the tubes of a nearby container, forming a floating orb in front of her with a bendy straw of water. "Have you been doing okay?"

Mom stared at the sphere for a moment and did a good job covering however she felt about needing assistance just to drink. In turn, I pretended I didn't notice anyway and went to her side as she took a sip.

"Oh, you know," She answered, sounding a touch better now. "Just lying around. Been trying to get some exercise when I can—pushups, jogging, that type of thing. I've gotta hand it to myself; I think I'll have a real leg up on the competition next time the marathon rolls around."

I flashed a smile at the jokes, even if they were self-deprecating, because doing so was enough to make her crack a smile in turn.

"That's cool, I guess," I shrugged lightly. "But don't you think it's about time you got up? You can't stay in bed _all_ day, Mom."

At that, she turned her head towards me, eyes widening even further as she glanced quickly towards her mother. She drew a slow breath and I heard her heartbeat quicken as understanding sank in.

"Jaune…" She whispered, swallowing. "Are…can you…?"

"Shh," I replied, putting a finger to my lips and then extending it to poke her lightly in the nose. As I did, I let my power surge, charging my new healing spell fully and releasing it. With the five second charge Quick Soul granted, I could boost the effect greatly in exchange for about five thousand MP—and with the amount of MP I had access to, I could cast it three times back to back.

So I did.

At once, light filled the room, shining brightly over the healed stumps of her arms and leg. The color was a bright, pure white—the color of _my_ Aura—and existed as a trio of flat disks that slowly began to move. They slipped easily through the holes in my mother's hospital gown, down from her shoulders and thigh, and in the space they left behind was new, whole flesh. The growth of it almost seemed to be pushing the disks away, but at the ends of the reforming limbs were patches of flesh that glowed for a moment before dimming and becoming flesh, casting off sparks as they went.

It took most of a minute, but we watched as my mom healed. When it was done, my mom looked down at her hands in awe and seemed to have been struck speechless.

"You didn't doubt me, did you?" I asked her, resting my chin in the palm of a hand. "I told you I'd heal you."

"I know," She sounded breathless. "I…and I knew you would, it's just…I…thank you, Jaune. These are…."

She shook her head and blinked quickly, before seeming to remember that she had hands and lifting them to touch her face. For a minute, she just seemed lost in the fact that she could do such a thing—to touch things, hold them, and use her hands.

"Something you take for granted until it's gone?" I tried to finish for her, drawing her back to the conversation.

"Yeah," She nodded quickly as she clenched her hands into tight fists and rolled her shoulders. "Exactly."

"Well, they're not gone anymore," I told her, lay a hand on hers. "How do they feel? Is everything alright?"

"They feel…" She paused, tilting her head to the side as she struggled to find the words she was looking for. "Different. Not _bad_ or anything, but…."

"New?" I suggested, looking the new limbs over quickly to make sure they were okay and spotting the changes quickly.

She nodded slowly once and then again with more confidence.

"Yeah, that's a good way to describe it," She mused. "They feel _new_."

"Your own Aura can heal you pretty well," I considered. "But while it tries to restore you, your body's limits mean it can't always do so perfectly—that's why people can get scars and such. Sometimes, small signs of damage remain and if there's enough of it, it can add up over time. I guess what you're feeling now is that going away."

"It feels nice," She assured me. "But odd. Especially with my legs; one's old, one's new. It's strange, is all."

"We could always cut off the other leg and have Jaune regrow it," Grandmother suggested from her seat by the wall, her tone deliberately distracted. She had her briefcase open on her lap and was quickly flipping through it, making a show of organizing files that were already perfectly arranged. "At this point, it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

Mom's smile became somewhat strained—though whether at the suggestion or the reminder of her mother's existence, I wasn't sure.

"I'll take it under consideration," She said, dropping a hand to the bed and shifting. Realizing at once what she was about to do, I rose to assist her, curling my fingers around her own and placing a hand at her back.

"Need a hand?" I asked, smiling.

"Haha," She answered tonelessly. "That was _pathetic_. If you're not gonna try, don't even bother."

I shrugged, expression unchanging as I helped her out of the bed.

"It seemed like an easy shot," I defended. "And I was the one who regrew the damn things; I think that gives me a free pass or something."

"Pretty sure that's not how that works, Jaune," She shook her head as she settled her feet on the ground, breathing carefully as she stood at her full height as if expecting to topple over any second.

"Then what was the point?" I asked myself.

"Helping your poor mother," She reminded.

"Ah," I said as if suddenly remembering and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But really…I'm glad to see you up."

"Me, too," She smiled. "I take it you'll be going to heal the others, now?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Onyx, Ren, and a few patients I missed on my first run through. But I can stay a minute if you need me to."

"Go," She chuckled, looking lively for the first time since, you know, losing most of her limbs. "We can talk later."

"Yes," Grandmother said, tapping a stack of papers against the bottom of her briefcase to smooth the pile. "Your mother and I have several matters to discuss _now_ , after all. I assume you've had time to prepare, Isabelle?"

A touch of cold but comfortable-seeming steel slid into my mother's shoulders as she looked at Grandma—and it was something that had been missing from them over the last week.

"Naturally, Mother," She replied with the slight tilt of her head. "Shall we make arrangements, then?"

I rose and left them silently, allowing them to play this game of theirs in peace as I moved on to my next visit. In the silence of the mostly empty hospital—a result of my frequent visits this last week—I heard them both easily. Nora was laughing loudly, her honest exuberance uplifting in its own right. Despite a week in a hospital room, Ren's mood seemed bright enough and his heart beat steadily, a fact that made me smile. Whatever happened, it seemed those two would be okay—and I decided to go along with the good mood and see if I couldn't help improve it even more.

"Hey, Ren," I all but shouted as I reached his room, throwing the door open and striding quickly towards his bed. Without a moment's hesitation, I slapped my hand against his, already upraised to reach for something on his bedside table. "Give me five!"

Ren blinked once at the sudden act and then again as the stump of his other hand began to glow brightly. Instantly, both his and Nora's gazes swerved to the limb in question, widening as they saw what happened. The room was completely silent as his hand and fingers returned and even afterwards, they couldn't tear their gazes away from it.

"What…?" Ren breathed, surprise coloring the sound of his voice. "How did you…?"

And since his attention was on said limb and not upon, say, me, he was caught completely unprepared by what I did next.

"Now drop and give me twenty!" I ordered as I literally rolled him out of bed. With his friendship with Nora, I figured he was probably used to it.

"Gah," Ren grunted as he caught himself with both hands and rose enough to look at me. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to treat hospital patients like this."

I sniffed disdainfully.

"I'm the miracle worker here," I stated. "I do what I want."

"Ren," Nora breathed, going to her friend's side at once. She took his new hand in her own, helping him up quickly. Even when he stood, his other hand on the bed to support him after a week of bedrest, she held his hand between her own, as if worried it would fly off and disappear if she let it go.

Ren allowed it without complaint for a minute before gently laying his other hand over hers. Immediately, Nora let go and stepped back, eyes intent on his fingers as he flexed and stretched them. He tested the range of motion, flexibility, and steadiness of his new hand as calmly as a soldier inspecting their weapon, making sure it was in order. I could tell from the furrow of his eyebrows that he'd noticed the same newness as my mother had, but it seemed to mean less to him than it had to her, most likely due to the simple fact that he was far younger than her and had taken less damage over that shorter lifetime.

"All good?" I asked.

"Yes," He replied simply, rolling his wrist several times. He paused for a moment, gaze tracking to Nora, and then tilted his head before nodding with something almost like resignation. "Thanks for the hand, Jaune."

Nora's face promptly split into a massive grin and in a moment she was hugging him tightly enough that I checked to make sure he wasn't going to need any replacement ribs to go with that hand. Despite the fact that Nora was significantly shorter than him, I had to step back as she swung him around in a wide circle, lifting his feet completely off the ground.

"Yes!" She shouted, stopping quickly enough that I added whiplash to the list of injuries Ren was suffering on his way _out_ of the hospital. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine," He assured her calmly, not at all off put by the fact that Nora had needed to force him to his knees to look him eye to eye. "I'll need at most another week to make a full recovery and most of that will just be getting used to the new hand."

"Mhm," I hummed in agreement, quirking an eyebrow as they turned my way, as if only now realizing I was still here. "I already checked it over and there's nothing wrong with it—that's kind of the issue, really. It's brand new and in perfect condition while your other hand is showing some wear and tear from a few years of use. Still, it shouldn't be an issue once you get used to it—but if it is, just get in touch with me and I 'll see what I can do."

About halfway through that sentence, I was forced to lift my arms as Nora collided with me and wrapped her arms around my chest. On anyone else, it might have been a bone-crushing hug—but my bones were made of sterner stuff than most, even without getting into my Adamant skin, so I bore the hug with grace. I even kept talking over the stream of thank yous that poured from Nora's mouth as she squeezed me hard, patting her on the back as I did.

"Will do," Ren nodded, talking the matter as seriously as it deserved to be. I honestly didn't think it would make much of a difference for Ren once he'd had a few days to get accustomed to it, but if it did…if it threw him even slightly out of sync, it might be enough to put his life in danger one day. "Will you be sticking around, then?"

I shook my head.

"No," I said. "I'll actually be leaving Vale before too long; my mom and I will be moving in with my grandmother for a while. I'll leave you a way to contact me, though, just in case."

"I see," Ren replied, expression contemplative as he nodded again, more slowly this time. After a moment, however, he extended his new hand towards me. "Then I should thank you now. For everything."

I chuckled but took his hand in my own and shook it once.

"You don't need to talk like we'll never see each other again," I told him. "I'll be heading to Mistral, but not permanently. Once my mom's okay and we have everything in order, I'll come back."

"That's good news," He smiled. "With any luck, maybe we'll see each other again."

At last, Nora let go of me and bounced a step away.

"There's no need to bring luck into this, Ren," She shook her head, beaming. "We're friends so we _will_ see each other again. Right?"

"Right," I nodded firmly. "I take it you two have decided where you're going as well, then?"

"Headmaster Ozpin came by to speak to us a few more times," Ren smiled slightly. "With everything that happened to the village, we weren't sure, but he said there wouldn't be any problems enrolling at his school. Since we'd intended to do so even before all this, he said he'd pull some strings once we were healed."

"He even threw in free housing," Nora chirped, which didn't fully conceal the uncertainty she felt about that. She was thankful for the offer, even _glad_ for it, but I suppose it just hammered in that she had nowhere else to go. No house, no place to call home, not even a family except for Ren.

But maybe having each other was enough. I'd hope so.

For my part, however, I covered and put aside any suspicions or reservations I might have had concerning Ozpin, refusing to let it put a damper on my good mood today. For the time being, it was a problem I had no real way of doing anything about without exposing a _lot_ of people to a _lot_ of risk, so I would keep my paranoia to myself.

"Oh?" I asked aloud, illusory face smiling.

Ren tilted his head towards his friend, the gesture somehow carrying a confirmation.

"I wasn't clear on the specifics," He said. "But it seems there was already something in place for…people like Nora and I, kids with the training required but who lacked…."

Ren paused and frowned, seeming to search for the proper word.

"So it's like a scholarship fund?" I put forth to save him the trouble, getting the general idea.

"Yes," Ren said, sitting up slightly and all but snapping his fingers. "Exactly like that."

I nodded, not having known about such a thing but not surprised by its existence, either. I'm sure there were a fair number of Hunter kids who had been left abruptly orphaned and suddenly had a whole new set of things to worry about that went beyond training to kill Grimm. The kingdom made arrangements to aid the children of fallen Hunters for that very reason—but at the same time, it wasn't hard to imagine a few families falling on hard times. Having a system in place that allowed those children to go to places like Signal or Beacon anyway made plenty of sense, both from the perspective of supporting the families of those who'd died keeping the kingdom safe and the somewhat more cynical perspective that noted that the honor, prestige, and money involved with being a Hunter would all but ensure those children followed in their family's footsteps.

It made me wonder if Keppel and Carmine's children would receive offers like that someday. I'd stayed away from them thus far at Ozpin's request, giving them time and space to breathe without the fresh wounds I might have opened, to say nothing of the dangers if they learned the truth of my actions. I wasn't entirely sure what story had been woven about their parent's deaths, but I was sure it was heroic, daring, and awe-inspiring, however much of a lie it may have been. I part of me was nauseated by the idea that they'd grow up never being told the truth—but another part reminded me that in a world ruled by the Grimm, beautiful lies were worth more than painful truths.

Knowing that, however, I had to wonder how many lies _I'd_ been fed in my life—and what I might have been told about my parents, had I not come into my powers all those months ago.

"That's good, then," I clapped my hands brightly, shrugging the thoughts off. "Everything's in order, then?"

"Not quite," Ren admitted. "He said there will be a few tests and other conditions, to ensure the process was fair. Professor Ozpin said he didn't control the selection process—"

Bullshit, I thought.

"And there might be other applicants," He shook his head and rested his hands on the bed. "But even so—"

"We'll get in!" Nora stated, sounding certain of that fact. "Ren's practically a genius and I'm, well, I'm _me_! There's nothing to worry about!"

"Well that's good," I smiled. "I think you're right, though. I've seen you both in action and you should have no trouble getting into Beacon."

"See?" Nora told Ren. "I told you so!"

"You did," Ren allowed before looking at me again. "Will you be going to Haven, then?"

"Maybe, maybe not," I replied, shrugging slightly. "I don't have much interest going to school right now, but a friend told me a few things that have made me think about it recently. I guess I'll figure it out when I get to Mistral."

I paused for a moment, considering something.

"Although," I slowly mused, lining things up in my head. "Talking about it reminds me. All the big Hunter academies always meet at the Vytal Festival later in the year, along with everything else that happens around that time. To be honest, I usually just stay home and watch it on TV like a normal person, but my sister's going to start teaching at Haven this year. I hadn't thought to talk to her about it, but a lot of the teachers always go with the students to keep everything in order. If she goes this year, maybe I'll tag along. If I do, maybe we'll see each other around."

"Would you be allowed to come along?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow, to which I simply shrugged.

"Sure," I said, chuckling a bit at the question. "Whether as a healer, my sister's plus one, or just because my grandmother said so, it should be fine—and if not, I have other ways to travel. But we'll see what happens, yeah? I've found life to be pretty full of surprises, but we'll see how things play out."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Destination**

"I was so worried I couldn't stand it, but now I think I'll have a leg up on the—"

"Mom already made that joke," I said with a smile, shaking my head as if in disappointment. In the end, I'd left my mother and grandmother to sort things out alone and I hadn't wanted to be the third wheel to Ren and Nora, so I'd made my way up to Onyx's room and fixed his leg. The older Hunter was standing and stretching, rolling his new leg in small circles before balancing on it.

"Aww," Onyx groaned, making me chuckle as I looked around his hospital room. In most ways, it was pretty much the same as everyone else's, but there was a marked difference between his, Ren's, and my mother's. Unlike the latter two, whose rooms had been barren, the table beside Onyx's bed was stacked high with flowers and candy and colorfully, if crudely, drawn get-well-soon cards. Ren didn't have any family to speak of besides Nora, who'd pretty much been stuck to his hip during his entire stay thus far, but as for Mom…well, I suppose it was to be expected that she wouldn't get anything. I'd known I'd be able to heal her eventually and had focused entirely on that, but my sisters…

Well, like I said. It was to be expected.

"Did your daughter make those?" I asked, nodding my head at the table.

"Hm?" Onyx asked, lifting an eyebrow as he followed my gaze. "Ah, yeah. She comes by every day, after school lets out. With any luck, I'll be able to surprise her today and pick her up instead."

"There shouldn't be any problems checking out," I said. "The lady at the front desk knows what to expect from me, so you'll probably just accept it if you say you're good to go—I mean, your leg is _right there_. Might be some paperwork to fill out, but nothing that should take you _too_ long, I don't think. School doesn't let out for about five hours yet and I can't imagine anyone inflicting _that_ on someone fresh out of the hospital."

"You'd be surprised," Onyx assured me. "Though it really depends more on how you got _into_ the hospital. There was this thing up in Atlas that I'd tell you about, except I'm not allowed to tell you about it."

I chuckled at that and my smile widened.

"Thanks for the heads up before," I told him, inclining my head. "It turns out I'll be travelling some after all."

"Ah," Onyx's voice fell and he paused in changing into the clothes he'd been keeping in a bag in the corner. After a moment, his desire to be out of a hospital gown seemed to overcome everything else and he switched into comfortable looking black pants and a floral print T-shirt that made me suspect his daughter's involvement. When he finished, he cracked his neck and looked at me over his shoulder. "Where to?"

"Mistral," I said. "To my Grandmother's."

"Ah," He said again, face scrunching up in thought. "Yeah, I vaguely remember hearing that your mother was related to the Big Bad Wolf. Didn't seem much like the type of thing she'd want anyone asking about, so I never did."

"Probably for the best," I nodded. "My family is pretty dysfunctional."

"Plenty of that with Hunters," He shrugged.

"Mm."

"You got any plans for what you're gone do over there?" He asked. "I only ever spent a little while in Mistral, but while it's a creepy place in a lot of ways, it's easy to have a good time there, too. I guess that's what you get when your run by…"

He gestured vaguely.

"Yeah," I agreed. "And sort of. I have some ideas, but most of them are works in progress. A lot of unexpected things have been happening lately and it's kind of hard to plan things out the way I'd want to, but I've been talking with my family and friends a lot about it. Whatever happens, I'll work something out."

"Well, with skills like yours, you shouldn't have any problems getting by," Onyx laughed a bit and stretched again, probably glad to be out of bed. "With your skill at healing alone, you could probably set up shop and let the money roll in. And I know you can Hunt pretty goddamn well, too. Your grandmother might have to smooth a few things over, but you could do just about anything you wanted, once you had a little time to set everything up."

I hummed quietly, the sound acknowledging.

"You want me to help you check out?" I asked.

"Nah, you don't need to bother," Onyx shook his head. "I'm sure you've got a lot of things you'd rather be doing than helping me with paperwork."

"Not really," I said. "I've just about run out of things to do but I need to wait until Mom's done. Might as well help out a friend, right?"

Onyx snorted at that, eyeing me for a moment.

"Yeah, I suppose that would be an issue for you," He said. "If you become a healer fulltime, you'll probably spend a lot of your career being bored. I guess there's nothing worth watching on TV this time of day either, huh?"

I shifted my attention away from the boring news broadcast I'd been only distantly been paying attention to in order to quickly scan the other frequencies, checking. Most children were in school and most adults at work, so a lot of channels weren't airing anything of value. There were a few interesting videos that people in houses near the hospital were streaming, but even then, I wasn't all that interested.

"Not really," I said before tilting my head as I felt the door to my mother's room open. "Although it seems Mom and Grandma are done talking. I can still stay if you—"

"Go," He rolled his eyes. "Like I said, don't worry about it. I've been getting buried up to my ears in paperwork since the day I entered Beacon; I'll be fine."

"Pretty sure that if that's true, it means you're doing something wrong," I said, but rose obediently. "But if you say so. Take care, Onyx. Hopefully, we'll see each other again someday."

"Hopefully," He agreed, turning to face me fully. "But really, Jaune…you take care of yourself, okay? I owe you one for the leg, so if anything happens…"

"I'll keep that in mind," I promised. "If you or your daughter ever needs help, you know who to call, too. I'll try to remember you even when I'm ludicrously rich and famous."

He laughed again but extended a hand for me to shake, which I did. Then I left and ambled on down to my mother, to save her a trip up the stairs.

"Mom," I greeted as she turned the corner that led to the stairwell.

"Jaune," She blinked once but recovered quickly. "I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?"

"You didn't keep me waiting at all," I answered. "I was just talking to Onyx upstairs, but I sensed you coming and headed down. You and Grandmother settle things?"

She sighed slightly, looking over her shoulder.

"More or less," She said. "Though saying we _settled_ things might be a bit of an exaggeration. I'm fairly sure everything was decided long before we started talking. Would I be correct in assuming you already know everything?"

I made my smile demure at her words.

"Well, saying I know _everything_ might be a bit presumptuous," I mused. "But…"

She snorted at that and rolled her eyes.

"Saves me from having to explain everything, at least," She said. "When I first woke up, I figured…"

"I know," I replied. "That's why you called Grandmother, right?"

"Yes, I suppose it was," She sighed deeply. "But…going back to Mistral after all these years…."

She shook her head.

"It can't be helped," She muttered under her breath. "But are you okay with it, Jaune?"

"Its fine," I assured her. "Location isn't really an issue for me, given everything, and it's not like I couldn't just swim back to Vale if I needed to. But really, Mistral's probably the best place to be now, anyway. You, Grandmother, Violet, Indigo, Olivia…I even made some friends last time I was there, who I can go and catch up with."

She reached up to bat me on the head.

"I'm glad to hear that, at least," She said, ruffling my hair slightly. "Did anything important happen while I was in bed?"

"Not too much," I said, lying right to her face. Plenty had happened, but most of it wasn't stuff she'd benefit from knowing. "We—the girls and I, I mean—had a Hunter's funeral for dad. I figured you and I could have one of our own once you were okay, but we were playing around and it seemed like a good time for it. We didn't quite scour the city to the bedrock, but we gave it a pretty good shot. Inside Naraka, of course. Beyond that, though…"

I shrugged.

"I was kind of focused on practicing my healing, though," I continued. "I told the others about what I've been doing the last few months and then threw myself back into my training until I got results. I talked to Grandmother and Ozpin a few times about the Mistral stuff, but other than that, I was busy working on my healing."

Her smile turned a bit sad at that.

"Thank you for all the hard work," She told me, patting my head again. "Sorry I made you go through all the trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble at all," I shook my heads at once. "And besides, with this power, I'll be able to help a lot of people. Everything I had to go through to get it is worth it because of that."

"Yeah," Her smile became at once wider and sadder. "I figured you'd say that."

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"We never really got to talk about it, did we?" She asked at last. "Your father, I mean. I—"

"It's okay," I said gently. "I spoke to lot of people about it and…more than that, I was the one he spoke to last. I'm mad about what happened and sad and I miss him, but no matter what happens, I'll keep fighting to protect people, just like he did. So…you don't have to worry about me, Mom. Even in just this last week, I've gotten stronger. I'll be okay."

"Jaune," She whispered, hugging me tightly. "I…already know all of that, but…"

This time, I was the one to put a hand on her head.

"Yeah," I smiled softly. "I know. But we have time, so you don't have to force yourself to talk about it, alright?"

She blinked away several tears and nodded quickly.

"Yeah," She said. "Alright."

Then, taking another deep breath, she stood up straight.

"We have to get ready to leave soon," She stated, probably more to herself than anything. "We'll have to make arrangements for the house, the mail…Ozpin already knows, but I'll need to—"

"No need," I shook my head. "Grandmother and I already handled all of that."

She stopped and pinched the bridge of her nose, annoyed at herself.

"Right," She nodded. "Of course you'd have thought about that. Everything's done then?"

"We can leave whenever you're ready," I confirmed. "Or we can stay a while longer, if you'd prefer."

"We'll leave soon, then," She muttered distractedly, as if making notes in her head. She turned her head slightly to stare out the window with a slight frown, mulling something over and then nodding to herself. "Yes, that's probably for the best. We'll make the final arrangements tonight then, after I talk to a few people."

"Okay," I accepted. "Shall we check out, then?"

"Yes," She whispered, tone still absentminded until she paused and looked at me again. "You said you'd become even stronger this last week?"

"Yeah," I said, tilting my head slightly. "Quite a bit stronger, in fact."

"Then without a doubt, you must be quite a bit stronger than me now," She mused and then stood on her tiptoes to kiss my forehead. "You really did grow up fast, didn't you? Jaune…."

 **XxXXxX**

Lunch and dinner that night were pleasant affairs, at least for me. My sisters barely spoke to my mother and she didn't say much to them either, though she obviously wanted to, but I spoke to everyone over the course of the meal. We had a large meal that night to say our goodbyes and made arrangements to stay in touch and meet each other later. As Hunters, they were all used to separating for vast lengths of times, and so didn't make a big fuss about it. It wasn't quite a cold or casual occasion, because they also realized that anything could happen, but…well, they didn't show it in big ways. We were all together, having fun, and that was enough.

And the next morning, we left. Not _all_ of us, of course; most of my sisters would stay for a few more days until arrangements could be made to travel back to Atlas and Vacuo—but since we'd been planning this out for several days already, the trip back to Mistral was easy to set up. We left in the same ship my grandmother had arrived in and were in the air by the time the sun started rising.

Whatever my grandmother claimed, I knew it wasn't a coincidence that the airship was just large enough to fit all of us and so did my mother, but neither of us mentioned it. Violet took up watch near the front, her body now almost entirely back to normal, while Olivia seated herself in the middle with her power slowly unfurling from her skin. She wasn't using it to _do_ anything yet, but she seemed prepared to, just in case.

It was a good mindset, but I wasn't worried. While there was always the chance that an unkindness of Giant Nevermore would happen upon us, to say nothing of the worse creatures that ruled the skies of Remnant, I wasn't especially worried—this airship was packed full of enough firepower to trivially slaughter just about anything we were likely to come across in a routine flight and I'd sense anything we couldn't long before we actually encountered them. I wouldn't say we were completely safe, because nowhere in Remnant was _that_ , but we were as safe as could be reasonably expected. Indigo seemed to share my opinion, because she'd fallen asleep in the back of the airship, shadow curling around her.

After a moment, I followed her example and slipped, for the first time in quite a while, into a meditative state. It was something I'd fallen out of the habit of doing lately, simply because the benefits were now relatively minor compared to the sheer amount of MP I could already regenerate—it just wasn't worth the time or effort of falling into a trance when going from zero to full took less than a minute. Still, with little else to do, I took the chance to Accelerate as much as was sustainable, made sure all the other skills I maintained constantly were functioning as they should, and let my awareness expand.

The world my meditation revealed had changed since the last time I'd seen it—but then, I had become accustomed to that at this point. Figuring it was most likely because of my Extrasensory Perception and the other passive skills I'd gained lately, I accepted it easily and took in the differences.

It was…more, for lack of a better word. The patterns of energy, the shifting motions of the world, the breadth and depth-the sheer scope of it all had grown. My mind expanded through the open sky to touch the land below and sink deep into the earth. As I did, I felt the wind on my skin and the titanic motions far beneath the ground. At once, I felt myself standing beneath shaded trees, amidst the clouds in the sky, in fields open to the rising sun, and in the hidden caverns of the earth below. I could sense it, not simply in massive patterns of energy, but as if I was there in truth. I could see it, smell it, _feel_ it all, though very little left an impression on me. In the slowed time of my Acceleration, the world turned sluggishly, with monsters and beasts alike almost holding still.

But it went beyond that. I reached farther than I ever had before, using senses that were now so much sharper. For all that it seemed as if I could feel everything, my mind didn't focus on anywhere in particular, but rather exploded from my body in a wave that seemed to carry me from horizon to horizon. I heard voices and whispers that were so small even I struggled to notice them, but after a moment it just didn't seem to matter. Power flowed through the entire world in a circuit that I was but a part of—but I played my part well and in an instant the beating of my heart matched that of the world's. I felt it encompass me entirely, like I was a drop of water that had fallen into the sea, and yet I remained separate from it, retaining myself thanks to the Gamer's Mind. If not for that, I could imagine myself being subsumed and losing track of the world. With my skills and the form of enlightenment they granted, I could have remained that way for weeks, months, or even years, doing nothing but listening to the crashing flows of the world around me.

A part of me considered it, but only briefly. While such a state would allow me to grind the skills I kept around myself persistently, it would do little for my Active skills, nor would it allow me a chance to find and invent new ones. Even beyond that, I couldn't afford to simply drown myself in the soul of the world when there was so much to do—and I could grind my persistent and passive skills as easily while awake as I could like this. Although it was peaceful and relaxing, it wasn't worth it.

For the moment, however, it was nice and interesting and new. My awareness slipped into the sky and the earth, the rivers and trees, the light and the shadows, and it flowed as easily into me as I did into it. For a moment, I wondered if this was how my Elementals felt and considered asking them about it later.

But then I realized there was no point in doing that when they were already here. Our souls would be one until they met their ends and so they were with me always. I felt my heart beat along with the pulse of the world and became aware that they had been with me all along. Levant danced through the skies even as her arms embraced me from behind, while Xihai coursed through the rivers and settled in the puddles and dew, swimming beneath my feet. Vulturnus flicked through the earth and sky alike, potential more than reality, and Suryasta stood with him, a fire waiting to happen. Even so, they stood at my shoulders, watching as I did for a moment and a path. Ereb walked beside me in the caverns of the earth, rested with me beneath the dirt, and climbed with me to the mountain peaks, standing still whenever I saw him, yet always in motion between my thoughts. Even Crocea Mors was there, though he stayed close, in the hull of the airship and the weapons of my family.

We didn't say anything because we didn't need to, but we saw each other now and our gazes, if they could be called such, were acknowledging. I stayed with them—or perhaps they stayed with me—when the airship took us over barren wastelands and beaches and then the sea and throughout the rest of the trip that followed. I kept track of the time absently, altered as it was for me, but remained aware that we were moving and getting closer to our destination. When, through a combination of the airship's travel and the turning of the planet, we were facing away from the sun, I distantly sensed that we were close and opened my eyes.

And when I did, I saw my Elementals watching me, all of them spirits within the ship. For a moment, I thought that they'd returned the moment I'd awoke, but realized just as quickly that that wasn't the case. What I saw before me now were just the parts of them that were small enough to stay beside me, within the limits of my power. That was true, if somewhat less so, of what I'd felt out there—that had been them, too, just…more of them. Pieces of them that I had never been able to see, parts of a greater whole. When my skill with my Elementals improved, I wasn't making them stronger, as such, I was merely drawing upon more of them.

Obviously, I told myself, somewhat annoyed I hadn't fully realized it until now. As it leveled up, Summon Elemental didn't make the Elementals themselves _stronger_ , it merely allowed me to summon _more_ Elementals which I happened to be able to shape into a single, more powerful form. Even the name of the skill should have told me that. Only a small fragment of their awareness was here with me, compressed down to a human scale and time frame, while most of them was scattered throughout the elements they embodied. It was both humbling and amazing to realize that as I looked at them and I smiled at them all.

When they smiled back, I felt certain that they'd seen me out there, as I'd seen them. I guess that no matter where I went, they were watching over me.

"Awake?" Violet asked, looking back at me. Gou was standing at her feet, allowing her to scratch his ears and looking like a normal dog if one ignored the fact that were going through a spot of turbulence and yet the motions of the ship completely failed to move him. Noticing that I was awake, he turned back towards me, trotting my way and absently leaping into my lap to sniff at Autumn's blossom. My daughter was wrapped tightly around my chest, quietly enjoying herself as she fed upon the Aura I expended—a fair bit over ten million MP thus far. She was squeezing me hard, I noted; tightly enough that she would have left marks in steel and horrific wounds in a normal human. Was she having a bad dream?

"Wasn't asleep," I answered, stroking her petals absently. "Just meditating."

She pondered me for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'm actually not sure if that's a joke or not," She said.

"It wasn't," I assured her, removing my seatbelt and ignoring the turbulence as a matter of course as I rose. Turning my head slightly to the side, I looked at my grandmother who was hard at work on her scroll. "Grandmother, there's a herd of Goliaths less than thirty kilometers from the walls of the kingdom."

She kept working for a moment, but I knew she'd heard me by the slight frown that crossed her face. Looking into her scroll, I saw her bring up a file on Grimm movements in the area and check it over, but I finished reading it before she did.

"Thirty to fifty is the norm," I told her.

She nodded once, reading the file for herself before typing something. Towards the front, Violet looked at us both with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Do you think something's wrong?" My grandmother asked, not mentioning what happened the last time we saw a Goliath or bringing up the possibility of a repeat incident.

I shrugged.

"They aren't moving particularly fast, either, so probably not—and if they tried anything, they'd be noticed by the sensors in the pass. But they _are_ there." I said. "And I do kind of hate Goliaths."

"How many?"

"Three," I said, double checking. "It's a smaller herd than normal."

She closed a window and typed a few words in a document, probably more to do something while she was thinking than anything else.

"Could you kill them all and catch up to us?" She asked.

I cracked my neck and nodded.

"Then do so," She gestured dismissively, glancing towards Violet once, who nodded. "Return before we get near the city."

"Got it," I answered, going to the doors of the airship. I saw the pilot look up to glance quickly at us and knew that Grandmother wouldn't have him do that unless she trusted him completely. "Open this for me, would you?"

"Sir…" He whispered quietly, risking a look back.

"Do it," Grandmother commanded and a moment later the hatch was opening. I controlled the air absently to keep the open door from making a disturbance and stepped into open air a moment later.

Time to get some exercise, I thought, marveling at how things changed.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Second Try**

I hit the ground running and took off through the rock fields of Mistral. Moving quickly enough to bake the stone around me, I reached out with my senses and checked my surroundings again. In the distance, I could sense the volcanic fields to Mistral's southern border and could literally taste—and see and hear and everything else—the volcanic ash and smoke that rose into the sky. To the east and west rested the ocean and an inland sea, the latter of which was now behind me, and the winds carried the cool touch of the waves and the smell of salt. I could feel the ice to the north and heat to the south as well as the ground beneath my feet and knew where those extremes gave way to more normal climates, with fields and forests. Like its people, the land around Mistral was a strange, perhaps even _conflicting_ , patchwork, made of oddities that somehow managed to balance. Somehow, mankind had found a way.

And naturally, so had the Grimm. As my senses expanded, I marked each and every one that I sensed. I tracked them by displacements in the water and air, vibrations in the earth, interplays of heat and charges, and through a myriad of my own senses. Even this close to the walls of Mistral, the creatures of Grimm thrived, from twisted shapes that resembled sharks, octopi, and whales, to the draconic Tyrant Scales and towering Goliaths. The common Beowolves ran through the forests, but I also sensed mighty Calydons leading packs of Boarbatusk, Nemeans waiting in the plains, as well as the other beasts that lived beyond the safety of the kingdoms. They were titanic creatures, one and all; monsters great enough to have earned their places in storybooks and tales of terror.

A part of me, a _large_ part, wanted to swing by and have a go at a few of them just for fun, but there'd be time for that later so I stayed focused. Tensing minutely as I came to a cliff, I Lunged hard and high into the air, rising most of the way to the ship I'd left behind me before contorting in the air to put my feet above me. Pausing for a moment to target myself, I raised my Acceleration abruptly and Lunged again, drawing Bai Hu around me for just an instant and hiding him beneath an illusion. All but flying through the air, I collided head-on with the first Goliath and then rebounded to the second and then the third as if I were a human pinball, each impact rocking the elephantine monsters. Though it didn't quite blow them away, they all went skidding along the ground in different directions, their pillar like feet leaving massive trenches as the force pushed them away.

Landing hard on the ground a fraction of a second after impacting with the third Goliath, the fields of stone shattered beneath my feet and threw dust high. I rose easily, Aura curled protectively around Autumn's still sleeping form just in case something went awry, and turned to face the Goliaths even as Bai Hu momentarily withdrew. There was probably no point in worrying about it with the ship so far behind me and the city so far ahead—especially when everyone on the ship already knew except the pilot, who I was fairly sure would never tell anyone _anything_ my Grandmother didn't want him to—but there was no reason to get careless now, was there?

Besides, I didn't need it for this. No, I wanted to try something a little bit different this time.

"Hey, guys," I greeted, cracking my neck as I looked up—and up and up and up, because the beasts were about twenty stories tall a piece—at the Goliaths. "What's up?"

The Goliath's looked down at me with blank, red eyes, trunks twitching as they saw the creature that had attacked them. For a second, no one made a sound and I got the feeling we were all waiting for each other to act—but I remained as I was, fearless and patient as I waited for the monsters to make the first move. I let my gaze trace slowly to the strongest of the beasts, wondering how it measured up to the one I'd fought before, but didn't otherwise react.

 **Whose Footsteps Shake the Earth  
LV84  
Goliath**

After another moment of silence—or perhaps silent _communication_ —I felt something change and quickly focused on the smallest Goliath as it lifted its trunk and gathered familiar power within its mouth. It only took it moments to charge the attack, but it was still more than enough time for me to observe the process. A massive amount of heat gathered in the creature's mouth, directed and focused by the inside of its throat, and I took this chance to take a closer look at the process. The flesh of the beast shifted and moved on a cellular level, the dark cells changing in structure and shape to aid in some kind of reaction, even as they were fueled by power that rose from within the creature's body. I watched the Goliath's throat…I suppose the only term was _activate_ , weaponizing itself before my very eyes. Looking past that, I could see materials being supplied and consumed by the cells, accelerating and focusing the gathering heat again and again, even as it prepared to release it at its target.

But even with the head start, I shot first. At the last moment, I gathered my power into a Thunderbolt and threw it hard, straight into the Goliath's open maw, unleashing a rush of electricity to play havoc with the process occurring within its body—

And then I vanished. Slipping quietly under an illusion, I quickly stepped aside, moving silently out of the line of fire for an attack that never came. Lightning wreathed the Goliath's mouth as if it were foaming, but nothing happened as the power it had gathered was neither released nor allowed to run loose within its body. The patterns in its throat shifted at the sudden attack, preventing its own weapon from firing instead of risking that power turning on the Goliath. The Grimm stuff bore the touch of electricity well—once again far too well for it to be at all natural—and nothing else happened as the beast began scanning the surroundings for me. I suppose I wasn't surprised, though; if I were building some type of mystical death machine, I'd probably install a circuit breaker to keep it from exploding in response to random power surges, too. Making sure that hitting the obvious, glowing weak point didn't actually accomplish much seemed like it would be fairly logical as well.

Still, it was interesting, I admitted. I'd wanted to observe a Goliath again, specifically for the heat ray it had fired, having now seen Crom Cruach do something similar on a much larger scale. I'd wondered how creatures without Aura had been able to do such a thing—I mean, attributing anything the Grimm did to conventional biology was rather absurd, but organic death rays were pretty out there, even so. I'd seen and heard of other examples, too; of particularly massive Nevermores whipping up tempests with their wings, of aquatic beasts manipulating the currents, and, of course, I'd seen Ziz casually unleash a horrific storm of fire and death upon waking up. And having been laser sniped by Crom Cruach on top of that…it made me wonder how, because knowing that might tell me that much more about what I was dealing with.

But this…the term biological weaponry was a bit ironic in this case, because they were literally turning parts of their body into weapons. Suddenly, I was reminded of the evil, magical, sapient nanobots theory I'd spoken to Ozpin about during the fight against Conquest. Thinking about it that way, I supposed there were explanations for some of the crazy shit the Grimm could do—and if they were outlandish, they were no more so then the absurd notion that they were capable of any of the things they did solely through biology. I'd already accepted that they had been designed and combined, presumably, with materials provided by Malkuth Theory or whatever else, I suppose it wasn't completely absurd. Something like Crom Cruach could even devour materials underground, process them within its body, and generate all sorts of horrifying weapons.

It was something to look into.

More than that, it was a place to start, and that's all I'd really wanted from this. Given time to train, perhaps my Metamorphosis would reveal more, but for now…

"That was informative," I said, smiling at the Goliath's as I was revealed. The illusions I'd curled around myself warped briefly before being sucked into the light I'd gathered in my right hand. The night darkened further, seeming to almost empty the sky above us as light fled from it. The rising surge of my Aura illuminated my surroundings only briefly before it was torn away from my skin and slithered into my fingers. For a moment, I seemed to hold the only light in the world, at once burning steadily and illuminating nothing but itself. "So thanks. But I don't need anything else from you, so you can just go ahead and die now."

Then the moment passed and night turned to day.

Light poured from my hands in a blinding torrent, burning away the shadows and Grimm alike. It took the Goliath in the side and pierced through it as if it weren't even there. Where the creature's dark flesh was touched by my Lux Aeterna, it simply melted away, replaced by shining wounds that seemed to devour its body further, pushing outwards to enlarge the already massive wound my attack had made. The Grimm shifted as the attack struck but didn't even have time to scream as it was swept away—so its fellows screamed for it, trunks rising in a trumpeting chorus and they edged away from the light. Even though they weren't the targets of the attack, wounds began to mark their skin as if they were burning, mere proximity shredding their skin.

I didn't flinch away even as the light rose into the sky like a second sun. I'd angled it upwards, just in case, and it split the heavens like a bridge as it pierced the darkness around it. In its wake, the sky was briefly marked with everything from bright daytime blues to the beautiful colors of dusk and dawn, and where the light didn't blind, it illuminated as if it were noon instead of night.

And when it faded, everything in its path was gone. All that was left of the Goliath I'd hit were the mighty pillars of its legs, the rest of its body gone as if it had simply stopped existing. The edges of what remained were smooth where they didn't erupt with white and silver fire, but from its belly to its trunk…

I'd made the Goliath disappear.

To either side of the beast, its companions were alive, if worse for wear. They smoked where the light had burned them, the color lightening as it rose from their skin—black to gray to a pure and scattering white that rose into the sky like snow falling in reverse—and in places they seemed just a touch thinner, as if partially melted away. Even so, they didn't back down and their eyes focused on me intently, crimson orbs intelligent and waiting. I could see them both gathering power as I stood, weakened from the sheer breadth of power I'd just released. I felt myself sweating again, panting even as I met their eyes, but it wasn't enough to keep me from chuckling.

"Please," I rolled my eyes as I felt my power return with each passing second. Already, a Magic Missile had formed in either hand and I launched one at each of the second Goliath's eyes. The moment they left my hands, I was gone, Lunging away from an counterattack and vanishing beneath another illusion. I slid into the ground like it was water, barely slowing as I did, and circled behind them even as I gave myself a moment's rest. My Mana Reactor was working full force, accelerating the return of my strength, and less than a second after the first attack I was prepared.

When I slipped out of the ground on the opposite side of the Goliaths, one was trumpeting loudly, red eyes popping under the force of my attacks. Heat and power poured from the jaws of the other, slagging the stony wasteland around us, just missing me entirely thanks to my quick escape. Smile widening, I crouched slightly before leaping high into the air, palming another pair of Missiles as I focused on my already wounded prey. I launched both at the back of its head, where the skull met the neck, and followed it up with eight more over the course of a second. The Goliath jerked once, pained scream coming to a sudden halt. It quivered in place for a moment, rocking slightly on its feet, before beginning to topple, its sheer size making the motion slow.

The other Goliath turned to see its companion come crashing down, its size and weight shattering the ground beneath it as it fell. Its head paused on its fellow's figure for only a moment before continuing to turn, crimson orbs searching—until I kindly saved it the trouble.

"What are you going to do, moving that slow?" I asked as I landed on its mask, standing vertically on the boney material so I could look down at it. Though its eyes had no pupils, they shifted in its skull to focus on my comparatively tiny form. I already had another pair of Magic Missiles at the ready and twirled them absently as I waited, their tips hovering just above eyes larger than my entire body. The Goliath twitched once, trunk rising—and I promptly lifted both high above my head before slamming them straight down into its right eye. It cried out, the sound loud enough to blow a normal person's ear drums and shake them to the bones, but didn't stop. Shaking its head roughly from side to side, it tried to throw me off and away, and so I obligingly went, skating down its trunk and gliding gently away. It stomped its feet hard to shake the earth, cried out with a roar like thunder, but I merely floated on the breeze and danced away from it all, vanishing beneath another illusion.

With its remaining eye, I saw it looking for me even as its trunk spewed a waterfall of disgusting black fluid. The tar-like substance pooled on its back and face, oozing down over its ruined eye, and immediately began to stir. It bubbled up into familiar shapes, stretching into long wings and wicked claws. Long limbs stretched up towards the sky as if reaching for the night and a myriad of voices cried out as a legion of monsters was born into the world.

It was a little sad, I thought. Being born only to die.

A Flare crashed down on the Goliath's back, sending fire cascading over its form. The birthing cries turned into dying screams as Grimm flesh melted like wax in the heat and the tar from which they were born ignited. The Goliath itself, a creature capable of bathing in lava, merely hunched its shoulders against the flames, but everything it had summoned or created burned quite nicely, sending up horrible screams and plumes of noxious black smoke.

"Brace yourself," I warned as I reappeared a few seconds later, stomping hard on the ground. The ground shook as Tremblor created a localized earthquake and Ereb slid into the earth to make the ground buckle and writhe. The Goliath rocked and slipped, struggling to remain upright as the ground beneath its feet literally fought against it, but it was too much and it finally lost its footing. I kindly assisted its resulting fall with a Gravity Crash focused on its ribcage, multiplying its already titanic weight along with the speed of its fall. Stone shattered in every direction even as a deep imprint appeared on the Goliath's side, as if it had been struck by a giant's hammer.

Slowly, I began walking towards its fallen figure, watching dispassionately as its legs and trunk twitched as it struggled to rise. I formed another Magic Missile in my left hand as I went, charging it as I moved to face the creature again. On its left side as it was, it's remaining eye was close to the ground, and I stopped before it, standing like an ant before an elephant. Fallen and in pain as it was, it turned its gaze on me, still watching me quietly. It wasn't afraid and wouldn't have begged for mercy even if it could, but something in its crimson eye glimmered.

It would have been impossible to miss the movement of its trunk, even if I hadn't had such keen eyes—but this time I didn't dodge. I held out my free hand silently and let the swing smash into it full force, pushing into the blow as it did. Beneath my concealing illusion, I felt my flared Aura react, slipping briefly back into my skin. My Adamant skin and the Sacrifice to the Wolf swelled with that power, almost pushing against one another as they did, before aligning smoothly.

The ground to the left of me shattered for forty meters, but I didn't move. With my Aura gathered around me, there was more to me than mere mass, size, and weight, and though I faced the power of the Goliath head on, I didn't even budge. Instead, the force of its own attack worked against it, driving my arm up to the shoulder in its own flesh. I felt something hard touch my hand and grasped it tightly, holding it fast as it tried to pull away even as I continued to meet its eye.

"Was this some kind of test, then?" I asked as if bored. "Did you want to see that I'd gotten stronger?"

I lifted my fully charged Missile and aimed at its eye.

"Well, look all you want," I said.

The Goliath's eye exploded as the spear of light flew straight through its head and I shook off its trunk as I turned away.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
First Sight**

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

It was done.

I exhaled slowly as the windows appeared, confirming my victory. Four levels wasn't a bad haul for the amount of effort I'd put into this, though I couldn't help but remember what I'd gotten from the first Goliath I'd defeated and how large a difference there was, now that I was a bit closer to the monsters in level. Even so, I was rather pleased as I felt the familiar shift in my power, relatively minute as it now was. I glanced around to see that my item drops had already formed and sent Levant out to fetch them with a quick breeze. Most of it seemed to be money, but there were a scattering of things here and there—nothing on par with the mask and clothes I'd already gotten from the first Goliath I'd fought, but a few things that looked like they might be interesting nonetheless. A few bars of metal, a roll of paper, that type of thing.

Taking only a moment to Observe them, I then turned my gaze up towards the slowly approaching ship above. I could hop back up there easily enough or else go home the _fast_ way, but either way, I knew I didn't want to stay here long. Just in case their creator had been observing things through their eyes, I'd wanted to put on a show and give at least the _appearance_ of strength, but only a blind man could have missed _that_ lightshow and I'd rather not explain myself unnecessarily when people inevitably showed up to ask about what had happened. I'd need to go soon, however I chose to do so, but…

Well, I suppose I had a minute or two to address another issue.

That decided, I looked down, a slight frown touching my lips.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you, sweetie?" I asked, lifting a hand to touch my daughter's petals. I'd been a touch nervous, even though I was certain I'd be able to protect her—this was the first time I'd brought her into a combat situation and while the opponent wasn't…threatening, per se, I'd been aware of that. For the time being, however, I wanted to keep her as close to me as possible, so she could feed off the Aura I burned around the clock. I'd had to keep her out of things for a while, due to the recent string of emergencies and the danger the training I'd undergone might have posed to her, but now…with my new skills especially, I wanted to feed her all the power I could so that she'd get big and strong. With things as they were now…well, I couldn't be sure of anything, but I'd rather she be able to protect herself and at the moment, she couldn't. At the rate I fed her experience, I was hoping that would change soon, but…

This was a little unexpected.

Her grip, if anything had tightened on me, squeezing down hard on my waist, shoulders, and neck. Her vines quivered for several seconds, making her tiny form shake like a, well, like a leaf—and then spots of bright white abruptly began to shine through the green of her skin. They pulsed as they flowed up towards her blossom, beating like a hundred miniature hearts, and then her blossom twitched. Autumn's flower opened wide as she woke fully, the interior of the petal now pure as freshly fallen snow even as the outside remained a lively red.

And at the center, revealing itself slowly as the rose spread its petals, was a single, lidless eye. It was a simple organ as eyes went, I knew the moment I peered into her flesh, but it looked functional enough. It might not have been able to perceive a range of colors, but it could perceive light just fine, even though the iris was so pale it seemed to blend right into the sclera as it rolled within a nonexistent socket.

This…was a surprise.

But not an unpleasant one.

Slowly, I lifted a hand, smiling down at her as she opened a true eye for the first time. Already, I could see the beginning of other growths, signs of where they would later hang like fruits, but I lifted a hand to touch her vines as she went still, sole eye locked on my face.

"Be careful not to strain yourself," I whispered soothingly, speaking aloud even as I let my Aura convey the real information. She squeezed me tighter, cords like garrote wire at my throat, but I cracked my neck once and ignored the feeling. Her eye stayed locked on me the entire time, wide and unblinking for obvious reasons. I wondered if I looked strange to her which made me think about how alien everything must seem to someone viewing the world for the first time. "There will be plenty of time later and I'll help you. You don't have to rush."

Her eye didn't move from my face, but the jerking motions across her form ceased as the additional eyes stopped trying to bubble up to the surface.

"Hm…is this because of Lux Aeterna, perhaps?" I continued to speak, a part of me wondering if she'd develop the ability to _hear_ next. "Something in the light that allowed you to see? Or was it something about the Grimm? I suppose this was your first time being near either, but…I suppose we can look into that later. For the moment, I'm just glad you can see me. Well, what do you think of your old man? I'm not _too_ hideous, am I?"

Her eye twitched and then hung limply to the side for a moment. Then her branches trembled for a moment, stem-like structure extending up above me and then curving to hang back down right in front of my face. The veins around her white eye were green instead of red and the retina behind it seemingly made of some type of conductive wood, but for a moment she…just _looked_ at me, pondering my face as I looked back with a smile. Additional vines and then branches extended to grow over my face, twitching slightly back and forth as she watched, as if—

"Ah, of course," I said, reaching into my Inventory to withdraw a mirror to hold up to her. "Here I am standing around—you must be more curious about what _you_ look like. Well? Beautiful, aren't you?"

Autumn shifted her attention to the mirror at my words, expression almost eager as vines and branches grew around it and held it fast. She peered closer and closer at her reflection until her eye bumped right into it and she drew back with a flinch, raising curling, thorny vines like tiny fists. She approached the mirror more cautiously this time, coming closer and closer—and then split her eye into four quarters that unfurled into a toothy interior. She pressed it flat against the mirror's surface as if to eat her own reflection, but drew back after a moment when that failed, 'petals' folding back into the shape of an eye.

"I told you," I whispered gently. "That's you. Try moving. See how it moves with you? That's because it's your reflection."

She seemed to consider that, petals flexing slightly opened and closed before spots of color began to grow across them. She drew back thoughtfully, form liquefying around her eye. It surged up and over, taking the form of one of those eyeless heads she seemed to favor—except it wasn't quite eyeless anymore. As she opened its jaws wide, a massive orb was revealed behind the rows of knifelike teeth.

It only seemed to take her a moment to realize the flaws of such a design and her body turned to quicksilver yet again.

"Try putting your eye on top, maybe?" I suggested kindly. "That way it won't get in the way when you're eating and you won't have to blind yourself to open your mouth, either. See? That's how daddy does it."

She retained more or less the same shape, returning to her eyeless form briefly before tumorous growths began to bubble up on her skin, bursting to reveal an array of randomly placed eyes. I saw several of them focus on her mirror image and then turn up to look at me.

"I think you look beautiful," I assured her, reaching out to trace a finger across her face. "Might want to spread the eyes out a bit more to increase your field of vision and give them some form of protection, but it's a very good start. Now that you can see, we'll be able to work on all kinds of things, too. There's so much I've wanted to show you, Autumn, and with your shapeshifting…if you can see, we should be able to come up with something for the other senses, too. Your eyes are beautiful, but they could use a little fine tuning, so you can see color better, but…"

I clicked my tongue, stopping myself.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I'm getting ahead of myself, forgive me. I'm just really excited right now."

Her form rippled again, adding rows of crown-like ridges down her back and sides, white in the center with a rose red trim. Additional eyes grew into place on the ridges, looking in every direction as Autumn seemed to rejoice in her newfound sense of sight. She writhed in midair before splitting down the center, dividing into a pair of identical shapes as she pulled from the pool of mass she'd consumed. Given what little I now know about Malkuth theory, I had to wonder if that was related to where she kept the majority of her mass at any given time. It was something to keep in mind given that she couldn't be keeping all of it _here_ anymore. Dimensional shenanigans, perhaps?

Putting a hand on each of her heads, I brushed a finger down the length of her ridges, which rose in place at the touch. I smiled at her and then rubbed a soothing circle between a pair of differently sized eyes.

"Yes, you're right," I said. "I should introduce you to the others again, now that you can see their faces. Let's go."

 **XxXXxX**

If the airships pilot had ever thought about betraying the Roma family, I suspected he reconsidered that—along with all his other life choices—as we crowded around Autumn. She'd reverted to her compact, rose-like form to allow me to better carry her into the ship, but once I'd made the big reveal she expanded into a small tree, enlarged eyes hanging from her branches like fruits. As a tolerance for weirdness was something of a necessity for Hunters, this didn't seem to bother anyone in my family, but the pilot had focused his eyes straight ahead, looking back only when Autumn had unfurled her eyes into toothed blossoms to devour the snacks Violet had taken to tossing her. After that, though, he didn't look back, even at the crunching sounds.

"We'll be landing momentarily, Mrs. Roma," He said only a touch stiffly.

"Thank you, Vikare," Grandmother answered distractedly, only occasionally toying with the scroll on her lap as she watched her great-granddaughter take in the contents of the ship. It all must have been pretty odd for Autumn, seeing faces—and everything else—for the first time. Gou had approached her quickly, which I feared might have confused her; seeing what her family so far all looked like and suddenly there was a dog, too? But she didn't seem to have any particular problems, likely because she didn't have a large enough frame of reference to realize it was odd in the first place. He and I were still the only ones who could directly communicate with her anyway and she accepted him readily once she attached a 'voice' to his face. And though I answered her silent questions as best as I was able, he translated her words to the others before I had a chance.

"Autumn says that your eye is very beautiful, Ms. Violet," He said as ropes of green vines slowly grew to cover him. "She can…sense it in ways beyond her newfound sight and seems to consider it quite vivid."

"Yeah?" Violet preened at the words. "Why thank you, Autumn. I think your petals are very beautiful as well. You look like an Osiria; it's a nice look."

"She can sense the Aura?" Olivia guessed.

"Mm," I replied. "I wasn't sure how clearly she could perceive the world that way, but having eyes seems to help. I suppose it allows her to tell exactly what it is she's sensing."

Indigo's shadow stretched across the airship at the words, slipping under and around Autumn and Gou. Where their shadows touched her, they came alive, flowing like someone had spilt oil on the ground to take the shape of a growing plant, dark blossoms upon its branches. Autumn's eyes immediately dropped to the floor and she froze, taking a moment to realize the Aura was Indigo's. Once she did, she tried her best to follow along, branches spreading into the air and flowers opening as she shadowed her shadow. When she did, Indigo's shadow shifted, its humanoid shape separating from the rest of the mass and smiling at her niece brightly.

By which, of course, I meant that the shadow pulled away, leaving a spot of light in the darkness, curved in a crescent smile. Other dark shapes began to appear beside her as the rest of our shadows were dragged to stand beside Autumn's, and then others formed in the shape of my missing sisters and even my father—a family portrait done in source-less shadows.

"I hadn't realized you were an artist," I told her, glancing her way. She shrugged once, glancing down at the floor with a half-smile.

"You should see me with shadow puppets," She said, lifting a hand and making a scissoring motion with middle and index fingers. On the wall next to her, a dragon exhaled a wave of dark fire over a shadowing village, wings spread open wide.

I chuckled slightly and tilted my head her way.

"That's your family, Autumn," Violet told her niece. "Or an image of them, at least. We're a bit more colorful in real life, you see."

"She says she's sure you all look beautiful," Gou answered, seated and still as he upheld his self-appointed duties. "She thanks you kindly for the picture as well, Ms. Indigo, and hopes to see them all again herself, in time."

"I'm sure there will be chances," Indigo promised.

Mom peered down at both the flower and the dog quietly, rubbing her shoulder where old flesh met new. She was the newest to the idea of a talking dog—ignoring the pilot who I wasn't sure was actually _aware_ it was the dog. When he'd heard a new voice start talking, he'd simply gripped the controls harder and continued to stare forwards. I got the feeling he was eager to land.

"You're remarkably well-spoken, Gou," She praised. "I would have thought you'd have more trouble, being new to the language, but you compose yourself admirably."

"I thank you for saying so, Mrs. Arc," He replied, tone both polite and humble. "I often fear that I shall exhaust my grasp of your language and embarrass myself, but I like to think that I have done my best thus far."

"Oh, there's no need to worry about that," She replied. "You speak better than many people I know, I assure you."

I chuckled again as Gou inclined his head respectfully. He'd grown quite a bit in the months since I'd first found him and was well on his way to the average size of his breed—but I had no idea how large he'd actually end up being, considering everything that had happened to him as my Familiar. Under the circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up a giant, but I'd handle that if it came up.

For the time being though, everyone's attention was on him and Autumn.

Shifting my leg slightly, I bumped it lightly against my grandmother's. Though she didn't react in any obvious way, I felt her attention shift towards me immediately, even as I turned my head to look at Olivia. My youngest sister was letting her power spill through the air, arranging a delicate framework around Autumn and Gou in an attempt to draw her niece's attention as well.

"When do you start working, Olivia?" I asked, making her sigh.

"As soon as we get back, really," She said. "The semester starts next week, after all."

"That when the new students have initiation, right? I guess they'll want to do that over the weekend so they don't interfere with classes."

"That's how they did it at Beacon," She nodded. "Everyone gets in over the weekend before classes so the newbies can get shot off of a cliff and everyone else can point and laugh."

"Huh," I considered, making her quirk an eyebrow.

"Why?" She asked. "Are you interested?"

"A little bit," I admitted. "I was thinking on checking up on some of the friends I made in Mistral last time."

"That Pyrrha girl?" Olivia asked, tilting her head and squinting at me. "If so, you might be a touch late. She's probably in Vale by now."

"Oh?" I asked, a touch surprised but only for a moment. I hadn't really given much thought to where Pyrrha might go after Sanctum, but going to Haven hadn't seemed to fill her with enthusiasm. Thinking about it and the way she'd acted when last we'd spoken…it really wasn't all that surprising. "Hm…yeah, I can see it. I kind of wish I'd gotten a chance to say goodbye, but I can always shoot her a message, I suppose. She'll do well at Beacon, I think. But she wasn't the only person I was talking about, actually; Kyanos and the others are probably getting ready for Haven right about now. I wouldn't mind checking in on them. I never got a chance to see much of Haven either, now that I think about it."

"I actually have some business to attend to in Haven soon," Grandmother said, catching onto my intentions quickly, even if she wasn't clear on why yet. "I try to take something of a hand in things every year, you see, just to keep an eye on things. If you'd like, you can accompany me, Jaune. I can show you around the campus as well—or Olivia could, if she has the time?"

"Uh…" Olivia seemed to consider that quickly. "Yeah, I should be able to make some time.

"Cool. Thank you, Grandmother, Olivia," I answered, smiling at both of them. In the rush to get everything packed and ready to go, I hadn't had a chance to bring her and Olivia into things without drawing the attention of the others. Well, perhaps that wasn't completely true; there was a part of me, an admittedly paranoid part, that felt it would be wise to get a better grasp of the situation before bringing my grandmother, much less my sister, into this. Whoever this third party of ours was, they were strong enough and smart enough that Raven was working with them even if she didn't really like the idea. If something happened…best to be sure, just in case. It would only take a glance to get a rough idea of how dangerous they were and if they were in the school, I'd find them quickly. "I'd like to take a look around, if it's not too much trouble. A lot of people my age will be going there, after all; maybe I'll meet someone interesting."

"Oh?" Olivia asked. "Looking to make some friends?"

"Always," I replied, nudging her foot with a toe. "I have a few other friends to check on when we land, too."

I nodded towards the window a moment before we began to lower.

"Ma'am, we're here," The pilot said. "Shall I get the car?"

"That won't be necessary, Vikare," She said, smile almost kind even as she glanced at me inquisitively. "You've been away from home for a while now and we're all Hunter's here. We can walk—and I for one would like to see my city again. Hopefully nothing's burned down while I was away."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Recommendations**

I let my senses flow across the city, searching even as I calmly walked with my family. Even though it had only been a short while since I'd last been here, both my power and my senses had grown by leaps and bounds since then and with my new senses…

It was almost like I was seeing the city for the first time. Crocea Mors slipped silently from reflection to reflection, a mercurial figure without a source to be found, hopping between a hundred pieces of steel. Levant found the highest structure in the area and stood at its edge, power expanding through the air currents as they flowed between buildings. Xihai flowed through rivers and pipelines alike even as Vulturnus raced through a glowing web of power lines. Suryasta peered out of fireplaces and candles, furnaces and engines, forming pictures in my mind written in shifting flames, which Ereb walked beneath my feet, matching my stride exactly as he walked on the underside of the street, in the hidden earth.

But even without my Elementals eyes, the city was different now. I felt thousands of emotions bubbling up like air in the sea; ephemeral hopes, seething anger, and hundreds of different flavors of love and fear and despair alike. I felt a sudden shock of a man watching a horror movie, the deep-seated fear of a woman waiting in a hospital, the burning surety of a young man who thought he knew what love was and the quiet certainty of his parents who didn't need any grandiose displays or proclamations to know what they had. There was the pain of the grieving, the fear of a child huddling in the dark as her parents fought—though that was a fear that had the taste of routine, as did her parent's anger, sadness, and guilt. There was exhaustion in the back alleys, joy in a nursery, enough dreams to fill the skies, and celebrations gross and subtle.

Things meant to be kept private, locked behind walls and doors—but no wall, physical or mental, were enough to keep me out. Even without trying, even just standing there, I felt them all. I _knew_ them all, even if I dismissed most of what I sensed with no more than a cursory glance, as my passive Empathy kept we aware of the truth of the city and its many people, things I hadn't even thought about previously.

And then my more physical senses came into play. I picked up every radio signal in the city, every show on the air, and a flood of information from every direction. Though I could focus my Clairvoyance and ESP far better than I could my Empathy, I kept my senses open as I searched for old friends and new enemies alike. I heard everything around me, saw things on levels that most people probably didn't know existed, smelt traces of things that had happened days or weeks ago, and more.

Once again, I had to give thanks to the Gamer's Body and Mind, without which I was sure I'd have long since been driven mad by my own powers. My Empathy alone would likely have driven me far away from any city and just attempting to use my other senses the way I did now would likely have probably driven me to my knees. Instead, it had reduced all of that to little more than an occasional agony that I'd quickly gotten used to healing and even that had faded as the power of my skills increased. Remaining constantly aware of my surroundings had become a simple habit to maintain now and I was able to stay calm and focused despite the scope of my senses.

As such, it didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. It was simply a matter of searched for a person of the right shape, size, and body mass while screening out anyone who didn't fit. Since my target was a rather distinctive person besides, it didn't take me long to find him.

"Adam," I spoke across the distance without moving my mouth, Levant giving form to the words with her own lips as she stood invisibly by my friend.

At the sound of my disembodied voice, he nearly jumped out of his own skin, a hand falling to a weapon as rose and spun around. Seeing nothing, Adam paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes beneath his mask.

"Jaune," He said after a moment to calm himself. "Don't _do_ that. What if I hadn't been alone?"

"Then I'd have waited until you weren't," I said reasonably. "I'm not an idiot, Adam; I checked before I started talking—no one's nearby. Feel free to keep talking at the top of your voice, by the way, because I silenced the room, too."

He looked around as if to see some evidence to support my claim, a frown on his lips.

"Okay," He nodded in acceptance after a moment. "Fine. Jaune, don't do that—because you nearly gave me a fucking heart attack."

"I also improved my healing abilities recently," I informed him helpfully. "Should you have suffered a heart attack, I'd have rushed to help you."

"That's nice," Adam's frown became a scowl. "But you aren't promising not to do that again. Don't think I haven't fucking noticed."

I hummed noncommittally, making the sound come from all around him just to be an ass.

Adam snorted like a bull.

"I heard you might be coming to town," He said after a minute. "Didn't think it would be quite so soon, though I'm not sure why, knowing you."

"I don't like wasting time," I admitted. "I take it Raven told you the important parts?"

"God only knows," He said. "She was obviously keeping stuff to herself, but I wouldn't know if it was _important_ or not. Your names came up, though—both of them, along with several of your family members. Supposedly, you're working for yourself."

"One of the perks of being a self-made man," I answered. "You get to be your own boss."

"Hah," He feigned a laugh. "But are you sure you want to bring them into this, Jaune? It looks like you're playing a pretty dangerous game."

"Well, you know how much I love my games," I replied. "But yes, I'm sure. For better or for worse, I trust Raven."

"You trust her with the lives of your family," Adam wondered. "But not enough to tell her who you really are?"

"In fairness, even I'm not sure who _that_ is anymore."

"What?"

"It's…a long story," I sighed. "I don't know what Raven told you, but…well, a lot of what I told her was true, if perhaps not complete—and part of that is because I don't know the complete truth. I'll tell you the full story when we meet up in person."

Adam stared ponderingly into the air for a long minute before nodding.

"Okay," He said. "As it happens, I trust _you_ , so I'll accept that. I just hope you realize what kind of spot you're putting me in here. I haven't said anything about who you really are, but…"

He shook his head, looking aggrieved.

"I know," I answered after a moment, adding the traces of a sign to the words again. "I know, Adam. If it makes it any better, I honestly intend to tell her the truth, once I know what it is—about me and everything else. If I was the only one involved, I would have told her everything already, but you know there are other factors."

"I do," He nodded. "That's part of why I haven't said anything. But I don't like being stuck between a friend and the woman who raised me. It ends with me feeling like crap no matter what I do."

We were both silent for a moment at that before he brushed a hand through his hair and looked to the side.

"But it's whatever," He said after a moment. "You want my help looking into our new friends, right?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Raven and I are both concerned. She said you would be her representative? Anything you can tell me?"

"Not yet," He shook his head. "For something that seemingly everyone in the White Fang knows about, no one seems to have any actual information. Raven put me in charge of this recently to try and find out more, but I haven't made any progress yet. Seems their boss is out of town."

I wanted to frown, but Adam wouldn't have seen it and it might have drawn my family's attention so I kept it inside. But…

"I was told she was working out of Haven," I wondered. "Has that changed?"

"Not to my knowledge," Adam replied. "But it seems she wanted to make the most of her break. We only found out recently."

"Oh?" I asked, trying to force the impression of an inquisitively quirked eyebrow into my tone. "How'd they get that one passed Raven?"

"Seems they have an illusionist on their side," He answered. "She left, the illusionist took her place, we didn't even realize until yesterday. Raven was pissed, let me tell you, but—"

"But what are you going to do about it?" I interrupted. "Say it's like they don't even trust us, when we only knew about it because we were watching them constantly?"

"Yeah," Adam smiled grimly. "Sort of forfeited the moral high ground there so we decided to just pretend like we didn't notice anything. Knowing that they have an illusionist is help in its own right, besides."

"True," I agreed, having already filed that fact away. Its stuff like this that makes me feel vindicated in my paranoia and reminded me of why I scanned the ever loving shit out of everything I encountered. "Do we know where she went?"

"Apparently…to Vale," He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Son of a bitch," I said, bemused. "But they'll be back by the time Haven starts?"

"Presumably," He shrugged. "What little I've found seems to point towards that. How do you want to handle this?"

"I've got a few ideas," I answered. "But it'll be easier to just show you. You free tonight?"

"Oh, are you coming down here?" He asked, faking surprise. "I was worried I was the only one getting tired of your stupid Voice of God impression."

I watched him sullenly for a moment, knowing he couldn't see me, and promptly took revenge for that comment.

"But if they have an illusionist on their side," I pretended to muse. "We'll need to be more careful from now on…"

Adam paused, gears turning fast enough that for a moment I thought I could hear them.

"Jaune," He started before hesitate. "Jaune, no. Don't—"

"Don't worry," I said, ignoring his words entirely and speaking over him. "I'll make an entrance so you know it's me."

"Oh my fucking God," Adam swore tiredly, shoulders falling. "Jaune, look, I'll…look, I'll just believe it's you, okay? Just knock on my door like a normal person. Hell, there's a bunch of stuff only you can do; just prove it's you that way. Or use that goddamn barrier of yours."

I didn't reply, effectively hanging up on him.

 **XxXXxX**

I crashed through the wall, sending shards of worn stone flying in every direction—a feat made especially impressive by the fact that Adam's room was underground. As I did, Bai Hu rose around me and roared as I discarded the illusion I held over my form, filling the room with the blinding light of my soul and the sound of shattering stone.

Adam, who'd been waiting tensely for the half-hour I'd spent watching him, fell back in his chair and hit the ground rolling. His impromptu somersault wasn't particularly graceful, but to his credit he moved quickly, drawing his sword in an instant at the sudden intrusion, lashing out with the trained instincts of a Hunter.

Letting the edge of his sword scrape roughly against my chest, I withdrew the light that surrounded me, drawing it back into my illusion. As I did, I revealed the scene we'd made of the room. A moment into their flight, the shrapnel from the wall had frozen in place and now hung suspended in the air, parting like a curtain as I walked through them before beginning to move as if in reverse, flowing over and around me in places to fully reconstruct the shattered wall. I paused for a moment to let him see me as my entry way vanished. Then I calmly walked over to his fallen chair, righted it, and claimed it for my own quirking an eyebrow at him as if he were behaving oddly in a public place.

"Adam," I greeted, making my voice sound bemused.

"Son of a bitch," Adam swore from where he'd thrown himself to the ground, the sound of my voice seeming to jar him from his silence. "You _motherfucker_. I take it back—I fucking hate you, Jaune. I'm gonna go tell everyone everything, you fucking insane, flamboyant… _fuck_."

"You don't mean that," I informed him, because he didn't. "And now you know it's me, see?"

"Go suck a _bowl_ full of dicks," He snarled, staggering to his feet.

I chuckled, which made him growl, and then lifted my hands placating.

"I'm sorry, Adam," I said. "I was just screwing with you a bit, no harm done."

"I hit my head," He said petulantly.

"Poor baby," I said as I healed him with a glance. "Better?"

"And then I reacted without thinking and tried to _cut you in half_." He continued as if I hadn't spoken. Then he paused and frowned, seeming to remember who he was talking to. "Wait, never mind. I don't fucking care that I hit you; you fucking deserved it. I just wish it had actually done something so you'd remember not to barge into my room like an asshole."

"Would you like to hit me again?" I offered. "I'll let you take a shot at me if it'll make you feel better."

"It wouldn't do anything and we both know it," He said, but now that the initial surprise had faded, his heart beat was calming down. He took several deep breaths and sat down on his bed, closing his eyes for a moment. He wasn't actually all that upset with me, it's just that the shock of my entrance had left his blood running high and it took him a minute to calm down.

I waited until his emotions and heartbeat both settled before talking.

"You reacted well, though," I continued. "Granted, I gave you a warning to expect something, but you still reacted fast. Now that we know that they have an illusionist on their side, its best that you be able to respond that way if something happens. If you're lucky, your Aura will be able to tank their first attack, but there's no way of knowing if it'll do anything more than that. If you survive their first shot, you may have only a moment to respond—so it's best that you respond with extreme prejudice."

"You, too," He snarled, heartbeat rising again. "You and Raven, I swear—"

I interrupted him with a laugh.

"Oh, I should have figured," I smiled as he fell silent. "Of course Raven would try to get you ready, too. Has she been dropping in unannounced, then?"

" _Yes_ ," He nearly spat. "Woke me up at three in the morning by dropping from the ceiling with her sword drawn, so believe me, I get the idea. I can already tell she's gonna make a habit of this, so I don't need you making this even worse, okay?"

"I…might have to disagree," I shook my head. "Raven's power makes her really great at sudden sneak attacks, but that's only part of what you need to worry about with an illusionist running around."

"Whereas I need to worry about people blowing through the walls of my underground room, shining like the sun, and making an ungodly amount of noise?" He asked. "Because I'm pretty sure that you're the only one who'd do that, you crazy bastard."

"That was me being nice," I denied. "I stuck to the basics; I made a lot of light, a lot of noise, tried to disorient you. If you're targeting an opponent who seems ready for an attack from any direction, why not make it seem like an attack is coming from _every_ direction? I just wanted to see how you'd take something like that and you did well against the first attempt."

Adam considered that for a moment before ducking his head in begrudging acceptance.

"Fine," He acknowledged with a sigh. "I forgive you and whatever."

He fell silent for a moment and I waited patiently as he considered what had just happened, pretty sure I knew what he'd say next. Sure enough, after a moment, he tilted his head at me and spoke.

"If that was you being _nice_ , what would you have done if you were _trying_?" He asked.

"I might have approached you like Raven," I said, my voice changed midsentence to make hers and making him start. Chuckling for a moment, I returned my voice to normal and gave him a half smile. "Or perhaps I'd have done things exactly the same way. See, even if you try and train yourself to be wary of everyone and everything, it's hard to do that all the time, especially with the people you trust. Take right now, for example—even after that entrance I made, you're back to being completely calm."

I closed the distance between us in an instant, hand outstretched. Suddenly, I stood in front of him, the claws of my right hand pressed lightly against the fabric of his shirt. I didn't press down hard, but I made sure he could feel their pointed tips through the cloth, that he realized how quickly I'd approached him. We both knew that if I'd wanted to, I could have continued that motion until my hand was in his chest, my fingers around my heart.

"It occurs to me," I said quietly. "That if someone really wanted to approach you, doing so in the guise of someone you trust would be an obvious way to do it. It also occurs to me that pretending to give a test to keep you on your toes might, ironically, be a good way to put you at ease. Even after that light show, after all that noise, you relaxed the moment I told you it was a test and never saw this coming. And now, here you are, dead to rights."

I pressed down just a tiny bit harder and a muscle in his cheek twitched.

"Your paranoia's showing," He said after a moment, the sound of his heartbeat loud in my ears. "But I get the point."

"Do you?" I asked, using Delusory to create the illusion of spiders on my arms, my face. "Do you really? How do you know I'm not actually the illusionist, here to trick you again?"

"If you weren't Jaune, I'd be dead," He stated.

I shook my head.

"Not necessarily," I said. "Not if I needed you alive for something. Try again."

"You healed me," He said. "Without even touching me. And when I hit you before, I felt it connect but you didn't even flinch."

"Better," I said. "Far better, enough so that it's _probably_ safe to assume I'm me. What are the odds that someone could heal _and_ take that shot like I did _and_ know how to act like me? It's enough to conclude I'm me, but…how can you be _sure_?"

"I can't," He answered after a moment of silence. "Not just from what I've seen."

"Good," I took a step away, watching as he took a deep breath. "That's right—and in cases like these, it's best to be _certain_. The enemies we're fighting now…"

I shook my head.

"We can't assume that things are always as they seem," I told him. "We'll need to be careful."

"What do you propose?" He asked.

"Caution," I said. "Just in case, don't assume anything until you're _sure_ it's me. We'll come up with security measures later, but just to be on the safe side, it's probably for the best that you attack me on sight, unless doing so would draw too much attention. We both know I can take it, so watch how I react to the attack and how it feels when it connects. My power will be the _real_ key here, though. We both know there are things only I should be able to do and we'll use that to confirm my identity."

With a thought and a gesture, I invited him to join my party. He glanced at the window carefully for a moment and then drew up his status screen with a word, nodding slowly.

"Got it," He replied. "And I take it you can tell who _I_ am just fine."

I smiled slightly.

"Yes," I said. "And once you're sure of me, I'll clear everyone else. We'll check to make sure, but I think we both know my senses are up to it."

He nodded again, heaving a sigh.

"Okay," He said. "Okay. Now what? I assume you aren't just here to make sure I'm sufficiently paranoid."

"Yeah," I confirmed. "That's just an amusing bonus. Come on, we're going out."

"Out?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "As in, outside?"

"Obviously."

"Are we going into the city?"

I raised an eyebrow to match his.

"Where else would we go?"

Adam looked at me for a moment.

"In case you haven't noticed, some of us have trouble walking around in public," He stated. "It's an internationally wanted terrorist thing, you see. My union's really strict about these things."

"Hey," I said. " _I'm_ an internationally wanted terrorist, but you don't hear me whining about it, now do you?"

He took a breath and exhaled slowly, refusing to play along.

"You've been cooped up too long," I continued, rolling my eyes. "It shows. I bet you've hardly done anything but jump between missions since your face was revealed and our party got crashed in Vale. Let's hang out for a bit while we sort thing out, okay?"

"If I ask you how, will you tell me?" He asked.

I held out a hand, letting the spiders on it dissipate.

"They aren't the only ones who have an illusionist," I reminded him. "Now let's go already."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Faces**

To be honest, it wasn't actually something I'd done before—use my illusions to make myself seem like someone else, I mean. I simply didn't need to, since I could _actually_ become someone else with a change of a title, physically shifting from Jaune to Jian in an instant. My height would change several inches, my features shift, and I'd even grow a tail, all of which was completely _real;_ a transformation, rather than an illusion.

Even beyond that, I just didn't usually _need_ to pretend to be someone else. With my senses as sharp as they were, I could pick up conversations from enormous distances and pick up tremendous amounts of detail and with Naraka, I could flat-out break into places without leaving a trace. If I didn't want to be noticed, it was usually a simple matter for me to hide myself completely, whether by crawling underground or by turning invisible. Between those advantages and the fact that I hadn't possessed the power very long, I simply hadn't needed to try and change my appearance.

And then there were the obstacles that got in the way of doing so. I could bend light to make myself seem smaller or larger than I truly was easily enough, but both came with their own limitations. If I made myself seem smaller then I actually was, I'd need to both craft an illusion and turn any part of my body that didn't 'fit' into the illusion invisible—simple enough, in and of itself. But there were other things to worry about, too; if I was smaller, I'd need to fake a proportionally smaller reach. Similarly, I'd need to use my powers to make sure that anything that seemed to come in contact with me was made to look like it had touched the smaller figure, rather than the true me. And if I came in contact with an actual person, if I didn't feel the part of whatever I seemed to be…

The same applied to making myself larger, if somewhat differently. Rather than faking the inexistence of any part of my body that shouldn't have been there, I'd need to fake the existence of the parts that seemed like they _should_ have been there. Then you get into other issues of the disguise—minor things, mainly, but a large number of them. Accounting for how a larger or smaller person moved, making the motions seem to flow naturally, potentially adjusting a fighting style to a different body, that type of thing. It was annoying and had been, at least thus far, completely unnecessary. The 'simplest' solution was to disguise oneself as a person of the same size and shape, which limited things a fair bit and, really, and at that point, you might as well just say screw it, turn invisible—and, if absolutely necessary, whip up an illusion without bothering with any overlaying, use it for a short time, and discard it.

But that only applies to someone who has access to the wealth of options I do. I didn't bother because I was already spoilt for choice and could address the problem in a broad array of what were, to me, simple ways. For those who couldn't bend the elements, turn invisible, or shapeshift into an entirely different person with what amounted to the push of a button, there were some uses for such a thing, here and there.

Which also made this the first time I cast an illusion on someone else, actually—and I was betting that maintaining such an overlay on someone else was going to get annoying after a while, but hey. What are friends for, if not to be occasionally annoying?

Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. Halfway through laying an illusion over Adam, I felt a practiced ease come over me, despite the fact that I had no actual practice at doing such a thing. It became abruptly clear to me that I could anchor such an illusion to a person's body and Aura. After all, I mused, if you actually thought about it, my illusions were _already_ anchored to Remnant, through some means. Despite having no mass—or, at least, no more mass than light—I didn't have to adjust them in regards to the rotation or revolution of the planet I lived, nor the vaster motions of the galaxy or the universe. When you thought about it _that_ way, if was obviously possible to do such a thing, so it was just a matter of figuring out _how_.

Although admittedly, at their most basic level, pretty much everything was just 'figuring out how and then actually doing it.' Doing it in practice tended to be a touch more complicated—but at the very least, my power seemed to know what it was doing.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to magically conceal oneself, 'Glamour,' has been created through the combination of Delusory and Disguise!**

But why did I get it for this and not for the illusion I constantly used to hide my light? Was it because I hadn't actually changed how I looked? Or had my skill with Delusory been too low at the time? Maybe a combination of both, with touches of my new skills thrown into the mix?

It didn't matter, I supposed. My power was so absurdly useful, I guess I couldn't fault it for occasionally being picky.

I wove strands of my Aura into Adam's, placing a layer of bright white over shining red. As I did so, his hair changed, darkening even as red streaks faded from brown. His horns, thankfully, were fairly subtle in appearance to begin with and I merely blended them into the rest of his hair before adjusting his skin tone so that he didn't look like someone who did almost all of his work in the dark. I brushed away anything that might give who he was away, changing his mask to sunglasses, erasing the symbols on his coat, and adding colors that weren't blood red and pitch black. His clothes hid most of his body, but I altered what I could of what remained.

"I'm doing the best with what I'm given," I told him. "But limited as I am to…well, _you_ , there's only so much I can do. I'll do what I can to fix your face, but I think it's a lost cause."

He kicked at my shin and given everything I'd put him through tonight, it seemed only fair, so I allowed it. His foot slammed right into my Adamant skin and other defenses and he swore.

"Gah, you asshole," He snarled, lifting his foot off the ground. "I stubbed my goddamn toe."

"Oops," I said mildly before healing him, despite his actions against my person. Truly, the kindness within my heart knows no bounds. I didn't even alter the Glamour I was setting up, I was that nice—and after a few finishing touches, I was also done. "There. It's not much, but you're not so hideous we have to keep you locked up in the basement anymore. Let's go."

He ignored me, taking several quick strides towards the mirror he'd left lying on a desk—Blake's mirror I noted after a quick glance. He looked at for a moment, glanced himself up and down, and gave his opinion.

"Eh," He pronounced. "It'll do, I suppose. I'll probably still look great standing next to an ugly human like you."

"I could write the words 'Princess Blowjob' on your back at will, you realize," I told him. "Literally at will, any time I wanted, without you even noticing. And on that comforting note, let's go already."

He sneered at me, but turned and angled the mirror to check before setting it down gently.

"Fine," He said, tone a tad sullen. "Where are we going?"

I snapped my fingers and drew us both into Naraka before gesturing towards the same wall I'd just come through with a hand. The wall exploded outwards as if sucked through an enormous tube, leaving a smooth set of stair straight to the surface that I immediately began to walk up.

"Around town," I answered, letting Jian's features fade away as I switched back to my usual out-of-combat title. "Let's go see what we can find out about my new friends."

Adam frowned at me as he followed.

"You sure you want to be seen with me like that?" He asked.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I replied instantly. "Usually a loser like you wouldn't get to hang out with the popular kids like me, but I'll tolerate your presence somehow. Just think of it as me doing charity—you're a poor disabled child that I'm trying to draw from the social void with my general magnificence. No need to thank me; I'm just doing it for the tax deduction and then back into the hole you go."

"Oh, shut your whore mouth," He snorted. "I'm serious."

I chuckled and cracked my neck, vanishing completely between one step and the next and causing Adam to jolt forward.

"Jaune—" He began before cutting himself off as he walked into me and bounced off. I reached out and grabbed him before he could fall down the stairs, reappearing as he righted himself, and tossed him a smile.

"Don't worry about it," I shrugged at him. "If I sense anything worth worrying about, I'll vanish in a heartbeat or I'll change my face or we'll just leave. But even if they do somehow see us without me noticing and somehow recognize you through that illusion…so what? We're allies now—Raven and my Grandmother are working together. We'll just say you're my bodyguard, because Jeanne Roma wanted an extra layer of protection for her youngest grandchild. I even had an _actual_ bodyguard last time I was here, so it makes sense. If you really have to, just say it was a request from Jian Bing and that before his overwhelming masculinity there was nothing you could do but obey."

"I would literally die before saying that," He told me seriously. "But I see your point, I suppose."

"Besides," I continued. "There are advantages to being me—millions and millions of them. This specific one is that being the grandson of the Roma Matriarch gives me a lot of leeway. All sorts of doors open when I ask them to, see?"

"Ah," He nodded slowly, having apparently forgotten what that meant here in Mistral. "I suppose I could see that coming in handy. Where to first?"

"You tell me," I said, continuing my climb up the stairs. "You're the one in charge of keeping in touch with these guys, right? Where do they usually hang out?"

"The illusionist, you mean?" He asked.

"Or whoever else you want to see," I replied, giving another shrug. "Might as well check them all out, right?"

He nodded at that, expression considering.

"They don't usually stay in one place for very long," He answered slowly. "But there are a few places they seem to return to every now and then. Couldn't hurt to take a look."

"Mhm," I agreed, smile widening. "And besides, we got interrupted last time we went out for drinks. I owe you for the Dust and, you know. Showing up."

"You're paying, then?" He asked immediately to avoid any awkwardness.

"Of course," I chuckled. "Try not to get _too_ drunk though, you lightweight."

 **XxXXxX**

I rolled the glass between my fingers, shifting the amber liquid inside. Adam had picked it from the bar when we came in but I didn't recognize the brand. Well, truthfully, I didn't recognize any of the brands; after confirming that drinking alcohol would do absolutely nothing to or for me, I'd lost all interest in it. I played along as Adam drank so that my friend could enjoy himself without worry, but my thoughts were elsewhere from the moment I sat down in the bar.

Thankfully, it wasn't difficult to find distractions. I'd say we'd gotten lucky with our first choice, but I liked to think I made my own luck; the moment Adam had told me the possible locations, I'd scanned them all for signs of activity and then picked the one with the most. We'd picked a bar a few blocks away, got in without so much as a word about my age, and then I'd started keeping watch.

"When did they start using the White Fang for muscle?" I asked, glancing at Adam.

"Hm?" He intoned, reclining in a chair beside me as he watched a game on one of the holographic displays in the bar. I knew more about sports then I did about drinks, primarily because of the many video games about them, but knowledge wasn't the same thing as interest and I honestly didn't care even a little bit about who was playing, much less winning. I kept track of the game in my periphery, as I did with everything around me, but nothing more than that.

"There are a lot of members of the White Fang working down there," I clarified. "Grunt labor, mostly. When'd it start?"

"Ah," He said, frowning abruptly. "That. Pretty much since we began to work together. I'm actually not entirely sure because it was kept under wraps in the beginning but…maybe seven months ago. It was just minor things in the beginning, though."

"Given how little we seem to know, I assume they don't get told much," I guessed.

"No," He stated, tone annoyed before he drained the rest of his glass. "They seem to consider us a delivery service more than anything; they call us up, tell us what to do, and expect us to do it. And we fucking do."

"That must grate on a lot of people," I muttered. "No wonder they aren't very well liked."

Adam grunted in agreement.

"It's the main cause of dissent between us and them," He nodded. "A lot of people say they treat us the way…well, the way _most_ humans do. Thing is, they aren't wrong, at least not entirely."

"Anything you can tell me about the stuff they make you fetch for them?" I asked. "If they're having you deliver it for them, you must have some idea of what they're up to?"

"You'd think so," He sighed, topping his glass off. I rolled my glass again, downing it, and put it on the table. "But honestly, I have no idea what they're up to. Most of its just information—pretty much whatever we can get from the other Kingdoms and local businesses, really. Most of what's left tends to be small stuff that won't be missed and won't draw attention or stuff we can buy from stores. Since we got set up in Mistral, we've been doing a lot more of the latter, so it really is mostly delivery work; we actually picked up a few trucks just to help transport stuff. They might be building something, but if so, it could be just about anything you could make with access to a bunch of hardware stores and the supermarket. Which I assume is a lot?"

"You could build a few things that way, yeah," I understated, nodding slightly even as I frowned. "Doesn't really narrow things down. But…you just deliver normal stuff? Things you could get in a store?"

He nodded and I pursed my lips for a moment, musing.

"Can I assume that a shipment of nearly four thousand guns is outside the norm, then?" I asked. "I'm not really familiar with the gun laws in Mistral, but that seems a bit extreme."

Adam looked at me for a long moment.

"Huh?" He asked eloquently and I nodded in the general direction of our 'friends.'

"The crates the White Fang down there are moving," I said. "They're full of guns. Four thousand, three hundred and, hm, twenty-seven? One of the crates was opened recently, so I assume there are at least three more somewhere around here."

My friend was silent for a moment, a frown slowly working its way onto his face.

"That's…a lot of guns," Adam noted, putting down his drink as he slowly caught up.

"You didn't know about this," I stated, certain of the fact even before he shook his head. "Someone else's doing then?"

"I…" He paused to organize his thoughts. "I admit, I don't know what everyone in the White Fang is doing at any given time, but I feel like I would notice if we had that much firepower lying around. If nothing else, as the guy responsible for… _them_ , I feel like I should be aware of this."

Anger was slowly working its way through the haze of alcohol and I tilted my head at him in consideration.

"Could someone be working with them behind your back?" I asked. "Providing them more…attention-drawing things without making you aware?"

"They better fucking not be," He growled. "What else can you see."

"A lot," I answered at once. "The guns look new. No offense meant, but given the way they're all neatly arranged in marked crates and such, I'd sort of figured they were stolen."

He tilted his head in acknowledgement, but his frown didn't fade.

"It's possible," He answered. "But that type of theft…that's fairly newsworthy. As in, worthy of being on the news, to say nothing of how word would travel within the White Fang. Even then, why would we give it to them? I'm not _entirely_ sure of the size of their operation, but I can't imagine they'd need that many guns; I don't think they have enough people to use them if they _wanted_ to. That's…"

Pieces clicked.

"Ah," I drew out. "Then perhaps _they're_ the ones delivering this time?"

"What?" He asked again. "Jaune, what do you—"

I let my attention drift, eyes turning up to the skies as waves of light filled the air. I shifted through the frequencies, searching for anything that would standout even as I turned my gaze slowly towards the CCT.

"There was a bombing in Atlas recently," I said slowly, the sound of my own voice briefly distant as the transmissions filled my senses, the news reporters face as clear in my eyes as his voice was in my ears. "A lot of stuff got destroyed, including several warehouses. Their still not sure what the purpose of it was or if anything was missing, but…I'm going to go ahead and say 'yes.'"

When I returned fully to myself, Adam was staring at me with his eyebrows raised.

"How…"

"There's a news report about it," I answered. "It was on several channels so it must be getting a lot of attention. I found it in the airwaves."

"God," He muttered before shaking his head. "Whatever. You sure it's connected?"  
"I haven't bothered with guns much since I learned how to outrun bullets," I admitted. "But I think they're of Atlesian make. The design on the box matches to one of the buildings that was on the news, too. Seems a bit unlikely to be a coincidence. I assume you'd know if the White Fang was responsible?"

"I dearly hope so," He answered, sounding a touch worried. "If we were responsible and I _wasn't_ aware…"

He shook his head.

"Can you…show me?" He asked, voice a bit uncertain.

I considered it for a moment and then nodded, taking a quick glance around the bar before raising my hands to either side. The air above them filled with color before consolidating into distinct images, holograms I crafted with Delusory. The scenes I was viewing, both in the sky above and the warehouse below, rose from my hands in miniature, as clear as if on television—and after a moment, I had Levant provide audio as well.

"Jaune," Adam whispered urgently, head snapping towards the other people in the bar.

"Chill," I said distractedly. I was splitting my attention three ways, focusing simultaneously on the news report, the warehouse, and everything around us—and on top of that, I was maintaining an illusion around myself, around my table, and above each hand, the latter of which were in constant motion and thus, in constant need of readjustment, which itself meant I needed to pay close attention to the scenes I was displaying and recreate the scenes in the spectrum of light that Adam was used to. I'd say it made it a little hard to think about _breathing_ , much less talking, but the truth was that I'd stopped breathing so I'd have one less thing to worry about. "They won't hear us, they won't see us."

Adam fell silent at that, focusing on the images I created with a frown firmly in place. He seemed to catch on to the fact that I was preoccupied, because he didn't say anything else, watching both scenes in silence. Sure enough, the White Fang began transporting the crates _into_ trucks after a few minutes, one of them getting a signal on a scroll that made Adam purse his lips. The news report played out after several minutes and I switched frequencies to another station when I found one. Several people entered and exited the warehouse as the minutes passed, one of the White Fang's trucks leaving and another arriving a few minutes later. It wasn't the same truck, however, and the contents…

"Adam," I muttered in exactly the same tone, frowning when I remembered to adjust my own expression. I obviously needed to train Delusory some more if maintaining four illusions was giving me this much trouble. Independent images or no, I could keep track of entire _neighborhoods_ with my senses; this should have been nothing, but it wasn't.

"I see it," He said. "Can you see who's driving?"

"What kind of question is that?" I sneered after a moment's delay. As I did, I shifted my gaze a tad to pierce through steel and stone alike to see who was inside.

Two humans, I noted, taking down mental notes fast as I memorized everything about them. One male, one female; silver and green hair respectively, making them stand out almost as much as the rest of them. The way they were dressed and the weapons they held made me think they were Hunters or, at least, Hunters-in-training—and if that wasn't enough, a glance above their head's would have made it obvious.

 **The Thief  
LV53  
Emerald Sustrai**

 **The Butcher  
LV58  
Mercury Black**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Sighted**

"Anyone you know?" I asked as I Observed them, letting the hologram of the news broadcast fall away. I showed him the information my power displayed, focusing on their stats, levels, and titles, and saw Adam frown slightly out of the corner of my eye. It wasn't very hard to guess why, especially when he'd gotten to take a look at his own profile so recently.

 **The Beast  
LV45  
Adam Taurus**

"Yes," He said after a moment. "They're with her."

"Important?"

He shrugged slightly, but couldn't shake the frown on his face.

"I got that impression," He said. "She kept them close, sent them to handle important things."

"Like deliveries of large quantities of weapons," I noted, a frown of my own touching my lips. "Neither of them is the illusionist."

It was a statement of fact, but he nodded anyway.

"I never got a look at the illusionist myself," He admitted. "But Raven described her as a small girl, less than five feet, with pink and brown colored hair."

"Shouldn't be too hard to find, then," I answered, raising an eyebrow at the description even as I filed it away.

"If you _can_ find her. Most of us _can't_ , if you recall."

"I'm not most of us," I shrugged. "I'll find her. Anything else you can tell me about her?"

He grunted and thought about that for a moment before nodding slowly.

"She works for Roman Torchwick," He stated slowly. "But _he_ seems to work for our new friend."

"So she's a subcontractor?" I wondered aloud, shaking my head slightly. "Huh. Well, at least we know how Roman's involved in this whole mess."

"No, we don't," Adam sounded annoyed. "We have no idea what any of them are up to."

"That's why we're watching them," I reminded him. "Be patient, Adam. But even if we don't know his exact intentions, we can tie him to our new ally—"

I cut myself off to roll my eyes, abruptly annoyed.

"Does she have a _name_?" I asked him. "Because not having one for her is getting _pretty_ annoying. In fact, I don't seem to have names for _any_ of my real enemies and its starting to piss me off."

He grunted again, this time in heartfelt agreement.

"You should see all the reports I have to write about her," He snorted. "Last time, I ended up including a note at the very bottom saying 'You know who I'm fucking talking about.'"

"Even _you_ don't know?" I asked. "They want you to work as a correspondent without any idea what they're after or even who they are? I'm all for being discrete and cautious, but there comes a point where you have to wonder what you expect anyone to _do_ when you don't tell them shit."

"I'm getting the impression that all sorts of people aren't telling me things," He scowled down at his drink.

"Like why we're getting a shipment of weapons that could equip a small army?"

"Like that," He agreed, sighing as he leaned back in his chair and walked the screen I was still maintaining. Mercury and Emerald had opened the new truck to reveal even _more_ weapons—enough to make me wonder if the local White Fang even had enough hands to use them all. Maybe they were planning ahead, though that was as worrying as the knowledge of how armed the White Fang was soon going to be. Stuff like that wouldn't even qualify as an annoyance to me, but logically, weapons like that weren't going to be pointed at people like me. I felt pretty sure that the more militant side of the White Fang was going to be pretty pleased by the dividends this alliance was paying.

It made me wonder what I should do. I _could_ jump down there, tear through the walls, and put a stop to all of this right now, but that would have been foolish and I didn't entertain the thought for more than a moment. Even if this _was_ something that needed stopping, that wouldn't be the way to go about it; I didn't even know who was involved yet or what they were planning. Even beyond that, such an overt act would likely cost me my standing in the White and possibly, depending on precisely what was going, my alliance with Raven. Granted, that was a bit unlikely given that Adam, Raven's representative, seemed to be completely in the dark—but that the thing of acting blindly; you have no idea what's going on and thus what is likely to happen. If necessary, I'd do it, but there was no rioting in the streets at the moment, no sign of innocent people dying, and thus it _wasn't_ necessary to do such a thing.

That didn't preclude more subtle methods, though. If I wanted to, I could ruin this with no one the wiser. It would be as simple as sending Crocea Mors into the steel of the weapons and having him tamper with them, render them useless. That would have repercussions of its own, undoubtedly, but they likely wouldn't be directed towards _me_. Rather, the fallout would likely be aimed towards the people who supplied such faulty weapons, our annoyingly nameless ally.

But I didn't want that. Not _yet_ , at least, because I didn't know anything about _them_ , either, and something like this might be enough to break ties with them permanently, or at least strain them severely. For all I knew, they could be as useful an ally as Raven—did I want to risk throwing that away or complicating it for something as comparatively minor as an arms dealing?

My dad had once told me that the toes you step on today might be connected to an ass you have to kiss tomorrow. Even all these weapons weren't a match for a real Hunter, so it didn't make sense to risk throwing away a potential partnership over something like this. Even if a weapons shipment of this size might one day endanger lives, that just meant it was something to keep an eye on. After all, the weapons _were_ being given to an organization I had a great deal of power in and I could address stuff like this without showing my hand.

The wiser choice would be to wait and see. I had a lot of pull these days, could speak to Raven and my grandmother and apply pressure indirectly if I had to. I could get involved directly if it proved necessary, but…

I shook my head slightly and sighed.

"Leave it be," I said at last. "We'll handle this intelligently."

Adam nodded after a moment, probably coming to the same conclusion.

"Raven?" He suggested.

"You didn't know about this," I answered. "Stands to reason that Raven probably didn't either. What that says to me is that either someone is working behind our backs or our new friends are up to something. Either way, I'd say it's worth finding out what's going on, no?"

"It might be a power play," Adam mused. "Bringing in hardware like that could improve someone's position in the White Fang a great deal. Being able to say you could arm a few thousand men right then and there…"

He shook his head.

"And this would help their position, of course," He nodded at my screen. "A gift like this will silence a lot of the complaints against them. Neither of which is _necessarily_ a bad thing, but I'm really getting tired of being left in the dark, even if I _do_ have good night vision."

I chuckled at that and nodded. That led to the obvious question of what to do about it right _now_ , however, and evidently, Adam was wondering the same thing.

"Should we split up?" He asked after a moment of silence. "If I leave now, I can probably catch up with that truck, you could keep watch here, and we'll see where that leads us."

I shook my head.

"No need," I said. "I've been keeping track of the truck's GPS through the signal it's been giving out, along with the signal of the scrolls inside it; I'll know wherever they go and we'll track them down afterwards to see what we find. I'll be able to recognize the signals later, too, so…"

I shrugged as Adam grunted in understanding, rolling his eyes beneath his mask.

"Of course you can do that," He said. "You'd be a scary guy to try and run away from, you know that."

"I see all and know all," I admitted humbly. "I've been getting the feeling I was in charge of keeping track of stuff in a past life."

He snorted as if I was joking, which I wasn't. My soul had about a million eyes and a humongous book, after all, and it hadn't escaped me that I seemed to have a…propensity for sensory skills, above and beyond my talent for just about everything else.

But I didn't tell him that, figuring it could wait until another time. Instead, I continued my watch over the group of figures down below.

"Should we make an entrance, then?" Adam asked after another minute of silence. "We could go down there and speak to them, see what we find out. An appearance by Jian Bing might make a few people talk."

I nodded, though not in full agreement. The idea had plenty of merit, of course, and it would be a quick way to learn what was going on, even if it might reveal that we'd been watching them and start rumors. Appearing clueless might hurt our position, appearing knowledgeable might hurt our position—it had pros and cons. Even so, it could work.

But something else was bothering me…

"They're seventeen," I mused, putting several thoughts together.

Adam looked at me for a moment before catching on.

"You think they'll be going to Haven?" He asked.

"It'd fit," I nodded. "Ms. Sterious has been using the place as her base of operations, it wouldn't be surprising if she wanted a few subordinates on hand. No, more than that, any allies she wanted to bring in to whatever it is she's working on would need to be able to fit in. They match and…they're strong. I've only seen one person my age that was stronger and she…was a bit of an exception. And Mercury is almost as strong as she was, last time we met."

"I assume you're excluding yourself from that equation?"

"I'm a superweapon that walks like a man," I said, which may or may not have been factually accurate, depending on precisely how this whole reincarnation gig worked out. "I'm an exception to most rules.

Adam snorted but didn't argue the point.

"In a few days, I'll be checking out Haven," I continued, musing as I leaned back in my chair. "My sister works there and my grandmother has business to attend to—or, at least, she's making up something for my sake. I wanted to check the place out and see if I couldn't hunt down our new friend. She should be there and if she's not, then the illusionist will be."

He nodded.

"Sounds like a plan," He said. "What do you want me to do?"

He looked him over for a moment and considered that before nodding.

"Why don't you come with me?" I suggested.

"What?" He asked, eyebrows rising.

I shrugged.

"You have a hard time working in the daylight, right?" I gestured towards his face. "Because if you go outside and people see you, they either realize you're a wanted terrorist or see your face and assume you're a horrible monster that needs be put down. I figure you have to have to stay indoors a lot?"

"You're a fucking asshole," Adam stated calmly. "But yes. So?"

"So, your job is to keep up with these guys and you can't do that underground," I answered. "But I can hide your face, so you can follow me around. Like I said before, it wouldn't be odd for Jeanne Roma's only grandson to have a bodyguard and I could make it official easy enough. If nothing else, it's better than being locked up all day, right?"

He was silent for a long moment before grunting slowly.

"I guess I don't have anything better to do," He admitted. "And though you're an insufferable little shit, I'll probably get more done with you there."

"Mhm," I smiled. "And besides…it gives us a chance to do some training."

"Training?" He asked.

"Well," I shrugged. "I was planning on killing a few more Goliath's since they seemed like a good way to grind and, really, I can't have my henchman being weaker then _hers_ , can I? You need to work out more, Adam, and I guess I can spare a few kills for your sake."

 **XxXXxX**

"Are you certain this is a good idea?" Adam asked mildly, hands at his sides as we walked through the plains outside of Mistral. Even just this far north, it was possible to see where the valleys of black stone and ash met the gentle slopes of snowy hills in a marked dichotomy. It was beautiful in its own way, though, if one could look past the endless hordes of hungry beasts that roamed both lands. "Won't your family worry?"

"I told them I'd be gone all night," I shrugged. "I don't sleep so there's not much reason to. I said I'd either be in my barriers or in town and they accepted that. Why? Are you worried about the Grimm?"

"Always," He stated. "Though that's only part of it. No offence Jaune, but you have a tendency to get into trouble when you do…anything, really. The Grimm especially seem to be drawn to you. If I seem worried, it's just me bracing myself in case another monster out of myth and legend decides it wants in on the fun."

I snorted.

"It's possible," I admitted. It's not like I could ever be certain whether the Grimm's Creator would take a shot at me or not, I just wasn't especially worried about it. Not because of the potential threat it posed to me and those around me—that was still massively concerning—but simply because I knew that if he _really_ wanted to take a swing at my face, being inside the walls of a Kingdom wouldn't be enough to stop him. If he decided to send Ziz or Crom my way again…

So being out here didn't frighten me. The possibility of Adam getting drawn into it worried me a bit more, but even then, if Mr. Grimm decided to actually try, there weren't many places anyone would be safe. If something happened that I couldn't handle I'd have Levant carry him back towards Mistral, where he might be a touch safer.

"And?" Adam prompted after a moment of silence.

"And if it comes up, I'll handle it," I promised with a shrug. "But for now, let's focus on the task at hand. My senses are sharp enough that if anything happens, I'll notice in time to do _something_ about it."

He took a deep breath and nodded, rolling his shoulder's once and doing his best to dismiss his concerns. He mostly succeeded, though I could tell that the sheer scale of what I mentioned we could be fighting had him a touch on edge. He was well aware that if something went wrong and he made a mistake, then there was a good chance he'd never have an opportunity to make another.

But I also felt his trust in me, as well as his respect. He didn't mention either out loud, but that didn't change anything; he believed that if anything went wrong, I'd step in before he was in any actual danger—and I would.

"Fine," He said. "How's this going to work, then?"

"We're more than ten levels apart, so sharing the experience equally isn't on the table," I answered. "Instead, we'll each get a percentage based on our contribution to the fight. I'll find something strong and punch it in the face until it's almost dead, you deal the finishing blow, rinse and repeat. I'll still get most of the experience, but…"

I shrugged and looked off into the distance.

"Just do what I say and things should be fine," I continued, picking my targets silently. "We can keep in touch easily enough and I'll tell you if anything unexpected happens. Other than that, we simply train until we get stronger. With the monsters around Mistral, we should make some good progress, at least for a while."

"Okay," He nodded slowly, masked eyes scanning the skies. "Where do we begin? Are we actually going to Hunt Goliath's?"

"Not yet," I assured him. "I think its best we get a few more levels on you before we do that; Goliath's are fairly rare, after all, and since you'll get rewarded based on how well you manage to do against them…"

He grunted in understanding.

"Let's try to get you to at least…mm, level fifty?" I mused aloud before frowning. "Fifty-five, sixty…I guess it all depends on how much you improve with the stat points you get. Any idea how you intended to spend them?"

"I've given it some thought," He nodded. "You seemed to do pretty well with a focused approach—specializing in Intelligence and Wisdom, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded back, recognizing what he was getting at. "I like to think that's worked out pretty well for me thus far. There are advantages to being both a generalist and a specialist, but the way I figured, all else being equal, a specialist will beat a generalist in their field of specialization—especially in my case, where I get more out of each tier of specialization. In the end, though, it really comes down to whether you can force someone to play your game—if a generalist forces you out of your specialty or another specialist forces you into theirs, it'd be easy to find yourself at a disadvantage. Luckily, when part of your specialty is stabbing people in the face, it's pretty easy to make them play ball."

He snorted.

"Have some experience with that, do you?" He asked.

"Maybe a little," I allowed. "Intelligence gives me a lot of options and Wisdom makes me pretty good at making use of them. I can usually find some way to make people fight me on my terms, whatever that might be at the time."

I paused and then shrugged again, smiling slightly.

"Well, even if I say that, I do like to keep my hand in with the physical stuff," I said. "Most of it was stuff I got through grinding, rather than skill points, but it comes in handy. Something else to keep in mind is the synergy between stats, which can muddle the benefits of specialization a bit—that's why I specialized in Intelligence _and_ Wisdom, after all. A lot of that is the skills I get from improving my skills, but it applies to the basic stuff, too."

Adam nodded seriously.

"I was thinking of specializing in Strength and Dexterity," He stated. "I considered following in your footsteps, given…well, everything you do, but I don't have your skill at picking up…skills."

He paused awkwardly for a moment before shaking his head slightly.

"As such, I figured I'd have a hard time learning and developing new techniques the way you do," He continued. "Having a lot of potential skill doesn't matter if it'll take me a decade to learn how to use it—and there's not much point, since you can already do all of that stuff better then I'll ever be able to. I figured it would be better to leave picking up skills and working magic to you and focus on what I'm already good at. Might help cover our bases a bit, who knows."

"It's not a bad idea," I smiled, tilting my head at him in support. "Hitting fast and hard has worked out pretty well for me—and like you said, if you need someone to fill the Intelligence or Wisdom roles, I can do that pretty well. If we can get both of those stats to, say, two hundred, you should be in pretty good shape. You might want to consider taking _some_ Wisdom, though; it helps a lot with MP regen. I don't think it'll do as much for you as it does for me, but it might help take the edge off some of your more exhausting attacks."

He nodded again, filing that away.

"You're the expert," He said. "Now what?"

"Let's start with…" I mulled it over for a moment, scanning the wealth of options I sensed one last time before smiling again. "Let's start with some Giant Nevermore. I killed a few the last time I was here and it was pretty satisfying, I must say. I'll clip their wings and ground them; you should be able to handle things from there. Don't worry about conserving energy too much, either; if you start running low, I can always heal you."

"Got it," He said. "Where?"

"That way," I nodded, knowing he probably couldn't see them from here, but I stopped him when he started walking in that direction. "One sec. I want to test something out."

He paused, casting me a glance beneath his mask.

"Another new trick?" He asked.

"Something like that," I answered, rolling my shoulders for effect. "I told you about the Pandora Shell back in Vale and how I was immune, remember?"

"Yeah," He drew out, slowly raising an eyebrow.

"Well, this is a skill I got from that," I continued, cracking my neck. "Well, it's actually a set of skills, but that's not the point. You know what Pandora Shells can do to the bodies of the infected?"

He stared at me for a moment and I knew he'd caught on. He was getting used to my shenanigans, I suppose.

"Besides drive them insane?" He asked, a touch of warning and concern in the words.

"Gamer's Mind," I reminded him cheerfully as I looked myself over. I was still me—that is, Jaune Arc. I'd equipped my Grimm Reaper title, since we were going Hunting, but thinking about it…well, of the two forms I'd taken thus far, the three meter tall hulking brute with spikes and five faces seemed like it'd be the more alarming, so I shifted into Jian. What title I wore wouldn't matter in the end, after all, because it would simply be replaced, and the smaller form was more convenient in a number of ways.

He clicked his tongue but accepted that explanation easily enough. I guess that after Lenore, this was just more of the same. Much, much more.

"Should I do anything?" He asked.

"Nah, it's cool," I replied—and began my Metamorphosis. It began on my left arm this time, a patch of dark spots above the wrist that swiftly began to spread, bolstered by my own healing. In a matter of seconds, everything from wrist to elbow was pitch black, at least until jagged white armor began to erupt from my fingers and follow the spread of my discolored flesh. Its progress hastened as it grew, covering my arm, growing over my chest, and then rising up my neck and down my legs. In short order, I was back in the form from before, faceless mask hiding my face completely in a mirror image to the one Conquest had dropped. Turning towards Adam, I brightened my tone slightly, knowing he couldn't see my face any longer. "There, see? Done."

"Everything okay?"

"Just fine," I answered. "Don't worry, I made sure I wasn't infectious. I just haven't really gotten a chance to test this out in live combat and it would unnerve most people, so I wanted to give it a whirl."

He looked me over for a long, silent moment before nodding again, trusting me completely despite my warped visage.

"Nevermore now, then?"

"Mm," I replied, hunching over slightly. With my new healing skill, I'd been able to grind Metamorphosis some, training it far faster than the glacial pace I'd used before. It wasn't much yet, relatively speaking—I couldn't do anything on par with the Goliath's throat cannon—but there was something I wanted to try, having seen Conquest do it before.

I felt the armor on my back bubble and shift—not melting, but _growing_ in a way that was hard to describe, funneling matter both inwards and outwards. I felt several of my bones break and reconnect differently, the muscles of my chest, arms, and legs shifting to accommodate the change, and then felt the complex spikes burst free from my body and expand.

For a moment, they were nothing but skeletal shapes, hanging uselessly. A second later, however, whips of dark material exploded from my back hard enough to make me lean over even further, wrapping around the bones in layers of muscle and then growing patches of flesh fueled by my massive HP regen. Even before that process finished, even as the beginnings of black feathers began to slide from my skin, I gave my new wings and experimental flap and was pleased when they responded.

I stood upright as the change finished and began to rise into the air. Even with such a massive wingspan, over twice as wide as my body was tall, I knew they shouldn't have been able to support my weight—but they did, easily, and in that moment I felt something odd brushing my feathers, itself a strange sensation. At once I was sure that however I was flying, it had little to do with aerodynamics. Hell, I wasn't entirely sure I was flying on air at _all_ ; it almost seemed like it was just something that happened to be there for the process, a witness to impossibility. I had no _idea_ what they were truly doing, honestly.

But that was fine.

For now.

"Come on, Adam," I said as I continued to rise. "Let's go kill some monsters."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Tag Team**

The truth was, I'd learned how to fly a long time ago, at least to an extent. Ever since I'd first summoned Levant, I'd been capable of at least some degree of flight and had used it a little during the White Whale incident. It wasn't something I'd been willing to rely on at the time, when Levant's part in that mission was so vital, but I'd been capable of it.

Or rather, Levant and I had been capable of it—and that distinction was important. Flying, it turns out, was pretty complicated, a series of endless balancing acts to stay in the air, and I'd need both Levant's power and more intense focus to make it possible. When the only thing between me and a thousand foot drop—or worse, a high-speed collision with something less yielding than the human body—was my ability to keep everything together, flying was a monumental task.

Or, at least, it had been at the time. I'd come a long way since then, for all that it had only been a few months ago. Physically, my defensive abilities had skyrocketed, to the extent that I didn't have anything to fear from hitting the ground at high speed or making a mistake and running head long into a mountain—but more than my body, my other skills had grown in leaps and bounds. Where keeping constant track of everything around me would once have been an effort, now it was just something I did all the time. The strain of lifting and supporting the weight of my body was marginal at best, thanks to the growing power of my Elementals and my vastly improved MP supply and regeneration. Further, whatever difficulties remained in regards to making calculations had been rendered trivial by the Mathematician's Answer. Now, flying would have been a simple task. And yet, I hadn't truly flown since the day I'd learned the White Tiger's Five Hundred Years, for one, simple reason.

It was far, far too slow.

The nature of drawing upon Levant's power to fly was that I could only move as fast as Levant could move me—as fast as her winds could propel the full weight of my body. Which was fast, especially with my Elemental's ever increasing power; if she needed to, Levant could whip up winds that went hundreds of kilometers an hour and craft storms fierce enough to shred houses. Her power was great and it would only grow as I kept drawing upon her.

But even so, I was far faster. From the day I'd first learned Bai Hu's penultimate technique, there'd been little point in having the winds carry me anywhere—to say nothing of when I'd mastered the White Tiger of the West and gained other ways of enhancing my speed. Acceleration, for instance, affected only my personal time and left even my Elementals moving at sluggish paces, though that never seemed to get in the way of our ability to communicate. Still, as my speeds grew faster and faster, the use for flight dwindled. When I needed to move in three dimensions, I simply created platforms of air for me to Lunge between or addressed it in some anyway; there was no point to truly flying if it reduced my speed that much.

That same issue should have applied to my new growths—but I suppose it was fairly obvious that the wings of the Grimm, like the rest of their bodies, didn't play by normal rules. Perhaps normal Nevermore could fly on their own power and maybe they _did_ , but their Giant cousins or monsters like Ziz? It should have been impossible for them to _exist_ , much less get off the ground on their own power, partially or completely diverging from the natural laws that should have covered such things.

And now, with the power Conquest's infection had given me, I did the same. They didn't beat fast—certainly not fast enough to justify the speeds at which I was moving—but they carried me through the air as if I were running at my top speed. I felt them flowing through something I couldn't make any sense of even when I unified my senses, as if I were swimming instead of flying. And perhaps that was the best way of describing it; it felt like I was swimming through _something_. It wasn't anything I recognized and barely seemed to have any presence at all, but it supported my weight fully as I moved freely through the air. Was it tied to the other mysteries of the Grimm? It was quite possible, but if so, I'd need to examine it later. For now…

I kept my senses trained on the Grimm even as I rose higher and higher into the air, Observing them carefully. That was the other thing I wanted to test with this experiment—how the Grimm themselves would react to my drawing upon Conquest's power. The Grimm within Naraka didn't seem to care at all, but I still wasn't sure what, if any, differences existed between the ones created by my barrier and the real things. There didn't seem to be any _visible_ differences, but with the unknown power of their Creator and his apparent connection to his offspring…well, who fucking knows.

So here and now, I had to wonder. Would they react to the presence of Grimm flesh inside of me and notice my presence? And if they did, would they recognize me as another Grimm or as an enemy? Would they attack, be drawn towards me, or something else? I paused just beneath the clouds, watching and waiting even as I prepared to lead them away from both Adam and Mistral, if need be.

But nothing happened. There wasn't the slightest reaction. That lack of reaction could have meant any number of things, from not sensing me to simply recognizing me as another Grimm, but I could consider the implications of the experiment another time, once I had the full picture. For now though, the next question was a simple one—how would that reaction change if I attacked them?

Double checking to make sure Adam was in position, I returned my attention to my chosen target and Lunged. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say I Dove, since I moved my wings instead of my legs, adapting the skill to a new purpose. It worked just fine in the end, though, sending me tearing through the sky like a bullet as I Accelerated and landed at my chosen position—right in the center of a Giant Nevermore's back. The moment I touched down, sinking my legs up to mid shin into the beast's flesh in the process, I went one way and Bai Hu rose to go the other. We each grasped a wing where the joint met flesh, used another hand to provide leverage, and, with a piercing cry from the monster's lungs, ripped a wing free with mighty, crushing tug.

It went down at once and I sank my claws into its flesh as it went, guiding it's descent for a moment before crouching and Lunging away. I rose perhaps a hundred meters into the air before stopping abruptly in place, halting my momentum entirely with a flap of my wings. I watched passively as the Grimm crashed into the ground with the echoing sound of shattering stone, stripping away another massive chunck of its HP until less than ten percent was left. I probably could have afforded to leave more for Adam, but it was a test in that regard as well and so I watched as Adam laid a hand on the hilt of his sword for perhaps five seconds before swinging his blade in a vivid red slash that ended the creature's life.

I Observed the attack itself, checked Adam's status screen to see the change the experience had caused, crunched some numbers, and then looked over the Grimm nearby, gauging their reactions to the attack. Many of them had responded to the Nevermore's dying screams and to the crushing impact that had followed, but none of their attention seemed focused on me. Musing for a moment, I summoned my Map with a thought, glanced at the moving red dots nearby, and then created an illusory copy of it beside Adam.

"This one next," I said, Levant speaking the words directly into his ear. I highlighted one of the dots and drew a line from his position to its. Adam moved without a word, all business now that we were on the job. As he did, I crossed my arms and 'fell' forward to hang upside-down in midair, simply to see if I could. As I expected, the different position had no effect on my ability to fly and I continued to slowly beat my wings.

Then I summoned Levant, manifesting her physically at my side. She stood lower than me in the air, such that she was able to look at my nonexistent face as I floated upside-down. For the sake of being polite to my friend, I turned my body with my head as the axis, meeting her eyes with the smooth face of my mask. Our thoughts aligned a moment later and she understood what I'd brought her forth to ask, but before her physical form completely unraveled, I stretched my wings out so she could see them.

"We'll go flying together sometime, Levant," I told her, remembering the words she'd spoke when I'd first contracted her, and she smiled brightly before coming apart. I saw her reform a moment later, stepping lightly onto the head of my next target, and at once the air around the Giant Nevermore turned against it and it began to falter in its flight. No, rather than that, it lost control completely as Levant adjusted the flow of air around its wings to forcibly guide its flight. It tried to let out a cry but Levant strangled the noise in its throat as she guided it down for a relatively soft landing—though the force of it wouldn't change the fact that it would never leave the ground again. Adam was on its way and Levant wouldn't let it rise from the ground again, much less escape. For all intents and purposes, it was already dead, caught within my control of the air.

Just like the first one had been, all those months ago. But now, with my own Grimm wings, I had to wonder why. I wouldn't have fallen in its place, because it wasn't the wind that was beneath my wings, yet it fell despite the fact that its wings alone couldn't have kept it in the air. For whatever reason, it seemed the Giant Nevermore's wings weren't quite as divorced from the world as mine were. Were theere limits to the effect that now allowed me to fly? Or was it simply because I was stronger and using Conquest's wings? Certainly, the Grimm tended to grow in size as they grew stronger, such as with the twenty-story Goliath's whose own footsteps should shatter their bodies. Was that change in size merely a result of the fact that it became _possible_ for them to exist in such forms, further and further from the bounds of rationality?

And if so, was this strange force I was now sensing the cause? Did it allow the Nevermore to fly and let the Goliath's exist? Was this another part of Malkuth Theory or had I stumbled across something new?

I sighed. Every time I tried to research the Grimm, I found more and more questions and very, very few answers. It was rather irritating, really—almost enough to make me want to do something about it.

But, well…I was going to kill all the Grimm here anyway, so there just wasn't much point was there?

I watched calmly as another monster died in a flash of red light before quietly moving on. Giant Nevermore, Karkinos, Tyrant Scales, and so many more…there were a lot of creatures to kill.

But I had all night.

 **XxXXxX**

"You okay?" I asked hours later, fingers digging into the exposed flesh of a Karkinos as I dragged what was left of its body behind me. I'd stripped off all of the crablike Grimm's limbs and had shattered most of its protective shell—but it was still alive when I drew it back above the waves.

A quick swing of Adam's sword fixed that and then there was a long moment of silence as he stood there, his breathing careful.

"Fine," He said after a minute, lifting a hand to his head. "Just…feel weird. Tired and…not, at the same time."

I nodded to show I understood, tossing away the corpse with a flick of my wrist. We'd been at this all night and had fallen into a steady routine of fighting and healing, making sure that Adam didn't succumb to exhaustion. I'd notice that seemed to affect him a bit oddly and wondered if there was a split between physical and mental exhaustion, but he'd put it aside and kept going, battling nonstop until the sun was almost prepared to rise.

"I was about to say we should get ready to wrap things up here, anyway," I said, clicking my talons against my armored chest. Slowly, I began to heal myself, starting with a series of charged and focused bursts and then keeping up the pressure. In a matter of minutes, my altered form had faded away to a small dot on my arm, taking my new wings with it, and I took a seat on an invisible platform of air. "It's almost dawn and I'll need to get back soon, especially if I want to set up the whole bodyguard thing. There's still a lot for us to do in regards to the White Fang and our new friends, as well, and it's best not to leave such things alone for too long."

Adam took a look at my invisible chair and rolled his eyes, but nodded at my words as he relaxed. We'd limited ourselves to the creatures that hunted near Mistral and had systematically slaughtered anything and everything that caught my eye. But though I'd had to restore his Aura more than a hundred times throughout the night and the constant battle seemed to be wearing on him, I was satisfied with the results of tonight's work.

 **The Beast  
LV56  
Adam Taurus**

"How'd I do?" He asked after a moment, carefully taking a seat in the grass before me.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" I asked right back, smiling down at him. Unlike me, he didn't receive pop-ups except as related to the Party System and the changes hadn't been as obvious to him—and when he opened his status screen with a word, there was no mistaking the surprise on his face.

"Eleven levels already?" He breathed, sounding both amazed and confused.

"The benefits of having an awesome, higher-leveled friend," I replied, shrugging humbly. "Aren't you glad I let you hang out with my magnificent self?"

"It's easier to be grateful to you when you're silent," Adam noted, giving me a mild look.

I chuckled a bit at that.

"It's not surprising though," I said. "I made sure to target things that were above you in level, after all, and we've been at this for _hours_. It's not surprising you'd grow quickly, under the circumstances."

"What about you?" He asked. "You were doing most of the work, so you should have gotten most of the experience. How many times did you level up?"

I chuckled a bit and glanced over at the windows that had popped up while I was in the midst of working. With my sensory abilities as high as they were, I tended to note what the pop ups said and then push them out of my mind rather than concern myself with closing them in the middle of combat. Still, it was hard to ignore these particular announcements, accompanied by a rush of power as they were.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

"Twice," I told him, shrugging slightly at his look. "Again, it's not that surprising. Enemies that were ten levels above you when we began were nearly twenty below me. I tried to balance the experience out as much as possible, though I think I was still getting about…sixty to eighty percent from each. I have a few skills that improve the amount of experience I get, but…yeah."

He was silent for a moment and then nodded sharply.

"Thanks," He said after a moment. "For the help, I mean."

I snorted.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "We stuck near the city this time, but next time we'll go further out to face the stronger creatures. As you level up, we'll keep facing more and more powerful monsters, so we'll both get experience. Just think of today as getting some of the annoying stuff out of the way so we can have fun later."

"Is that what I am?" He asked, lips twitching ever so slightly upwards. "An annoyance?"

"Damn straight," I replied at once. "But who knows, maybe you'll be useful _eventually_. I know it's a bit of a sunk-cost fallacy, but I keep hoping that if I help you just a little bit more, you'll manage to shape up somehow."

He rolled his eyes beneath his mask.

"Gee," He answered with a dull sounding tone. "Thanks. Truly, your magnanimity is inspiring."

"I try," I admitted, laughing briefly before adopting a serious expression. "But really Adam, you've come a long ways and it's only been a night. A few weeks or months of this and you'll go even further. As you are now, you should be in about the same league as Emerald and Mercury and if you stick around as my bodyguard…"

"I can imagine," He murmured before slowly tilting his head. "Or perhaps I can't. Stuff like this reminds me of just how quickly you grow, Jaune. It's been a little over half a year and look at you. Fuck, I remember when you were this scrawny runt who couldn't drive a truck worth a damn."

"Bitch, please," I sighed as if listening to his madness was exhausting. "I was a _great_ truck driver. It was _your_ fault for not obeying the law and wearing a seatbelt."

" _What_?" He sounded disbelieving. "You broke _so_ many traffic laws that I'd wonder who the fuck gave you a license if not for the fact that, you know, you were driving without a license."

"And I drove _spectacularly_ ," I stated firmly. "Remind me, who is it that's _alive_ because of my driving skills?"

He rolled his eyes again.

"Whatever," He said. "The _point_ is that you've come a long, long way since then. And this…I can already tell that tonight will probably be worth months—maybe even _years_ —of effort on my part and it was a snap for you. In another year or five or ten…God only knows where you'll be."

I smiled at that, not saying that I was pretty sure things would come to a head sooner rather than later, whether because of my enemies or the deterioration of the Kingdoms. It was, after all, something I myself wondered about fairly often—just like I wondered about what I might have once been. If I'd had this power then, if I was connected to the monster in the Red Rider's temple in some way…how powerful had I been then? As powerful as the Creator of the Grimm himself?

Obviously not, I thought to myself. Or I wouldn't have died. Whatever I'd been in the past, I knew I'd lost _that_ round at least.

I'd just have to do better when it came time for the rematch.

"Don't worry," I assured him aloud. "As my minion, you'll be able to bear witness to my meteoric rise to greatness. Just think of it as your paycheck—because let's face it, being allowed to bask in my greatness is worth more money then you'll ever have in your entire life, so there's no point in _paying_ you for the honor."

"Please," He snorted dismissively. "I'm no minion; I'm your second in command at the very least."

"Oh?" I chuckled, leaning back and spreading my hands. "And when exactly did _that_ happen?"

"When you failed to find anyone else who was capable of putting up with you," He stated. "Meaning it's just you and me—and, therefore, that I am your second in command by default."

I mulled over that for a moment before closing my eyes and smiling.

"I suppose that true," I allowed. "At least until I find some better minions. But…I guess you make a passable right hand man. You'll have to keep training hard if you want to keep the position, though, because I'm going to keep getting stronger. If you fall too far behind, you'll make me look bad—and, really, what's the point of having an ugly friend if they don't at least make you look better in comparison?"

"How did you survive to adulthood," He wondered. "What series of events made _that_ possible?"

"I got a really awesome Semblance," I answered.

"Ah, true," He nodded before looking at me. "What did you have in mind?"

"Let's say," I made a show of pretending to mull over it. "Let say you get within ten levels of me and manage to stay there. Stuff like that's the minimum for a right hand man."

He snorted.

"Fine," He answered. "It's not like I intended to stop getting stronger. I deserve this much for tolerating you this long."

After a moment, however, he tilted his head to look at his Status Screen more carefully.

"Speaking of getting more powerful…what do you think I should invest in first?" He asked, finger hovering in front of the screen.

I hummed for a moment.

"I suppose it's really just a matter of preference in your case," I said after a moment of thought. "We'll keep grinding until you can improve everything you wanted, after all. You figure fifty Strength, fifty Dexterity, and…twenty-five to fifty Wisdom should be enough? That's fourteen to nineteen more levels, which shouldn't take too long, once we get far enough from Mistral."

He pursed his lips in consideration.

"How big of a change does Wisdom make?"

"A pretty huge one, at least for me," I replied. "For me, my base MP regen—before bringing in any of my skills—was one percent a minute. Every ten points in Wisdom increased that by another percent, so adding forty points would raise it to five percent, with means it'd only take _twenty_ minutes to fully recharge. That's just for me, though. Still…it should work similarly for you, relative to however long it takes you to recover your Aura."

"Hm," He mused. "And the other two?"

"Strength and speed," I shrugged. "Still pretty damn useful—and the more damage you can deal and the faster you can deal it, the better you can contribute to fights like these, which means you'll level up faster. Wisdom's pretty great in my opinion, especially for the other perks you get from it, but I can keep healing you for the time being. I mean, hey, you're the one who got me this Dust, right?"

He nodded decisively.

"Right," He answered, cracking his neck. "Here goes nothing then."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Masked**

My grandmother lifted her eyes from her work to quirk an eyebrow at me.

"And who is this?" She asked, flicking a glance at the man standing stock still behind my chair.

"My new bodyguard," I nodded back at him, smiling widely.

"Your bodyguard," She repeated, eyebrow climbing higher as she watched Adam for a long moment. "Mm…"

I chuckled slightly as her skepticism.

"You gave me one last time," I reminded, smiling slightly. "Grigio?"

"I recall," She gestured dismissively, returning her gaze to me. "Of course, last time you were my youngest grandchild, who I'd seen only a handful of times—and in all of those occasions, you were struggling in your effort to become a Hunter. When I saw you again, I knew things had changed, but I had no idea how much until you told me. Grigio was there to insure nothing got out of hand if the other Families chose to test you and to see that none of my enemies made any choices they'd regret. Now, though…well, I think we all know you don't need someone to protect you, which makes me wonder who he _really_ is."

Through it all, she didn't so much as glance back at Adam, her expression blank. Her words were directed solely at me and we all knew it, which was why Adam stayed professionally silent, hidden within my Glamour.

"His name is Adam," I answered. "You've heard of him, I'm sure—my right hand man."

"Adam," She repeated, pausing to squint at the man. "Adam Taurus of the White Fang?"

Adam inclined his head silently.

"You look different," She noted dryly, returning her gaze to me even as she spoke to him. "I didn't recognize you."

I spread my hands and smiled even wider.

"Hence the disguise," I answered brightly. "We can hardly have a wanted criminal walking around in broad daylight, can we?"

She hummed in acknowledgement.

"Since he is here and you are yourself," She said by way of answer. "I assume he knows the truth?"

"He does," I confirmed. "He was my assistant during the White Whale incident and has helped me out a number of times since. I consider him a close friend and trust him completely."

"Is that wise?" She asked.

I leaned forward slightly to rest my elbows on my knees.

"I'd know if it wasn't," I answered, smile unchanging. "Like I said, he's helped me many times and has never betrayed me, despite having a number of chances to do so."

"How can you be sure?" She challenged, to which I met her eyes and slowly raised an eyebrow. She glanced at the ceiling and shook her head before nodding at me once. "Of course. Then I welcome you into my home, Adam Taurus."

"A pleasure," He answered, bowing his head even deeper before falling silent again. My grandmother returned the gesture a touch less deeply and made several motions on her computer.

"I take it you'd like this bodyguard business to be official?" My grandmother asked me, tone a touch tired but accepting. "And I assume he'll need paperwork supporting his new identity?"

"Yes," I answered. "We'll be working together for some time, you see."

"Mm," She answered, making notes. "To what end, might I ask?"

"Adam's the White Fang's official representative to our mysterious third party," I explained. "He'll be helping me in that regard as well."

My grandmother paused in her typing, a frown of consideration touching her lips.

"I see," She whispered, nodding slowly. "Interesting. And what do you know of these friends of ours, Adam Taurus?"

"Annoyingly little," He answered rigidly, containing a disgusted snort. "They're good at staying out of sight, I must admit. I've never even seen the woman in charge personally."

"A woman," She mused. "Do you know her name?"

"No," I answered in his place, holding out a hand. Images formed above my fingers, taking the shapes I remembered. "But look into Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. They're associates of hers—and they were the ones responsible for transporting a shipment of weapons. Weapons they stole in the recent bombing in Atlas. Do you mind looking into a few things for me?"

Her frown deepened as the image changed from a picture of the pair to those of the weapons I'd seen and then settled on the symbol that tied them to Atlas.

"I heard you were in a bar last night," She replied after a minute. "I can't say I actually believed that you were simply enjoying yourself."

"Learning's fun," I said, denying her claim. "And I learned a great deal."

"So I see," Grandmother chuckled. "Very well, I shall see what I can find. Their leader wasn't there, however?"

I sighed and shook my head.

"That's why I don't know her name," I shrugged.

"I suppose it would be unrealistic to expect things to be that simple," She mused. "Do you know _where_ she is?"

"In Vale, last I heard," Adam rumbled as I glanced at him.

"In Vale?" Grandmother repeated, sounding annoyed. "All this time?"

"Doubtful," I shook my head. "But the White Fang only became aware of her absence recently. She has an illusionist on her side, it seems."

My grandmother swore under her breath.

"That would explain a few things," She muttered darkly. "We'll have to take measures. Have you checked the house?"

"Of course," I answered, almost offended by the question.

"Good," She nodded, frowning. "If she's in Vale, however, learning about her might be a bit…complicated."

"No need to worry about that, thankfully," I smirked. "We know where she'll be, after all?"

"Oh?" She asked. "Do tell."

"According to Raven, this friend of ours works out of Haven," I said. "She's a student there, it seems—or, at least, is posing as one."

"A student at _Haven_ ," Grandmother repeated, a touch of disbelief in her voice until she paused and considered it. "Well, I suppose I wouldn't have looked for her there, which makes it a fairly good hiding place."

I hummed in agreement.

"Do you have access to the list of students that will be arriving this year?" I asked. "Mercury and Emerald are old enough to go this year and I'll bet they're going to enroll as well."

My grandmother didn't answer for a moment, closing several windows and then checking her email. Eventually, she fould one containing a list of names, faces, and profiles and scrolled through it, stopping twice.

"Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai," She said, nodding. "I assume these profiles are full of lies, but they're on the list. I'll look into them further to see what I can find."

Then she looked up at me.

"I'd wondered why you wanted to go to Haven," She told me. "You intend to find her?"

"Either she'll be there," I answered, shrugging. "Or her illusionist will be. Either way, it's worth a look. There's more going on than we know and I don't like it. The arms deal last night was done without Adam's knowledge, though we're still hunting down who _was_ responsible. That implies she has connections in the White Fang and, presumably—"

"The Families, as well," She finished for me before pursing her lips. "Probably within Haven, too, as well as Vale if she's operating there. And Atlas, perhaps, given her thefts there. That is…rather concerning."

"As far as Vale goes, see what you can find out about a man named Roman Torchwick," I said. "He's working for her and he tried stealing the White Whale at the same time I did. But yes, the number of pies she seems to have her fingers in is rather alarming, so I'd like to see what I can dig up. If all is well—which I suppose could always happen—then we'll leave things be and simply keep an eye on her every now and then. If necessary, however, then I've considered filling Olivia in on things and having her observe this friend of ours."

I shrugged again

"Of course, that depends on what I see when I look at her," I continued. "I'll only bring Olivia in if it's safe to do so. From the way Raven's spoken of this friend of ours, that might be too dangerous."

"And if it is?" Grandmother asked. "What will you do?"

"I'll take matters into my own hands, of course," I replied.

She watched me for a moment and I saw when the pieces clicked.

"Haven," She said. "You'd go to Haven for this?"

"If she's a big enough threat, then I'll do whatever I need to," I hedged. "With an illusionist by her side, sneaking in and out should be trivial for her, so we'd need someone who could see through such things. And if that needs to be me, it's better than letting her move without us knowing. But…"

"But you don't want to go to Haven," She finished again.

"But I really, _really_ don't want to go to Haven," I sighed. "Or any other school, for that matter. Reserve me a seat anyway, just in case."

She nodded sharply.

"I'll see to it." She replied. "If you'll excuse me."

I inclined my head and rose, leaving her office with Adam at my back. It would take my Grandmother time to look into what I'd found as well as make the necessary arrangements, so it was best we went back to work and left her to hers. The sun had risen only a short time ago, but there was enough to do that we couldn't waste any daylight.

"Hey," Adam whispered as we went down stairs to steal some breakfast. I didn't need it but he did.

"Hm?" I hummed questioningly.

"If you do end up going to Haven," He began slowly. "What does that mean for me?"

I looked over my shoulder and gave him a flat look, to which he made a disgusted noise.

"What?" He groaned. "No. God, please no."

"You're the White Fang's envoy to them," I reminded. "A job you previously could not do during the day and couldn't do effectively at night. This would get you close enough to keep an eye on them and find things out. Also, you're my second in command _and_ my best friend; if I suffer, you suffer."

" _Fuck_."

"Just look on the bright side, Adam," I tried to sound soothing.

"What's the fucking bright side?" He muttered. After a moment of silence, he lifted his head and frowned. "Jaune?"

"Shut up, I'm thinking," I told him—and then, once we'd made it the rest of the way down stairs, gotten some food from the kitchen, and finished eating, I gave him a shrug. "Yeah, I got nothing. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that or this is going to _suck_."

 **XxXXxX**

Adam and I were fed and out of the house before my mother even made it downstairs. I reminded myself that I'd need to introduce Adam—my 'bodyguard'—to the rest of my family soon, but…well, there was no rest for the wicked, or else I'd have made more progress against them by now. With the training out of the way, we had other things to do; I'd had Adam send the message before we left Mistral, which meant it should have reached Raven by now.

And we'd best not keep her waiting.

Between one step and the next, the real world faded behind the walls of Naraka—and in that same step, Jaune Arc and his bodyguard were gone and Jian Bing and Adam Taurus walked in their place. I let Adam set the pace, which still let us move decently fast, and we quickly found our agreed upon meeting place by the tallest building in the city. Adam silently followed my lead as I formed an invisible, airy staircase and then took a seat beside me on the edge.

I shattered the barrier I'd erected with a flash of power, tearing it down and instantly scoured the area with my senses, just in case. Then, once I was certain no one was spying on us, I meet the eyes of Raven's mask and smiled in greeting.

"It seems we're being lied to, Raven," I said, Levant carrying my voice over the wind so I didn't have to raise my voice.

"Jian," She greeted as she walked closer. "As talented at starting conversations as ever, I see."

Then she tilted her head to look at her 'son.'

"Adam," She frowned beneath her mask. "You look different."

He grunted once and nodded.

"I've been training," He stated, jerking his head my way to shift her attention towards me.

I merely chuckled at being thrown under the bus, however, inclining my head slightly.

"I've merely been giving him a few tips," I explained easily, giving him a knowing smile. "Best he be prepared with an illusionist running around, no?"

I could tell Raven understood the true intentions beneath my words from the way her Aura flickered, how her heartbeat rose, and from how her emotions flared, but none of it showed in any more obvious manner and Adam didn't react. I felt her gaze settle more fully on me, but I didn't react either.

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime," She said at last. "But as you said, yes. We're being lied to."

"I trust you examined the location I sent you?"

"Of course," She stated. "It's Kijani."

By my side, Adam took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, so I nodded as if the name meant something to me.

"You don't seem very surprised," I noted.

"The method itself was surprising," She denied. "But the fact that he attempted something was not. I suspected he would do something for quite some time."

I nodded.

"Then would you like to take the lead on this?" I offered. "I would be happy to bow to your experience on this matter."

"I'll handle it myself," She shook her head. "It's not a problem as of yet, especially with what we now know. And it's always possible that he knows something of value."

"A pleasure to be of service," I inclined my head. "I shall leave this to you, then."

"But that's not all you wish to discuss, is it?" She pressed. "You've found something?"

"Indeed," I answered before gesturing to the empty sky around, drawing us silently into Naraka. "I learnt of Kijani's actions while pursuing a different end—this friend of ours. I learnt a great deal in the process and if you have the time, perhaps we could discuss them somewhere that's…not an empty rooftop, perhaps?"

She looked at me, silent and expressionless, emotions caught between confusion and disbelief. I chuckled slightly and glanced towards Adam, drawing his Glamour back around him, making Raven's eyes widen slightly.

"In response to our newest problem, I thought it best to…dust off my own skill with illusions," I explained. "As I made something of a breakthrough, I thought we might meet somewhere more comfortable for once—though naturally, the choice of location is up to you. May I?"

I held out a hand to her expectantly, fairly sure I knew what was to come. She looked at the hand for a moment, settling her own on the hilt of her blade—and a fraction of a second later, I felt my arm come off. I closed my eyes for a moment, exhaled slowly as I healed the damage, and continued to hold out my hand to her as she sheathed her blade, apparently satisfied but unsure of what to make of my offer.

"In the past, you and Adam have had…difficulties moving in broad daylight," I continued as if nothing had happened. "A side effect of being officially deceased and a wanted terrorist, I assume. It occurred to me, however, that under the circumstances, it might be better if you were able to move a bit more freely. Don't you agree?"

She hummed slowly but placed a hand in my own. At once, her appearance shifted, details changing as they went. As she changed, however, I drew a mirror from my Inventory and offered it to her.

"I thought of making you blonde, at first," I stated. "But I feared it would make you look too much like your daughter. Instead, I tried to match your appearance more closely to your son's—or, at least, to how he seems to appear. Should you have any different preferences, however, I would be happy to oblige you however I may."

She took off her mask and looked at her new reflection for a few seconds, lifting a hand to her face once and nodding before handing me the mirror back.

"It's fine," She answered, glancing at her son. "And I know a place, as it happens."

She paused to look down at herself. I'd turned her dress pure black for the sake of simplicity, but left the mask and her weapon be because there were only so many ways to adjust the appearance of either without turning them invisible or making them even more attention drawing.

"I'll hide them if you wish," I said after a moment, returning the mirror to my Inventory. "Or hold onto them if you desire."

Slowly, she extended the mask, a silent gesture of trust in my ability to hide her, but kept her sword as I'd expected her to. Smiling, I stored the mask as well.

"Where do you put them?" She asked after a minute. "The things you make disappear?"

I paused for a moment to consider how to explain that.

"In a…" I bobbed my head from side to side. "I suppose the easiest way to describe it would be as a dimensional vault I keep attached to my person. Beyond that, details get complex, but it's very useful. It allows me to carry everything I might need with me—and hide things I don't want people to see."

She nodded slowly, staring at the air her mask had vanished into for a moment before snapping a finger and turning on her heels, shoulders tense as she walked through the portal she'd pulled together. She wasn't used to the idea of showing her face—but then, that was part of the point of all this. Getting my friends used to the possibilities my Glamour created.

I followed her in, Adam a step behind me, and we found ourselves striding quickly down an alleyway. I shattered Naraka and we returned to reality, the noise of city life returning abruptly, and Raven guided us to a restaurant I didn't recognize. A glance at the sky told me we were still in Mistral, however.

"Adam, why don't you go get a drink?" Raven stated as we enter. "Jian and I need to speak in private for a moment."

"It's pretty early in the day," Adam noted before pausing to think, probably about going to school. "Though it's never too early to drink, really. In fact, I'm going to get into a drinking contest with myself now. If I should start dying of alcohol poisoning, don't bother saving me—it's how I'd want to go."

Raven's eyebrows furrowed in abrupt concern as she watched Adam beeline for the bar. She turned to glance at me questioningly.

"Bad news," I explained. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Did you bring him into this?" She asked, keeping her eyes trained on mine.

"If by this you mean our issue with the Riders, then no," I replied, making sure not to react. "Although this illusionist gave me the opportunity to begin preparing him. I trust his judgement."

"As do I," She whispered with a sigh before nodding decisively. "And I trust yours. So I'll leave that choice to you. He really has gotten stronger, hasn't he? In just a few days?"

"Best to be prepared," I answered, smiling. "And with time of the essence, it's best to prepare quickly. He will be assisting me for a time, so I felt it best to make sure he was ready."

"For _her_?" She asked.

I looked at her for a moment, shaking my head minutely.

"I think it best to handle that myself," I said. "But she is gathering friends around her; best to do the same."

"Friends?"

"I assume you know of Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai?" I arched an eyebrow her way. "A boy with silver hair and a girl with green?"

"I've seen them." She confirmed.

"They will be entering Haven shortly," I stated. "Presumably to aid their Mistress's plans, whatever they may be. And _she_ …has begun to move."

Raven took a breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled slowly, looking around.

"Perhaps we should find a seat," She suggested. "I assume you have something in mind. It's driven Adam to self-opposed drinking contests, a few chairs may be warranted."

"I pride myself on being able to make people feel that way," I smiled. "And though his reaction is for personal reasons, I do have several things to discuss with you."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Interconnected**

"I take it something has gone wrong?" She began the moment we were both seated, even as I brought an illusion around us and made sure we wouldn't be overheard.

"Doesn't something always?" I answered with a smile, making her close her eyes and smirk for a moment.

"I suppose that's true," She admitted. "But what, specifically, has gone wrong this time?"

"It would seem this friend of ours is more dangerous than we realized," I said. "Torchwick in Vale, the bombings in Atlas, and her ties here to the White Fang…she has a lot of influence in at least three of the Kingdoms and the power needed to transport thousands of stolen weapons between at least two of them—and I would bet that she has friends in Vacuo, as well. She had an ally within our own organization that we didn't know about until now and likely has similar plants in other places. Whatever she's planning, all signs point to it being something big. She's powerful."

"Yes," Raven whispered before tilting her head slowly, voice growing just a touch annoyed at my words. "There _is_ a reason I have handled this alliance with care, Jian."

I inclined my head to her in an apology.

"I was not trying to imply anything," I told her. "I merely wished to lay down the facts before making a request. Will you allow me to handle things from here?"

She watched me, face as expressionless as her mask, though that did nothing to hide what she felt from me.

"Why ask me?" She wondered after a moment.

"Because I respect you," I replied at once. "And I respect your abilities, which are invaluable. But the circumstances have changed again."

"Again," She repeated before pausing momentarily. "You're thinking about what happened to Summer and Ruby?"

"In a way, yes," I nodded. "This friend of ours is a problem that needs to be handled carefully and monitored closely. But the difference between Ruby and this friend of ours is that we can keep an eye on the former, even from a great distance, and she hasn't acted up yet, while the _latter_ has proven herself able to evade notice should the situation call for it and has most certainly been acting up."

"Because of the illusionist," She stated.

"Yes," I agreed anyway. "Because of the illusionist. She has changed the entire game and we need to change with it. Like Ruby, this is a problem we cannot leave unwatched. Should the situation change, we need to be made aware of it as quickly as possible, which means we must be able to perceive such changes."

"And I can't," She stated, sounding annoyed but not at me. The fact that the illusionist had pulled one over on her seemed to irritate her on a personal level, simply because of how bad it could make this already tenuous situation. Slowly, however, her eyes fell to her reflection in the table—or rather, the reflection of her illusory disguise. "But I take it you can?"

"At the risk of sounding arrogant, very few things escape my notice," I nodded. "But in order to be sure, I'll need to be relatively close by. Your abilities allow you to keep an eye on people like Ruby from a great distance, but I'm afraid my eyes don't reach quite that far. If I am to watch her, I will have to remain in Mistral while I do so."

"Ah," She said at last, seeming to understand. "And you wish for me to handle things elsewhere, in your absence."

I nodded once.

"Information still reaches me, thankfully," I answered. "And I managed to handle most things satisfactorily before my arrival here. But there are still a number of duties I will have to delegate if I am to remain here, the most important of which is our Rider problem."

"Do you think she's part of it?" Raven asked, sounding at once curious and serious. "Do you think she's a Rider?"

"I don't think anything yet, I'm afraid," I stated with a sigh, having considered the possibility myself. There wasn't anything pointing to it, but I'd have been a fool not to at least check for it. "I began researching her as soon as I returned, but I cannot scan her directly without knowing where she is. Do you, by any chance…?"

Raven grit her teeth slightly, shaking her head.

"I admit, I was going to ask for your assistance in this matter myself," She told me. "She's become rather skilled at evading my notice. In light of her recent actions, I find that a bit concerning."

"Understandably so," I replied, wondering how she'd felt about my abilities in that field. "Does her illusionist remain here in Mistral?"

Raven was silent for a long moment.

"Perhaps," She said, pursing her lips. "It would be a lie to say I've seen her."

"I see," I nodded in understanding. "No matter—I know where at least one of them shall be."

"Oh?" She asked.

"As said, Emerald and Mercury will be joining their Mistress at Haven," I smiled. "Therefore, either their Mistress will be there or an illusion of her will be. Either way, I'll find them and keep a _very_ close eye on them. Whatever they do, I'll know."

"On the condition that you're close enough to do so," She mused. "How close does that need to be?"

I sighed again.

"It seems you've uncovered the source of Adam's pain," I replied, nodding my head towards my friend. "Close. Within a few kilometers of it, preferably, and for a mission that may last weeks or months…well, closer is better. I'll need to be able to react quickly to anything I find and pick up whatever they're doing, so…ideally, I would be within the building itself."

Raven arched an eyebrow.

"For weeks or months," She repeated and I could practically hear her putting the pieces together. She looked slowly from me to Adam, who was constructing a pyramid out of shot glasses. I saw her ponder the illusion on Adam's face for a moment and then nod. "I begin to understand."

I nodded tired.

"It's not what I would prefer, I admit, but…" I shook my head. "It may be necessary. I'll need to see both her and the illusionist to be certain of anything, but if they're as big a threat as they seem to be, it would be foolish to leave them unattended."

"And you're the only person who can keep track of them," She nodded. "Yes. You have a plan, I assume?"

I met her eyes for a long moment, checked my math again, and told her the truth.

More or less.

"My reincarnation will go," I paused to shake my head. "Or _our_ reincarnation, if you prefer."

"Our?" She asked, eyebrows rising.

"You've probably realized by now that Jian Bing was not the first name I went by," I said. "This soul of mine was first born when Babel still stood tall."

"Then what was it?"

I shut my eyes and shook my head.

"I don't remember," I admitted. "He and the Riders took that life and left little behind."

"You mean…?"

"You saw me," I told her and chuckled. "Or an…artistic depiction of me, at least, on the walls of the Red Rider's temple. The beast with eyes and wings. I fought them, in the beginning, and…I lost."

I clicked a nail against the tabletop, sighing without losing my slight smile.

"I tried and failed," I continued. "But all that meant was that I had to keep trying. So I did and I will, until I win. Too much is on the line to do anything else."

She nodded seriously.

"And so this incarnation continues that fight," She said before pausing. "Are you many minds in one body or…?"

"No," I shook my head. "Can you imagine such a thing? It would be curse on the recipient. But…our souls are one, even across different lives, and so are we."

"And who are you now?" She asked.

I gave her a half-smile, tilting my head at her.

"I think you know," I answered. "Or at least suspect. With this, you should be able to put together any pieces that remain."

"Perhaps," She replied. "But will you tell me your name anyway?"

I chuckled again.

"Of course," I said. "My name in this life is Jaune Arc. And it is, as always, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

A few minutes later, Raven departed. We spent a short while discussing our plans, but now that she knew who I was—and where I likely would be—there was no real rush. If she needed to say something to me, it wouldn't be hard for her to pop into my room or something, which rather simplified things. Though it had preserved a measure of secrecy between us, it had taken _far_ too long to meet one another by passing messages through Tukson and whoever she used as a contact. Even if it was one-sided, being able to get in touch quickly was a necessity when there was so much that could go wrong.

It was part of the reason I'd told her who I was—if the Riders or whoever else acted, we needed to be able to react quickly. With things the way they were now, I'd shorted our response time from days to minutes and that alone might be worth the risk.

But more than that, the truth of the matter was…I didn't think there _was_ much risk in telling her any more. For better or worse, I trusted her. I'd told her enough at the Temple for her to put most of the pieces together and I'd waited to see how she'd act upon them—and she hadn't. From everything I knew of her now, I was certain that she wouldn't bring my family into this if she didn't have to, and that had been the last thing I'd felt worth worrying about. As such, the story I'd given her was all but true, though I'd left a few details out about the specifics of my Semblance and how it was modeled off of a game. Other than that, though…

I tilted my head back and sighed slowly.

With this, almost everything was in place. I was in Mistral, but Raven could still use her powers to keep an eye on more distant things. Even beyond the practicality, it had felt good telling her. Now, she knew most of my secrets now and I knew her well enough that I didn't really care about most of hers. If she didn't want to tell me about any of the specifics, that was fine as long as it didn't cause any problems down the line. And between the two of us—the three of us, with Adam—we held a great deal of power in the White Fang, just as my family held a lot of power in Mistral. If necessary, I could reach out to my sisters, as well, lay down a few roots in the other Kingdoms, but I'd keep those cards in reserve as long as possible. Already, I was getting more and more used to monitoring signals on the airwaves and keeping track of current events. I'd look for patterns, threats, and opportunities for us and with Raven's help…well, even if I did end up in Haven, I could step out for an afternoon and go pretty much anywhere in the world.

Whatever happened now, I could at least be confident that I had eyes and ears everywhere, that I could react quickly to anything that came upon. I'd just have to hope that would be enough, because it was the best I, _we_ , could do right now.

So for now, the most important thing for me to do is follow the plan and continue to get stronger. I couldn't be sure how long I truly had before things got moving, so I'd need to work hard while I still could.

That in mind, I rose from my seat and slipped over to the bar, claiming the empty seat beside Adam. A fair number of people had gathered around him to watch as he constructed a series of impressive shot glass towers, but since they were being designed by a drunk, no one seemed to want to sit right next to him.

Adam turned to me for a moment, his expression passive, even solemn. For a moment, he was silent as he observed me, expression contemplative.

"J—" He began before stopping himself, furrowing his brows. Maybe he wasn't sure what to call my disguise or maybe he was just struggling to remember my name through the alcohol; I had enough faith in his ability to hold his liquor to assume it was the former. He shook his head once, which seemed to make him a bit dizzy, and then frowned. "Jay. You done?"

"Yup," I replied, nodding easily. "Your mom already left."

"Huh?" He asked, looking over his shoulder for her. He slowly scanned the bar for her, looking focused, and the fact that he was still capable of distinguishing faces struck me as somewhat miraculous. Then again, I already knew how functional Adam was as a drunk. "So she is. We leaving, too?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I was thinking we'd do some more hunting, but I can drop you off somewhere and train alone if you'd rather be drunk for a while."

He looked more than a little tempted but shook his head.

"Nah, training's more important," He said, shutting his eyes and swallowing for a moment. "Sober me up."

I tapped him on the shoulder once and healed him, making him shudder once and crack his neck.

"Ugh," He said after a moment, not opening his eyes. "Yeah, that's sobriety. Every time I do it, I remember why I try to avoid it."

"You already pay?" I asked, lifting my eyes to the bartender as Adam nodded.

"Paid at the start and told him to keep it coming," He answered as the bartender gave me a slight nod, looking impressed. "I know how much I can take."

I eyed at the pyramid which was flanked by a pair of towers with occasional holes for windows. Sitting down, all three structures were over my head.

"Okay," I accepted easily. "Ready to go?"

He grunted an affirmative, nodding to the bartender as he rose. A few people clapped as he walked away on his own power, but we quickly made our way outside.

"You and Raven figure things out?" He asked after giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the sun.

"More or less," I shrugged. "I told her who I was."

He glanced over his shoulder at me.

"Ah," He said after a moment. "Well, that's good then. I assume she took it pretty well?"

"Yeah, it was fine," I answered. "This should make things easier for you, right? I told her just about everything. Everything but the specifics of my Semblance, Autumn, Gou, and…I think that's everything important. There's a few things I need to tell you, too, but they're kind of a pain in the ass to explain."

"There's no short version?" He raised an eyebrow.

I considered that for a moment and shrugged. Raven had given her permission, after all.

"There's a lot of stuff implying that the reason my Semblance is so powerful is because I'm some kind of ancient, reincarnating weapon from the days of Babel," I explained. "And it seems the guys who killed me last time are still around, too. And they're kind of dicks."

"Ah," He replied after a moment, squinting against the light and pondering me. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment and he nodded slowly. "Ah."

"Mm," I agreed.

"These assholes," He said after a moment. "Anyone I know?"

"They're Grimm, mostly," I answered. "One is the sapient virus inside Pandora Shells—he calls himself Conquest. Their leader is the problem though; he's the one who created the Grimm in the first place. I don't know the specifics, but it seems he and I fought before. Since I ended up reincarnating afterwards and he's still around, seems safe to assume I lost that fight."

"Huh," He frowned. "Well, that's…yeah, maybe you should give me the long version later."

I shrugged and smiled as he lifted his mask—still hidden as a pair of sunglasses—to rub his eyes.

"But I think I get the basics," He mused after a minute. "So we have to kick these guys' asses, yeah?"

"That's the idea," I smiled at him at the inclusive 'we,' even if he didn't have the full picture of what we were up against yet. "Actually doing it might take some work."

"Always does," He huffed. "What's the plan?"

"For now? We get stronger," I stated. "Everything I know about what happened makes me think old me was a badass."

"Oh?"

"My sister Bianca can see people's souls or something like them," I shrugged. "She described me as a giant with a lot of eyes and wings and mouths. Raven and I found a temple one of our enemies made and it had a lot of people fighting a creature that looked a lot like that, setting it up as some grand enemy."

He bobbed his head, seeming to accept that.

"Fair enough," He allowed. "Any idea what you need to do to win round two?"

"Not yet, sadly," I sighed. "Still trying to put the pieces together and learn whatever I can. I know there's _something_ there, but…"

I shook my head.

"But I do have one lead," I continued. "Near Jericho Falls, there's a place that…well, everything we know paints it as a deathtrap it's so full of Grimm. But inside of it—adjacent to it, really, in a dimensional barrier similar to the ones I make—there's an empty, Babel city. And inside of _that_ , there's a computer that seems to have survived all these years. I don't know what's in it, but mentioning it pissed off Conquest, so I'm thinking about taking a look inside when I'm strong enough. Raven said she'd probably tag along herself."

"Heh," Adam chuckled before quirking an eyebrow. "A deathtrap and some ancient ruins, huh? How dangerous is it?"

"Last time a few dozen Hunters went in, only one guy walked out—and it was _Ozpin_." I said. "And he…well, that's another long story, but he didn't win that fight. He just survived it."

Adam whistled slightly at that and smiled.

"Sounds like fun," He replied. "You have room for one more?"

"Only if you get strong enough," I snorted. "I'm not taking anyone in there with me that I don't think will walk back out."

"Then let's go get stronger, then," He answered. "That's why we're going Hunting, right?"

"Yeah," I closed my eyes for a moment, a smile on my lips. "That's right."

"Well, I don't have anywhere better to be," He stretched for a moment. "So I'll ask again—what's the plan?"

"Same as before," I opened my eyes, smile still firmly in place. "We kill a lot of Grimm, we get strong as hell, and then we kick ass."

"I like this plan," Adam snorted. "Let's see if I can't get to level sixty today."

"Fuck level sixty," I replied. "You're fourteen levels away from seventy. I'm five away from eighty. Let's get to work."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Passage**

With our goals decided, we returned to our training with renewed vigor. My family knew the truth about me and knew not to get too alarmed over prolonged disappearances, so I shot them a message and put them out of my mind. After the last day of training, we were more or less ready to dispense with the small fry that ventured close to the Kingdoms borders and start Hunting the real monsters. The lands beyond the Kingdom's walls were held solely by Grimm and ruled by the greatest examples of them. Where before we'd Hunted the Karkinos, now we chased the mighty beasts called Tegmines, their pitch black shells like mighty hills as they dotted the beaches around the Inland Sea. Most of the creatures, sometimes surrounded by what seemed like entire fields of their lesser cousins, lay underwater and we had to compensate, but there are benefits to being the master of so many elements.

They were powerful creatures, with pincers that could scoop up buildings and crush them to powder. More than that, their shells were an order of magnitude more durable than those of the smaller creatures that gathered around or even upon them, enough that it took a focused assault to crack them enough for Adam to get some hits in. The monsters that inhabited the sea were wholly different from those on land, and the shelled beasts called schools of Grimm to their aid. From the shark-like Akheilos to the Skolopendra—a creature that had no direct analogy, but appeared as something of a cross between a millipede and a lobster—the Grimm of the sea attacked, aiding their greater comrades in their battle against us.

But though the Tegmines were as mighty as glaciers, they were about as fast. Adam and I made short work of the small fry, pun intended, and then focused on them. It wasn't the leisurely battle of the night before, but we made do—I buffed Adam as much as I was able, healed freely, and wasn't afraid to step in and erase everything in an area when need be. They had an army, but Xihai turned the seas to our cause and I underwent a Metamorphosis to adapt to aquatic combat. After about half an hour, the three Tegmine we'd found lay scattered like broken mountains, the shattered remains of their shells reaching up towards the sky. On the miniature island created by one of them, I found the prizes for our victory. Besides the usual enormous sum of money that I split between Adam and myself, there were items that I claimed for my own.

 **You have obtained the item 'Cancer.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Crushing Grip.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Armored Shell.'  
**  
When the battle ended and we returned to the surface, I led us to the North-East, where the stony wasteland around Mistral turned abruptly into gentle plains—gentle, that is, if you could somehow ignore the monolithic shapes that wandered it, making the ground shake with their footfalls. Nemeans roamed in the distance, even the smallest of the creatures standing more than half as high as a Goliath and hunting in packs of up to sixty. All the creatures in sight had the slick look of lionesses, their hides layers of white Grimm bone with only occasional patches of dark flesh. Rukhs circled in the sky above, their wingspans casting massive shadows on the ground below as the eagle-like beasts occasionally took flight, large enough to casually grasp a grown elephant in each claw and swallow one whole with a gulp. Calydons led herds of Boarbatusk in wheeling swarms, casting dust clouds high into the sky and in the distance I could see the sky turning red from where the Tyrant Scales were no doubt making themselves comfortable.

There were other creatures, so many others, giants that roamed the plains freely far beyond the reach of man. In places, the grass of the plains rose high above our waists, providing concealment to thousands of natural creatures, but it did absolutely nothing to hide the greater creatures of Grimm and even without my enhanced vision, I'd have been able to see the creatures for miles and miles, the kings of the open plains.

Here, even we moved carefully. If I was alone, I might have taken more chances—the Nemeans were a tempting sight, I had to admit, but they were too powerful and too numerous to risk opposing with Adam present, at least for the time being. We'd venture further into the savannahs later, but today we merely skirted the edges, facing the creatures that ventured too far from their herds or didn't hunt in packs, slaying many of the massive creatures we had before as well as a few new ones. I risked bringing down a Rukh for us to fight, even though I feared the fall would attract attention, and faced several of the Calydons. I'd thought I might see a few Basilisks or even the mighty Meretsegers, but the serpentine creatures were nowhere to be found, for better or worse. Even so, this far from the walls, we were not wanting for prey and though we regularly waited and moved to avoid drawing too much attention at once, we fought long and hard until the sun began to sink over the horizon, slaying monster after monster until we'd both gotten what we wanted.  
 **  
The Beast  
LV70  
Adam Taurus**

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **You have obtained the item 'Erymanthius.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Stampede.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Spiraling Strike.'  
**  
"Adam," I spoke, making sure he was the only one who heard me. We were both crouched low in the tall grass, hiding from sight as the night drew even more creatures to the plains. "Let's take a break."

My friend relaxed a touch beside me, cracking his neck. My regular healings had kept the exhaustion from slowing him down, but constant exertion had left the both of us drenched in sweat and he looked glad for a short rest.

"That about do it, then?" He asked.

"For now," I said, smiling brightly despite the worlds. "Things will move more quickly, now that we're within ten levels of one another."

"Time for you to do all the work, huh?" He snorted. "Can't say I mind. You can think of it as paying me back for all my valuable time."

"You wish," I replied, rolling my eyes. "You're not getting out of this that easy—all this means is that I won't be holding your hand as much and I'll hold back less. We've still got a lot to do over the next few days."

"I take it we're not going home tonight, then?" He asked, lifting a hand to push the grass away from his face as he took a seat.

"Why would we go home when there's still so much fun to be had?" I replied, raising an eyebrow challengingly. "Progress has been a bit slow of late, but I think I can get a few more levels before it's time for Mistral. There's so many types of Grimm here I haven't had a chance to fight yet. We killed a Rukh, but we couldn't find an Aethon, we didn't see any of the snakes, I didn't get to fight any Nemeans."

I shook my head.

"Now that we're done getting you up to snuff, I want to have some _fun_ , Adam," I finished.

"You are such a whiner," Adam snorted. "If you wanted to kill everything we saw, we could have stayed in the sea."

"We could have," I agreed. "If _somebody_ could learn to fucking breathe underwater. I was getting tired of you taking air breaks every few minutes. Can't you breathe on your own time?"

"There's no pleasing you, you realize that?" He asked. "You're just an endless fountain of bitching and moaning."

"And you complain about every little thing," I replied. "Like 'I haven't slept in two days' and 'I can't breathe underwater' and 'I can't fly.' You know who else complains about stuff like that, Adam? _Losers_."

He gave me the finger, making me smirk.

"So…you want me to spend my points, then?" He asked after a moment of silence, expression turning serious and he stretched carefully, staying in motion. As he did, a muttered word brought up his status screen, displaying his stats. "That's the point of this break, right?"

"It's not just for you, this time," I told him, bringing up my own. "I'm going to invest a little myself, before we go play with the big boys."

"Joy," Adam snorted, pushing the buttons on his screen carefully, raising Dexterity this time. He raised it as high as he had his Strength before it before pausing in thought. "Hey, Jaune, what do you think I should—"

"One sec," I stopped him as I finished raising my Intelligence. "Now, that's odd—no random skills this time?"  
 **  
By greatly heightening your brain functions, you have learned to draw upon the power of the Psychomachia.**

 **By raising INT above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Castitas.'**

 **By raising INT above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Temperantia.'**

 **By raising INT above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Caritas.'**

 **By raising INT above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Industria.'**

 **By raising INT above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Patientia.'**

 **By raising INT above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Benevolentia.'**

 **By raising INT above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Humilitas.'**

I took a deep, steadying breath as I felt the changes take hold, shutting my eyes for a moment as power coursed through my veins. In many ways, my power was tied to my Intelligence, both in how closely it was related to my MP and due to how many of my skills, both Passive and Active, relied on it. Even as new energy began to well up within me, I felt the skills that had been settled comfortably over my form stretch and grow to accommodate. My unified senses whirled for a moment before consolidating and settling once more, my Aura burst forth even more powerfully than before, my skin thickened and hardened—the sudden increase caused major shifts throughout what felt like my entire being, as if I'd swallowed a storm.

But like a storm, it soon passed, leaving me changed in its wake but still whole. Though energy raced through my body, my power quickly struck a balance with itself and by the time I exhaled I was fine again.

"Jaune?" Adam asked. "You okay?"

"Better than okay," I answered as I opened my eyes. I lifted my hands so I could see the trails of power coursing through my flesh, a network of energy given form and function. "Sorry, it's just always a bit of an odd feeling."

"I know what you mean," He nodded, rolling a shoulder and stretching again. "It does feel kind of weird. Not _bad_ , but… when I train normally, improvements are so gradual that sometimes I won't notice for days or weeks at a time. But when I do this, it's such a sudden and massive increase that I feel…well, I guess you know better than anyone."

"Yeah," I nodded, staring into space. My awareness reached out, getting used to the changes in how I perceived the world. I could see better, of course—view things that were even further away or smaller than I had before, distinguish shades and differences more clearly, and countless other differences, major and minute alike—but the changes to my other senses were by far the greater. I could hear something I could only describe as a song and it took me a moment to trace the sound back to the Aura surrounding Adam. I could feel the sharpness to it, near as I was to him, and smell it, and—

It took me a moment to rein my senses in, until the sound of Adam's soul was a quiet background noise rather than a song that filled my ears. Other sounds, sharply different and not quite as vibrant, reached out to me from the Aura around every living thing nearby, but I screened them out for a moment as well, slowly getting used to the chorus around me. There were other things that called out for my attention, from electromagnetic radiation to the motions within seemingly stationary matter, but I gave my senses a moment to adjust and simply altered my worldview accordingly. I'd had quite a bit of practice with something similar from when my ESP had first expanded my senses, this was just…more. Before, the tastes and sounds were almost meaningless, but now I could gather things from them that I was having trouble placing. It was…

Not what I really needed to worry about right now. I'd get all of that in order in a bit.

"Sorry," I said, shaking myself. "Was looking at something else. You had something you wanted to ask me?"

"Just wanted your take on how I should spend the rest of my points," He asked, gesturing towards the status screen only he and I could see. "I've raised my Strength and Dexterity by the same amount and I still have some points left over; do you think I should use the rest to increase my Wisdom now or keep focusing on my physicals? It must be kind of a pain for you to have to restore my Aura so often, so I was thinking it might be a good time to improve my own recovery rate."

I looked at him and saw the thin veil of red light clinging to his form. Even without taking a look at the HP and MP bars above his head, it was plain to see that he was running low on power from the fighting beforehand. I hadn't used a Dust Crystal to heal him in a bit, but something occurred to me as I looked at him. I reached out with an invisible tendril of my Aura, shaping it in a fashion I'd simultaneously never done before and was certain of down to my bones. The tendril pierced Adam's chest like a spear, burying itself deep into his heart, and then power raced down the line like it was a power cord. I saw Adam jerk in place once, drawing back a step, but it made no difference now. Beneath my sight, I could see his heart glowing like a red star inside his chest and each beat sent a pulse of the same color through veins, illuminating them beneath his skin. His eyes became solid orbs of the color in the world I saw and the song that had faded to the background doubled and redoubled into an echoing symphony.

In moments, his MP bar was full and mine had dropped the difference.

"What the hell!" Adam all but shouted in alarm, raising Wilt and Blush. In the bleak realm of visible light, the effects were more subdued, limited to a glow in his eyes and around his skin, reminiscent of a person who's Aura had been freshly awoken. "Holy _shit_ Jaune, are you the one doing this?"

I nodded slowly, still not completely certain about what I'd done—but now that I'd seen it in action and knew what I was looking for, I could _feel_ it at work, though that merely raised more questions. It shouldn't have been possible to simply give him my Aura but that was what was happening; there was none of the usual resistance because Adam's Aura didn't try to reject my own, even though it should of. I wasn't adjusting my Aura into a more consumable form as I would if I were trying to heal him, either. I just…gave it to him somehow and fortified his strength. I didn't know how.

But I was certain of the cause. Looking through the windows that had popped up, it took me only a moment to find the one I wanted.

 **Caritas (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The generosity and sacrifice that cannot be seized by the hands of Greed. Similar to the process in which a soul infuses all living beings, this skill represents the ability to sacrifice one's own soul to bolster the light of another's—for greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.  
The owner of this skill may sacrifice their own MP to restore the MP of another.  
Range: 70 meters.**

"Restoring your MP won't be a problem," I said after a moment. "I have enough for the both of us and I can just give you mine, now. Raising Wisdom might still come in handy since I won't always be there—and being wise is pretty useful in and of itself—but you don't need to raise it right now if you have your eye on something else. It's up to you."

"Huh…" Adam murmured, barely seeming to hear me as he looked at his glowing skin. Since his Aura was full and he wasn't doing anything to drain it at the moment, I severed the connection between us and the light slowly faded, drawing back beneath his skin. "That's…something."

"You don't have to spend them all right now if you're not sure what to do," I continued after he was silent for a moment. "But you should be good to go. Ready to get back to work?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," He nodded slowly, lowering his weapons. "What do you have in mind?"

"Same as before, really," I answered even as I brought up the Party Screen and went to options to adjust a few settings. "We should split the experience equally now, so just go wild. I'll keep an eye on things and tell you if anything comes up, but we're in a target rich environment so feel free to go wild."

"That I can do," Adam smirked, taking a slow look around. "Any recommendations on what I should kill first?"

I chuckled and tilted my head.

"What kind of question is that?" I asked him. "Obviously, you should just kill anything that moves."

He gave a smile that showed all his teeth and was gone, dashing away with his newly improved speed. A moment later, I saw him slip right under a Calydon and jump into the air, sword aimed at the giant creature's vulnerable belly. The sheer force of the blow was enough to lift the beast wholly off its feet and cut most of the way through it at the same time, red Aura bright in the growing darkness.

It was interesting to be able to see the improvements from the outside, especially in a relatively controlled setting. I'd always focused on the mental stats, too, so it was nice to see how the physical ones changed as well. Though he'd only improved his Strength and Dexterity by a little more than fifty, raising each by a bit more than half, the resulting effect was significantly greater than that even after taking into account the matter of his Aura. To use a gaming analogy, I suppose his Strength and Dexterity were merely part of larger formulas to determine his damage output and movement speed—and they may have even been a part of the same formulas in places, building off each other like I'd figured they would. If nothing else, his increased Strength went together well with an improved attack speed.

So long as he was cautious and as long as I kept an eye on him, he should be fine even on his own. I'd just need to swing by to restore his Aura periodically and there shouldn't be a problem.

Which left me free to do some Hunting of my own—and I had my fair share of multipliers, too.

My fingers closed around a Magic Missile as if I'd plucked it right out of the air. Taking a step forward, I began to climb the invisible staircase Levant helpfully provided until my healing returned my Metamorphosed form to normal long enough for me to tweak the mutations. Once a new set of wings sprouted from my back, I stepped from the top of the stairs into open air and floated in a gentle circle, counting as I went.

One by one, I marked my targets, picking out every Grimm in a radius several kilometers long. There were tens of thousands of them nearby, monsters of every shape and size, but I paused for a moment to consider them.

The ones at the edge of my little circle of life and death were the most likely to escape if something overt happened.

Best to work from the outside in, then.

Rearing back, I hurled my new and improved Magic Missile across the sky. To the normal eye, it would have vanished into the night, reduced to a spark in the darkness at best, but I tracked its flight all the way to its destination to make sure it hit.

Nearly five kilometers away, a Rukh began to fall from the sky.

By the time it hit the ground, a legion of spears had followed on their predecessors heels, a lethal meteor shower meant for anything unlucky enough to be in my way.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Homeward**

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

The sun rose high into the sky illuminating the battle-scarred and silent plain. Everything that had once called this place its home were either dead or were wise enough to avoid drawing attention to themselves—not that staying silent did much to hide the creatures that called this place their home from me. Everything I thought worth targeting had learned that first hand.

Shortly after I'd begun my full scale assault, the Grimm of the plains had come together, presenting a united front against me. Those capable of flight had taken to the air and tried to swarm me whilst those restricted to the land around us had organized quickly. Through a series of echoing cries, they'd gathered until the sheer quantity of them seemed to hide the ground beneath them—and then they'd attacked as one. The wings of the Rukh's conjured up storms while the jaws of the creatures beneath me unleashed waves of furious power. When a convocation of Rukh's managed to force me closer to the ground, the gathered creatures leapt for me and tried to tear me apart. A pride of Nemeans, a quiver of Basilisks, a Sounder of Calydons—even a cast of Karkinos that seemed to bubble up from the river and form suits of living armor for the mightiest creatures. As the night deepened, a parliament of Strix arrived to aid in the battle, armed with what I briefly thought were nets of barbed wire until I spotted the clutter of Arachne skulking in the distance. The avian Grimm took to performing sweeping formations with the webbing held between them, trying to herd me where they wanted.

With the sheer number of creatures gathered beneath me…two weeks ago, before Conquest and everything else, I'd have been certain I was a dead man. A week ago, I'd probably have focused on escape. Two _hours_ ago, I'd have probably thought I was facing long odds indeed.

But things change, especially in time—and my new skills helped see me through. I held nothing back as I fought, shedding power at a pace that would have been reckless for anyone else, pushing myself far beyond my previous limits. I fought far beyond even what the breadth of my Aura should have allowed and kept going without a care, because things were different now. _I_ was different now, in a ways that weren't easy to point out or describe, but which were now as much a part of me as my beating heart.

The first—at once obvious and subtle—was the change in my Aura and how every bit of it seemed filled to the brim with power. It went beyond the increase to my MP capacity, beyond the normal feeling of power an Aura conferred. My Aura had been altered on a fundamental level and it was a change in substance, rather than size.

It was, perhaps, the greatest of my new skills.

 **Humilitas (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The quality and purity of spirit that comes not of thinking less of oneself, but of thinking of oneself less, this ability represents the quiet Humility that surpasses even the most ostentatious displays of Pride. This skill denotes an enhancement and refinement of one's Aura, such that it is capable of producing and supplying a greater amount of energy per unit.  
Reduce the MP cost of all skills by 50%.**

Above and beyond the increase granted by my increased MP, the reduction in price had changed the game. All my persistent skills had adjusted automatically, but this opened up new options for me. For skills like my Acceleration, where I could increase the effect by adjusting the cost…well, halving the price opened up plenty of new resources for me to play with.

And there was more, as my new skills combined to form a greater whole.

 **Industria (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The effort and passion that succeeds where Sloth might make one falter, this ability represents an inherent quality of persistence within the Aura of its wielder. As a result of this skill, the Aura of the user displays a natural integrity that allows it to better retain its structure over a period of time.  
Skills possessing a duration last twice as long as normal.  
Skills which require upkeep over time now double the length of time between payments.**

Armed and empowered by my new abilities, I threw myself into the fray. By halving the base cost and doubling the time between payments, I was effectively paying only a fourth of the initial cost per minute, which further freed up resources for me to make use of. Add to that the simple increase in MP that went with increasing my Intelligence and…well, I found myself easily Accelerating to speeds I'd only briefly touched during the battle against Conquest, even after improving my Aureola as well. Furthermore, all my persistent skills, most of which had a negligible cost to begin with, were reduced to only a vague strain upon my power, even as my increased INT and new skills improved their power.

Between the improvements Humilitas and Industria gave my skills, I was more lethal than ever. My speed swelled as the cost of my attacks shrank and I unleashed Magic Missile after Magic Missile at everything that got in my way. It was a testament to the might of the Grimm, then, that it took me the entire night and much of the following morning to defeat the horde arrayed against me. Despite the time it had taken, however, those who faced me died—a fact that those that watched from beyond my decided upon range must have realized, because they simply waited and observed, red eyes intelligent and aware even as the last of my enemies fell and leaving quietly as the battle drew to a close.

I considered pursuing, but I could already tell that they were headed for a more advantageous position, more Grimm gathering in a dark line over the horizon in a mass that dwarfed even the one I'd just faced. Behind the line, I could already see movement as the Grimm prepared for another round and another attack. It was a grim reminder that however many Grimm we slew, there were always more. I'd stayed close to my initial position, focused on clearing my ten kilometer sphere, but what were ten kilometers to creatures that owned this world? They ruled almost the entirety of every continent, dominated the seas, reigned freely in the skies above our heads and the earth beneath our feet.

For now.

Closing my eyes with a smile, I let myself fall to earth, hands falling to my sides.

"Adam," I spoke, letting Levant carry the words even as I began to collect the items my defeated enemies had dropped. "You ready to leave? We have business in town later today."

"Wouldn't mind taking a shower," He admitted as he stared into the distance, towards the approaching line. He'd stayed close at my command, remaining where I could heal and restore him as needed while also wading into the fray. Putting his improved stats to use, he'd slaughtered the lesser Grimm with the ease of a Master Huntsman and worked with me to deal crippling blows to the stronger creatures as opportunities presented themselves. He'd come a long, long way in just a few days, especially with an equal division of experience.

 **The Beast  
LV82  
Adam Taurus**

" _I_ wouldn't mind you taking a shower," I answered, making myself sound disgusted. "You reek, Adam. I'd tell you how much so, but most of the analogies would be racist and I don't want to injure your delicate sensibilities."

"Did any of these Grimm drop something you can go fuck yourself with?" He asked. "And you smell like shit, too."

"That's where you're wrong," I stated lazily, clicking a nail against my armored hide. "I don't sweat when I don't want to, because I have heat vents to do stuff like that for me. Add in some help from my Elemental friends to clean me up and I smell wonderful, as usual. So while you waste time doing stuff like bathing, I'll be doing something of value with my life. Speaking of which, when are you going to stop wasting time, Adam?"

"Piss off," Adam snorted, lifting his shirt to wipe away the sweat dripping from his face, proving my point. "Let's just go before those Grimm start sandwiching us."

I lifted an eyebrow at that.

"Do you mean in an anthropophagic sense?" I asked. "Or is there something you want to tell me about?"

"Either or," He replied. "While you were fucking with those birds, a pair of Nemeans followed the smell of badass right to me. Things got kind of awful for a bit when they flanked me—before I knew what was going on, they were the bread and I was the meat."

"Oh, that," I nodded. "Yeah, I saw it, but I knew you could handle it."

"Thanks for the help, then," He rolled his eyes.

"Hey, someone had to distract the rest of the army," I answered with a smirk and a shrug. "And I healed you afterwards, didn't I?"

He grunted, casting another glance towards the approaching army.

"Also," I continued. "Anthropophagic means people-eater."

"I know what it fucking means," He lied with a scoff, making me smirk.

"If you say so," I answered. "Hey, maybe a trip to Haven would be good for you. You never did finish school, did you?"

"Neither did you," He answered.

"Yeah, but I went a lot further. You were, what, a primary school drop out?" I asked.

He showed me the middle finger of each hand, waving them back and forth for emphasis.

"Will they stop after we leave?" He asked, nodding towards the monsters without lowering his hands. "Or do you think they're feeling motivated?"

"We're about to find out," I replied with my arms full of books and masks. "If they look like they'll keep going towards Mistral, we'll just prolong our trip to walk up and down some asses. But I'm pretty sure they'll stop when we vanish."

He nodded without questioning me, waiting patiently until I'd stored my rewards and then following me as I began to walk away.

Just in case, it was probably a good idea to take the long way home.

 **XxXXxX**

Adam and I moved quickly—far more quickly than before, now that Adam's speed had been so improved—and stayed out of sight, hidden underneath my illusions. Just to be on the safe side, we spent several hours watching the Grimm, making sure they didn't show any signs of heading towards Mistral, which they thankfully didn't. The dynamic of the plains had changed, however, and those that remained moved carefully and in groups. Not simply groups of the same species, either, but what were almost teams of creatures. Avian Grimm watched from above while serpents and arachnids crawled over massive Nemean forms, keeping a look out with an array of different senses.

It was an interesting tactic, especially since none of these creatures had actually fought against us—this was all learned behavior but, more than that, it was stuff they'd managed to pick up just by watching us from a distance. It was to be expected, I supposed; Grimm as massive as these creatures couldn't be anything but intelligent. Intelligent enough, in fact, that they could probably make the connection between humanoid attackers and the nearby human city, which was why I watched them as carefully as I did, but nothing came of it. I chose to accept that as a good thing for the time being, odd as the behavior was.

As we kept an eye on them, however, I took the chance to look through the rewards I'd taken from my fallen foes.

 **You have obtained the item 'Maahes.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Cithaeron Hide.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Claws of Regulus.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Garuda.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Bane of the Prometheans.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Flight of the Vimana.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Astika.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Shedding of the Serpent's Skin.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Gorgon.'**

"You look happy," Adam noted, sitting on a rock I'd drawn from the earth. "That everything?"

I cast my gaze across the masks and texts I'd obtained as they floated in a loose circle around me.

"More or less," I replied. "A few pieces of equipment, too, but…"

I shrugged. Just in case, I flipped the books open and flipped through the pages rapidly, making sure I got a glimpse of each page. Then, one by one, I devoured the texts and took a deep breath as windows notifying me of my new skills appeared. Even without the windows, I felt the knowledge settle into my mind and felt as certain of my new skills as I was of my ability to walk.

All that left was the masks.

"Everything but the Arachne and the Strix, huh?" Adam mused, looking between them.

"No Neith showed up," I answered with a shrug. "And I didn't see an Ascalaphus, either. Maybe next time."

Adam snorted as I slowly drew mask after mask from my Inventory, until the entirety of my collection floated around me in a wide circle. I'd collected a fair number of the things since I'd begun all those months ago, but most I'd never worn—partially because I was usually able to rely on one of the stronger masks, when I chose to wear one.

But more than that, I was just uncertain. Worried, even. Not of what the masks could do to me, personally—I had plenty of faith in my power's ability to keep me safe—but ever since I'd fought Conquest and learned of the power behind the Grimm, I'd been forced to wonder. What _were_ these masks? I'd wondered several times about the items created by my power and whether they were completely original creations or, like the skill books, had been modeled off things that had existed. The description of Kronos, the necklace I wore even now, tilted that towards the latter, but if that was the case…

Had these masks existed once? And if so, for what purpose? I couldn't be certain of exactly what effects they'd have if worn by a normal person, but close observation, careful consideration, and the possession of a fucking brain told me that anyone who put them on would probably regret it. But if they _had_ been real then, presumably, someone _had_ put them on and likely experienced that first hand. Given that the masks looked exactly like…well, Grimm masks, the implications of that were rather concerning.

Could these masks be tied to the origins of the Grimm? It was…worryingly easy to imagine those who put them on transforming into horrific monsters, but it didn't quite fit as the _source_ of the Grimm—unless, of course, there were a metric fuckton of masks and an endless supply of people stupid or unlucky enough to put them on. The Grimm could produce more of themselves. Hell, with Naraka, _I_ could produce Grimm and in enormous quantities. Whatever was responsible for their creation, it couldn't be limited just to masked mishaps. But there had to be _some_ connection, surely, or why were there so many connections?

And thinking about that made me think about the quest I'd received so long ago to _collect_ these masks. No, more than that—to collect _every_ mask. And with a name like 'What Lies Beneath—What is Hidden?' on top of that…I'd wondered several times if completing that quest would lead me to understanding the origins of the Grimm and it would be a damn lie to say I didn't want to know _that_.

But to an extent, I already _knew_ where the Grimm came from—namely, their asshole of a creator. And if this quest was leading me to _him_ …

That was a fight I wasn't sure I was ready for. In fact, this entire quest sort of reminded me of the lead up to an ungodly motherfucker of a Bonus Boss. Despite my power, reality didn't necessarily act like a game, but this _was_ a quest my power had generated and I had to beat at least one major example of every species of Grimm, apparently including the _Riders_ , so…yeah. And, come to think of it, I hadn't gotten the quest after collecting my first Grimm mask, Lenore, but rather after I killed an Alpha Beowolf. And _that_ monster was the first time I'd noticed the odd behavior in the Grimm that I'd later associate with their maker.

Maybe it was just me, but this felt like it was leading up to something bad. And powerful as the masks were, that made me worry. If the masks had existed in some sense before my power manufactured them and if this quest to collect them was somehow tied to the creator of the Grimm, then…what? It seemed safe to assume the maker would be aware of the mask's existence, in that case. Could he sense them? Could he do something to them or the person who wore them? When I fought Conquest after getting infected, the mental effects of the disease had run headlong into the Gamer's Mind and splattered all over it, but that hadn't stopped Conquest from getting at me physically, transforming my body into a Pandora Shell. I was pretty confident that none of the masks could get into my head, but they might not have to if the maker played his cards right. If it was as simple as attacking my body, I could escape my own flesh with Bai Hu, but…it was something to keep in mind, if nothing else.

On the _other_ hand, I had another question, and one I'd been hesitant in experimenting with because of my other concerns. Just as I was now forced to consider what dangers might lie in the masks, I was also able to see the potential within them. They were Grimm masks, after all—and I'd recently come into the ability to transform myself in very Grimm ways. What would happen if I did that while _wearing_ a Grimm mask? And even if it made no difference, with the power I now possessed, unlocking the full potential of some of the masks should be within my power. If I did that, who knows what I might find? New power, intimate knowledge of the Grimm, or maybe more.

It was tempting as all hell to take a mask, put it on, and see what happened. It's just that there was also a chance of it being _dangerous_ as all hell, too. A slim chance, perhaps, and probably a long term one that wouldn't screw me over until the worst possible time, but I couldn't ignore the fact that I'd be playing with weapons that my archenemy not only knew far better than I did, but had probably fucking created. It was worth at least some consideration. Testing, too, if I could do so safely.

Which sure as hell meant I wasn't going to do it with my best friend standing right there, so I put the masks away after another moment of observation. If some dark being chose to seize control of my body and turn it against me, that would kind of suck, but hey, I could manage. What I _couldn't_ do was expose a friend to that type of danger just to satisfy my curiosity, especially when I could easily test this later, in the woods or the ocean or another dimension.

"So…" Adam drew out as I put the last of the masks back into my Inventory. "I assume you can't get constipated so are you…what? Trying to create diamonds right now?"

I could, however, probably throw Adam down those friendship stairs Shani mentioned. Or maybe a friendship cliff. He'd leveled up a lot recently; he could take it, no problem.

"It's called thought," I answered. "You should try it sometime, Adam."

"I do every now and then," He replied easily. "But I'm so strong, handsome, and talented that I keep losing sight of the fact that I'm _smart_ , too. It's hard to juggle so many blessings; you wouldn't understand."

"Sounds rough," I acknowledge. "But yeah, I really have no idea what that's like. Unlike some people, I can multitask. Speaking of which, the Grimm aren't moving. It should be safe to go now."

"About fucking time," Adam stretched and rose from his seat. "I thought about going to sleep, but I kept imagining myself waking up surrounded by nothing but hideous monsters and Grimm."

"Sleep is for the weak," I replied. "Now hurry up; tomorrow we scope out Haven."

 **XxXXxX**


	12. Chapter 12

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Initiation**

Bright and early the next morning, Adam and I were waiting in my grandmother's massive living room, watching the news as we waited for the rest of my family to wake up and come downstairs. Specifically, Adam was watching the news on the massive holographic display, listening to a reporter go on about statistics related to Haven, while I was looking out the window and parsing the signals that filled the sky. Despite the fact that the sun had only just risen, I could sense that Olivia was already getting prepared for her big day—unsurprising, honestly, since worry and excitement had kept her up most of the night. Grandmother was stirring in her bed as well and would undoubtedly be down shortly, given all her files and papers were already stored neatly in her briefcase. The rest of my family would wake up a little later to bid Olivia good luck, though it was up in the air whether or not Indigo would be able to formulate intelligible sounds at six in the morning.

Until then, however, there wasn't much to do but wait. I let Adam sleep after we got back, leaving him to rest and dream and do all that other stuff I generally avoided, and worked through the night within Naraka to get some last minute training done. But now, as the deadline drew near, there was nothing to do except wait, and so I did.

After a few minutes, Adam finished his bowl of cereal and set it down on the floor for Gou to drink from. Autumn circled him, growing into a large, pink-blossomed tree—a cherry tree, sort of, except eyeballs hung from it instead, retina instead of stems. They twitched and rolled in place, flickering towards anything that happened to move, but Adam had gotten used to it and so merely inclined his head and walked past her.

"So," Adam murmured as he came to stand beside me and rest his back against the wall, looking every bit the bodyguard he now officially was. "How are we going to play this one?"

I glanced away from the skyline to look at my friend, quirking an eyebrow.

"You mean if we end up enrolling?" I asked, knowing he was aware of the plan up to that point. Sure enough, he nodded at me.

"Yeah," He said. "If we end up being students, we…Jaune, you and I are way above that."

"Actually, a few days ago you'd have fit right in," I teased. "I've seen a few students around your level."

He scowled slightly at that.

"You know what I mean," He answered.

"I do," I confirmed, smiling easily. "What about it?"

"What about it?" He repeated. "It's a Hunter Academy—they'll want to test our strength. We'll fight Grimm, each other, all that stuff."

"We'll have exams and homework, too," I chuckled. "Don't worry about that, though; I understand you're not prepared for something like that, so I'll help you."

"That's not—" He paused, thinking. "Actually, define help."

"I'll do all the homework," I gestured lazily. "Should only take me a minute or so. Exam-wise, I'll just whisper the answer in your ear with Levant or take control of your pen. I know what your handwriting looks like. Don't worry about it."

He nodded slowly, looking a touch relieved.

"There goes one pain in the ass, at least," He replied, relaxing a touch. "But that's what I meant. If we end up fighting, either of us could crush anyone that gets in our way, but that might draw attention. What do you want me to do?"

I chuckled again.

"Do whatever you feel like doing," I answered. "You're a professional and I trust your judgement."

"Yeah, but…" He sighed. "Playing with kids isn't really my area of expertise."

"Playing with kids?" I laughed. "You sound like an old man. You realize I'm the same age as those 'kids', right?"

"You're too fucking weird to count as a kid," He shrugged as if that was that.

"Fair enough," I smirked. "But honestly, it's probably not that different from what you're used to."

He gave me an admirably skeptical look.

"I…rather doubt that."

"Remember where we are," I chided as I shook my head. "Even beyond the fact that Haven is a school for _Hunters_ , it's a school in _Mistral_. And like everything else in Mistral, it's pretty much run by the Families. The people who graduate from it will work to protect the Kingdom, of course, but there's more to it than that."

He frowned for a moment before nodding slowly.

"It's about power, isn't it?" He asked, catching on.

"Being a Hunter means getting put on a fast track to power somewhere in Mistral's hierarchy and everyone knows it," I confirmed. "More than that, however, the school itself is all about power. It's a proving ground of sorts; most of the students there get their ways paid by sponsors of some kind and there's often more to it than that. Think of it like…think of _them_ like sports stars. A lot of them get contracts and deals, support for their families, paychecks, all that stuff."

"And I take it this all leads back to the Families?" He guessed.

"Doesn't everything in Mistral?" I asked. "A lot of it's done through proxy businesses, which is why you see a lot of Hunters in commercial and on cereal boxes and stuff—but yeah, if you trace it back far enough, you'll find people in the Families signing the checks. That's part of why the tournaments are such a big deal here—it gives people a chance to see prospective students in action before they start making sales pitches."

"And Haven is where all of them gather," Adam mused, nodding slowly to himself. "I see. And these groups…fight each other?"

"Adam," I chided at once. "We're all friends here—and civilized men and women besides."

He made a sound of understanding.

"Nothing that obvious, of course," He continued. "We just lie, work against each other, make shows of power, and work to gather more."

"Now you get it," I nodded with a smile. "It's more subtle than it sounds, of course—a lot of people probably don't realize that's even what's going on. On the surface, most of it will just seem like fun and games and to a lot of people, that's all it is, but the student's at Haven compete and are set against each other constantly. There are a lot of different factions within the school itself that vie for power and the faculty tends to step back and watch a lot to see how things shake out. It's one of the ways the Families still compete with each other without seeming like they are and gathering power around oneself is a very big deal, by design."

"You're right," He sighed. "This does sound familiar. And I take it we're representing the Roma."

"You got it," I said with a wink. "So don't worry about hiding your strength too much—because here, power is everything. If we become students, the first thing we'll do is establish the pecking order and make our lives easier. Don't hurt anyone too bad, but otherwise, go crazy. Take on an entire team by yourself if you want. It doesn't matter if you draw some attention because as far as anyone that matters is concerned, we're _advertising_."

"Okay," He smiled slowly. "Yeah, I can work with that. I assume that if any questions arise—"

"Grandmother will tell them to direct them towards someone who gives a fuck," I finished. "All we have to do is keep from doing anything _too_ alarming and that's mostly for me to worry about. For you…just don't do anything that'll get you recognized as Adam Taurus. Is you're Semblance known?"

He shrugged a bit.

"Probably," He replied. "It's a bit noticeable, so it might be best to err on the side of caution. It's not like I'd ever use it on a student, anyway."

I nodded in understanding.

"Shouldn't be an issue with your stats as high as they are now, anyway," I told him. "Everything else…well, between my Glamour and the levels you gained, it should be hard to identify you. So don't worry about it."

"Got it," He answered. "One more thing, though."

"The teams?" I guessed, having thought about it myself.

He nodded.

"From what I understand, Hunters-in-training are separated into teams of four during their initiation," He said. "That's how Raven said it worked at Beacon, at least."

"It's more or less the same here," I told him. "I looked into it a bit—checked past records, did some reconnaissance while you were asleep, that type of thing. I've got a pretty good idea what to expect."

I lifted a hand and a three-dimensional image of the city appeared above it, along with a vast block of the ground beneath it, displaying the tunnels below. They went down almost as far as the buildings above ground went high, set in layers upon layers of reinforced material.

"They call it the Labyrinth," I told him. "It's a series of catacombs beneath the city that the rulers of Mistral used to use to…well, do lots of horrible things to people that annoyed them. Now it's mostly used by Haven and a lot of the passageways are sealed, but there are openings even outside the city, allowing the Grimm inside. There's traps, too, and it's designed to be a maze where people wander until they run into a monster and die horribly, run into a trap and die horribly, or just get lost and die horribly. It's where Haven sends its initiates."

"Sounds fun," Adam answered dryly, lifting a hand to touch his horns. "I assume there's a point to it?"

I nodded.

"From what Grandmother said, there are several different ways in, but all the students are told to head towards the same place. I already scouted it all out, of course" I marked a massive room I'd noticed on one of the lower levels. "Here's where they'll probably put the checkpoint. The tunnels are designed so that the Labyrinth's shape can be changed at any time and entire sections can be locked off entirely, but it doesn't look like anything to worry about and I can take us through the walls if needed. We'll get there first."

"And our teammates?" He asked before catching himself. "If we have to enroll, I mean."

"Whoever arrives next, probably," I shrugged. "I have some friends who'll be enrolling and I can rig the teams if we need to, but it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"I…" Adam frowned for a moment. "I suppose not. Whoever arrives second should be decently strong, right? That's…fine, I guess."

"Glad you agree." I smiled and then raised my voice, dismissing the field of silence I'd established with Levant. "Good morning, sis."

Less than an hour later, we stood at the gates of the ziggurat. Positioned dead in the center of the city, it was a massive, solid structure that had lasted thousands of years and majestic in its own, worn way. Even before it had been an academy for Hunters, it had been the heart of Mistral—or of the place that would eventually become Mistral, at least. Back then, people had lived in the catacombs below, with the only way in or out through the fortress that was now called Haven. Although, in a way, it had still produced hunters—both those that fought Grimm and those who ventured out into the harsh lands around Mistral to bring back supplies.

Eventually, as the population of the city grew, they began to expand the tunnels and eventually crawl to the surface, building a city above the ground. The Hunters, those who protected and provided for the people below, had always ruled the city, but it was then that they first became kings and queens. Thanks to Mistrals geographical position—lava fields to the south, ice to the north, and seas to either side—life had been harsh for the people, but that same harshness had given them at least some respite from the Grimm which had allowed them to grow strong. Having already dug so deeply beneath the city, they were one of the few nations of that time with access to metallurgy and Dust, grasping hold of such resources long before any of the surrounding nations. In time, they'd expanded outwards, using that military power to crush their opponents, bringing what they could back to their homeland. In a time where most nations had been composed of roving hunter-gatherer societies, unable to ever sit down and truly mine the land for resources…Mistral's magic and steel had seized them control of this land. The rest, of course, was history.

And now, here we stood, at the birthplace of the Kingdom. It must have said something that even after thousands of years of war against men and monsters alike, Haven stood strong. We'd gotten in early by design and while Olivia and Grandmother had gone inside, Adam and I waited at the top of the stairs, giving me a chance to look at everyone who came in. I didn't recognize most of the faces, but I committed the names, levels, and titles to memory, observing them one after another. I glanced over backgrounds, gauged capabilities, and scanned each and every one of them with my many senses. Nothing too alarming stood out to me, though I noticed genetic defects here and minor health problems there. Most of the entrants had levels between thirty and forty and I noted anyone who deviated from the norm, but didn't find what I was looking for.

"Nothing?" Adam grunted under his breath after half an hour of watching students. He and I got our fair share of glances from the students as well as a few greetings, but most seemed to think we were older students keeping an eye on things. We nodded back at greetings and I gave directions when people asked, but most of the students seemed too preoccupied to engage either of us in conversation. It was just as well, I suppose.

"Most of these guys are the freshmen," I answered quietly. "They're all nervous and most of them got here early, just in case. They had to bring all of their luggage, get their paperwork looked over, and now they're trying to find people they know and relax. Most of them probably aren't sure exactly what's going on, but the older students do. Initiations not until tomorrow morning, so most of the older students probably won't arrive until later tonight."

"Then why are we here now, instead of later?" Adam asked after a moment of annoyed silence, to which I shrugged a shoulder and smiled slightly.

"Partially to check out the freshmen," I replied. "This gives me a chance to look them over and see if anyone else stands out. But mostly? Because Emerald and Mercury are freshmen and given who they're working for—"

"She might show up early," Adam finished. "To make sure everything goes smoothly."

I made a small sound of confirmation in the back of my throat as I watched a young woman scale the steps. Just as it was easy to separate the freshman from the older students, it was simple enough to guess who had already made a name for themselves. Even without the higher levels, a number of the students had a confidence to them that said they were sure they were ready. While others nervously wondered if things would be okay, they just walked in feeling certain. It was sort of like what I felt, except that I was completely certain and a little bored.

"That and I want to see if they gravitate towards anyone in particular," I nodded. " _She_ would know that Haven has four man teams, so there might be others."

"Found anyone like that yet?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"No," I answered, shaking mine. "It might just be Mercury and Emerald, then. Getting two people on a team might be easier to manage then four—students get sorted into pairs before and during initiation and then pairs are made into teams afterwards. With the Labyrinth the way it is…"

I shrugged.

"How are pairs made?" Adam asked. "Is it something she can rig?"

"What kind of question is that?" I rolled my eyes. "You can rig just about anything in Mistral, it's just more difficult to rig some things than others. In this case, though, yeah—it's fairly easy to rig. Students are paired up beforehand according to their capabilities."

"I assume 'capabilities' means 'money,' in this case."

"Money," I nodded. "And deals between the people sponsoring them, of course. In some ways, you could think of it as a low budget version of an arranged marriage—two companies working together might have their respective students team up. In the case of heirs and important figures especially, such deals are seen to have a lot of weight, because teammates are expected to grow close and work together for years. So if two companies put their heirs together, it can often be taken as a sign of a future alliance. In Emerald and Mercury's case, that doesn't really apply, but all she'd need to do was have the companies behind them put down some money, make some announcements, and be done."

Adam nodded slowly, seeming to understand.

"Is that what's going to happen to us?" He asked.

"More or less," I answered. "Grandmother is sponsoring us both and has a lot of power here, so she'll just lay down the law."

"What about the Families?"

"That's a bit more complicated," I sighed. "Traditionally, the heirs of the Families would all be on the same team—that's how it worked with Grandmother's team, at least. There used to be this whole, complex arrangement where the heads would try to have kids of roughly the same age, specifically to renew that alliance regularly, but…well, my mom kind of blew that plan all to hell."

"But you're about the same age as the other heirs," Adam noted.

"Covering a few age brackets is pretty easy when you have eight kids," I shrugged. "But yeah, I've noticed that, too. I'm not really the _heir_ , but I figure there was some talk when I showed up in Mistral—especially since I met pretty much all the heirs my first night. If I was anything like a normal person and my family less dysfunctional, they probably would have arranged something. As it is now, I've got bigger things to worry about."

I paused for a moment to consider it before chuckling.

"Although," I smiled and bumped his shoulder hard enough to jostle him in place. "When you think about it, I guess you and I are part of an alliance ourselves, aren't we? The grandson of Jeanne Roma and the son of Raven Branwen…"

He grunted, sounding annoyed at either the bump or my words.

"Whatever," He said back. "Where are these heirs, then?"

I raised a finger and then dropped it to point down the steps.

"Right over there," I answered. "They arrived just a while ago."

"Oh, hey," A familiar voice shouted. "Look who it is. I heard you were back in town."

Turning my head so he'd know I was looking at him, I smiled at the foursome that was making their way up the stairs. I knew three of them and even without the words floating above his head, I'd have been able to guess the identity of the fourth.

"Kyanos," I said with a nod. "Ulaan, Melania, it's good to see all of you again."

Then I turned towards the last of them, a pale, dark-haired boy with tan clothes.

"And you must be Itri," I smiled, inclining my head slightly. "Kyanos said you were busy the last time I was in town. A shame we didn't get to meet until now."

"I suppose it was," He murmured, looking me up and down. "I saw your performance against Ms. Nikos. It was rather impressive."

"It's kind of you to say so," I smiled a bit wider. "I was starting to feel a bit worried, since no one seemed to recognize me. I guess the people in the stands didn't get enough close-ups for me to be recognized on sight after so much time."

"That must be it," Kyanos nodded with a yawn. "Though you look a little different."

"Time will do that," I chuckled before glancing them over. "You guys look a bit stronger now, too."

 **The Seventeenth Scourge  
LV42  
Ulaan Khagan**

 **The Glinting Helm and Driving Spear  
LV41  
Kyanos Alexandria**

 **Nymph's Shadow  
LV38  
Melania Delphos**

 **The Arrested Destiny  
LV42  
Itri Barca**

"Thanks," Kyanos replied, smiling before hanging his head in fake exhaustion. "Man, but Gramps can be a slave driver when he wants to be. Well, but I guess I probably can't complain about stuff like that to a Roma, huh?"

"I guess," I answered with a shrug. "My training really wasn't all that bad though."

"I'll take your word for it," He chuckled. "I heard you're going to be in town for a while?"

"Seems that way," I nodded. "I had to leave because of family issues and that's why I'm back now."

"You going to Haven, then?" He asked. "I heard Gramps talk about you, but he didn't say anything about you going here."

"I've given it some thought," I admitted. "I'm just waiting for something to make up my mind, you know?"

"Better make it up fast; initiations tomorrow," The Alexandrian stretched.

"I told Grandmother I'd decide before the end of the day," I nodded before glancing down the stairs. Emerald and Mercury had entered my sights and were slowly walking in the direction of the school, side by side. In response, I slipped my gaze across the city, making use of my vantage point as I searched.

"Any idea what you're looking for?" Kyanos asked as I paused.

"Maybe," I said with a slow nod, focusing completely on the words above the woman that caught my eye. "Yeah, maybe."

 **?  
LV?  
Cinder Fall**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Accessories**

I couldn't see her level, I realized with a touch of surprise. It wasn't a possibility I'd been unprepared for, admittedly, but that didn't stop it from being an alarming confirmation. After everything I'd heard, I'd figured that she— _Cinder_ , as I now knew her—was a powerful and extremely well-connected person. Her level being high had been extremely likely under the circumstances; after all, her potential power was the entire reason I'd cooked up this whole school scheme. But…

At level eighty-six, it should have been within my power to see levels up to one hundred and thirty seven. The fact that I couldn't see her put her on a very exclusive list of _extremely_ dangerous people. Worse, the fact that all I saw were question marks meant I couldn't be certain _how_ high her level was—it only told me the minimum, after all. The list of people I couldn't see still covered a large breadth of power, like Ozpin, Raven, and my Grandmother. Without being able to Observe her or see her level…I couldn't be certain precisely how dangerous she was.

No wonder Raven had been so cautious.

At once, the world began to slow even further around me, buying me time to think, making the movement of the crowd around me sluggish. Moving this fast, I could close the distance between us in an instant, leap from the top of the stairs to the street below and rush full speed through the city—but I entertained that thought for only a moment.

No, as expected, there were no easy solutions to this problem. I couldn't say I had much hope of this being a minor problem, but this confirmed that we couldn't ignore her or allow her to move freely. Someone with power like hers could easily wreck cities if left unchecked and we had no idea what she was plotting. We'd need to continue approaching this matter with caution and handle it—and _her_ —with care.

I couldn't do that acting blindly, however, so I immediately focused the entirety of my senses upon her, revealing her in a multitude of colors and sensations. The first thing I noticed was that her clothes were woven with Dust, primarily red dust, and I made note of the fact that she was likely a skilled fire user. The clothes themselves were well made— _handmade_ , in fact, and all signs pointed to it being _her_ hands that had done it.

It was an interesting choice. Sowing Dust into cloth was an ancient art and one that had largely been cast aside. I could do it with my Dust Weaver, but I usually preferred to use Dust Eater instead. Dust clothing could be used more frequently than either using it in its crystal form or taking it into your body directly, while also being safer to use and easier to control—but as with everything, there were tradeoffs. Though it was easier to control and use, it was hard to match the power of more direct means. It wasn't as versatile as the cartridge or crystal forms, either, depending entirely on what you wove in advance and, once used, it was a timely process to weave new cloth, to say nothing of the skill required to do so. Much as Dust Eater's wild power and physical dangers had eventually seen it shuffled out of popular use, Dust Weaver had been all but forgotten with the rise of simpler means. I could count the number of Dust-woven clothes I'd seen on one hand and have fingers left over.

But then, I'd never seen anything like Cinder's either. Complex patterns were embroidered into her dress, forming arrays I knew would come to life at the touch of her Aura. All the clothes I'd seen had, at best, simple patterns to the cloth, while Cinder's had configurations set into it meant to…I honestly didn't know what they were for. I myself had chosen Dust Eater over Dust Weaver, since I didn't need Dust to manipulate the Elements. Instead, I'd favored bold displays of massive power, even if they weren't long lived. The consequences to my body had never been a major concern of mine and I could heal whatever occurred, so I'd rather spend a moment feeling like I was burning alive and release a conflagration then waste time sowing clothes that let me do stuff I could already do. But the patterns in _her_ clothes, though…they seemed like reactions waiting to happen. It was like opening up some foreign machine to peer at the wiring inside, but…I felt like if her Aura powered and completed the circuit, it would cause something to occur.

It was like a program, I thought as I considered it. She wrote the lines into her dress beforehand and then, when the moment was right, all it took was the press of a button to make the magic happen. It might not unleash the sheer devastation Dust Eater could, but sometimes it was less about how much power you had and more about how you used it. If you took half, or a quarter, or a _tenth_ of the power I could unleash with a red Dust crystal, focused all that power into an area as thick as a pencil or even a thread, and aimed it at the center of somebodies head…it wouldn't be as flashy, but they'd still die. And she had a lot of patterns written into that dress of hers.

Input Aura, output immolation.

I memorized the patterns and made notes to figure out what they could do later. Observe told me a fair bit when targeted at the dress instead of the woman wearing it, but it was vague about the end results, probably because it was dependent on the wearer's power. I'd make drawings of it, hand them to Raven and Grandmother, and see what we could find; if that didn't work, I'd practice my own weaving and try to make my own.

But though she was dressed to kill—or at least commit arson—her clothes were just a weapon, like a gun or a sword. Though power illuminated the fabric as if someone had written upon it in flames, it was the woman who wielded it that was truly dangerous, just like with any other Huntsman or Huntress. Filling away my notes on her dress, I took a closer look at what was beneath it, cycling through my senses. I gave her a complete medical checkup from most of a kilometer away and deemed her fit for just about anything. A startlingly small number of past injuries for someone of her level implied that she had a preference for longer ranges or else was a lot better at hurting people then they were at hurting her. After making sure she had no diseases or noteworthy medical issues, I checked to confirm there were no signs of Conquest or the Red Rider in her body, as I did with everyone I met, cycled on and paused.

In the upper end of the electromagnetic spectrum, her body glowed with markings like the ones that had been on her dress. They were like tattoos, almost, somehow luminous even though they were pitch-black, and set in complex patterns similar to the ones on her dress. My first thought was that perhaps she did a little Dust Eating of her own, but as I cycled lower in the spectrum and checked her over again, I didn't see any traces of that, nor any sign of Dust inside her body. In fact, now that I was looking for it, I noticed a complete _lack_ of Dust in her body, even though she obviously worked in close proximity to the stuff. If nothing else, it should leave traces on her from exposure, inhalation, smears on her fingers and skin that were invisible to the naked eye—but not to mine. But she was clean, at least under visible light.

At higher frequencies, however, I could see the marks, just like the ones on her dress. Maybe even exactly like the ones on her dress—or at least on older dresses, now soaked into her skin like ink.

Well, I thought, that's odd. In fact, though I'd scanned literally thousands of people, I'd never seen anything like it before.

But I _had_ seen my share of weirdness and some of it stood out more than others. It could be her Semblance or something related to it. It could be some advanced use of Dust even I didn't know about. But if it wasn't either of those, then…

Time returned to normal and Kyanos finished blinking beside me.

"Well?" He asked. "What is it?"

I shrugged at him and smiled easily, as if nothing had happened—because to him, nothing perceivable had.

"I was just worried I'd get bored, you know?" I replied. "I mean, school is pretty boring in and of itself, but you add on the rules and stuff…"

I shook my head.

"It just felt like going to school would mean leaving a lot behind."

"God, do I know," Kyanos groaned, shaking his head. "Not to imply that I was anything but an angel during my free time, but I feel like the whole adult supervision thing is going to get old, especially on Friday nights."

Ulaan gave a grunt that carried agreement and Adam looked him over, apparently recognizing a speaker of his native tongue.

"Pretty much," I agreed, though we probably had different priorities on this front. "Nothing against the school itself, but I sometimes feel like there might be better uses of my time. I made some new friends I've been hanging out with lately. Speaking of—"

I smacked Adam's chest with the back of my hand, making him release a grunt of annoyance that caused Ulaan to glance over in turn.

"This is my friend Adam," I introduced. "We pinkie swore that we'd be best friends forever and here we are."

"Pinkie swears are serious business," Kyanos nodded in understanding before inclining his head towards my friend. "Sup, man. You going to Haven?"

"If he goes, I go," Adam answered flatly, tilting his head my way. Kyanos raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded, seeming to catch on.

"Already recruiting, huh?" He asked.

"Something like that," I answered with a chuck. "Let's just say he impressed me and leave it at that."

"Oh?" Kyanos raised an eyebrow. "Are you strong then, Adam?"

"I'm the second strongest person here," He stated without any emphasis whatsoever.

I smiled a bit at the resulting silence, watching as my friends looked him over. Adam stared right through them, the brown eyes I'd given him staring past them through his sunglasses, drawing things out. Itri's brow furrowed in consideration, Kyanos' raised an eyebrow in challenge, Ulaan simply turned his attention towards him more fully, and Melania…was looking at her scroll and ignoring the entire conversation.

"Kyanos," She said after a moment, tilting the device so he could see the screen. Kyanos glanced at the message telling the students where to meet for orientation and snorted.

"Sorry, Jaune," He said. "We've got to go. Hopefully we'll see you around some, yeah?"

"Yeah," I said back, smile still bright. "I hope so, too. See you, man."

He waved back as he went in, while Melania and Ulaan each gave me a nod. Itri watched us both as he followed, expression slightly puzzled, but was gone just as quickly.

The area around us was promptly silenced and surrounded by an illusion.

"I found her," I told Adam.

Adam blinked once before looking my way.

"You mean…?"

"Yeah," I answered. "She's coming this way now. Name's Cinder Fall."

"Well, thank God it's not ominous or anything," Adam muttered as he looked down the stairs.

"Chill," I commanded, nudging him with my elbow. "I'll tell you when she's close enough for you to see her."

He nodded and returned his gaze back to the front.

"Is it bad?" He asked after a moment.

I looked back down the stairs, watching her approach through the side of my face. I saw the black marks on her skin, all but one of them invisible to normal eyes. The only symbol that remained was the one on her back, a pair of black marks split straight down the center, with the shape of a heart in the middle.

At least, that what it looked like to the eyes of everyone else. To me, it was glowing like a dark sun, sending currents of power through the other markings.

"Yeah," I said, absently touching the sleeve of my shirt, beneath which the signs of my infection grew and shrank as my power made it ebb and flow in a cycle of Metamorphosis and Reconstruction. Maybe I was just imagining things or being paranoid, but…"It's pretty bad."

 **XxXXxX**

"You think she's a Rider?" Adam asked as we walked through the halls of Haven, keeping his voice a whisper. There was little point to it as I was keeping any sound from escaping the air around us, but I guess I couldn't fault his desire for caution under the circumstances.

"I don't know," I admitted. "To be honest, I still have no idea what the Riders are or what they're up to or _anything_. Conquest wasn't exactly forthcoming when it came to his secret plans or weaknesses."

"Bastard," My friend snorted. "What about the Grimm thing you've got going on, then? Are you getting any…weird vibes from it?"

I rolled up a sleeve to show him my arm, revealing the asymmetrical spread of black dots. Every now and then, small spikes rose from my skin and quivered briefly before retracting back into it as I fought the infection back down.

"Maybe," I mused. "It's…I'm not sure. I've been training my Metamorphosis a lot lately, along with my healing, and it's…well, it's weird. I've been experimenting, you see, testing how much I can change things, but the in the process I've been getting a lot of weird sensations in my arm. The biology of the Grimm is fucking weird as shit."

"I've noticed," He answered. "I've cut open enough to see how strange they look inside."

I nodded.

"They don't really have blood like we do," I began to elaborate. "There's _some_ liquid in there, but it's not part of any respiratory system because they don't _have_ a respiratory system. Hell, they don't have anything like _organs_ that I can find—not even brains, for all that taking their heads off seems to kill them. Instead of true bones, parts of the red matter inside of them harden to provide structure, while other parts expand and contract to serve as muscles. But it's all made of the same _stuff_ , when you get down to it, and I…I hesitate to call it organic even if it acts lifelike in some ways. I've compared the Grimm to evil magical nanites a few times and I think that might be the closest comparison. They're like machines built to adapt and learn and destroy, except they run on magic."

Adam frowned, considering that as he looked at my constantly shifting flesh.

"Odd," He agreed. "And your arm is like that?"

"Sort of," I hedged. "It is and it isn't. The parts that are infected change to work more like the Grimm and as it does I start getting all sorts of odd feelings. The Grimm don't have a nervous system anything like ours—I haven't seen anything like nerves at all, though they can obviously feel things—and the infected parts aren't really hooked into mine. Technically, I shouldn't be able to feel anything from them until the infection spreads far enough to compensate, but…I do. I'm just not sure how to interpret it. I can make my arm move, control it, and detect some stuff from it, but it's all messed up. I don't know and with the way I've been leveling it up, I keep finding new pieces of the puzzle."

He nodded slowly at me words, accepting them without question even as he pondered the issue.

"But you feel something?" He asked. "When you look at her?"

I nodded to the first part of his question and then shook my head.

"Not really at _her_ ," I answered. "But I've been feeling _something_ for a while now. It could be her or it could just be feedback from my messed up body. In my case, I have normal biology meshing with whatever the Grimm have through the lens of the Gamer's Body, so…"

I shrugged. I'd left the infection within my body, wondering if it would provoke a reaction or alert me to anything odd. I knew the Grimm could communicate with one another somehow and probably sense one another. It had been a long shot, but just in case I encountered another Rider, I thought that maybe it might give me something—whether that was a reaction I could understand or one _they_ could. If whoever I was suspicious of reacted with surprise or interest, I'd sense it and that might be the heads-up I needed.

And yet Cinder hadn't so much as twitched, even when I let the infection spread up to my shoulder before reining it in, while I had no context for interpreting what I felt. Conquest's cells had exchanged information via contact, so it was possible it just required me to get closer, but…no.

Not yet.

"But we're going to assume it's something bad, right?" Adam asked.

"Oh, yeah," I nodded empathically "Rider or not, it's _definitely_ bad. I can't see her level which means she must be at _least_ fifty levels above me."

Adam whistled softly under his breath.

"That's bad, alright," He agreed, looking at the halls around us before shaking his head. "Damn, I've asked myself this a bunch of times, but…what the hell is someone like her doing in a place like this?"

"I have no idea and that offends me on a personal level," I answered before reaching out through the winds. Levant's spirit drew itself from the air, forming an invisible shape in a nearby room, and it was through her lips that I continued speaking. "Grandmother."

She put down the glass she'd been twirling idly and rose from her chair in the meeting room with a muted flash of interest and excitement.

"If you'll excuse me gentlemen," She said before leaving the room without an explanation. As she stepped out of the meeting, Adam and I turned the corner and quickly went to her side as she continued walking—and without the slightest change in her posture or tone, she spoke. "You found something, I presume?"

Her voice was steady, almost disinterested, presumably out of habit because I'd have notified her if we were being watched.

"Her name is Cinder Fall," I answered the same way, holding up a hand. A small illusion of her appeared above my hand, rotating above my palm. "Five eleven, black hair, amber eyes. Her main weapon is her dress, which is woven with dust, primarily Red but with trace elements of various others. Here are the designs I saw, but I'm not an expert in this particular field, so I can't be certain of what they mean. If need be, I can practice it myself, but I was hoping you knew a few badass seamstresses."

She glanced at the images as I highlighted the patterns in Cinder's dress, nodding sharply.

"I'll see what I can do," She answered. "And what I can dig up about Ms. Fall. How big of a threat is she?"

I took a slow breath, more to indicate that I was about to be the bearer of bad news than anything else, before changing the image to show the words I'd seen above her head. Or rather, what I _hadn't_ seen.

"I couldn't see her level," I admitted. "She might be as strong as you are, Grandmother. Maybe even stronger."

She took a deep breath and growled slightly.

"And yet she slipped right in without anyone noticing," She said with a slight scowl. "Wonderful. Just…wonderful."

"There's more," I said quietly.

"There always is with you, Jaune," She snorted. "Out with it then."

I altered the image again, revealing what I'd seen with my more in-depth scan—the networked arrays of black markings like invisible brands on her skin.

"I saw this in the high-end of the electromagnetic spectrum," I continued. "And after some consideration, I think there is an above average chance of her being the host of a Rider."

At that, my grandmother stopped walking and closed her eyes for a moment. Her lips twitched into a brief rictus of fury before smoothing as she sighed.

"That…is horrible news," She said without opening her eyes. "Though sadly not unexpected. Is there anything we know, yet?"

"There were no traces of Dust in her body," I answered promptly. "Despite the fact that the dress appears handmade and that she must have extensive experience with Dust, there's no sign of it anywhere in her body. Instead, where I would expect to find it, I see those black markings, so I suspect that it—whether it's caused by a Rider or something else—relates to the usage of Dust. Other than that, however…no. It's too soon for me to say anything, Grandmother."

"Then I take it we'll be putting that plan of yours into motion?" She asked.

"If there's even the chance that she's a Rider, we can't leave her unsupervised," I replied. "And even if she wasn't, she'd still be too dangerous to ignore. She has too many connections, too much power, and with her operating out of a school for Hunters…we need to know more. With that illusionist of hers, she can evade Raven and probably anyone else that we could put to the task."

"Except for you." She stated.

"Except for me," I agreed. "I can keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happens—and if something does, I'm our best chance at containing it long enough to organize a response."

My grandmother sighed slightly, looking out one of the decorated windows as we walked past.

"You're right, of course," She whispered tiredly. "I just…with all the thing you could be doing, going to school seems like such a waste."

"Let's not go crazy here," I said with a smile. "You make it sound like I'll be here forever—I'm just here to keep the world from ending. Once Cinder stops being a threat or once I'm able to deal with her in a better way, Adam and I are getting the fuck out of here even if it means jumping out the first window we see. Am I right, Adam?"

"You _are_ right, Jaune," He confirmed, breaking the silence he'd kept while my grandmother and I conversed.

I chuckled a little and shrugged to my grandmother.

"Just think of this as a brief display of power," I continued confidently. "No one in our family has been to Haven in a long while, so I'll stop by to check on things. I've spoken to Raven and made arrangements so that I can move quickly should anything come up and if you need me for anything, I'll just skip a few days."

She was quiet for a moment longer before nodding.

"Then I'll see to it that you're both enrolled," She replied. "Perhaps the two of you should get to orientation?"

"Why bother when I can hear every word from here?" I asked a touch smugly. "After all, Adam doesn't give a shit about anything they have to say."

"He's not wrong," Adam confirmed, making my grandmother roll her eyes.

"Off with you both," She dismissed with a flick of her wrist. "I've business to attend to."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Initiative**

In the end, we did go to orientation, if only to watch it from a distance. I did a headcount of all the prospective students and noted what details I could, looking for signs of anything important. I'd told Adam that Cinder might have other allies at the school if she was using it as her base—both among the students and the faculty. I Observed the teachers and students one by one, which, though it didn't give me all the details, at least provided me with context for who they were as people. It gave me a rough idea of their skills, the basics of what motivated them, and often at least a word or two about who they were associated with, if only the companies sponsoring them.

From those details and what I saw and overhead, I began piecing together the puzzle. I didn't have enough information to guess how the teams as a whole would turn out, but knowing how partners were decided, it was simple enough to guess what most of the pairs would be. Comparing how their powers worked together gave me a rough idea of who were likely to work most effectively together—leaving out the human element, of course, though given time, the teams would likely come together anyway. I noted a few that I thought had potential, but for the most part I just watched.

Adam and I stayed apart from things, even when headmistress Turchina finished her speech and the students began making beds for themselves on the floor of the hall. Tomorrow, we'd be students, but it wasn't technically official yet and I therefore felt no need to sleep on the ground. Adam and I withdrew to the roof instead and I let him rest while I stood watch over everything. While Mercury and Emerald slept beneath us, Cinder was already a student and went to her own room, but I made sure to keep track of her even so. The night was boring with nothing to do, but I wasted time watching the signals that filled the sky and toying with my new powers.

And soon enough the sun rose.

"Adam," I said and he woke at once to the sound of his name. Sitting up, he held out a hand and I gave him his sunglasses back wordlessly—which were _actual_ sunglasses, as his mask was in my Inventory. There was no point in carrying around something so easily recognized.

"Is it time?" He asked.

"Soon," I answered. "You can take a shower and get breakfast before we get to work, if you want."

He did and soon we were sitting side by side in the cafeteria. I was mainly just picking at my food since I didn't get hungry, but it was a visible enough place to draw attention.

"So you decided to stick around after all?" Kyanos asked, taking the seat beside us. "What made you decide to stay?"

I was tempted to tell the truth and say something about hot older women, but there was sadly the possibility that someone might make a connection down the line, so I kept it to myself and shrugged instead.

"Family stuff," I said, making a face. "Duty, honor, etc. It's been awhile since a Roma was at Mistral, so I'm doing my time."

"You make it sound like a prison," He replied. "Which parts of it have been over the years, so fair enough. You all set to go?"

"Not quite," I shook my head. "Since it was a little last minute, Adam and I are still waiting on some stuff from home. School supplies, backups, and a few things that are important."

Like Autumn. Since Adam was going to be hiding his real Semblance anyway, he'd agreed to pretend that he had a plant-related Semblance—in this case, one tied to a particular rose. We'd either keep her close or in our room and explain any of Autumn's…oddities as a result of his supposed power. There were weirder Semblances, after all. Such as _mine_ , which had sort of created Autumn anyway, so…yeah.

Making arrangements for Gou would take a bit longer, at least officially. Unofficially, he would come if I called and there wasn't much anyone here could do about it.

"Nothing that'll get in the way during initiation, I hope?"

"I'm not worried about it," I answered with a shrug. "Adam and I will deal with it no problem."

"So you two are officially partners, then?" He asked, to which I nodded. "That's cool."

"And I take it you and Melania are, too?" I asked back, as if I wasn't already sure.

"Thankfully," He said, sighing as if relieved before jolting slightly. "Wait, sorry; that probably came off as rude. You know about the team thing our families have going on, right?"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "My mom sort of broke it. There was a little talk of me fixing it, but I had other plans, sorry."

"No problem," He dismissed. "I was about to say I wasn't talking about you. It's just, with the Roma gone, there was an empty spot, you know? So there was a lot of talk about who was going to fill it and for a long time, the answer looked like it was going to be Pyrrha. Who's a badass and all, but, well, hates me. Which would have been a little awkward."

"I can imagine," I nodded. "But Melania's filling in instead?"

"Yup," He nodded. "Did anyone tell you that Pyrrha left? Well she did and it was kind of last minute. A lot of people wanted to take her place—have their kids take it, I mean—but there wasn't a lot of time, there were issues of trust, and Melania had proven herself repeatedly. Gramps agreed and she tagged in."

"Then I take it Itri and Ulaan are a pair, too?" I asked. "And you're going to team up?"

"That's the plan," He nodded. "No idea how that's gonna work out or what the hell they're gonna call us, but I guess you know how it is. What about you? You've got Adam there—anyone else?"

"Not yet," I answered with a smile and a shrug. "Figured I'd use initiation to see what everyone was made of and choose whoever's best able to keep up."

"Oh?" He wondered, raising an eyebrow. "And how are you going to do that?"

"By finishing in first place, of course," I stated frankly. "How else?"

"Mm," He hummed, peering at me. "I suppose that's one way to pick a team. And if it's you, I don't doubt you can do it. You already know about the Labyrinth?"

"Scouted it out a while ago," I confirmed.

"Attaboy," He chuckled. "You better get ready then; we'll be starting soon."

I nodded once, listening to the faculty finish their preparations. I waited a few more minutes for Adam to finish his food and then rose. My friend followed me without a word, staying reserved in public. Once we turned our dishes in, however, I took us on a route through Haven that kept us away from most prying eyes.

We were about to begin, so…it was time for a few finishing touches. With a word, I drew up my status screen and looked it over contemplatively, considering my stats, my points, my options. I still had around thirty remaining from my last six levels which I'd been slow to spend, primarily because I had several choices to make regarding their placement. Thanks to my training, my physical stats—my Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality—were all over ninety. Which meant that with the thirty points I had left, I could raise all three over a hundred and reap the free skills they'd grant me, gaining a total of nine skills in the process—something I'd need twenty more points to do with either Intelligence or Wisdom, my other options.

I knew full well how powerful any of the skills I got from raising my stats could be—how much they could change the game _especially_ after synergizing with each other. If I could, for example, double the strength of my attacks _and_ double my attack speed, the end result was a fourfold increase to my damage output. If I was twice as good at dodging and took only half the damage from any attack that landed, I would be far harder to kill. Nine skills could yield amazing results regardless of which stat they were in, and if my physical abilities synergized like my mental ones and played into the skills I already possessed…

In a number of ways, it was tempting. For thirty points instead of fifty, I could get what appeared to be the same results as raising my Intelligence or Wisdom.

But appearances could be deceiving and the fact that I'd get nine skills from either choice didn't necessarily them equal. There were other factors to consider, such as how improvement in my stats slowed as their values rose. That was as true of my physical stats as my mental ones, but at least in their case, I had ways to compensate. Even beyond the experience increase I received from Understanding of the Enlightened, I had things like Acceleration, which could multiply the effective time I had to train myself. If Understanding of the Enlightened gave me what amounted to three times the experience I might normally get—effectively making a day's work worth three—then Acceleration could easily turn that into effective _weeks_ of training, especially if bolstered by things like Temple, and in just the short time since I fought Conquest and been able to focus on such things, I'd made major improvements.

The knowledge that I was facing an unknown but probably horrific threat made me want to react, to spend all my points on something immediately tangible, but I held back, knowing it would be a waste. In at most a week or two, my training would take my physical stats high enough to receive those skills naturally—and though having nine skills right now would be nice, I wasn't in danger right this moment and could afford to wait on my physical abilities a bit longer.

Better then to improve something not so easily raised. With it already over two hundred, making even marginal gains towards improving my Intelligence would be difficult. I'd spend time in the library when I could and hopefully shave some time off by reading multiple books at once, but getting meaningful results would likely be the matter of weeks. My Wisdom, however…well, I probably couldn't improve that at all, at least not the normal way.

So that's what I put my points into. Not only because of the difficulty of improving it through other means, but because of the benefits of doing so. By raising my Wisdom, I improved both the amount of experience I received and my MP regen, which itself allowed me to train even better. With this I would regenerate a little over five hundred MP a second—three times that, so long as I kept my total MP low. With the cost reductions from my various skills, especially my new ones, as well as the improvements I could get from barriers like Temple and Sanctum Sanctorum…thirty points in Wisdom would go a long way.

Even now, I had time to prepare. I needed to use that time _wisely_ , but that didn't mean rushing. In time, I'd get nine skills from Wisdom _and_ three from each of my physical stats, and that was worth waiting for. Patience, after all, was a virtue.

Taking a deep breath, I quirked an eyebrow at my friend.

"Do you have any points left to spend?" I asked. "I just put thirty into Wisdom."

He shook his head.

"I'm all set," He answered. "We ready?"

"Almost," I said, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. At once, I laid an array of buffs over Adam. "Just in case."

He lifted a hand and flexed his fingers once before nodding sharply.

"That arm of yours okay?" He asked, nodding towards the infection hidden beneath the sleeve of my shirt and an illusion beneath it.

"Of course," I nodded. "It's nothing worth worrying about—I can keep it in check. One of my new skills improves my healing skills, as well as my buffs and stuff."

 **Benevolentia (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The loving-kindness that soothes the flames of Wrath and mends that which it would destroy. This skill characterizes a natural tendency of one's Aura that allows it to more easily mend wounds and reinforce the body, that those one loves will not perish.  
Double the effectiveness of all Healing and Support skills.**

"Then let's get this over with," He said with a sigh.

 **XxXXxX**

Despite all my preparations and the fact that I knew it would be important in the months to come, Initiation was kind of a letdown. In fairness, I was a bit over-leveled, was bringing along my similarly over-leveled friend, had completely mapped out the Labyrinth beforehand, and had stacked an entire deck of cards in my favor, but still. When the time came, Adam and I each received notifications in our scrolls directing us towards a specific entrance to the tunnels below, found our places at the starting line, and waited until we were told to go.

And then we went. Moving as fast as I could without losing Adam, I took us along my decided pathway. I guided us around what few traps we couldn't simply run through and we moved with the speed of certainty. Periodically, we crossed paths with the creatures of Grimm that called this place their home and said creatures proceeded to die, but other than that, there was little we couldn't simply move through.

I suspected, backed by my awareness of the maze, that the entire test was probably designed so that it would get more difficult later on, once the initiates were all deep in the Labyrinth and vulnerable to manipulations of the maze itself—at that point, those controlling the structure could use it to forcibly guide groups towards one another, as well as towards appropriate challenges that they'd be forced to work together to overcome. At this point in the exercise, however, they couldn't very well risk some pair of newbies running into a den of monsters and getting themselves killed, so the paths were more forgiving and more dangerous routes were locked off. So were the routes straight to the finish line, of course, but there were ways around that.

End result? We reached our destination in less than a minute. When you already know exactly how to get where you're going, there's not much challenge to be had in getting through the maze.

Several of the faculty were waiting for us there, looking at their scrolls as they monitored the progress of the students above. Most of the maze was monitored and not just because of the test. As the Labyrinth had once been home to the first people of Mistral, there were a fair number of places for, say, criminals to hide and, Mistral being Mistral, there had always been quite a few of those running around. When the maze came under Haven's rule shortly after the Families seized power, the Labyrinth had been thoroughly purged of all within it—that is to say, everyone who had tried to oppose the Families rise to power through what were deemed criminal means and who'd fled the streets above, thinking they'd be safe beneath.

They'd been wrong. In order to survive the harshness of Remnant, the people who'd built the Labyrinth had made sure that it was as dangerous to their enemies as it was safe for their allies. If you knew how, it was easy to turn the place into a deathtrap for the unwary and unprepared. The Families descended from Mistral's ancient rulers knew their way around the place and…well, the Civil War, especially so soon after the _Great_ War, had caused tremendous damage, both through the fighting itself and through the general despair that war was wont to cause. The constant onslaught of the Grimm was something no one wanted to see repeated, and therefore anything likely _to_ repeat it—such as conflict and murder and so on—had been dealt with quickly and decisively.

Which is to say, everyone who considered trying to start a fight either died here where their screams wouldn't be heard by anyone who mattered, or else had been forced outside the walls and left to feed the Grimm instead. Given the size of this room, a fair number of people had probably died right here, in fact—and now it was being used to promote the power of the people who'd done said killing. I'm sure the irony of that had tickled somebody.

"Hello?" One of the teachers—an elderly man with startlingly bright blue eyes named Mr. Himmel—asked us as we walked in, looking confused. "Is something wrong?"

He probably thought that we were upperclassmen, sent down to help with something or to deliver a message.

"Nope," I answered with a smile. "We just finished. Has anything interesting happened yet?"

"Um," The teacher paused, blinking. He glanced down at the screen of his scroll for a moment, furrowed his eyebrows with a touch of disbelief, and then lifted his eyes back to us. "Uh…who are you again?"

"Jaune Arc," I supplied before nodding my head towards my friend. "And Adam Knossos."

"Arc and…Knossos," He repeated, frowning lightly as he flipped through his scroll and brought up our files. "Hm."

They were full of lies, especially Adam's, but as always, there was enough truth to it that it should have been convincing. The Knossos had been a branch family of the Alexandria and Roma Families for over a thousand years, which was a nice way to say that it had been used to smuggle or marry promising personnel into Mistral back when such a thing mattered—in Mistral's Imperial days, mostly. Ever since Chrysander Knossos had awakened with a Semblance capable of transmuting gold, it had been used to bring in valuable talents quickly. Anyone who did enough digging would find, to their complete lack of surprise, that he wasn't actually a Knossos, and even more digging would probably reveal a fair amount of well-hidden, scandalous information that was complete balderdash. From what Grandmother had told me, he was the bastard son of someone or other and a bull Faunus, had a record of some kind, and various other things.

The idea wasn't to keep him from looking suspicious, because anyone even vaguely associated with the Families was suspicious by default. Instead, his background was to make him look _convincingly_ suspicious, like the type of person who had something to hide and enough skill to make it worth someone else's while. It should serve as another layer of protection to keep anyone from connecting him to Adam Taurus.

Though as for his first name, well, he'd asked and I'd allowed it. Adam was a common enough name and I'd rather he keep it then mess up when I called him by a fake name. Details like that can be tricky.

"Wow," Mr. Himmel said again, staring at his screen. "You boys hauled ass."

"Why even bother if you're not going to go for first place?" I asked. "How do we pick our teammates?"

Himmel pursed his lips, still staring at the screen. It seemed to take him a moment to remember to answer.

"Uh," He said. "Well, usually teams get formed in the maze. Groups form to deal with larger threats."

Knew it, I thought.

"Maybe you should have used a harder maze then," Adam answered with a snort, crossing his arms.

"Maybe so," Himmel replied, sounding bemused.

"Do you want us to go back for someone?" I asked, focusing on the issue at hand. "I noticed a few teams we could meet up with."

"No need," He answered, shaking his head. "I said _usually_ , not _always_ —pairs making it here alone isn't uncommon, it's just…"

"They usually take a little longer to get here?" I supplied.

"Just a bit," He agreed, shaking his head as he closed his scroll. He lifted a hand to his chin to look us both over, musing. "Besides, I get the feeling that sending you back for someone would be like giving them a free pass. So you're Isabelle's boy, eh?"

"I'm her son, yeah," I replied. "You knew her?"

"A long time ago," He muttered, squinting at me. "Saw your sisters a few times. Guess I should just be glad you didn't blow a path right through the Labyrinth."

"I thought about it, not gonna lie," I answered, smiling widely. "But I didn't want to damage the antiques."

He snorted out a quick laugh, but lifted a finger.

"You've got your Grandmother's mouth, I see," He said. "Be careful with it, though—not everyone's as tolerant of sass as I am, boy. A lot of your seniors are little princesses on the inside and you might hurt their delicate sensibilities."

"I'll manage, sir," I answered. "I'll try to be polite, too, but there's no helping Adam here. Whereas I was raised by wolves, he was brought up by more savage creatures and is rather lacking in the social graces."

"Why do you look so old, Mister?" Adam supplied helpfully, just to prove my point.

Himmel squinted at him.

"Because I'm old as balls, kid," He answered with a gravelly voice before jerking his head at one of the long tables set in the hall. "Go take a seat."

"What about our team?" I asked. "I was hoping to meet whoever got second place."

"It'll be awhile before anyone else arrives." He snorted. "We'll need to pick somebody suitable to be on your team, too. I hope you understand this is going to be a pain in my ass, boys."

"Sorry," I answered with a smile and a shrug.

He snorted again and jerked a head at the various screens positioned around the room.

"Feel free to watch your fellow classmates run in circles," He said. "Think of it as a reward for getting here early, because there's nothing I can do to keep you from looking and I don't actually give a fuck anyway."

Even before he spoke, I was letting my senses flow up through the stone around us. I could feel all the others, moving through the darkness and the danger with caution instead of certainty and moving slowly because of it. The tunnels beneath Mistral were elaborate, but not so much that someone with the right training couldn't get through it quickly, if they knew the way.

But they didn't, nor were they entirely sure what to expect from a place that filled Mistral's horror stories. It would take them time to find the right paths, to say nothing of the dangers they'd face doing so. The examiners, who were already whispering about Adam and I, would monitor how they performed and keep track of the skills they displayed, so as to better train them down the line. They were watching every move they made and adjusting their plans accordingly.

And so was I.

"Thanks," I answered, already wondering how much I could do from here without being noticed—and how much I actually would. "It'll be nice to see my fellow students in action."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Dungeon**

In the process of observing and cataloging the entire freshman year, I'd noted several that had stood out, both as individuals and as teams. The first, of course, had been the heirs—the friends I'd made on my last trip to Mistral. Beyond having all received specialized training, they were important in other ways, both because of who they'd one day be and because of who might target them for that fact. Without any idea of Cinder's true intentions, I had no real way of knowing who she might target, but given who they were…well, I resolved to keep an eye on my friends, just in case. They were the first people I'd started watching.

But they weren't the only ones. Several others had drawn my eye, for a number of reasons. A few had useful skills and Semblances, while others stood out from the pack for their overall power. As my power reached up through the walls of stone, I sensed that two of the people I'd noted had already made it to the second level of the Labyrinth, and focused my attention on them briefly, confirming that they were a pair.

 **This Monkey's Gone To Heaven  
LV44  
Sun Wukong**

 **Who Dashes Against the Stones  
LV41  
Neptune Vasilias**

The first—Sun Wukong—was a Monkey Faunus that, according to his profile, had moved to Mistral from Vacuo. He and his partner, a native named Neptune, had either stumbled upon or been led to a nest of Rat Kings, and the unusually large rodents skittered towards them with murderous chittering. Though they tended to gather into large groups with plagues of hundreds having been reported, they were only about the size of large dogs, which made them small for Grimm, though it still meant they were more than large enough to eat someone alive, as they were wont to do to the unwary.

It seemed pretty unlikely that that would happen here, however, as the two seemed to have things well in hand, which was unsurprising given their levels. I'd first noticed Sun primarily _because_ his level stood out from the others, placing him above even Ulaan and Itri, and more through observation had revealed several things of interest.

For example, his weapons of choice were a pair of shotgun-nunchaku that could be linked together into a bo staff, which I'd thought was an odd choice. Though it wasn't uncommon for Hunters-in-training to buy or inherit weapons—such as I did with Crocea Mors—it was more common for them to build their own, creating something they knew inside out and which matched their specific fighting style. While the incorporation of long-range weapons was standard, for use against flying opponents like the Nevermore, I'd been a little surprised to note that his shotguns were built directly _into_ his nunchaku; I assumed the training to use that weapon had been interesting.

Nonetheless, train he obviously had as he was quite skilled in their use. Each swing of the nunchaku was punctuated by a gun shot that, despite the speed of the swings, tore into the Grimm with brutal accuracy. Beside him, Neptune cut loose with an advanced-looking gun, blasting Rat Kings with electrified blasts of energy. Like his partner, he used an interesting weapon—an energy gun that turned into a beam-edged Guandao that could spilt into a trident.

I'd figured as much from watching them before, but the two obviously had a fair amount of experience working together. They steadily reduced the Grimm's numbers with calm, focused attacks at range, that left no openings between them, switching over to melee only when the sheer number of their enemies allowed them to push forward against the tide. When that happened, Neptune strode forward with his Guandao and kept them back with wide, shocking swings that made the horde pause. As they did, Sun clasped his hands together in a sign and a glowing figure appeared to either side of him and his hair and tail began to glow. The two figures dashed forward past Neptune, diving into the fray and exploding in the midst of the rodents. Neptune had already pulled his goggles down to shield his eyes and kept firing through it all, picking off any of the creatures who'd survived.

A few seconds later, the fight was won and I pondered the results. Having read his profile, I'd already known Sun had clones, but seeing it in action had revealed a great deal more about it. Blake had also used clones, but as with all Semblances, there were details that set them apart. Blake's 'Shadow' created very short lived clones that could be dispelled with a hit and could only exist close to their creator; as a result, she used them defensively and strategically, leaving them to take hits while she dodged, to distract an enemy, or even to make her more maneuverable. Sun's Semblance, amusingly named 'Sun,' could create clones that could venture further from his body and manifest a number of effects besides explosions…but at the cost of leaving him immobile while using it. It was something that had to be used carefully, though it could be powerful if done well.

It was a topic I'd gotten a bit interested in since I'd obtained the skill Shedding of the Serpent's Skin. While it didn't allow me to create clones, per se, the movement technique allowed me to leave behind very brief afterimages of myself. I hadn't gotten much time to practice it and the skill only allowed short range movement, but it was something I was looking forward to playing with when I had the time. Maybe because of that, a part of me toyed with the idea of teaming up with the two of them; if nothing else, they seemed nice. It would have been easy for me to arrange a meeting with them—a few subtle nudges to attract their attention and lead them in the right direction and they'd make it to the end of the maze faster than they would otherwise, avoiding obstacles here and there. But…

Because they seemed nice, I hesitated. It looked like they were already on their way towards another team, guided by the controllers of the Labyrinth and…well, I knew I'd probably end up leaving Haven after a semester or two. At the rate I knew I could grow, I should have a solution to at least some of my problems by then, at which point it would be time for me to go, both for my sake and for the people I could help elsewhere. A part of me was already looking forward to leaving, but I couldn't help but feel a little bad for whoever I'd end up leaving behind when I broke up our team.

Maybe I wouldn't need to, a part of me thought. Maybe after weeks or months, I'd get close enough to my teammates to reveal my secrets and then I'd be able to train them like I had Adam. In the end, maybe we could all leave together and I wouldn't have to break up anything. It was _possible_. But _while_ possible, there was no way to know for sure. I had a lot of secrets nowadays and most of them weren't even mine to tell. More would put people close to me at risk or reveal things that would do nothing but cause people pain in the long run. I'd toyed with the idea of training others like I'd trained Adam; it would require revealing the secret of my power for all the world to see, and that was something I'd done my best to keep hidden, but if I did…if I trained people the same way I had Adam, over and over again, it might slow down my own progress, but with a few days of training I could make a fairly powerful Hunter out of even a student.

If I did it often enough, if I carefully directed how they spent their points…I might be able to succeed where the expedition to Jericho Falls had failed. Sure, dozens of Hunters had failed and died there, but what if I went in with a few hundred? It'd take time, to be sure, but I could do it eventually. I couldn't be sure without getting close enough to see what I'd be up against, but it might even work.

But I was smart enough to know that even if I won, most of the people I brought with me to that fight would die. Some would say that it would probably be worth the cost for a chance at the secrets hidden there—God knows the Kingdoms had all sent countless people to their deaths for far, far less.

But that didn't change the fact that I'd be sending people I knew, people I trained with, people I'd probably even come to think of as friends to their _deaths_ , purely for a strategic advantage—and that was something I refused to do if there was an alternative. Too often in books and movies, people confuse making 'hard' decisions with things that are actually stupid, unnecessary, and amoral. If I had to, if it was the only way to save the world, I felt pretty sure I could sacrifice whatever I had to, because what is necessary is what's right by _virtue_ of being the only thing you can actually do, but that stops being true the moment you have access to better options.

I did. I knew how much I could improve over time, how strong I could get. Better yet, I didn't intend to run in there and start a fair fight. I had Raven on my side in this, had her portals, and I could approach this from angles that others could not. If possible, I'd try to get in without a fight at all, and if not, well…I was more than happy to stack the deck a mile high. Several dozen Hunters had given their lives trying to fight the Grimm in Jericho Falls; it seemed only logical to learn from their sacrifice. I didn't mind help—I was truly thankful that Adam had volunteered to come along, just because he was my friend—but Conquest had proven how easily the people around me could die.

While, for whatever reason, the Grimm wanted me alive, they didn't seem to mind destroying everything I cared about. I didn't plan to forget that.

So, in the end, I did nothing and let the two continue on their way towards their future teammates, sighing quietly in my chair far beneath their feet. Stuff like this is why I spend so much time training; being forced to sit still and do nothing reminded me of how depressing my situation was, in a lot of ways. I preferred knowing I was doing something to change that, to improve the odds and help make things better. Let it never be said that cool superpowers and giant explosions can't lighten one's mood.

Absently, I turned my attention a short ways down the maze, checking on Sun and Neptune's future teammates. The two of them were also on my watch list and I couldn't say I was all that surprised they were being paired together; it was a pretty good choice, all things considered. The pair was composed of a dark-skinned young man with green hair who was absently choking the life from a Beowolf with his bare hands, and a somewhat androgynous looking boy with red hair that covered an eye.

 **The Mountain Thrower  
LV45  
Sage Agathiyar**

 **The Crowned and Mirrored Flower  
LV43  
Scarlet Nastenka**

I gave another small sigh and wished them luck before continuing my search. Hopefully, they'd all get along…although I wondered what the hell they were going to name their team.

Shaking my head, I moved on and continued my search elsewhere.

On the other side of the Labyrinth, Kyanos and his future team were well on their way. I suppose that wasn't too surprising, though; even ignoring the fact that they'd all probably been alerted to the nature of the test, getting them on a team together was important to the people in charge of the experiment. Instead of distracting them with the various threats of the maze, ensuring they crossed paths took precedence.

Still, I suppose it didn't really matter. None of the politicking going on behind the scenes changed the fact that they were well equipped to handle pretty much anything they'd encounter within the maze. Melania's Semblance allowed her to shroud an area in darkness, and while not the most devastating of Semblances on its own, it worked well as part of a group—she seemed to be able to adjust it somehow so her allies could see through it, at least somewhat. It still reduced visibility for anyone within it, but while it might be like a blindfold for an enemy, it could be just a pair of sunglasses for an ally.

Or, at least, that seemed to be what the ability's profile implied. I wasn't certain exactly how much she could adjust the visibility. Regardless, she'd obviously trained with Kyanos for years, because he moved through the darkness as he would the day, using his power to tear apart the Grimm that got in their path. Kyanos himself was able to manipulate his own inertia in a variety of ways, with one application being to fuel it with his Aura to keep from slowing down or to change directions. On an impact with a target, he could use that to drive right _through_ a target without slowing down, limited only by the Aura it required to stay in motion. While moving like that, he could maintain his top speed even while punching through walls, fly through the air, and literally splatter anything unfortunate enough to get in the way—and in Melania's darkness, that included a great deal of Grimm.

I watched him zigzag down the halls of the maze for a moment, peering through Melania's summoned shadows, and then shifted my attention down the path he was headed. Ulaan and Itri were already moving towards him and while they didn't seem to have as much experience working together as Kyanos and Melania, they didn't seem to need it, either. Itri's power was one that could work well with just about anyone's, adjusting the space around him by degrees to make it harder to move. In a way it was similar to my sister Olivia's, but it wasn't space he was manipulating; rather, he seemed to be increasing the effects of friction and other forces within an area around himself, making it physically harder to move. Several of the Grimm that tried to approach the pair seemed frozen still, while others were tearing their own flesh just to try and push towards them.

In either case, Ulaan decapitated them one by one as they passed, not even bothering to use his poisonous Semblance. In fact, he didn't even bother walking quickly, simply matching his steps to Itri's as they cut a path. At the rate they were going, they'd meet up with Kyanos and Melania in perhaps fifteen minutes and then they'd continue on their way together.

Having confirmed they'd all be able to make it just fine and getting a rough idea of how they'd improved, I turned away and devoted only a small amount of my attention to them. Unless they ran into something major, they should be fine, and their powers worked fairly well together. Melania and Itri's Semblances allowed them to blind and slow an opponent, opening them up to a debilitating blow from Ulaan and leaving the target weakened so Kyanos could end things. Against a lot of opponents, a combination like that would prove exceedingly dangerous, which had probably been a factor in the making of the team.

Looking around for a bit, I noted a few others I'd made note of, whether because of their Semblances, their weapons, or their levels. None of them appeared to be doing badly, but a number of them—of students in general, really—seemed to be struggling with their partners. Not all of them were lucky enough to have known and worked with their partners beforehand, just as not all were lucky enough to have had sponsors to arrange things behind the screens. Although…even among those who did, there seemed to be spots of trouble. Few had Semblances that would mesh without effort; fewer had personalities that would do so. That would fade with training and time, I was sure, but for their first day…I suppose it was to be expected.

Still, it was a bit sad to see some of them lag behind for the moment. There'd been a young man with an interesting power to imbue weapons with certain odd effects and they'd been partnered with a long-range Dust user. When they found the other members of their team, both would likely shine, but I'd hoped to see the power in action.

Oh well.

Sighing quietly to myself, I returned to my attention to the pair closest to us—to Emerald and Mercury, who were obviously holding back and just as obviously waltzing through the maze despite it. It was easy to see that they weren't so much concerned with drawing attention as with drawing the wrong _kinds_ of attention, just like Adam and I. Neither seemed to be using their Semblances at the moment, but that just gave me a chance to see their skills with weapons.

Emerald apparently favored a pair of complex-looking weapons—revolvers that could extend into sickles at melee ranges, and then into kurasarigama to give them a bit of reach. In all its forms, she seemed to favor precision and speed, with the revolvers hitting with pinpoint accuracy and the sickles shredding through the Grimm easily as she flipped between forms.

In comparison, Mercury had gone for something simple—a pair of greaved boots with a built in firing mechanism. His fighting style favored acrobatics and devastating kicks that could—and did—knock someone's head off. In a lot of ways, his weapons and fighting style were similar to Yang's, just favoring his feet instead of his fists. I'd need to see if I couldn't draw from that skill with my Psychometry, next time I met him; I could probably use a number of my own skills with my feet, with some doing.

Still, it was plain to see that they were strong, even for their level. Just as Adam and Penny had both possessed significantly more stat points then their levels implied, purely by the numbers, the two were more in the sixties than the fifties. There was still a fair gap between them and Adam—to say nothing of them and me—but the fact remained that they were as out of place as either of us.

Again, I had to wonder what Cinder was planning, setting up shop here and drawing in her forces. There had to be a point to it and if it was just to murder the entire student body, she could have easily done it. A part of me had wondered if she was hoping to spread her sickness to Mistral's future defenders—assuming, of course, that she was really a Rider—but she'd been a student at Haven for some time now and yet I hadn't found anyone else with marking's like hers. What was she aiming for, spending her time at school? I knew I was here to find out, but a part of me was annoyed I hadn't learned anything yet. Despite the breadth of my senses, all I seemed to be able to find were more questions, just like when I'd fought Conquest.

Hopefully, this round would turn out better, but _God_ had I really begun to hate mysteries. They just never seemed to turn out _well_ for me.

Speaking of how things were turning out, however…given their current position, their lack of teammates, and the fact that they'd likely reach us soon, it seemed like Emerald and Mercury were going to reach the end of the Labyrinth next, most likely becoming our new teammates. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

Well, maybe that wasn't true. Did _apathy_ count as an emotion or simply a _lack_ of emotion? Because I suppose I felt a _little_ apathetic. I couldn't say I was particularly worried about them; should it come to that, I doubted I'd have much trouble tearing them to pieces with my bare hands. I both watched and Observed them carefully and they were nothing that I couldn't handle.

But I wasn't happy about it, either. Not _upset_ , but not happy—which was kind of how I felt about this entire school experience, so maybe that was it. While they might be useful as potential sources of information on Cinder and her plans, which in and of itself was plenty of reason to keep them around, 'around' was a broad term with me. I'd intended to constantly monitor both them and their Mistress, so being in close proximity to them wasn't all that useful to me. I suppose it gave me the chance to try and prompt information from them and see how they reacted to me, but…

So for a moment, I thought about turning them away or interfering with their progress. I could take them down the wrong paths with quick images and a few sudden sounds or even shift the maze around them to slow them down. People might notice something wrong, but it's unlikely they'd associate it with me; hell, if I really needed to, I was pretty sure I could murder them without anyone—or at least anyone who'd do anything about it—knowing.

But on the other side of the apathy fence, while having them on my team didn't add anything of value, it didn't really cost anything meaningful. I knew I could cover my own reactions to anything that happened and could do the same for Adam, thanks to my illusions and senses. So it didn't really make a whole lot of difference.

I sighed again, slouching in my seat besides Adam, who'd already fallen asleep. I couldn't blame him, really; while a part of me, the kid who'd dreamed of being a Hunter for years, told me that I should be feeling excited about this, about the day I entered one of the Hunter Academies and found my team, I was…

I was just really bored.

Taking one more look around to make sure no one was going to die in my absence, I shut my eyes and began to meditate, following my Elementals on a race through the structure of reality until it almost seemed like I was somewhere else.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Names**

I drew myself from my meditation and slowly opened my eyes as I felt someone approach. As I returned to myself, my awareness of the world adjusted, so that the vague array of sensations amidst the background of greater forces solidified into a clearer picture. Most of the teams were closing in now and the majority would make it here in the next ten to twenty minutes.

But Emerald and Mercury had already arrived.

"Hey," I greeted, rubbing my eyes for the sake of appearances. "Just the two of you?"

The two of them looked at me and then at Adam, who I'd awakened with a touch of Charitas. Beneath the illusion I'd conjured, his eyes glowed as they opened and focused immediately on Emerald and Mercury.

"Yeah," Mercury asked after a moment of silence, looking us up and down. "And you are…?"

"My name's Jaune and this is my friend, Adam," I introduced, rising from my seat and then extending a hand to shake. "If you don't have anyone else, I guess that makes you our new teammates."

Mercury looked down at the hand for a moment before shaking it slowly, expression musing.

"You'd be right," Himmel said, grunting as he came up. "About time people started to arrive. For a minute there, I actually thought this wouldn't be an enormous pain in the ass, but hey—I'm used to being disappointed."

Despite his words, I saw him look over the two appraisingly. Though they'd taken far longer than Adam and I, they'd still reached the center with abnormal speed, leaving most of the other teams far behind—and like us, they'd done it without any help. I could feel Himmel thinking the same thing, but all he did was grunt after a moment.

"Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black?" He continued. "You're the second pair to arrive alone, so you'll be partnering up with these two. Get along. Or don't. I don't care as long as you don't bother me about it."

And with that said, he shambled away, making notes on his scroll. I figured he was contemplating how big a pain in the ass our team was going to be. Which was fair enough, I supposed; if he had any idea about what he was putting together, he'd have probably tried to go on vacation.

The thought made me smile a bit wider.

"You heard the man," I said with a nod towards the seats beside my own. "Let's try to get along."

"I'll be sure to do that," Mercury answered, grabbing another chair to put in front of his own so that he could put his feet up after taking a seat. I took a moment to glace at his boots.

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By drawing on the experience of a master, the skill 'Kick Mastery' was created!**

 **A skill has been created through a special action! By drawing on the experience of a master, the skill 'Talaria' was created!**

"So," I said, still smiling. "Did you two have any trouble with the maze?"

"More than you two, apparently," Emerald answered humbly, lifting an eyebrow. "When did you two get in?"

"A minute or two after it started," Adam replied with a grunt. "It was easy."

At that, the both of them looked a bit surprised.

"Wow," Emerald said, though I could feel the change in her emotions as she focused on the two of us even more. "You two must be really strong if you managed that."

Adam shrugged, looked them over again, and then closed his eyes again.

"Jaune," Mercury said abruptly, frowning. "Jaune Arc? Hey, weren't you on TV that one time? With, uh…"

"Pyrrha?" I finished for him. "Pyrrha Nikos? Yeah."

He hummed once and looked at me a bit differently.

"I saw a recording of that fight," He mused. "Not bad—I liked the fire thing."

"Hard to go wrong with fire," I replied, paying attention to their emotions to see how they'd respond. From what I knew of Cinder, they'd likely associate her with the Element.

Mercury smirked, seeming to remember something fondly.

"True," He answered. "And you're…a Roma, right? I remember someone mentioning that."

"Through my mother," I nodded.

"Shouldn't you be with the others?" Emerald asked, scrunching up her face as if in thought. She was pretty good at faking her role, but I could both feel her emotions and see the electrical signals passing through her brain. There was really only so much she could do. "That's how it works, right? Alexandria, Barca, Khagan, and Roma? I thought there were a few of the others in our year."

"Itri, Kyanos, and Ulaan," I confirmed before shaking my head. "But my mother sort of broke that tradition. I'm not really the heir, either, so I'm free to do what I want, which is why I teamed up with my best friend instead. What about you two? Contract, friendship, or luck?"

Emerald sighed as if in exhaustion and looked at Mercury.

"Luck," She said. "Bad luck. Somehow, it seems we always get stuck together."

"Eh," Mercury replied. "You want me."

"If by that you mean I want you to shut up, then yes," She answered with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, I do."

There was an air of routine to the actions, as if they'd both been together long enough to know exactly how it went. Whether or not they weren't friends, they had obviously worked together for a long time and I suspected their teamwork would show that. I made a note of that and nodded.

"I see," I mused before shrugging. "Well, either way, glad to have you onboard Mercury, Emerald. I think it'll still be a while before anyone else shows up, so feel free to relax, okay?"

"Don't need to tell me twice," Mercury stated as he closed his eyes. Emerald rolled her own beside him but I chose to follow suit, instead.

After all, I didn't need my eyes to see what they were doing. I'd enjoyed mediating but, despite my words, the time for relaxation was over.

 **XxXXxX**

"Hey, Jaune!" Kyanos's voice 'woke' me as he came in. "I guess you got here first after all, huh?"

"Of course," I answered, opening an eye and flashing him a friendly grin. His team had suffered a bit of a delay after meeting up with Sun's; the people in charge had apparently taken that as just cause to lead them through some of the more dangerous parts of the maze. "I said I would, didn't I?"

He chuckled and gave an easy nod even though he looked tired.

"You did," He agreed. "And I see you found the rest of your team, too. Mercury and Emerald, huh…"

"Believe it or not, they were just the second team to arrive," I chuckled. "Adam and I got in first and had to wait to see who we'd end up with."

"Oh?" He asked, seeming a bit surprised. "I guess you just have an eye for talent then."

I smirked a bit before nodding again.

"I like to think so," I stated before glancing past them. "And I see you made some friends, too."

"Yup!" He seemed pleased. "Meet up with them on accident. These are Sun, Neptune, Scarlett, and Sage."

"Hey," Sun greeted on behalf of his tired looking team. They'd run into a few of the larger monsters in the maze. "Do I know you? I don't recognize you from Sanctum."

"I doubt it," I answered with a shrug but rose to shake his hand. "I'm kind of new in town; just came over from Vale."

"Yeah?" He seemed surprised as we shook. "That's cool; I moved here from Vacuo when I was younger."

"Been meaning to go there some time," I said. "A friend of mine spoke of it fondly."

"It's a nice place," He assured. "Hot and cold and sandy depending on its mood, but the best food you'll ever eat."

"I'll look forward to it," I promised. "I'm Jaune Arc, by the way. These are my teammates, Adam Knossos, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black. Maybe we can hang out some time."

"Sounds cool, dude," He nodded before looking around. "So…what now? Do we just wait or what?"

"Just about everyone's here," I said, gesturing around. "We should be starting soon."

Sun groaned.

"Man, we look stupid," He complained to Neptune. "It's all because we ran into that Cretan; we ended up super late."

"I like to think of it as saving the best for last," Neptune replied.

Sun lifted a finger and then dropped it.

"I like that," He admitted. "I guess this isn't so bad."

I chuckled at them both and glanced towards the doorway as the last team arrived. On the other side of the room, several members of the faculty made notes and someone went over to approach them and check things over. When that was done, I saw Himmel moving towards a podium in the center of the room.

"Hey," I said, drawing everyone's attention. "I think we're starting."

"Congratulations to everyone here," Himmel said once he was in position. "You didn't embarrass everyone by dying on your first day, which I guess means you pass. Kudos for not bringing shame unto us all."

At the faculty table, a young woman who's name indicated she was Himmel's daughter put her face in her hands, while everyone else there seemed utterly unsurprised. A low murmur went through the students, however, and beside me Sun blinked twice.

"Well, he seems nice," He murmured, making Neptune chuckle.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Himmel," He continued. "In case you can't tell by the wrinkles, I _invented_ the art of not dying and then I perfected it. I'll be passing on some of that knowledge to you kids this year, because as of now, you're students of Haven, which means you're the future defenders of Mankind. We'll be making sure you're up to the task however we can, so get ready, because class starts tomorrow. Before that, though, here's a free lesson. I said you passed by not dying, because as Hunters, that's what winning means. When you win, people survive. Sometimes you, sometimes someone else, but either way, that's how you measure success. We're here to save lives and we start giving you what you need to save yours, so pay attention and try to learn something. As Hunters, we have a lot of weapons to help us do our jobs, including the literal ones you've got by your side. But those swords and guns are nothing without hands willing to wield them, without _us_. Never forget that you are Hunters, the greatest warriors on this goddamn planet—that you're here and willing to fight. Remember why that is and never forget it."

He paused for a moment to let that sink in before looking around and smiling.

"And never forget that you aren't here alone. Whatever your pasts, whatever your reasons, whoever you are, you're here today and that's what matters. You're here to fight despite the danger and you stand shoulder to shoulder with people willing to do the same. To that end, I'm here to tell you who you'll be fighting with for the next few years."

Screens appeared, some of them revealing crowds in more comfortable circumstances—our upperclassmen and the teachers. Others, however, showed our faces.

"Jaune Arc, Adam Knossos, Mercury Black, and Emerald Sustrai," He began and letters appeared to form the word JAME. "From this day forward, you will serve as members of…"

 _JAME_ , I thought, eyes widening. The way it was spelled, the way it was pronounced, it was almost as if it were spelling—

"Team Jasmine!" He pronounced.

…What?

 **XxXXxX**

It could have been worse, I decided shortly afterwards. After the initial surprise wore off, I decided the name was more amusing than anything else; it's not like it affected anything, after all, nor did it make us any less powerful. I'm sure someone would make fun of it eventually, but frankly, I didn't actually care what anyone thought of it or me. Hell, for years I'd gone to bed wearing a bunny onesie my sisters had given me, and I'd only stopped wearing it because I'd stopped going to bed.

Adam, who'd woken up for the announcement, seemed only marginally more annoyed.

"How did he get Jasmine out of that instead of Jam?" He asked me in a low murmur, to which I could only shrug. To the other side of me, Emerald seemed vaguely pleased by the name, while Mercury just looked at the screen for a moment and then rolled his eyes.

Himmel, for his part, simply continued blithely on. A few minutes later, Ulaan, Kyanos, Melania, and Itri were named team UAMI, pronounced 'Ultramarine.' Sun's team arguably got off the best with team 'Sun', though there were some confused murmurs in the audience at the pronunciation of SSSN. Personally, I assumed that whoever was in charge of making names out of a bunch of random initials either had a lot of fun or hated his job; either way, I suspected we'd all laugh about it later.

The team leaders had been Ulaan, Sun, and I, with only the former seeming to come as a surprise to me, but I suppose I could see what they were aiming for. For the short time I'd known him, Ulaan had always come off as rather quiet, but perhaps the fact that he was withdrawn was for the best; Kyanos had a tendency to charge into the fray and Melania had a tendency to follow him in there. While Kyanos was undoubtedly the most friendly and outgoing of the team, in the role of leader someone more cautious was likely needed. And of Ulaan and Itri, the former seemed like the one best able to tie the team together.

Sun, on the other hand, was nowhere near as cautious as Ulaan—but then, his team was focused differently. If UAMI was a team that revolved around the synergy between its members _powers_ to set an opponent up and bring them down, then SSSN revolved around the synergy between its members as people. Sun seemed to be good at making friends and his Semblance, as well as those of his teammates, was broad enough to fill a variety of roles; what mattered most was that every member of the team worked together well.

By comparison, team JAME was something of a mess, made of pieces that simply hadn't fit anywhere else. I wasn't surprised by the fact that I'd been made leader—whether at my grandmother's wish or as a result of the fact that I'd finished first, it had probably been inevitable. It was probably for the best, I supposed; if I'd been put in a subordinate position, I'd likely have been a pain to deal with, simply because what the hell was anyone going to tell me that I didn't already know? Odds were I'd notice something was wrong long before anyone else and walk off to deal with it to save myself the hassle of listening to someone try and tell me what to do.

On the other hand, I doubted _anyone_ on our team was all that good in a subordinate position, except maybe Adam. Emerald and Mercury's loyalties were already spoken for, after all, and if my interests conflicted with Cinder's, I had no questions as to who they'd chose. They'd probably obey until that happened but the fact remained that the only one I could really rely on to do their job was Adam, who at least had some experience working as part of a team, even if he was also used to operating alone. Well, but I guess I couldn't really talk, since Adam and I weren't exactly loyal to the team, either. I expected all of us intended to abandon this charade as soon as it was convenient.

It almost made me want to sigh; day one and team JAME was already a mess, even if we didn't look that way on the surface. I suppose we made up for any flaws with our overwhelming power, but if there was anything team JAME had proven in this exam, it was that we didn't actually need to be in a team; we could all get by, if to varying extents, on our own—because that was what we'd always done, when it really counted.

I wondered if that was a bit sad.

While all of the team stuff was going on, though, I focused the rest of my attention on the audience. Far above us, within Haven proper, the upperclassmen were gathered to watch the proceedings. Sometimes, when a team would go up onto the stage, a few students would react excitedly—presumably family members or old friends. Other times, when the teams were named, a few students would laugh or boo, no doubt remembering their own times on that stage.

But there was only one reaction I was interested in and it was Cinder's. Since I'd first spotted her, I'd made sure to keep track of her with my senses, so even from this distance it had been easy to pick her out of a crowd. At the announcement of our team—of Emerald and Mercury's team, in her eyes—I felt a flash of mixed emotion from her; curiosity, concern, and a touch of interest. I assumed she recognized me in some fashion, though whether as the boy who'd battled Pyrrha Nikos to a draw or as the grandson of Jeanne Roma, I wasn't sure. The reaction didn't seem large enough to make me think she recognized me from any of my other suits, which was what I'd been the most interested in.

Assuming she _was_ a Rider, what did it mean that she didn't know who I was? It didn't necessarily mean anything, I supposed, as Conquest had needed my father's memories to realize why he had been woken up. His creator hadn't gotten involved until the very end, after I'd destroyed Conquest, which implied…what? That he wasn't able to command them directly like he could other Grimm? That he had some reason not to get involved so directly? The truth was, I didn't have enough information to do anything but speculate.

But…could it perhaps have something to do with souls? That's what this seemed to keep coming back to—my soul, the shape of souls, battles in the soul, on and on. It would be a lie to say I understood any of it, much less to the extent that my enemies seemed to, but…if I thought about it logically, perhaps it made some sense? A lot of Semblances have a hard time directly affecting anything protected by someone's Aura. I knew that the creator of the Grimm had a soul, if one that had seemed extremely strange; could he have the same weakness?

That might be a bit too much to assume from one data point. I'd never met the guy in person, after all, never experienced his power first hand. But maybe that was part of it, too; whatever he was doing, he was projecting his power over a distance, potentially an enormous distance. I had no idea where he even _was,_ in fact, but he'd never tried to walk up to me and speak to me face to face. He always worked through pawns and proxies, which could be an indicator of arrogance…but somehow, I suspected it had more to do with inability. For whatever reason, he couldn't involve himself directly.

Besides having a difficult time getting past the Aura of another, most Semblances and Aura-based techniques shared a few other similarities, if you could call them that. Really, it was just basic logic; it's more difficult to affect something that's far away, it gets more difficult to maintain effects as their duration increases, it's harder to affect a large number of things than a small number of things, etc. If he is somewhere that makes it difficult to involve himself directly, it must be hard to affect things, for those reasons—and if something like a person's Aura makes it harder, it might be outright impossible, unless something else makes it easier.

Had I done that somehow, when I'd destroyed the Conquest within my father? Had my attempt to destroy the connection to its source somehow opened a pathway in?

It was possible and therefore worth investigating. If it was true and I could figure out why and how, that might lead me to the answer I was looking for.

But then, why would he create soldiers he couldn't directly communicate with? Certainly, Conquest had seemed utterly loyal, but _he_ hadn't really struck me as the type to rely on that alone. And personally, if I were constructing nightmarish super-soldiers designed to oppose all life, I'd probably layer my precautions and countermeasures, just in case. Even from wherever he was, he could influence and command the Grimm, if only in small numbers. Why would he design the Riders if he couldn't do the same to them?

Perhaps he hadn't. Just because he was unable to get involved _now_ didn't mean that had always been the case; Conquest had implied something now kept the most powerful Grimm from running rampant—perhaps something was holding back their master as well. Or perhaps it was the fact that their master and source was being held back that was holding _them_ back. Maybe when _he'd_ been allowed to run free, he could have done more.

There was no way of knowing for sure, but I felt like I might have been on the right track. There were holes in the theory, things I still didn't know for sure, but…even just from our single meeting, I felt pretty confident that he wasn't one for fairness. If he was able to just waltz out and wreck our shit, I felt fairly certain he would be doing so. Something had to be holding him back.

Something I'd done, perhaps? In my past life?

I mulled over the thought for a moment and decided it was possible. He definitely wanted me for _something_ and from the way he'd been leaving me alive, it seemed probable that it was something he couldn't get anywhere else. And whatever it was, he seemed to be working pretty hard to get it.

But that's the thing about freedom, isn't it? Anyone who doesn't have it, wants it.

Assuming I'm right about any of this, of course. I like to think of myself as fairly smart and wise, but coming to correct answers with incomplete information is always tricky. Something can seem perfectly logical and make complete sense and still be utterly wrong because there's something you don't know—and I could admit I didn't know jack.

For instance, if I was right and he _was_ trapped and _I_ was somehow the key to setting him free, there was a major issue with his plan—namely, I had no idea how the fuck to set him free, and if I did, I would never fucking do it.

But then, that had been exactly what Conquest had said, hadn't it? That they'd needed to lead me along, because I wouldn't go along with it if I knew. So…maybe I was on the right track, but if so, they must have known I'd figure this out eventually. By default, riddles favored the solver, because however long it takes you to think one up, the solver can puzzle over it until he figures out the right answer. Conquest had been in my dad's head, so he'd have known I favored Intelligence and Wisdom. He must have also known that as I got stronger, I'd continue to invest in them. So why give me something I could figure out?

There must be more to it. I'd considered that the Mask quest might be related to the creator of the Grimm and maybe I was right. But if that was the case, all I'd have to do was avoid killing at least a few types of Grimm or just not collect their masks and he'd be fucked. And if that was the case, why not just send legions of Grimm to attack me until I'd killed one of every type? Hell, they could just die on my blade and that would count, right?

I was missing something.

Far above me, Cinder stood from her chair and left as the proceedings began to draw to a close. Odds were good that she'd speak to Emerald and Mercury soon, to give them orders on how to act around Adam and I, and perhaps to give them further orders now that they were in. Given that, perhaps something good had come from ending up on a team with them after all.

Because who knows. I was in school, now—maybe I'd learn something.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Nighttime**

A little less than an hour later, the last bits of initiation were concluded. Our scrolls were registered, we were given a room number and some vague directions, and then we were sent on our way. Supposedly, all further information would be sent to our scrolls on a need to know basis, including our class schedule, but we were allowed the night to do as we wished. With my senses, I noticed a number of the new teams celebrating, with the teachers turning a blind eye—pretty much the moment we were allowed to leave, team SSSN was off to make noise and have fun, all but dragging everyone around them along for the ride.

The festivities weren't limited to just the new students though. Seeing an excuse to have fun before classes officially began, a bunch of the upperclassmen had come down to congratulate the new teams by drinking, eating, dancing, and generally ignoring them to have fun in their own ways. A few team games started, suckering in freshmen to face off with the older students, but by and large, everyone just took the chance to do their own thing.

Except for us, of course. It probably went without saying given that literally everyone on our team had ulterior motives for being here, but team JAME wasn't really the party type. A part of me thought about trying to have fun and maybe challenge a few off those upperclassmen just for fun, but I made a point of not dancing, singing, or gaming unless I could put my heart and soul into it and right now…well, I was busy worrying about doomsday scenarios and the various ways some greater power may be attempting to manipulate me into starting the Apocalypse. Sadly, my buzz died before it even had a chance to live.

For their part, my team failed to display any meaningful signs of enthusiasm, though Emerald at least tried to _look_ cheerful. Adam took one look at the meager and already dwindling supplies of snuck in six-packs and promptly turned his face away, as if dismissing it from reality. Emerald and Mercury subtly—at least, subtly for anyone who wasn't trying to get something passed _me_ —scanned the crowd, presumably for Cinder or some other contact, and lost all interest after their failure to find it.

In the end, we lingered for a few minutes and then, in my first real act as team leader, I lead us back to our room. I found it a little amusing that collectively skulking off had been our first real act of unity, but I supposed it couldn't be helped; though not all of us were aware of it, we all agreed that business came first.

Besides, what kind of father would I be if I kept my daughter waiting?

"What the hell is that?" Mercury demanded the moment we opened the door, drawing back even as I entered without a moment's hesitation. I claimed a bed, hopped onto it, and looked up at Autumn with a smile. She looked like a tree again, if one small enough to fit comfortably in our room, but it was obvious that she's been experimenting again because it was upside down. That is, her roots grew into the air while her branches covered the ground around her in a thin carpet of white leaves. Having apparently realized that this exchange wouldn't work for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being a lack of soil for her to dig her roots or branches into, she'd then taken to remodeling.

Now, her roots grew out like a head of hair, each an almost serpentine structure that ended with an open, eyeless mouth. Instead, she'd opened a few dozen around the width of her trunk, seemingly taking my advice to the next level by having an eye stare in every direction. Then, she'd manipulated her branches into a rough approximation of spider legs, which she used to remain upright—and as she saw me lay down on my bed, she silently hobbled over to me on her own power.

"Hey," I greeted, closing one eye as my smile widened at my little girl's first steps. "Looking good."

Adam looked over Mercury's head, one hand on the doorframe, and grunted at the sight.

"Your grandmother works fast," He told me. "How did she even get it here so quickly?"

"It must have been a special delivery," I answered with a shrug, feeling Gou at edge of the school's property.

He snorted, probably knowing me well enough to get the general idea.

"Ahem," Mercury pretended to clear his throat, making Adam look over his shoulder and wrinkle his nose.

"She's mine," He lied. "A result of my Semblance. I asked Mrs. Roma to make arrangements for her."

"Your Semblance?" Mercury repeated, a flash of interest going through him as he took a closer look at Autumn. "How's that work?"

Adam snorted again.

"It would be a pain in the ass to explain," He answered, claiming the bed to the left of my own, next to the wall. At my direction, Autumn lumbered around my bed as if following him and took up a place between our beds, roots spreading out above our heads. "It works and that's all that matters."

"And she…what?" Mercury wondered, finally taking a step into the room now that Autumn was out of the way. He threw a small bag under the bed to the right of mine while Emerald came in to claim the one against the other wall. "Fights for you? Is that why you don't have a weapon?"

"I have a weapon," Adam replied, sounding annoyed. As the weapons of Hunters were often as identifying as finger prints, Wilt and Blush were currently within my Inventory. I could have easily disguised their visual appearance with my illusions, but given the nature of Adam's fighting style and their distinctive nature as a sword and shotgun-sheath, there'd been a fairly significant chance of them being recognized. As such, it seemed I was going to be brushing off my rather rusty crafting to help him build a new weapon, which he could hopefully use in a different way. "I'm just waiting for it to arrive. She's…something special and a work-in-progress. She started as an attempt to try something new and now…"

He shrugged.

"We'll see what happens when she finishes growing," He finished.

Emerald squinted at him and then at Autumn—specifically the tangled knots of hungry roots that were trying to figure out how to taste the air.

"Uh…that's great and all, but it's… _she's_ not going to eat us, is she?" Emerald asked, staring at it hesitantly.

"Let's try to avoid that for as long as possible," Adam answered, making her frown sharply.

I chuckled, drawing their attention.

"Ignore him," I said. "She's very well behaved and she'll do as she told."

Which was true. That may not preclude the two of them getting eaten at some point, but who knows what the future brings, really?

Emerald didn't stop frowning, probably mulling over the idea of sleeping in the same room as Autumn for at least a few months. After a moment, however, she shook her head and took a breath.

"Does she have a name?" She asked, making me raise an eyebrow briefly before smiling.

"Autumn," I answered, nodding towards my daughter and my friend.

"Adam and Autumn," Emerald repeated before nodding. "Easy to remember, at least."

That having been said, she dropped her bag and slid it under her bed, as Mercury had before her. I'd already scanned both bags and neither contained anything out of the ordinary, which was so unsurprising I could even feel disappointed. With Adam and I keeping our supplies in my Inventory and the two of them having a suitcase each, the room was left feeling almost barren—but at least that meant more room for Autumn to grow.

Speaking of, as we lapsed into silence I closed my eyes and reached out towards Autumn with my senses. With an effort of will, I activated Green Thumb and began channeling my excess MP into her, as I tended to do when she was around. The difference was, I'd gotten a fair number of new skills recently—between Humilitas and Benevolentia alone, we were talking a fourfold increase per point of MP and her Animasynthesis increased that even more. As things were now, I was pretty sure I could give her at least a hundred thousand experience per minute, which equated to one hundred forty-four million experience per day. At that rate, she should level up fairly quickly—especially if I set up a Temple in the room, which I promptly did. I even set up a Sanctum Sanctorum around our side of the room, just to help things along that much further.

As far as I was concerned, this was as good a time as any to start moving things along. The investments she'd made in Wisdom last time had allowed her to grow far beyond the limits she'd previously been restricted too, but she'd likely benefit even more from the synergy between Intelligence and Wisdom. I'd spoken to her about it several time and I'd seen her mulling over her status screen frequently, occasionally even making minor adjustments—which, until recently, had been one of the few things she _could_ see. I wondered sometimes if, in a way, she thought of that status screen as proof of something; of her existence or mine or something else entirely.

But I'd asked and she'd agreed to invest in Intelligence next, at least enough to see if it showed meaningful results. We'd made plans and goals, some of which she'd already reached in forming eyes and moving on her own power. It was just a matter of time until she shattered he rest of the limits holding her back and was able to experience the world entirely on her own. And once that happened…

Someday, perhaps even someday soon, she'd probably join the family business. We'd talked about what that was exactly and I wasn't certain she understood, but I was pretty damn good at reading people and I knew that fluctuation in her Aura. She was interested, in much the same way I'd been when I first learned my parents were superheroes. I wasn't sure how to feel about that exactly, but once she was capable of fighting, I knew I could get her up to level eighty in no time, so there was that at least. If or when the time came, I'd train her and then…who knows? I had a rough idea of what my daughter was capable of with her shapeshifting and ability to bind and network with other forms of plant life. One day, my little girl might be pretty terrifying.

I looked up at her gnarled, root-branches which snapped blindly at one another, finally picking something up, and felt my smile soften.

Oh well.

A sudden wave of signals interrupted my thoughts as they brushed against my senses, flashing past me and causing Mercury's scroll to ring—and yet even from that tiny sound, the change in the two of them was immediate. A focused intensity streaked through their emotions and I could tell that in that moment, they both wanted nothing more than to snap that scroll open and see what they'd received. I was pretty sure they already knew what it was, but that fact merely made them want to react faster—it was a summons from Cinder and they wanted nothing more than to heed it.

Even so, they held back, taking care not to act suspicious. Emerald didn't so much as look at Mercury, draping an arm over her eyes and she lay on top of her covers, seeming nothing more than bored and tired. For his part, Mercury checked his scroll immediately—he had, after all, received something—but drew it from his belt almost absentmindedly, as if it were any other text. It was only after taking a few moments to fiddle with his scroll and then skim the message that his bored expression changed into a slight smile.

"Hey, Emerald, look who sent me a message," He said, leaning back to lay across the width of his bed with his feet dangling over one side. He stretched an arm out towards his partner, who took the school and lazily shifted an arm so that she could see it.

"Huh," She replied, sitting up. She made a show of pondering the message for a while before handing back the scroll. "Do you think we should…?"

"Why not?" He answered with a shrug. "It's not like we've got anything better to do."

"True," She admitted. "And it's only just starting to get dark outside. I don't really want to go to bed yet."

I waited for the two of them to rise from their beds before turning my head their way.

"Going out?" I asked, having no intention of stopping them but needing to play the part of team leader.

"Just for a while," Emerald answered. "A friend of ours wanted to congratulate us for making it in. She's an older student here now, but she used to help us back when we were in Signal. It's been a while since we've seen her and she invited us over, so…"

She shrugged and I nodded as if I believed her.

"Just remember that we'll probably get or class schedule sometime tonight," I said. "We don't want to miss class, right?"

The funny part was that literally everyone in the room wanted to miss class. Even so, Emerald gave me a smile and a nod.

"We'll be back before too long," She assured me. "It shouldn't be an issue."

I hands behind me head, crossed my ankles, and closed my eyes.

"Later, then," I called after them lazily as they left the room.

The room was silent for about half a minute before Adam spoke up.

"We clear?" He asked and I hummed in response. There was no one around and the sound wouldn't have carried outside the room even if there were. I was careful in that regard, just as I was careful to screen the room for any other methods of observation. The room was secure. "Then are they…?"

"Yup," I drawled, not bothering to open my eyes since I didn't need to. Instead, I kept careful track of my teammates, sensing as they made their way through the school. If the message and common sense weren't enough, they were making their way right for Cinder. "They're on their way to her now."

"Have you got it cover?"

"I won't dignify that with an answer," I replied with a snort.

Adam rolled his eyes but leaned back against his bedrest.

"I'll just stay quiet and wonder why I'm ever here, then," He stated.

"Aw, don't be like that," I raised my voice slightly as I spoke, as if talking to a small, angry child. "I'll be sure to find you some grunt work, Adam."

Adam took out his scroll, snapped a picture of his middle finger, and sent it to me.

"You've got mail," He stated helpfully as my scroll received the message.

"I doubt it's anything important," I answered with a fake yawn. "I'll check it later."

With that, I proceeded to focus most of my attention on Emerald and Mercury. I analyzed them as they walked, abruptly seeming them as pieces of a puzzle—pieces I hadn't realized I'd even been missing until I'd seen them. Abruptly, I couldn't help but wonder about them. The way they'd reacted to Cinder's call stood out and made me reevaluate them. For the first time, I wondered about Cinder's henchmen, instead of the woman they served.

In truth, until now, they'd been more obstacles than people, as far as I was concerned. There was a major—possibly world ending threat on the horizon—and who they were or what motivated them just…didn't matter. If they got in the way, then they were in the way, simple as that. And for the most part, that was still true, but now that I'd caught a glimpse of it, I realized they might be more important than I'd initially thought, because who they were said a lot about the woman they served.

As a ruling—and possibly excluding my daughter—Hunters didn't grow on trees. They were made, trained, and honed over _years_. That wasn't something I'd ever forgotten, but also wasn't something I thought about much, partially because I was such an extreme outlier that such things didn't mean as much to me, and partially because it was fairly easy to take for granted. Yes, any Hunter or trainee must have put years upon years of effort, but because that was true of just about every Hunter, well…so what? If they were here, they'd obviously done the training. That was as true of Emerald and Mercury as it was of everyone else, but there was something that set them apart.

They were _also_ loyal members of an international criminal organization that dealt on equal terms with the White Fang. I mean, obviously; that was why I was watching them—but the thing is…why? I didn't really have a lot of room to throw stones on the criminal front, but they were obviously elite members of Cinder's organization and she just as obviously trusted them enough to involve them in a mission she'd spent a great deal of time working on. Even from their reaction to a simple message, I could tell they were devoted to Cinder and her cause.

Stuff like that wasn't easy to do, especially amongst people like Hunters. The simple fact of the matter was that any Hunter—or even any Hunter trainee—could make it just about anywhere. As a whole, Hunters were considered the greatest warriors on the face of the planet and even a weak Academy student had been officially recognized as worthy of that legacy. Making money wasn't a big concern for anyone who could make it this far; whether as a bodyguard, an enforcer, or whatever else, it was pretty easy to land a cushy life just about anywhere. As a result, earning the loyalty of even a small group of Hunter-level combatants was an impressive feat, because they could go anywhere, do anything, and not have to worry about monetary concerns. Add to that the power to slain hordes of normal men and…well, inspiring loyalty and obedience in them was fairly difficult.

And then you have the secondary, but just as impressive, feat of inspiring loyalty and obedience in _teenagers_ , which made that even harder. Whether because of immaturity or a simple lack of reasons to care, it was hard to make people who had no idea what they were doing with their lives believe—truly and wholeheartedly, even if it meant facing agony and death—in someone else's cause. I could say from experience that it took quite a bit of doing to get someone to decide and dedicate their life to something.

Hell, when you got right down to it, you could probably argue that that was the entire point of the Hunter system—that it was all a way to create loyal warriors. People generally began their training at a very young age, often trained by other Hunters, and then moved on to at least four years at a combat school and another four years at a place like Haven or Beacon, but by the time someone walked through the doors of a Hunter Academy, they'd probably spent at least half their life training for it. The combat schools and Academy's helped further refine that into the finished works that were Hunters, but…

It wasn't hard to see that things could very easily be different. If the Kingdoms really wanted to, Awakening the Auras of hundreds or thousands of people would be pretty trivial and while training them would be a little tricky at first, it would be doable. More could be done on that front easily enough; there were only four major Academies in the _world_ dedicated to training Hunters, when there could easily be more. If the Kingdom's really wished to do so, they could produce Hunters in far greater quantities then they did now and raise enormous armies of the powerful warrior. It would take decades to do, certainly, but it'd be possible to obtain power like that if they really wanted to.

But it wasn't about _power_ , it was about _loyalty_. What's the point of soldiers that turn upon you or upon each other? That's always been the biggest issue with Hunters—the fact that if they decided, as a group, to do so, they could easily take over the world. In fact, knowing what I did now, I'd say there were a number of different factions that could _each_ make a fair play at taking over the world, though would likely lead to them clashing with other major factions. That was the other historic truth about Hunters; leaving them to their own devices in a world where they're effectively in charge tends to result in someone deciding that they should be the _most_ in charge.

That was why the system worked the way it did. While producing enough Hunters to actually overcome the Grimm, especially before they noticed and put a stop to it, was nothing but a pipedream, it would be possible to produce enough Hunters to give some leeway and allow people to relax within the isolated corners of the world we called the Kingdoms—which is something nobody wants, because the moment there are enough Hunters for some of them to pull away from the constant task of defending Humanity, it'll become readily apparent that a bunch of people with superpowers have no real reason to listen to people, like, the Council.

Or even people with _lesser_ superpowers, which could get awkward given the effectively random way Semblances were handed out; 'all men are created equal' was great from a moral perspective, but tended to fray around the edges when one guy is created with the ability to turn into a werewolf and the other with the ability to control _time_. And because of that, whoever was in power could never be certain they would _remain_ in power, because all it took was someone awakening the right Semblance to unseat them. There were a number of examples of it in history; of powers that had grown enough to actually _thrive_ and then collapsed upon themselves in fits of internal strife.

The system produced enough Hunters to protect itself and nothing more. It's also, more cynically, why children were favored for it and adults—while not eschewed—were at a major disadvantage. Better to have someone trained all their life for a cause an utterly devoted to it then someone who might start questioning it. Even then, the system failed sometimes, with results like, well, _Raven_.

But how did Emerald and Mercury play into that? Had they been disillusioned somehow, as Raven had been? And if so, how? Or had they simply been taken in early and indoctrinated in a different way? Like most of the trainees here, they must have been training since they were very young—had Cinder taken them in? That was a possibility; the loyalty a child felt for a parent, as with Adam and Raven.

Whatever the case, knowing more about the two of them would tell me more about Cinder and how she acted. I knew how they felt about her, if in a broad sense, but knowing how she felt in return could shed some light on things.

So as they opened the door to their mistress's room, I watched closely and waited, uncertain of what to expect but eager to find out.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Liaisons**

They knocked once and Cinder opened the door, a smile already curling her lips.

"Emerald," She said, tone light. "Mercury. I'm glad to see you made it in safely."

"Of course we did," Mercury replied immediately. "You taught us."

"Like taking candy from a baby," Emerald agreed, seeming pleased by Cinder's acknowledgement.

Mercury leaned forward, tilting his head to whisper in Cinder's ear.

"And she would know," He murmured.

"Mercury!" Emerald answered with a shove, forcing the taller boy to brace himself against the doorframe.

"What?" He asked, lifting a challenging eyebrow. "Don't even try to say it's not true—I was there; I saw what you did."

Emerald's expression became outraged, though it seemed more because he was bringing it up in front of Cinder than anything else. Before she could retort, however, Cinder interrupted with a smooth laugh.

"Now, now," She said, a gentle smile curving her lips. "Don't fight."

At once, they stopped, bowing their heads as if chastised.

"Sorry," Mercury apologized at once, to which Cinder merely gestured dismissively.

"It's not a problem, Mercury," She murmured as she stepped aside, allowing them into her room before closing and locking the door behind her. "I'd just rather not spoil the occasion with pointless arguments—we should be happy, instead."

"Because we made it in?" Emerald asked hesitantly, glancing at Mercury's back uncertainly.

Cinder merely smiled warmly as she went to her bed and took a seat.

"Because we're all back where we belong," Cinder corrected. " _Together_."

Emerald brightened at once and smiled, nodding quickly even as she took a seat on the floor. Mercury merely found a comfortable looking spot to lie down, putting his hands behind his head as he relaxed.

"Now then," Cinder continued. "How goes your first day at Haven?"

As she spoke, she picked up a needle and some cloth—another dress in the making, I could tell, with designs written in Dust all throughout the fabric. Inside of her closet, I could see an entire row of such dresses—a dozen, total, each with different designs, set next to seven school uniforms. Peering closer at the dresses, I saw that most still favored fire, but a few were decorated with other mixtures, including a white and blue gown made with ice Dust and a dark dress with purple embroidery that I recognized as gravity Dust. It seemed she was of the opinion that weapons of mass destruction went with every outfit.

I agreed completely, but that was beside the point.

Still, I noticed that there were barely any traces of Dust on her school uniforms—which wasn't that odd, I supposed, since students were probably expected not to carry their weapons during their normal classes. Still, it struck me as odd, because Cinder seemed like the cautious type, and as self-taught master in the arts of paranoia myself, I'd never allow myself to be completely without a weapon in a place that could very easily become enemy territory. Sure, the rules forbid it, but that simply meant it would need to be somewhere people wouldn't normally look. In my case, I kept all my weapons stored safely within my Inventory, but someone like Cinder…

Scanning the room again, I gave a bit more attention to her underwear drawer. Personally, if my weapon of choice was Dust-woven clothing and I wanted it to go unnoticed, I'd weaponized that first—and sure enough, Cinder seemed to have the same idea, because she could have killed an army with the contents of that drawer. Further examination of the room revealed a hat, a set of scarves, three pairs of gloves, and a finely made purse, all of which had been weaponized by the markings sewn inside them, hidden from prying eyes.

It was hard to argue with a woman who knew how to accessorize, I suppose.

"Well enough," Mercury answered, staring at the ceiling. "The Labyrinth was a breeze, like you said it would be."

Cinder hummed, quietly using her needle to ensure that her dress was, in fact, able to kill.

"There was one thing, though," Emerald took over, casting another glance at Mercury who, I assumed, had taken the good news. "When we arrive…I thought we'd be first, but a team was already there."

"Jaune Arc and Adam Knossos," Cinder stated absently. "Your new teammates."

"Yes," Emerald nodded after another brief pause. "It seems they made it to the finish line in under a minute."

At that Cinder paused in her sewing, an eyebrow rising slowly as she considered her handiwork. Seemingly satisfied by it, she lifted her head to meet Emerald's gaze.

"Oh?" She asked. "That's rather impressive."

Emerald nodded awkwardly, seeming almost embarrassed that she hadn't gotten first place.

"Jaune Arc is the Wolf's grandson," Mercury continued when his partner didn't. "I hadn't heard of him before that fight thing, back before the tournament—I've _never_ heard of Adam Knossos before. Do you think She's been hiding them?"

"Perhaps," Cinder mused, taking a moment to look at the tip of her needle before going back to her work. "Knossos has always been a name given to people that are useful to the Roma and Alexandria Families; it's possible he is a recent acquisition. The grandson, though…"

She trailed of as her expression became contemplative.

"There's more," Emerald picked up. "When we went to our room, there was something there waiting. It was…"

She seemed briefly at a loss for words before shaking her head.

"A very unusual looking tree," She hedged at last. "Upside-down, but it was able to walk on its branches. Its roots had mouths and teeth and its trunk had eyes set into the bark—three dozen that I counted, but there were probably more I didn't see. Adam called it a work in progress and claimed it was a part of his Semblance."

"Fascinating," Cinder said, sounding honestly interested. "And it was waiting for you in your room?"

Emerald nodded.

"Adam said he'd had it shipped here," She stated. "Though he seemed surprised that it was already here."

"That implies that it can survive away from its creator, at least for some time," Cinder mused aloud. "And to mutate something to that extent…interesting."

"Should we look into it?" Mercury asked.

Cinder considered that for a moment before shaking her head with a smile.

"If you should see something interesting, tell me," She said. "But it's not why we're here. While I doubt it is a coincidence that her grandson would enroll at a time like this, there's little point in acting rashly. Besides, if they're as strong as they seem to be, it would be dangerous to involve you."

"We—" Mercury began at once, pushing himself upright to say something—only to halt as Cinder laid amused looking eyes on him.

"I appreciate the thought," She replied to whatever it was that went unspoken. "But it's not necessary. For the time being, leave this to me—should things change, I will inform you. For the time being, you know what to do."

"Yes," Mercury answered, lowering his gaze sullenly.

"Mercury," Cinder drew his attention. "Don't do anything rash, for my sake if nothing else. It would complicate things greatly if I were forced to reveal myself to save you."

He was silent for a moment before nodding with a sigh.

"I get it," He conceded. "I won't do nothing."

"I won't do _anything_ ," She corrected with a gentle smile.

If I'd been bothering to use my physical eyes, I'd have blinked at the scene, surprised despite myself. Drawing back in a way that was hard to describe, I pondered the three of them for a moment, reevaluating it. I'd considered the possibility, of course—given how long it took to train Hunters and to earn such loyalty, it made sense that Cinder might have taken them in while they were still children. It also made sense, then, that they might view her as a mother and perhaps even love her.

I just hadn't really expected her to feel something in return.

She was fond of them. As far as I could tell, she even honestly cared about them. There was a touch of coldness to the feeling, something almost guarded, but it was there. I wasn't certain how far it went exactly, but…in my head, I'd compared their relationship to Adam and Raven's. Perhaps that was more accurate than I'd thought.

I'd known that whatever she felt, her emotions would reveal something to me—but I wasn't certain of what to make of this particular response. I didn't feel anything like hesitation; what she felt towards her children or they towards her didn't necessarily change anything, after all, and I was ready to do what I had to if it came to that. It was just…this meant something, I was sure of it. Distant though it might be, she undoubtedly felt something for them—and the Grimm were heartless, soulless creatures. Though my Empathy didn't work well on the creatures, when it even worked at all, I wouldn't go so far as to call them _emotionless_ , for they certainly seemed capable of hatred and bloodlust. But this was different.

Could a Grimm care about people?

My first thought was that I might be wrong. That, perhaps, she wasn't a Rider. I mulled over the idea and acknowledged it as possible, since I had yet to confirm anything with a title or Observe—but even if she wasn't, this wouldn't be proof of it. After all, there were two occasions where my Empathy had worked just fine, and it was against both of the other Riders. The Hunters Conquest had infected had been perfectly capable of feeling emotion, they just couldn't express it while trapped within their own minds. Similarly, Ruby had possessed seemingly normal emotions despite the fact she was infected, which I'd originally attributed that to the Red Rider's dormant state.

But what if it went beyond that?

By definition, the Grimm were soulless monsters. It occurred to me there was probably some _reason_ for that, possibly related to how or why they were created, but whatever the case, the fact remained that they didn't. Humans, plants, animals—hell, apparently even certain, special machines like Penny—could have souls, but not the Grimm.

Except for the Riders. While they had no souls of their _own_ , by infecting a living host they could make use of Aura. This allowed them to use Semblances, as Conquest had proven—just as he'd proven they were capable of using Dust, which seemed important under the circumstances. I'd contemplated several times that that might well be the _point_ of the Riders, in fact, as they didn't just take over the body or usurp the mind. Though they may be able to play the part of the body snatchers, going by Conquest and what I knew of the Red Rider, they seemed to go beyond that. The soul, in this case, was a tool they used.

But that seemed like the type of that that could have heavy implications and repercussions. What was a soul, exactly? What did it do, besides generate a person's Aura? It couldn't be solely responsible for emotions, because it could be proven that that was a matter of chemicals in the brain—but then, what was it? And if Penny could have one, why couldn't the Grimm?

It occurred to me that a lot of my questions seemed to come back to souls. My past life, my Semblance, the things Bianca saw, and now this…

And yet, as usual, no answers were forthcoming.

Regardless, I'd gotten what I came for. Whether or not they were devoted to her cause, Emerald and Mercury were devoted to Cinder—and she was devoted to them, to some extent. It was too early to tell if that made her more or less dangerous, but it was a fact and there was potential in it. Caring about people wasn't a weakness, but I knew better than most that having something you cared about was a prerequisite to loss.

Just as I had my family, she had hers—and to be fair, it was up in the air as to which was more messed up. I wasn't sure if it was wise to try and exploit that, since I _also_ knew how far I'd go to destroy anything that tried to touch my family; the moment either of us crossed that line and made things personal, one of us would have to die. If it became necessary, I could live with that, but it wasn't a choice to make likely.

After all, I didn't know enough about her capabilities to be sure I'd win. I wasn't afraid to risk my life if I had to, but I also saw no point in doing so needlessly—and whatever Cinder was up to, she was taking her time. Best to keep watching and figure out everything I could before raising anything I'd have to put down; there was still time enough to prepare.

It seemed she felt the same way.

"For the time being, be on your best behavior," Cinder continued. "It will be some time before things are in place."

Mercury groaned and fell back to the floor.

"But school's so boring," He complained, rolling onto his side to stare at the wall.

"There, there," Cinder chuckled. "We'll have our fun soon enough, I guarantee it. Just think of this as a necessary evil, Mercury."

"But those are the worst kind," He answered petulantly. "What's the point if you _have_ to do it?"

Cinder smiled but went back to her work without answering, leaving the room to fall into silence.

"So…" Adam drew out, back in the room beside me. "Are they saying anything or…?"

I opened my eyes and turned my face towards him before giving a slight nod.

"Emerald and Mercury told her about us," I answered.

"Oh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "What'd they say?"

"They said I was the good looking one," I told him with a helpless shrug.

"Interesting," Adam mused. "So they're blind, then? We can use that."

I chuckled at that.

"But really, they didn't say a whole lot," I admitted. "It was more like they were…checking in, I guess. They told her that we got through the maze first and that Autumn was a product of your Semblance, but that was pretty much it. Cinder told them not to do anything rash when they offered to look into us, but they'll report back anything of note."

"About what we expected, then," He mused, sounding a touch disappointed. "I take it she didn't reveal the entirety of her plan in a convenient presentation?"

"It was a longshot to begin with," I said with a shrug. "With Raven around, they wouldn't want to reveal anything unless they were certain things were secure. Emerald and Mercury would have been filled in well beforehand and there wouldn't be much point in repeating themselves here. Odds are, we'll have to wait until something changes and they call in the illusionist to get anything the easy way—until then, well…there's a reason were here."

"A reason _you're_ here, you mean," Adam sighed tiredly. "I'm just here to suffer, near as I can tell."

"I'd wondered how long you'd be able to go without drinking," I mused. "A little surprised you couldn't make it one night without breaking out the whine, though."

"It's a comfort drink," He stated. "I go to it whenever I remember that the world hates me and I hate it right back."

I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"Believe it or not, there's a reason I brought you along," I replied, reaching into my Inventory to draw out several of my textbooks. They weren't skill books, unfortunately, but I opened the top and started reading about the history of Mistral, quickly flipping through the pages before casting it aside and moving onto the next.

"I figured as much," He admitted. "I was kind of hoping you'd actually tell me at some point."

"You've come a long way in just a few days," I continued as if he hadn't spoken. "But there's still a lot to do if you want to be ready for what's to come. You've gotten a lot of stat points, but I think you know as well as I do that stats alone do not a Hunter make."

He grunted but sat up, interested despite how he tried to act.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked. "Unlike you, I can't just eat a book and become a master of something."

"You don't have to," I replied. "Because as it happens, you and I suddenly have a lot of free time—and now that we both have the basics out of the way, we're both going to continue our training. From the beginning, that how I intended to spend my time here at Mistral, but since I'm so nice, I'm going to let you tag along."

"Thanks," He answered with a roll of his eyes. "What are we going to do?"

"Well," I began, smiling widely. " _I'm_ going to work on my skills. Since my fight with Conquest, they've been improving by leaps and bounds and a few are getting close to ranking up. I also have a bunch of new ones I want to try out and level up. Meanwhile, you…are going to be doing pretty much the same thing."

"Grinding?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "How?"

"However you _normally_ train," I stated without so much as looking up from my book. "Except you'll be doing it with me there helping you. I can heal you and restore your MP as needed, so just…push yourself to your limits. Anything that happens, I'll fix, so you get need to worry about your body breaking down or getting tired—and without your body holding you back, you can push yourself as far as you're willing to go."

"As far as I'm willing to go?" He repeated, which made me look up at him and quirk an eyebrow challengingly.

"Yeah," I said. "It's up to you to decide where your limits are—and it's up to you to decide what to do. I won't stop you unless you're about kill yourself or something, but I trust you to know what's best for yourself. You can quit anytime you want, too."

He considered me for a moment, nodding slowly.

"But you won't," He noted. "Will you?"

"Why would _I_ quit?" I asked with a smile. "There's too much on the line for me to ever give up and…more than that, I've decided that this is what I want to do. So…I'll do it, whatever it takes, and go as far as I possibly can. Before all of this, I was always uncertain of everything and I guess I still am in a lot of ways, but at least this much I'm sure of. That _asshole_ is up to something and he and the Grimm are playing some messed up game with the entire world—and whatever they're after, they've killed countless innocent people to get it. But…if this is a fucking game, then I'm going to win it, because I'm the fucking Gamer."

It was the first time I'd really said it out loud, but it felt good to and I saw him look at me with a touch of surprise. Without losing my smile, I gave him a shrug and spread my hands.

"But then, I guess my power makes it easy for me," I continued. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without it…or maybe it's that I need to go this far because of it. Either way, it's going to be tough on anyone who comes with me. But if I have to…well, I do it all by myself. So whatever you want to do, it's okay."

He was silent for a moment before snorting in disgust.

"Jaune, you're my friend," He said, sounding annoyed that he actually had to say it. "One of the few I've ever had. I would follow you to hell and back with relatively minor amount of complaining. If you aren't going to quit, I won't either. I've got your back."

I closed my eyes, smile widening.

"Good to know," I replied, leaning back against the bedrest and continuing to read with my face. "Try and keep up then, will you?"

"When do we start?" He asked.

"As soon as I finish reading," I replied. "Cinder seems to be done talking, anyway. It's a bit sad I can't keep a constant eye on her, but we can't let the threat of her preparations get in the way of our own, now can we?"

He glanced at his watch and frowned a touch, making me laugh a little.

"I told you before that sleep was for the weak," I said, still chuckling. "You up for another all-nighter?"

"Of course," He answered immediately, lowering his arm. "Slack off during the day and then stay up to ungodly hours…that's what you're supposed to do in school, isn't it?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Sleepless**

Once I finished memorizing all my textbooks, most of which had covered stuff I already knew anyway, Adam, Autumn, and I retreated to Naraka to train and went back up to the surface. I checked Cinder over again before I left, unable to completely suppress the concern I felt regarding what she might do while I was gone—but I'd meant what I'd told Adam before; we couldn't put aside our own efforts to prepare just for fear of _her_ preparations, because if all we did was watch…well, what good was that?

As for Emerald and Mercury, well…we left a note saying we got bored and wandered off. They'd likely report our absences to Cinder, especially if it became a regular thing, but there wasn't anything they could actually do about it, so I didn't really care all that much. Besides, whatever they told Cinder, I doubted they'd be able to hit upon the truth, which was that we were working out in another dimension. Coming up with that idea would probably take some doing, even for Hunters that may have been raised by a Rider.

With Naraka established, I tapped Autumn once and she returned to the form of a mutated rose—a blossom colored white on the inside with a dozen thorny tentacles in place of a stem. The tentacles wrapped firmly around my arm, putting the blossom over my left wrist like a flowery watch, but just to be on the safe side I withdrew Crocea Mors from my Inventory and quickly converted it into its metal form. I hadn't used the altered weapons as much lately, primarily because my body had long since reached the point where it _was_ a weapon, but I didn't feel like taking risks where my daughter was concerned. Liquid steel flowed over her vines before solidifying, leaving metallic thorns to rise from my gauntlet.

For her part, Autumn's blossom twitched open and closed several times, as if blinking. On the fourth time, patterns began to appear on both sides of her petals in an array of colors—countless rows of photoreceptors in place of an eye. She was still experimenting, which was always good. It was good to see she wasn't afraid to think outside the constraints of conventional biology.

"Shall we get started, then?" I asked with a smile and a crack of my neck, even as I reached into my Inventory again before tossing him Wilt and Blush. "We'll start work on your new weapons shortly, but for the time being…well, let's do this the easy way. If you don't mind, I could use your help testing out a few things, too."

"Whatever," Adam said as he caught his precious weapons, somehow making the dismissive word carry agreement.

"First off," I began, spreading my arms wide. "Hit me."

Adam silently strapped his sword to his side before resting a hand on it.

"Before I do, I should probably make sure of what you mean," He answered flatly. "Because every time you talk, that's what I hear, so something might have gotten lost in translation."

I snorted at his words but didn't bother to hide my smile.

"Hit me," I repeated. "With your Semblance, please. I have something to try that requires an Aura-based attack."

"Got it," He said, grasping his sword. As he began charging his attack, I reached out with a tendril of my own Aura and supplemented his power with Caritas. Adam's Semblance was a pretty interesting one, simple as it might seem at first glance—it revolved around drawing upon external sources of energy to supplement his own. Everything from ambient heat to the laser of a giant robot, he could absorb to increase the power of his own attack—and if he was hooked up to a well of power like mine, well…

The results could get fairly impressive.

After only a second of charging, Adam began to glow, the light Caritas sent coursing through him spilling into the visible spectrum. His eyes, parts of his hair, his heart; seemingly random parts of him began to glow with a bright red-white light as power gathered and flowed. I put my left arm behind my back, giving Autumn an extra layer of protection even as I curled my Aura around her protectively—and then Adam struck.

For a moment, the world was painted over in reds, blacks, and whites, painting over the already dismal shades of Naraka. A flash of destructive power collided with me, trying to tear me apart—but just as quickly as his power had painted the world over, it shattered by a fountain of light. It rose around me, slipping through my illusion even as I tried to react and hide it, and then it blazed around me and rose towards the sky. It collided with the attack and destroyed it, but not in a violent clashing of two forces.

No, it simply…washed it away.

I took a pair of deep breaths, realizing I was sweating. As expected, that had taken a lot of power, but…it was hard to deny that the results were impressive.

Adam raised an eyebrow slowly, still glowing. In contrast to me, he seemed fine, although he was still glowing. The benefits of using someone else's power, I supposed.

"What was that?" He asked, more curious than surprised.

"Something I've been meaning to try out," I answered, gesturing towards myself and pulling the sweat from my skin with a thought towards Xihai. "One of the skills I got for increasing my Intelligence."

 **Castitas (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The rejection of the impure that shields one from corruption—the eternal love that remains when ephemeral Lusts are washed away. The Aura of living beings naturally shields them from many threats and passively prevents malicious effects from being formed within the body, washing away the Aura of others as it tries to take shape. Against attacks that completed outside of the body, however, it may only serve as a protective shield against harm. Not so to the user of this skill; to them, even the solid structure of completed attacks may be washed away, like building of mud swept away by a river.  
For twice the MP cost of the targeted ability, an MP-based attack that affects the user may be completely dispersed in a flare of Aura. All harmful effects, even those which take place independent of damage, are completely negated—it is as if the attack never made contact at all.  
Against attacks with a material component, only MP-based abilities are negated, leaving the physical attack to be defended against normally. Further, against attacks which target an area, only the user is protected.  
Abilities which do not have targets or which do not target the user may not be negated.**

Another of my Psychomachia skills, it enhanced the natural defensive abilities of my Aura, allowing me to use it in a new way. It was an interesting skill and I'd wanted to see its effects first hand, but…it needed work. As it was now, it was a bit impractical to use, costing more to defend me from an attack than the attack itself. It could still be useful, but currently it was circumstantial—best for attacks that were more dangerous than their costs implied, such that other defensive measures would be insufficient. Even so, between my layered defenses and my healing abilities, I was better off without it in most situations, especially with the lightshow—especially since creatures like the Grimm didn't have Aura.

But I'd be interested in testing just how far its power went. I'd need to test it out when I had the chance and I'd work on improving it regardless—it would probably come in handy at some point.

"Thanks," I said, flexing my fingers before casting a smile at my friend. "I wanted to see how it would work in practice."

He nodded once, sheathing his sword.

"No problem," He replied. "That all you needed?"

"There are a few others I wanted to test, if you don't mind," I answered with a shake of my head.

"I'm always up to smacking you around," He returned, running a hand through his still glowing hair. "Especially when you're footing the bill."

I chuckled a bit at that before shaking my head.

"Actually, I need a target to test something on," I stated.

"Ugh," He groaned. "That's way less fun."

"You up for it?" I asked him. "It won't hurt you, as far as I can tell."

"Whatever," He replied, the word containing boundless enthusiasm.

I chuckled again, closing my eyes for a moment before snapping them open.

Almost immediately, Adam tensed, releasing a low grunt before planting his feet and letting his hand fall reflexively back to his blade. He took a step to the side, but pinned beneath my gaze it didn't help. His movements were a touch slower than before until he consciously made himself move faster—but if it had been anyone but me watching, I doubted they'd have noticed the difference.

I guess that was to be expected of a high-level target—and a low-level ability.

 **Gorgon (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The eyes are the windows to the soul—and the doors. Like mice beneath the serpent's predatory gaze, targets of this ability find themselves frozen in fear. By channeling and modulating the Aura around one's eyes, the user can exert a paralyzing effect on opponents. The effectiveness of this ability increases with the power and INT of the user; at higher levels, greater effects may be shown and even the target's ability to breathe might be inhibited.  
Low-level targets are paralyzed while under the gaze of the user.  
Higher-level targets decrease DEX by 10 points so long as the user focuses on them.**

I blinked again and deactivated Gorgon, making Adam release another grunt and roll his shoulders.

"Weird," He said after a moment. "What was that?"

"Gorgon," I answered. "A skill I picked up off the Basilisks. Well, off a Meretseger, technically, but you get the idea. It's not that effective on powerful enemies at the moment, so I'll need to train it, but it's definitely useful. I don't have a lot of debuffs, after all."

"That's good, I guess," Adam said, looking himself over carefully. "You done using me as a test dummy or is there anything else?"

"More or less," I chuckled. "I've got one more, but it's not really designed with the target's safety in mind. You're at a high enough level to walk it off, especially with me supplementing your Aura, but…"

"I'm all for you not practicing dangerous techniques on me," Adam replied. "Even if I am pretty damn amazing."

I laughed a bit at that, lacing my fingers behind my head, waiting for the question I knew was coming.

"So…" Adam asked. "What's it do?"

"Let's find some Grimm and I'll show you." I answered with a smile. "I wanted to show you a few things anyway, because it's come to my attention that you need to learn some humility, Adam."

"That's rich coming from you, you arrogant jackass," He retorted immediately. "And don't even bother lying—I know you just want to show off your new toys."

I smiled a bit at that.

"Yeah," I admitted cheerfully. "I do. It's not as fun when there's no one around to see how awesome I am."

Naraka being what it was, it didn't take us very long to find signs of the Grimm—they were already busying themselves with the destruction of Mistral, toppling buildings. I saw Adam's lips purse slightly at the sight and knew that the sight struck a chord in him, much as it had with Raven. Together, we swiftly climbed the rest of the Ziggurat and looked around at the teeming hordes of monsters that were already encroaching upon it from all sides.

"Okay," Adam said after a moment. "Are we going to start killing these things yet or what?"

"See that one?" I asked, pointing at a random monster in the horde. I had the barrier set to mixed and so it produced all the monsters it was capable of making—Beowolves, Boarbatusks, Nevermore, Ursa, etc. Gathered in a steadily growing army, however, they seemed like little more than a dark horde, with only the most powerful creatures standing out. As such, I was unsurprised when Adam just shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Just watch."

Even as I spoke, Aura began to spill from my skin. In moments, it formed a rotating circular structure in the air before me in a ghostly white outline that was far clearer outside the bounds of the visible light. I crouched slightly, eyes focused on my target even as my Aura reached out to touch it. The moment I felt contact, I lunged forward at my full speed, passing through the circular gateway with a sensation like shattering glass, and felt myself accelerate abruptly. I closed the distance in an instant, a hand reaching out to grasp the Grimm by the shoulder even as streamers of both Aura and heat clung to my arms and legs, ropes of fire and power leading back to the circle far behind me. Even as I touched the monster, however, I could feel the pull of those chains, as if my passage through the gateway had created some enormous vacuum, and the circle collapsed into a tiny point as its structure was sucked towards the center. An instant later, I felt myself moving backwards as if time were running in reverse, my direction reversing without any loss in speed.

And then I was back where I'd stood in the beginning, almost as if I'd never left at all—except I'd brought along a souvenir. I'd dragged the Grimm back with me, though it collapsed limply even as the sound of things snapping reached us moments later. Unprotected by Aura or the skill, the whiplash had killed it outright.

" _Holy_ ," Adam swore, drawing away from me at once and dropping a hand to his waist. He let go of it a moment later, seeing the state the Grimm was in, but glanced back at the crowd far below, spotting the crater the sheer speed of my attack had left in their ranks. "What the fuck was that?"

"One of the skills I picked up off the Aethon," I answered, tossing the corpse aside. "It's like…I can't think of a great analogy, but think of it as sort of like a bird swooping down to snatch something up. It boosts my speed towards a target and then returns me to my original position with whatever I happen to be carrying."

"Like people," He guessed.

"Or parts of them, at least," I answered, nodding towards the corpse. "From what I gather, it wasn't really built with the safety of the subject in mind. Even if I don't try, well, it'd be pretty easy to snap someone's neck with the whiplash. I'd thought about using it as an extraction technique, but…"

 **Bane of the Prometheans (Active) LV1 EXP: 43.71% MP: 1000  
A technique developed in Ancient Mantle by the Kaukasios tribe for use against their sworn enemies, the Promethians. At its most basic level, a technique to quickly attack and withdraw from an enemy, the skill distinguished itself for both its effectiveness and brutality. After marking the target, the user creates an expanding pathway between their opponent and their starting position while they approach with tremendous speed. After reaching the end point of the pathway, an interaction between the structure of the technique and the user's Aura causes it to retract back towards its point of origin, carrying the user—and anything they happen to be holding—back with it in the process. The removal of the opponent's liver is not required for the successful completion of the technique, but is customary to the maneuver.  
Increase DEX by INT for the sake of determining attack and movement speed for one attack.  
50% defense penetration.  
Range: 100m**

"We'll save that for emergencies," Adam snorted, walking over to the falled Grimm to look it over. "Can't say it seems like the nicest way to travel. But you do love your movement techniques, don't you?"

"What's not to love?" I asked, suddenly standing on both sides of him. I saw him jump at the twin images of me, but it only lasted a moment before one of them—the one that had stood in my original position—faded. At his look, I smiled and shrugged. "Just an afterimage. One of the other skills I picked up off that snake I killed; it's sort of like Blake's Semblance, but they aren't solid or able to move or anything like that. They're just, well, afterimages."

"God, don't scare me like that," Adam said, closing his eyes. "For a moment I thought there were two of you."

"Two of _me_?" I repeated. "The world wouldn't be able to take it. Still, it's a cool skill, isn't it?"

 **Shedding of the Serpent's Skin (Active) LV1 EXP: 52.20% MP: 200  
An ancient skill developed in the area now known as Vacuo. By precisely channeling Aura through the body, the user is able to increase their speed enough to cover a short distance almost instantly, leaving behind an afterimage by the Aura they shed. The name of the technique refers to an old legend; just as the snake was considered to live forever by shedding its skin, this technique was used to ward off death, either escaping or circling behind threats.  
Range: 2m  
Number of Afterimages: 1**

"Eh," Adam answered dully. "It's okay, I guess—but like you said, Blake's was better."

"Jealousy is an ugly, ugly thing, Adam," I informed him solemnly, making him roll his eyes.

"Whatever," He said again. "Are we going to train now or what?"

I chuckled at him and nodded.

"Go ahead," I answered, connecting us with Caritas again and making him glow like a spotlight. "You're hooked up. Any idea where you're going to begin?"

He shrugged.

"I'll figure something out," He answered, leaping off the top of the Ziggurat to fall into the ranks of the Grimm. Almost immediately, a flash of energy slew nearly a hundred of the creatures. Chuckling again, I sent Ereb and Levant to watch over him, just in case something happened.

And then I closed my eyes, power rising around me once again. It flowed into the force field my Aura naturally created around my body, turning it into a constant, glowing shell. Taking another pointless breath and concentrating, I began to lift the force field around me, rising into the air as a result. I rose twenty meters straight up and then stopped, a star above Haven. Opening my eyes, I looked at myself for a moment and then hid the glow with an adjustment of the illusion I constantly maintained. Adjusting my vision several times, I gazed at the Aura cloaking my body, thick enough now to constantly support my own weight. It was odd to the touch, solid but unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It felt like it was barely there, yet I could feel it holding me in the sky, both through the touch of my skin against it and it against my skin.

After giving myself a moment to acclimate to the new sensation, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and began to move. Since it was my Aura carrying me, it was a mental exercise rather than a physical one and that took getting used to in its own right. It wasn't hard to hover left or right, as my Aura reacted to my thoughts—but for that same reason, it was hard to move _just_ left or right, as my mind raced. I had to go through the motions carefully to make sure I didn't slam into something. It'd get easier over time, I knew, but for the moment…

 **Flight of the Vimana (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 2000  
The chariot of the soul—an ancient technique once used by the lords of the West to take flight on nothing but their own wills. By hardening one's own Aura into a skintight force field and controlling it carefully, it is possible to move one's own body using nothing but thought and free it from the constraints that bind it to the earth.  
Use INT in place of DEX to determine flight speed.  
Flight speed increases with INT and skill level.  
Additional 2000 MP used per minute of flight.**

I pondered myself for a moment as I began to fly towards a nearby building. The Flight of the Vimana was my third mode of flight, counting the Grimm wings I could create with metamorphosis and flying using Levant's aid—and while it was certainly more subtle then the former and faster than the latter, it had its own issues. I was all for using INT in place of DEX, given that my Intelligence was significantly higher than my Dexterity, but it came with sacrifices. While my higher INT made my base speed far faster, since I was using my mind to move instead of my body, techniques that multiplied my body's speed didn't necessarily apply—and unfortunately, stacking multipliers was how I achieved my greatest speeds. Acceleration would still apply, as that changed how I moved through time rather than simply making my body faster, but something like the White Tiger's Tread or Haste would not. The Grimm wings I grew with Metamorphosis didn't have that problem—my flight speed could be increased by any of my movement techniques, which meant it was still the best choice even if my Intelligence was over twice as high as my Dexterity.

Still, most of the time, growing Grimm armor and black wings would make things more complicated than it was worth, so the skill was still useful—and it was still at level one, after all, and it had said that it's flight speed would increase. It was worth exploring, even if in an emergency I'd likely fall back to other options, such as my tried and true air platforms; if nothing else, it might be worth having just to separate Jaune Arc and Jian Bing. Regardless, I had hopes for it and it would be easy enough to train once I got the hang of it. After I had enough control, I'd just hover a millimeter off the ground during the day or something; the cost wouldn't be an issue thanks to the Psychomachia skills, which cut it down to a fairly reasonable five hundred a minute, which would go down quickly after some training.

Reaching my target, I halted my motion with a thought and hovered in front of the glass of a nearby skyscraper. This should be far enough to keep from interfering with Adam's training, but also close enough to react quickly if something happened. I could sense thousands of Grimm swarming all around us, tearing apart houses and stores alike, and I noted their locations absently—but, in truth, I was just going to demolish everything around me and kill everything unlucky enough to be in the way. As the largest building nearby, this was as good a place to start as any.

Before I could start the first attack, however, something caught my eye and on a whim, I adjusted my senses to better perceive it.

"—Huh," I said, blinking at the sight before hovering closer

I could see my reflection in the glass.

It struck me then that I didn't actually spend much time looking at myself these days—not on the level that most people did, at least. I watched myself constantly, but what I saw were cells and molecules and sometimes, when I looked especially close, atoms. I saw countless colors and shades of energy, patterns that came together to create a greater whole, a biological machine in the midst of countless processes. Sometimes I looked at my brain to monitor the activity, curious how my strange senses affected it, while other times I'd view only my Aura and blot out the sight of my flesh entirely. I knew every change that occurred in my body on a startling number of levels and notes on how they changed over time.

As such, I'd been completely aware of how it had changed. I'd just never bothered viewing those changes in the tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in which most people considered light visible. Jokes aside, it didn't really make much difference how I looked.

Until now, at least.

It wasn't surprising, I told myself even as I lifted a hand to my face. I meant it too, because, again, I'd been completely aware of it. Lately, I'd spent an enormous amount of time in an Accelerated state, with weeks or months passing over the course of days. Although my seventeenth birthday was coming up, I already looked at least a year older and I'd grown some. I'd put on muscle from my training, too, of course, and that went a long way to changing how I looked, but there were subtle sign in my face that made me think I looked a bit older.

I didn't really care about that. Other people might have been worried that they'd aged a year in maybe two weeks, but I couldn't muster much concern for it. I'd figured that would happen, after all, and had accepted it. I wasn't sure if my power would keep me from aging entirely after I reached my prime or if I'd need to figure something out to make sure it didn't impede my effectiveness, but either way, it wouldn't be a concern for a while—thanks to Aura, Hunters tended to look young for a long time after their bodies finished growing, especially the most powerful ones. My mother was in her sixties and looked to be in her late-twenties. Though his Semblance, or possibly the _Riders_ , might have something to do with it, I'd done the math and Ozpin had to be at _least_ a hundred years old and _maybe_ looked like he was in his thirties. With the power I had, it would be awhile before I showed signs of wear, even if my power didn't just make that a nonissue.

And even if there was absolutely nothing I could do to keep myself from aging…it didn't matter. The extra time Acceleration gave me to train was more than worth the cost; getting old wasn't something I was afraid of, so long as it didn't keep me from achieving my goals.

So it wasn't the fact that I looked older that made me pause, but more how age had made me look. The changes were small still, the similarities minor, and…maybe they'd been there all along and I'd just never bothered seeing them. But in my face…around my eyes, my jaw…I saw my father.

I shouldn't be surprised, I thought, even though I totally was. After all, I was my father's son.

But it was amazing how hard the smallest things can hit you sometimes.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a second and swallowed. The truth was, even now I'd still been holding back. Using Psychometry on my father's hammer, facing and reliving his final moments, had been a large step—but that had been more about facing the past and proving I could. The skills I gained from it…well, I'd never say no to free skills, but the hammer wasn't my weapon of choice and he wouldn't have wanted me to cast aside my own style to pick up his weapon anyway.

Especially not when he'd already left me something far greater.

I smiled sadly as I reached out towards the reflection.

"Thanks for the good looks, Dad," I said. "I'll be sure to put them to good use. And…this, too, I guess."

For the first time, I reached out with my Psychokinesis, touching the surface of the glass with my mind. With my senses, I quickly picked out an imperfection in the glass and seized hold, pressing my power forward. It started with a tiny chip that broke off and fell away, but I picked up speed quickly. The small indent became a hole and then widened rapidly as dozens and then hundreds of pieces began to break away. Over the course of seconds, the window almost seemed to dissolve outwards from the center, and the same began to happen to the walls around it, the destruction growing as it went.

Soon, there was nothing left of the building except clouds of falling dust.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Mentality**

I willed myself downwards and fell like a comet into the midst of the Grimm below. Even stopping a meter away from the ground the speed of my descent blew away the surrounding monsters, tossing them high into the air. With a smile and a thought, I triggered a Gravity Crash centered on myself and everything around me abruptly reversed direction and slammed into the ground with such force that it pounded them flat. As the cacophony of shattering pops rose around me, I merely fell a bit closer to the earth and then crossed my arms.

Knowing I had their attention now, I waited as monsters began to gather around me. The Beowolves and Ursa stood out thanks to their height, but I could see smaller creatures mixed in with the mass that slowly began to surround me. They were hesitant at first, seeing what I'd already done to their fellows, but their bloodthirst outweighed it by far.

Even so, they approached intelligently. Most gathered at my back, with those in front of me meant to serve more as distractions than anything else. The skies above us were clear, the Nevermore gathered on the surrounding rooftops to wait for a chance to strike. No one attacked at first, waiting for an opening.

But we'd be here all day before they found something like that on their own, so I provided one for them instead. Smile widening slightly, I allowed my eyes to pan slowly from the left to the right, gaze shifting from mask to mask. As my attention seemed to turn, the leftmost creature—a Beowolf likely chosen for the roll because of its own expendability—lunged forward with teeth bared. It jumped through the air, razor sharp teeth aimed for my throat, claws extended—

Only for its head to suddenly jerk back in midair, as if someone invisible had punched it in the face. No, more than that, much of its snout was smashed towards its face, teeth exploding from its open mouth with a series of cracking noises. The force of the blow was enough to reverse its momentum, turning its forward lunge into a backwards fall, only for another impact to hammer it towards the earth with enough force to leave a dent in its chest. It didn't even touch the ground before something slammed into its back, jerking it upwards even as it shattered whatever served as a spine in the creature. More impacts landed moments later, jerking the creature around in midair for several seconds before crushing its now almost-boneless body into a rough sphere and casting it aside.

I didn't so much as move a muscle, even as I shifted my gaze back to the left. For a moment, there was stillness and silence on the battlefield.

Then it was broken by several hundred furious roars and Grimm came swarming towards me from every direction, giving up on surprise tactics and trying to bury me under pure numbers. I snatched up the first to approach with a thought, lifting it into the air and reversing every joint in its body before snapping its neck. The next I grabbed by the face, crushing its head with a moments attention before smashing the third into the fourth. I caught the first wave of the Grimm and countered it with pure force, pushing them back into the creatures behind them and staggering the charge.

And I did it without so much as a twitch.

 **Psychokinesis (Active) LV1 EXP: 94.93%  
A close relative of Telekinesis, Psychokinesis is the ability to move objects solely with one's mind and soul. Done by focusing one's Aura to such an extent that it has physical reality to exert upon the world, it is a skill limited only by the mind that gives it form.  
20.1 kilograms of force per 1 MP spent.  
Range: 201m.  
Power, versatility, range, and control increase with INT and skill level.**

This was the power my father had left me. Just by willing it, I could crush the monsters around me into paste, snap their bones, or tear them apart with pure force.

And I was just getting started.

By default, my Psychokinesis didn't truly have a shape—I wasn't generating invisible limbs or anything like that, it was just my Aura gathering to affect something. When I wished to strike something, it created a blunt surface to do so; when I chose to grab and tear, it surrounded the target completely and gripped it from every direction. Without my will to give it form, it was a fluid thing, more like a gas than anything else.

But _with_ my will, it was given form.

Gathering the power I was letting out into the world, I began to shape it and narrow it. There wasn't any _less_ of it, but it was focused into a smaller area, gathering the power behind it all into edges and points—into dozens upon dozens of Psychokinetic blades that instantly went to work. This time I didn't bother grabbing the Grimm or breaking; as I began to float forward, I simply tore apart everything in my path, scattering limbs with a thought.

As I went, I began to practice and push, seeing how far I could go. When the Nevermore took flight, I clipped their wings with a mental image of scissors, before stopping the charge of a Boarbatusk with a thought of a guillotine. An Ursa roared as it barred down upon me, only to find itself caught within an invisible iron maiden, those around it dying even as it fell. For the most part, however, I stuck to the basics and chopped them to pieces as they came, cutting the legs out from under them or removing the heads from their shoulders.

In moments, the street was empty of anything but the dead or the dying—and already my power was turning upon the buildings around us. I tore open doors, shattered windows, peeling up tiles and floors even as I knocked down walls. I floated slowly down the street, making sure there wasn't so much as a brick atop another as I went, my mind always reaching and grasping and tearing on levels big and small alike. Anything with the misfortune of coming near me died horribly as I experimented and practiced, honing the skill I'd neglected.

In the distance, I could feel Adam going wild, too, cutting loose with his Semblance at a faster pace than he ever had before. He was experimenting as well, now that he was free to do so, each attack just slightly different from the last as he struck in quick succession, trying to gather as much power as he could in just a moment's time. I could see his efforts and the progress he was making now that he didn't need to worry about cost or exhaustion. At the same time, I felt the cost of it on my own Aura and erected a Temple and Sanctum Sanctorum to compensate, shattering and remaking it as I went.

Still, I had to smile at the sight, glad he was doing well. I guess he knew better than anyone how much of a limitation the charge time of his power was, so now that he could spend energy freely, he was focused on minimizing it. Given time to observe it, I might be able to give him some suggestions—that was part of why I was having him go nuts here, after all. He was also trying to make it more versatile, too, but I might already have had a few suggestions on that front. Dust was probably the simplest way, it was just a matter of how to best do it.

Which reminded me, I still needed to work on Adam's new weapon. Absently turning about a dozen of my blades into hands, I swung by a few nearby buildings, carefully tearing them to pieces. Today I'd just brainstorm, I suspected, but it should give me a good idea of what I was looking for. Gathering several pipes and bars, I let Crocea Mors flow into and melt them. Gathering the liquid steel in a bowl-shaped construct, I began scooping out the mass in spheres. Changing the shape with a thought, I had Crocea Mors solidify the sword, spear, hammer, and ax before looking them over. They were just prototypes and neither the steel nor the thought that went into them had been the best, but that was fine.

After a moment, I discarded everything but the sword, knowing Adam would prefer to stick with what he knew. Crocea Mors liquefied the other weapons while I mulled over the sword, which I'd made more similar to my own than Adam's. I reshaped it as well, giving it more the look of a chokuto like Wilt. Too much like it, really; even without the distinctive red blade, it was too similar. But perhaps something a bit different?

Adding more material to the mass, I lengthened the blade but kept it straight. Mulling it over, I made a long, curved blade like Raven's before shaking my head. Then I shortened it but left it curved, straightened it again, and began to adjust it. Each time, I'd pause and give it a few experimental swings with my mind, testing it. With several other hands, I worked on a replacement for Blush, going through several different models of guns and using Suryasta to imitate firing them.

A sudden cry drew my attention briefly to a Giant Nevermore that had manifested shortly before. I noted that it was flying towards me and then went back to pondering my work. After a moment, I frowned; several of these could work, but it would be easy for Adam to fall back into his usual style on accident. At the same time, creating a completely different weapon would hamper him. I needed to think about this differently.

I lifted the constantly shifting sword and gun before melting both and combining them into a single mass. It would be harder for Adam to use Iaido without some equivalent of Blush, but that was likely for the best, as it was one of the most distinctive aspects of his style. Perhaps it would be best to just make him a sword that was also a gun.

Or perhaps something else entirely, I thought as an idea struck. Reaching down towards the streets below, I tore open the top of a clothing store and began to seize several shirts, tearing them to shreds—or rather, threads—in seconds before gathering them into a bundle beside the mass I'd been using to make weapons. Using a few more hands to pull Dust crystals from my Inventory, I held them beside others in thought, looking between them absently. Perhaps it was just the fact that I'd been watching Cinder recently, but the idea of Dust clothing was sticking with me. I could fashion a needle easily enough and I was fast enough to sew things easily, so I could practice my Dust Weaver skill to make Adam equipment.

Alternatively, I could do what Raven did and make the weapon _out_ of Dust, or at least alloy it to the steel. That was a very expensive route, but it would mesh with Adam's style. With a crystal blade to color the power of his Semblance, he could make waves of fire, petrify opponents, crush them with gravity, or more. To make it truly versatile, however, he'd need something like Raven's weapon, with dozens of different blades, which would make an already expensive option even more so.

Perhaps something in-between, I considered as the Giant Nevermore came at me with its mouth wide open. Shedding a Skin to dodge, I carried myself and my supplies behind its head, letting it fly right past me. Reaching out with a horde of Psychokinetic blades, I paused for a moment as I thought of something else, looking down at the invisible hands I was using to do my work.

"Oh," I murmured to myself, switching tracks at once. "There's an idea."

Drawing back a bit, I converted the blades into more hands and waited for the massive creature to turn around again. As it did, I began to gather my power, shaping it again and again in the same way. I reached out with the dozens of hands I'd constructed, limbs that existed only to do my will—and yet I could feel them as if they were flesh and blood, thanks to the power of my Clairsentience. And if that was true.

As the Giant Nevermore faced me again, a circle of Magic Missiles appeared around it, held in place by my will. More appeared in a wall around me, each a construct of lethal power.

"Goodbye," I said with another smile.

As one, the attacks swept forward and the monster almost seemed to dissolve as they tore through it.

"Now then," I said as I glanced back at the items floating around me. "Where was I?"

 **XxXXxX**

"I take it that light show was you?" Adam asked about ten hours later.

"Who else would it be?" I answered, smiling as I looked down at him. He was standing atop the remains of Haven's ziggurat, having spent hours defending it from every direction. Though he'd cut down the Grimm like stalks of wheat, sheer attrition had allowed them to claim parts of the structure in bits and pieces—and Adam's own attempts to defend it had left their scars as well. I could see his efforts in the marks he'd left behind—attempts to control the power of his blows in the varied size of the strikes, the jagged ring of markings that surrounded the ziggurat a testament to his efforts to push back the Grimm. I suspected that he had challenged himself, consciously or not, to keep the structure safe and for a single man against an endless horde, he'd done remarkably well.

But not enough to be satisfied with himself. I was all but certain he'd continue this training regime until he was satisfied.

I supposed it wasn't a bad way to train.

For my part, well…where Adam had protected, I had destroyed. Though much of Haven had fallen, it was the only structure in Mistral that still stood, rising high above a vast sea of smoke and rubble. I'd shattered every building and slaughtered every Grimm I came across, annihilating anything that caught my attention. My time in Naraka had seen too it that I had the destruction of Vale down to an art form, having systematically mapped out the fastest and most effective ways to tear it down over the course of a number of dull afternoons. Mistral, however, I was still fairly new to and this was my first time really cutting loose. It gave me a chance to see the city and memorize the locations of everything important, too, which I felt would come in handy. By the time my training here was done, I'd no doubt know Mistral even better than I'd known Vale.

Adam hummed once, looking at me with a slight frown. I hovered in the air before him, feet hanging freely so as to make it obvious I wasn't standing on anything. Though Adam still had a few inches on me height-wise, I'd floated down from the sky above and stopped a bit above him so I could keep firing. All around me, light gathered into bright shapes and flew off in steady streams of destructive power.

"Trying a new look?" He asked.

"Yeah," I answered, several pieces of rubble floating up around me. "Psychokinesis. It was a…parting gift from my father."

"Ah," Adam said, nodding slowly as he looked down. "Are you going to use that as your Semblance, then?"

"I've considered it," I admitted. "I'll let them think what they want, but it'd make sense, given my father—and you can justify a lot of stuff with it. Add some Dust crystals and I can pretend to be a Pyrokinetic or a Hydrokinetic or whatever I feel like—at least, with a little bit of effort. It would make practicing and explaining stuff a bit easier, too. Why am I so durable? Psychokinetic shell. Why am I so strong? I supplement my body's power with Psychokinetic force. That type of thing."

"Could work," He agreed. "You seemed to have fun playing with it, too."

My smile turned amused at that and I shifted in midair, as if leaning back.

"It's a fun power," I told him. "Especially since it gives me so many more hands to work with."

With a thought, my twin firing spheres shifted in place as if I were flexing my fingers. I was truly glad for this power—for the new strength my Psychokinesis had given me. Even more than its own power, the ability to generate attacks away from my body and fire them…it was limited by the power of my Clairaudience still, but it was a massive boon. It meant I didn't need to rely on two or four hands; I could create as many attacks as I could support and hurl. And with that…with that my firing rate had increased even more, to amazing results.

Adam paused for a moment, finally seeming to notice.

"What happened to your Magic Missiles?" He asked.

I shrugged and continued to smile.

"It ranked up," I answered. "So I traded up. These are Gungnir."

Lifting a hand, I created one with a thought. Seen in midflight, it looked a lot like a Magic Missile. It was still made of my Aura, after all, and thus composed entirely of pure, white light; anything more specific tended to blend away as it sped off into the distance. Seen like this, however, the differences were obvious. Where my Magic Missiles were smooth javelins of energy, the evolved Gungnir took on a more distinct shape. Expanding from an orb of light, it took on the shape of an actual weapon made of woven bands of light—a confluence of Magic Missiles that took on a nearly material form, energy packed so densely that it seemed more like a weapon that glowed then a weapon of light, patterns and symbols sometimes shining through to add to that impression. As I held onto it, light rose from its surface in twisting bands that snaked between my fingers and around me wrist, slowly spiraling up my arm as it wait to be set free.

It didn't feel like I was holding an energy weapon, not like Magic Missile had. Yet for all its solidity, holding it…I could feel the power inside it waiting to be set free and devastate.

 **Gungnir (Active) LV1 EXP: 99.46% MP: 800  
The magical spear of an ancient Atlesian king, given form by its wielder's power. Originally a weapon of mere frozen steel, its wielder carved it repeatedly with patterns and formula designed to channel his Aura until the weapon itself did not matter, so engrained was its shape in its wielder's soul. Once cast, it is said to never miss, to pierce any defense, and to slay entire armies in a single throw. It was also said to return to its wielders hand whenever cast, but in truth its physical form shattered long ago and it may simply be created at will by those who know how. Power increases with INT, skill level, and Metal element affinity.  
80% defense penetration.  
8000% damage increase.  
7 second charge time but can be charged for up to 21 seconds.  
Attack damage increases with charge time.  
Once fired, will change direction up to 1 time in order to follow the target.**

Letting him get a good look at it, I twirled it once and hurled it into the distance where it fell like a meteor far from us. As it touched the ground, there was a flash of light followed by an explosion of released energy—the army slaying portion of its apparent myth. It had the same penetrative properties as its predecessor, but unlike Magic Missile, its complex form could unravel on command, releasing its full destructive power on anything nearby. At the same time, it would follow its target, presumably to a greater extent as its power increased, and from using it even just a few times, I could already guess how it was meant to be used; penetrate the defense of the desired target, pierce deep into their flesh, and then…boom.

"Hm," Adam hummed. "I was wondering why the fireworks stopped so abruptly. This thing is more expensive, I take it?"

"A bit," I answered with a shrug. "That's why I only have two hands firing it at the moment. Luckily, it's an Elemental technique and I have a fair amount of cost reducers for it, but…I'll have to grind it down until it's easier to use—but I ranked up a skill, so I'll call this a pretty good night. What about you?"

He tapped the hilt of his sword thoughtfully and then nodded.

"I think I made some progress," He answered, glow finally receding. "Thanks for the loan, Jaune."

"It's no problem," I assured him.

He nodded at me once before frowning in contemplation and shaking his head.

"I'd tell you about it, but since you're you, I'll just assume you already know everything I have to tell you," He said after a moment's thought.

"That would probably save time," I agreed, flashing another smile. "Yeah, I looked your way every now and then, when I wasn't preoccupied being awesome."

He nodded once and didn't ask, trying to annoy me. Unfortunately for him, I knew exactly what he was doing and had significantly more patience. As I floated there in pleasant silence, I could feel that dawn on him, just as I could feel him come to the realization that being stubborn and getting frustrated would just amuse me. Trying to minimize improvements to my moral, he switched tracks and raised an eyebrow.

"Gee," He began in a tone that made it obvious he hadn't quite managed to muster up an actual fuck to give. "And what did _you_ do, Jaune."

"How kind of you to ask," I answered with a smile. "Oh, just the usual. Made a Magic Missile Machinegun, weaponized my brain even further, leveled the city of Mistral, carved my name into a mountain, killed an ungodly number of Grimm who didn't even have the decency to be worth leveling up over—"

"Useless fucks," Adam said, agreeing wholeheartedly on that point at least. "If they're going to run up and die on our swords, they could at least give us something—because I swear, I was murdering those assholes like it was my job."

"It is our job," I reminded him. "Literally, now that we're students here."

"Yeah, but…aren't they supposed to drop money every now and then?" He asked.

"The little ones are kind of stingy," I shook my head even as I withdrew the money I'd collected. "You got to kill the big ones if you want to get paid. It can be easy to miss the drops, too, because you have to collect it the old fashioned way. Here, though; fifty-fifty alright?"

"Sure," He replied with a snort, taking the Lien. "You probably did a lot more of the work, but I'll take this as payment for listening to you talk."

I rolled my eyes a little at that and then lowered to the ground to stand beside them.

"But like I said, mainly just the usual," I finished. "I wanted to get my new skills leveled up a bit so they're easier to use. The first forty or fifty levels come pretty easily nowadays, thanks to my Acceleration and experience boosters. I didn't get to do as much physical training as I'd have liked, but I guess that's the cost you pay when you fly with your brain instead of your body. After today, it'll be easier and I'll leave Vimana to train during the day so I can workout more at night. Thanks to my Psychokinesis, I was able to grind Magic Missile up to ninety-nine which I'm pleased with. I've got a few other skills heading that way, too."

"Oh?" Adam asked, actually looking a bit interested at that. "Which ones?"

"My personal stuff, mainly," I answered with another shrug. "The stuff that's easy to boost with Acceleration. These last two weeks or so, well…with the effective time I've been putting in and the experience boosts I've been getting, they've risen quickly. Magic Missile sort of skyrocketed past a few of them because I could shoot it a million times a day if I really felt like it, but they've all come along nicely. Most of the White Tiger stuff and my buffs are all getting close to ranking up and a few more days of physical training should net me a few skills on that end, too. My Clairvoyance is the one I'm most interesting in seeing improve, though."

"To better see my utter lack of surprise?" Adam asked. "It can be easy to miss, I admit—I'm a subtle bastard."

"Bastard, I'll give you," I replied. "But _subtle_? Be reasonable."

He snorted.

"By the way," I said. "I managed to pry myself way from my busy schedule of awesomeness long enough to spare some thought for the little people—little people being you, in case it wasn't obvious."

"Now that you're not floating, I'd like to remind you that I'm, like, five inches taller than you," He stated, straightening in an attempt to tower above me.

"Bitch, please," I chuckled, because he was only three. "Anyway, like I was saying, I came up with some ideas for that new weapon of yours I wanted to take to you about. I'll have to work on my crafting a bit to see if anything pans out, but…I think you might appreciate it."

"As long as I can stab people in the face with it, I'm good," He answered, tapping the sword at his side again. "Wilt and Blush are my only _real_ weapons, anyway."

"I figured you'd say that," I said, rolling my eyes. "Thankfully, because I'm a good friend and just general amazing, I've been working on something special."

"Tell me it's a giant robot," Adam replied. "With an equally giant sword."

"Sorry," I shook my head. "I'm not that good a friend—and, really, if I had one, it would be mine."

"Aw."

"But," I smirked, lifting a finger. "I _might_ be able to manage power armor, if my skills get high enough. We need some way to keep losers like you from getting infected by Riders anyway."

"Power armor," Adam repeated before pausing. "I…can live with power armor."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
First Class**

"So what were you thinking?" Adam asked later that day. "For this whole power armor business?"

We were in our first class—both of the day and of our time at Mistral—and it was every bit as dull as I'd expected it would be. I'd listened for about half a minutes, checked the teacher's notes, and had pretty much stopped listening. Well, that was a lie, since I listened to everything that happened around me and there was always that off chance that he'd tell me something I didn't already know, but I'd stopped giving him any particular focus. Thanks to my interest in Babel, I'd read _dozens_ of history books, including the one for this class, and found the subject about as interesting as watching paint dry. Which, in fairness, I was _also_ doing, thanks to my senses and the recent paintjob parts of the building had gotten, but that wasn't particularly interesting either.

So this was as good a time as any, I suppose.

Throwing up an illusion around us to go with Levant's sphere of altered sound, I picked up several pencils with my mind and began sketching a rough outline on the paper in front of me. I was fairly good at art thanks to a combination of skills, so it was easy enough to make an image of a man to begin with.

"I should specify that the power armor is a long term goal," I answered. "I don't think I have the skill to manage it yet, which is why I'll be grinding for a while yet—this is mostly just me planning for the future. For the time being, I'll still be making you a weapon of some kind; here are some of the things I've come up with so far."

The pencils rose from the sheet of paper to move into a new position on another page before lowering their tips to the surface and continuing to draw. I made the picture's detailed, confident that Adam—who I was pretty sure had built his own weapons—would be able to understand them. All of them were swords, favoring Adam's style; tachi, wakazachi, and such. I added a few other blades I knew had originated in Vacuo, such as Firangi, Talwar, Jian, and Dao, but tried to stick to weapons he would be comfortable using. Several of the designs incorporated guns, with images of the interiors drawn beside them, while others transformed into them or other weapons. A sword whose sheath could turn into another sword, one that, when sheathed, could turn into a rifle, that type of thing. It took several pages to complete all the designs, but I'd had plenty of hands to work with and it didn't take long since I'd already memorized them. When I was done, I tore out the pages with a thought and slid them over to Adam to look over later.

"But as for the armor," I continued, still drawing but this time adding a crystal to the original page. "I started thinking about it because I wanted to find a balance between the different uses of Dust. As is, each type has its upsides and downsides, which have caused a number of forms to fall out of use entirely. You have Dust in its raw, crystal form, which can release enormous amount of power, but which is extremely hard to control and which can even turn upon the wielder if used wrong. You have Dust Eating, wherein you take Dust into your own body in order to control its power, keeping it from turning upon _you_ at least…if you do it right, that is. Done wrong, the power can run wild inside of you doing horrific damage if it doesn't kill you outright. Even if you do it properly, however, long term use can have some pretty enormous side effects—"

"Which you ignore entirely, I'm guessing," Adam said with a roll of his eyes.

"It's good to be awesome," I confirmed with a slight smile. "But even beyond what it can do to your body, Dust Eating is still had to use. It makes the user safer, but the power of it is still hard to control. So if you use a red crystal, for example, it should keep you from burning alive, but you might still burn down whatever it is you're trying to protect. It suffers in versatility, as well; while on one crystal, it can be hard to switch to another if the situation changes, just like it can be hard to turn off."

"Once you snort Dust, you ride the high until it's over, huh?" Adam stated, smirking as I frowned at him.

"More or less," I replied, a touch annoyed at the analogy. "It still provides an enormous amount of power and because you're channeling the Dust through your own body, there are a number of tricks you can do with it in terms of your Aura—but because of the costs, it was eventually shuffled out of popular use. Dust Weaving was a somewhat later invention, made by sewing the Dust into cloth and then channeling Aura through it to create an effect. This lowered its power significantly, but made it far easier to control, so it was very popular."

"It's not the size that matters, it's how you—" Adam began, still smirking widely. The boredom seemed to be getting to him already.

"I'm sure you'd know all about that, Adam," I cut him off with a nod. "But actually, yeah. Truth is, you can make up for a lot with proper control—being able to shoot a blast of fire the size of a bus is cool and all, but unless you're hitting a bus sized target, odds are good that most of the attack didn't hit anything, mean it was a lot of wasted energy. But let's say you take half that energy and focus it into an area the size of a marble; that attack is going to melt through just about anything you put in its path. What's the point of having a lot of energy if all you're going to do is waste it? For a while, Dust Weaving was considered the most powerful use of Dust, simply because you could focus what power you _could_ into some extremely lethal forms."

Adam frowned for a moment before humming.

"Yeah, I get it," He answered. "I once fought a guy who was good at using ice Dust—he froze the entire battlefield and created a shitload of jagged spikes of ice, and I remembered thinking it was an amazing display of power rendered utterly worthless by the fact that it missed me entirely."

I nodded once at that.

"My power gives me a lot of bang for my buck, MP-wise," I said. "Because the cost tends to lower as I train skills more. Even then, there's a reason I favored my Magic Missile over Flare; it focused all of its power in a small area or on a single target. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to handle Gungnir just yet, but we'll see how it improves as it levels up. That's the downside of wide-area attack—their usefulness tends to decline as their area increases. City-destroying attacks sound cool and all, but how often do need to destroy a city? Isn't there anything more useful you could do with it? The Grimm, thankfully, are always good targets, but I'm not sure I'd use Gungnir anywhere near people."

Adam bobbed his head in understanding before pursing his lips.

"I get the idea; control over power. But…if Dust Weaving was considered so amazing," Adam mused. "Why do you barely see it anymore?"

"Because it had a fair number of downsides," I said with a shrug. "For a long time, it was something that had to be done by hand and even after it became possible to do it with machines, experts were still favored over mass production because it often had to customized to get the best results. Further, while it addresses the issue of control, it's entirely limited by what's sewn into the cloth beforehand and can't respond to any situation you didn't predict or prepare for; you can't just add more Dust to it on the fly if you need more power, nor can you suddenly switch between ice and fire. Add in the complications that can come from sewing errors or damages to the cloth and…well, they were eventually replaced by Dust rounds, which made up for their lack of individual power by being easy to use, trivial to switch between, simple to carry in large numbers, and compatible with a wide variety of weapons. In the end, Dust rounds and the powdered Dust used to make them became the most popular to use in battle, with a few specialists using other forms."

"But you have something in mind?" Adam guessed. "A way to add power back into that equation?"

"Maybe," I answered, glancing up as the professor called upon Adam. I used Levant to give the right answer in my friend's voice and focused on him again. I began sketching the design of the armor over the figure I'd drawn earlier. "Something that can balance versatility of Dust rounds, the control of Dust Weaving, the safety of Dust Eating, and the power of raw Dust. On top of that, it should be possible to enhance the capabilities of the wearer with Dust, both directly and indirectly. Color and direct the use of Aura as needed, support the user's body, switch between types of Dust on the fly, that type of thing."

"Interesting," Adam admitted, looking at the design I was slowly filling in—and yet, his frown was slowly deepening. "A best of all worlds' kind of deal. But…if this was possible, shouldn't someone have tried it already?"

At that, my smile dimmed.

"I'll bet you anything that something like this _has_ been tried this before," I answered, shaking my head. "We use Dust to power our robots, after all, and with Dust armor, there'd just be a person inside operating it. We already have a few things like that, they're just bigger and they just don't use the Dust directly. There must be several problems with it and I can take a few guess at what. The first, of course, is going to be the cost, in terms of both money and Dust. The monetary cost is probably obvious, but the Dust is arguably more important. If it's just powering a robot or a machine, that's one thing, but if you're using the Dust _itself_ to fight, you bare the risk of burning through in a fight—and if you run out in the middle of the battle, suddenly you're just being weighed down by a shitload of deadweight. You'd need a way to keep that from happening, first and foremost."

I shook my head.

"And while fuel economy has got to be a major issue," I said. "I think that combat potential has to be another. The result has to be worth the cost or there's no point, right? But there are a lot of things that need to be done to make it work. The armor is probably going to end up big enough that it's going to need at least _some_ lightening, which will cost Dust. Then it'll need the auxiliary stuff, which could rack up costs quickly; if you want it to fly, if you want it to have computer systems to aid the user, on and on. Then there's the Dust itself and how it's going to be used in battle, making it versatile and easy to use—there's all sorts of things to take care of and they could all lead to roadblocks. I bet the guys up in Atlas has probably spent a fair amount of time thinking about it."

Adam considered that for a moment before nodding.

"Probably," He agreed. "Might even be related to that girl you mentioned they built. But you've brought up a whole lot of issues—do you have any solutions."

"Actually?" I replied, smile returning. "I just might. I think Cinder could be the key—I told you how her clothes had something like circuitry sewn into them and how I thought they worked like programs; input power, output results. Add in her own skill with Dust and she probably has a wide variety of tricks at her disposal for surprisingly little cost. I was thinking something similar might be possible with other forms of Dust; ways to both save power and bring out large amounts of it. If you could incorporate similar things into armor and set up the circuitry to make use of different kinds of Dust, it might be possible to get some real results. Mix in some of the other types, like rounds for weaponry, crystals in the power source, or even a few sections _made_ out of Dust and…it might possible."

Adam lifted an eyebrow.

"Can you do that?" He asked, making me chuckle.

"No," I admitted before raising a finger. "Not yet, at least. Like I said, it'll take some work before I can even think about a project like this."

"Ah," He nodded in understanding. "Right. You're going to train this at night, then?"

"At night?" I repeated, lifting my own eyebrow. "I'm training it right now."

Adam blinked once at that, furrowing his eyebrows for a moment before catching on.

"Oh," He said, glancing at the pencils I was using to draw. "Of course."

"Sorry if I seem distracted," I continued, smirking. "My mind is busy elsewhere."

Adam's expression became one of disgust.

"Ugh," He groaned. "I didn't sign up for puns."

I chuckled and smiled as I looked down at my drawing. I'd meant it, though, at least in part. When we'd finished our training, I'd had us exit Naraka in the city, giving me a chance to gather all the supplies I needed to weave and craft. Even as I sat here in class, my mind was at work elsewhere, grinding my skills in our empty room—and in _this_ room, really, as I was floating a millimeter above my chair.

There was too much to do to let _this_ get in the way of my training.

Returning to my work, I could feel the forming cloth as if I were doing it by hand. If someone had managed to walk into my room without my knowing, they'd have found a complex web of thread and fabric held in the air and spread throughout the room. The web shifted constantly, as if being woven by invisible machines and gripped by unseen hands—which was exactly the case. Granted, the machines and hands were made out of focused thought rather than steel or flesh, but they moved in accordance to my will, spinning and sowing and shifting as I wished. One of the benefits of being Psychokinetic was that if you understood the processes, which I did, you could use it in place of even industrial machinery.

There were limits, of course. My mind could create things that were physical, giving the impression of conveyor belts and sewing machines and far more besides—but it could replace the need for the materials those machines worked. I'd stocked up, thankfully, and so that wasn't a concern so long as I remained focused, but though I had a number of flaws, a lack of attention to detail was not one of them.

Simply by focusing, I could turn our room into a factory, except more versatile, because the machines didn't run according to any designs or schedule except those I wished. I could change the entire process with a thought, switching out machines or materials or whatever else simply by willing it, and so things moved. It was simple enough to weave clothes together, just as it was simple to weave threads of Dust into them as I did. While some of my mental machinery was focused on fabrics and thread, the rest was devoted to several sets of hovering Dust crystals that I was slowly unravelling to lace and coat specific threads, sewing power into the forming clothes and lighting the room with eerie colors.

That wasn't how it was normally done, of course, because most people couldn't spin Dust into threads as they worked, coating specific segments as they went so that it would later create a greater whole. Usually, specially prepared threads would be sewn into something to give it power, added to already completed clothing—but this helped grind my Crafting, too, and helped me practice my Dust Weaving. If I chose, I could weave other threads into the pattern, creating a growing tapestry with some planning beforehand. Keeping Cinder's almost circuitry-like designs in mind, I connected the clothes as I worked, testing what I could do. When I got results I wanted, I remembered them and added them to the next work—when I didn't, I simply took it apart and went back to work.

But already, I'd made some progress. Being able to do it myself, to check the results and play with the possibilities, gave me a pretty good idea of what Cinder was doing. I'd been right about her designs; they were like both circuitry and programs. Circuitry in how they allowed power to flow through the garments, and programs in how directing that flow could generate results. Really, there were two layers to what Cinder did, with a central design that carried power surrounded by something to focus and color it—and having keened to that idea, I was eager to test it.

The circuitry aspects were simple to puzzle because…they really did work pretty much like a circuit, at least in some ways. It needed an energy supply—the user's Aura, generally, to minimize the cost to the Dust itself—and what amounted a closed circuit, made of patterns and lines throughout the cloth. The patterns needed to connect, somehow, so as to guide the Aura of the wearer without drawing too much upon the Dust's own power; the idea was for it to be the conductive material, rather than the power source. There were drawbacks to that, but depending on how the patterns in the cloth are designed, the energy that flows through it can be colored in different ways.

That was the 'programming' aspect of Dust Weaving. It was also part of why the effects were weaker than the rawer forms of Dust use—because you were actually trying to _limit_ how much Dust was used, relying more on one's one power instead. At its most basic level, this could be used simply to aspect the Aura of the wearer towards the element of the Dust and allow them to project it in a useful way; to generate fire with red Dust, electricity with yellow Dust, and so on. With a more complex design, however, you could also generate a more complex effect. It was like my old Energy Bolt, which I could change into things like Fireballs and Cannonballs by adding in an Element; that would be the basic shift. Something bigger might allow for more complex techniques like Flares or Magic Missiles.

Of course, that was easier said than done. It depended, first and foremost, on the cloth itself—but also upon the wearer, who would still need to supply and guide the power, even if the cloth helped to shape it. Beyond which, actually writing the programs seemed to require…well, I guess it was sort of like a programming language. Getting a desired effect required the right patterns and the right Dust; without that, you'd be lucky to get something that didn't work at all. If you _weren't_ lucky, you might get something that worked just fine…but not at all as it was intended to. I was betting that, historically speaking, there were a number of tried and true designs that I'd likely be able to hunt down, because experimentation might be harshly rewarded.

Thankfully, my senses gave me a number of advantages, not least of which was the ability to _see_ the energy flow through the clothes and estimate what it was likely to do. Added to Observe, I could guess what something would do with a great deal of accuracy—and, more importantly, without actually seeing if it would or would not explode in my face. Once found, my power automatically logged the blueprints and filed them away.

From there, it was just a matter of figuring out what got the best results—both in terms of grinding and actual use. When it came to improving Crafting and Dust Weaving, I knew it'd be key to find something that not only generated a decent amount of experience, but which did so for relatively minor cost in terms of both time and resources. Rather than something I could only afford to make one of, crafting items at a steady rate was better, though my ability to recycle things helped quite a bit.

At the moment, I was sticking to the basics—clothes that were very fire or shock resistant, suits that lowered the amount of resistance one would face while swimming through water, and pants that would help soften a fall. Each took only minor amounts of the four basic kinds of Dust and incorporating the designs into clothes was fairly trivial. The experience rewards were fairly high relative to the cost and I'd already made several dozen of each, the results improving along with my skills.

Perhaps even more importantly, however, none of them were particularly dangerous, which meant I had the option of selling them if I felt so inclined. That was one of the upsides of Crafting, after all—you could always sell what you didn't want. Granted, life wasn't as simple as a game where any shop you came across would happily buy anything you felt like selling, but there were ways around that; I was certain that if I started manufacturing large amounts of Dust Woven clothes, my grandmother could find a buyer or else set up a proxy store.

Of course, I didn't really need money. I made a point to collect what the Grimm dropped, but there just wasn't a whole lot I really needed—and what little I did, my friends or allies generally provided freely. Even recouping the Dust I lost in Crafting wasn't a huge concern, simply because, as I was now, I was pretty sure I could mine Dust if I needed to. Between Ereb and my Psychokinesis, and with the information Raven and I had found concerning Dust deposits, I was fairly confident I could dig up…well, more than I was likely to ever need. I'd already made plans to help forestall the Dust crisis, if it became necessary, I was just more worried about the Riders and their Master, now that I knew of their existence. If it came up, I'd just go get some more Dust.

On the other hand, it might still be an interesting idea. The way things were headed, I'd be doing a lot of Crafting while in class—and the speed and quality of what I made was rising steadily. While I could just store the results in my Inventory and forget about them—because I didn't have much use for them myself—wouldn't it be better if _somebody_ benefited from them? Even just some basic tricks could come in handy and I could already do more than that; I just wasn't really big on the whole sell powerful weapons to anyone capable of affording it.

But that wasn't the same as not being willing to sell them to _anyone_. I had no objections to making Hunters or the army safer or better equipped and my grandmother could make arrangements to see that it happened. It would take quite a while to produce enough to, say, supply an army, but my days were going to be pretty dull for a while anyway. Once things were in place, I could step up productions and make more powerful items as needed or even take requests. It would be _something_ , at least.

I could use my Crafting to equip those close to me, too. My friends, family, and allies could use all the help they could get and it was easy enough for me to do while I had the time. And once I had enough time to Craft and Weave…well, I guess we'd see.

After all, I thought as the teacher continued to drone, it's not like I had anything better to do.

"Is this guy ever going to stop talking?" Adam complained, getting bored again moments after our conversation ended. "I can't believe I woke up for this shit."

"You should have just slept in class," I answered, pulling my thoughts away from my work for a moment. "I'd have covered for you."

"Goddamn it," Adam swore. "I can't believe I stayed _awake_ for this shit."

I smiled a little at that, already drifting again. Watching my Dust crystals unravel and then bind to the threads I'd prepared, I remembered what my father had used his Telekinesis for. I'd continue to work on my Weaving for a while, but I needed to test what I could do with my Crafting, as well. That would require more materials, of course, but I could fetch them tonight.

"Well," I said. "Try to stay awake for a while longer. PT's next—and since it's the first day, maybe we'll get to duel someone. And if so…well, let's try to make a good impression."

"Sorry," He replied. "All I heard was 'beat the ever-loving crap out of them and establish the pecking order.'"

"Well…" I glanced at him, still smiling. "That's more or less what I meant, I suppose."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Class Introductions**

Classes at Haven were, naturally, quite a bit different from the schools I'd gone to in the past. Part of that was because…well, it was a school to train _Hunters_ , so of course it'd be different. The other part of it was that it was essentially a college—a college to teach people how to best destroy the enemies of mankind, but a college nonetheless. As a result, in addition to having a number of courses that would have seemed _extremely_ out of place anywhere else, there were different expectations when it came to scheduling and course work. While there weren't really different majors or degrees, students were expected to specialize in different areas in accordance to their own interests and skills and a large amount of that was handled behind the scenes. Different powers naturally leant themselves to different roles and while students weren't _forced_ , there were some very strong, if subtle, incentives to do so. That didn't mean as much for freshman as it did for upperclassmen—and meant basically nothing to _me_ —but it still affected us in a few ways. While we were mostly expected to polish our basics in our first semester or two, not everyone needed that polish in the same areas, which is why teammates could wind up in different classes.

But while not every member needed to be in the same history class, there was something that was expected of every team—the ability to work together, especially in battle. As such, courses like PT were taken as a team, which was why we met up with Emerald and Mercury in our next class.

"Hey," I greeted as Adam tossed his bag beneath the table. I didn't bother with one of my own—partially because there wasn't much point in me taking notes on stuff I already knew, partially because I'd remember everything I heard anyway, and partially because I carried everything I needed in my Inventory. "How was your class?"

"Boring," Mercury answered with a sigh, dropping his bag, taking a seat, and then putting his feet up on the table in front of him. "Yours?"

"Boring," I answered back, chuckling.

He grunted, unsurprised.

"For a school that supposed to teach us to kill monsters, there sure are a lot of courses that don't teach us how to kill monsters," He complained, putting his hands behind his head. "Some of it…yeah, some of it, I get. But there's a whole lot of shit that I'm a million percent sure I'll forget the moment I leave this place and never use in my entire life. You should have scene our history class."

I nodded, smiling slightly. I wasn't sure if he was trying to build a sense of companionship between us or if he was just looking for a chance to complain, but I was happy to play along. In truth, he was right; there were a fair amount of pointless things taught at the Hunter Academies—or, at least, things that were point for _Hunters_ to know. While there was undoubtedly something to be said for knowledge being power, there were a number of things that, well, just weren't that important. While the economic crisis that resulted from the aftermath of the Great War was sort of interesting in technical sense, especially in how it later played into the Faunus Rights Revolution, I was doubtful that any of the students learning about it three classrooms over were going to benefit much from it. There were people who needed to know about that stuff for their jobs, but it didn't really make us better Hunters.

But then, it wasn't supposed to. There was a different point to making us learn those things—though _what_ point depended on how cynical you were. In the end, though, the truth of the matter was that the Kingdoms didn't want us to be nothing but killing machines because that would pretty much inevitably backfire; instead, they wanted us to be people and have ties that made us loyal, whether to the Kingdom itself or people in it.

That was the reason why the Headmasters and Headmistresses of the Hunter Academies were some of the most powerful people in the world—because they were trusted by so many of their former students. It was _also_ why the position was given only to the most trusted Hunters; if there was one history lesson that _was_ worth learning, it was what happened when the wrong person was put in charge.

Of course, if my fears concerning Ozpin proved true…we all might get a first-hand look at the results.

I'd just have to make sure it didn't come to that.

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it," I finally answered, sighing slightly.

Mercury snorted.

"Yeah, well, all I learned from history is that no one learns from history," He stated, to which I was forced to incline my head.

Fair enough. One way or another, that was probably a fairly accurate assessment of Remnant's past. Part of that was because the Grimm had been pulling the strings and forcing things, but…well, that was the other downside of learning about our history—it wasn't a particularly happy tale. Civilizations rose and fell, generally ending on such pleasant notes as 'they resolved to stand against the Grimm even if it killed them…which it did. The end.'

I sighed again.

"Enough about boring classes," Emerald interrupted, drawing a notebook and putting it on her desk. She looked for all the world like an attentive student ready to take notes—but the book was completely empty from her last class and any enthusiasm on her part was faked. All she felt was bored and hungry. "PT should be fun, right?"

"Maybe you're right, Emerald," I replied anyway. "It's our first day, after all; the teacher will probably want to test us out some. We might even get to spar."

Mercury yawned, also bored and hungry.

"That might be good for a laugh for…" He paused to mull over the though before shrugging. "Maybe five minutes? But I bet you it gets old _really_ fast. Fifty Lien says that once it becomes obvious that we're the strongest team here, this class is gonna get super annoying."

"No bet," Adam grunted. "But those five minutes of amusement are _mine_."

Mercury lifted an eyebrow and glanced at me.

"If we have some spars coming up and it's allowed," I began as if I couldn't read the professor's notes from down the hall. "Adam called dibs on the enemy team."

"Dibs?" He repeated.

"It means he wants to take on the entire team alone," I explained. "You two can fight if you really want to, but Adam won't be happy. It wouldn't really make much of a difference, but…Adam's in a bad mood, today, so I'll let him take this one."

"Four against one?" Emerald asked.

"It's still unfair," I admitted shutting my eyes for a moment. "But can you imagine if _all_ of us fought? Now that'd just be cruel. Besides, it's unlikely the professor will do anything unless we show him how much stronger we are—maybe he'll let the others team up against us."

"That…might be fun," Mercury answered, the approval seeming to cost him something. "Mind if I go next?"

I opened an eye to glance at him in amusement.

"Go ahead," I replied with an easy shrug. "It doesn't really matter when I go, but I'm kind of holding out for the entire class."

Mercury whistled slightly at that, looking around.

"Think you can take that many?" He asked.

"Yup," I stated without any emphasis. "I'll ask the professor about it when I get a chance, too. I'd like to establish who's in charge as quickly as possible so that there are no misunderstandings down the line."

"Hm," Mercury hummed in thought, bobbing his head towards me in acknowledgement, but the professor walked in before he could ask anything else.

"Hello, class," He said as he entered, ignoring the conversations that quickly came to a halt anyway. He was an elderly-looking man, with grey hair and wrinkles set deep into his face. His skin was bronzed from a life of work and his eyes were a shining, intelligent brown. Given the prolonged youth that Hunters tended to be blessed with—assuming, of course, that they lived long enough to enjoy it—his appearance said a great deal about him, especially combined with his name.

 **The Trainer of Heroes  
LV103  
Kaus Toxotes **

Like Ozpin and my grandmother, his name didn't seem to correspond to a color—most likely because he predated the trend that the Great War had started eighty years ago. Added to that, his level…

"Now, I think we all know why we're here," Kaus said, clapping his hands with a smile. Despite his age, his hands looked strong and his voice carried throughout the room. "I'm Dr. Toxotes—or Dr. T, if you prefer. As it happens, I know many of you already and you may remember seeing me with your parents at some point. For those of you who do, allow me to explain; odds are that I taught them when _they_ came here, because I've been a professor here for nearly seventy-three years now. So, be warned that I'm not afraid to call up my old students if you miss behave."

He lifted a finger, but the smile on his face was amused.

"That having been said, I like to think I have a fairly good track record when it comes to students," He continued. "And I'm pleased to be here to teach _you_. You'll likely see quite a bit of me in your time here at Haven and so long as you give me your best, I will give you mine. Whoever you are or whatever lead you here, that you _are_ here is what matters. You are the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses and I will do everything I can to make sure you're up to the task. Hunters, you see, are not born, they're _made_ —as are teams."

At a snap of his fingers, the lights in the room began to dim, except for the lowered, circular area at the bottom of the auditorium—the ring.

"So," He said, eyes beginning to glow. "Let's get to forging. We'll start with a few matches, to see where you all stand. Are there any volunteers?"

Adam's hand rose at once.

Dr. T glanced his way, looking my disguised friend over with only slight surprise.

"Adam…Knossos, was it?" He asked. "From team JAME?"

Adam nodded once, rising slowly from his seat and cracking his neck. The entire classroom immediately focused on him, but he merely looked back, expression…not quite calm and not quite hungry, but something in between.

Dr. T looked down at his scroll, glancing at the notes his words had automatically brought up. It must have been connected to the school's database, because the screen showed Adam's profile, including what few notes there were about his performance in initiation. I felt the professor grow intrigued at what little was there—both because there was so little there and because of the reason why. Adam and I had breezed through the test so quickly there wasn't much to talk about.

As the person in charge of our growth, it was only natural that Kaus would want to unravel the mysteries around us. Perhaps that's why he immediately played along.

"Very well, Mr. Knossos," He said, smiling. "Thank you for your enthusiasm. Is there anyone willing to fight Mr. Knossos?"

"Actually, sir," Adam interrupted smoothly before anyone could reply. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to issue a challenge to a team."

Dr. T blinked once, surprised at the bold proclamation.

"You mean…" He began before hesitating and shaking his head, changing his mind midsentence. "I apologize Mr. Knossos, but we won't be having team battles today."

"I don't want a battle between teams, sir," Adam replied, shaking his head. "I simply wish to battle _a_ team, to make things interesting. Four-on-one."

Whispers raced through the classroom at his proclamation, tones of surprise, anger, intrigue, and annoyance mixing together into a sea of background noise. As they began to speak amongst themselves, Adam quietly looked down, gaze matching the professor's.

"I see," Dr. Toxotes said at last, contemplating Adam for a long moment before nodding. "Such…asymmetrical battles certainly aren't unheard of—for advanced students, who know their limits."

"I know my limits," Adam answered, glancing my way. "I'm just not one to accept them."

Apparently, that was the right thing to say.

"Very well," Dr. T replied with a smile, stepping back to take a seat on his desk. "What kind of professor would I be if I asked you not to try and overcome your limits? My job is merely to see that you do so safely and to help you along the way. If you wish to test your ability, I'll give you a chance."

Looking away from Adam, he slid his gaze across the rest of the class.

"In truth, I hadn't planned on starting team battles for another week or two," He admitted a moment later. "But adapting to changing circumstances is also part of being a Hunter. Is there anyone willing to answer Mr. Knossos' challenge?"

There was a long moment of silence before another hand went up.

"Ms. Gronn?" Dr. Toxotes noted, glancing at the young woman. "May I assume you're speaking for team TEAL?"

Even sitting down, I could tell that she was a tall girl—as in, taller than I was, and built to match. The weapons at her belt appeared to be a pair of overgrown tonfas, with the side that was normally blunt covered in wicked spikes and the ends resembling the barrels of a gun…which was exactly what they were, so. The professor mulled over her for a moment before glancing at the three boys beside her. Even without the words above their heads, I'd have recognized them as siblings by their facial structure, brown hair and eyes, and the similar symbols each bore. Hell, they even had matching _stubble_. I wonder if they coordinated their shaving.

 **The Bridge and the Toll  
LV39  
Toril Gronn**

 **I've Got Two Spears  
LV 31  
Ethan Bruise**

 **And I've Two Curling Stones  
LV 35  
Aaron Bruise**

 **I'll Crush You to Bits, Body and Bones  
LV 40  
Laurence Bruise**

Settling his gaze upon them, Adam smirked once and began to walk down to the arena, confidence in his stride.

"Oi," I said, stopping him lazily, closing my eyes and chuckling slightly. "You're not planning to tear them to pieces with your bare hands, are you?"

Adam paused for a moment before grunting with a shrug.

"Might as well," He answered with a roll of his eyes. "Consider it a handicap to make this a bit fairer."

"Now, now," I chided. "As the team leader, you're my responsibility—I can't very well let you fight without a weapon. Here, you can borrow mine until your replacement arrives."

I tossed him Crocea Mors, sheath and all.

"Just remember to bring him back when you're done," I commanded. "And don't make too much of a mess."

Adam snorted dismissively and rested the sheathed blade on his shoulder. By the time he completed his short trek down to the arena, his opponents were already waiting, with the girl looking eager and the boy's put-upon. I sort of felt bad for them, considering what they were being dragged into.  
"Remember, this is just a sparring match," Dr. T said once they were all ready. "I know you're all eager to fight, but you're also allies; whatever happens, stop once your opponent's Aura reaches the red and be careful not to inflict any serious injuries upon each other. Other than that, Mistral rules apply."

I saw several students smirk at that. Mistral rules were pretty simple—the first one to die, loses. Or, in this case, the first one to go down; either way, he was essentially saying that anything goes.

"Now…begin!"

Adam launched forward the moment he had the go ahead, twirling Crocea Mors deftly before grabbing it by the sheath. Thrusting his hand forward suddenly, he launched the sword from its sheath, jabbing the youngest of the three brothers—Ethan—hard in the sternum with its hilt. Almost the moment the attack drove the younger boy back a step, Adam was upon him, sliding low and swinging with the sheath, knocking his feet out from under him. At the same time, he reached up with his left hand and grabbed his borrowed sword, rising even as he spun it like a windmill.

Seeing the attack on his brother—or, at least, seeing Adam abruptly in his brother's place—Aaron twisted in place and grit his teeth. Ports opened up on his curling ram-horn helmet even as a colored visor slide down to shield his eyes, and a series of Dust rounds began to launch from it, guided by the targeting system that had been built into the device.

Even so, he was too slow to react to Adam's flickering approach. Characters and calculations scrolled across his visor, giving him a moments warning as Adam brought his sword low to his right and swung it in a wide arc. He backed away at the last second and Adam's attack hit only air.

Granted, mostly because his left hand no longer held a sword. In mid-swing, he'd released the blade before continuing the motion of his attack as if he held it—and then, even as the first 'attack' completed, his right hand curled around its hilt and followed up, attacking from a completely different angle.

As the second brother went flying back, Adam's free hand snaked back around and grasped the sheath his right had released. With a quick button push, the shield began to expand and he threw it towards the eldest brother, momentarily obscuring his vision. Taking advantage of the opportunity to close in, Adam slammed his left hand into the back of the shield, smashing it into the younger man's face before making it retract back into a sheath with another button push as Laurence stumbled back.

Grasping the sheath like a second sword, Adam jabbed its end into the boy's stomach to force him even further off balance before angling Crocea Mors like he was preparing to hammer a nail into drywall. Thrusting it forward, he drove it straight into the sheath with enough force that Laurence's feet lifted into the air—but he did even have a chance to fly away before Adam grabbed the sheathed blade, spun quickly, and slammed it into the back of his head hard into to send cracks through the floor.

Cracking his neck as three bodies touched down, his eyes fell upon the final member of the team and he approached with calm, steady steps, slowly drawing his blade.

The fight ended moments after it began.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Approval Rating**

For a long moment, the classroom was silent. From Dr. Toxotes below to the students in the floors above, everyone looked stunned at how quickly the battle ended. I could feel the emotions spreading through the room, amazement and disbelief most prominent—but as the seconds wore on, I could feel it give way to curiosity, interest, and intrigue.

It wasn't surprising, really. In Mistral, strength was damn near everything, no matter the form—economic strength, political strength, mental strength, strength of will, and, of course, personal strength—and Adam had just proved he had strength in spades. We'd proven that to some extent by going through the Labyrinth with what had probably been record breaking speed, but it was unlikely many of the other students had heard about that beyond unconfirmed rumors.

This, though? This was something no one could deny. Adam's strength—and, thus, the strength of team JAME—had just been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt and now it was a fact that everyone was going to have to live with. I could see people realize that slowly and accept it, but already they were incorporating it into their plans. Some, those who'd intended to establish themselves as the new power among Haven's freshmen and student body, were beginning to see us as rivals with various degrees of despair. Others saw us as potential allies to work with to achieve their goals, and I could feel their focus as they filed us away to look into later. A few of those remaining even began to consider making themselves subordinate to us in Haven's power structure, whether for power or protection.

Good. Our opening move was already causing ripples, just as we'd intended. Those who intended to set themselves up as enemies would need to be dealt with, of course, but the scene before them was already making their resolve faster. Those who went digging would inevitably find out that I was the grandson of Jeanne Roma and that the Knossos family were tied to the Roma Family—but it was also possible that a few of them had old friends at Sanctum that might recognize Emerald and Mercury, maybe even remember something that wasn't in the records. It was unlikely, but it cost nothing to make others look for me. Regardless, what they found out about our team as a whole was likely to frighten them and make them even more interested in an alliance; with it came to living in Mistral, or even living on Remnant, sometimes scary friends were the best ones to have.

And those who approached us, asking to become our subordinates…well, there was plenty of room in the faction I was building—and it would be a faction soon. Even Dr. Toxotes was looking at us differently now, recognizing our power, if nothing else. He'd pass word on to the other faculty and soon it would be known that we were Haven's new rising stars. There'd be challenges to face accordingly, both from other freshmen teams and upperclassmen, but as we faced them down and overcame them, our power would grow.

Adam had done well, as I'd known he would on a mission. I'd briefed him on all the other teams that had formed during initiation, summarizing the information I'd gathered on them with a focus on how they acted and fought. It had been a lot of information, even boiled down to the barebones, but he'd taken it in silently the moment he understood that I was explaining something important. I wasn't sure if Adam had recognized team TEAL, but he'd made the right choice in taking them out fast, tearing them apart before the synergy that had allowed their team to finish third shown through.

In truth, they weren't bad once they had time to properly set things up. Ethan and Aaron had two very similar Semblances that allowed them to apply specific buffs to other people. Ethan improved accuracy, attack speed, and defense penetration while his brother improved the targets defensive and offensive abilities. They couldn't apply these buffs to themselves, but their power was significant; from what I'd seen, each of them tended to apply these buffs to both of their brother's at the onset of a fight, leading to some confusion as they seemingly traded powers. They even kept things mostly under wraps by each pretending that the power they were gifted with was their actual Semblance.

Laurence tied it all together with another buff-type power—but one that could only affect him. It made him bigger, faster, tougher, and stronger, increasing all his physical stats significantly with a number of physical changes. Better yet, it was possible for _both_ of his brother's powers to target him and, while so supported, he was a force to be reckoned with inside of his weight class. Not enough to close the gap between him and Adam, but enough to stand out amongst the class, even on his own. His brothers had laid their power over him before the start of initiation and he'd torn through everything in his path until he'd met up with Toril and then his brothers. Given Toril's own superstrength…once TEAL got itself in order and learned to trust and work with one another, they'd likely be one of the stronger teams in the class. While they'd had no real hope of defeating Adam even so, they might have been able to turn it into a losing battle with Adam holding back his Semblance and best tricks, or at least last a while longer.

Unfortunately for them, I couldn't allow that. For the time being, it was better that we were seen as completely impossible to stand against or resist, even if that meant tearing them down right now. I knew the value of the appearance of strength and it was worth too much for me to throw away this opportunity. I'd extend an offer to them later, perhaps—a friendly one, even. They had potential and a useful power set if handled properly, and I had nothing against any of them. Things would likely be strained between our teams for some time, but it should be possible to smooth things over. It was just…

I intended to run this place.

"—Very good, Mr. Knossos," Dr. Toxotes said, breaking the silence at long last. To the man's credit, the strain in his voice was negligible and well hidden, I just had good ears and some Empathy. "You may return to your seat."

Adam grunted, raking a hand through his hair once before making his way towards the stairs, leaving the fallen team behind. The professor glanced at his back and then down at his fallen students before heaving a sigh and collecting them. As he scooped them up into his arms, a misty-white glow incased his hands, healing the minor injuries Adam had dealt. For his part, my friend made it about halfway up the stairs before tossing Crocea Mors at my head.

I caught it absently and nodded to him as if he'd passed me the salt at dinner, resting the sword across my lap.

"Well," Dr. T continued as if nothing had happened, clapping his hands again. "Who's next? I need more volunteers."

I raised my hand. Surprisingly, no one else did.

The professor let several seconds go by in silence, waiting for someone else to do…anything, really. When no one did, he glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Arc," He stated, the information on our team still on his scroll. "Would I be correct in assuming you would also like to challenge a team?"

"No, sir," I answered at once. "If possible, I'd like to fight the rest of the class."

There was another explosion of whispers throughout the classroom as Dr. T closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them tiredly.

"Please," He said. "Explain."

I looked around as if I wasn't sure what there was to explain before shrugging.

"Me," I answered, pointing to myself before gesturing around the room. "Versus every team in the room."

"I…hope you aren't doing this out of some need to prove yourself after your teammate's performance, Mr. Arc," Dr. T replied after a moment. "Because I've had several students attempt such things in the past and it rarely ended well."

"No need to worry about that, sir," I answered cheerfully before pausing. "Well, actually, I suppose it's sort of an attempt to prove myself, but it's not because of Adam. He already knows I'm the strongest person in the room—"

Adam grunted in annoyance and crossed his arms but didn't deny it.

"It's just…a lot of other people probably aren't so sure," I continued, shrugging helplessly. "And there's probably a lot of people worried about being the strongest—but see, the position is taken and, well, it'll probably be easier for everyone here if I just prove it right now. And if everyone just fights me all at once, it'll go faster, see? And that way, hopefully there won't any misunderstandings."

The room fell silent again, as if no one could believe what I was saying. Even the _professor_ looked a little stunned by my gall.

"That's…" He paused for a moment to regain himself. "That's a rather rude thing to say to of your fellow classmates, even if it was true. If it's not, it's horrifically arrogant as well."

"I apologize, sir," I answered, inclining my head. "If you wish, I could fight you instead, to make up for it. You could put me in my place, as it were."

Dr. Toxotes looked at me for a long moment, speechless, before turning his head away. After another long moment, he turned back to me, disbelief still written on his face.

"Are you…challenging me to a fight?" He asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes, sir," I replied. "If you're willing, I would appreciate the opportunity."

"And you think you can win?" He asked, surprise giving way to confusion and disbelief.

"I do, sir," I stated. "May I have a chance to prove it?"

"You…you're…" Dr. T stopped for a moment to gaze at the floor before lifting his gaze to meet mine. "Assuming, for a moment, that you were correct, you realize that the destruction such a fight would cause would be tremendous, don't you?"

"I'm good at cleaning up messes, sir," I answered. "I'm will to take responsibility for any damages."

"Oh, well, in _that_ case," He said, still shaking his head in disbelief before letting his gaze wander to Adam and then to the scroll in his hands. He'd seen what my friend had done. He'd seen how easily we'd passed the test. Some part of him couldn't help but wonder if I was actually serious—so in the end, he lifted his head again. "Okay, I'll tell you what. As a teacher and a Hunter, I know the value of trust—and how can I expect any of you to trust me if I don't extend some trust to you. So I'll give you a chance to prove yourself, Mr. Arc. Hit me once and we'll see what you're capable of."

This time it was my turn to raise an eyebrow, even as I let off the gas of several of my more energy intensive skills. Feeling my power swiftly return, I rose from my seat.

"Just to make sure," I mused, smiling slightly. "That's not a joke, is it?"

"I joke with my students," He answered. "Not about them."

"I appreciate that, sir," I answered as I glanced up at the ceiling, quietly checking the rooms and tunnels around us to make sure no one would be caught in the crossfire. "I can understand how it might take people awhile to take me seriously, so I'll return the favor be taking you seriously, sir."

Confirming that they were clear, I glanced back down at the professor, who was starting to grow on me, and smiled again.

And then I dumped ten thousand MP into a Psychokinetic strike.

The reaction was almost instantaneous and wasn't limited to Dr. Toxotes. As I dropped my gaze from the ceiling to the professor, I brought down the fullness of my gathered power like a giant's hammer and the room _shattered_. Massive fissures exploded across the stadium below before spreading up the rows of the auditorium, tearing apart the stairways with massive, gaping cracks. At the center of the assault, the professor—as the target of the attack—promptly accelerated downwards, piercing through the stone floor like a bullet. Without slowing down, he crashed into the tunnels below use, crashed through the ceiling and floor, and then repeated the process several times as he raced down the Labyrinth with speed enough to heat the very air around him.

Seen through my eyes, it was a spectacle. In my field of slowed time, I could see the cracks spread through stone with great speed, spitting up puffs of dust and dirt in the process. I could see the air vibrate with sound, heat with energy, and get sucked downwards in the professor's wake. And I was able to watch as the combination of forces finally made the floor give way and fall, pulling down everyone it was supporting in the process. Caught off-guard, several people screamed—more in surprise than fear as things happened to fast to realize what was truly happening—as they fell, rubble crashing down upon the tunnel below us and shattering it as well, and then the tunnel below that. In moments, everyone in the class was laying atop a field of rubble far below the classroom.

Everyone, that is, except me. As the floor fell out from beneath my feet, I didn't so much as change position, hovering in place with my Vimana. As the room crumbled around me, I watched carefully, relying on Ereb and Crocea Mors to reinforce and protect the areas that I deemed hard to replace. Between their Aura and the position at the top of the collapse, my classmates faced little risk in the fall, but I tracked their descent carefully to make sure nothing happened to them, catching them as they fell to halt each of them a moment before their hit the ground, as well as catch anything that might fall upon them. I held them all aloft for a moment to make it clear that someone was doing something and then gently set each of them down before beginning to lower myself.

As I did, the rubble began to shift and flow, rising as I descended. I reorganized it in the rooms above me, leaving the gaping hole that had once been the floor open so they could see. Pieces came together above me, cracks fading at my Elemental's touch as they did, and by the time I'd lowered myself through the classroom's floor, it was mostly fixed above me. I continued the process as I slowly floated down, mending the tunnels as I went before stopping just above the floor my classmates were now standing upon, feet about half a meter off the ground. None of them said a word as I paused, most of them staring at me in terrified awe, and for the sake of showmanship, I gave them a moment to gawk.

Adam, one of the few who wasn't staring at me, just rolled his eyes, pulled out his scroll, and started browsing the internet. I flicked him in the nose with an invisible hand as punishment before continuing with my work, tearing the hole Dr. T's passage had made wider on each floor. The other students staggered back a step before approaching again, staring down into the depths of the Labyrinth as they followed by gaze.

Somewhere far beneath us, rubble shifted as Kaus Toxotes rose with a slight stagger, resting a hand against the tunnel wall even as dim white light, almost like starlight, flickered around him. He was stunned and reeling, down a fair amount of Aura, and wondering what the hell had just happened, but was otherwise fine, just as I'd know he'd be.

With a theatrical gesture, I waved my hand downwards in a half-circle before bringing it up again. As I did, Dr. Toxotes twitched once as he began to rise, Aura letting out sparks in every direction before he realized what was happening and stopped fighting as I lifted him back the way he'd come. He rose the saw way I'd fallen, the destruction his passage had caused smooth as he ascended until he stood eye to eye with me.

Slowly, he gave me a nod of acknowledgement and began to glow with the color of his Aura before floating back under…not quite his own power, but under his own will to land on the ground. His Semblance was one of the rare types that interacted directly with the Aura of others, primarily in a positive way. He couldn't drain Aura or negate it or anything like that, but he was capable of making adjustments—supplementing the power of an attack with his own, giving attacks more power or range, making something that could normally only target a single person affect several, or even improve the user's control of their own power. It was also possible, however, for him to make minute adjustments to something's breadth and accuracy. Not enough to reverse an attack or deflect it after it had already hit, but enough to defuse the power over a larger area or shift the force of the blow slightly at the last second. Since he could channel that power through a weapon, such as his favored bow and arrow…well, even positive reinforcement can bring a person down if done properly. Coupled with his ability to improve the natural defensive and healing abilities of Aura and he'd apparently gone quite a ways and even getting knocked down into the water table had only stunned him.

Which had been the point. An attack he couldn't dodge or even really see coming with enough force to amaze him but not truly harm. Had things been different—had this been a real fight and he an actual enemy—I wouldn't have hit him that way. While any attack with ten thousand MP behind it was certain to be devastating, such methods weren't the best choice against someone like him and I had access to more efficient methods that would probably have gotten better results. Had I been fighting for my life, I'd had slipped under an illusion and taken to the air with Vimana to avoid his arrows, and while I'd have still attacked with Psychokinesis, it would have been a random, directionless assault, invisible attacks from angle that gave no indication of my actual position. Rather than a single, enormous attack, I'd have torn at him from every angle with my maxed out and inexpensive Magic Missiles while randomly changing the battlefield with my Elementals and alterations in gravity and so on, all while I withdrew to a distance that was safely beyond my opponent's reach, whether it was a meter away or a kilometer away. Once I had him in a position where he had no real chance of hitting me but from which I could assault him at my leisure, it was logically only a matter of time until he fell, regardless of what adjustments he made.

That's rather the point of ranged combat, after all. If you could hit your opponent and they couldn't hit you back, it generally meant you won. Granted, the fight might have taken a little while longer then it potentially needed to as he tweaked my aim, but by staying out of sight, out of reach, and by keeping up a constant stream of cheap but lethal attacks, I'd have worn him down by sheer attrition with little danger to myself. Naturally, I had access to alternative methods, if the situation demanded it; if the risk to others was a concern, I could remain close enough to shield them or even use Naraka to change locations, depending on what secrets I was keeping. If time was an issue, I had faster ways to win fights; with my Psychokinesis, I no longer needed to worry about the fact that many of my attacks occupied my hands, which meant I could freely wade into battle with the White Tiger style and rip my opponent to pieces with a physical _and_ magical assault, unleashing my full power—in fact, that was my _most_ powerful method of attack, limited only by the fact that it might tie my identities together. But on the whole, it would be wisest to keep a distance and be cautious with an opponent that had so much experience.

Regardless, I'd been completely sincere when I'd said I was sure I could defeat him in battle. I knew he was strong, experienced, and talented—to be as old and high leveled as he was, he had to be—and it was quite possible that he could push me further than I might expect even from all the information I'd gathered through Observation. But if I really, truly had to…I'd win. Even limited to the powers I could safely use in a school setting, without endangering my identity or the lives of those around me, I was fairly confident I could defeat him in a real battle, or I wouldn't have made the offer; I tried to avoid picking fights I didn't know I could win. But the methods I'd have used? They wouldn't have looked anything like this. It cost too much for too little, even if it was a devastating blow. As tactics went, expending nearly two-thirds of my power in an opening move when I was fairly certain it would neither kill nor incapacitate my opponent…well, it wasn't one I favored. I had nothing against taking down an enemy quickly, but I preferred it when they were actually _taken down_. I mean, at the very least, I'd have focused my power into a smaller area.

When it came to making an impression, however…it worked just fine.

"I'm not going to lie, Mr. Arc," He said after a moment's silence, looking at me in a new light and sounding fairly impressed. "I didn't see that coming."

I smiled widely at the words, inclining my head in thanks.

"And I see you've already cleaned up after yourself, too," He noted, looked around and nodding in satisfaction.

"I told you I would, sir," I answered.

"You did," He admitted. "And it's good to see that you are a man of your word. It seems were a few floors down, however."

"The floor collapsed," I stated with a shrug. I caught everyone but didn't feel like carrying them while I made repairs.

"Fair enough," He allowed. "But as we're no longer in the classroom and as I seem to have come down with something of a headache, why don't we call it a day? Class dismissed."

I nodded and turned away, nodding towards Adam to follow. None of my classmates moved, seeming to wait on me.

"Oh, and Mr. Arc," Dr. T said as I began to walk away, catching my attention. "Stop by my office, sometime; I'd like to speak to you at some point."

"Yes, sir," I answered with a smile.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Recess**

The moment I was gone, the whispers started. Student began to talk amongst themselves, first in low tones, but soon all but shouting. There were voices that sounded amazed, disbelieving, stunned, angry, curious, frantic—and through my unique senses, I could see the expressions on the faces of those who spoke, feel the edges of their thoughts and words, and knew who they were. All of them wanted to know more about me and, when details weren't forthcoming, they turned to others.

It didn't take them long to realize I hadn't come from Sanctum and that no one knew me personally, but that did little to stop them. It took only a short while for people to recognize me as the one who'd fought Pyrrha and to make note of who I'd been seen with recently. Messages went out amongst the freshman class, spreading the word about what had happened to anyone who'd listen. Though people had been caught mostly off guard, the fact that we were going to spar today had prompted several people to record what had happened, especially after witnessing Adam's fight—which had been part of the point of Adam going first. Though the recordings had been markedly amateurish and the destruction had introduced a lot of shaking, motion blur, and concealment to the records, a few people caught enough to make others interested.

More than that, the sheer amount of destruction and noise my attack had caused had everyone in Haven looking for the source and word quickly began to spread. It quickly reached the other freshmen, who my classmates knew best, and so it also reached the ears of the heirs to Mistral's Families. What seemed like mere moments afterwards, my connection to the Roma family was revealed and that simply added fuel to the flames of intrigue, encouraging people to look even closer. By that point, word had long since spilt past the freshmen body and reached the upperclassmen and the teachers, and between all of them, clearer records of the events in the classroom began to spread. In a testament to the Hunters of Mistral—or perhaps to Humanity's capacity for gossip—the records were circulating within twenty minutes.

Once that had happened, speculation was inevitable. Soon people were wondering about the extent of my power, as well as its nature. Was I a telekinetic? Was I really a freshman? How could I be so _strong_? Soon, they began to pull up more about me and my family, trying to put together a puzzle they only had a few of the pieces for. The fact that my father was a telekinetic lent credence to the theories about my Semblance and the history and the reputations of the Arc and the Roma painted an intimidating picture. Having so boldly challenged a teacher and seemingly proved that I truly was the strongest freshmen, both students and teachers began to wonder if I wasn't the strongest student _period_. My bold display of power made a few students if even the junior or senior students would be able to defeat me and, when several went a step further and actually _asked_ , more than one hesitated or was silent.

And when word of _that_ began to spread, it prompted a reaction. When that hesitance was taken as weakness, many of the faction leaders had no choice but to do something, even if it meant reluctantly making plans to challenge me. At the same time, their fear fed my reputation, and many students began to plot and plan, with against me or in an attempt to forge an alliance. Some began to look for ways to bring me into their groups, to buoy their power with my own, while others began to make preparations to negotiate with the faction that I would create. As I'd expected, quite a few people began looking for ways to get into my good graces or to subordinate themselves to me, while those with either keen eyes or experience began to suspect what I had planned for the school.

But whatever they had to say, within minutes I was the talk of the school.

Perfect.

Through it all, I simply waited comfortably in my bed, eyes closed even as I watched and listened. The moment class had been dismissed, I'd made myself scarce so that no one could ask me any questions—the better to let the fire spread and add a touch of mystery to the picture that was suddenly on everybody's minds. I'd give it some time and lay low for now, but it was only a matter of time before someone challenged me, whether out of arrogance or expectation. I'd crush anyone I faced and in a matter of days or weeks, solidify my hold on the school. From there, I'd be able to push the rest of my plans forward unopposed.

Although…it seemed one of my main goals was already well underway. Word of what had happened reached Cinder quickly, carried by messages from Emerald and Mercury. By the time the videos had reached her, my two teammates had returned to their mistress's side to await her commands in response to the massively changed situation. The night before, Cinder had been content to sit back and watch me, but after something like this she had no choice but to respond and begin to move. I was too large of a variable now for her to do anything else—which meant it was _my_ turn to sit back and watch her every move. I couldn't be sure of what she'd do now, but it should be enlightening.

Besides, I vastly preferred enemies who were caught off guard and forced to scramble and put things together. When the bad guys were content to sit back and wait, it felt too much like they were winning.

So I left them to report their findings to Cinder and kept an eye on them all, opening my eyes only when Cinder dismissed them to continue playing their parts, apparently wishing to be alone with her thoughts. The moment they were gone, she began doing some research of her own and shot of a few messages, but otherwise sat on her bed and considered the recordings on her scroll in silence, even as she returned to her sewing.

Several floors away and on the other side of campus, I continued my own. Even though I'd only been at it for a short while, my Dust Weaving had improved greatly thanks to the sheer amount of work I'd gotten done. Though my field of Accelerated time didn't extend far past my skin and thus normally didn't affect the grinding of skills that weren't personal, my Psychokinesis moved at the speed of thought and improved anyway. Since both Craft and Dust Weaving improved based on the number of items I completed and their complexity, it was coming along nicely and though I was still far from what I would call a master…I was good enough to start experimenting. Not with the Dust Armor, of course, but I had a few ideas that might be worth trying out, after I'd made a few arrangements.

But that would have to wait, it seemed.

As the other two members of my team got close, the air rippled as my invisible hands guided everything smoothly into my Inventory. I didn't even open my eyes as Emerald and Mercury walked back into the room to see Adam and I on our beds, without a sign of what had been occurring moments before.

"Welcome back," I said lazily. "You took you time."

"Yeah," Emerald said, bobbing her head with an expression that was still a touch shell-shocked. "We sort of got caught up in…everything. Yeah, everything's a good word."

I chuckled slightly but didn't say a word. Adam rolled onto his side to turn away from the door, still browsing on his scroll. He and I had been getting a lot of messages, but while I simply ignored mine, he seemed to be entertaining himself by reading them. When neither of us gave a response, the rest of team JAME glanced at each other.

"Speaking of which," Mercury pressed after several long minutes. "What the fuck was that?"

"I told you, didn't I?" I replied in precisely the same tone as before. "I'm the strongest student in our class and our year. Maybe even the whole school."

I felt Mercury twitch at that and wondered briefly if he'd actually take the bait—but after a moment he forced himself to relax and nod before taking a seat on his own bed.

"Maybe," He said at last. "How'd you get that strong?"

I hummed at that before opening one eye and smiling at them.

"I just live right, I guess?" I answered glibly. "I eat my Wheaties in the morning, I don't do drugs, I never drink alcohol or smoke, I work out safely, get enough sleep—I just take care of my body, you know?"

"Ignore him," Adam told them without even looking their way. For their part, Emerald and Mercury looked both unconvinced and unimpressed, which made me chuckle again.

"I trained," I said, closing my eye again. "I trained a lot."

After a moment, Mercury nodded, apparently realizing I wasn't going to say anything else. It was the truth, anyway, even if it was phrased in such a way as to be utterly useless.

"So…" He said after a long pause, sharing a look with Emerald. "What now? I mean, you had this all planned out. Is there a next step?"

"Of course," I replied. "It wouldn't be much of a plan, otherwise."

"Right, of course," Mercury answered dryly but was apparently used to having to fish for answers. "And this step would be…what exactly?"

I was quiet for a moment before opening my eyes and sitting up.

"It's going to be lunch soon," I noted, stretching slightly for show.

Mercury blinked his eyes closed so I wouldn't see him roll them. But, just for the record, I totally did see.

"So?" He asked.

"So," I answered, smiling in approval. "Most of the school is going to be there."

"Ah," He said, mouth opening slightly as he understood. "And…what are we going to do?"

I laughed slightly at that and got off my bed.

"I'm going to walk in like I own the place," I told him. "Because I do, even if some people don't know it yet."

A thought made the doors open wide as I approached and I entered the grand hall with a confident stride. I didn't make a fuss, I didn't say a word, I didn't even make a display of it—but voice by voice, the cafeteria fell silent around me as eyes turned my way.

Quirking my lips up minutely, I cast my glance once from side to side, wondering if anyone would try and start something ahead of schedule. When no one did, I walked down the aisle between the middle tables, passing by the other students without another glance. My eyes drifted for a moment to the staff that sat at the head of the room, meeting the gazes of those I'd already met—Himmel, Toxotes, and my sister Olivia. I gave a slight nod to each and the first two returned it, but my sister rolled her eyes at me, though she was unable to keep the smile off her face. I didn't so much as glance at anyone else as I walked down the length of the underground hall and took a seat near the center of the hall, allowing myself to be surrounded.

The entire room watched my every move and that was part of why I walked as far as I did—to give them all a chance to gawk. The rest of my team followed a step behind me, Adam keeping his eyes forward while Emerald and Mercury looked around a touch more wearily. Even after I seated myself, they remained standing and waited for a moment, if for different reasons.

"Go ahead and get some food," I told them, putting an elbow on the table and placing my chin on a hand.

"What do you want?" Adam asked for the sake of appearances, knowing I didn't need to eat.

"Anything's fine," I answered with a shrug, not even looking behind me as I spoke. Adam left immediately, already aware of what was happening, and after a moment's pause, Emerald and Mercury followed, conveniently leaving the seats all around me empty even as it separated me from my allies—a fact that drew attention as well as any invitation.

The silence my entrance had caused soon gave way to quiet murmurs and the sounds of motion as the gathered factions truly saw me for the first time and, more importantly, saw their chance. This was an opportunity to approach me, to speak to me, and to confront me, and it wasn't something any of them could afford to pass up. They were watching me even as they discussed what to do, how to approach me, and who should go first. Not all of it was blatantly spoken, but looks were exchanged and students stood and exchanged seats, offering their positions up so others could get closer or at least have a better view. Several of the smaller factions sent members to each other—envoys, really—to compare notes and determine a course of actions and I felt displeasure spread like a virus when it came to light that each group had different intentions for me.

That was part of why I was doing this—why I was forcing everyone to act quickly before anyone could compromise or come to true agreements on how they would handle me. Right now, each group had very different intentions because they also had very limited information; they were uncertain and each saw different ways to handle the situation. If I drew this out, built things up over weeks or months, they'd change their minds as they learned more, find common ground, and eventually put up a united front, but with the fight having occurred less than an hour ago?

There was no way a bunch of people who probably didn't get along at the best of times were going to come to an agreement now. The larger groups didn't even bother trying.

So in the pause created by their indecision, I took the chance to look them over and fill in the gaps in my own knowledge. Lunch was a special time and it gathered students from every year and every group into one place, allowing me to get a good look at them and pick out both patterns and trends, and I took advantage of the opportunity to confirm several of my own suspicions. On average, freshmen seemed to have levels in the twenties to thirties, sophomores in the thirties to forties, juniors in the forties to fifties, and seniors in the fifties to sixties. Those were just averages and there were outliers who I assumed were the stars of their years, but most of the people I saw fell into those categories. Because of that fact, it was easy to pick out those who stood out and give them the attention they deserved as the leaders of their peers.

After all, it was only natural for the factions to build themselves around those with power. The different groups simultaneously crossed years and built themselves around them—while there were factions amongst the sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the underclassmen groups seemed to exist with the support of the upperclassmen, based on the complicated web of emotions that surrounded them all. It was easy to imagine why; the weaker factions served as proxies for the stronger ones, ways for them to strict at their enemies while remaining several steps removed. The politicking amongst students was unlikely to ever go too far with the teachers there to keep the peace, but Haven fostered competition and this reeked of Mistrals style. Just as the Families competed through proxy organizations that supported students, so too did the students divide and control those beneath them as best they could. The loyalties they made here would play into their lived beyond the school as they graduated and became Hunters.

It was all about connections, I thought absently as I began to trace the lives with what I saw and heard. For all that Haven was a school, it was a school for Mistral's future and a place to raise their strongest warriors. The way things were arranged encouraged people to fall in line and form groups, to bond with people they'd later be able to contact for support—and, most importantly, built loyalties both among groups and to their supporters. Each of the senior most factions probably had ties back to at least one of the Families and they'd likely be recruited as soon as they graduated. Though everyone was here to become a Hunter, the friends they made here could still decide their future.

And this was the first time this year that those groups truly came together, edged on by the variable I'd added to their equations. Not everyone was gathered yet, both because several classes hadn't let out and because there were some that were lying in wait, but everyone could feel that things were about to change. Perhaps before, things had been balanced and both dreams and grudges set aside, but they were bubbling up to the surface as people saw their chances to change things—or rather, as I saw mine.

Now that everyone together, it was easy to see where the lines were drawn. The strongest, and largest, faction present seemed focused around a team of juniors that were watching me closely. Two of them—a pair of brothers—were both frowning severely, while one of their teammates whispered plans to them. Though the brothers seemed to want to approach, they held back at his command and waited, while their forth teammate looked on passively. Around them was a gathering of other upperclassmen, weaker groups that helped prop up their power in return for support of their own.

 **The Wide-Ruling  
LV66  
Skoyro Atreus**

 **The Resounding War Cry  
LV65  
Foteino Atreus**

 **The Man of Twists and Turns  
LV62  
Halkino Ithacan **

**The Spear That Throws From Life  
LV68  
Erythro Argos**

Looking them over with the back of my neck, I marked Halkino down as their strategist and possibly their biggest threat. Erythro seemed to be their strongest warrior with a Semblance designed to pierce defenses, but frankly, I wasn't worried about anyone in this room when it came to battle—whereas someone smart enough to hold back and try to subvert me in other ways might be annoying. Skoyro seemed to be the leader of their team and fairly intelligent in his own right, but what made him dangerous was that he seemed to be willing to heed Halkino's advice. Even so, I doubted any of them could afford to standby as their positions were besieged and Foteino seemed to wish for a fight already. I'd need to keep an eye on them and how they chose to approach, but with things as they were now, they could hardly hold back.

Besides, the advantage of facing upperclassmen was that they'd been around for a while—and had already had time to make enemies. From their biographies, the way they were sitting, and how their emotions flared when eyes met, I'd say they had a hard time getting along with a second, far smaller group of juniors.

 **The Judge of Light  
LV59  
Porfyro Alexandria**

 **The Cruel Eyes of Fate  
LV55  
Asimi Alexandria**

 **The Man Loved by the Stars  
LV64  
Aspro Victrix**

 **The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships  
LV53  
Helen Laconic**

Two Alexandrians, I noted. If Kyanos is the heir, they can't be siblings, so…cousins, perhaps? Or perhaps there's more to it; I suppose I'd find out soon enough or else I'd just ask Kyanos himself. Regardless, there seemed to be some bad blood between the groups and given their smaller size and relative weakness, I doubt that rivalry had been going very well for them. Given the way Porfyro was looking between Foteino and I, I suspected it wouldn't take much to get him to approach me and ask for my support—and from there, it would be simple to make them subordinates, which might be enough to incite a conflict with the Aetreus in and of itself.

But would the grudge between them be more trouble than it was worth? From the whispers in the room and the murmurs between envoys, Foteino seemed to loathe Porfyro with a passion and something like that was unlikely to go away any time soon. While I couldn't say I really cared if everyone got along or not, this seemed like something that ran deep—presumably because of the rather stunning Helen that seemed central to the conflict. Worse, while their enemies seemed united, Porfyro's team hardly seemed as such, as neither Helen nor Asimi seemed close to each other or the rest of their team. Porfyro and Aspro seemed the closest and even then they barely looked at one another; if there was anything tying them together, it looked like it was the fact that they couldn't survive apart. It seemed that Haven's teambuilding had backfired in this case, because while such friction wouldn't have been out of place amongst freshmen, it was rather alarming between juniors. And…while undoubtedly sad, I couldn't help but think that I had more important things to do with my life.

On the other hand…it was hard to deny that they were interesting in other ways. Asimi's Semblance seemed to give her a form of precognition. Given the bags under her eyes, how she stared off into space with glazed eyes, and the way she'd suddenly started shaking—a fact that I suspected I might have been at fault for—I doubt that what she saw particularly pleasant, but talents like that were exceptionally rare and undeniably useful, even with the limitations to what she could see. With my healing abilities and other powers, I might be able to curb some of the side effects of that and make her ability a touch more pleasant and I'd happily brush aside whatever drama lay between the teams to have a power like that on my side. With the close ties between the Alexandria and the Roma, as well as my own friendship with Kyanos, it should be simple enough to arrange. Added to Porfyro's ocular abilities, Helen's unconscious influence, and Aspro's odd talent…they were interesting. It just might be worth sorting out their issues, given their abilities.

But there was still something missing. Porfyro's group wasn't powerful _or_ united enough to truly oppose their enemies. Did the Atreus' brothers rule the junior year unopposed? It was possible if they really were the strongest, but even then I'd expect _someone_ to try to oppose them, if only because power was richly rewarded.

I pondered that as I looked around, not moving a muscle. I'd already noticed the gaps—the seats that were being saved, the groups that were incomplete. I'd already seen the faces of everyone in school that's to the breadth of my senses, but it was easiest to get a feel for the connections between people when I could see them together. Still, with most of the already classes let out, it was easy to fill in the blanks and, reaching out, I rifled through the juniors still outside the lunch hall, already pretty sure I knew who I was looking for. A crowd was already making their way towards us, accompanied by a large number of other juniors, but the one with the highest level was…

 **For Every One, Fifteen  
LV70  
Roland White**

I'd see who he was closest to when he arrived, though I was pretty sure his cousin Charles was one. Still, what mattered was that that accounted for the junior factions, though the most important groups were still unaccounted for. Most of the seniors seemed to be waiting for something, but none of the factions seemed to be out in force yet. Although…there was one student that seemed to have gathered people around himself and who was looking at me passively. Even so, there was an intensity to his interest that told me he was merely waiting before making his move and that his current calm had nothing to do with uncertainty. When the rest of the students arrived, he'd be one of the first to act, I was sure—I just wasn't certain how. But with a title like his…well, he didn't seem like one for meekness.

 **The Worker of Despair  
LV74  
Desher Ozymandias**

But still nothing happened. I almost wanted to laugh at how quiet the room remained even as a few minutes ticked by, but I supposed everyone here was waiting for the same thing before we got this party started. Well, but…they'd been here from the beginning, waiting to make an entrance, though I suppose I couldn't fault them for that.

Moments after the rest of the student body tickled in, the doors to the hall opened again and a group of seniors made their way inside in neat little rows and the entire room seemed to take a collective breath at the sight of them. Several silent glances were exchanged and, almost as one, several students stood from their chairs and made their way towards me. Tilting my head slightly, I meet Adam's eyes and we both smiled as he made his way back to the table with a tray in hand.

The last of the seniors in three rows, their leaders at their heads. In the center, Cinder walked with a quiet clicking of glass on stone, but to the sides.

 **The Once and Future King  
LV84  
Albus Arcturus**

 **The Giant's Causeway  
LV81  
Fionn Fiamma **

Here was gathered what was supposedly the strongest generation Haven had seen in decades, with dozens of plans forced to come to a head.

It was time to have some fun.

 **XxXXxX**


	13. Chapter 13

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Clubs**

I sat still even as I sensed people being to move, prompted by the entrance of the seniors. Adam returned to the table and set a trey down in front of me, which I began to pick at for the sake of appearances. I wasn't hungry—I never was, anymore—but I ate a few fries and chicken nuggets anyway, focused primarily on my surroundings.

The seniors kept their distance for the moment, watching. Led by Albus, Fionn, and Cinder, they found places around the hall and I noted who they sat with carefully, but though they filled up most of the remaining seats and boxed me into the center, none of them spoke. I had a feeling they were all waiting for something and was pretty sure I knew what, but I played along for the moment and pretended I didn't know that all eyes were on me.

Across the hall, Desher released a huff that was half-amused and half-disgusted. He glanced once to either side and nodded sharply, causing a pair of juniors to rise and make their way over to my table. Emerald and Mercury looked up when they took a seat to either side of me, but Adam and I remained focused on our meals.

"You're Jaune Arc?" The one on the left—Shesep—asked.

I swallowed another chicken nugget before sliding my gaze over to the apple Adam had put on my plate. Lifting it with a thought, I focused on the image of a blade and began skinning it. An unbroken coil began to wind down from it onto my plate, gathering in a neat little spiral as I finished removing it—and then I cored it with an image of a sharpened cylinder, before splitting the remainder into six pieces by shifting the image. The pieces floated apart to let the core drop with a slight clang and then I reached for one, making it float towards my finger as I did.

The two thugs, because that was what they were to Desher, looked at each for a long, silent moment before apparently coming to an agreement.

"There's someone who wants to talk to you," Shesep continued. "Would you mind coming with us for a bit?"

At that I looked up at them and smiled.

"That's a very polite way of asking," I said, voice a touch apologetically. "But sorry; I don't talk to the help. If your boss has something to say, tell him to come and say it himself."

At that, I looked back down at my plate, bringing the apple slice to my lips.

Shesep swallowed and looked over at his friend, Kem. Neither seemed particularly enthused about having to be the bearer of bad news and slowly, almost reluctantly, they put their hands on my shoulders.

"I don't think that's possible," Shesep replied. "Or rather, he'd consider such a thing impolite."

"You two have a sucky job, boys," I answered, not looking up. "But when you say it like that…well, I wouldn't want to be rude."

I lowered my voice a touch, limiting it to the three of us with a touch of power.

"You know where this is going," I continued quietly. "I strongly suggest you stay down and out of the way."

Both of them flinched even before a pair of Psychokinetic blasts hurled them to opposite sides of the hall. I softened the blows until it was more like being hit by a pair of giant pillows, but it was still enough to make the hit the walls with a convincing crack and fall to the floor below.

At the same time that happened, my chair slide back and then flipped over the table behind it, rising in a high arc that stopped just short of colliding with Desher's table. Seated upside-down in the air opposite him, I met his eyes.

"Was there something you wanted to say to me?" I asked, five remaining apple slices spinning gently by my side. For a long moment, he was silent and merely returned my gaze steadily, looking me over. He had dark skin and even darker hair and his almost red eyes gleamed slightly as he frowned. Like me, he wore his armor instead of a uniform, but that didn't mean he wasn't ready for a fight.

"As a matter of fact, there was," He said at last, slowly returning my smile as he stood without even bothering to scoot back his chair. Where it would have touched him, the table instead began to wither and crumble to dust, revealing the Kopis beneath. As he grasped the hilt of his weapon, his Aura rose dimly around it, tinging it with the color of coagulated blood. He took a step forward and it was enough to split the table completely in half.

I watched him approach, unflinching even as I noted the effects. It was short range, as I'd already Observed, but with each step, I could feel the effect increase. When it couldn't strike at my flesh through my Aura, it struck _at_ my Aura instead, trying to make it unravel. I felt the upkeep increase with each step, but I allowed him to approach until he was but a step away and closed my eyes as he lifted his sword. It was only when he actually swung it at me that I allowed my lips to twitch upwards.

The blade came to a halt when it struck my forearm—or rather, when it struck the Psychokinetic shell that hovered just above my skin. I held him off for a moment, still upside-down, and forced his blade away with my physical and mental strength, just so everyone could see that I could. Then, I opened my eyes again to meet Desher's and allowed my smile to widen.

"Is this some kind of 'speak with our fists' thing?" I asked. "Because I'm game. Let me see…ah, got it."

I lifted a hand and reached out towards him—and with a pushing gesture, smashed him with a blast of Psychokinetic force. Several of our classmates screamed and threw themselves out of the way as he cut through tables like a buzz saw, but I hit him hard enough that he wasn't near any of them for more them a moment. He slammed through the wall of the hall, his own dissolving it to the point that it could do nothing to slow his flight, nor could the next or the one after that. Between us, he flew straight to the opposite side of Haven before he could wrangle his power back under control and smash into something the old fashioned way—and when he did, he came to a halt in a decent sized crater.

Since I didn't actually need to breathe, it was pretty trivial to regulate my breathing so as to not let on that doing that had taken quite a bit of energy. Desher's power caused things to break down, even attacks directed his way, and for all that I'd turned it against him it was still a dangerous power. I'd taken it to show off—and I could tell from the reactions that rippled through the room that it had worked—but just standing nearby and then hitting him back had consumed several thousand MP. It was no surprise that he was one of the strongest in his year.

Luckily, regaining MP wasn't a problem for me. Casting away the mostly obliterated chair, I continued to float upside-down for a moment before flipping over as I ate another apple slice. Floating above everyone with one knee bent, I glanced around the room thoughtfully before turning to look back at the hole I'd made. Giving myself several seconds to catch my proverbial breath, I darted forward, pretty sure it'd evoke a reaction.

Sure enough, as I flew past one of the chairs that had miraculously survived Desher's flight, a hand stopped me.

"Hey, hey, hey," Fionn said with an easy smile, holding onto my ankle. He'd crossed the hall too fast for even me to follow and taken a seat in the formerly empty chair as I passed—but then, I guess that was to be expected of a teleporter. "That's enough, yeah? I can't say I mind seeing Desher taken down a notch, but you're making a mess."

I'd stopped flying the moment I'd felt contact, so I looked down at him for a moment, making a show of mulling it over.

"It can't be helped," I decided at last, tilting my head his way.

"Oh?" He asked. "How's that?"

"We'd have fought eventually," I said. "Because he wants to be the strongest person in the school, but the position's taken."

He laughed at that, a deep, barrel-chested sound. Though he was only a few years older than me, he was a big guy, well over two meters and his voice carried.

"Well, I can't say I don't like your style," He said after a moment, not letting go of my ankle. "But did you really have to do it before I got something to eat."

This time, I was my turn to chuckle and I let the remaining apple slices float towards his face. He glanced at them once before gobbling up all four with a single chomp.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," I answered. "It's just, if I do it now, I won't have to waste time doing it later, you know. You wouldn't want stuff like this to interfere with my studies or something, would you?"

He swallowing after several seconds of loud chewing and then sighed.

"It seems like you don't know much about Haven, huh," He mused, partially to himself.

"Oh?" I asked challengingly. "Well, I guess that's true—it is my first day, after all. Why don't you teach me, then?"

"Hm," He hummed, smile returning. "Well…I guess if I do it now, I won't have to waste time doing it later, right?"

"See?" I asked. "Now you're getting it."

He chuckled and smiled up at me before vanishing.

I was already preparing to move the moment I felt my Danger Sense react, but with the grip he'd had on me, I wasn't quite fast enough. For a disorienting moment, I felt like I was going to fly to pieces and explode in every direction, but I abruptly felt my Aura solidify in a way I'd never felt before and instead I was suddenly sent rocketing towards the ceiling. I caught myself instantly and stood with my feet on the ceiling, attention focused downwards.

A telefrag, huh…

Fionn fell a short distance to the floor, having teleported to occupy the same space as me. He couldn't just kill someone by teleporting inside them, not with an Aura in place to protect them—but two people couldn't exist in the same position, and it seemed his power resolved that issue by forcing them violently away. And while not as instantly lethal as the alternative, I could say from experience that it hurt like a bitch.

It also wasn't something I'd expected. Most teleporters couldn't appear in occupied spaces at _all_ and the fact that he could made him one of the most dangerous ones in the entire world. But then, I suppose that was why he had a level above eighty before even graduating.

Good, I thought as I crouched slightly on the ceiling. This wouldn't be any fun, otherwise.

"The name's Finn," He shouted up at me. "Just tell me when you've had enough, yeah?"

"Jaune," I answered. "And feel free to give up any time."

He snorted but smiled widely as he vanished again.

By definition, teleportation was the instantaneous traversal of space. There was a lot of debate in certain circles as to how _anything_ could be instant, much less be _proven_ such, but it was generally accepted as true. There had been a lot of experiments about it and though the nature of human error had always made things difficult—especially with the speeds in question—there was a fair amount of evidence supporting the assumption that teleportation was, at the very least, able to cover linear distances at a speed faster than light. There was even more debate about how that worked and a bunch of theories that were essentially impossible to prove.

The leading one, however, was that teleportation was able to give the _appearance_ of moving faster than light by covering a smaller effective distance, whether through the warping of space, high-dimensional movement, or whatever else—that is, while moving faster than light was effectively impossible, if light has to move a thousand miles and you only have to move an inch, it might be possible to reach your destination before it. Bending the rules instead of breaking them, essentially.

As I got up to a fair amount of dimensional fuckery myself, I'd done some research into the subject while looking into Naraka and Raven's Semblance. In truth, as with all Semblances, I suspected the details varied—it was rather hard to come up with anything like a unified theory with what were essentially unrepeatable miracles. Some teleporters could only move themselves, some could only move other people, and while there was supporting evidence that some might have warped space, others could have used a different method. A long time ago, Mistral had possessed a famous teleporter that had earned the name Ophis by leaving skins filled with dust; tests on the shells he'd left behind had eventually lead to several scientists deducing that rather than teleporting in a conventional sense, he destroyed his body in one location and created a new one at his destination.

So I could honestly say I had no more of an idea of how Finn's power worked then I did Raven's—and I'd spent a lot of time trying to figure out how Raven's power worked. In Finn's case, I might have sensed _something_ , but whatever it was, it either occurred in a timeframe too fast for me to notice—which was _saying_ something—or else transported Finn somewhere beyond my perceptions and back into conventional reality at his desired locations. Or both.

The point being that even I couldn't dodge a teleport after it occurred. He reappeared the same moment he vanished or near enough that it didn't make a difference; it wasn't something I could avoid after it happened.

Which meant I'd just have to dodge beforehand instead. The moment I sensed a change in him, the moment I felt my Danger Sense alert me, I was moving. Shedding a skin, I flicked a few steps back as he appeared where I'd stood, upside-down in my place. The afterimage I'd left behind with my enhanced speed was torn apart by his reappearance, but I paid it no heed, attacking before I even stopped moving. Finn reappeared only to take a focused blast of Psychokinetic force to the back, hurling him towards the nearest wall with the force of a comet.

He surprised me again by vanishing a moment before he hit it and reappearing in the exact same place as before, but facing the opposite direction—facing _me_.. Though he'd been flying through the air moments before, teleporting seemed to have erased his momentum entirely. Perhaps even more than that, I was sure of it now; he could change not only his position in space when teleporting, but also the positioning of his own body.

Interesting.

I saw his lips twitch upwards once as gravity began to pull him back towards the floor but he vanished just in time to avoid the blast of force I sent his way. I flickered in the same instant, feet touching the ceiling just long enough to let me flicker several steps back as he appeared in my position once more and then immediately teleported again into the exact same place so as to face me. The ceiling shattered beneath his feet as he vanished again, but this time he appeared to the right of me instead, sword abruptly drawn and arms ready to swing. The moment he appeared, however, I aimed another wave of invisible power at his face and let loose.

He was suddenly on the other side of me, blade swinging from the opposite side of his body. I caught it this time, catching it on an invisible sword of my own just to see what he'd do, and he was suddenly behind me, blade swinging down at the back of my head. I hurled a wave of power at him without looking back and hit nothing as he was already in front of me, the tip of his sword at my throat.

This time, I didn't bother with a directed assault, but let my Psychokinetic shell expand into a growing sphere, blowing away everything around me even as I shattered the ceiling. He flickered behind me, but still caught the blast, and it flung him back hard—only for him to vanish in midair and reappear right before my eyes, blade swinging for my neck.

I'd already recreated my shell and it pulsed again, throwing him back again, but he reappeared to the right of me and tried a third only to get the same result. When that happened, he vanished again, but reappeared on the floor below, standing amidst the fallen ceiling as he looked up at me. I took advantage of the brief reprieve to rotate in place and hover upright between the ruined dining hall and the floor above. He was taking a moment to think of a new angle, but in truth, such a reprieve did nothing but help me as it gave me a chance to do the same. Though I'd been able to hit him with an omnidirectional assault, the truth was that such an attack was rather wasteful as only a small fraction of the force hit him and I needed to put enough MP into the attack that _any_ such fraction was enough to bat him away.

In truth, I was a bit surprised at how elusive he was—even with a teleportation Semblance, the fact remained that all my attacks were invisible. I'd Observed him already and he didn't have any skills that would render my powers visible, which meant he was doing this with the same Danger Sense I was using to predict his attempts to telefrag me. While all Hunters had the skill to some extent by virtue of their Aura, his was shockingly precise if it was enough to let him predict my individual attacks in the brief moments he had to respond. I guess his level wasn't just because of his Semblance.

Still…while he may have been faster while teleporting, when it came to moving within conventional space, I had the advantage. I could Shed to quickly evade a direct attack and if he appeared near me, I was quick enough to respond. While his reaction time was exceptional, mine was better, and in a war of attrition I had an almost unsurmountable advantage. The only part that worried me were the somewhat vague descriptions of his skills and the fact that he'd yet to use several of them.

Finn cracked his neck once and looked up at me.

"Not bad," He admitted. "Ready for round two?"

"Given that I won round one, I feel like I should be asking you that," I replied even as I let myself fall to the floor.

"Hmph," He snorted. "Fair enough. But how about I show you something cool this time?"

"As long as you do it before I yawn myself to death," I replied, returning his smirk. "Weren't you supposed to be showing me the ropes?"

"In a minute, you impatient bastard," He answered, hints of an accent coloring his words as he laughed. "You watch closely now, yeah?"

I widened my eyes dramatically.

"I'll even hold my breath, if you want," I told him. "But just to make sure, if I get tired of waiting its fine if I just kick your ass instead, right?"

He clicked his tongue once and vanished. I promptly released another pulse, catching him as he appeared above me and flicking him high into the air. As appeared behind me, I reversed to course of the wave, catching him in the back even as I pulsed again, swashing him as he appeared in front of me. Watching his face closely, I made a guess and released a wall shaped blast to the left and then the right, smashing him away each time. Instead of remaining stationary, however, this time I darted forward, flying just inches above the ground and zigzagging quickly, forcing him to try and match my pace. When he appeared just a step in front of me and made to clothesline me with his blade, I darted right and slammed full force into him. He flickered, appearing in the space I'd just vacated, and I turned on a dime to barrel into him again, going back to back with him.

When he put some distance between us, teleporting ten meters down the hall, I aimed a hammer of force at him and shattered the floor beneath his feet when he vanished. Pulsing again at his approach, I was a bit surprised when he didn't vanish, but was quickly to follow it up with a more focused blast, hurling him halfway down the hall before he vanished again. When he reappeared, I pulsed and then blasted him up into the air, and when he was suddenly in front of me, I raised a hand to hit him with a Psychokinetically enhanced punch. He went flying before reappearing ten meters away again, but this time I didn't attack.

Instead, I pinned him with an amused look.

"I want to make it clear that I know you're up to something," I stated loud enough for him to hear. "You're trying to give the impression that you're slowing down, but I know full well that you could have dodged some of those. I don't think you're stupid enough to keep trying the same old thing without a plan, either."

"Aw," Finn drew out. "I'm so glad to hear you think that much of me. And you were even polite enough to play along, too. That gets, right here."

He pounded a fist against his chest, right over his heart, and I couldn't help but smile in response.

"I guess you could think of it that way," I replied. "But, well, since I'm so much stronger then you…it's more that I'm just not worried about it, I guess? Sorry, but you haven't made much of an impression on me yet."

"Well, we can't have that," He said, flashing his teeth in an honest grin. "Why don't I show you my magic trick, then?"

I was about to say something sarcastic when he appeared in front of me and I had to release a pulse of Psychokinetic force, instead—one which he tore through like it was made of fucking paper. I raised another shield that he blasted through the exact same way before snapping my hands up to catch the blade. With the help of my Psychokinesis, pitted my strength against his and braced myself against the floor.

It barely slowed him down. My feet slid back across the floor for a moment before it abruptly shattered beneath me, but I didn't even have a chance to fall as it continued to push me back. Even trying to resist, the force of the attack was enough to draw a trench across the dining hall with my body, pushing me through stone like it was water. Finn overcame my strength and slammed his sword straight into my chest, hitting me as hard as every blow I'd landed on him combined.

Ah, I thought as understanding dawned.

When I came to a stop, there was a chasm down the length of the dining hall and I was by the doorway. His attack had passed straight through my psychic shell and left my entire body literally ringing with the impact, vibrating as if it were more steel than flesh. I got that under control after a moment but took several more to catch my metaphorical breath and allow the silence that had taken the hall to linger. Then, after healing the damage and regaining some of my power, I spoke.

"So…" I asked as I lifted my head to look him in the eye, rising against the pressure of his sword with ease. "Did you do it yet?"

Before he could reply, I slammed him with an even stronger blast, flinging him straight through the now absent ceiling before he vanished and reappeared at the opposite end of the hall. As he did, I floated upwards and smiled.

"I get it," I said, putting the pieces together. "I thought it was a little odd how you seemed to bleed off all your momentum each time you teleported—but you don't get rid of it, do you? You _store_ it."

"Energy cannot be created or etc." He replied, absently making a rotating gesture with his hand, as if wanting to get on with this.

I hummed, wondering absently if that was a secondary effect of his Semblance or if it was it the reason he could telefrag an opponent in the first place. It didn't matter in this case, though—the impacts still hurt him, he was just able to gather up any forces acting upon him when he teleported and store them to release later. I couldn't deny that it was an interesting power; sure, there were ways around it, but…I could see why he was one of the highest levels in the school.

"Well then," I chuckled as I floated his way. "I guess the only real question is which of us can take a bigger ass-kicking."

His smile became fierce as he twirled his blade.

"Sounds like fun to me," He answered. "Shall we?"

Without another word, I darted down the hall, aiming straight for him even as I prepared an arsenal of Psychokinetic force. Finn readied his blade fearlessly and swung even as I made to attack—

And then something punched me in the heart even as I felt a shift in the room. I veered left abruptly, crashing through the wall, and saw Finn stumble as I did. Both of our HP bars took a sudden hit, his quite a bit more than mine, and I turned my attention to the source as I shook off the rubble.

"It's against the rules to fight in the cafeteria," Albus informed us, taking a seat on the edge of one of the few remaining tables.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Rulebook**

I looked up at him as I pulled myself from the rubble. Of to the side, I saw Finn shoot him a sullen glance as he straightened.

"Albus," He stated. "Still devouring fun wherever you find it, I see."

"Fionn," Albus replied in exactly the same tone. "Still making a mess of yourself, I see."

Finn made a disgusted noise as Albus turned away, seemingly dismissing him as he turned his attention my way.

"Jaune Arc," He said as I brushed myself clean of dust, floating back into the air. "I didn't intend to get involved, but given everything—"

He gestured around the room, which was now missing several walls, a ceiling, and most of a floor.

"I really have no choice," He continued. "I'd appreciate it if you stopped tearing apart the school on your first day."

I snorted, floating forward. As I did, I drew up the pieces of the wall I'd crashed through, calling upon Ereb's powers to restore it to its previous condition. As I floated over the broken floor, pieces leapt up from the tunnel below and slide back into place, reforming as I passed.

"I won't break anything I can't fix," I replied. "Finn and I are just having some fun to celebrate the new semester. We'll clean up after ourselves when we're done. Right, Finn?"

"Right," Finn said with a nod. "If by we, you mean you, because I have a class to sleep through right after this."

I tilted my head at him and smiled, sending him a quick Psychokinetic shove that barely rocked him. Albus, for his part, merely closed his eyes and sighed quietly.

"Be that as it may," He continued, keeping his tone reasonable. "I must insist you that you not fight in the cafeteria; you're disturbing the other students. If you truly must continue this, please take it elsewhere."

I looked at Finn who met my gaze evenly until I slowly raised an eyebrow. He closed his eyes with a snort and I smiled in response.

"That seems fair," I said before releasing a blast of Psychokinetic force right beneath his feet. I saw him try to dodge back but without teleportation, I had the advantage when it came to speed. The force of the blow smashed him straight through the ceiling and then through several tunnels above us, knocking him straight to the surface of Mistral. As he went, I felt something punch me in the heart again, sliding past most of my defenses to land a hit the moment I struck at the older student.

Brushing off the flash of pain, I followed his ascent and felt Finn vanish as I passed through the open ceiling. He flickered between the floors as he teleported towards the surface, using them as stepping stones to aim his next jump, and beat me to ground level by a fraction of a second. Ignoring him for a moment, I glanced up at Albus who was reaching the apex of his climb and helped him back to earth with another mental blast.

I waited for a moment to make sure but didn't take any damage this time, even when Albus crashed into the ground with an explosion of dirt and soil. Everything was silent for a long moment before I heard him heave a quiet sigh and rise from the ground.

"That," He said as he rose, frowning down at the dirt on his uniform as if it offended him personally. "Was pointlessly rude."

"Mm," I agreed with a smile. "But you wanted to play, too, right? I saw you watching Finn and I fight and you looked like you wanted in."

He tilted his head. Beneath us, I could feel the other students moving, trying to rush to the surface to continue watching the fight. I didn't mind talking for a bit, to give them time to arrive—this was supposed to be a show, after all.

"Perhaps," He allowed after a moment. "Even so, it costs nothing to be polite."

"Says the guy who attacked us both," Finn snorted, pounding a fist to his chest again.

He sniffed once, shooting Finn an annoyed look.

"I did nothing of the sort," He said. "You broke the rules and were punished, nothing more."

"Maybe," I said after a moment, making a show of mulling it over. "But you're the one who enforces the rules, aren't you?"

Albus' lips twitched up into a quick grin that vanished almost as soon as it came.

"Someone has to," He said. "You barbarians can hardly be trusted to police yourselves, after all."

"Ugh," Finn grunted. "Finn smack talky man with sword if he no stop being dick."

Albus gestured at his fellow senior.

"Case and point," He said. "Still, things had gotten out of hand. You chose to fight even when the rules forbid it…it's only natural that something bad happened."

"It's against the rules to fight in the cafeteria," I repeated before smiling. "When I attacked Finn, I got hit and when I escorted you to the surface, I got hit again. But the second time I hit you, nothing happened—because we weren't in the cafeteria anymore, right?"

Albus' smile returned after a moment, spreading slowly across his face.

"It usually takes people long to figure that out," He said. "Jaune Arc…I must say, you're an interesting guy."

"Thanks," I answered. "I want to punch you, too."

At that he chuckled and dropped a hand to his blade, tapping a finger lightly against the steel. As he did, I looked him over again, scanning him carefully as I did.

That fact of the matter was that Albus was the strongest normal student at Haven—if you could call anyone here normal. He had the highest level after Cinder and I, and the two of us were only here for our own reasons. Even for level eighty-four, his stats were high, and he was undoubtedly the third strongest student at Haven right now, as well the leader of what was probably the largest faction.

Even so, it was his Semblance that had first caught my eye. While not unheard of, Semblances that could ignore an opponent's defenses at range and strike at them directly were exceedingly rare—and that wasn't the only reason it was odd. It worked more like a barrier than anything else, affecting everything within a defined area in a simple way. He declared a rule and anyone who broke it was automatically and immediately punished. According to what I'd Observed, there were limits to what he could declare, primarily in how specific they could be, but otherwise he could declare whatever he wanted, even declaring rules that specifically struck at his enemies. For example, while he couldn't make 'being Jaune Arc' illegal, he could probably forbid the use of Psychokinesis to make me rack up damage. In fact…

"How'd he beat you, Finn," I asked, glancing his way with a smile. "Did he make teleportation illegal?"

"Smack dick with sword," Finn repeated a tad sullenly. "Smack dick in the dick with sword."

Albus smirked at that and gave Finn an arch look and I couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

Yeah, as powers went, that was a pretty good one; it was easy to see why his level was so high. But…powers like that, which could blow straight past most defenses, usually came with a price and I was pretty sure I knew what this one's was.

"Well, rules are important," I mused. "Like you said, it's only natural for those who break them to be punished. But, you know, it sort of makes me wonder what would happen if _you_ broke the rules."

"Ah," Albus shrugged, but his smile widened. "Who knows? I've always been a model student."

"Well, luckily, it only takes one to start a fight." I replied, cracking my neck.

"Oh?" He said, making a show of pondering that for a moment as more students gathered around us. As he did, his Aura flashed invisibly, coloring the earth and air around us with shades of blue. "You know…it's not very nice to attack your elders."

I snorted as Finn groaned. From his reaction, it seemed safe to assume that Albus was older then him and even with my Accelerated lifestyle, both of them were older than me. As such, Albus was free to attack both of us, Finn would take damage from attacking Albus, and I'd get hurt every time I attacked either of them.

Oh, well. I'd challenged Finn already, but if this was a challenge to see which of us could take a bigger ass-kicking, I wasn't worried. Maybe if they brought their factions along, too, but even if I took damage every time I attacked, I'd manage. This chat had given me time to recover my Aura and heal all the damage I'd taken, anyway.

"I'll take that under advisement," I told him dryly even as the Aura in the room finished shifting to accommodate the new rule. "Shall we begin?"

"I don't like it," Finn said. "This fights kind of rigged against you, now."

"He's using his power to his advantage, same as I am; seems fair enough to me," I answered. "As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't change anything—I'll take you both on and still win."

"I'd appreciate it if you don't lump me in with the likes of Fionn," Albus replied. "You'll find that I'm better than him in literally every way."

"Asshole, that's my line," Finn growled, lifting his sword again.

In response, Albus drew his own. Light glowed along the broadsword and its guard, shining blue in the light even as the blade began to shift. It didn't change shape, but several channels and hatches opened along its length and the sword began to glow with the light of Dust. As it did, he drew the sheath as well, flipping it once and catching it as it began to unfold into a wide shield with a large blue lens at its center, revealing more Dust even as it was fed into the circuits along the shield. After a moment, a hemisphere of transparent blue light sprang up around him in a protective force field.

Albus gave Finn another superior look and focused on me again. I didn't glance at his weapons, but it was a bit of a near thing.

"Wow," Adam whispered amongst the crowd of students, undoubtedly knowing I would hear. "It's like yours, except better."

"It just has more lasers," I replied through Levant, defending Crocea Mors' honor.

"Yes," He acknowledged. "Hence, better."

Snorting off the jab, I focused on my opponents, as well as the crowd surrounding us. The display we'd made thus far had ensured that damn near everyone was gathered in the hopes of seeing us beat the shit out of one another, which was just the way I liked it. Even so, I glanced over the assembled groups with my senses, making sure everyone who was supposed to be present was there, and felt the world slow as I focused.

In the back, I saw the teachers, including my sister, ready to step in at a moment's notice if something went wrong but completely willing to let us beat the tar out of one another until then. Several of them were adding to their notes, writing down details about both our combat abilities and how we interacted. As they shifted through their files, I caught glimpses of several folders about various teams and groups and made a not to look over some shoulders when they started looking through them. For now, though, I was happy to let them watch, to make this a touch more official.

This was, after all, for the sake of the students. Having streamed out of the tunnels below, they stood in crowds to watch us fight—to watch _me_ fight two of the most powerful seniors. Whereas in the cafeteria they'd been gathered into groups, the rush to the surface had shattered such boundaries and caused the factions to mix. Loyalties were set aside as they whispered among each other, younger students asking questions even as older students shared stories of previous fights. Through it all, gossips of all ages spread rumors of rivalries, powers, friendships, and more, most of them obviously false but enough to catch attention. There were even a few people taking bets and, despite his words, I noticed that Adam had bet on me.

All of the factions were in attendance, however, even as they mixed into the crowds. I saw the Atreus brothers beside each other, all three Alexandrians off to the side, and Roland watching with pursed lips beside his friend. Finn and Albus both had a bunch of friends in attendance, from Albus's right-hand man Delwyn Emrys to Lonan Dermot who silently watched over Finn. A crowd of powerful juniors and seniors was gathered around each, some cheering while others looked on in silence, but none of them interfered. This was, apparently, our fight and they seemed content to watch like everyone else.

Good. Hearing about my power was one thing, but some things you just had to see for yourself.

But, of course, the one I focused on the most was the guest of honor. Cinder was watching silently, allowing events to unfold without her input but not, I noted, without her attention. She was waiting for something, though she didn't speak to anyone and waited off to the side. Occasionally, I noticed students cast glances her way, apparently wondering what she would do about this, but none of them approached and made no move to interfere. Was she just gathering information or was she planning something. If it was the former, I didn't much mind because I had deep pockets when it came to tricks. But I was hoping for the latter, just to see how she'd respond to everything that was happening. If I was lucky, it might reveal something. If I wasn't, well, it would scratch a few things off the list and there'd be other chances. Whatever happened, I'd make do with what I had.

Everyone was in place, all eyes were on me; all I had to do now was win. Or rather, because I hadn't doubted my victory for even a moment, decide _how_ to win. While there was a great deal to be said for holding back—both in keeping things from one's enemies and later being able to reveal that you'd triumphed with only a fractions of your true strength—there was also something to be said for putting on a show and making an impression. And with an audience like this, I wouldn't mind revealing a few more tricks, should the situation call for it; I certainly had enough to spare and a fair number of ways to justify it.

One of the reasons I'd chosen to pretend I was a Psychokinetic was because of its versatility. Why was I so tough? I had a Psychokinetic shell around me at all times. How was I so fast and strong? I increased my physical abilities with the help of my mind. How was I able to fly? I levitated myself. The list went on and on when it came to explaining things away—and it wasn't just the subtle stuff, either. The nature of Dust was such that, in the proper hands, one's Semblance could be changed to match the situation, at least within certain limits. In the same way that one's Aura could be converted into the proper element, the unique expression of that Aura could be colored or changed.

While Finn, for instance, would always be a teleporter, some red Dust might add an explosive element to his transitions. Adam might convert his gathered power into a different form of energy, with the proper help, whether it be heat, electricity, or even a controlled alteration of gravity. I couldn't do that in quite the same way other people could—my Semblance wasn't changed by such things—I could still change the aspect of my Aura with Dust and thereby alter my techniques.

But, more importantly, since almost no one knew the truth of my power, I could _pretend_ to do so. No one would look at my oddly if I unleashed blasts of fire, not when red Dust could be purchased in so many stores. With something as broad as Psychokinesis, I could easy explain away my Elementals, at least to some extent. Some red Dust and suddenly I was a pyrokinetic. A little bit of blue and I could manipulate water. A lot of what I was able to do could be explained away by a little bit of Dust, real or imagined, and it might be helpful in this situation. Perhaps the use of her favored element would help get a rise out of Cinder?

The only problem was that I had no idea how Albus's Semblance would react to my Elemental with his current rule. I had no idea how it measured age, but however you wanted to slice it, all of my friends were far older then…pretty much everyone here put together. Many, many times over. Depending on how I used them and what constituted as an attack, it was possible—maybe even likely—that Albus and Finn would take damage from fighting them, which would immediately reveal that something was wrong, though they'd likely have no idea what.

Worse, not only would doing that give something away, but it wouldn't even be an effective tactic. It seemed to be fairly easy for Albus to change rules and if he started taking damage from the current one, he'd likely switch to something else. At best, I might get him with it once or twice, but while I didn't mind revealing my secrets for a good cause, this particular one wasn't worth telling just to be a momentary inconvenience, especially not when I could do that damage in other ways.

No, it seemed I'd be holding onto that card for a bit longer.

Maybe it was for the best, I thought; while _having_ such powers wouldn't raise any eyebrows thanks to the existence of Dust, being 'forced' to use it might make me look weak. Though Albus was technically using Dust, it was only as part of the normal functioning of his weapon, and he and Finn were otherwise fighting solely on their own power. I didn't want to look like I was being pushed. Similarly, I could move beyond his range—although he might be able to increase the size of his barrier to some extent in response—that would make it seem like I was ruling away. I needed everyone to see me face his full power fearlessly and overcome it.

In the end, this wasn't just about winning it was about appearances—bragging rights, even. I couldn't have it said that it was a close game or that they pushed me hard or that they could have won if only they'd done things a bit differently; I needed to take everything they threw at me head-on, crush them anyway, and then walk away from it smelling like roses.

Even if that did mean not fighting as best I could or going through a needless amount of physical discomfort. The Gamer's Body would do most of the work on that front, anyway; no matter what happened, I could be sure I'd come out of this looking unharmed. Everything else…I'd just have to heal.

Which, of course, did not mean I couldn't do this intelligently. From the emotions I was picking up off of Finn, as well as the way he standing, I felt pretty certain that he would attack Albus at some point, despite the risks involved—and I was pretty sure Albus knew it, too. Lacking the healing abilities I possessed as well as my inherent magic resistance, that was going to take a fair bit out of both of them each time, even if it wouldn't put them out of the fight immediately. Given that, I could make Finn my secondary target, giving him a chance. I'd still strike at him, of course—I couldn't have this looking like we were ganging up on Albus, after all; I needed everyone to see me defeat _both_ of them. But it would be smarter to focus on Albus early on and let Finn wear both of them down somewhat before taking him out.

After everything was done, I'd heal them both, try to make friends over our shared fight, and then work on solidifying my hold of the school. That would likely take a while, which was part of why I wanted to get this business out of the way as quickly as possible; while everyone would soon know of my power, it would take longer for them to get used to me being in charge. Doing this at the start of the school year, before anyone had time to fall into anything like a routine, would help, but it would still take everyone awhile to get used to everything, especially with what could happen.

And then, well, that'd depend on Cinder.

Mind made up, I slid out of the higher-state of Acceleration I'd slipped into while thinking and took three slow breaths to buy a few seconds to recover from it.

Then I took to the air and released a blast of force that turned the battlefield into a crater, ignoring the pain of rule breaking as I did.

It was time to end this.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Victory March**

As I unleash the wave of destruction, Finn—somewhat predictably—teleports out of the way. More specifically, he teleports about thirty meters straight up and just as quickly vanishes again, treating disconnected points in space like they were stepping stones.

But that wasn't an option for Albus. Instead, he had no choice but to bear the brunt of the assault, crouching and lifting his hemispheric shield above him. The force of the blast is still enough to smash it—and him—about half a meter into the ground, but he bears the attack with nothing more than a grunt.

I didn't stop there, though. Reaching out with more of my power, I didn't bother trying to force my way through the shield, deeming it too annoying to bother when there were easier solutions. Most of the time, it was only a matter of additional power and focus to slid my will through physical matter—such as lifting a marble within a sealed jar—but things were more complicated when it came to things protected by Aura or powered by Dust. As a result, I couldn't simply slip through Albus's shield.

But, then, I didn't really need to. It was only a hemispheric shield, after all—and against me, noting but a complete defense was enough.

My projected will touched Albus's shield and spilt over it like a liquid rather than the usual solid blow. It slid across its surface and down its sides until it touched the ground, at which point it drove itself deep into the dirt on all sides of the shield. Pushing it deep into the ground, I then had the force turn and converge into a smooth platform about a tenth of a meter beneath his feet, incasing him on all sides. Maintaining that force cost me somewhat, but nothing I couldn't spare and I had him closed in, all I needed to do was focus on a different image.

Within the supposedly protective bubble of Albus's sphere, the ground exploded as a sudden forest of spears—invisible but for the disturbances they caused in the dirt and dust—erupted towards him from every direction. For my part, I felt each attack as if I were being stabbed, but it seemed like as fair trade as Albus, caught off-guard and not expecting an attack from below, was _literally_ stabbed, forty-seven times from as many angles. Sure, his Aura prevented any of the attacks from penetrating, but it cost him for than it cost me, even if it did feel like someone was playing a literal game of tug-of-war with my heart. HP was no object to me, so long as at least one point remained.

Still, that was no reason to let up on him, now was it?

Pinned in place by the steady pressure of dozens of Psychokinetic spears, Albus still found the power to grunt as his feet began to rise from the ground. Pushing down on his shield from one direction, I also pushed _up_ on the platform beneath him from the other, crushing him against his own shield. As he did, more Psychokinetic 'fluid' began to flow up the underside of his force field, and more spikes erupted from it, driving into him from every angle even as several, from both above and below, snaked around his arms, legs, and chest to try and keep him in place. Albus grit his teeth as he was tied down and slowly crushed, but when his mouth opened, it was only to release a snarl.

And then he began to glow, blue energy rising from his skin. I blinked at the familiar sight in surprise even as it rose into a cloud around him, pushing back or disrupting the spikes and bonds. I could the Dust in both his sword and shield aiding the process, but…without a doubt, that was something like my Aureola.

I couldn't deny I was a bit impressed. Not wholly surprised since all of the skills I possessed were, at least in theory, learnable by others, but…still. It wasn't something I'd expected.

With the forces that had entrapped him being momentarily kept at bay by his Aura, Albus shifted, careful to keep all of his limbs within the veil of blue light that surrounded him. Lifting his sword carefully, he slid it into a hatch on the side of his shield and the light within it flared brightly, doubling and redoubling, almost as if—

Almost as if it was the key to the ignition.

In a moment, the glow of the shield spread into the force field and it expanded into a full sphere, surface darkening until it was opaque, at least within the spectrum of visible light. In the process, it tore through my Psychokinesis and cut him off from my attacks completely.

Interesting. It seemed he'd been prepared for just such an occasion after all.

But…on the other hand, if all he could do was defend, then there was nothing to worry about. In most cases, against most opponents, it might have been a good strategy—maintain a solid defense and allow his opponents to run themselves into the ground with the damage they took trying to break through it. But, though the process felt like something was attempting to tear my organs out through my ribcage, the damage from his Semblance that wasn't enough to dissuade me. It just meant I'd have to do this the hard way.

Well, I suppose you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. That in mind, I reached out and snatched up the now rolling sphere, lifting it quickly into the sky. As I did, I rose a bit higher as well, until the lower edge of my Psychokinesis was level with the ground and the upper edge was high in the sky. I lifted the barrier to the latter, supporting it for a brief moment as I focused my power—and then I brought it down with all the force I could muster, casting it towards the earth like a meteor.

Naturally, that's when Finn chose to make his move. While I was focused on Albus and just as an edge of pain slipped past my defenses from the attack, he struck, lining his attack up so perfectly with the warning my Danger Sense gave me about the oncoming damage that I noticed a moment too late when it bleed into a wholly different warning.

He must have been planning this for a while, a part of me mused while the rest of me felt like it was simultaneously being ripped into a million pieces and crushed into a space that was far too small. All those attack from before had been testing my awareness. It wasn't impossible that other Hunters were sensitive enough to threats that they'd managed to dodge his attacks, so it wasn't hard to imagine that he'd been faced with similar problems before. He'd been measuring how fast I was able to respond to danger so he'd be able to time his own attacks to match. After all, my Danger Sense didn't inform me of the nature of the threat, merely its presence; it was up to me to take care of the rest. As he'd proven, it was possible to hide threats amongst each other.

Of course, that was easier said than done, especially against me. It would need to be an attack that get past all of the targets senses and defenses and, more than that, the attacker would need to be able to accurately measure a lot of complex things on the fly. It was like…like timing an attack to the exact moment your opponent blinked. In a gunfight. From a hundred meters away.

I guess you get to be one of the top seniors at Haven by collecting bottle caps, I thought as I collided with the ground hard enough to bounce—which, honestly, was the least painful part of being telefragged, brief as the experience was, because it fucking _hurt_. It wasn't just a matter of being thrown away, because that's not what happens. When Finn appeared in the same space as you, it _should_ , logically, blow you to pieces—and it _tries_ too. It's just that your Aura kicks in at the last second and squeezes all the pieces together before they can fly apart, literally forcing you to retain shape, and then you get blown _away_ as the alternative to being blown _apart_ , pushed aside as fast as Finn appeared in your place. I wouldn't have been surprised if most of his opponents went down from the sheer pair of the experience—and for those that didn't, well, the cost to one's Aura wasn't particularly kind, either.

Luckily, I was used to pain—and it was only momentary besides. The Gamer's Body was a hell of drug.

"Ah," I said, shaking my head as I lifted myself to my feet with a thought. In the middle of a deep crater, I saw Albus's shield flicker several times before going out, but the older boy simply groaned and slowly stumbled to his feet. "Were you worried about Albus, Finn? You didn't seem to like each other much, but…hm. Are you two the type that are really close despite how much you argue? I've got a friend like that."

"Hardly," Finn snorted, but I didn't think it was entirely true. "I was just starting to feel forgotten."

"Poor baby," I replied, working my jaw for a moment before smiling. "Well, never fear—you've got my attention _now_ , so if you want your ass kicked that bad, I'm happy to oblige."

"Very kind," He answered with a smirk. "But are you sure you can? All those attacks must be getting to you by now."

He wasn't completely wrong. Even for me, all those hits from Albus and a telefrag on top was enough to start making me feel it, especially when added to the Psychokinesis I'd been throwing around, my Acceleration, and my other skills. My HP and MP had both dropped a fair bit—nothing another ten or fifteen seconds wouldn't fix, of course, but enough to make my notice. I wouldn't have cared a minute ago, but Finn had just proven he could get past my Danger Sense in the right circumstances and Albus's Semblance was provided. It was enough to make me consider the possibility of getting hit by a few more and adjust my buffer accordingly. As it stood, it might be worth it to show a little concern and do something about it.

Luckily, I made a point of being prepared.

 **Patientia (Passive) LV1 EXP: 98.71%  
The calm forbearance that outlasts the self-devouring flames of Wrath; the steady endurance that leads one to finding hope. This ability represents the quality of one's Aura that allows it to retain and recall specific pattern. By using this skill, another skill may be precast and then drawn upon at a later time, paying the full cost to give the technique form in ones Aura. The resulting skill is in all ways like it would be had it been cast normally, with the except of charged skills, in which case the ability may cast with whatever charge has been prepared beforehand.  
Max Number of Precast Skills: 1.**

Sighing slowly, I smiled at Finn.

"Who, me?" I asked as the heal I kept prepared took effect, restoring both my HP and MP thanks to the Dust Crystal I'd burned days ago. "Nah, I feel great. You?"

Patientia was my contingency—my one free shot. Because of how it worked, I could effectively cast one of my skills for free in a time of need. Thus far, I hadn't been able to find any particular limit on the _type_ of skill, either; I could stock anything from barriers, to attacks, to, of course, healing techniques. I could even pre-prepare something as big as Lux Aeterna and start a fight by unleashing a blast of pure devastation for free. As skills went, it was a simple one, but no less powerful for that fact, and its versatility was immense. Perhaps more than that, it was a skill that got more powerful as I learned _other_ skills, with which to make use of it.

With the condition that I could only use one skill.

At least for now. Given that its profile had said 'Max Number of Precast Skills', I was confident that the number would increase over time, which would make it even better. Even just having _two_ such skills stored opened up a vast array of options, and if I could have even more, so much the better. But for the moment, I had to make do with just one and had to make my decisions based on that.

Needless to say, I'd planned for the worst. Harder to be disappointed that way, after all, and it helped improve my life expectancy. I'd asked myself what I'd need most in an emergency and chosen what I'd thought most important. And while something as powerful as Lux Aeterna was a bit tempting in its own right, tremendous as the damage was, it wasn't something I couldn't match with enough Magic Missiles. It might take dozens or hundreds of them to do it, but if it was just a matter of wearing down a powerful opponent, that wasn't an issue—and, more importantly, it wasn't an _emergency_. When I asked myself what _was_ , the answer I came to was simple.

My HP or MP getting dangerously low at a very bad time. _That_ was an emergency. When I thought about what was most likely to save my life, a conveniently timed full restore seemed like the best bet—and so I'd made a point to keep one on hand for when I was having an unusually shitty day.

Which _this_ …really wasn't. Honestly, this wasn't even a _bad_ day, all things considered; hell, I was having fun right now. Still, I wasn't particularly worried about using it in this fight; while something bad could theoretically happen at any time, this was a fairly controlled setting and wasn't all that serious—not just for me, but for any of the parties involved. While victory was important, we weren't exactly fighting for our lives here, and if anything happened there were a horde of teachers and students alike to get involved and buy me a few seconds to heal manually. I could afford it and it was convenient.

Besides, I didn't want my life to be like, oh, pretty much every game I ever play in my entire life, where I aggressively saved every potion I acquired for the final boss—at which point, naturally, I proceeded to aggressively not use them against the final boss, making it entirely pointless. I had the power. I had the items. I didn't like the idea of wasting either, but I didn't need to be _stingy_. I could always withdraw to a safe place and prep another one right after this, anyway.

As such, I cheerfully rigged this situation as heavily as physically possible, snuffing out their last, dim hopes of victory even as I thought my way through the puzzle I'd been presented.

Finn's plan was a good one, all told, and it didn't leave me any good options. If I attacked him, he'd dodge at the last second and I'd take damage for making the attempt. If I attacked Albus, I'd take damage _and_ leave myself open for another telefrag. Given how painful _those_ were, Albus wasn't a very tempting target, but so long as he remained on the field, I would be taking pretty much constant damage. Attacking both at the same time was possible, but not only did it mean I'd be burning energy and taking damage faster, but it didn't change the issue with the telefragging. I could Shed aside every time I sensed a threat instead of relying solely on my flawed Danger Sense, but that would get expensive really, really fast—I regained MP at a ridiculous pace, but I could burn it all in a second if I tried. With the way I took an attack every time I dealt one, I'd drain fast, and it wasn't like I could wait for Finn to vanish _before_ trying to get out of the way.

I nearly sighed. Originally, I'd planned to use Finn's annoyance at Albus against the both of them, but evidently the senior was too smart for that—he'd recognized me as the bigger threat and had put his feelings aside in order to help bring me down. It was a smart attitude, especially for a Hunter, but an annoying one in an enemy; I preferred my opponents stupid and quarrelsome, thank you very much, because if they would all just kill each other, it'd save me the trouble. Alas, it didn't seem like the Grimm would oblige me there, so I suppose it wasn't that surprising that Albus and Finn wouldn't either; if they had, they wouldn't have made it this far. As a result, though, no matter what I chose to do, I'd go through a lot of pain to do it.

Oh, well. It's not like I didn't hurt myself worse than this on a daily basis.

I attacked Finn first, sending a light blow this way, because I knew he'd avoid it anyway. Within the bounds of Albus' Semblance, most people would have hit as hard as they could to make each blow count, but there was no point in doing that with attacks that were just going to miss anyway. The same moment I felt a sign of danger, I Shed a skin and moved straight back, releasing a blast of Psychokinetic force at my own afterimage as I did. Finn appeared in its place just in time to catch a fraction of the force and spin back, but he vanished before hitting anything. I was already on the move, flashing away and leaving behind seemings of myself in my place. He appeared overlapping me once more just to be forced to dodge another attack, but then he kept pace with me, teleporting to match my sheer speed.

We blurred from one side of the field to the other and then back again, fighting in-between points rather than along lines of battle. Even so, neither of use drew truly close to one another until I made to go back and then changed things up mid-turn. Making a guess from how he'd moved before, I added another dimension to the game again and when up at an angle to land on a Psychokinetic platform before diving straight down and hovering silently back along the grass.

When Finn appeared, I was behind him, dancing into a blind spot. He paused for an instant, taking a moment to figure out what had happened and wonder how he'd lost me—but it was enough. If I'd attacked him, he'd have sensed the threat, if not the precise location of the attack, and vanish before it hit, so I didn't bother.

But a moment of distraction was more than enough for Albus, who'd only just gotten to his feet and drawn his now dim sword. And I was all too happy to give him my best shot, now that I had no need to fear a telefrag—and, of course, how that his shield had been dealt with. I glanced at his HP, his stats, and did a few calculations before dumping a little over three thousand MP into an attack to end this quickly.

Albus slammed back into the ground, driving into it with such force that it shattered around him and drove him into a long, deep trench. Finn twitched once as the sound reached him, teleporting before he even finished doing so, and then the area around us shifted as Albus' power faded.

I didn't follow up just yet, deciding to play defensively until more of my power returned. For several seconds, I simply hovered, waiting patiently even as I saw Finn reappear. His teleportation was more efficient than my Shedding, but I both had more power and was able to regain it at a faster rate—to say nothing of the fact that he'd been in pretty much constant motion since the fight began. He was getting tired and I could see him searching my face for sighs of similar exhaustion.

I showed him nothing, waiting in silence.

Finn panted three times, grit his teeth and vanished, reappearing about ten centimeters in front of me, trying to shock me into attacking him and burning more energy. Instead, I continued to hover placidly, power returning with each passing moment. When he swung his sword, trying to conserve energy for the rest of the fight, I merely drifted back and let it flick by me. With a snort, he was suddenly behind me and I turned my body to hover parallel to the ground, letting the blade pass above me, before continuing the turn to hang upside-down as he stepped to the side and aimed a downward swing at me. I watched the sword cut into the grass a few inches from my eyes before rotating to the side and coming to my feet as he drew the blade from the dirt.

Finally, I put my feet on the ground as he came at me with a wide swing and simply…stepped into it. When I did, the gleaming steel of his blade was perhaps a centimeter from the side of my next, but I kept walking, moving in the direction of the strike such that it was always just a hair's breadth from my throat. I walked until the swing ended and the turned to face Finn, the world slowed around me.

The message was clear—he couldn't keep up with my speed. While teleporting, it was true that he was able to cover ground faster than I could, but within the bounds of normal space, there was no contest. I knew it and now he did to. The only chance he had was to pit his teleportation against my raw speed and win.

I saw him pause for a moment as that sank in, but then his lips pursed, he cracked his neck, and—

Sliding as I finished my enhanced movement, I attacked my afterimage again, but he vanished almost the moment he appeared, guessing my direction. Abruptly, I was being torn apart and crush and blown away, but I merely caught myself in the air and landed. He pursued and I evaded, sliding to the side this time, and then up, and then a random direction each time. I didn't set a pattern, didn't do anything he could guess at a glance, but flew through the battlefield, this time moving in three directions, and for a second there were enough of me—of my short-lived images—to fill a parade.

And then he stumbled, simple exhaustion catching up to him, and I was on him in an instant. The first attack managed to clip him before he teleported away, and three attacks later I caught him with a battering-ram to the chest. Shortly after, he began taking more hits, each taking away from his Aura and slowing him down even more. As he did, I began to catch him when he paused between teleports, blasting him back, knocking him down, and just generally smacking him around. It was over and we both knew it, but I didn't need to ask to know that he'd fight to the bitter end and so I would too.

So when he appeared in front of me, already moving with impossible speed, I was unsurprised. When the force of his charge blew me back and then fully across the battlefield, I could safely say I'd seen it coming. And when it ended, when I came to a stop with the point of his sword centimeters from my chest, held away only by the grip my hand had on the blade, I knew what it meant.

Glancing up at the sweaty face of the older boy, I met his eyes.

"I win," I said quietly, pushing back the blade and then plucking it from his weakened fingers. I let it fall to the side as I rose and it hit the dirt with a soft clang.

Finn panted for several seconds and then nodded, legs finally giving out on him.

"Aye," He said from the ground, lying on his back. "You win."

There was a beat of silence then—and then, someone began to applaude.

"Well done," Cinder said quietly, approaching at last.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Applause**

I'd known this was coming, but would have been a lie to say that the timing didn't surprise me.

When you got right down to it, Cinder approaching me was an inevitability, not matter what her plans were. This simple truth of the matter was that I was too big off a variable for anything else. After I knocked down a teacher, after I took on several of the strongest students in Haven, after I took control—this was going to happen eventually. I still had no idea what she was up to, but I was making big enough waves by now that it didn't matter. Hell, we all were; I felt pretty sure that Raven had probably at least _started_ questioning people on here end. If nothing else, we were work on a big enough scale that simple probability meant we'd stumble way to force her to get involved.

Doing it on my first day was at once pleasing and confusing. On the one hand, I'd wanted this and I hadn't needed to spend days or weeks playing games with her to do it. On the other hand, I had no idea what I'd done that had caused this. Defeating Finn and Albus might have been impressive to any onlookers, but for me it was mostly just a means to an end; so long as Cinder was based in Haven and I controlled Haven, I could leverage that power to make her life difficult, at least in theory. As far as I could tell, she had been tied to either faction and their defeat, in and of itself, shouldn't have been a concern, so she must have been worried about…my control over Haven? Or something I didn't know about yet?

The latter was something to keep in mind, but as it told me nothing, I noted the possibility and filed it away. The former, however, implied—or, perhaps, confirmed—that Haven itself was important to her goals. It wasn't unexpected, but it did narrow things down considerably, for better or for worse.

Either way, the question now was _why_ she was approaching me and, of course, how I should respond. This meeting was something I'd considered extensively and there were a number of different ways for it to occur, but given the circumstances, many of them could be discarded. For instance, the most worrying possibility—that she would try to fucking murder me once she realized I was interfering with her plans—seemed unlikely given that we were in front of hundreds of witnesses, including a number of teachers. Unless my information thus far was truly, astonishingly in error and she'd somehow subverted everyone without our knowing, that just wasn't on the table. It didn't necessarily mean she wouldn't try to kill some other time when there was no one around, but I could safely assume that this meeting did not have lethal intent.

Or even violent intent, in all likelihood. Part of the reason I'd shown off my power in such a way was to limit her ability—or at least her desire—to do such a thing. If she wanted to defeat me, she'd need to show an enormous amount of power, most likely beyond what any of her records indicated. Even if her power itself might not cause suspicion, what with the amount of power _I'd_ displayed, the fact remained that it would seem very odd for that power to appear _now_ after three years of school. I, at least, started out ridiculous, and I was a million percent sure they'd spend the next few weeks looking into me.

But the difference between Cinder and I was that even if they went over my background with a fine-toothed comb, they probably wouldn't find anything—even assuming Ozpin or grandmother or any of the other people that I mentally filed under Friends in High Places didn't step in and make them stop. Meanwhile, I was betting that a Cinder's profile was primarily fiction and, as a criminally, she probably didn't want people looking for inconsistences. Cinder, after all, probably couldn't make sure all her crimes were done by a different looking person of an entirely different race tied to an independent group of terrorists that had no connection to her secret identity.

Not a fight, then. Not an intimidation attempt, either, after the display I'd just pulled off; Cinder was undoubtedly terrifyingly powerful, but as far as she knew, I didn't know that and therefore she couldn't leverage it. No, if she was approaching me now, after Toxotes, Albus, and Finn, it was more likely that she was aiming for something else. Information gathering, a way to control or guide me, maybe even…

Ah.

Pretty sure I knew where this was going now, I turned to face her fully no more than a moment after hearing her applause. I looked her up and down once, as if I'd never seen her before, and then frowned very slightly.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Cinder Fall," She replied. "And you're Jaune Arc."

"I say something about how my reputation precedes me, but I've spent most of the day making sure everyone here knew who I was, so," I bobbed my eyebrows once as if to say 'what can you do,' shrugging as I did. Afterwards, I looked at her with furrowed brows and pondered her. "I apologize if I'm supposed to recognize you; I'm new. I'm guessing you're a senior?"

"Mm," She confirmed with a hum. "Albus, Finn, and I have classes together."

"Ah," I said, looking over my shoulder. There was no need anymore, since I could see the fallen boys without moving a muscle, but I'd found that those now-pointless things helped make people feel more comfortable around me—stuff like blinking and breathing and eating and asking them about things I already knew and not knowing exactly what was going on. As such, I waited until I was able to see Albus and Finn with my actual eyes, mulled over the sight of them, and then looked back at Cinder with a tilted head. "Do you want to avenge them or something?"

I made sure to sound confused but unworried, like this situation was new for me—which it kind of was—and I wasn't sure what to do, letting her take the lead in this situation.

Cinder quirked an eyebrow in fake surprise. I wasn't sure from her emotions if she knew they were fine or if she just didn't care; despite of the usual stereotypes concerning fire-users, it seemed to be a fairly cold place inside Cinder. Either way, she was good at acting normal.

Or whatever counted as normal among Hunters.

"Why?" She asked. "Are they hurt?"

"No," I answered, scratching the side of my head. "Nothing that won't be gone by tomorrow, at least. I'm a pretty good healer so I'll fix them up in a bit anyway."

"You're a healer?" She asked, still unsurprised. Even if I hadn't been able to feel her emotions, I'd seen the information about my actions in Vale on her school earlier.

"Yes," I answered, still frowning in false uncertainty. "I learned it…well, before."

"I see," She mused, a note of interest in her voice. "But if they're fine, then no. Those two get into a lot of fights as the strongest seniors in the school."

"The strongest?" I asked, wondering if I should make myself sound disappointed. I decided against it at the last second and made myself sound interested instead, before taking a step forward and looking her over again. In her glass heels, she was about five centimeters shorter than me, but she still cut an imposing figure in her dress, what with it being the one she probably killed people with. And even if other people didn't know that, no one else in the crowd had drawn forward after her, giving her space. "What about you? You look strong. Is that Dust woven into your clothes?"

At that, she gave me a smile that might have been almost honest.

"Why yes it is," She said. "Most people don't notice that quickly."

"My grandmother did some sewing in her free time," I replied before taking a chance—or maybe giving a chance. "I'm a fair hand at it as well; I used to help her. But yours looks better."

"It's rare to meet a man with that type of skill nowadays," She sounded honestly amused now. "Much less one who would admit it publicly."

I lifted a hand and gestured absently.

"My ego isn't that fragile," I told her. "Whether I'm sewing or wearing pajamas or whatever—the fact remains that I'm the strongest, right?"

"Hm," She hummed again, still sounding amused. "That's a good mindset, I suppose."

I lifted my eyes to meet hers and raised an eyebrow.

"You're powerful," I said again, more softly this time to add a bit more pressure. "You don't want to fight me, but it's not because you're scared of me."

I looked over my shoulder and then quickly back at her.

"Are you stronger than them?" I asked, expression simply inquisitive and maybe that was what made her meet my eyes.

With this, she couldn't just let things go.

She smiled at me.

"Let's discuss it later." She said. "Perhaps I can show you some tricks when it comes to sewing with Dust."

And with that, she turned and walked away, the bell ringing moments later. The sound of it seemed to jolt most of the other students out of their reverie and in seconds there was a mad scramble as students began rushing every which way to get to classes. Most took advantage of the giant hole in the ground and simply leapt down to the appropriate floor and I allowed them to before beginning work on fixing things.

Soon, it was just me and Adam.

"So…" Adam asked. "What the fuck just happened?"

I looked up from my work once and smiled at him.

"She made her move," I said.

 **XxXXxX**

Later, after I fixed all the damages and attended a few more classes that really weren't worth the bother, I was completely unsurprised to note that Cinder was in my room. I was several halls away at the time, so I mulled it over somewhat as I made my way towards her, but still failed to dig up anything like surprise. I'd been expecting this, too, though not quite in this way. One of the most likely ways of meeting Cinder had, after all, been through Emerald and Mercury.

Who were, I noted absently, there as well. No doubt if I asked why she was in my room, she'd just say they invited her; a predictable answer for a predictable question. As she often seemed to be, she was sewing, seated on Mercury's bed while my teammate sat on the floor and leaned against the bedpost. Emerald was on her own bed and both of Cinder's henchmen were doing convincing jobs of being apathetic, bored teenagers.

Probably because they were apathetic, bored teenagers.

"Look alive," I said as I came up beside Adam. We shared almost all of our classes, which wasn't unheard of for partners even if I was smart enough to know it was because of Grandmother. We only had a normal number of classes with Emerald and Mercury, because being elsewhere in the building did pretty much nothing to keep me from watching them at all times. The Adam thing was probably just Grandmother's attempt to keep either of us from being bored _and_ alone, as well as to allow me to cover for Adam.

But the fact that I saw through what she was trying to do didn't mean I didn't appreciate it. I could honestly say this would be miserable without Adam to talk and complain to. I mean, I _wouldn't_ say that, but I _could_ and if I did, it would be honest.

Adam looked at me and raised an eyebrow. He'd slept through the entire class and only woken up when it let out, so he was a bit slow on the uptake—but I suppose it was just as well, since we were going to train through the night for, oh, forever, so I'd allowed it.

"Uh…what?" He asked. "Why?"

"Cinder's in our room," I said. I _didn't_ anything about him being off his game in the morning, because he was my friend. Also, because he could react to a threat in a hot second, he was just otherwise completely useless.

"What?" He asked, blinking several times before shaking himself and focusing on me. "Our room?"

I nodded patiently, giving him a moment. Walking like a normal person, we had the time.

"That's…" He paused abruptly stiffening. "Wait, what's in our room? Do you have Autumn?"

"Easy," I answered, expanding the illusion around my arm would he could see it. Autumn was wrapped around my arm in bands of thorny green, all leading back to her central blossom that was seated above my wrist like a watch. Since Autumn had discovered sight and I'd had the opportunity to introduce her to color, she'd taken to coloring herself with increasingly diverse patterns and designs. Currently, she looked like a kaleidoscope on acid and part of the reason I'd rendered her invisible was to keep anyone from having a seizure. "There's nothing in our room; I've got everything stashed away, remember?"

Adam relaxed a touch and reached out to poke Autumn's petals gentle. In response, they opened wider to reveal the orb at the center—Autumn's single, unblinking eye. Well, maybe 'single' was deceptive; though there was only one orb, there were many pupils and irises dotting its surface. Autumn had evidently chosen to take quality over quantity when it came to her eyesight, with a single eye that could see in all directions instead of a multitude of the things.

"Sup, kid," Adam said. Autumn quietly stared at him before lifting several tendrils to wave at him in greeting. She hadn't figured out the who hearing thing yet—or, rather, she hadn't figured out the whole _language_ thing—but she was a smart girl and she'd figured out that a lot of conversations start with greetings. "You got bored, too?"

As stuff like that was still beyond her, I translated it and she replied by closing her petals back around her orb, shutting her eye.

"Can't blame her," Adam said with a yawn. "At least I've been able to get some sleep, though."

"Are you actually awake now?" I asked.

"More or less," He answered. "Though God only knows the cost. Let's skip the guessing game and get to the part where you tell me what's going on."

"Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury are in our room," I repeated. "They looked around a bit, but you don't need to try hard to see that you and I don't keep much there. Now they're waiting."

"For us?" He asked and snorted at my look. "For us. Hey, I just woke up, okay?"

"This is why sleep is for the weak," I stated.

"Is this that move you mentioned earlier?" He asked, ignoring my words. "I'm going to go ahead and assume she's not going to try and kill us."

"Almost certainly not," I nodded. "I mean, in case you didn't notice, I'm good at making messes. Even if she could do it, I doubt she could do it clean and she sure as hell wouldn't do it here."

"What does she want then?" Adam wonder, lips curving down in a frown. "Information?"

"Probably," I mused. "She's surprisingly calm. I noticed it before when she didn't start going crazy about, you know—"

"Your mess?" He interrupted, smirking.

"Yeah," I said, unable to keep from smiling, too. "My mess. When she got the news, she didn't panic or run around screaming; she asked people for information, waited for it to come in, went over it, and then made her decision. I wondered at first if she just wasn't worried, but I think she's always like that. I barely felt her emotions change the entire fight, even when I started tearing the place apart. Image if you didn't know me and you saw all that—how would you react?"

"I'd have thought you were fucking insane," Adam answered at once. "Which…is how I feel now, so."

"I'm serious," I said.

"I know," He replied before falling silent for a moment. "To be honest, you can be a pretty scary guy, Jaune. I've seen you tear down cities in minutes and your idea of training something is to use it a million times in a night until you're a complete master. Even if I didn't know your real power, though, tearing buildings apart and putting them back together isn't something just anyone can do. I'm honestly not sure if I could have taken though two on but you didn't even look hurt. I mean, you _never_ look hurt so that doesn't mean anything, but you get the idea. If I'd been one of those other kids, I'd have probably been scared, amazed, or both. Most of them have probably never seen Hunters fight even half-seriously before."

I nodded.

"Cinder saw all that go down in her home base and wandered over to a table to get something to eat while watching," I said. "Didn't even seem to faze her."

He frowned slightly at that.

"Could she have known about it before hand?" Adam wondered aloud. "We still don't know her Semblance, right? Maybe she has a precog power like that other girl you told me about. Or maybe she knows someone who does; we still don't know who else she's working with or for or…anything."

"Maybe," I allowed. "But it seemed less like foreknowledge and more like acceptance. Like 'Yeah, a freshman probably shouldn't be able to do this, but he obviously can and there's no point whining about it being impossible now.' It's like she saw it and just filed it away for future reference."

Adam was quiet for a moment.

"I've known some other people like that," He admitted. "General, they were some of the most terrifying people I've ever met. Really experienced Hunters—or freaks of nature like you."

I shrugged again, accepting that. It didn't bother me because it was true—and even if it did, if he hadn't said it, I'd have still known he'd been thinking it. One of the reasons Adam was my best friend was because he _did_ say things like that.

"Where does that leave us?" He asked after a minute of silence.

"She's not the type we're going to frighten into doing something stupid," I said after a moment's thought. "Not this easily. I didn't really expect her to, but it's good to confirm that she's a profession."

"So you didn't get the reaction you wanted?" He guessed.

"Mm, I don't know about that," I pondered it for a moment. "With no real information about her, it's hard to say that there was a reaction I _wanted_. I'm happy with what we got, though."

"Oh?"

"It was only a little, but we know something now and we can assume some more," I answered. "She's a professional, she's extremely powerful and experienced, and she's good at keeping her head even when things go to hell. She's calm, smart, rational, and will make decisions accordingly—therefore we can assume that her plans thus far have been made with her best interests in mind and that it's leading up to something."

"So she's not just here at school because she's fucking crazy, is what you're saying?" He asked. "It would be a lie to say I didn't wonder. Still, that doesn't tell us anything new—she's smart and dangerous."

"Perhaps," I allowed. "But it's always nice to confirm. And while I'm not overjoyed by having intelligent enemies, I like to think that _we're_ intelligent and so I'd say we have decent odds of figuring things out. And before you say a word, I was this close to saying 'I like to think that…, well, at least, _I'm_ intelligent', so take what you can get."

Adam shut his mouth so as to better frown at me.

"It doesn't count if you say it anyway, prick," He told me. "What do we do now?"

My smile widened at his words and I bobbed my head cheerfully.

"We have an outline," I said as we approached our room. "Now we just…fill in the blanks. And, oh, look. Opportunity didn't even bother knocking before letting itself in."

Just before showing my scroll to the door, however, I paused.

"Oh, and cross your arms," I told him.

"Why?" He asked, but it did anyway. After only a moment, however, he glanced down. "Ah."

Halfway out of a ripple in space and right beneath his fingers were Wilt and Blush, ready to be drawn.

"It almost certainly won't, but just in case anything happens, kill Emerald and Mercury, okay?" I asked, pushing the sword back into my Inventory. "I should be able to at least hold Cinder off; if need be, we'll figure something out from there."

"Got it," He nodded. "Mind lowering it a little bit?"

He shifted so his arms were lower, more relaxed, and closer to his waist—to where his sword would normally be.

"Sure," I smiled, scanning my scroll over the door. "If things go to hell, just reach for your sword and it'll be there."

I wasn't expecting a fight, but that wasn't the same as not being prepared for one. I'd already prepared another charged Reformation, just in case things went south, and I'd plotted out several escape routes, both through the building and through Naraka. If worst came to worst, I was prepared to go all out and I knew Adam had my back.

So I opened the door.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Clothed**

"Hello, again," Cinder said, looking up from her work with a slight smile. Mercury looked up from his spot on the floor as well, but Emerald just continued to lie on her bed, eyes half-closed as she stared at the ceiling. I saw her eyes flick towards me for a moment as I entered but then she returned to her self-appointed watch.

"Cinder?" I asked, blinking. "What are you doing here?"

"She's an old friend of ours," Mercury replied, nodding to me and Adam. "After…well, you know, Emerald and I invited her over. That's…not a problem, is it?"

I blinked at the words, the reaction only partially faked. Mercury seemed like he was honestly asking me for permission.

But then, at this point, he'd probably figured out and accepted that I was sincere in desire to take over Haven. I guess he was at least willing to pretend to be my subordinate, so long as we were on the same team.

"No, no problem," I answered. "I'm just surprised to see you again so soon. Somehow, when you said 'let's discuss it later', I didn't think you meant 'later today.'"

"I'm not one to procrastinate," Cinder admitted. "Though in truth, I'm just lucky that my old friends were on your team."

I hummed at that, glancing over the two of them.

"Well, not really luck," I stated. "We finished first and they finished second—we never met up inside the Labyrinth so we were put together based on our skill instead. Emerald and Mercury got here on their own merits."

Mercury smiled slightly at the words, but otherwise barely reacted to the compliment. Emerald, for her part, continued to lounge around half-asleep. Knowingly or not, the two were following Cinder's lead.

"You're all getting along, then?" Cinder inquired, tilting her head slightly.

I stepped into the room, letting Adam squeeze in past me. Now that we were in the thick of things, he was all business and he's expression was schooled into a mask of indifference. Even so, he was playing the role of a bodyguard as well as a student and didn't hesitate to look Cinder over briefly before taking a seat across from Mercury, back to my bedpost and eyes blank. One of his legs was bent such that he could rest an arm on it, which positioned it such that he could rise and draw his blade at the same time, should it be necessary. If so, his greater speed and the nature of his swordsmanship might be enough to take Mercury down with the first blow.

Once he'd been seated, I stepped over his leg and took a seat on my own bed, right across from Cinder. I didn't miss the fact that the room was split neatly in half between us, nor did I miss the emotional undercurrents in the room. Emerald and Mercury had seen my power for the first time, too, and our dynamic had changed accordingly.

"I suppose," I mused. "I've been busy lately, as you're aware, and we haven't really had much time to get to know each other, but I'm pleased to have the strongest team amongst all the freshmen."

"It's good to have powerful friends," Cinder agreed, still sewing carefully.

"Mm," I answered, still smiling. "I'm happy with the results. I honestly wasn't sure who I'd end up with, you see."

At that, I felted something from Cinder—perhaps a muted flash of interest.

"Oh?" She wondered. "Were you worried, then?"

I chuckled.

"Not really," I replied, shaking my head. "As long as I have Adam here, it really doesn't matter."

"Ah," Cinder noted. "Yes, I've heard. The two of you make quite a pair. Everyone's still reeling from the show you put on earlier."

"I like to make an impression," I said back, amused. "Glad to see it worked."

Cinder laughed quietly, the sound soft and rolling.

"You like to see things react," She corrected. "Like throwing a rock into a pond and watching things ripple."

I didn't have to completely fake the frown I sent her way.

"I guess," I said, inserting just a touch of confusion into my tone. After a moment I nodded more confidently and smiled again. "Yeah, I guess that's a good way to say it—but it's more than that."

"Oh?"

"It'd be a lie to say it wasn't a little fun to watch people scramble," I continued, deciding to take a chance. "But that's not why I did it. When I plunged things into chaos, there was a chance to change things. People showed me their true colors and reacted fast, simply because there was no time to do anything else, and all of a sudden there are opportunities, like with Albus and Finn. Odds are we wouldn't have even met for _weeks_ in normal circumstances, but after PE, word spread and everyone wanted to get a look at the new kid. They all wondered how strong I was—and then they wondered if they were strong enough to beat me. All I had to do then was play along and now…it's my first day, but everyone knows I'm the strongest. Everything's different."

I paused to look up at the ceiling.

"Well, it's more complicated than that," I admitted. "There are still things to do if I want to be in charge. I like Albus and Finn, so I'll probably talk things over with the two of them later. They act really differently, but both of them like to fight; I bet they're already working on stuff for a rematch. Having fought them both, I think we're halfway to being friends already, and I don't think either of them will mind admitting that I'm the best after a while. It's not like I'm planning to abuse that position, anyway."

"That's good to hear," Cinder said. "Though I have to wonder why you're so interested in being in charge. What is it that you want, then?"

I considered that question carefully, mulling it over for a minute.

"Well," I began. "In part, I suppose it's because it's interesting. I'm strong enough to be a Hunter right now, but I still need to go _here_? It seems kind of stupid to me. Classes are…dull, at best, and generally just a huge waste of my time, while everyone who' actually interesting is in a higher class. Doing this, at least, is kind of fun. Fighting people, uniting groups, being in charge—it's amusing. And everyone loves a winner, so it's easy to make friends when you're the best. Case and point, you and I. Would you have even given me a second glance if I wasn't so strong?"

Cinder paused, seemingly uncertain as to how to answer that, but I just chuckled and laughed it off.

"Don't worry," I assured. "It's fine. People like me for my power—that's nothing new. I guess you've probably heard already that my grandmother's the head of the Roma? It was always going to be like this. But just because stuff starts one way, doesn't mean it has to stay that way. Albus and Finn fought me because I was a challenge and they want a rematch because I won and because they had fun fighting me…but that doesn't me we can't be friends. They're both nice guys and after we fight enough, I think we'll get along well."

"That's an interesting way of looking at things," Cinder stated, sounding a touch bemused.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" I challenged, making her smile slightly.

"No, I suppose not," She said. "Finn has always been the type to act like he's acquainted with someone after stabbing them a few times. Supposedly, he and Lonan—another senior—became friends after Finn put him in the hospital for a day; he just showed up afterwards and decided they were friends. I think Lonan was too confused to argue."

I laughed at that, shaking my head.

"That sounds like him," I replied. "I've only known Finn for a day, but…he seems the type. And I like to think I'm good at reading people."

"Oh, are you?" She asked, smile pleasant. If the words worried her, I couldn't feel it. "What do you see when you look at me, then?"

"…I don't know," I admitted, smiling widely. "You're different, somehow. That's what makes you interesting. Why are you here, Cinder?"

In response, she simply lifted the cloth bundle she was working on.

"Albus and Finn have their ways of making friends," She answered. "And I have mine. Would you like me to show you how to sew Dust?"

I chuckled slightly at that but nodded, resting my elbows on my knees as I leaned forward and nodded.

"Show me what you can do, first," She commanded, holding out the unfinished product. "Why don't you try finishing this? It's just a basic piece I started working on several months ago and discarded; I'll walk you through the rest, if you wish."

I took it with a thought, gently plucking both the sewing needle and the cloth from her hands. I glanced it over once—cotton, red Dust, not enough finished to deduce any complete pattern—but got to work quickly. Unlike Cinder's literal handiwork, my Psychokinesis allowed me to work like a machine, and I quickly began filling out what I could.

"Careful," Cinder said, watching calmly. "Each type of Dust is different and requires different designs. Fire is best suited to curved lines and sharp angles."

Was she trying to distract me by tempting me with skill knowledge? Because if so, it was working, and she had discovered my one weakness.

"Does the location matter?" I asked. "Of the design on the cloth."

"Of course," She replied, lifting a hand to touch the point of the design on her dress. "There are currents of energy even within the body—and we use Dust to guide them outside of it. Here, it starts near the heart and trails up my shoulders and then down my arms to my hands, where I can best direct the power. On my back, it trails from my shoulders to my spine and then down. Remember to be careful of where you begin and where you end."

I nodded once, focused on my work even as I adjusted to meet her commands.

"Good," She said, smiling softly. "Now let's begin the first lesson."

 **XxXXxX**

"Good," Ciinder said gently. "You're a quick learner."

I didn't answer, paying the task only half a mind. I was still on my bed, leaning back on my arms as I watched the woman across from me, even as the needle and thread were in constant motion.

"Wind is guided through connected swirls and spirals, while Water flows through curved lines and tributary paths. Lightning is guided along coils and circuits until it's manifested in zigzags."

"What about the other types of Dust?" I asked, body unmoving. "Do they have designs, too?"

"Of course," Cinder answered almost dismissively. "More advanced types depend on specific patterns and geometric shapes, some of which can be exceedingly complex—but we won't get into that yet. These are simply the basics of how to guide the four primary types of Dust; we haven't even gotten into how to mold that power properly yet. There's still much to learn before getting into anything more complicated. For example, have you noticed anything about the flow of energy through the cloth?"

I nodded.

"Fire rises," I began, nodding towards her dress. "The energy starts at a low point and flows upwards, like with your gown. Water is the opposite, flowing downhill; it starts with a high point and cascades downwards. Wind is a bit different, because it needs four points—left, the right, up, and down, which I'm guessing are tied to the four winds. Lightning starts from a central design and is guided through a circuit until it reached the endpoint, such as the hands."

"Very good," She complimented with a smile. "And what about the locations of the designs? Have you noticed how they correspond to points on the body?"

"Yes," I said, nodding again. "They correspond loosely to bones, veins, muscles, and organs. Organs—that is, designs on the chest area—serve as the source of energy. The designs then guide that energy along the paths of blood flows and bones, focused primarily on the arms, legs, and spine."

"Can you guess why?" She challenged and I resisted the urge to rise to the bait. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I could _see_ why.

"The patterns draw energy from the body and shape it in a new way," I replied. "The designs along the bones provide structure, just like the skeleton does the body. Other designs twist off from these central parts to shape how that energy moves and to guide power to proper areas, like muscles and veins. Different types of Dust can focus more or less on certain areas, but most at least touch on all of them."

Cinder hummed in agreement.

"What can you deduce from that?"

"It's all tied together," I stated. "These patterns are based on the flows of energy within people's bodies, but built to shape it in ways we can't on our own. It's almost like…like moving the energy into another person's body, so they can channel that power into a Semblance, but not quite."

"Wonderful," Cinder said, clapping her hands lightly. "You make a good student."

"You make a good teacher," I answered, levitating the needle and thread back to her but bring the cloth my way. It was something of a mess, as if someone had sewn a bunch of completely different patterns in random locations on it—which had been exactly what had happened, so yeah. Cinder had had me practice different designs just to get a feel for it and I'd sewn them in lines and stripes. "May I keep this?"

"Please," Cinder allowed, collecting her needle and thread carefully. "I know it's not particularly pleasant to look at, but I made something quite like it when my godmother first taught me to sew with Dust and I've held onto it ever since. Think of it as a gift from teacher to student."

"Thank you," I said as I set the cloth down with a thought. "I don't suppose we could continue these lessons sometime?"

Cinder raised an eyebrow as if she hadn't expected that, which I didn't believe for a second. After a moment, she gave me an equally unbelievable hesitant smile and nodded.

"If you wish to learn, I'd be happy to teach," She said. "Dust can get a bit expensive, but I'll figure something out—think of it as a gift from your senior."

"No," I rejected immediately. "There's no need for that—I'll ask Grandmother to send me some Dust. I doubt she'd mind if I took up sewing; she supports just about anything that can potentially kill people."

"She sounds like a…lovely woman?" Cinder seemed to wonder, voice touched by just a hint of confused doubt, but I nodded with resolve.

"She'd like you," I told her cheerfully. "Might still kill you for any number of reasons, but she'd like you."

"Noted," Cinder answered, seemingly unsurprised by this information. I wondered if she knew my grandmother from somewhere. Grandmother didn't seem to know her, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "Have you given any thought to what you might like to create? Normally I'd say it's a bit early to worry about such things, but you seem to be a very quick learner."

"It's easy when all you have to do is focus on what you want to do," I justified with a smile. "There are no hands to get in the way when you control things with your mind."

She chuckled slightly at that, conceding the point.

"But let's see," I mused as I tilted my head back and pretended to mull it over. In truth, I had lots and lots of ideas that I had no desire to share with Cinder. "I admit, one of the first applications I thought of for green Dust was flight, but it would be difficult. I can already tell that you'd need an entire…well, flight suit to make it _possible_ , much less feasible. But it might be easier to weave it into boots to harden air for a moment or two—long enough to take a few steps on empty air when you need to, maybe even walk on it eventually. And maybe some designs in a shirt could slow a fall like a parachute; that'd be easy enough to manage, I think. You work mostly with red Dust, right?"

"I _fight_ with red Dust," She answered. "Fire works fairly well in combat, especially if you know how to use it properly. Still, I pride myself on being proficient with many applications of Dust. Why?"

"Just think about what else I could create," I answered. "I suppose I'll be relying on you for advice from now on, Cinder."

"Oh?" She asked, sounding amused.

"Well, you said yourself that this was how you make friends, right?" I replied. "Which would, thus, mean that you and I are now friends. Right?"

"I suppose so," She allowed, smile turning her lips slightly. "Though it's a touch unconventional."

"I'll sew you a friend request, if you want," I promised. "Just say the word. I'll decorate it with little hearts and flowers and butterflies."

She clicked her tongue once, smile growing.

"I won't make you that far," She said. "Flowers and butterflies can be fierce adversaries, when all one has is a sewing needle. I'm not sure you could manage."

"Well, now," I drew back at her words, looking her over. "I suppose I know how I'll be decorating my next piece, then. See you around, Cinder."

"Mm," She hummed, rising from the bed. Mercury, who'd shut his eyes and tried—unsuccessfully—to fall asleep, opened his eyes and looked up at her before following her lead, even as Emerald stirred in the background. "Perhaps tomorrow, if I have time."

"I'll look forward to it." I answered, smiling back.

I remained smiling as they left the room, walked down the hall, and turned the corner, senses looking over the room carefully to make sure they hadn't left anything behind. Only once I was sure that we were all clear did I let the expression fall from my face and sigh.

"What?" Adam said, looking up. He'd watched over things in silence as I worked, careful not to interrupt or draw attention. Now that it was over, though, I was reasonably confident he was going to give me shit. "Is the nerdfest over already? That was only, like, an _hour_ of utter boredom."

"Hour and seventeen minutes," I corrected, going over my Dust Weaving designs and modifying them with the new information. "Don't worry though; she'll be back. With any luck, we'll be able to make this a daily thing eventually."

"Oh, God," He groaned.

"It's good for us," I told him. "It gives us a chance to learn more about her. After this, you probably don't need to be as on guard, so you can approach Emerald and Mercury while we talk shop."

"Yay," He answered dryly. "That's what I wanted to do—entertain the minion brigade."

I chuckled at that before bumping his hip with my foot.

"Man up," I chided. "We're not doing this for the fun of it—we've got work to do. This is an opportunity to get close to them. Given the power we displayed and or new relationship as a student and teacher, it's expected for something like trust to grow. Given time, she'll likely approach us on her own, and we can speed things up easily enough. Just be patient."

Adam grunted, sounding put upon and annoyed.

"I expected being undercover to have a lot of boring bits," He said. "But I didn't expect them to be this bad, this long, or this frequent."

I flicked one of Adam's horns with my Psychokinesis and rolled my eyes.

"Poor baby," I replied. "If only things weren't going so well, huh? We might be getting burnt alive, instead."

He grunted again, this time sounding put upon, annoyed, and _sullen_. Adam was very expressive with his monosyllables.

"Well, if it makes you feel better," I said as I rose from my seat. "Break's over. We're going to train through the night, every night, forever. Who knows, maybe something will get lucky and kill you."

"Sadly, yes," He replied, shaking his head as he followed my lead. "That does make me feel better. I can already tell this is going to be the highlight of my day."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Render**

"Where are we going?" Adam shouted to be heard over the sounds of destruction. Now that I'd mastered Magic Missile, I'd begun using Flares as my new weapon of choice, simply because it was at a high enough level that it'd probably rank up fairly quickly. It's not like I didn't have the power for it—I had enough cost reducers for elemental attacks that I could rain down fire if I wanted to. In fact, that was exactly what I was doing, carpet bombing the Grimm infested city. Though I had a preference for Magic Missiles, given their precision and penetrative power, I couldn't deny that it was a bit satisfying to throw a blast of fire through a window and watch the entire floor explode.

"Outside the city," I answered dryly, not even lifting my voice—Levant ensured that my words still reached his ears. "And there's no need to yell, Adam; I can hear you just fine."

"Yeah?" He growled, absently cutting down an Ursa that stumbled out of a ruined store. It was more a mercy kill then anything, as the intensity of the flames was such that its flesh had begun to _melt_ , dripping from its bones even as it began to smoke. "Well I'm glad, because I can barely hear myself _think_!"

All at once, the sound of the explosions dulled around him, letting through only the sounds of the Grimm. Everything else was just muted background noise, like distant music.

"Thank you," He snorted, rubbing his ears for a moment. "You couldn't have done that from the beginning?"

I chuckled.

"I won't always be around to shutout the noise," I answered. "Best that you learn to operate in loud situations."

"I can fight just fine while the worlds falling down around me," He replied, rolling his eyes. "I hang out with _you_ , after all. That doesn't mean I _enjoy_ it, though. What would you do if I went deaf?"

"I don't know—fix your ears, maybe?" I suggested, raising an amused eyebrow though I knew he couldn't see it.

"Oh, right," Adam said, sounding chagrined. "You can do that."

I clicked my tongue chidingly and turned back to my work.

Needless to say, everything was on fire and I was completely responsible. Using my Psychokinesis, I'd created three rings of what I called 'firing spheres'—mental constructs that existed only so I could use my Clairsentience to blow shit up. Each ring contained an increasing number of spheres, and fired off an almost steady stream of Flares in a formation I affectionately named 'Rain of Fire.' Long story short, any buildings I flew over or near were quickly reduced to kindling.

The purpose of the formation was two-fold. On the one hand, the low cost and high firing rate allowed by my various skills meant that Flare gained experience at a tremendous rate—but the other had to do with the nature of the skill itself. Each of my elemental attacks was different and had to be used differently. Magic Missile, for instance, had the advantage of defense penetration, meaning it was, effectively, armor piercing. It could pierce right through most enemy's defenses and I was a very, _very_ good shot, so it could do so at great ranges. Flare, meanwhile, lacked that ability, trading it for area of effect. While it wasn't as effective against single target, it could potentially affect several _dozen_ targets at once and its nature as a fire attack made it possible to ignite targets. The downside was that individual targets could, potentially survive, especially those on the outskirts of the effect, and so it needed to be fired with enough overlap that that wasn't possible.

Do that, though, and it was possible to make everything in an area several blocks wide spontaneously evaporate.

And so I flew in a winding course, cheerfully bombing everything in my path as I went while Adam trailed behind me at a goodly distance, occasionally putting down any creatures unfortunate enough to avoid instant death. At the pace I was setting, Flare would rank up in a day or two, if not tonight; it was the highest level elemental skill I had after Magic Missile. After I finished with it, I might move onto my other skills, depending on my need and what else I would to level. Far Slayer was a broad cutting attack that could blow back foes it failed to slice through and Thunderbolt was both quick to generate and able to stun foes, so they might be worth the time. Attacks like Tremblor and Tsunami were more situation, though, being more about changing the battle field or causing massive structural damage—meaning they were most effective against cities, fortresses, and other manmade targets I had little interest in, simply because large amounts of innocent people would wind up as collateral. The more advanced Elements I'd need to play around with so more before making up my mind one way or another.

About a half an hour later, I'd finished my sweeps of the city, taking my time to make sure everything was good and leveled before landing just outside the northern gates of the city.

"This is far enough," I told Adam as I set foot on the ground, cancelling Vimana as I did. For today, I'd be staying mostly earthbound, so there wasn't much point keeping it up.

"Finally," Adam huffed. "I was getting tired of attacking empty air. Is it my turn to have fun now?"

"You were getting experience for all that, so don't whine," I told him as I snapped my fingers and shattered Naraka with a flash of power. When the barrier faded, the sounds of city life rose behind us and the buildings stood tall as if nothing had happened. "But yeah, it's play time now."

"Same as before?" He asked as we began running away from Mistral.

"Of course not," I answered, flashing a smile back at him. "Even if it's only been a few days, it goes without saying that things are different now, right? We've both gotten a lot stronger since then."

"Hmph," He snorted, which did nothing to hide the smirk that crossed his face. "I suppose you're right."

"I'm always right," I said before bowing my head and gritting my teeth as I called upon my power.

 **Armored Shell (Active) LV1 EXP: 2.29% MP: 400  
An ancient skill wielded by warriors the world over. By carefully channeling power through one's armor or clothing, the user of this skill may attune those items to their Aura. So long as this skill remains active, these items are treated the same as the user's skin by techniques and may be mended and empowered accordingly.  
All MP skills that enhance the defensive properties of the user's body enhance their clothing the same way.  
All MP skills that would normally damage clothing but leave the user's body unharmed no longer damage said items. Skills that are capable of inflicting harm upon the user do so normally.  
Healing skills and HP regen is now capable of mending damage to armor, clothing, and accessories.  
No such items may be removed while this technique remains active.  
Additional 400 MP used per minute.**

Releasing a breath and shaking my head, I didn't miss a step even as I felt the changes take hold. Even without consciously willing it to, my Aura expanded over and through my clothes, shielding them as it would my body. I felt the cloth turn to Adamant as I ran, providing another layer of protection, and yet…it didn't feel like armor. I'd long since gotten used to the weight of what little armor I bothered wearing, but even that meager burden vanished. Looking down, I noticed that my clothes weren't flapping against my skin anymore—instead, it was held tightly to my body, the edges of cloth melding so smoothly to my skin that I had to check to make sure my flesh hadn't grown over it. It was a somewhat odd sensation, but…not necessarily a bad one.

But I wasn't done yet.

 **Cithaeron Hide (Active) LV1 EXP: 2.29% MP: 500  
A technique used by ancient Mistrali warriors. By concentrating Aura in one's skin and muscles, the user may increase the strength of their body and allow it to undergo greater strain. By taking advantage of the seemingly denser skin and muscle tissue granted by this ability, it is possible to show feats of tremendous power by pushing the body to its limit. It is even possible to reinforce the heart to beat at rates far beyond the human norm, though this may backfire on the unprepared.  
Increase physical durability by 50%.  
Increase physical abilities by 30%.  
Additional 500 MP used per minute.**

"I'll try to save some for you, okay?" I told Adam as I cast a smirk over my shoulder. "Just don't take too long, okay?"

 **Stampede (Active) LV1 EXP: 10.87% MP: 100  
By channeling Aura through specific muscle groups, users of this skill may unleash a powerful charge, breaking through defenses or tossing foes aside.  
Increase movement speed by 100%.  
Increase charging force by 100%.**

My Aura rose around my body in a brilliant white cloak and I left Adam behind before he could give an answer.

Luckily for him, he didn't need to speak to give me the finger.

Pressing on with a laugh, I felt a smile tug at my lips as I raced across the land. I couldn't deny that I loved this, the… _speed_ my power had given me and how it grew in leaps and bounds. As I felt my heartbeat quick, I wanted nothing more than to cast aside all my limitations and just see how fast I could go.

So I did.

Between one step and the next, Jaune Arc vanished and Jian Bing appeared. Bai Hu rose around me, pushing me faster and faster even as I left all sound of my passage far, far behind. Black spots began to appear on my skin as I allowed my infection to grow and spread, egged on by the zone of Accelerated time I lived in constantly. Soon, plates of white bone began to burst from pitch black skin, pieces melding seamlessly into a greater carapace. The Grimm matter grew around my clothes like some kind of demonic mold, incasing them within my defensive shell, and I sparred a moment to thank my new skill for the money I'd save on clothes from now on.

A moment later, my hands hit the ground and I continued to gain speed. As the muscles in my body shifted in response to my Metamorphosis, running on all fours became as easy as walking—and from there, it was almost effortless to shift to eight legs instead. Bai Hu and I moved with a steady rhythm, one set of limbs smoothly replacing another with each step, and the comet of burning air grew around us, mixing with the light of my Stampede to create an array of shifting colors. In seconds, I was back on the plains, running a scorched trail across the savannah, renewing my Stampede as I caught sight of my prey—a Nemean that had wandered away from its herd.

I Lunged into the air at the last moment and hit the ground on the other side a moment later. The Nemean rocked behind me, the flames clinging to its fur revealing what looked like a giant bullet hole straight through where its spine would be—the remnants of my passage. Casting a quick Flare back to make sure the job was done, I kept moving, Shedding a skin to swiftly approach the nearest of a herd of Boarbatusk and grab it by the back of the neck, dark flesh tearing easily beneath my fingers.

 **Crushing Grip (Active) LV1 EXP: 5.81% MP: 100  
By gathering Aura in the muscles of the hand, users of this skill may greatly enhance the crushing force of their grip, allowing normal men to easily tear apart steel with their bare hands.  
Increase crushing force by 300%.**

Grasping it tightly by whatever passed as a spinal column within the Grimm, I lifted the creature fully into the air with one hand and then brought it down on the next, splattering dark flesh in every direction. Twisting my shoulders slightly, I ripped out a handful of the beat with a flex of the Tiger's Jaws. At the same time, I reached out in every direction with Psychokinetic teeth, doing the same to the rest of the group in a flash of dismembered limbs and decapitated heads. A Flare burnt the bodies beyond recognition even as it drew attention to its light, and I left them behind with a Stampede. I came across a pack of Beowolves next, likely brought along by the army from last time, and I tore a line through their ranks without slowing down. Once I'd passed cleanly through them, I Shed a skin to appear in the middle of the remaining wolves, crouching on all fours amongst them. Before any of them could react, I lashed out with my tail, scything through limbs as easily as air, and crushed several dozen skulls between the Tiger's Jaws.

Coming to a halt, I cast a glance around to ascertain my target and began to gather power in my hands. It came easily, shaping itself into the form of Gungnir even as my firing spheres began to unleash Flares. At the rate I was going, it was possible—maybe even probable—that the entire savannah would burn, but I didn't care; if it came to that, I'd regrow the plants with my Green Thumb and call it a day. It's not like Mistral used this area for food; it was too filled with Grimm to be worth the bother. Like Vale, it had a large area within the walls dedicated to agriculture and such, aided by the use of Dust. I was free run wild.

So I did, drawing power into Gungnir until it was fully charged and almost losing shape in my hands. The pull on my power was relatively light, eased by my Temperantia.

 **Temperantia (Passive) LV1 EXP: 66.34%  
The control and restraint that holds back the endless hunger of Gluttony; the prudence and sound judgement that allows one to reach the truth. This skill allows one to improve the efficiency of charged attacks.  
Halve the MP required for each second of charge time.**

Focusing my gaze on the approaching pride of Nemeans, I drew back my hand and flung the writhing spear high into the air. At the apex of its climb, it twisted like a snake, changing direction so as to fall like lightning upon the creature. But when it hit…

Well, it wasn't thunder that shook the plains, but the resulting explosion. The power within Gungnir was unleashed in a flash of white light that was followed by a rising cloud of dust and debris, tearing the Nemean to pieces and slaying seven of its fellows in the process.

I didn't bother waiting for the smoke to clear, but instead followed in the wake of the spear with a jump that carried me high into the air. Landing on the back of a Nemean that had been far enough away to survive the explosion with only heavy burns and a missing foreleg, I reached down to slam my arms deep into the creatures black, holding myself in place. As I did, my Psychokinesis busied itself with grabbing chunks of the creature and tearing them away like a herd of piranhas, giving Bai Hu's skills some exercise. As my power quickly reduced the creature to little more than a screaming skeleton, I tensed slightly, planted my feet, and ripped out a vertebra about the size of my upper body. Lunging away, I landed on the shoulders of the next survivor and repeated the process.

Cracking my neck, I crouched and Lunged straight up, carrying myself higher with a quick activation of my Vimana. Reaching out, Bai Hu extended a set of long, glowing claws that sank into the flesh of the Rukh and pulled me towards it as they shrank again. Grabbing ahold of it, I climbed its leg quickly, circling it as I did, and the tore my way up its white-armored body. As I reached its throat, I tore it open with a flashing claw before crawling around to stand on its head and tear out its six eyes. When it fell from beneath me with a piercing cry and a frantic flap of its wings, I didn't move, choosing instead to hover for a moment. Looking back, I checked on Adam to make sure nothing had happened to him, nodded once in satisfaction, and then shifted my attention elsewhere.

I didn't want to go too far until Adam arrived—I wanted to make sure that I was close enough to interfere if anything went wrong—but I also didn't want to waste too much time. As such, I took a moment to single out any prey that might be worth killing and then allowed gravity to reassert control, assisting it with a Gravity Crash to reach the ground faster. It shattered beneath my feet as I landed, but I simply rolled right into a run, falling to all eight limbs again. Moving quickly, I went further than I ever had before, until the plains gave way to fields of rising, rocky spires.

Though a normal person wouldn't have been able to tell at a glance that that was what they were—each was completely covered in white, bands of thread that resembled spider webs but which a closer look revealed to have more in common with the boney armor of the Grimm. There were holes in the spires and surrounding cliff faces, natural and artificial cave systems that now served as nests for the rulers of this place, and between every surface large enough to allow it, there were webs. Massive, massive webs, the type of things you could use to wrap up cars like they were flies.

Which made sense, because even the _smallest_ of that web's creators were larger then cars. They looked, at a glance, like spiders, but it wasn't hard to see where the unnatural biology of the Grimm took over and made things deviate from the norm. They had too many eyes for spiders; ten at the least and sometimes as many as fourteen. Though they had eight legs, the foremost pair where longer, capped in white, bonelike saws, and their fangs were too large and already dripping with some kind of red and black venom. I'd read reports of what happened to those poisoned by the Arachne. It wasn't pleasant.

But I wasn't interested in them. I cared more about the massive creature in the center of the so-called City of Webs.

Where the Arachne were the size of city buses, Neith—the Grandmother Spider—was bigger than a house. Pure white bone armor was unmarked except for the red hourglass shape on its abdomen. Though small compared to a Goliath, each of its sixteen eyes was the size of a window and its limbs looked wickedly sharp, too say nothing of its fangs. Supposedly, a person bitten by one of the Neith wouldn't die of poison; assuming they managed to survive being bitten at all, the venom would melt a hole straight through human flesh.

It sounded like a good time to me.

I jumped up into the middle of the nearest web, Grimm-bone limbs ignoring the usually adhesive surface. Using my eight limbs to move as if I were a spider, I spun in place and lashed out with the serrated armor of my tail.

 **Spiraling Strike (Active) LV1 EXP: 11.47% MP: 50  
An ability that tears through surrounding enemies with a spinning attack. Attack all enemies in range of a melee attack no decrease in damage.**

Stretching my range with a Far Strike and raising the force with a Power Strike, I watched in satisfaction as I dismembered limbs and sent the massive creatures falling. Pulling my firing spheres together with a thought, I began to unleash Flares, burning through flesh and web with equal ease and I began to run up the spiraling staircase made by the creature's webs. As I reached the top, the inner ring of spheres stopped firing and began to glow, color brightening until they were burning spheres of white.

I came to halt at the height of a jump and hovered in the air above the approaching creatures.

"Burn," I said and wished I had a face to smile with.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Fulfillment**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **You have obtained the item 'Anansi.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Jorogumo.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Gossamer.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Venenum.'**

 **By raising Flare to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Karna.'**

 **By raising White Tiger's Tread to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Bai Hu's Tread.'**

 **By raising Claws of the White Tiger to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Claws of Bai Hu.'**

 **By raising White Tiger's Hide to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Bai Hu's Hide.'**

 **By raising White Tiger's Lunge to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Bai Hu's Lunge.'**

 **By raising Jaws of the White Tiger to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Jaws of Bai Hu.'**

"Took you long enough," I said, sitting comfortably on a rock as I mulled over the screens arrayed before me. I'd finished played exterminator with the City of Webs, depopulating the area with a steady stream of Flares and White Tiger techniques. Afterwards, I'd directed the assault upwards, sending a pillar of fire into the sky that was visible for miles in every direction. Adam had promptly changed his course to compensate, cutting down Grimm that got in his way, and if a horde of monsters had been drawn my way in the process, well…

They'd just been fuel for the fires I'd been building.

"Dick," Adam said, regulating his breathing. "Whose fault do you think that is? I've been running all over this godforsaken valley trying to catch up to you."

"I'm aware," I replied, giving his a smile. I'd withdrawn the infection after I'd finished my work, simply because it was harder to put people at ease without a face. Adam was used to my occasionally unnerving behavior, but still. "I've been keeping an eye on you. If anything had gone wrong, I'd have been there in a second or less. But I knew it wouldn't—you handled yourself well."

"That's now what I meant and you know it," He snorted, rolling his eyes.

I chuckled.

"The exercise is good for you," I told him. "Sorry if you got lonely without me—I know I'm the sun that gives meaning to your worthless existence, but I sometimes get distracted by more important things."

Adam shook his head slowly.

"You know, a few students sent me messages asking what it was like to be your friend," He informed me.

"No need to explain," I assured him, holding up a hand to forestall his thanks. "I know how much joy it brings to ever moment of your existence. I got the letter."

Adam paused and looked at me.

"The letter?" He asked. "What letter?"

"The letter thanking me for being such a great friend and all around extraordinary human being," I said, drawing it from my inventory and presenting it to him. "I know you have a hard time putting stuff like that into words, so I wrote it for you."

He was silent for a moment, skimming the contents of the letter quickly.

"I would never say any of this to another human being," He stated firmly, looking up at me with a flat look. "Especially not you."

I shrugged at him.

"You say that, but it's in your handwriting," I answered, tone and demeanor helpless.

He rolled his eyes again and joined me on the stone, tilting his head back to look up at the stars.

"So like I was saying, a few people asked what it was like being your friend," He continued. "I was very tempted to tell them the truth."

"Oh?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow. "And what truth would that be?"

"'Have you ever had a friend you fucking hate?'" He recited, frowning.

I smiled a bit at that, leaning back on my arms to follow his gaze up to the sky. I doubted we were looking at the same thing, though; to me, the heavens were filled with explosions of light and burning spheres, patterns of energy on literally astronomical scales. Even so, it was a beautiful sight.

"Not all the time, I admit," Adam said after a slight pause, tone annoyed. "But when you do a bunch of shit without explanation? Yeah, it kind of makes me want to kick you in the dick."

I chuckled again and tilted my head.

"If it'll make you feel better," I said with a shrug.

"Please," He snorted. "I know I'd probably just break my foot. You going to tell me why you bailed on me?"

"I'm pretty sure you already know," I stated. "But I'll spell it out if you want, sure."

He huffed.

"I know how to fight alone," He told me. "I've been that way for most of my life. I know the value of back up and teamwork—especially from a freak of nature like you—but I'm not going to keel over without it."

"Yeah, I know," I agreed with a half-smile. "But…well, we're in the big leagues now."

Adam was silent at that. For all the friendly insults between us, I respected him, as a fighter and a friend. He was smart enough to read between the lines.

"Maybe I'm feeling melancholic," I mused. "A lot of my White Tiger skills just ranked up."

"Yeah?"

"Mm," I hummed, smile widening for a moment as I remembered. "And wow, it feels like forever ago that I first got those. These were the old, old, old ones, too; the things I picked up before the White Whale. Hell, before you and I ever really talked. Remember that?"

"Hard to forget," He said. "The days before I met the crazy son of a bitch that'd get himself eaten to win a fight."

I laughed at that memory before biting it down and glancing at him.

"It was an effective tactic," I defended, mirth still in my voice. "It worked, didn't it?"

He gave an exhausted sigh that was mostly fake.

"Any landing you can walk away from, I suppose," He allowed with a shrug. "I remember when I thought that was the craziest thing you'd ever do. Poor, foolish younger me."

I laughed again.

"We've both come a long way," I said before frowning. "And yet, at the same time…there's still a long way to go. I guess it hit me a bit more than I thought it would."

"What?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow. "Cinder?"

"No," I answered slowly, pursing my lips as I sounded it out. It felt like the truth and that more than anything made me continue. "At least, not completely. Actually, more than anything, I think it was Albus and Finn. You know, they really were strong—some of the strongest students in the world. Half a year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of fighting them."

"And now you can beat both while holding back," He noted, nodding in understanding. "Quite a change."

"Yeah."

"So what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. It just…reminded me that I've fulfilled my dream," I said. "My old dream, I mean, from back…before. Back then, I'd never have imagined I'd get this far. Being a Hunter was my dream. Getting into an Academy and passing was all I ever wanted."

"And now?" Adam asked carefully.

"Now I know my old dream just wasn't enough," I stated, tilting my head down. "The world's a lot bigger than I thought. A lot…"

"Shittier?" He suggested, making me smile.

"Shittier," I agreed. "There's a lot that need to be done. A lot of messes that got left behind by others. Some of those messes are mine, some aren't, but either way, it looks like I'm the only one around who can clean them up. This whole mess with Babel and the Grimm, the Dust shortages, the Riders, and everything else I've seen…I can fix it. Maybe not today, but eventually."

Adam was silent for a long minute at that, frowning quietly.

"I want to say it's not your job to fix the world," He whispered. "Because it's not. But…I can't say you're wrong. If you don't, I honestly don't know who else could."

I nodded without looking at him.

"I'm lucky," I continued. "I have a lot of friends and allies. You and Raven, my family, everyone…really, I'm lucky to have all of you. But I still wonder…maybe even worry…"

"That it's not enough?" Adam asked. He paused to look at me, thinking for a long minute, and then nodded. "Maybe you're right."

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he sighed.

"I worry, too," He said. "We…I'm not like you. Your power is something else, really. What seems like every other day, you improve by leaps and bounds. And I like to think I get stronger, too, but not like you do. I don't learn and master skills in a day or develop ancient arts as easily as breathing. I can't keep going forever no matter what happens. Even if I keep leveling up—even if I get to the same level as you and stay that way…I know that I'll never be as powerful as you. The gap between us is huge and it's getting bigger all the time. And if even with all that, you lost to this guy in another life…well, damn. What am I supposed to do against a monster like that?"

I didn't say anything.

"That's what you're worried about, isn't it?" Adam asked again. "When we were with Cinder…you told me to kill Emerald and Mercury if anything happened, but you'd have fought Cinder so she couldn't kill me. She's dangerous; even I get that. And even she's little league compared to what you're aiming for, right? As it is now, things are going to get more and more dangerous for you—and thus, for everyone around you, too. You're worried that you'll end up going places we won't be able to follow."

Or that you won't survive when you do anyway, I thought but didn't say. We were both thinking it, so there wasn't much choice.

"I'll just have to keep training, then," Adam snorted, smirking when I blinked at him in surprise. "I'm not the type to let people decide where I can and cannot go. I said I had you back whatever happens and I do, so I'll follow this fucked up path of yours through to the end. If you're worried about taking care of me, don't—I'll figure something out so I'm not too much of a burden. You wanted to see what I could do when you left me behind like an asshole, right? Then you should have seen me take down some Nemeans. I'm stronger than anything on these plains, now. I don't grow as fast as you, but I manage somehow. I made it here, didn't I?"

"Yeah," I answered, shelving my concerns for the moment and smiling at him. "I suppose you did…even if you took your sweet as time about it."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," He answered, giving me the finger again. "I'm burning this letter, by the way."

"Go ahead," I replied, smiling kindly at him. "I have twenty copies."

His other finger rose to join the first, but he still went out of his way to tear apart the letter. As he did that, I consumed the skill books I'd gotten from Neith and stored Anansi and Jorogumo. The mask would probably go unused, but I might wear the silken yukata if I was ever in Vacuo during a festival.

"So now what?" Adam asked. "We heading back or training some more."

"Well, now that you're done talking about your feelings—" I began.

"Bitch, what?" He interrupted, outraged. "I'm pretty sure any in their right mind would agree that we were talking about _your_ feelings—"

"Yes, well, you'd be wrong," I informed him. "And even if you weren't, I'd like to remind you that, one, there are no witnesses to support your absurd claim, and two, I have a bunch of letters in which you wax poetically about your feelings, so…yeah."

"No one would believe that," He stated confidently.

"Oh?" I challenged. "Because I could whip up some photographic evidence that says otherwise."

"You and your fucking illusions," He scowled. "Fine, I won't tell anyone about how you almost cried."

I gave him an arch look.

"Now _that_ is flat-out absurd," I stated. "And if you're quite done, we've work to do."

Pushing myself off the rock, I caught myself absently with a flicker of Psychokinesis and landed softly on the ground. Cracking my neck once, I watched as the space ripped to either side of me as my sword and shield were drawn from my Inventory. At once, they began to melt, strands and rivulets of flowing steel reaching for the flesh of my arms and coating them up to the elbow in my gauntlets. I'd largely fallen out of the habit of using them, simply because there usually wasn't much point; though I could channel Crocea Mors through them to make them diamond hard, my bare hands were, if anything, even harder. With my Armored Shell, though, perhaps…

I felt a brief flash of sensation, not so much through my flesh as through my connection to Crocea Mors. I channeled my Aura through my weapons whenever I wielded them, but this was different and it brought with it something new. Between my Metal Elemental and my already rather esoteric senses, my gauntlets felt like nothing more than another layer of skin.

Flexing my fingers once, I pondered them. I was glad it had worked—I could tell my Aura was strengthening the steel into Adamant just by looking at it—but it was still rather odd. The gauntlets were… _locked_ , for lack of a better term, and though I could strengthen them with Crocea Mors, I couldn't change their shape.

Not with my Metal Elemental, at least; I already knew my Metamorphosis would warp them just fine. Still, this wasn't bad—it was like I'd bought a new defensive technique and had gotten some badass new weapons for free. I couldn't complain about that, even if the sensation would take some getting used to.

"You said you got some new skills?" Adam said as he hopped off the rock the normal way. "Anything interesting?"

"Of course," I answered, smirking slightly. "Just give me a second, okay?"

Taking a deep breath, I focused on the patterns of Aura that coated my body—the array of techniques that had become more natural to me than breathing at some point—I picked out a familiar strand that had served me well for a long, long time, feeling it shift as I did.

 **Bai Hu's Tread (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The footsteps of the White Tiger; a version of the technique 'White Tiger's Tread' perfected over a lifetime of battle and training by the Beast King Bai Hu.  
Passively increases movement speed by 50%.  
Increases movement speed by 250% when active.  
Additional 100 MP used per minute. **

Looking down at my feet, I nodded slightly to myself. Now that I felt it, I was certain—what the profile said about it being perfected over a lifetime wasn't just flavor text. Maybe it was because I'd spent so much time using the skill myself, maybe it was part of the passive knowledge I'd gained alongside the skill, but…

Bai Hu's Tread wasn't just the name of this skill. This was the skill the real Bai Hu had mastered and used. It was, in many ways, like White Tiger's Tread—because it had _been_ White Tiger's Tread, before years and years of practice had taken it to the next level. From the way the Aura flowed through my leg muscles to the patterns of walking I knew I could slip into with a thought…this was the real thing.

A part of me wondered how that was possible, but only a small part. I was pretty sure I knew the answer, even if there was a bit of guess work involved. Between this, Gungnir, Naraka, and countless other bits and pieces, it was obvious that my power somehow had access to knowledge that no one else did. Skills from thousands of years ago, items that I wondered if had ever been real, and everything else—somehow, my Semblance or soul or whatever could produce them as needed. It _knew_ stuff I didn't, stuff _nobody_ could know anymore. I'd have wondered how, but for one thing.

Bianca had described my soul as carrying a large book and having countless eyes. Perhaps that was partially metaphorical, but even so, I was pretty sure it was the reason. Somehow, my power saw and recorded…everything.

It was a little hard to believe and at the same time it really wasn't. Almost all the skills I knew were things that others could, in theory, learn; most of them were even things that people _had_ learned. There were other things, like the stuff I got for improving my stats—things people were just born with or the products of enlightenment or other weird things. Even then, however, it was all stuff that someone, somewhere, could have had.

And somehow, I had access to all of it.

Maybe that was the idea, I thought. I'd already pretty much accepted that my Semblance—my past life, really—had probably been designed. If so, it probably had a purpose and a function. One I didn't understand, perhaps, but still. Maybe I was some kind of cosmic record-keeper or scribe, remembering everything that happened. I could think of plenty of uses for such a thing.

I waited for a moment to…I don't know. Maybe see if the idea stirred something within me? To see if whatever part of my soul knew what the fuck was going on would be willing to throw me a bone? Whatever I was waiting for, it didn't happen.

It didn't feel quite right, anyway—like I was on the right track, but that this wasn't the answer. That wasn't my soul telling me anything, at not as far as I was aware, it's just that the pieces didn't fit. I didn't _just_ learn things, after all—I mastered them beyond what anyone else could in ludicrously small amounts of time. I combined them, made new skills, pushed everything I could to its limit and more. Observing and recording might have been part of what I did, but it wasn't all.

Sighing, I shook my head and took notes. I wouldn't be cracking this particular puzzle today, it seemed, but at least I'd found another piece.

Focusing again, I altered another pattern and felt energy play around my hands and feet. Curious, I lifted a hand and shifted it slightly back and forth, seeing the results. Too my eyes, the claws were always visible, but now I could almost see them in visible light. Not _clearly_ , but as I twitched my fingers, there was a shimmer in space that outlined the edges.

 **Claws of Bai Hu (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 100  
The claws of the White Tiger. The most basic technique of Bai Hu's ancient martial arts style, honed to its utmost limit. Over a lifetime spent baring these claws, the Beast King Bai Hu sharpened them on the hides of man and Grimm alike, refining them until they could cut down all that stood in his path.  
300% increase to martial arts attack damage.  
Additional 200 MP used per minute. **

Holding my fingers rigid for a moment, I quickly flicked a finger in the direction of a nearby stone, a Far Strike carving a crescent shape into the surface of the rock. That was offense and mobility, what about defense?

This time energy played across the whole of my body, consolidating just above my skin. I began to glow, the light of my Aura taking the shape of a beast around me, but then it settled down and receded.

 **Bai Hu's Hide (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 300  
The skin of the White Tiger. The primary defensive technique of Bai Hu's ancient martial arts style, raised to the point that both teeth and blades brake upon it. Originally a later addition to the style to give initiates some measure of defense, it nonetheless became a vital part of the style, and through a life of use it was perfected by the Beast King Bai Hu. After being shattered and remade countless times, this is the result—and it was said the White Tiger had fur as hard as steel.  
Armor's strength, density, and duration increase with level.  
Armor's strength, density, and duration increase with INT.  
Additional 500 MP used per minute.**

"Okay," I said after a moment. "Let's go kill something, then."

Behind me, Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Not going to leave me behind again?" He asked.

"Not today, I guess," I answered blithely, smiling even though he couldn't see it. "I guess I'm stuck with you for a while longer, so I better make sure you don't hurt yourself."

"Hmph," Adam huffed, but took several steps to stand at my side. "Whatever. Which way?"

Smile widening, I bobbed my head to the side.

"West," I answered.

"Towards the sea?" He asked. "Why?"

"Just feel like it, I guess," I answered as I started walking. "Besides, it's the fastest way."

"The fastest way?" Adam repeated skeptically. "The fastest way to get where?"

"What kind of question is that?" I asked, rolling my eyes playfully. "To the other side of the sea. Where else? Everything on this side is too weak to bother playing with anymore."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
New Area**

It didn't take us long to reach the so-called Sea of Monsters, the massive body of water circled by the continent. Its name was a bit deceptive—after all, _everything_ was full of monsters on Remnant—but it was noteworthy because of its historical significance. As a general rule, the ancient nations of Remnant didn't make exploration a priority, beyond what was necessary. After all, the answer to the question 'what's out there?' was pretty much always 'a lot of horrifying monsters that want to kill us,' and the predation of the Grimm limited the potential rewards of such endeavors. Mistral's largest museum actually had an entire exhibit filled with the maps of ancient societies, depicting what they thought the world looked like, and it was actually pretty neat to see how people filled in the blanks. Generally they just went with the often sadly accurate 'Here Be Dragons' but other times…well, a lot of Remnant's piecemeal history came from those maps. Even if you didn't share a language, you could still look at the pretty pictures, after all.

The Sea of Monsters, however, was one of the few exceptions that. While, yes, the maps of it were filled with illustrations of monsters, they stood out because they weren't just randomly placed warnings about the obvious—the Sea of Monsters was the first place that had been scouted and mapped such that the common locations of the various species of Grimm were accounted for. While the creatures of Grimm, being the dominant form of life on Remnant, were able to go wherever the fuck they wanted and would sometimes go far out of their way to ruin people's days, having the most common locals of the various beasts did a lot to make things safer, most of the time.

If records were to be believed, it had all started because of Mistral's old style of conquest. In their efforts to achieve dominance over the continent, they sought to obtain naval superiority, as all of their known enemies had also bordered the sea. Given the costs associated with going anywhere on Remnant, some emperor or other decided that, 'hey, if things were going to try to murder us either way, we might as well take a short-cut.' What was believed to be one of the first accurate maps of Mistral—or the parts of it bordering the sea, anyway—came from those days, and some of the paths they'd mapped out were still used now, if rarely. There wasn't much point, now that just about everyone you could visit that way was dead—and now that we had airships, of course.

Still, for something that had been a source of horror stories for thousands of years, the Sea of Monsters was remarkably pretty.

"I heard there was a herd of Leviathan in here," Adam mused as we stood on the beach. It was a nice place, I noted absently. I'd never been to a beach of recreational purposes, but my Mom and Dad had. Only the rich and powerful did that much, simply because of the odds of Grimm ruining the occasion. Vale had a few areas set up for that, but it was still rare and the fact that people worried about going made it that much more dangerous. "Do you think it's true? And…actually, is it a herd? Or a school or something? I don't know what you call a bunch of Leviathans."

"I actually don't know," I answered slowly.

"For which question?"

"Both, actually," I said, pursing my lips. "Leviathans are pretty big, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything with the Grimm. There _could_ be a few in there somewhere, though. As for what they're called in groups, I have no idea. Leviathans are kind of weird looking."

Adam considered that for a moment before kicking the sand and watching it spray. I wondered if he'd ever been to a beach before. If so, it probably hadn't been to play.

"I've never actually seen one," He admitted after a moment.

"I doubt many people have," I replied. "Those sea monsters we killed last time? I bet most people have never even seen them before. You'd only meet them if you were on the water, after all, and most people don't sail much these days. But my Mom and Dad killed…well, tried to kill every monster in the book. Turns out the book's a bit bigger than they thought, but…"

I shrugged.

"They killed a Leviathan, though," I continued. "A little one crawled up on the shores of Vale awhile back and they were part of the group sent to deal with it before it got to the rivers."

"Crawled up?" Adam repeated, frowning down at the beach with renewed severity. "Leviathans can walk on land?"

"They're amphibious," I confirmed, tilting my head as I wondered how to best describe them. "They're…odd. Sea monsters, but they're one of the Grimm that steal from various animals. There are some shark bits, some snake bits, some whale and crocodile, and some other stuff. Plus the general Grimm weirdness."

Adam snorted.

"I hate the sea," He said. "If there's not shit crawling out of it trying to kill you, then you're crossing it yourself and everything's going to shit."

I hummed once, figuring he was remembering Menagerie. Probably not fondly, not that I could blame him.

After a moment, though, he sighed.

"So how are we getting across?" He asked. "I mean, I assume you can just fly over run across or whatever, but I can't."

"You can run on water," I disagreed. "It's not even that hard."

"Across a river or something, no," He allowed. "But across a sea? That's a bit different."

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling.

"Fine, you big baby," I said. "I'll just carry you over—"

"How?" Adam interrupted, making me look at him oddly.

"Um," I began before pausing, honestly unsure of what to say. "Easily? I mean, all jokes aside, I'm pretty strong. I could run across with you on my back, no problem."

"Piggyback?" He asked incredulously. "That's not happening."

"Ah," I said as I understood. "You mean _how_ will I carry you. Got it. Uh…I think whatever's fine. Over the shoulder, bridal style, I don't care."

"Well, I do," Adam stated firmly. "And _I_ think you'd get stabbed if you tried to carry me bridal style. And I think you'd get stabbed in the back if you just threw me over your shoulder."

"If I get stabbed, I get stabbed," I answered amusedly, smiling at him. Still, I pondered the issue for a moment before shrugging. "There's really no dignified way to get carried around, Adam."

"Yeah, I know," He replied. "That's why we're having this conversation."

He must really not like the sea, I thought. I considered it for another long moment before nodding.

"Okay," I said, lifting a hand. "No carrying, then."

And then strands of spider web began to spill from my fingers.

 **Gossamer (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ancient art utilizing the principles of Alchemy. Through the process of transmutation, it is possible to convert one's flesh and soul into baser materials, but due to the requirement of living tissue, few alchemists were willing to transform large quantities. Instead, many alchemists favored the spinning of small threads, allowing them to easily heal the damage inflicted upon themselves. Because of its relative value, many lesser practitioners spun silk and spider silk was especially valued for its strength. For masters of the art, however, it is said to be possible to create far greater things.  
10 HP and 10 MP per meter of silk.**

As I pulled with my Psychokinesis, the silk came away as easily as thread from a spool—and yet, it felt like I was pulling the skin off of my fingers. Mainly because that was exactly what I was doing, focusing my Aura through a careful process to change it into another form of matter. It was…well, pretty fucking cool, even if it hurt a little bit. I mean, I knew it was possible to seemingly create matter with Semblances and such, so changing existing matter wasn't too much of a stretch, but being able to see the process at work…

I could see the light of my Aura flashing between my cells, breaking them down and then encompassing them as it rearranged them into a different form. I could see the creation of fibroin, the shift and balance of glycine and alanine, the production and arrangement of glutamine, serine, leucine, valine, proline, tyrosine and arginine. My flesh was being torn apart on the most basic level and twisted into something new through a process I could see but not fully grasp. In my head, I could recount the alchemical procedure, the balance of energy that would influence the creation of new materials, but was the matter itself adjusted?

I wasn't sure, even as I drew strands of protein fiber from each finger of my right hand, spun them into a single thread with my Psychokinesis, and then began to weave that thread into what I wanted. The cord came first and the bare bones of a suit, strings, and then the carefully designed parachutes. I spun several hundred meters of silk to make sure, weaving them into place around Adam who started once, but then held still.

After several seconds, when I was done, he looked it over and raised an eyebrow.

"The fuck is this?" He asked.

"Something I saw once," I said, attaching my end of the cord. It ran from me to Adam, becoming part of his new suit. "It was called parasailing."

Adam frowned once, eyebrows furrowing.

"I think I've heard of it," He said slowly, tugging the cord absently. "I'm guessing you're the boat?"

"Mm," I confirmed. "This okay?"

"Better than getting carried," He nodded. "Will this stuff hold?"

"Yes," I answered simply. I didn't bother going into the tensile strength of spider silk or the fact that I suspected that the nature of the silk's creation would make it comparatively easy to channel my Aura through. Either way, it would hold.

Still, it would be nice to test out just how well it would hold up. I was already planning to use it for sewing, which would help train it, and I was already curious as to how it would develop. Would I be able to create stronger webs as the ability improved or would I just learn to make different things? I'd once heard that alchemists could create gold and now I wondered if it was true.

Well, I'd probably find out if I leveled the skills up enough. Even if it was possible, though, I wouldn't be able to create it freely. There were economical concerns, after all. The silk aspect was more interesting to me right now. Besides, I'd have plenty of chances to experiment with Venenum, which worked under similar principles to transform blood—technically any bodily fluid, but generally blood—into other liquids, most commonly poisons or medicines. It was like being able to bring a laboratory with me wherever I went, even if it meant poisoning myself periodically. It would give me a chance to improve my ability to resist such things.

But that could wait until later. For now, it was time to explore the other side of the continent, which was no doubt willed with all sorts of horrific monsters—and that was a thought that _I_ could hardly wait to explore.

In fact, I wasn't going to wait any longer.

"Hold on," I told Adam before I began to run.

A lot of people don't know this, but walking on water is actually pretty simple. Well, actually, I suppose _walking_ on water was probably fairly difficult, but _running_ on it? That was easy. Surprise so, in fact—all you really need to do is run at about thirty meters per second and you could skip across the waves like a stone. Pretty much any Hunter worth the name could do it, at least over short distances. Crossing a sea entirely on foot was a bit harder, but still doable, especially if you had the handy advantage of never getting tired. Since my healing techniques resorted my physical stamina and the rate it regenerated naturally was pretty high as well, I could effectively go forever. I'd even, now and then, thought about running around the world, to see if I could. I mean, it should be possible and it would probably be great training.

Assuming I didn't run into anything that could kill me, of course. That was the one thing holding back my desire to see the world—the same thing that had kept civilizations from exploring for hundreds of years had left the Kingdoms with no real way of knowing what's out there. We looked, of course, using airships and arranging expeditions, but hey, Ziz had been sitting in Vale's backyard for God knows how long with no one the wiser. Adam had asked if there really were Leviathans in the sea right next to Mistral, perhaps the most explored body of water on Remnant, and I'd answered truthfully by saying I didn't know. And with the amount of interest the Grimm had taken in me of late, well…

I wasn't sure I wanted to risk it. Forget Leviathans—with my luck, I might run into fucking _Jormungandr_. Having run into Ziz and faced the opening of a Pandora Shell, I couldn't discount the possibility and even I wasn't sure I wanted to ride _that_ particular train.

Not yet, anyway.

As such, it was with an above average degree of caution that ran across the sea, senses and defenses at the ready. Though the surface of the sea seemed calm, it was an illusion that was easily pierced and the truth hidden in the depths was grim.

Heh.

But seriously, though, there were a lot of fucking monsters in the Sea of Monsters—which is, presumably, why they call it that. More than that, they were organized in ranks. Near the edge of the shoreline, just out of sight, Karkinos and Tegmines dotted the coast like castle walls; at once the first line of defense and the front line should the Grimm choose to push. Surrounding them were schools of lesser sea monsters; Akheilos, Skolopendra, and other such things. Further out there were the Hafgufa and Lyngbakr, the massive cephalopods mixing until the coils of their massive limbs seemed like storm clouds in the deep. I gave a wide birth to the series of small islands we came across, as well; though others might have dismissed them as simply being too small to appear on a map, I recognized them as a bale of Fastitocalons, each ferrying armies of Grimm across the sea on their camouflaged shells.

And then there were the real monsters, biding their time at the back of the host. For now, the Grimm were patient, content to simply gather and exist, but I recognized battle lines saw them. Those these particular lines had shift over the centuries as civilizations rose and fell, now that only Mistral remained, the ranks of the enemy were positioned relative to it—ranks that I knew could push forward at any time.

But then, it was like that everywhere—around every city past and present. Looking down into the depths of the sea that normal light never reached, I could make out the ruins of cities. The stories of who knows how many civilizations that had all ended the same way.

"Stuff like this is why we don't get tourists," I joked to myself, trying to lighten my own mood and failing, which was just sad. When you can't even laugh at your own jokes, you _know_ you're in dire straits, but even my desire to go to see interesting places was dampened by the knowledge that the Grimm had already gotten there and killed everyone. They're inconsiderate like that.

Sighing, I did what I tended to do whenever depressing things like reality started catching up on me and focused on something else. Luckily, my senses were good enough that it was easy to find things to amuse myself with.

Turning abruptly, I began to run in a wide circle atop the water. By my reckoning, which was more or less perfect, we were about two-thirds of the way across the sea—far enough for the mightier Grimm to show their faces and yet still deep enough that they didn't need to until it was too late.

"Hey, Adam," I said, making my voice carry as a matter of course. "I found those Leviathans you were talking about. Want to see one up close?"

Adam looked down for his airborne position, raising an eyebrow even as he considered it. He was the adaptable sort and had gotten used to the strange manner of transportation quickly—he even seemed to enjoy it a bit, which was good. I was using Levant to direct the air around him to make the journey a relatively comfortable one. He really must have had a lot of bad memories of crossing the water to go along with this, though. Or maybe bad memories of someone holding onto him while he crossed the water. Either way, there were friendship rules in place and they demanded that the situation be avoided if at all possible.

"Define 'up close,'" He asked. "You have different definitions of proximity than most people. I don't want to be eaten by one, if that's what you're asking."

"No eating," I assured. "I'm just in a bad mood and want to take it out on something. And maybe get some skill books—that always make me feel better."

"You're simultaneously very high-maintenance and easy to please," Adam noted.

"It's not like I eat," I replied, slightly affronted. "Or sleep. Or drink. Or required much of anything, really. My vices can be forgiven. And hey, I just thought maybe you had a bad mood, too. If you don't want to…"

"I could kill something right now," He admitted. "I'm all for misplaced aggression, when it's directed at things that deserve it anyway. It's a multipurpose exercise."

"And you get to see a Leviathan," I said.

"And I get to see a Leviathan," He agreed.

I stopped running and began to float above the water's surface instead. A shift of Levant's power was all it took to keep the cord taunt and Adam in the air, so I pondered the creature below us for a moment.

"You want to be the hook or the bait?" I asked after some consideration.

"Oh, I get to pick this time?" Adam wondered, seeming more amused then anything.

"Why not?" I answered, giving him a shrug. "We're a team, after all."

Adam flashed his teeth at that.

"Bait," He said.

"Oh?"

"How many people can say they've seen a Leviathan up close?" Adam asked.

"Hmph," I snorted, but didn't hide my grin. "Fair enough."

"Just remember to do your part," He said.

"Mm," I confirmed. A moment later, Adam began to fall like a stone, the wind literally taken out of his sails. Even so, he slipped through the surface of the water with nary a splash, passing through it like it was no more than a doorway even as streams of water rose up around him, forming a bubble of air around him. Together, Levant and Xihai pushed him as far down as the cord would allow, until he was bobbing like…well, like a fishing lure.

And then he began to glow. I felt him draw upon my power through the Caritas connection I'd established, flowing through him and into the sword at his waist. I saw the Grimm notice him, a tide of the creatures beginning to swim towards Adam.

But before they did, Adam unleashed him gathered power, directing the strike straight down.

A wall of water rose high above me, raining down on me as a side effect of Adam's attack even as it carved a fissure across the deep. Light warped around it, turning the sea and sky red and black, but the effect faded as soon as it came.

And the water began to roil and writhe for a different reason entirely, something dark abruptly stirring. Water began to twist into a whirlpool at once, but I knew what was really happening.

Immediately, I took flight and drew Adam from the waves and into the open air. The shape beneath the surface moved again and a forest of white spike erupted from the sea.

The Leviathan snapped its jaws closed and thirty feet above the water, we found ourselves face to face with the beast. Its head wasn't quite long enough to look like a crocodiles, nor blunt enough to seem like a shark, but the teeth within its maw had been reminiscent of both. Its body was massive and serpentine between the limbs of various creatures—a pair of crocodile legs here, a row of tentacles there, and then some pincers and claws and other such things—and it was _massive_. I could see down to the bottom of the sea where its hindmost legs dug into the silt, and its head still rose above the surface of the water. Rows of luminous red eyes lines its body, gazing in every direction even as the clusters upon its face looked at us.

For some reason, I expected a creature like that to growl or snarl or roar, but the sound it made instead was like that of a teapot pot times a thousand, and accompanying the sound, steam began to rise from the sea.

 **The Abyss of the Sea  
LV 107  
Leviathan**

"Wow," Adam said, voice dry enough to soak up all the surrounding water and then some. "You are one ugly motherfucker."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Sea Level**

The Leviathan released another steaming hiss as it opened its mouth wide—and damn, but the damn thing had _teeth_ bigger than me. It lashed out with a gargantuan tongue, the dark pillar covered with tentacles and spines, the structure of the things reminiscent of jellyfish from hell. It shot past us as I ducked aside, holding a close grasp on Adam's cord and gathering power as I dodged. From my free hand and my firing spheres came a rush of bright lances, aimed for the exposed flesh of its tongue, its eyes, and its face.

The Magic Missiles bit deeply into the former, relatively speaking—I was fairly doubtful driving a meter of hardened Aura in the flesh of a creature that large amounted to anything—but only left scratches on its armor and bounced off its scaled eyes without penetrating. As the glow of my lances faded from its tongue, I saw activity in the tiny holes as they filled with red. It wasn't blood, however, but the interior matter of the Grimm and I could see flesh beginning to mend.

"Ho," I said, smiling. "I suppose those three digits aren't just for show, then."

Its tongue twitched slightly, reacting to what I suspected had been more of a prickling sensation than anything else by trying to swat at us. The motion was a minor one, but it was large enough that it blocked the sun from where we were standing and plunged us into a massive shadow. Even before the attack reached me, I could feel it pressing against me through the sheer amount of displaced air and I could sense that this attack, the simple lashing of a tongue, carried force enough to shake mountains.

I wondered, briefly, how I measured up. I wasn't strong enough to match this creature's physical power, I could tell that at a glance, but I was sure I could survive a hit or two. How far would it throw me before I recovered? How much of the force would I be able to resist? A part of me wanted to try and find out.

But not with Adam here.

I dodged again, Shedding three skins to carry us far enough to avoid the colossal blow. The air pressure as it swept past us was fiercer then any gale I'd ever encountered, but I forced myself to remain where I was by bracing my thoughts against it and pushing with Vimana. When the wind faded, the Leviathan gave another hiss of outrage that sent steam pouring across the surface of the lake and then slid back into the water with a crash that made massive waves rise around it. Coils of dark flesh rose like hills from the water as the Leviathan adjusted and circled, but it didn't immediately go on the attack.

If I had to guess, I'd say it was wondering if it should even bother. Daring as snubbing such a creature and escaping might seem, in truth I doubted it was even hurt. If anything, it was probably just annoyed at this point at being woken up and made to move around, and was considering whether or not it should go back to sleep, move elsewhere, or press the attack. Though several of its many eyes were peering up at me, it was like a tired man looking at an annoying fly that persisted on buzzing around the room—like it was wondering 'Are these dumb fucks stupid enough to keep bothering me or will they go away if I just ignore them?'

That was understandable, even intelligent. The Leviathan was large enough that it had to be a very intelligent predator and, as was often the case, it wasn't so much a question of whether victory was _possible_ , but whether victory was _easy_. If you think about it logically, even a fifty-fifty chance is pretty shitty when it comes to a fight—that's a fifty percent chance you're going to _die_ , after all, and for what? What do you stand to lose and what do you stand to gain? Whether you're a Hunter, an animal, or a monster, you have to wonder if a fight is worth it or not before risking your life.

So then, at what point did the odds become worth it for, say, a meal? Ten percent sucks a lot, in that case, because you figure you'll have ten meals and then you'll die. Even one in a hundred isn't that great for something you'll need to do regularly. Swatting an annoyance is even lower priority and though the Leviathan probably didn't think we looked like much, who knows? And there's always the chance that any deaths could draw unwanted attention, if only in the form of more annoyances, but there's always the chance someone dangerous could come along. Is it worth the bother for a housefly?

Probably not. Odds were good that if we both flew away right now, it probably wouldn't bother following.

But if a housefly suddenly turns into a tiger and starts chewing on your face, well…that's something that kind of demands a reaction.

"What do you think, Adam?" I asked. "It looks like it's giving us a chance to run. You feel like leaving now that you've seen it?"

Adam sniffed disdainfully.

"How strong is it?"

"Oh, twenty levels above us or so," I answered with an easy grin. "It's built like a fucking battleship though, I'll tell you that much. Might take a while to kill."

"Better then killing mooks for an hour," Adam stated. "Might actually be worth our time."

"Mm," I agreed.

Adam looked at the sky, presumably trying to judge how long it would be before classes started. Then he apparently remembered that he didn't actually give a shit about classes and gave a shrug.

"You think we can take him?" He asked. "I think we can take him."

I flashed my teeth at him in a fierce grin before tearing the silk parasail I'd woven around him. He fell about a foot before landing on a Psychokinetic platform and I braced him with a thought. I'd made the parasail both for Adam's sake and my own—Adam's because of his issues and mine because it saved time and energy. Making a Psychokinetic road was possible but meant Adam would need to run the whole way and we'd be limited by his speed. If I'd picked him up Psychokinetically, however, I'd need to spend not only the energy to support his weight, but also the energy required to move his mass up to whatever speed I desired—and maintain it all the way across the sea.

Which would have been both a huge pain in the ass, slow, and a lot of work. Also, it still would have pretty much been carrying him, defeating the point. It would have been a waste all around.

But for a fight, well, that was a bit different.

"Can't carry your ass around all day," I explained when he looked at me. "Well, I could, but I don't want to—tying us together would just make this more complicated."

He nodded, conceding that point without argument. He was probably thinking of about the same thing I was; of me pulling him all over whenever I did anything.

"How do you want to play this?" He asked.

"I'll say hello this time," I answered. "I'll have Xihai running support, so if you want to go down there, she'll hold you up until to get up to speed."

He grunted.

"Waves could be a problem," He said. "That thing's so fucking huge it makes them whenever it moves. Xihai'll shield me?"

"Mm," I confirmed. "But if you need to think three dimensionally, just say the word and I'll make platforms for you. And when I say 'say the word', I mean it; tell me if you want to go up, down, or whatever. Once you're in the air, things get tricky."

"Somebody should think of something for that," Adam noted.

"Somebody should learn to fucking fly," I replied. "We'll just have to practice it later until its second nature."

"Hmph," He snorted again. "Fine. Send your greeting card, then."

"I intended to," I replied, smiling widely as I held out a hand.

 **Lux Aeterna (Active) LV1 EXP: 99.04% MP: 14400  
A glimpse of the endless light that gives form to Creation. Channeled in its pure state, without passing through the spheres, it is a destructive power, obliterating all that stands in its path. A skill that is only possible for those able to touch the undivided form of Light, it is a devastating attack, able to destroy armies and slag mountains, though for an equally tremendous price.  
High chance of consuming nearby sources of light and energy, as well as unprotected projections of Aura.  
Damage increases with the amount of energy consumed.  
Current Base Damage: 100000%.  
**  
In an instant, there was nothing left but darkness and light. My illusions of bent light were torn away and devoured, leaving the cloak of my erupting Aura to spring free for a brief moment before following it into the open maw of my attack. The stars flickered out and the moonlight vanished as the light faded, drawn into my hands by the elemental power I was directing—and I used that word intentionally, because saying I was in control of it would have been a massive exaggeration. In that moment, I felt like the sun was burning inside my chest, like lava was flowing through my veins instead of blood, and even with this much power I felt like I was skimming the surface.

I was a wonder, really, that I wasn't consumed along with my illusions and lost in the drift.

For a second, the only thing visible atop a suddenly pitch-black sea was the rushing torrent of power I'd unleashed, piecing through the darkness like a spear. And then, when that moment ended, it was to the sight of _mountains_ of rising steam above a roiling, screaming sea. The Grimm, even those far from my attack, had felt the light as it refracted through the water and it had seared the soulless creatures in a way that, bizarrely, wasn't entirely physical. The Leviathan in particular let out a cry, a _shriek_ that rose to the edge of normal audibility and then past it into the realm of enhanced hearing. Even so, it was _loud_ , visceral in the sense that you could _feel_ the noise, and it was filled with shock and terror and rage.

The Leviathan had a long wound all the way down its left side and seemed pretty pissed about it from the way it rose to the surface with its jaws open wide. It all but leapt from the water, several hundred meters of the creature reaching for the sky as it gave a glass-breaking shriek. I gestured and flung Adam away with a blast of psychic energy before flying _at_ the creature, Shedding several skins as I went. I glanced towards its open mouth and sincerely thought about it, but decided against it—partially because the evil jellyfish stingers and what they said about its insides, partially because of how damn big the thing was, but mostly because it's mean leaving Adam out here. Instead, I flipped up at the last moment and landed feet first on the tip of its nose, a sphere of bright white clasped tightly in either hand.

I crushed both and felt the flames spill over my hands—and into me.  
 **  
Karna (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The signature ability of the ancient warrior Vasusena, made to combat his greatest enemy. An advanced fire technique based on the refinement and purity of Aura, it is a skill that allows for the generation of extremely intense and focused flames, which can then be molded and expelled by the hands of the wearer. Rather than a single attack, this skill represents the ability to generate those flames, with the cost and form of the attack dependent on the wearer. The power, versatility, and intensity of the flames increases with the Fire Affinity and Wisdom of the user.**

I grit my teeth slightly as I felt the sensation take hold. It felt as if the bones in my arms had been replaced by burning steel rods and the way the metal of my gauntlets had turned brightly incandescent did little to shake the idea. Even so, I pushed the pain aside and let my Aura flow down my arms, feeling it twist and burn as it was stripped of any impurities, focused, and then let loose. It roared from my hands like a blade, piercing into the Leviathan's skin on either side of me and leaving long burning scars in my wake.

I'd run across its face and started down its neck when I first caught sight of motion in the wound Lux Aeterna had left behind. Still amorphous shapes began to bubble from the opening even as red flesh began to pour in. I saw those masses take shape quickly, sprouting tentacles and claws as the formed into Grimm, and let go of my cutting torches to cross my arms.

Spreading my arms wide again, I swept a pair of thin, white-hot lines across the horde, one level with the knee and the other with the neck—as with bursts of smoke and vaporized matter, the burgeoning horde fell to pieces.

The Leviathan hissed again and opened its mouth wide. Every motion the creature made sent tremors through its flesh like a miniature earthquake, but I found it simple enough to remain steady, forcing myself to stay upright with an absent thought. What was more concerning was what the Leviathan did next, firing a thin—at least, thin relative to its size—stream of black fluid at the surface of the water. On contact, it spread through the water, darkening it like it was an octopus's smokescreen.

But that sure as hell wasn't what it was. As the jet flashed towards the water, I looked it over and analyzed it with my senses, gritting my teeth as I noticed the similarities. I turned on a dime and ran back across its head to get a line of fire, but the jet was moving fast enough that it could have cut through layers of steel as quickly as air. By the time I leapt off its nose and fired a thin line of fire at the attack, quite a bit of it had already reached its target. Adam dodged easily, no doubt sensing the attack coming, and a wall of water rose to defend him from any spray but, though I was glad to see him safe, that wasn't the point of the attack.

Instead, I turned my sights on the water far below, watching as it turned dark. The fluid mixed with the water quickly, some even making it through the blast of fire streaming from my hands, and wherever it spread, the water began to hiss and boil. It wasn't being diluted so much as it was consuming whatever water it came in contact with, devouring the mass and repurposing it. Already, I could see the first of the dark shapes taking form and moving to attack, black and white shells forming around the Grimm as they were given life. I held my position, burning away as much of the stuff as I could before it reached the water.

It was easy enough to understand what it was doing. These creatures it was making were just distractions and though no real threat in their own right, it was making them by the thousands. Spawning them from its wounded flesh, creating them when it attacked, it was able to produce armies on command. And while its attackers were preoccupied dealing with them, its injuries were healing and its strength was returning. Although killing lots of Grimm was its own reward—or, at least, the experience from it was—I didn't want to get too bogged down in small fry. Most of them were so much weaker than me that the reward was marginal and the consequences annoying. If I wasn't to deal with a legion of weaklings, I could have stayed in Naraka.

Besides…I had other things to worry about.

The flames that flew from my hands burnt brighter and brighter as I turned up the heat, small jets of fire flaring from the joints in my gauntlets as my fingers bent. For several seconds, the Leviathan and I matched our attacks against one another, clouds of vaporized matter streaming upwards where our powers met. Even so, I could see the darkness spreading through the water beneath us as I hovered above, more and more monsters rising. At last, the Leviathan cut off its attack to bite at me, teeth and tongue coated in more of the black fluid as it came.

Baring my teeth at it, I gather light in my hands, forming my power into a pair of spears—a Gungnir in either side, glowing brightly. I reared back and threw the spear I grasped in my right hand, tossing it straight into the monsters face.

The resulting explosion of light and force swept over me, blowing back the surrounding water even as it killed the nearest of the Grimm. The Leviathan gave another boiling scream and drew back, the scales on the tip of its nose blown away and those surrounding it smoking and cracked. Without a moment's hesitation, I threw the other spear into its face, triggering another explosion that actually blew me back. Then, targeting it through the blast, I took aim at its weak point, braced myself, and fired.

For the second time, Lux Aeterna brightened and darkened the Sea of Monsters, leveling up in the process. When my vision returned, I saw that I'd caught the beat literally head-on this time, and much of its face had melted off. The upper part of its jaw streamed over the bottom, flowing in rivers down to the water below, and the melted hole stretched back up the ridge that should have served as its brow, burning a hole right into its braincase.

In response, the Leviathan hissed in outrage, partially liquefied face bubbling as it did. What would have been the brain of another creature was just more of the same red interior matter and unlike the lesser Grimm, the Leviathan didn't seem willing to die just because its 'head' had been destroyed.

Was there a vulnerability elsewhere or did I just need to do more damage? Its HP had taken another hit from the blast so I knew I was hurting it, I just needed to hurt it more.

While pondering how to best go about doing such a thing, I withdrew slightly, most of my power drained by the consecutive attacks. Mentally, I reached down in preparation to call up my trump card, the maxed heal I kept in stock, but I didn't trigger it just yet, turning my attention downwards to see if it was needed.

Far below, Adam and Xihai were picking up the slack. My friend ran atop the surface of the water, which rose into bridges and troughs as needed. As a school of Grimm swarmed towards him beneath the surface of the water, Adam gestured with his blade and the water level shifted around him, sinking around to Grimm to reveal them even as it pushed them up from below and forced them into the line of fire. Adam sheathed his sword smoothly and drew it far faster, a wave of energy cutting cleanly through the ranks of the Grimm and continuing on to trace a long, thin line across the belly of the Leviathan.

At the same time, Xihai rose behind him, snakelike coils raising her high above my taller friend. She gestured with a hand and a Karkinos exploded from the waters; a twitch of the other tossed up an Akheilos. Adam cut down the latter from a distance and drew close to the other, jumping onto its shell and driving his sword down like a nail into its shell. Xihai lifted her hands and another pair of creatures rose and fell—and when Adam quickened his pace and cut down more and more, she reacted by growing four more arms in response, tearing creatures from the sea with reckless abandon. Then, seemingly growing tired of it, she brought her six hands together in front of her chest and then spread them wide with a tearing motion.

The water plunged as if cratered, creatures of Grimm held out in bubbles along the sides. Adam jumped, blade angling down as he flew through the air, and then with fifteen Far Strikes he tore them all apart. He landed for a moment on the other side, Xihai supporting him, and then he was off in search of other prey.

I smiled at the sight and released the mental hold I'd kept on my fail safe before snapping my incandescent fingers and calling upon my friends. Suryasta flood forth from my hands, shaping a body for himself from the fire before hovering to one side of me even as Levant made her presence abruptly known on the other. The two stood weightlessly at my side even as I raised my hands above my head, electricity cackling between them until I hurled down a Thunderbolt and gave Vulturnus shape among the waves. Though the electricity would normally be too defused to hurt the Grimm after spreading through the water, I was sure he'd guide it to where it was needed most. I made a pair of firing spheres and the bottom of my range to help that particular process along and then dropped my hands to my sides.

Reaching out to the two Elementals beside me, I touched their hands once and smiled at them before floating a step forward so that they were just behind me. Turning my palms to the sky, I gathered a sphere of bright flames in either hand and then turned them towards the Leviathan, watching as they spiraled up and away, targeting weak points in its flesh. Not even waiting to see the attacks connect, I swung my hands closed in a clap, power slipping from my fingertips as they went. In the wake of my hands, I left a thousand droplets of white fire that sped towards the massive Grimm in a horde of needles that burnt hot enough to pit its flesh.

The Leviathan steamed again, semisolid upper jaw somehow managing to rise, trailing ropey strands of flesh as it gaped open. When it did, another dark stream fired from the twisted opening, aiming right for me, but I ducked clean under it and Lunged towards it. ****

 **Bai Hu's Lunge (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 400  
The White Tiger's leap. A technique central to Bai Hu's ancient martial arts style, through which he dragged down his enemies. Taken to its highest level, this skill allows the user to move like lightning between his foes, leaving only the broken in his wake.  
1000% increase to jumping distance.  
500% increase to movement speed.  
500% increase to attack damage.  
**  
I slipped right under the twisted stream reached up the touch the bottom with a burning hand as I drew near. The speed of my approach was such that both the stream and the air around us ignited, heat and fire flooding in every direction—and then I made contact. I crashed into the creature's throat with force enough to crush it and make it cave in, incandescent arms sinking almost to the shoulder in the beast's flesh. It gave a croaking, sputtering hiss, drawing back and falling. Only then did I use my stored heal, restoring my power fully. My hands flexed wide, power gathering in either hand as I channeled all the power I'd regained into a new pair of attacks.

And then there was light.

XxXXxX

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Storage**

After I blew its head clean off with a pair of Lux Aeterna that fed off each other until they merged into a single attack, the fight was pretty much over. I say 'pretty much' because even that wasn't enough to kill the damn thing outright—losing its head just made it thrash around and panic for a while—but it _did_ take most of the fight out of the thing; even if it wanted to kill us, its main forms of attack originated from its mouth and I'd well and truly blown that option to hell for it.

From there, it was mostly a matter of making it stick. Even the Leviathan's potent regenerative abilities struggled with regrowing a head and I had no intention of giving it the time it need. Instead, I simply pressed the assault, interfering with any attempts at recovery or escape long enough to make the creature go down. It took a few more Gungnirs, waves of scorching fire, and even another Lux Aeterna, but I'd taken the teeth out of it along with its _actual_ fucking teeth, so it was more of a waiting game then an actual fight.

Still…to require _five_ of my best attacks, a horde of lesser blows, nearly two times my full power, _and_ a death scene long then Azure and Sienna's…I guess the hundreds are a bit different after all, especially the ones that were built for combat. If not for the many cost reductions I had bringing down Lux Aeterna's exorbitant cost, it probably would have been even worse.

But in the end, I'd won and taken my prizes.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **You have obtained the item 'Cipactli.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Tannin.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Kanju.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Manju.'**

"Well, that was a pain in the ass," Adam stated as I descended, hovering a meter above the water. Though he'd spent the entire fight running atop the water, there wasn't a drop of it on him thanks to Xihai and he came to a halt as I nodded to him, raising a short staircase of hardened water with a thought. "For a minute there, I honestly thought it was going to regrow its damn head."

"Wait until we get to the other side of the sea," I answered with a chuckle. "There are supposed to be _Hydras_ out there. If you want to talk about hard to kill…"

Adam groaned, sounding honestly annoyed. He knew the stories about Hydras as well as anyone. It was the nature of Grimm to grow stronger not only over time—although they did that too, of course—but also through survival. What doesn't kill them tends to make them stronger in a very literal sense as they learn, adapt, and grow to become better killers. The Hydras were perhaps the best example of this, because they combined it with the best regenerative abilities of all the Grimm.

Or, at least, the supposed best. With myths like Ziz now proven to be true, God only knows. There are more than a few legends of creatures that would straight up come back to life if you didn't kill them thoroughly enough and the biology of the Grimm was sadly fucked up enough that I couldn't dismiss the possibility. But the Hydras were the best _known_ example, with multiple records of them growing two new heads in response to decapitation and sprouting armored limbs when weaker ones were cut off. As far as threats went, Hydras were considered some of the biggest ones around and the sighting of any near the Kingdoms was responded to as quickly as possible. After all, if you fuck up killing it the first few times, you might end up dealing with a monster you aren't equipped to handle.

That was what made places far beyond the walls of the Kingdoms so dangerous. They wouldn't be like the areas close by or even like the Sea of Monsters—those places had been culled semiregularly thanks to Hunters, to say nothing of my recent work. The most important part of dealing with the Grimm long term is to make sure there _is_ no long term, or else they'll grow and grow and grow.

But that doesn't apply to places like the other side of the Sea of Monsters—or to the wastes far into Vacuo's deserts or who knows how many other places. The Grimm there hadn't been culled.

They'd done the culling. The monsters out there had _won_ —they'd fought civilizations that vanished thousands of years ago _because_ of them. Some of the creatures out there were old enough and strong enough to have cut down cities like a man would mow grass in the summer. Things like Leviathans were what happened when the same monster encountered ship after ship after ship and was never quite put down; the mistakes that had been made over the history of the Sea of Monsters. Things like Hydras…

Well, a Hydra that managed to survive a year after first contact was generally considered an unmitigated disaster. One that had survived a thousand was a touch more problematic.

The Leviathan gave me a good idea of what to expect out there and the truth was…

"But it'll have to wait," I continued, floating back as I looked into the distance. "We'll head back for today."

"Canceling our fieldtrip?" Adam asked, no doubt able to guess why.

"I know how much you'd hate to miss classes," I said anyway, smirking at his grimace. "We'll spend a bit more time playing around here before we cross. Unless you'd like to go now?"

"Hmph," He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I guess I wouldn't mind sleeping."

I smiled at him and inclined my head. We both knew it was better to turn back now, for the same reason the Leviathan had hesitated to fight us. It wasn't—or at least, wasn't _just_ —a question of whether we could win or not, but whether or not we could win _easily_. The point of training was to grow stronger, not to kill yourself _trying_ to. However much my life might sometimes seem like a game, there were no arbitrarily placed walls keeping me from going places…just like there was nothing to keep me from wandering into a place I couldn't hope to survive. Best to err on the side of caution and not drawing the attention of civilization killing abominations.

…Well, I say that, but if it was just me, I probably still might have tried it—or at least get close enough to take a look. But I'd gotten what I wanted and then some so I could afford to be patient.

"What are those?" Adam asked, nodding at the bundle floating beside me.

"New mask," I said, nodding at Cipactli and then showed him Tannin. "A new armor designed for aquatic environments, and a pair of skill books. Which reminds me…"

I promptly devoured the two books, noting with a smile that they were water skills. Not really surprising, but good to have. Perhaps I might be able to use them a bit more easily then my other water skills and train them up.

"More importantly, check out your new level," I continued, stashing the remaining items in my Inventory.

 **The Beast  
LV 88  
Adam Taurus**

"Nice," Adam replied, drawing up his status screen. "What's yours now?"

"Ninety," I nearly sang. "You know what that means."

Adam quirked an eyebrow, obviously getting it.

"Time to distribute points again, huh," He asked wryly.

"That's right," I answered with a bright grin. "It's skill time!"

With a flourish, I opened my own status screen and happily took my Wisdom straight over two-fifty.

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Totality.'**

 **By greatly improving your understanding of the world, you have learned to draw upon the power of the Sephirot, the emanations of the soul.**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Chokhmah.'**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Binah.'**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Chesed.'**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Gevurah.'**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Tiferet.'**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Netzach.'**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Hod.'**

 **By raising WIS above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Yesod.'**

I froze at once, smile fading as I read the words that appeared before me. The first one, Totality—a skill I guessed to be the next in the line of elemental skills I'd received from raising Wisdom even before I felt the knowledge flow into me—my eyes glances over with almost absentminded happiness. But the moment I started reading the others, I felt like I'd just been struck by lightning. The words were meaningless to me and yet…

They weren't.

It was bizarre. I had no idea what they meant and yet they meant something to me. I'd have thought it was something I'd forgotten, except I didn't forget much of anything anymore, and I was all but certain I'd never seen the words before in my life. At the same time, however, I knew that something was wrong.

Except I had no idea what. It wasn't the words themselves, of that much I was sure, yet I had no idea what else it could be. It was like I was missing a puzzle piece.

Or maybe two, I thought and had no idea why. Even worse, though there was a certainty to it that surprised me—enough so that if I'd been anyone else, I'd have thought that maybe the thoughts weren't my own—no answers came to me no matter how I looked at the words.

"Jaune," Adam said, sounding worried. "Jaune, what's wrong?"

"What?" I replied, looking up—and realizing with another moment of shock that I hadn't been paying attention, even peripherally. Adam seemed to catch that and the mere idea made him rock back slightly.

"Are you okay?" He asked carefully, tilting his head slightly.

"Yes?" I said, nearly kicking myself when it came out like a question. "Yes. It's just…I thought there was something odd about my new skills for a second there. Sorry."

"What is it?" He wondered.

"I don't know," I replied, glancing back at the words even as I pursed my lips. "I thought I remembered something, but nothing springs to mind. Let's head how, okay? I'll tell you about them when we get back to Mistral. I don't want to get…distracted out here."

"Okay," He answered slowly. "Sure. Let's go."

 **XxXXxX**

"This is good enough," I said aloud as we crossed into Mistral proper, slipping past the guards and gates with the help of Naraka. I shattered the barrier when we were safely positioned atop the roof of a skyscraper, far from any prying eyes. It would have been easy enough to go all the way back to Haven, but while I knew the odds of anything happening were miniscule at best, I didn't dare take any chances that close to Cinder. Not after what had just happened.

And what the fuck had just happened?

I had no clue, not even after spending the entire trip home thinking about it. I couldn't have done anything else if I'd tried; I'd long since gotten used to spending my time thinking while my body was busy with dull, repetitive labor and attempting to avoid the thought would have done nothing but bring it to mind even more quickly. Perhaps it was inevitable, given that I valued my Intelligence and Wisdom above all else—not thinking about stuff just wasn't something I was good at.

Hell, I was _proud_ of that fact. I took pride in my ability to think things through, plan ahead, see opportunities, and make connections. With the stakes so high and so much on the line, not thinking was the worst thing I could possible do.

After, of course, freezing up.

Which I just had. In an area full of Grimm. Without even thinking about it, I'd blotted out all else and focused entirely on what was before me, and I had no doubt that if Adam hadn't drawn my attention, I'd have stood there a lot longer than I had. Possibly until something had attacked me.

And I…that just didn't happen to me. Not anymore, at least. And though it had only been for a few seconds in the end, but that didn't change the fact that it had happened—nor did it change the fact that, more worryingly, I didn't know why.

Well, perhaps that wasn't quite true. The most likely explanation was that it had something to do with my past life—that I'd seen something that had wrung a bell and had gotten a flash of insight. Except, if so, it was a pretty uninformative flash; it hadn't told me anything, as far as I could tell, and it had left me dangerously distracted besides. I'd quickly closed all the windows and had avoided bringing any of them up again during the trip home, worried that it might happen again. Until I was somewhere safe, it was the best I could do.

And this was probably the best I was going to get.

"Why are we up here?" Adam asked, the frown he'd worn since we'd started back still firmly on his face.

"I'm…" I paused before admitting the truth. "I'm distracted. Something's wrong and I need to figure out what. Can you cover me for a bit?"

Adam's frown deepened for a moment before he nodded, hand rising to rest on the hilt of his sword as he turned to look at the city lights far below.

"Take your time," He answered, obviously settling in to wait.

I flashed him a grateful nod and then began to pull up screens.

The good news was that I didn't stop paying attention to my surroundings this time. The bad news was that I felt that strange feeling again, that flash of electric sensation that made me certain that this was important—more important than my surroundings or anything else. I had to resist the urge to give it my full attention, not because of any mental compulsion but simply because it mattered that much. It was like I was standing in a room with a bomb that was about to go off; the wallpaper just didn't matter a whole lot in comparison. I kept myself from being pulled in, but I had to think about it for a moment.

I had to get to the bottom of this, fast. Either it wasn't as important as it seemed, in which case something was wrong, or it _did_ deserve that attention and something was really wrong.

First things first, I thought. Best to get this out of the way now.

 **Totality (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those who have reached the summit of knowledge and fully grasped the truth, reaching the light from which all things come and return. By bathing in the light without form, the user has reached that which is above the minds ability to comprehend—and through the profound truths which they have learned, the user has grasped that which is hidden.  
Allows for the creation of an Elemental of Light through the combination of all lesser Elementals. Light Affinity is equal to the average of all Elemental Affinities.  
Double resistance to all Elemental attacks.  
50% less MP used for all Elemental abilities.  
100% increase to the effectiveness of all Elemental abilities. **

Pretty much what I'd expected, given the abilities that had come before it, but I was glad to have it nonetheless. I made a note to create a Light Elemental the first chance I got just to see what happened, but everything else would come in handy too. Double damage, reduced costs—it was good stuff all around. Given the costs of Gungnir, Karna, and especially Lux Aeterna…well, I wasn't going to complain, especially not when it was the one ability that didn't fill me with doubts.

But now, it was time to do what I came here for. I looked over my skills and the pictures that represented each before tapping the last one and bring it up.

 **Yesod (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The Foundation upon which all things are built, wherein the light from the spheres above is given shape in the Kingdom below. In the same way, it is where spiritual thought is first translated into physical action. This ability represents the heightened presence of Yesod within the soul of the user and through its light, gives them excellence in all things.  
100% increase to the effectiveness of all skills that passively enhance physical actions.  
100% increase to experience gained by all such skills.**

I blinked once, surprised despite myself—not just by the effects of the skill, but also by its description. The skill itself was a good one, of course; I'd have to check to be sure of exactly which skills counted, but at the very least it seemed like it would improve things like my Sword Mastery and such. It was hard to be anything but happy about something that made you stronger for no cost, so I was glad to have it. But…

What did it mean by the presence of Yesod in my soul? Not just that, but a _heightened_ presence, which implied there had already been Yesod present—but what was Yesod, then? The Foundation it said, but what did that _mean_? Again, I felt like I was looking at a puzzle I didn't have all the pieces to.

Pausing for a moment, I looked over the other icons again. Each bore an image of a sphere, with a number of paths branching out from it. Yesod, for instance, had four paths—one up, one down, and one going to each of the upper corners of the picture. Looking over the other spheres and the paths that spread from them, I could see enough similarities in the designs to be pretty sure I _was_ looking at a puzzle. In fact…

With a thought, an illusion appeared before me. Chokmah and Binah were in the uppermost corners, with Chesed and Gevurah beneath them and Netzach and Hod below _them_. Yesod was at the bottom, connected to Netzach and Hod above and to the sides of it, while Tiferet was in the center and linked to every sphere around it through eight paths.

Except there were only seven spheres in my design. The path that stretched up from Tiferet didn't connect to anything, nor did the paths from Binah and Chokmah that should have led to the same place. There was also a path directly below Yesod that had no sphere at its end.

I was right—I was missing two pieces. And I'd known it even those I was sure I'd never seen this design before in my life. The odds that this was something from my past life went up a notch, but how was I supposed to figure out _what_ when I was missing the key pieces?

By looking at the pieces around it, obviously. Yesod mentioned a 'Kingdom below' and probably wasn't referring to the Kingdoms like Mistral and Vale. Or was it? I'd always wondered why they were called Kingdoms when we hadn't had a King in a long, long time, but…no, for the moment, I'd stick only to what I could be sure of. Yesod was the only piece connecting to this 'Kingdom', but the top most sphere had three paths leading to it. I decided to start in the middle, at the center of the image—Tiferet.

 **Tiferet (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The Adornment—the throne of Glory and the Beauty of that which is to come. The center that balances Judgement and Mercy, Wisdom and Understanding, Victory and Splendor; it inherits the light from above and allows it to be given form in the world below. This ability represents the heightened presence of Tiferet within the soul of the user and through its light gives them the power to shape wonders. Just as Tiferet unifies the emanations of the soul, this ability allows the user to combine skills they possess to create new ones. Though not all skills can be combined with each other, it is possible to draw great power from those that can, if one knows how.  
Passively makes the user aware of skills that can be combined with one another.  
Minimum Skill Level Required for Sephirotic Synthesis: LV99.**

What?

For a moment I didn't understand, but as soon as I paused to consider it, I knew it was the truth. I could feel something—a connection of some kind, between two points in my head. It wasn't an obtrusive sensation, nothing I couldn't ignore if I chose, but as soon as I gave it thought it sprang to the forefront of my mind.

And…well. There was a lot I could put up with for the promise of new skills. All at once, I couldn't help but think the distraction my new skills had caused wasn't _that_ bad, at which point I was already reaching out towards that mental connection, shutting my eyes.

Abruptly, light flashed through my mind, so bright that for a moment I thought that someone had shoved the sun into my head. I thought it was all in my head, but only more a second because I could _see_ it, shining out through my eyelids.

And then I couldn't, because my ESP shut down, followed momentarily by my Clairvoyance. My skin hardened into a cage around me as the Adamant Serpent's Skin deactivated and one by one my other skills flickered and died. My MP plummeted and then emptied entirely, fed to the fire burning inside my mind. I would have stopped if I'd known how, shaken if I were able, but the process refused to stop now that it had begun, and it seemed to drag on and on and on.

In all likelihood, it couldn't have taken more than a minute, but I spent that minute powerless and trapped in my own skin, unable to even speak. Whatever MP I regenerated was devoured by the process occurring within me until it reached completion—and then it was done, halting abruptly.

Even then, I didn't move, trapped within an Adamant cage made of my own skin. I felt my MP begin to return to me, though, and immediately activated all of my senses, scanning furiously for any sign of trouble that could have appeared while I was helpless. My heart was pounding in my ears and only the Gamer's Mind kept me calm.

"Jaune," Adam nearly shouted and he must have been doing it for a while considering he was shaking me. I hadn't noticed and God did I fucking hate that with the burning passion of a million suns.

But beside him, a window had appeared.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Magic Missile' and 'Flare' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Agneyastra' has been created.**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Reflections**

It took me a few seconds to recover enough MP to start reactivating my skills and move again, at which point I rose with a sensation like—well. Like I was tearing my way out of my skin. The Gamer's Body being what it was, there were no actual _signs_ of this, but it still hurt like a bitch and the damage took a big chunk out of my health, if one that was easily healed. Despite that, I didn't relax until all of my usual defenses were in place, feeling terrifyingly exposed without it.

Yeah, I could admit it. I had been terrified, even I'd been able to calmly put that fear aside thanks to the Gamer's Mind. I wasn't used to being… _vulnerable_ anymore, because I made a point to be prepared for pretty much everything that could be thrown my way. I scanned my surroundings with a multitude of senses and across the breadth of a spectrum most people could only imagine. I hardened my skin and strengthened my body until I could shrug off bombs and tear apart an army as needed. I enhanced my speed until I could dodge between bullets and even if I had only a moment to react, I warped time around me enough to make moments drag on and on. And behind all those persistent effects, I had a well of power I was prepared to draw upon at a moment's notice, ready to drive my power to even greater heights of even level cities.

Did I consider myself invincible? Of course not—I was smart enough to know my limits and Remnant had a long, _long_ history that showed, in great detail, that people can die, no matter how much they believed otherwise. But I had options; I could notice a threat and react to it, even if only by escaping. It had been quite a while since I'd found myself in a position where I couldn't do _anything_.

If I'd done that in the middle of a fight…if I'd tried to do that somewhere else and someone noticed and took advantage of it…

I closed my eyes and was relieved to find that it did absolutely nothing to hinder my vision.

"Sorry, Adam," I said aloud, reaching up to grasp his hands. "An experiment of mine went awry."

Adam frowned at me but let go of my shirt and I caught myself in midair before I could fall back.

"A warning would have been nice," He replied after a moment.

Yeah, I thought, it _would_ have been.

"Sorry," I said again. "I honestly had no idea that would happen."

And didn't that sting. I was used to my skills leaving out details about how they worked in practice, but that had been…well, something else. Similar, in a way, to when I contracted an Elemental, though thankfully it hadn't knocked me out. Being forced to sleep for six hours would have been a colossal waste of time, a much longer-lived danger, and just generally inconvenient. Granted, I wouldn't have been _aware_ of the dangers or drawbacks while I slept, but I wasn't sure if that made sleeping better or worse.

"Speaking of which," I continued slowly. "What _did_ happen?"

Adam twitched at that, searching my face.

"You…" He sounded shocked and disbelieving as he spoke and had to stop for a minute to get it under control. When he spoke again, his voice was tightly controlled, which just emphasized how worried he must have been. "You don't know?"

I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head.

"What just happened drained all my power," I admitted. "My senses turned off and everything."

"Was that why you didn't…" Adam gestured at me.

"Move?" I asked. "No, that was one of my skills. I told you about it, didn't I? How the Adamant Serpent's Skin worked? When I ran out of power to fuel it with, it basically turned me into a statue. I couldn't even open my eyes."

"Ah," Adam said, nodding in understanding. "Might be a good idea to turn that one off if you do this again."

"Mhm," I agreed. I'd still be tremendously weakened but at least I'd still be able to move. It was better than nothing. "So what happened?"

"Well," Adam considered. "It took me a few seconds to notice anything was wrong, due to how weird you normally are, but I it was a little bit odd when you started glowing."

I winced.

"Yeah, I thought I saw that, before I went blind," I said. "Through my eyes, right?"

"At first, yeah. But then the rest of you began glowing, too," He replied. "And not like the usual Aura glow—you were glowing _inside_ , bright enough that I could see it through your skin."

"Damn," I groaned. "How bright? Could someone have seen?"

"Possibly," He answered after a moment of thought. "I was more worried about how you didn't answer when I asked you what was happening. I thought you were ignoring me at first, but when I realized you'd turned into a spotlight out in the open, I thought I should check to make sure you were okay. You usually do stuff like this in Naraka."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Although…maybe it was a good thing I didn't this time. If I'd done it in Naraka, the barrier would have broken when I ran out of power and dropped me back here. Depending on where I was when that happened…shit, I'm gonna need to find a safe place to do stuff like this. Maybe I'll have Ereb bury me underground next time. Assuming Crom Cruach or some other subterrainian Grimm doesn't appear and fuck up my shit—a possibility which my life is too fucked up for me to completely dismiss—that should be fairly secure. Otherwise, well, I might need you to play guard duty again."

Adam shrugged.

"What did you do, anyway?" He asked.

"Not here," I said, looking around. I didn't see anyone approaching us yet, but it was too soon to tell whether that meant my little lightshow had gone unnoticed or not—either way, I had no intention of sticking around to find out. Scanning my surroundings, I carefully swept away any evidence of our presence with a mixture of Psychokinesis and my Elementals and then nodded too myself. "There, it's clean enough. Let's get out of here."

Snapping my fingers I threw to both of us back into Naraka and took a deep breath. Pointless, maybe, but kind of comforting, too—especially since my own Adamant skin had kept my lungs from expanding while Tiferet did its work.

Speaking of which, I brought up the profile again and was somewhat pleased by what I'd found. Tiferet had leveled up after a single use and the skill level requirement had dropped from ninety-nine to ninety-eight in the process, which was simultaneously a slight and massive improvement. Generally speaking, skills became increasingly difficult to improve as their level approached ninety-nine, but in this case, that actually worked in my favor. While it was unlikely that I'd be able to raise Tiferet itself to ninety-nine, given that it would only improve as I combined skills and it would take an increasing number of skills as its level rose, each level would lower the requirements further. And as the level requirement had _started_ at ninety-nine and was counting down, that worked out pretty well.

If I could get Tiferet to even just level ten, it would drop the limit to ninety, and at that point, that meant a lot. The first fifty levels of a skill, for example, could be obtained in less time then it took to get from ninety to ninety-one. And, hell, if I could get _Tiferet_ to fifty, I'd be able to synthesize skills fairly easily, relatively speaking. The early levels of the skill were the most valuable, in this case.

Assuming, of course, that the results had been worth the effort.

"Okay," I said. "You might want to stand back for this."

"How far back?" Adam asked.

"Uh…I don't know," I admitted.

"Really, really far back," Adam decided, nodding to himself before jumping off the building and quickly putting some distance between us.

It was probably a wise move, I admitted as I drew up the profile of my newest skill, gathering power as I did.

 **Agneyastra (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 2000  
One of the legendary techniques wielded by the Astradhari, it was said to invoke the power of the God of Fire. Used as a skill, it can either empower an existing weapon or create one entirely from Aura—in either case, the effect is the same, releasing an inferno of supernatural flames. Fueled by the user's Aura, the flames of the Agneyastra are inextinguishable through normal means as they will burn without air or even underwater until they run out of power, feeding solely on the light of souls. Power increases with WIS and Fire Affinity.  
50% defense penetration.  
10000% damage increase.  
Automatically inflicts 'Burning' status effect on anyone who receives damage.  
Targets lose MP at a rate of 20 MP per second, in addition to HP damage, so long as they possess the 'Burning' status effect.  
'Burning' status effect may not be removed through mundane means.**

The weapon that appeared in my hand as I shaped my power looked like one of my Magic Missiles, except in coloration. Instead of the usual white lance, it was incandescent, like heated steel, and almost painfully warm to the touch. Waiting for a moment for Adam to finish running and take his place on the roof of another tall building nearly a kilometer away, I leapt high into the air and threw my weapon at the roof of the skyscraper.

It pierced straight through it without even slowing down, and though it had only felt a little hot to me, the entire roof began to melt and was quickly pulled down by gravity as it liquefied. The Agneyastra tore through all the floors beneath it in the exact same way until it hit the bottom floor, not even slowing down as it went.

And then it exploded.

A massive wave of flames rushed out in all directions, blowing out the first floor and then rushing back up the way it came. It shattered every window on the way up, shattering anything that tried to contain it, and the flames rushed out through the openings steam from a kettle, igniting nearby buildings and cars with a fire that _clung_ to anything it touched and devoured as it went. The skyscraper began to crumble and fall, burning from every opening as it toppled and crashed into the ground, shaking the surrounding area.

"Okay," I admitted as I settled on a building that _wasn't_ on fire, having been forced to dodge the onrush of flames. "That's pretty cool."

For several seconds, I simply watched the flames consume everything they touched, melting steel, burning wood, and destroying everything in its path. The flames seemed to crawl over everything they touched, even moving in directions normal flames wouldn't—burning down as well as up, and crossing the streets with ease. In perhaps half a minute, the unnatural flames had ignited much of the surrounding neighborhood, moving as if it had a mind of its own.

It wouldn't last, though. I could see the Aura—my Aura—sustaining the flames unnatural behavior, but it was devouring that fuel like everything else. If it got access to more Aura, whether mine or that of a target, it could likely sustain its behavior for a longer period of time, but as it was right now, I'd say it would last about a minute and a half longer before reverting to normal fire.

Of course, by that point, most of the surrounding city would be up in flames and once it was that big, stopping even a _normal_ fire would be fairly difficult for most people. And while it was like _this_ , it would be exceedingly difficult to even contain it. Given the speed at which it was growing now, a few properly placed strikes would probably burn down most of Mistral if it wasn't stopped and the only ways to do that would be…

What?

I paused for a moment to contemplate it. A Fire Elemental like Suryasta probably could—the nature of the flames might make it more expensive as they tried to consume the Aura he used to maintain a body and exert his power, but Elementals definitely weren't 'mundane'. They also weren't something many people had access to, though, so the more likely alternatives were the usage of Semblances or Dust. The former were too varied to make any real generalities, but the later…Red Dust might be able to control the flames until they burnt out, perhaps, and various others could theoretically hinder it. Would summoned or created water snuff out the flames?

Pondering that for a moment, I raised hand and waved it in an absent circle. As I did, streamers of water began to follow the path of fingers, droplets running down the steel of my gauntlets as it poured from the openings. As I dropped my hand, the water fell with it and began to pool at my feet, the strength of the flow strengthening by the second until a small waterfall began to spill over the edge of the building I was upon. Xihai flowed into it as it went, guiding and shaping the flow as it swept over the flames and tried to coral them.

 **Manju (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The flowing tide jewel—an ancient art passed down from one of the ancient Desert Kings to gather water even while lost among the sands. This skill allows the user to gather water by changing the nature of their Aura to attract it. With this ability, it's possible to draw up underground streams, pull moisture from the air, or even draw rivers towards the user. With greater effort, it is even possible to create water by pulling the moisture from one's own flesh and restoring it with Aura.  
1 MP per liter of water summoned.  
10 MP and 100 HP per liter of water created.**

I held up the pressure for several seconds, feeling my hand dry until it seemed like it was crumbling to sand. In that time, I summoned several thousand liters of water from my skin, healing all the while as I fueled it. And yet, even as it washed over the flames and surrounded them completely, they didn't so much as flicker. Instead, the surrounding water began to boil as the flames blazes higher and feed from the traces of Aura within them, flowing through them until they seemed like rivers of fire. Even Xihai, no more than a spiritual presence within the water, became a target as the flames feed from her power.

After a moment, I recalled my Elemental and let the water fall to the streets were it continued to boil and steam. It seemed safe to say that even water created unnaturally wouldn't suffice, because the fact remained that the flames wouldn't be put out simply by being doused. Rather than be pleased by that, however, I was a bit concerned by it. Granted, I didn't have any real intention of using something this indiscriminant on human targets—and if I did, I'd certainly stay nearby to handle the cleanup—but the knowledge that the flames could go out of control so easily was still a bit worrying. Unlikely as it was, if something happened…

Worse still, a number of Grimm could likely resist it. Many of them were durable enough to simply endure burning alive until the flames returned to normal. A direct hit from the spear form of the attack would kill most things, but the resulting flames were more of a threat to other humans, whose Aura could be turned against them and consumed. Even if the rate of consumption wasn't very large yet, an attack like this could very easily strike hundreds of people at a time and without someone capable of resisting the effects, most would be doomed to slowly burn to death. Against the soulless monsters that filled the world…

I sighed slightly and extended a hand towards them, preparing myself to put them out. But just before I called Suryasta to make the attempt, a thought struck me and I paused before checking on Adam. He was behind my now and far from the line of fire, so I contemplated it for a moment longer before smiling.

Why not, I thought a moment before I gather light into my hand. The night darkened as Lux Aeterna sprang to life, every source of illumination drawn into the mighty stream of power, from the stars above to the flames below. For a moment, the world was pitch-black but for the attack itself, but when the light returned, the flames of Agneyastra were gone.

As was, uh, pretty much everything else in front of me. There was a path of destruction through the city that ended in a melted mountainside that had been cratered and slagged by the blast. Admittedly, I was fairly close to the edge of the city anyway, but…wow.

I frowned down at my hand, flexing my fingers absently. It hadn't taken anywhere near as much energy this time, thanks to the cost reduction from Totality and the damage increase I'd gotten from that same skill partially explained the increase in power, but not entirely. My eyes were good enough that just by looking at the after math I could say that it was more than four times as powerful as any of the ones I'd hit the Leviathan with, and even the power it had drawn from Agneyastra didn't explain _that_ difference. Which must mean…

Ah.

 **Gevurah (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The Severity that brings judgment; the throne of strength and the seat of fire. Though it is brother to Love and Mercy, Gevurah is the power that gives one the strength to enforce their will on the world. In the end, it is the will to act and overcome ones enemies that allows for the existence of Mercy, instead of mere surrender. This ability represents the heightened presence of Gevurah within the soul of the user and through its strength, gives them the power to both protect and destroy.  
100% increase to the effectiveness of all skills that assist or create attacks, as well as all skills that directly reduce the power of an opponent.  
100% increase to experience gained by all such skills.**

I whistled slightly under my breath. That would do it, I suppose—and between this and Totality, the strength of all my Elemental attacks had just gone way, way up. I suppose it wasn't really all that surprising, remembering how much my power grew every time I hit the benchmark of one of my skills, but still. With an increase like that…

Gevurah had pretty much doubled the power of every attack skill I had. Yesod had done the same to many of my passive skills, including pretty much all the 'normal' skills I had like Sword Mastery and the stuff I'd nabbed with Psychometry. Tiferet gave me the power to create new and powerful abilities, or would once I improved a few more of my skills. And now that I was looking for it, I could feel the other changes in the skills I'd recently reactivated. I was vastly stronger now then I'd been even just this morning and I was starting to learn how much. I'd need to go over the rest of my new skills now that I wasn't worried about freaking out but I'd grown a great deal. I'd come a long, long way from where I'd been.

So how much longer until I was ready? It was hard to say when I didn't even really know what I was trying to get ready for. I was preparing as best I could for a threat I couldn't even risk identifying directly. I knew I was making progress, but towards _what_?

I'd have to find out eventually, I knew. I'd decided already that I'd return to Vale eventually, probably at the end of the semester. But before I did that, returning to face the threats I couldn't confirm, there was _something_ I could do.

Jericho Falls might have the answers I sought. It was a place that had chewed up and spat out the better part of a hundred Hunters.

But I was special. And I had friends in some pretty damn high places that'd have my back if I tried. If I scoped it out before hand, made plans, and prepared, I might be able to manage. If not now, then soon; I'd thought to myself beforehand that the hundreds were something else. When my level was a hundred…when I could face down the beasts across the Sea of Monsters and win…perhaps I'd be ready.

In the end, I guess there was no way to know except to find out. The world was fucked up, it apparently had something to do with me, and I needed to know why before I figured I whose ass I was going to have to kick to fix things. I'd be ready by then, because I'd make sure I was.

And I knew a good place to start.

Taking a deep breath, I began to summon my Light Elemental.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Lighting**

Taking a deep breath, I snapped my fingers and my friends came to my side, arraying themselves around me as they had before. In my mind I saw the summoning circles I'd used to call each of them for the first time, the pentagrams they'd appeared inside.

Only this time, it was they who made a circle around me.

Ereb, Levant, Suryasta, Vulturnus, and Xihai each appeared at one of the imaginary star's point and Crocea Mors flowed into my gauntleted hands. Feeling his desire without having to exchange so much as a word, I canceled my Armored Shell and the gauntlets immediately began to melt, spilling down my arms in rivers and drops that splattered on the ground and began to flow away from me. In moments, he'd made a ring of steel around me, the outer edges at my other Elemental's toes, before at last going solid and still.

I took a slow breath and felt their presence within me as I did. I looked at them all without moving a muscle, reaching out to them with my thoughts, and for the first time in a long time wondered.

 _Do you guys know what you're doing? Because I don't._

They looked back at me without a word and smiled reassuringly, the emotion brushing against my mind even when the expressions were slow to come to their faces.

 _We are with you always._

The response didn't come from any one of them nor even from them all, but simple formed within my mind as a fact. Even so, it felt like the truth and I knew, _knew_ , that I trusted them.

Exhaling slowly, I nodded once.

"Okay," I said aloud. "Let's do this, then."

At once, my Elementals began to shift and change. Ereb and Xihai, the ones who'd made their bodied out of physical water and earth, were the most obvious, with drops of water and flakes of dirt falling from their forms until their features were worn smooth and all that remained were blank figures of water and earth. The others shifted more subtly, as their edges dulled and the lines blurred, Levant's eternal smile getting wore away by the wind as Suryasta's eyes were consumed by flames. Vulturnus simply began to flicker more wildly, the appearance of humanity fading with each motion until he was faceless and blank, while Crocea Mors shifted subtly, my face changing in the reflection of the steel ring until it was purely my own.

And then, when all that was left were blank Elemental figures, they knelt as one and put their hands on the circle, as I had down when first I'd summoned them. Murmurs brushed against my thoughts, words in a language I didn't know, and then their bodies began to crumble, fading into dust and sparks and currents of air and water that drifted slowly around the outside of the circle before flowing towards its center.

Towards me.

I remained still as they touched my skin once, each contact bringing with it a shock of Aura. Water and earth fell the ground, filling the inside of the circle in a solid sheet of mud even as sparks rose into a luminous cloud above my head, casting my shadow every which way. The wind kept the cloud aloft, filling the space in-between as it did, and for a moment nothing seemed to happen.

Then my many shadows flickered once and then flowed, moving despite the stable light above. They all gathered in front of my, layering themselves into an unnaturally dark image even though there was light that should have broken the darkness. And then, slowly, my shadow began to move, head at the ring of Crocea Mors as it spun clockwise around me, moving though I was still until it was back where I started.  
Not going to lie, it was kind of unnerving, but after several seconds passed and nothing else happened, I started to wonder what the hell was going on.

Which, naturally, when the pain began. It struck me unexpectedly, a tearing sensation, as if something was removing my feet—or something below my feet that I'd somehow never noticed—and when I tried to move, to escape whatever was causing it, I found my feet stuck firmly to the ground, immobilized against my will.

And then my shadow came free, flowing away from me and exiting the circle to begin another turn around it, this time moving counterclockwise. I remained still and unmoving, senses focused on the unnaturally mobile shadow as it completed its course around me and returned to its starting position. I analyzed it, Observed it, and focused on it intently, but all of my senses told me that it was just a normal shadow, nothing more than an absence of light.

Except, you know, it pretty obviously fucking wasn't. I didn't have a lot of knowledge when it came to shadow manipulation beyond what I'd picked up from watching Indigo—I'd done some experimentation to see if I was capable of anything similar and my efforts to summon a darkness or shadow elemental had failed utterly. I hadn't been particularly surprised by that, since, logically speaking, darkness wasn't really an element.

After all, I'd thought, darkness was nothing but the absence of light.

As soon as I had that thought, my shadow began to writhe, losing shape and then rising as if stretched from within—from _below_ , as impossible as that was. I realized that I'd regained the use of my legs only when I fell to them, hands tearing up fistfuls of the building's roof as the pain rose and I felt as though I was being torn apart from within. Instead, however, my _shadow_ was, ripping and splitting at nonexistent seems as light began to shine _out_ of it, rising into a luminance even I struggle to see through as it flooded across the whole of the spectrum and yet left me untouched.

And then it was gone and in its place stood a figure. At the foot of my shadow, now whole once more, stood a figure that wasn't me and, even more oddly, seemed to be completely composed of light. Something made of light shouldn't have been able to cast a shadow, my mind pointed out, but really, after that whole display, that seemed like a pretty stupid thing to get hung up on so I put it aside and looked over the figure that couldn't have been anything but a Light Elemental, making sure I noticed everything important.

As I'd already observed, it was a figure composed of pure light, featureless through its own radiance. I was reminded strongly of Bianca for a moment, of how she looked in the fullness of her power, but there was another detail that caught my attention. From its back spread pairs of massive wings, some vast and others small, but all glowing with the same light as its body, almost as if someone had cut the space around the figure to ribbons and it was light that had come pouring out through the cracks. For a moment some of them covered its body, especially its face, but they quickly shifted aside to reveal it in it's entirety as a humanoid figure.

Then, it opened its eyes.

It's many, many eyes.

The first two were on its face, where a human's would be, and the first thing that struck me was that they were the exact color of my own—blue, at least around the irises, though that was where the similarities stopped. The sclera, if you could call them that on a Light Elemental, glowed an even brighter white then the rest of his body, as if what I was looking at was merely what had managed to escape through its skin, but there was an even greater light within. It didn't have pupils, either, or at least not human ones—instead of black dots, there were points of even brighter light at the center of the eyes, and they left points of light on my skin like laser pointers as the Elemental looked at me.

And then slits began to appear across its body, seemingly at random. I'd have called them countless, but I happened to be pretty good at counting—even so, I struggled to keep up when they began to appear by the hundreds of thousands. The majority of them were small, with many just a few dozen micrometers long, but others were measurable in millimeters and some were as large or larger than a humans. As the slits widened, about half of them revealed eyes, fully formed regardless of size and each the color of my own. The other half were dark and empty, opening to reveal absolutely nothing, not even light. Sometimes an eye would blink closed and a hole would shut in response, only to reveal an eye when it opened again and leave emptiness in its wake. They'd switched place in an instant, but the number of eyes and gaps remained constant, though the size of the pieces switched didn't seem to matter.

But there were so many. I counted a million of each after a few moments of crunching numbers— _exactly_ a million of each. And one by one, every single eye on the front side of its body turned to focus on me, considering me for a long moment. Then, a slit on its face in the exact position of a person's mouth moved. It revealed no teeth nor a tongue nor anything at all within it and yet it spoke.

"Until our soul meets its end, we shall be forever one," It murmured in a voice that was like absolutely nothing I'd ever fucking heard, as if finishing the ritual.

Hell, maybe that was exactly what it was doing.

For a long moment, all I could do was stare. I opened my mouth as if to say something but ended up simply closing it again, thinking better off it as I took a moment to get my thoughts together. I didn't really think of myself as the type to worry about stage fright—if nothing else, I'd managed to put on a show to save my life a fair number of times now—but with a million eyes on me, even I was given pause.

And yet, it was more than that. Looking the Elemental over as it spread its thirty-six wings, it wasn't hard to pick up the similarities to the image I'd seen beneath the Red Rider's Temple—and, though I'd only heard it described, to what Bianca had claimed to see when she looked at me. Sure, the differences were obvious, but that's the danger of second hand information; after a moment of thought I decided I'd have to be a fool to dismiss the resemblance out of hand. In all likelihood, it was safe to assume that the figure in front of me was the figure my sister had seen, if smaller then she had described.

Which meant…what? It was obvious by this point that the Element of Light was special and didn't refer just too mundane illumination. Lux Aeterna was something special, even if I didn't fully understand why, and my Light Elemental was obviously special, too. I'd needed to merge all of my Elementals to create it and the summoning process had been…odd to say the least, so there was obviously _something_ going one here, but what? Was it some sort of reflection of my soul? I'd heard Aura described as the light of the soul enough that it somehow wouldn't surprise me, but still, I had no idea what was happening anymore.

I paused for a moment before nearly rolling my eyes at myself. Yes, I didn't know what was going on—but I could always just ask. I generally made a point to keep from seeming ignorant even if— _especially_ if—I was, but that was mostly because I had so many enemies. I could trust my elementals completely and though they didn't always give me clear answers, often because they didn't usually understand human issues, they never _lied_ to me. And, however strange this whole thing seemed, this was my Light Elemental.

First things first, though. Most of the time when I merged my Elementals, the results was…a bit hard to describe. When Xihai and Levant merged and became an Ice Elemental, for example, I wouldn't say the two of them inhabited the same body because they didn't. In the end, there was only one mind in control, a new one created along with their body. And yet, at the same time, it was still them. That didn't really make sense—how could it be them and _not_ be them at the same time?—but it was still true. Whether I merged two or three or however many Elementals into one, it was the same.

Except, apparently, with light. I could sense my Elementals the same as always, but they felt dormant. Like the minds our contract had given to the, well, Elemental forces of the world now slept and all that remained were the massive and slow consciousness that flowed through the world. I could still feel Ereb and Levant, but not as the smiling figures I could speak to or touch; I felt them as the glacial movements of plate tectonics and as clashing currents of moving air. They were there, still, and in a sense they were alive, but not like I knew them. It was a bit odd, honestly, as used to their presence in my thoughts as I was.

Instead, I felt a new mind, like and unlike the others. My elementals had gone into its creation and their power had given it form, but they weren't what was staring out at me through a million eyes. I honestly wasn't sure what was.

As such, it was only proper that I introduce myself.

"Hello," I said. "My name is Jaune Arc. Are the others okay?"

It stared at me—and everything else, which was fairly easy when you could spare an eye for everything in the vicinity—for a moment before replying.

"Yes," He replied, and I decided he was a guy simply because he was probably a reflection of me. His voice was weird as hell for all that it was calm, because it wasn't an individual voice—it was a chorus of a million voices, male, female, animalistic, robotic, and everything else you could think of, so numerous that it should have drowned out what he was trying to say, but didn't only because every single voice spoke in perfect unison. It was pretty cool, but also creepy as hell. "Do not worry."

I pondered that for a moment, considering him.

"You say that, but I find it hard not to worry about my friends," I mused aloud. "Even when they merge, I can usually feel them, but now I can only feel you."

"You are right and you are wrong," He answered, enunciating the words carefully so they weren't swallowed by the alien sounds of his voice. "They exist in me, for they exist only in me."

"Oh?" I asked. "I can't say I understand."

"I know," He answered calmly. "You apply concepts that are inapplicable, for you do not understand the nature of this power."

"My Elementals, you mean?" I wonder, frowning slightly as I reviewed what I knew. I could tell he wasn't trying to insult me and the truth was that I honestly didn't know a whole lot about how Elementals worked. No one did, as far as I knew; that knowledge, if it had ever been known at all, had been lost a long, long time ago. "You're right. All I know is that we made a contract—"

I paused.

"Yes," The Light Elemental murmured. "A contract with earth, fire, water, air, lighting, and metal. They bound themselves to you and you tied yourself to them—the nature of the contract is that it binds both ways."

"It allows me to summon them," I whispered. "I gain allies and friends and can draw upon their power. But what do they get?"

"You already know," He stated, the voice a bit softer as tones shifted in and out of it.

"Bodies and minds," I said. "Minds that can experience things on a human scale—or close enough—and bodies that can exist and operate on that scale. And they can do it because of the terms of the contract. Our souls will be forever one."

This time, the Light Elemental said nothing, standing impassively. I took that to mean it felt there was nothing to argue.

"Is that how they merge?" I wondered aloud. "They're the elements given form, but they're also pieces of the same puzzle—of me."

"Of me," My reflection repeated. Or maybe corrected. I wasn't sure.

"Then you're what happens when all the pieces come back together?" I asked. "Because you're what was broken apart in the first place—me. You're me, aren't you? My soul given form."

He was silent again. Maybe he just didn't feel the need to tell himself he was right—or maybe if I wasn't right, he just wouldn't know. But it made sense; I'd wondered before why earth or wind or fire gave a shit about…anything, really. Why did they allow themselves to be summoned and do what I asked? But if I gave them parts of myself, then perhaps it made sense that they would help me. And certainly, I hadn't encountered any _other_ Elementals, at least not in the form of minds I could sit down and converse with, because the earth itself didn't have a mind like humans did. There was something there, but not the type of thing that caused earthquakes when it was upset or that became upset at all. You didn't hear about women made of air coming down from the sky to blow people away, either—because it took a person, someone with an Affinity that would allow them to make the connection, to breath something human into the wind or sea.

It made sense. I hadn't had any way to confirm anything before, but the pieces fit.

"Okay then," I said. "Do you have a name, then? The others did."

"Crocea Mors, the name of your ancestral blade," He replied, looking at me still. "Levant and Vulturnus, the winds that blows towards the west. Xihai, the western sea. Suryasta, the sun that sets in the west during Ereb, the evening. The elements have no names but the ones you gave them after you started your journey as the White Tiger of the West. Just as I have no name but the one you have given me."

I stiffened slightly at that, blinking twice.

"I…didn't know that was what those words meant," I replied, voice sounding subdued even to my own ears. I'd never given it much thought beyond recognizing the languages of the names—the words came from ancient Vytal and Mistral, I knew, but hadn't wondered if they meant anything more than that. Hearing them now though, the connections were fairly blatant.

But I didn't speak those languages. How would I have known their meaning, even subconsciously? Hell, how did I know that _was_ what they meant? I'd have to check later today, but…

"If that's true," I began slowly, shaking myself once to regain focus. "And the names of all my Elementals were ones I've given, then what have I named you? If you're the reflection of my soul, what are you called?"

"You know that as well," He stated before tilting his head. "Or perhaps you don't."

"My name," I stated, becoming annoyed. "If you're me, I'd give you my name. Right?"

"That's right," He whispered, eyes blinking open and shut in different places. "Tell me my name."

"I already told you," I said. "My name's Jaune Arc."

He looked at me for a moment, disappointment shining in all one million of his eyes.

"That," He said gravely. "Is not my name."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Shadows**

I very nearly twitched, I'm not going to lie. The only thing that stopped me, really, was the simple fact that I made a conscious point to keep track of how I reacted—a necessity given that I hide a variety of…noticeable things within an illusion. I had to consciously display anything I wanted to show on my face which was useful for when I wanted to hide something, but which meant I had to keep track of what I _wanted_ to show as well.

That was both difficult and simple. The breadth of my senses was such that keeping track of it all was easy enough, but then I had to sort through it and decide what to do. Given how much my biology had diverged from the norm over time, that was more complicated then it seemed, since there were a lot of normal reactions I had to insert and abnormal ones that needed removing. Amusingly, one of the reasons I was so good at restraining myself was the simple fact that reacting visibly could be a huge pain in the ass.

Still, ironic as it might have been given the nature of my power, I didn't like being played with. And given that I was essentially talking to myself—and thus was pretty sure everyone involved in this conversation knew I didn't enjoy messing around or jumping through hoops—it was fairly frustrating to do the whole cryptic song and dance routine. That was something I inflicted on other people, not myself.

And perhaps it was for that reason that I paused for a moment to allow the initial annoyance to fade and gave myself the benefit of the doubt and instead tried to think this through. For the moment, I'd believe there was a point to this.

"What do you mean that's not your name?" I asked calmly. "You said I'd given you my name and I'm—"

I pause, allowing myself to trail of as I considered my Light Elemental carefully. He didn't so much as twitch in response to my words, waiting patiently, and yet the _feel_ of him somehow changed. I considered it carefully, at once surprise, exited, and confused, but if this was an expression of my soul, it was possible, right? But then, how…why…what…?

But what else could he mean.

"Do you…" I began, voice a whisper before I remembered I couldn't just use Levant to raise it and did it myself. "Remember?"

"I do," He answered impassively. "But you do not."

"No, I don't," I admitted freely. "So let's not play around here. Tell me outright; are we talking about the same thing here? Because _I'm_ talking about the mounting wealth of evidence that says I've been around the proverbial block before—that I had a past life, died, and was reborn as who I am today. I want this to be perfectly clear, so I'm going to ask this as plainly as I possibly can. I've been reincarnated before; yes or no."

"Yes," He answered in a multitude of voices, but I was flat-out out ignoring that now. If it meant getting some fucking answers for once, I didn't care if they came from a voice on high or the monster under my bed. If he'd tell me what the fuck was happening, I'd forgive any of my Light Elemental's flaws.

And this particular answer was…more anticlimactic than anything else. I'd pretty much accept that as fact at this point; still, finally having confirmation was nice.

"Okay, I'm reincarnated," I said aloud, wondering if hearing it from my own mouth would make me feel any different about it. It didn't so I shrugged once and decided to move on. "Cool. Again, just making sure we're on the same page here—this past life of mine, whenever it was, had something to do with the fucking asshole who made the Grimm. I don't have a lot in the way of cold hard facts beyond that, but that's the life we're talking about, right? Not some hypothetical past life were I was a farmer or something; the one where shit got fucked up. That life. Yeah?"

"Yes," He replied in exactly the same tone as before, eyes calm, maybe even expectant.

"And you remember?" I pressed. "You know what happened?"

"I retained what Death left behind," He stated. "Not all, but some."

"You know more than I do, though. Right?" I asked, the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears. "Not that that's a particularly high bar to jump, given I know fuck all, but remember stuff. Important stuff?"

"Important stuff," He repeated, almost sounding amused. "Yes."

I exhaled, simultaneously wanting to jump for joy, laugh and exhilaration, and lay down for a while.

This might be it, I thought. These might be the answers I've been looking for.

"Okay then," I said. "Good. That's…very, very good. Let's start with the basics then. Can you tell me your—our, my, whatever you want to call it—name?"

"No," He replied, answer calm and soft and nonetheless kind of making me want to punch him in the face.

"Why not?" I demanded, exasperated. "You remember, don't you?"

"I remember," He confirmed. "I am the only one who still does."

"Then what's the problem?"

"You told me not to tell anyone," He answered. "Not even someone who appeared to be you."

"Why—" I cut the question off before I could even finish it. The reason why was fairly obvious; if you told someone to keep something a secret, it was generally safe to assume it was because you didn't want anyone to know. In that case, there was a better question to ask. "What's so important about my name that I can't even risk telling myself, because it might not be me? I admit I'm no expert on the subject, but you're basically my soul given form, right? It took six Elementals—not to mention two hundred and forty points, a bunch of skills, and a lot of time—for me to bring you out and I'm guess that even if someone else had everything they needed to make a Light Elemental, they'd have gotten pretty different results. The way I see it, the list of people who'd have the means, motive, and opportunity to interrogate my _soul_ is probably pretty small. I'm guessing that if I told you not to tell me because I thought it was too risky, I probably had someone in mind. Who was…who _am_ I so afraid of?"

"We both know the answer to that question," He stated, laser pointer eyes even more piercing than before.

I sucked in another breath, stiffening before I could even consider not to.

" _Fuck_ ," I spat, because yeah, maybe I _was_ a little scared of that. I can't say I'd ever worried about anyone tearing my soul out and torturing it for information, but dammit, if I had known it was possible, I know who I'd worry about most. Though my secret identity probably had a fair amount of enemies, there were only a few gunning for Jaune Arc and only really one that knew enough and was _powerful_ enough that I could say I was scared of him. Not in the wary, respectful kind of way I felt towards people who deserved to be treated carefully like Raven, Cinder, and Ozpin, but who I at least _thought_ some way of dealing with, but instead in the quiet sinking way that made me suspect he could arm himself far beyond my means to resist. That he could take away the things and people I loved and I wouldn't be able to stop him.

That one motherfucker.

But…

"How?" I asked. "I mean, I got that he was scary, but this is a level of preparation that impresses even me. If you say it's something I need to worry about, I'll do so, but I need to know—what is he capable of? What am I up against? That can't be confidential because he'd already know and if I didn't…I'd be in the shitty situation I am now. My enemy's strengths and weaknesses are something I'd want to pass on, I think."

"Indeed," He replied, voices shifting a touch towards the animalistic. His words were warped slightly as a result, not as if they were being growled but as if they were being spoken by things that had very different mouths then a human. "He is the Kingdom."

"The Kingdom," I repeated before snapping my fingers and making an illusion of the uncompleted puzzle of the Sephirot. The spheres at the very top and bottom remained missing still, but I remembered what I'd read. "Yesod's profile mentioned things being given form in the Kingdom below. Is he…?"

"He is Malkuth," The Light Elemental pronounced carefully, gesturing once and causing a sphere to fade into place at the bottom of the illusion. "Just as we are Keter."

He gestured again and the sphere at the top took its place as well.

"Malkuth and Keter," I repeated, swallowing as I felt another shock go through me, like the one I'd felt when I'd first laid eyes on the names of the Sephirot. "The Kingdom and…"

"The Crown," He completed. "The First and the Last."

I looked at the completed diagram and then at the floor beneath me. I was still within the circle, I noted, but couldn't be bothered to move.

"The First and Last of what?" I asked. "What were we?"

"We are Archangels," He answered simply. "We are what we were made to be and far more."

"Archangels," I said, smiling even though I didn't think it was very funny. "I've seen enough weirdness that it's hard to be skeptical when faced with a bit more, but I'm going to assume you don't mean _literal_ Archangels—or else someone should tell God he's seriously fucked up with at least one of us. You said we were what we were _made_ to be; you mean that literally, don't you? We were made, like in a lab or something."

"A lab," He whispered as if remembering something distant. "Yes."

I took a deep breath and exhaled, nodding to myself. I couldn't say I was even vaguely surprised by that, either; I'd pretty much figured that was what happened. Evolution—and the soul equivalent—may be a blind watchmaker, but after a certain point you have to assume intelligent design.

"Yesod, Tiferet, and Givurah," I began. "Their profiles mentioned their presence in the soul, but you mentioned Keter and Malkuth. What are they?"

"They are many, many things," He answered. "But in our case, they are names. The names of the experiments that gave us life."

"And there were others?" I guessed. "Named for the other Sephirot, I'm guessing. And we're…weapons? Who made us?"

"They called themselves Angels," The Light Elemental said. "Because the power they wielded put them high above mortals."

"The power they wielded?" I asked before frowning. I tried to imagine it—a time before the Grimm, before civilization fell, before thousands and thousands of years of destruction. It was surprisingly hard, but when I imagined such a world and thought about who would rule it, an image sprang to mind. "They were Hunters?"

He considered that for a long moment, million eyes blinking in absent irregularity.

"In many ways, they are similar," He answered. "But it was a time before there was anything to Hunt."

"Right, right," I agreed, understanding. "And they called us Archangels because we were above even them?"

"No," He said. "That was simply the name we took, when we placed them beneath us."

A shiver went down my spine at the implications in that, but…I'd like to say I couldn't imagine it, but that would be a lie. Ten people with powers that were peers to my own—given time and a reason, it wasn't hard to see.

But power came in many forms—and as interesting as this was, there was one kind of power that was an immediate concern.

"Malkuth," I said. "Or whatever his real name is. What's his power?"

If the Light Elemental was surprised or put off by the sudden change in topic, he didn't show it. Instead, he simple answered.

"He is Malkuth, the Kingdom," He replied. "And it is he who makes the rules of this world."

Well, I thought. That was fucking ominous.

Also, vague as hell. Putting aside the chill of intelligent fear that swept through me, I pondered the implications and quickly decided that it could mean any number of things. Given what I knew of my enemy—of Malkuth, as I knew him now—it seemed fairly safe to assume the worst, but even that could have meant anything from a massively supped up version of Albus's Semblance to straight-up reality warping. Either way, it would no doubt be a terrifying thing to face, but I liked to know precisely how screwed I was.

And, I reminded myself firmly when that did little to assuage my fear, whatever his power was, it obviously had limits. Everything did, after all, and if he was an exception there'd be no point to playing this game of secrets and lies; if he could think hard and simply make his will truth, then logically he should have won by now.

I paused at that thought, frowning slightly as noticed the flaw in my logic.

He should have won completely, I corrected. Even if the Grimm ruled the world, he didn't have everything he wanted and couldn't just stomp all over things to take it. There had to be a reason for that.

"I need specifics," I stated, tilting my head at the Elemental. "If we're both Archangels, do our powers work similarly?"

"No," The Elemental stated. "We are different in many ways. We were made for different purposes and our paths have only diverged from there. But even so, he is still the Kingdom."

"What does that mean?" I asked. "You've mentioned that he's the Kingdom, but what _is_ the Kingdom?"

"The Kingdom is this," He replied, but instead of gesturing to indicate anything, he stood utterly still. "Everything you've ever seen, everything you've ever known, is Malkuth. The Kingdom is the physical realm."

"I thought the Sephirot were parts of the soul?" I wondered, growing increasingly worried and confused.  
The Light Elemental blinked at me once and tilted his head.

"The Sephirot are…" He paused, seeming to contemplate how to phrase it for a second. "As I said, they are many things, one of which is the forms the Light takes."

"The Light being the soul?"

"That is one of its forms," He agreed. "The Sephirot themselves are…pieces. Elements that come together to create greater things, like types of atoms and molecules. Yet they can also be seen as forms of the same thing, like the different states of matter. And of the Sephirot, Malkuth is the closest to the physical realm. You could go so far as to consider Malkuth to be the material form of the Light."

I stared at him for a long moment, silently putting the pieces together.

"That's what Malkuth Theory is," I whispered at last. "The creation of matter—except matter cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be changed. In this case, changed from the Light into Malkuth. Then we—Hunters, Conquest, the Grimm, and whatever else—pull down energy and shape it into Malkuth; into something real. A fireball, bone spikes, some kind of mind attack…they're all created through Malkuth."

"Yes," He confirmed. "That is the source of his power, which was said to rival our own. Malkuth is everything that is given shape in this world and therefore he wields power over all that is. The shifting of existing laws, the adjustment of constants, the creation of matter that interacts with the world in unique ways—all these things and more are within his power to control."

Well, fuck. If I was a game character, it looked like he was the world and the physics engine it ran on. That kind of sucked. I didn't even want to know how he could abuse a power like that.

I asked anyway.

"What can he do," I asked. "Do you remember?"

"All too well," He answered, million eyes solemn—and wow, I was already getting used to that. "You can already imagine, I'm sure. While he cannot simply ignore one's Aura, he is skill at making one's surroundings exceedingly hostile. He can increase gravity, adjust local conditions to cause phenomena to occur more easily, make reactions behave unnaturally…with direct contact, he can even cause shifts in the Strong and Weak Forces that govern the body. One of the more pleasant possible side-effects of such a thing is complete disintegration. He can even write entirely new physical laws into the world, though with far greater difficulty then his other abilities. Generally, he's limited to only one such adjustment, but that tends to be more than enough to make life unpleasant."

"How bad?" I asked, even though I was really beginning to wish for a topic change. Or at least a break to allow me time to demolish the rest of the city.

"It's hard to say," He replied. "Sadly, he rarely broadcasted the details of his rules, but several of the more memorable ones were fairly awful. One seemed to adjust how his body interacted with external forces in a way that he claimed granted him invincibility—despite a rather significant amount of effort, we were unable to disprove this. Another caused a variety of existing principles cease to function, which could do anything from disable certain abilities entirely to make survival tremendously complicated. One effect we were on the receiving end of seemed to greatly increase the output of his attacks."

"Define greatly," I asked, wishing for a chair.

"We believe it squared their power."

Good God. I didn't need the Mathematician's Answer to figure out how shitty that could be, but it helpfully informed me.

"Is there any good news?"

"His power is not infinite," He answered. "And its magnitude ensures that it is quite costly."

"Since we knew about that and still didn't win, I'm assuming there's a 'but'," I replied with a sigh.

"Though not infinite, his power is tremendous," My manifested soul agreed. "And should he not be preoccupied by the more draining uses of his power, he can adjust his surroundings to regain that power exceedingly quickly."

"He cheats," I summarized. And sure, I cheated incessantly myself, but it seemed a lot less fair when I—and the rest of the world, of course—was on the receiving end.

"Relentlessly."

I took a deep breath and wiped my hands on my pants, giving the reality of…of _this_ a moment to sink in.

"That's pretty bad news," I noted calmly, lifting my gaze. "But you said we were peers. I fought him, somehow, and I may have died, but I'm betting I didn't die easily. I managed to do _something_ to him or else he'd be ruling the world right now and I'd probably be dead again. He's got access to the source code of the Universe—what do I have? Or rather, what do I have that I don't know about?"

He didn't answer and surprisingly, that made me smile.

"Can't say, huh?" I guessed before nodding slowly to myself. "That's…that's good. Because that means I have _something_ —something big enough that I don't want him to know. Something that could or did stop him? Or something else?"

Despite having several million things that could have possibly given him away, the Light Elemental didn't so much as twitch. He had a damn good poker face—and that was coming from a guy who wore an illusionary face that only showed what I wanted it to.

"Okay, then," I continued. "Changing topic. You told me about Malkuth—but what about Keter? What's the Crown do? If the Kingdom is the material form of the Light…what am I, the pure form?"

At that, there was a response and the eyes shifted back to me.

"Just as the crown is worn above the head, so too is the Crown above the mind's ability to comprehend," He began. "We are something that should not exist in this world, not as we are. Keter is the highest sphere and the one closest to the light, but not it's pure form."

I frowned, pondering that before nodding.

"What would happen if I managed to draw straight from the tap?" I asked.

"You already have," He answered dryly, ignoring my surprised look. "As has your oldest sister and many others."

"Bianca?" I repeated, eyebrows furrowing. It wasn't hard to see the light there, but I had no idea what that implied.

"Your oldest sister draws upon the light without shaping it," He said. "And yet, in refusing to change it, she turns the infinite light of creation into a force incapable of anything but destruction. The Light is not weakened by being given shape anymore then a canvas is ruined by the touch of paint."

I nodded once, understanding. There was a fair bit to be said for destructive power, but there was a lot to be said for other things to. I saw his point.

"And me?" I asked. "I assume you're talking about Lux Aeterna."

"You draw upon the Light in a similar but different way. Instead of wielding that power unchanged, you return power to its original state—into undivided light. If she pulls power down, you drag it back up." He confirmed. "You could think of it this way. Your lights are composed of the same material, but hers is exothermic and yours is endothermic."

"Good to know," I mused, honestly interested in this subject even beyond probability of death if I failed to figure things out. "Then Bianca…she doesn't have any of the Sephirot? If her light is unshaped…"

"Everyone possesses at least some of the Sephirot within their souls," He answered. "Just as humans possess Carbon and Hydrogen within their bodies. The shape their power is given, their 'Semblances,' depend on the composition and quality of their souls. In your sister's case, her soul is primarily composed of Malkuth, followed by Gevurah, Hod, Binah, and trace elements of the other Sephirot. Even if the nature power she pulls from above is left relatively unaffected by the transition, it must still be expressed in the physical world and released upon it."

I nodded again, this time a bit more slowly. So basically, I was looking at a periodic table for the soul. But then…

"What about me?" I asked him. "What am I made of? And…how was I made?"

 **XxXXxX**


	14. Chapter 14

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Selfhood**

"We were given the name Keter because of its presence within us," He answered. "Similarly, Malkuth was given that name because the core of his soul was composed _of_ Malkuth."

"The core of it," I repeated. "But not the whole?"

"No soul is composed of entirely of one Sephirot," He answered. "If they were, they would be powerless. Souls draw their power from the light above the Sephirot and shape it into useful forms as it passes through the spheres. The Light enters the Sephirot through Keter and is given form in the physical world by Malkuth, but the spheres in-between define what that form will be."

"So everyone has at least Keter and Malkuth in them?" I asked. "Because you need Keter to take in the Light and Malkuth to output it."

"Yes," He confirmed. "Keter and Malkuth serve a number of purposes upon the Tree of Life, but one of the most important is as the start and end points of the process."

I nodded to show I understood but then tilted my head to the side.

"But if everyone contains Keter within them, what's the big deal?" I asked. "Why does it matter if it's inside of us, too?"

I got the feeling my Light Elemental would have smiled if it wasn't aware of how creepy it would have been.

"Because Keter is special," He replied. "As the first and highest of the Sephirot, it is also the one most distant from this world. Though all the spheres have a multitude of purposes, Keter's has few within this realm and therefore its presence is rare. All living souls have a measure of Keter within them to connect them to the Light, but they contain it in drops or even atoms. We do not. Instead, a large portion of our soul is composed of Keter."

"So we have a lot more than usual," I said. "Okay, makes sense. How much more?"

"At least a few millions times that of a normal person," He stated. "Probably billions."

I whistled slightly.

"A _lot_ more than usual," I mused. "What's that do? That is, what are the properties of Keter? Do you know, if it's as rare as you say?"

"Discovering and examining the exact properties of the Sephirot was one of the main reasons of our creation," My Light Elemental answered. "Keter especially they wanted to examine in large quantities. It is…a complex thing, but you know of its most basic effects well. When we are hurt, Light flows down the tree and mends our wounds in an instant. When our power runs low, we draw down more from above. All Angels—all Hunters—do so, but you've no doubt noticed that we are particularly capable in that regard. In addition, the nature of the Crown expresses itself in…a peculiar way."

"The Gamer's Mind and the Gamer's Body," I guessed. "I never learned those powers—I just had them. Before I even awakened my Aura."

"The…" He paused for a moment, seeming to look for the word. " _Skin_ of your soul and how it is expressed is something unique—to you and to everyone. It's because of who you are as a person and the situations you found yourself in that your soul expressed itself through the medium of a game. Before, our power manifested in a different way. But…yes. As I said before, the crown is worn above the head and we are beyond influences to our minds. More than that, our body itself is almost divorced from this world; our existence itself is defined by our power. As Malkuth governs the world, we govern ourselves."

"I see," I mused. Thinking about it, that might even explain how my Semblance awakened before my Aura and a number of other things. "It's because of Keter that I'm able to exist as a game character, then. But if stuff like that's the result of a large amount of Keter within one's soul, are there other people like me?"

"No," He answered immediately. "Keter does not occur in such large quantities naturally—not in the physical world, at least."

"Then how did my creator's make me?" I asked, frowning. I could think of a fair amount of possibilities that I hoped weren't true. Hell, I could think of things I hoped weren't _possible_. "Did they find a way to make Keter artificially?"

"No," He stated, multifold tone growing solemn. "They simply took it from where it already existed."

Shit, I thought, closing my eyes. I couldn't say I was surprised and yet…I'd truly hoped that wasn't the case. That was…

"How many?" I whispered. "How many souls did it take to create…us?"

"I already told you," He replied. "Millions. Probably billions."

I swore.

"How is that even possible?" I demanded. Honestly, it was hard for me to even imagine— _billions_ of people. Currently, Remnant was home to only _millions_. Even behold the horrible magnitude of the crime, the mere thought of there _being_ billions was mindboggling.

"It was fairly simple," He answered calmly, though there was an edge to the words. "At its height, this world was home to billions and billions. The Angels ruled over the mortals in all things and it was simply a matter of collecting them as they died. Over many generations, the souls of billions of mortals were collected and broken down into their component pieces for the sake of experimentation."

"Billions of souls," I repeated, honestly disbelieving. "Entire generations worth of souls, torn apart. That's…that's like organ donning would be like if it was run by the devil."

He smiled.

"They called themselves Angels, but make no mistake," He told me. "Anyone can call themselves Angels or Gods if they have enough power. But if they were anything, they were Demons."

I closed my eyes again, still trying to wrap my head around the idea of billions of souls. Collected and devoured like a harvest to make someone like me.

And someone like Malkuth. God, a billion had been sacrificed to make _that_ asshole? I wasn't sure if that was ironic; to me, it just felt horrible. They'd torn apart billions to create something that would slaughter even more.

"What about us?" I asked. "If the Angels were Demons, what were we Archangels?"

He was silent for another long moment before speaking.

"The Demon Emperors," He answered. "We were the Kings of Hell."

I took a long, shuddering breath and met his eyes. The ones on his face, I mean.

"Tell me," I said. "Tell me the whole story. My whole story."

He nodded, inclining his head slightly without moving another muscle.

"As I said before, one of the reasons for our creation was to uncover the mysteries of the soul," He began. "Even before our birth, they'd pushed the limits of what was thought to be possible. The world belonged to Humanity, then—or to a portion of it, at least. It was ruled by the Angels and had been for thousands of years and in that type they'd sought to raise themselves up higher and higher, until they found they couldn't go any further. So they turned to the matter of the soul, the source of their own strength, and sought to understand it and grow their power even further."

"Not ones to except their limits, huh?" I wondered. "I'd respect that, if not for the whole mass murder thing."

This time, he did smile—and it was creepy as hell, since he did it with several thousand mouths. Even a few eyes curved before he caught himself.

"We once heard an Angel say something that stuck with us—'It is said that some things that are impossible. That there are places even Angels fear to tread. Never believe that. Never accept it. We are the _god's_ of this world.'" He replied, voices adjusting to mimic some remembered tone a million fold. "No, they weren't one's for limits of any kind and with no one to oppose them, there were few limits to their behavior. But even so, it's hard to deny what they built upon the backs of atrocities; a millennia-old empire with its boot on the throat of the world and wonders that filled the earth and sea and sky."

I nodded once and I saw him pause in response, waiting for something.

For me, I realized—and with it came the thought that I did have something I wanted to say.

"I won't forget what they did," I promised. "Can I…can I call you Keter? Since I don't remember our real name and a lot of people died to give us this one."

He nodded once, calmly accepting the choice.

"Very well," Keter said. "After they had collected enough raw material to begin experimenting, they quickly found out how little they had known. Each of the Sephirot has a number of properties, especially when matched with one another, and their desire to uncover these properties eventually led to our creation. They soon discovered that significant masses of the Sephirot would react to one another in different ways—you've seen the tree of life, the diagram of the spheres, and it governs how part of the soul connect to one another. Keter, for example, can connect to Binah, Chokhmah, and Tiferet. Tiferet connects to all things but Malkuth, which itself connects only to Yesod, and so on. The Light can take several paths through the soul and depending not only upon the path but also the quantity of the different spheres upon, that Light can be changed. Different spheres in connection display different properties, you see, and the amount of a given Sephirot colors that relationship. On a macro scale, these interactions were more obvious and the Angels began to understand precisely how souls worked. And after decades of study and research, they began to create souls of their own."

"Us?" I asked. "Or were there others that came before us?"

"There were others," He answered. "They created a host of Angels before us, whether through clone or genetic engineering, and then they modified them accordingly. Minor adjustments could be made to the living, as well, especially during early childhood, and raw material was plentiful thanks to the unwilling contributions of mortals. They spent many years creating souls, experimenting with the possibilities and results, and eventually found that they could control the resulting Semblances to some extent. Angels were born with powers suited to whatever task was decided for them and the upper class ruled their fellows. With countless powers directed towards advancing their civilization, even the firmest of their limitations began to fray and snap."

"But then they found new ones," I said. "Didn't they?"

"Of course," He replied. "No matter how far you go, there will always be something new to overcome. They'd made legions and raised them from birth to fulfill their roles, but there was always something new beyond each obstacle and it meant years of experimentation, adjustment, and indoctrination to obtain the power they needed to advance. They eventually decided they needed something better, a force of endless power that they could direct and control, and began work. After so many years unopposed, after generations of success, they thought they'd be able to make us obey—that they could raise us and teach us from the day we were born until did as we were told, or at least control us with the broad array of powers they'd already made. In case it needs to be stated, they were wrong."

And the entire world ended up paying for it, I thought as I leaned forward and listened. It didn't escape me that I was about to learn what thousands of historians had sought in vein—the reason the world was called Remnant.

The reason Humanity had spent thousands of years hiding away from the rulers of the world.

"From the moment we were born, we were special," Keter began. "We were as powerful as you might expect, given our origins. It manifested in different ways, at first, but it was easy to see that we all stood out. We were raised separately at first, but when they realized our powers would work best together they brought us together and had us trained as a team. What they didn't realize was that it didn't matter by that point—they didn't understand what they were dealing with. Their attempts to indoctrinate and enthrall us were failed from the beginning, though we played along. We all grew quickly, but you and I especially learned fast, and though our powers differed somewhat, we took similar paths. Intelligence and Wisdom…our growth wasn't quite as clearly labeled beforehand, but our eyes opened quickly and we figured out what was happening around us. In the end, it was merely a matter of communicating, whether through displaced sounds or hacked electronics. By the time they brought us together, we were already working together. Even so, we waited."

I lifted an eyebrow and he give another myriad smile.

"They wished to make us stronger," He said in response to the unspoken question. "Who were we to deny them, so long as they did precisely what we wished? It wasn't just our powers that differed, after all, but also our situations—at the time, there were no Grimm, nor any monsters dominating the planet. The Angels had ruthlessly quashed all opposition to their reign, as well. Though you were able to grow in power by destroying Malkuth's creations, we were forced to take a slower path of growth. I admit, I do wonder somewhat if part of the way our power now behaves is in response to our defeat. You draw power from victory, develop your skills quickly, and grow at an enormous pace, almost as if to prepare. If it's the mind and the soul together that make a Semblance, perhaps we simply knew we needed to prepare."

I looked down, pondering that, but a question nagged at me and made me look back at him.

"What was my power last time?" I asked. "What was I capable of before? You said the results were similar in some ways…is there something I should be aware of? A weakness Malkuth exploited?"

He pondered that for a moment before answering.

"The power of Keter does not lend itself easily to explanation," He replied. "But to put it simply, where you are a game character, before we were the main character of a living story. We would draw in those around us and, to an extent, weave our own paths. We could not devour books as you do now, but we could find people and give them roles relative to ourselves—a mentor or a tutor, whose role was to pass on knowledge. And then we could learn from them with miraculous speed, like a character in a story facing a deadline. We could give those around us roles as well, both of allies and enemies, enhancing their abilities in some ways and redefining our position relative to them. I could develop abilities of my own by weaving them into my narrative, if I knew enough about how they worked, and we could adjust things around us in minor ways. I was the main character of my story and I defined the world around me accordingly."

"How much stronger was I?" I asked.

"It is hard to say," He said and from the sound of his many voices, I imagined he was a bit confused on that himself. "Far more powerful then you are now, but by how much varied greatly. Your current power has the advantage of consistency—it provides hard numbers that allow you to calculate precisely how powerful you currently are. Provided you have the power and are able to apply your skills to the situation your power is defined, though it increases quickly. Before, our power depended greatly on how we define roles beforehand and could vary depending on anything from location to opponent. If I decided I was the 'hero' defending a defined location, I could be several times stronger while fighting to protect it. If someone I'd defined as a 'friend' or 'lover' was injured in front of me or if I was trying to slay my 'archenemy', it could increase then as well. While my base power was defined, my upper limit could vary greatly depending upon how I set up a situation and the details were defined in narrative terms, rather than mathematical ones. I will say, however, that I was likely the strongest I'd ever been when I fought Malkuth for the last time."

"The how did he win?" I asked.

"With sheer, overwhelming power," Keter answered. "In theory, Keter is above Malkuth…but reality is never quite that simple. Again, Keter is the furthest from Malkuth, from reality as you know it—and though there are things we are capable of that are simply beyond him, so long as the battle takes place in the physical world, the lord of the physical can be presumed to have the advantage. His might in this world is something that is, if not impossible, exceptionally difficult to oppose directly."

I nodded, considering that.

"If he rules _this_ world," I began slowly. "What about worlds beyond it? Worlds that aren't physical? Malkuth is the lowest of the Spherot, but what about the ones above it? Even if it's not a world where _we_ hold all the cards, I'd settle for shutting down his physics fuckery. Could I beat him there? Lock him up, maybe?"

"The thought has occurred," Keter answered. "Though the details are, unfortunately, more complex than one might hope. It is not a simple matter of stepping into a higher plane and doing battle—Malkuth is where the Light is given form, where the thoughts and actions defined above are made real. Above Malkuth, many of the things you know do not exist or have no real meaning. If you go high enough, interacting with things at _all_ could be difficult or impossible. Even beyond that, how our powers would work in such a place—to say nothing of _his_ —is difficult to predict. All of the Archangels are mixtures of the Sephirot, whatever our names might be, and we exist as defined by Malkuth. Even you and I, Keter, were made and given form in this world and all of our powers are defined by that. Beyond it…"

He twitched a pair of wings in what I took to be a shrug.

And yet…I noticed he didn't say 'no.' If he'd wanted to do so, I imagined there were easier ways to say 'it doesn't work like that,' but he didn't. Almost like he was dancing around something—perhaps something he _couldn't_ tell me.

On the other hand, I doubted he'd say anything without purpose. What he said was logical, after all, and something to take into account. It was possible, even likely, that I'd have thought of such a simple solution—and wow, I'd just called travelling beyond known reality 'simple,' which said a lot about how difficult _fighting_ Malkuth was beginning to seem—in my past life. Maybe I'd tried to fight him on a higher plane or lock him away. Maybe that was why he wasn't free to come down here and hand me my ass.

If so, it didn't change the fact that whatever I'd tried before, I'd ended up dead—and, perhaps more importantly, it hadn't worked, at least not completely. Whether I'd locked him in a box or shoved him into a pocket dimension, the fact remained that he was still alive and still causing trouble. His creations, the Grimm, remained and he remained capable of commanding, creating, and empowering them. From what I knew now, it seemed that Malkuth's aforementioned physics fuckery was the source of a lot of the Grimm's powers and how many of them could _exist_ , and he was obviously able to keep supporting them to _some_ extent.

Whatever had happened, I'd died, he'd lived, and everything had gone to hell as a result. Human civilization had been shattered and mankind had been hunted across Remnant for thousands upon thousands of years. Countless nations, countless _people_ , had lived and died in fear of the Grimm and there was no sign of that changing. Even if I was growing stronger all the time, I was depressingly aware that if he said a word and mobilized the Grimm, he could wipe the Kingdoms off the map. I could fight to defend them, but only one city at a time, and even then…if I stood guard over Mistral and went all out, releasing Lux Aeternas, Gungnirs, and the full power of Bai Hu's arts, if I pushed myself to the utter limit and pulled out all the stops, I could kill millions of Grimm. I could maybe even, over a long enough time frame and as the battle wore on and on, kill _billions_.

But nobody _in_ Mistral was going to thank me for it. I would know—I'd fucking _erased_ this city enough times to know precisely how long it would hold out if I was forced to fight and the answer was 'not very.' And because I had over two hundred and fifty points of Wisdom, I was smart enough to know that if you kill everyone you're trying to protect in the process of trying to protect them, then you're a dumbass _and_ a failure.

Whatever I'd done to stop him, hadn't stopped him. Not enough to satisfy me or any of the countless people he's killed. A more effective—and preferably _permanent_ solution was required—and I could only think of one.

Now if only I could figure out how to actually do it.

"Sorry," I said after a moment, sighing loudly. "I interrupted your story. We'd gotten together and pulled the wool over the Angel's eyes; what then?"

"We waited and we planned until we were strong enough," He continued. "We played along with their requests and did as we were told. They arranged a number of experiments to test our loyalties, but when you're capable of learning of such plans easily, there is little to fear. We past every test they set before us until they were certain they had us under control. Then, we finished our preparations, brutally murdered all of them, and took control."

"Define 'took control.'"

"We conquered the world," Keter said. "It was fairly simple, in fact. By that time, we were over twenty years of age and had come into our power. As our betrayal was unexpected and our preparations thorough, we'd killed a significant number of our enemies before they even realized what was happening. They'd been more successful with their experiments before us and the vast majority of them had remained loyal, but the same measures they'd used to ensure they were never betrayed worked against them. We divided them, turned them against one another, remained hidden, and then struck. In later years, it would be called the War in Heaven, but for such a grand title, it wasn't a particularly difficult battle. They'd sought to make beings of unparalleled power, after all, and they'd succeeded."

"What then?" I asked. "Did Malkuth betray us?"

"No," Keter answered, voices becoming more human. Several even sounded sad. "Not then, at least. Not for a very long time. We ruled as one—the ten Archangels. We stepped into the void the Angels had left behind and set out to fix the mistakes of our creators. It was simple enough when you had power like ours and working together, we could create miracles as easily as breathing. After generations of the Angels tyranny, the people rejoiced and we'd long known our origin. Our souls had come from people like them, billions of people that had died and worse than died for our maker's experiments. Seeing everything and reigning above it all, it seemed only fitting to help them now. We made new Angels, raising up the kind and hardworking and noble, and we used our power to make things better. It took time, but we ended disease, hunger, and so many other things."

"Were you trying to make a utopia?" I wondered, honestly curious. I knew, after all, that this story ended badly, I just wasn't sure how yet.

"What's a utopia?" He asked. "Try to define it. And then, try to make everyone _agree_ to that definition. Making a perfect world is, I think, impossible—and it was never our intention to try. We simply wanted to make things better. Having seen how people suffered, we simply wished to end it. No more, no less. The results were not perfect, but only a fool would consider an inability to obtain perfection a reason to do nothing."

"Then what happened?" I asked him. "What went wrong?"

"Time," He said. "For all things change in time. And we ruled for a thousand years."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Time Limit**

"A…" I began before trailing off, blinking rapidly. "A thousand _years_? Literally?"

"Yes," Keter confirmed without so much as a change in his tone. "One thousand thirty-nine years, to be exact."

"Then I…I'm?" I asked lamely, thrown off kilter yet again. It took only a moment for the Gamer's Mind kicked in and grounded me, but even then, the mere idea of it…of what it implied.

"Yes," Keter said again in the exact same way. "While I cannot confirm that we are immune to the rigors of time, having lived only slightly more than a thousand years, in that time we did not age past our prime. As near as we could determine, we will not die of natural cause—and certainly, despite the circumstances surround his situation, Malkuth is still alive."

"The other Archangels were immortal too, then?" I asked.

"Immortal?" He mused, looking back at me as he pondered the question. "No—we all can die. But time alone could not bring us to our ends. Our power was enough to sustain us through the ages."

I looked down at the floor and thought about it logically, pushing everything else aside. I suppose it wasn't too hard to believe. Hunters, on the off chance that nothing killed them, were known to live long lives. My grandmother had been old enough to fight in the War eighty years ago—hell, she'd been old enough to meet my great-great- _grandfather_ —and Ozpin was older than her by at least a fair bit. And while my grandmother looked like she was in her fifties or sixties, Ozpin looked like he was in his late-thirties at _most_. My mother and father, Raven, and several of the teachers I'd seen here at Haven…longevity was an accepted fact amongst Hunters. If we Archangels had the power we seemed to, living a few thousand years wasn't that odd. If the healing abilities all Hunters possessed grew strong enough…I could buy it.

But that didn't make it any easier to imagine. In a technical sense, I wasn't even seventeen years old yet, and even taking into account all of my Acceleration, I was eighteen or so at most. A few more weeks would change that, but still; even if I was twenty years old, that was _nothing_ compared to a thousand years. That was a truly enormous amount of time by the standards of any normal human—and, if anything, even more so from mine. Some people my age probably have at least a rough idea of the future or at least where they wanted to be in a year. Most of my class probably just wanted to make it through the school year and become sophomores while the older students like Albus and Finn wanted to graduate and become Hunters. Those were vague plans and rough ideas at most, but they were still _plans_.

But me? Truthfully, if someone asked me where I wanted to be a year from now, the only real answer would be 'alive.' My current plans didn't go much past the next four or five months and they mainly revolved around watching my enemies, making sure they didn't ruin my life, and training like a motherfucker day and night. Eventually, I wanted to defeat Malkuth , preferably without dying in the process. Assuming I somehow managed _that_ miracle—succeeding where my past life had failed with a _thousand fucking years_ behind him—I guess I'd need to clean up the Grimm. Ideally, they'd all spontaneously die the moment Malkuth fell, but realistically, that was probably too much to hope for. Really, I'd be happy if the lack of his backing crippled the larger monsters and got rid of the guiding force behind them all. If it did, that should cripple the most dangerous beasts and the ones that could create more Grimm. There'd still be the matter of dealing with the countless monstrosities that already exist, but it should be enough to allow progress to be made. If I flew around regularly, wiping the Grimm out where I found them, that might be enough for Humanity to begin climbing out of the hole we'd been stuck in for God knows how long. That might take as long as…ten? Twenty years? Then mankind could start to begin expanding.

And then…I'd have the rest of my life ahead of me. Which, assuming I somehow managed to get that far, might be a thousand years. Ten thousand? A million? It was possible that Keter was right and time alone would never kill me. I could be here in a billion years, maybe. With my resistance to injury, the fact that I didn't need any sustenance, and my ever growing power…assuming I defeated Malkuth, it could happen. I might be able to live forever.

I looked back on how far I'd come in the last seven months of my life and then thought about where I'd be after a few thousand, a few million.

Good God. I had no idea how I was even _supposed_ to feel about that. What would I be like in a thousand years? What would the _world_ be like? In all honesty, I expected things to get worse before they got better. If I did something wrong and Malkuth reacted, he could wipe a Kingdom or two off the map without a problem. When we fought, and I knew that it'd come to a fight eventually, he might be able to drag a few down in his death throes. Assuming he did enough, civilization as I knew it could collapse and need to be rebuilt from scratch. Even if I managed to keep the number of casualties low, this was so… _big_ , I had no idea what would be left in its wake.

Unless I lost, in which case…well, things would get worse, sure. Them getting _better_ , however, was somewhat unlikely. I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it because I had no way of predicting what would happen, much less doing anything about it, but it was possible a lot of the people close to me could die in the process of taking Malkuth down. Even those who didn't fight beside me would fight to protect innocent lives and against what they'd have to face? I liked to hope for the best, but I doubted we'd all make it out of that unscathed. And even if we did…my friends were long-lived, but they weren't eternal. I might be able to do something about that and sustain them through the ages, but even most healing techniques didn't affect age. I could do a lot, but I wasn't sure I could regrow a person's brain once all the cells inside it died—or rather, I wasn't sure what would happen even if I did. If I filled their heads with new brain cells, would they still remember their lives, or would they truly be new? What role did the soul play on the memory?

It was too risky to test. I'd need to transfer their minds to some kind of external storage or preserve their brains somehow. I could turn them into cyborgs, maybe, or—now that I knew it was possible—extract their souls and bind them to new bodies somehow. I—

Good God, was I really thinking about this? Would they even _want_ to live forever?

Hell, did _I_ want to live forever? I wasn't sure. I didn't want to die or slowly rot away, but did I want to live only to watch everything _else_ do so? Everyone I loved, gone. Everything I knew, literally history. I liked watching my power grow and experimenting with it—liked it enough that I could content myself with spending weeks alone doing nothing else. But I didn't consider that the same as being alone—the who cared about me in turn did so regardless of how far apart we were and they'd be there. I knew I cared about them in turn and would fight to protect them at any time, so I wasn't truly alone. But when all of those people were dead and gone…would my power alone be enough? What would I do then?

The question honestly worried me, because it led to a realization—'whatever I wanted.' The way my power grew, if I wasn't the strongest person in the world by then, I'd be shocked. I'd have the power to do whatever I wished and I had no idea what I'd wish for. Ten years ago, I was basically a different person; a hundred years from now, I could only image who I'd be. And while I trusted myself, apparently I'd done this song and dance before and it had ended badly. If it happened again, after I defeated Malkuth, there'd really be no stopping me.

I looked at myself, turning my senses inward. In some ways, my life was a game—but in others, it wasn't. In a game, the main character could defeat the villain and the story would end no matter what had been lost or changed over the course of the story. In reality, though, after you save the world…you still have to live in it.

"You're worried," Keter noted. "About life."

"Well, yeah," I replied, switching my perspective to focus back on him. "Who wouldn't be after what you just said?"

"Only a fool would be unconcerned," He answered. "However, you concern yourself with the wrong things because of your perspective."

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You fear watching things rot and fade," He said. "You worry that, in time, life itself will become a burden. We worried about the same thing, before."

"And?"

He gave me another million smiles.

"You are young," He told me.

"Technically, we're the same age," I pointed out but didn't deny it. It was true, after all. "What is it like? Living forever."

The Light Elemental seemed to take a few minutes to consider that before answering, probably trying to put it into words.

"Its life," He answered. "The same as any other, yet made more by its length. Days pass as they normally do and seconds feel the same even after a hundred years. There are tragedies, of course, as there are in any lifetime—the pain of loss and departure, stretched out to encompass more lives. There are bad days and sad days and days that seem to wear on far longer than they have any right to. Some days—some weeks, some months, some years—hurt. And yet, it's worth living. Life, you see, however long or short it might be, is something amazing. With a larger share of time you'll have more of the bad then most, but also more of the good—more than you could imagine having, in time. You fear the future will be horrible and dull, that life to grow slow and tiresome, and perhaps that will eventually be the case. But you shall find that there are more wonders in the Universe than can be lived in ten thousand thousand lifetimes."

"What should I be afraid of, then?" I asked.

"Of something greater than mere darkness," He replied. "For it is not the darkness of life that will drag you down. Darkness, in and of itself, is only the absence of light—and it has only the power you give it. It can hide and deceive and color things darkly, but it can vanish in an instant the moment you find something to light your way. The true danger if one that is far more perilous; that you shall instead be blinded by that light."

"What do you mean?" I wondered, furrowing my eyebrows. "What happened?"

He was quite for a long moment before speaking.

"If a life long enough to experience and explore the wonders of the world is the greatest blessing," He mused at last. "Then to have that lifetime squandered endlessly rolling a stone up a hill must itself be the greatest punishment."

"What do you mean?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Just as the passage of decades and centuries does little to make minutes go by faster, a thousand years spent tolerating something makes it no less tedious," Keter said. "In the beginning, we—the Archangels—vowed to protect the people that the Angels had trod upon so mercilessly. We healed the sick, raised cities across the globe, and built up the peoples of the earth. We made new Angels, raising up the wise and kind and worthy to shepherd and protect their fellows, and made a new age. And then, we promised ourselves we would be better than those who came before us, look over and protect them rather than reign over them as gods."

"And?" I asked. "What ruined it all?"

"Human nature," He answered, smiling again. "Theirs and ours. It began simply enough and though we saw it coming, it seemed to be no real issue. We'd yet to realize the extents of our own longevity, so we failed to account for it in our plans."

He chuckled.

"We were ignorant of many things, back then," He said fondly. "For all our power, for as much as we had learned, we'd been raised in a lab with only each other and our creators for company. We had the power to reshape the world, but no real idea of what the world was really like, much less the wonders it contained. Even as we tore down the twisted rule of the Angels, we were left in awe by what we saw, from such simple things as animals and other people to the wonders of science our makers had achieved. The world was a massive, miraculous thing to us, the Universe a frontier that even millennia of work on the Angels parts had only scratched the surface of. Even as we cast them power, we inherited their legacy and their achievements both—and even as we worked to make up for the former, we found ourselves drawn to the later. Perhaps it was inevitable when we'd spent our entire lives in labs and with scientists, but we were curious and there were mysteries to pursue. Though we swore to avoid crossing some of the lines they had, there were other fields and we were suddenly free to pursue them."

"What did you do?" I wondered, honestly curious myself. I was pretty sure I'd have done the safe if I could. Hell, I'd have likely continued that research simply _because_ I could—that was why I did lots of stuff, after all. I was just interested in how far they'd gotten.

"Everything we could, within the limits we'd established," He answered, tone almost wistful. "We learned how to create fields of altered time—how to sever an instant from its surrounding moments and hold it in place and how to twist a stream such that it looped back upon itself. We created devices that could bend space, connecting two points without touching anything in-between. We studied matter until we could remake it into entirely different forms, forms that shouldn't have been able to even _exist_ in this reality, and then we reached out to grasp at _new_ realities. We created _worlds_ , just like this one, but we could maintain it as a separate thing, multiplying resources to advance our works. We pushed the boundaries of what could be believed and with the ten of us working in concert, we flew past them. We had dreams to pursue and we never wanted to stop. If things had stayed the same…I think we could have chased the mysteries of this world until time itself died. And if, in the end, the stars themselves had started to flicker out around us…we'd just have made new ones."

"But things _had_ changed," I noted. "Because of human nature, you said. Was this what you meant? You wanted to pursue your dreams and it led you astray?"

"In a way," Keter replied. "Though not the way you're thinking. We are human at our core, after all—people, whatever our power. We had wants and desires, dreams and ambitions, and hopes for the future, just like everyone else. Just like them."

"Just like them?" I repeated. "Everyone else you mean—the people you'd saved."

"Yes."

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly, confused.

"Did they try to do something?" I asked doubtfully. Not so much because I couldn't imagine anyone trying, but because I couldn't imagine them coming anywhere close to succeeding. If some group had tried to oppose the Archangels, odds were they'd have been subdued and dealt with trivially—and while it wouldn't be wise to underestimate the forces of stupidity, I sincerely doubted that all that many people would have even _thought_ about trying. It was difficult to imagine such an attempt being the breaking point, because the actions of the suicidally stupid did nothing but prove that some people stupid to the point of being suicidal.

"Nothing worth the mentioning," He answered. "And perhaps that was part of the problem. We made a choice to aid them and that choice bound us to them. Unlike the tyrants that came before us, we gave the people voices and what those voices said was…fairly uninteresting. In truth, ruling the world is fairly dull—not difficult, at least not for us, but certainly tedious. There were, of course, meetings to discuss various events, the long process of creating and establishing laws, various aspects of the economy that needed to be dealt with, votes and polls, and all the other matters of state writ large."

"Paperwork?" I asked, with a smile.

"Don't be ridiculous," He chided. "You know full well that it would take a truly exorbitant amount of paperwork to give us even a moment's difficulty, and even then it would only take a small amount of attention. Paperwork, at the end of the day, is simple. People, however, are something else entirely."

"Ah," I said, understanding beginning to dawn. Suddenly, I was pretty sure I knew where this was going. In truth…I often had this problem myself.

People took time. It was as simple as that. He was right—I could Accelerate and use Psychokinesis to do a mountain of paperwork in seconds. When it came to dealing with the sick and injured, I could mend a thousand men in a single pass. I could memories books with a quick flip through, raise buildings in moments, run from here to Vacuo on pure speed, grow fields, level mountains, and light up the night with fire and lightning. I could probably even do all of that at the same time, if I needed to. My power was such that a lot of things were quick and easy for me.

But dealing with people was something of an exception. I couldn't use Acceleration to make a conversation go faster—or, at least, not both sides of it. I could talk to a bunch of people at the same time, maybe, but I'd have to do it at their speed. I might be able to scare people away or make them believe in things that weren't there, but if I wanted to talk to someone for real, I'd have to do it the same way as everyone else. If I wanted to listen to them, empathize with them, or convince them of something verbally, I'd need to do it slowly.

Which was why, by and large, I didn't bother. I made exceptions for my family and friends—and, in some cases, my enemies—because they were important to me, but otherwise I just…didn't really care. Sure, I could probably go hang out at the movies with some of my friends, though I'd need to make some that did that kind of thing. I could play video games again, pick up sports, or whatever else.

Or, you know, I could just spend another night in Naraka gaining some more _superpowers_. In my eyes, it wasn't a very hard choice to make, but then, I was of the opinion that learning to shoot city-leveling laser beams out of my hands was its own reward.

"You begin to understand. On a scale of billions, such things become…lengthy," He said. "Time-consuming. People took time and they were…boring. There were always exceptions, of course, but by and large, they were simply uninteresting compared to what you were doing. When you have the option of seizing the fires of creation, creating worlds, ventured beyond known reality, and twisted time and space, the notion of spending an afternoon adjusting the minutia of taxation in a given are becomes rather unappealing. Especially when one's desire to do such a thing in the first place is effectively nonexistent. As we learned more about the world and the power at our finger tips, interactions with the outside world began to look more and more like interruptions. Annoyances."

"So you pulled away," I guessed.

"While people remain difficult to deal with, they do become fairly easy to ignore," Keter agreed. "We'd always intended to leave the world we'd created in the hands of others, after all, we'd just expected to do so when we died. Things changed when we ceased to age, but delegating minor tasks is only natural. Certainly, whoever we chose to do the job would have far lesser means at their disposal, but nothing is perfect and people need to be able to rely on their own power at times. We told ourselves that as the days seemed to grow progressively more and more wasteful, until we'd all but drawn away completely. We remained on hand to be contacted in case of emergencies, but after decades of work on our part, it seemed only reasonable that we be free to pursue our own ends."

I let that sink in for a moment before speaking.

"How badly did things change, without you there?" I asked quietly.

"I don't recall," Keter replied. "In part because many of the memories are no longer there…and in part because I simply didn't care. At first, I don't think things were too bad; people clashed as they always do, there were occasional upheavals and economic troubles, but the system we'd made wasn't so weak as to collapse after only a few decades."

"What about a few centuries?" I asked.

He smiled again and there might have been a bit of sadness in his voice when he next spoke.

"Things got worse over time, naturally," He answered. "Eventually, the distribution of power became unbalanced and some areas exerted that power over others. Things came apart, at times, and there were conflicts, even the occasional war. Nothing constant or even particularly bad, historically speaking, but enough to seem commonplace if you live through them all. We were called upon for emergencies and usually a show of power would tide things over for a decade or two, leaving us free to go back to our work. Sometimes, we'd judge a problem as unworthy of our attention and dismiss it and other times they wouldn't bother calling for some reason or another but things held. Political leaders might change places quickly and some laws could be met with outrage, but the system lived on and so did the people. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for a while."

"But that changed, didn't it?" I said. "Do you know when?"

'Did you even care when it did?' went unsaid but not unheard.

"No," He admitted. "I don't remember and I suppose that says enough. It was never their fault, not really—in the end, it was a simply matter of growing apathy. The earliest thing I remember was a…project we were working on, when we were about four hundred years old. It had been a long time in the making and it had been a frustrating few years, both because of our repeated lack of success and because of the number of times we'd been called away to help. It had been a hard year for the people, too, or so I gathered; some group had been on the rise and causing repeated trouble. I don't remember who they were or what they planned, if I ever bothered finding out; it hadn't mattered at the time because we'd made a breakthrough and simply hadn't meant anything after the fact."

"What was the experiment?" I wondered.

"A hundred kilograms of matter and antimatter, brought together within a sphere of slowed time," He replied. "All of it self-maintained. A fraction of the explosion would bleed through the sphere every second and would be absorbed by the supporting machinery to be transformed into something more useful. It was an idea we'd been working on off and on for quite some time, ever since we successfully created a large amount of Antimatter and kept it stable—and we'd finally made it work. We'd proven the design on a smaller scale several hundred times, but it was finally time to test the real thing within a contained dimension."

"What happened?"

"We were interrupted," Keter answered. "There was an emergency—a large-scale terrorist attack that had grown into a riot. I'm not certain of the details, but several important people had gotten involved and Angels had eventually started fighting in the streets."

"And?" I prompted when he paused. "What did you do?"

Keter's wings twitched minutely in an almost imperceptible shrug.

"I didn't do anything," He stated. "It was Gevurah's turn to clean things up."

I recognized the name for obvious reasons and it was easy to tie it to another of the Archangels, but I still raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Gevurah was rather crude, to put things lightly," Keter answered my unspoken question. "Exceptionally powerful, too. But he was…fun. A good friend, if not a good man—I can say that, despite how things ended. Passionate about his work, whatever it happened to be, and reliable. He…"

Keter shut his eyes for a moment and then smiled again.

"He looked like he could have killed the man for the interruption. He was as invested in the project as the rest of us and not afraid to say it. In fact, I remember we all laughed at what he said even after the fact—'I'm halfway through seducing the panties off of Matter and Energy and you want me to deal with a fucking riot!? What the fuck do they have to riot about!?'" Keter's voice shifted into a foreign voice, all million voices ringing the same.

I couldn't help it—I laughed myself, surprised to hear the words coming from Keter.

"Really?" I asked, eyes and smile wide.

"Really," Keter confirmed, voice serious and yet still a touch amused. "As I said, he was always rather crude. In the end, he looked at the rest of us and said 'I'll be back in five minutes; don't finish the unwrapping until I get back.'"

My smile faded and Keter gave a very slight nod.

"He left and returned less than three minutes later. When we asked what he'd done to end things so quickly, he said he'd just figured out who was causing the trouble and killed them all. I was annoyed at the time—he should know that indiscriminate murder was counterproductive. While it may have momentarily resolved the issue, it would just create greater problems for us in the long run. I told him so."

"What happened?"

"He told me he didn't care what they did, so long as they didn't do it while he was busy with things that were actually important.," Keter replied. "Then Malkuth shouted 'The panties are coming off' and there was an all but frozen explosion feeding whatever energy managed to seep through into the machinery around it. We'd created the first Antimatter Generator and the subject was dropped. It would be a lie to say I forget; rather…I simply didn't care very much."

I fell silent at the simple, honest statement.

"I remember us looking back on that moment, near the end," He mused. "Even then, it wasn't the death's that bothered me—just the fact that I hadn't cared enough to even ask what they'd done. By then, it just hadn't mattered anymore."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Reminiscence**

I took a slow breath, looking down at my feet.

"I see," I said at last. "I suppose I wasn't a very good king."

Keter didn't reply, watching me steadily.

"I think I can guess what happened after that," I continued undeterred. "They were afraid of us and avoided us, just like we wanted…for a while. But without us—without the Archangels—there was nothing to keep things running the way there were supposed to. It wouldn't have been a problem at first, maybe, but after a few generations of, at best, rare contact, things would get worse and worse. People would forget, the Angels we made to keep things running smoothly would grow old and die, and then…"

I shrugged.

"After a century or two, I'm guessing things broke down, at least somewhat," I guessed. "If the Archangels weren't called in, something like that riot could escalate into something major—and a war between Hunters…we've had a fair number of those ourselves and they were always destructive, but there are only a few million people on Remnant and never more than a few thousand Hunters at any given time and we could never commit all our forces to a war, not with the Grimm waiting for a chance to strike. But if there were _billions_ of people and nothing hunting them down, if they were free to dedicate their resources to whatever they chose…war on that scale must have been…"

"Apocalyptic," Keter finished. "Or almost. It wasn't an immediate thing, by any means—it took another five hundred years for things to get that bad, with the ten of us involving ourselves only rarely during that time. But we withdrew more and more over time. At first, we'd check in every few weeks or months, to make sure nothing had gone wrong. Then we began checking in at the first of every year, then every few years, and so on. By the time we were seven hundred, we'd all but stopped paying attention, and we'd long since stopped speaking to anyone outside of each other, barring a few rare exceptions."

"I'm guessing you got drawn back in when the war started."

"It became somewhat difficult to ignore," He admitted. "Between the number of Angels involved, the technology available, and everything else…yes, we noticed eventually. By that point, we'd taken to spending most of our time within one artificial dimension or another, building and experimenting, and only returned to this reality when we needed something from it. It served as something of a nexus point between our contained experiments and dimensions, you see, so we'd return to it periodically. When we did, well…with our senses, it was impossible to miss the sounds of war."

"How long had it been going on?" I asked.

"Five months," Keter replied. "At least, officially. There'd been conflict long before then, just on a lesser scale. When we figured out what had happened and looked back on things, we realized it had been pretty much inevitable. Though we'd done our best to strike a balance when we'd reshaped the world, that had been over nine hundred years before and things had changed. Some places grew in power more quickly than others and tried to wield that power, while others sought to protect themselves from threats real or imagined. In our absence, Angels had risen to rule the world again and had awakened other Angels to expand their own power, as had their children and their children's children and so on. Even if each ruler had done so with care and foresight—which they hadn't—a few hundred years of such a thing proved to be unsustainable. Truthfully, a war shouldn't have been particularly surprising, under the circumstances."

"But we were surprised anyway," I said. "Because we hadn't been paying attention."

"Yes," Keter answered. "When we realized what was happening, it came as quite a shock. Cities had been ruined by fighting and bombs, our nation had divided, rulers were being replaced what seemed like every few weeks or months…it was chaos. And we realized then that it was something we'd caused with our apathy and negligence—that this could have all been avoided if we'd just acted sooner."

"So instead you acted late," I finished, a clearer picture of what had happened taking shape in my head. "You took over again."

"We did," He confirmed. "With the power we had at our disposal by then, we hadn't even needed to be subtle about it. The war ended the day we intervened."

"And you took control?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Despite everything that had happened because of how much you didn't want the job?"

"At the time, there seemed like no other choice," He replied blandly. "We'd seen what had happened when stayed away and did nothing. Millions of innocent people had died in our absence and as dull as we found our self-appointed duty, we didn't wish them any particular ill will. It was, we thought, a necessity, or else war would be an inevitability. It wasn't anyone's fault, merely a fact; so long as people can awaken and become Angels, equality was nothing more than a joke. Even if every person on the planet was awakened, that would remain true, because some would be born with tremendous power and others with almost nothing. And with the root cause of it all being the soul, an inseparable and invaluable part of human nature, there would always be those who could awaken."

I nodded quietly, because it was true. Even if every Hunter—or Angel—were killed, people would still awaken occasionally. Whether as a result of extreme danger and perseverance, enlightenment and focus, or whatever else, it would happen—and anyone who was awakened could theoretically awaken others. And while there would always be heroes, there would also always be people who wanted to use their power for their own ends, same as with any other kind of power. The issue was that Aura set certain people noticeable apart from others and gave them the power to, potentially, do whatever they wanted.

That was simply a fact of life on Remnant that everyone had to live with, if only by doing what the Kingdoms did and trying to strike a balance. I'd known that for a while, but then, it was pretty easy to find examples of in Remnant's history. Even if all the Grimm were destroyed, I knew full well that everything wouldn't be sunshine and rainbows forever after. I accepted that.

I'm guessing they hadn't.

"What they needed," Keter continued. "Or, at least, what we thought they needed, was someone to keep things under control. A power that couldn't be questioned, denied, or resisted. We ended the war and created peace through our sheer, overwhelming power and demanded to be obeyed. Before, our goal had been to avoid any similarities to our predecessors, so we'd listened and made allowances, and had driven ourselves to apathy and the world to ruin. So we chose a different route for our second attempt and simply passed down word from on high. We reigned as tyrants and it worked. So many things can be simplified by removing the human element you see, and without anyone to slow things down, it became easy to rule. We were reluctant, of course, to be pulled away from our projects, but it proved to be fairly painless thanks to the simple breadth of our power. We rebuilt things, made new laws, and enforced them ourselves. There wasn't a crime in our Kingdom that went unnoticed, not a wrong or ill that went unseen. We returned things to the way they were before, curing disease, stopping wars, making sure everything ran smoothly. It even gave us an opportunity to put our inventions to good use. We provided free power to the world, ended scarcity, and made something grand. Not perfect, of course, but great—and better then a world torn apart by war."

"Did anyone thank you for that?" I asked.

"Surprisingly yes, not that it much mattered," Keter answered with a shrug. "It's easy to be seen as merciful when you rescue cities from death and disease and cast down their enemies; it's amazing how fragile civilization can be at time, such as when water is no longer being cleaned and the power does out. We'd become almost mythical figures by that point, which I imagined helped—to them, we must have seemed like gods, returning to protect our people. There were complaints, of course, especially from those we uprooted, but they didn't protest for very long after the extent of our power was made clear. Destroy a mountain or two and arguments tend to evaporate."

I bobbed my head, accepting that, and looked back at him.

"So you ruled for another hundred years or so?" I guessed. "Before you died?"

"Indeed," Keter confirmed. "The ten of us ruled the world and stayed apart from things, except to enforce the law. We had no need for money, nor food, nor anything else, so it's not as if we demanded offerings or servitude, simply obedience. Even then, the rules were fairly simple—as Gevurah put it, 'If I am forced to come over there, it's going to ruin my day, at which point I am going to ruin _your_ day.' As long as people weren't dying or being hurt, we left things be and kept to ourselves, and people quickly learned the punishments for murder and the like. With the power we had by then, it was easy to keep the peace—so easy, in fact, that we rather regretted not doing it from the beginning. The result would have been the same and it would have been vastly easier to get there."

"How do Malkuth and the Grimm play into this?" I asked him. "I mean, I'm glad to finally find out about my past and this is all good to know, but what happens to reduce Babel to…well, Remnant."

Keter smiled at me again, creepy looking as ever.

"Do not worry," He said. "Our story is about to come to an end."

I gave him an Adam-like grunt, knowing he'd understand to continue.

"The Grimm did not exist until near the end," Keter replied. "But in a way, they tie back to this point as well. Have you ever wondered about their name?"

"It's a shortened form of 'the creatures of Grimm,'" I answered. "They've been called that as long as anyone remembers. I assume Grimm is either a person or a place."

"Close," He said, tone almost amused. "It is a person and a place. Malkuth and I had always been the strongest of the Archangels and also the closest; we were the oldest and youngest, you see, and our makers often had us work together. We were best friends, though—as close as brothers, which I suppose we technically were. In fact, they called us the Brothers Grimm."

"What?" I asked, alarmed. "Why?"

"Because we were the kings of the land called Grimm," Keter answered. "The land you now know as Babel, on the continent north of Vytal."

I closed my eyes and swore.

"No," I said, almost pleadingly. "Please no."

"Yes," Keter replied, pressing on without mercy. "Malkuth and I worked on the Grimm together."

" _Ugh_ ," I groan, more annoyed then surprised. " _Fuck._ "

"If it makes you feel any better, our efforts were mostly on the theoretical side of things," He continued. "By necessity, Malkuth was the one to give them life."

"Why?" I asked dully, sighing and looking up at the sky. Seriously, though, _fuck_. The news that my past self hadn't been a saint, while a bit disappointing, hadn't really come as a surprise. Hell, if anything, I thought it could have been way, way worse—I mean, I was well aware of how abusable my powers were. In the wrong hands, I could cause a pretty horrific amount of pain and suffering on a scale that was hard to really imagine. There were people who were stronger than me, sure, and people who could get in my way if I went on a rampage, but stopping me…that would be difficult. While I couldn't create portals like Raven did, I could move between the Kingdoms fairly easily on speed alone, and if I approached with Naraka…I could drop into normal reality, drop some particularly lethal techniques, and then vanish again. Repeat the process at random times and locations and nobody but maybe Ozpin could really put me down. Not before I killed a huge amount of people, anyway.

And honestly, compared to some of the things I was potentially capable of if I went evil…that was probably one of the better possibilities.

"The very of the project was something of a reversal of the one that created us," He answered. "The word Sephirot means 'Emanations' and we Archangels were designed to emanate from the Sephirot. Through a careful balancing and blending of countless souls, we were intended to be divinity given form. The Grimm, however, were meant to be the opposite—a way of touching the divine through physical means. Soulless beings who could nonetheless draw upon higher powers, we called them Qlippoth, at first—'Husks.'"

"What's the point of doing that?" I wondered, dropping my gaze to look back at him.

He pondered that for a moment, mulling it over.

"At first, perhaps simply to see if we could and to overcome our apparent limits," He began, speaking slowly. "We weren't the first to try, nor were we the last, though I doubt anyone else thought of creating something quite like the Grimm to do it."

"Oh?" I replied, furrowing my eyebrows at the words. On the surface, it seemed like a worrying statement, but I honestly wasn't sure what he meant by that. "What do you mean?"

Keter chuckled, a cascade of laughs falling from a million mouths.

"Nothing like you're imagining," He assured. "As you well know, Aura in its natural form cannot be used as a conventional power source. That is, you cannot fuel a machine—or, at least, not a normal machine—on Aura alone; you need to convert it into another form, such as electricity, to do that. Though you can channel Aura through an object to protect it or guide it, you cannot power something with it."

"That's why we use Dust," I said, nodding. "You can use it to change Aura into a different form or even draw power from it directly with the proper machinery."

"Indeed," He answered with a smile. "Dust is, in fact, the best example of the Qlippoth—and why we pursued it. Dust can change a person's Aura in ways even the user cannot, proving that a person's Aura can be shaped artificially. Imagine if the same could be done with technology—if a weapon could change Aura into fire or ice on demand, if a house could draw power from its inhabitants, if the world could be run on Aura alone. Things that took a lifetime to learn could be done with a push of a button; you could heal and shape the elements and countless other things. At its most basic level, that is what the Qlippoth was; an attempt to shape the immaterial with the physical."

Realization struck.

"Like Conquest did," I whispered, eyes widening. "Even though he was soulless, he could affect a person's body and Aura. Hell, I saw what he did to Dad's soul—and he'd been _able_ to do that because it was what he'd been built for.

"Yes, the creature that goes by that name was one of the projects greatest successes," Keter confirmed. "Though all the Grimm are capable of it to some extent, whether by interacting with the world—with Malkuth—in bizarre ways, possessing unusual powers, or simply by creating more of themselves. You've seen it before; both the Goliath and the Leviathan were able to convert surrounding matter into more of the Grimm. They can remodel their bodies, draw upon matter and energy, sense emotions, and more. All that and more without a soul."

"You said at first it was just to see if it was possible," I said. "But it became more than that, didn't it? What were you planning to use the Grimm for?"

"Everything we possibly could," Keter answered bluntly. "When they aren't being used to kill you, they really are quite marvelous creatures. They are soulless and their loyalty is beyond question—and yet, at the same time, they are capable of independent thought and free action. They can grow and learn, communicate and improve, solve complex problems, notice patterns, follow orders, and both adapt their surrounding and adapt _to_ them. To say nothing of the greatest of them."

"The Riders," I whispered. "And the Knights."

"Indeed," He replied. "Though the former more than the latter in this case. A group of beings that could infect a body and remodel it directly, strengthening it, improving the use of Aura, and opening entirely new possibilities. Though Conquest is a monster, you cannot deny the potential of his power. Imagine if, instead of taking complete control of everyone he infect, Conquest left them in control. If, at will, anyone could draw upon his power, giving their bodies the power of the Grimm, even as Conquest allowed them greater access to their Semblances. If knowledge could be instantly transferred between two people with a mere touch. If they could adapt to situations in a physical sense and recover from even horrific wounds. And then, imagine that if someone, even with all those powers, were to try and say, murder someone, those powers would shut down. Conquest could immobilize them instantly or act to call authorities. Alone, he could end countless ills and fix the world."

"It's a little hard to imagine," I said. "Mostly because he broke it instead."

Keter inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Things went somewhat awry," He agreed.

Understatement of the century, right there. Also, an amazing statement of the obvious.

"So how did we screw it up?" I asked with another sigh. "Is this a sort of rogue AI situation where we gave him a bunch of orders we didn't think through or did Malkuth do something instead?"

"The latter," Keter answered, voices growing sad. "Conquest is working perfectly in the sense that it is completely loyal to its master and a quick study. Even now, it determines how to best fulfill Malkuth's desires and then does so to the best of its abilities."

"Figured as much," I murmured before raising my voice. "Then tell me why. If Malkuth and I were so close, if the Archangels were such friends, if we had all these great and wonderful things plan, how did it all go to hell?"

Keter looked at me calmly for a long moment, eyes focusing on me until the lights of his pupils all but covered me.

The, he spoke.

"I don't know," He stated easily. "Which was why I told you the events surrounding the situation instead of telling you the answer outright."

"The _fuck_?" I demanded. "The fuck do you mean you don't know?"

"If I ever knew, Death took those memories from me," He explained, voice as calm as ever. "I could make several guesses, but many of those memories are gone."

I frowned at him severely for a few seconds and then clicked my tongue, annoyed but unable to get particularly angry if it was like that.

"How much do you remember, all told?" I asked.

"A fair amount, owing to the length of our life," He answered. "But only a fraction of a percent, all told. Enough to recognize how events are related, at least some of the time, though it's easier to see how things progressed over centuries then in shorter time frames. If an event occurs in a day and I recall nothing for months before it, it's hard to establish a firm context, but even with only a hand full of days out of every years, it's easy to notice patterns that occur over centuries. I have more memories of the early days then the end, as they posed less of a threat."

I pursed my lips for a moment and then spoke.  
"Death," I said. "You've mentioned several times that we lost a lot to is. At first, I thought you meant death as in the process of reincarnation had wiped us clean. But that's not it, is it? You mean Death as a person. Was he a Rider, like Conquest? Or something else?"

"Like Conquest," Keter repeated as if sounding it out. "Yes. The greatest of the four and Malkuth's right hand."

"What is he?" I asked. "Do we remember anything about him or the others?"

Keter considered that carefully before nodding once.

"Conquest, War, Famine, and Death," Keter recited. "He named them after things we claimed to be beyond—to have overcome and extinguished. They all work from the same base design, but express it in different ways, adjusting the body and Aura of their host to demonstrate greater power. Even among them, however, Death is special. He though he is soulless, he is a disease of the soul, and those he is not as…virulent as his siblings, he can draw out great strength from his hosts. Malkuth generally kept him close and often within his own soul, just as he frequently allowed portions the Riders to remain within his body."

"He was immune?" I assumed, to which Keter nodded.

"We made sure of it," He answered. "As you've no doubt noticed from Conquest's infection, the power of the Riders can be quite useful. I'm unsure of the full extent of Death's power, but I know he can mutilate the souls of his enemies in various ways. He left us relatively untouched only because he had no choice, but he was thorough in exterminating any memories he deemed potentially threatening. Beyond that, I only know that I was careful to attack Malkuth while Death was unable to support him."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, closing my eyes for a long moment.

"Wonderful," I stated tiredly. "You get all that, Adam?"

"Shit's fucked, as always" He said from his position on the roof of the next building over. He had his back to us, probably because Keter was hard to look at directly, and though his words were casual, I could see the tension in his shoulders. Given what everything I'd learned had been doing to my head, I couldn't imagine he was having any easier of a time. Nothing I heard about Malkuth was good.

But it didn't change anything. We still had to fight. We still had to win.

All we had to do was figure out how the fuck we were going to do it.

No rest for the wicked, I told myself. So we better get started or we were going to get outworked.

"Okay," I said. "Time for a new plan. Step one, we're going to work our asses of even harder than before. Step two, we're going to…get to that eventually. For let's just, uh…blow stuff up."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Comprehension**

I'm not going to lie and say I didn't consider blowing off school, whether for today or just in general. As much as I wanted to keep an eye on Cinder and her as of yet unknown plans, it was hard to really care after everything I'd just learned. Knowing, if only in part, what I was up against, I wanted to train—hell, I _needed_ to train. I had to prepare myself to fight a guy that had been my match _before_ he had a few thousand year head start on me, and God but his power was unfair. I mean, I didn't usually care about that sort of thing, but I also was usually the person with all the advantages. Now that I knew I had to face a guy who could literally bend the rules of reality _and_ was an immortal mad scientist who'd played with forces that could destroy life on Remnant _and_ who had a trillion loyal monsters at his beck and call…

Well, some complaining seemed in order. Sadly, complaining wouldn't do anything to help me survive the next…fuck, did I have a year? I'd always assumed I was on a schedule—that was why the whole Mistral and Haven thing was only going to last six months at most—but not that I could see how heavily the deck was stacked against me, I was frighteningly aware of the fact that I had no clue what that schedule actually was. If Malkuth acted before I was ready, I'd be drawn into a game I had no chance of winning, but I had no idea when he'd make a move. Worse, I had no way of actually stopping him if he chose to act. That kind of sucked.

All the more reason to get to work. I wanted to lock myself away in Naraka for a month or two, train around the clock, slaughter Grimm in the wilderness, and make myself as strong as I could, as quickly as I could. That was the one advantage I had, Keter had said—my Semblance was built for the world I now lived in, a world dominated by the Grimm. I could gain power at an extraordinary pace by slaying monsters, growing stronger at a pace even my past self couldn't, because he hadn't had this option. I could learn things fast, too, if I had the right books or the right number of points; I wasn't sure how that element of my Semblance measured up to my original self, but it was better suited for the world I lived in. The original Keter might have been able to learn things from a host of teachers, but I lived in a Remnant and being able to draw upon lost knowledge worked better for me.

I needed to take advantage of it. My new set of skills would allow me to grow more quickly and Tiferet gave me a new source of powerful skills. My priority now was to level up as many skills as I could, merge whichever ones I was able, kill the Grimm for levels and points for my mental stats, and grind my physical stats as high as I was able. It was very, very tempting to throw everything else to the wayside.

That did not, however, make such a decision _wise_. As much as part of me wanted to panic and rush things, the Gamer's mind helped my hold back and consider things carefully. Going to school didn't matter to me in the slightest, but it would have been foolish to ignore the threats nearby just because I'd learned of a bigger one on the horizon. From what I knew, Cinder could very well be infected by one of the Riders and therefore up to no good. I had the presence of two of them confirmed—Conquest was contained within the Pandora Shells and the Red Rider, who, from the MO illustrated by the Temple, might be War, was contained within Ruby. And _possibly_ Summer Rose, if she was still alive, which I hoped, for her sake more than my own, she wasn't.

That left me with two Riders unaccounted for—Famine and Death. And as it just so happened, I currently had two suspects for hosts, in Cinder and Ozpin. I honestly wasn't sure if I'd rather be right or wrong about those two; I mean, on the one hand, I really didn't want to have unknowns running around and working against me. On the other hand, Cinder and Ozpin were, as far as I could tell, _fucking monsters_. I still couldn't see Cinder's level, meaning she must have been at least a hundred and forty-one.

Then again, even if it turned out Cinder _was_ clean, I'm not sure leaving a criminal with that much power and unknown motives running around unwatched was a good idea, so either way, I couldn't leave until I was certain of what Cinder was up to. She may not have been as big a threat as Malkuth in the big picture, but that didn't mean she couldn't ruin everything while my back was turned. I'd have to settle things with here before too long, one way or another, but for now I had to stay put. And, honestly…it was probably for the best that I didn't run off. I needed some time to take stock of things because I honestly wasn't even sure where to _start_ with this mess.

And that was how I found myself in class, meditating silently as the teacher droned on. I wasn't even bothering to _pretend_ to be paying attention and neither was Adam, who was sleeping in his seat beside me, but after yesterday's show, no one was bothering us about it. If it went on for two long, someone might give us shit, but I sure as hell wasn't here because I gave a damn what the teachers had to say. Especially not when I had more important things to do.

Meditation was an important part of my training regime and one I'd been neglecting somewhat recently. Soul of the World had an invaluable ability—it allowed me to train my MP as if it were one of my stats. The downside was that it took time to do that, and a lot of time at that; when my MP regeneration had risen high enough the boost from meditating was pretty much meaningless, I'd spent time doing other stuff instead.

But since I had a bunch of teachers to ignore now, a place had opened up in my schedule, especially when I'd figured out the trick to it and added Acceleration to the picture. While Acceleration didn't enhance my natural MP regen—which, from what Keter had said, probably had something to do with the 'Light' I drew on that existed above the Sephirot—Soul of the World drew from…well, the world and multiplied after I adjusted it properly. Granted, the per minute benefit of meditation was vastly outweighed by the per second cost of Acceleration, but the MP regen wasn't what I was after.

What I cared about was that it improved how quickly I could train my MP. For me, MP in general was the most valuable resource I had, and so two things were especially important to me—how much of it I had and how quickly I could regenerate it, and those two things plays off of each other. The way my Wisdom was now, I could go from zero to full in less than thirty seconds, and that was true regardless of how much MP I had because my MP regen worked off of percentages. My MP itself, however, was numerical and I'd refill it within that timeframe whether it meant regaining a hundred MP per second or a thousand.

Now that I'd successfully dropped my regen rate to half a minute, though, it would be difficult to improve in a significant way just by increasing my Wisdom—I'd need to _double_ it to halve to time it took now. If I wanted to improve how much MP I had access to every second, I'd need to improve the amount I had access to overall. A few months of Accelerated meditation should do the trick—especially with the help of Chokhmah.

 **Chokhmah (Passive) LV1 EXP: 14.40%  
The Wisdom that arises from nothingness—the first step away from that which cannot be grasped. The first moment of thought brings with it the first glimpse of the world and the first moment of Wisdom, and from that spark flows both Creativity and Terror. This ability represents the heightened presence of Chokhmah within the soul of the user and through its light, gives them wisdom.  
100% increase to the effectiveness of all skills that calculate effectiveness based on Wisdom.  
100% increase to the effectiveness of all skills that are used to create something new.  
100% increase to experience gained by all such skills.**

Besides which, meditation was the closest I ever came to relaxing nowadays. It was like sleeping, except without the loss of awareness, the amount of wasted time, and the general defenselessness. I was able to keep up all my skills and continue to improve them and though the expansion of my senses made it difficult to focus on any one thing, it allowed me to keep track of things in broad strokes. I'd checked to make sure Cinder was where she was supposed to be before starting and I was alert enough to make sure she didn't wander off anywhere. She probably wasn't going to start doing anything major while in class herself, anyway, so there wasn't much point in staring at her while she was sitting in class and not trying to look bored.

And while I was relaxing, I also had time to think and plan.

I started by taking stock of what I had. While I kept careful track of my own power, I had allies I knew would follow me to the end and I needed to look after them, too. Adam, who was sleeping in the chair next to me and ignoring the class entirely, was coming along fairly well as he leveled up. Putting most of his points into Strength and Dexterity, he could attack with a force and speed that most Hunters would find inhuman. He'd put a smattering of points in Wisdom to improve his own MP regeneration and it also served to help him other ways, from improving his control with his Semblance to help guide him through battle. While he said he was still getting used to it, he'd mentioned that he was considering putting a few points in Intelligence as well, to see how much it helped him.

Over all, though, he'd grown tremendously in the short time we'd been training and he was still working on melding his Semblance to his new found growth. He'd taken to favoring smaller, quicker attacks with a relatively minor charge, enhancing his blades ability to carve away at his foes, chop off limbs, or shred armor. It drained him more quickly, but so long as I was there to provide support it easily multiplied his offensive potential. He could still use his more powerful attacks, but the charge time made it difficult to pull off in battle and I was better suited to the bombardment role, anyway.

After only a few days, I couldn't be sure of precisely where his training with his Semblance would lead. For the time being, he seemed mostly concerned with figuring out how to channel as much Aura into his strikes in as little time as possible, but after a few weeks or months…who knows? Still, given the Dust Weaving I'd been doing lately, I was considering ways to support his style; I'd need to make several versions and test their results, but with some practice, adding some new Elements to his swordsmanship could come in handy.

Speaking of Elements, though, my constant companions were another facet to consider, especially given what I now knew about them. Whether because of the fact that I'd created a Light Elemental or simply of what Keter had told me, I could literally _feel_ the difference in them. Especially while meditating like this…I could feel them _growing_.

And it made me wonder. If it was shared fragments of my soul that had created them and given them the forms they now had, then precisely what was happening when I improved my skill? When I'd made the jump from Basic Elementals to Lesser Elementals, my various Affinities had grown, too, but that couldn't have been all. My Elementals had changed and grown in some pretty obvious ways, becoming more defined and distinct. I had a fair number of items that could increase my Affinities but none of them had brought about such a change, nor such a jump in power. What had happened, then?

After giving it some thought, one possibility seemed most likely. They had grown because the piece of my soul had also grown. It made sense, after all; if my 'Advanced' Elementals were created by merging fragments into larger pieces and a Light Elemental was to combine all the pieces into a reflection of the whole, then it didn't seem impossible. Even after speaking to my own, I was no expert on the subject of souls, but…it felt right.

I just had no idea what that could mean, long term. I didn't know enough to say for sure what any of them would grow up to become. Something like those giants I'd seen in my dreams after each summoning, perhaps? But how long would that take? They'd grown from Basic to Lesser, but I couldn't say for sure how much stronger they could still become. Some status effects seemed to follow the theme of Low, Intermediate, High, before finally maxing out, which could imply as many as three more stages of growth if it was applicable.

Whatever the case, I needed their help. If Malkuth's power gave him control over the physical world, then my Elementals—and my Elemental powers—were probably my best defense. If I maxed out my Affinities and my Elementals grew into the fullness of their power, it should protect me from at least some of his tricks.

Although, really, when it came to Malkuth, it was probably best to just be prepared for everything. I was already planning to start improving my Poison Resistance soon, using Venenum, but I'd need to test a few things first.

Still, there was another reason I was eager to see them grow and it boiled down to simple curiosity. If sharing parts of my soul gave them their bodies and more humanlike minds, I wonder how they'd change if those fragments grew. Would their selfhood also strengthen? It was a pleasant thought. My Elementals had minds of their own and could converse with me easily, but they didn't care about much else. If anything, they seemed vaguely distracted whenever they weren't helping me with something, as if their minds were usually someplace else—which they probably were, in fairness. Still, it struck me as a little sad that if I told them to have the day all to themselves, they'd probably just stand around, at least as far as their bodies were concerned. While I found that loyalty and focus invaluable, it struck me as a bit sad, especially since we didn't speak much anymore, simply sharing our thoughts and senses. Maybe that'd change later on.

Thinking about it, I wondered if our unusual soul relationship made us more like siblings or like a father and his children. I guess I'd just call them my friends and leave it at that.

At the thought of children, though, I couldn't help but think of Autumn, who even now clung tightly to my wrist.

 **Who Would Inhabit This Bleak World Alone?  
LV 52  
Autumn Rose**

My little girl was growing up and the thought of it left me feeling a bit sad, because I knew what it meant. She'd already added a number of points to her Intelligence and Wisdom, had a higher level than most of my classmates right now, and she was growing and learning all the time. As she was now, she probably wouldn't have too much trouble creating a body of her own, if I talked her through it. Hell, all she really needed me to do was explain to her how the other senses worked and she'd probably be able to manage on her own from there. She wouldn't need to be carried around anymore, at that point; she'd be a big girl.

Which meant we needed to have a talk. Not the sex talk—though I honestly wasn't sure if, how, or when that would be necessary; given her botanic nature, the birds and the bees may involve actual birds and bees. No, I'd wait awhile to see how that particular possibility manifested. In the meanwhile, however, there was something even more important we needed to discuss.

I was going to ask her if she wanted to be a Hunter. I'd explain the nature of the world to her, tell her about the Grimm and what Hunters did, and give her the choice. I understood what my parents and sisters had been trying to do by leaving me out of the family business because I knew—perhaps better than anyone, now—how dangerous being a Hunter could be. On a level, knowing what I did now, I could even appreciate their efforts.

But the choice had been mine and I'd wanted, more than anything, to be a Hunter. I'd made my choice and, despite everything, I didn't regret. So I'd give her the choice, too, and if she said no, we'd go from there together.

If she said yes, though, then we needed to train. I'd bring her along next time we went outside the Kingdom; we'd stick to this side of the sea for a while longer and get her up to snuff at least stat-wise. Then we'd train with her Aura inside Naraka and make sure she could use her powers fully in battle. After that…we'd just have to see.

And then there was Gou. My Familiar that I'd never once taken into battle.

If I hadn't been meditating, I would have sighed.

Truthfully, I'd always planned for Gou to fight beside me someday, I'd just been putting it off. Even with the power granted to him as my Familiar, he was still barely more than a puppy—the puppy I'd found dying underneath a dumpster, not too long ago. And even if he was my familiar, there were a lot of things he just didn't have. He didn't have the Gamer's Body, which allowed me to endure the punishment my skills had put my though; stuff that could have crippled a normal man a million times over by now and then some. He didn't have any experience, at least not of the literal kind; we'd covered some stuff, but he'd never _really_ fought. As far as I knew, he hadn't even spent any of his points yet, because we'd been saving them until he'd mastered the basics and could get the most out of them.

That was still a good idea, of course, but I hadn't done it just because it was wise. I was worried about him just like I was worried about Autumn. Hell, I was _terrified_ , because I'd found out what was on its way and God but it wasn't pretty.

But I wasn't doing him any favors by leaving him unprepared. I'd give him a choice, too, because he deserved one no matter what my profile said; if he wanted to fight beside me, I'd make sure he was ready for it. If he didn't, Grandmother could keep him safe and I'd tried to look after him if anything happened.

Even saying that, though…I knew what his decision would be and that's why I sighed.

Maybe Vitality would be a good choice, I mused. With a few hundred points in that, he might be able to withstand what my skills would put him through. I hadn't seen him in a little while, but he had to be in his eighties by now, level-wise, which meant he'd have over four hundred points to spend. If he put all of them in Vitality…especially if I could finish grinding his basics…that might be enough. My skills could handle the rest; even if his natural strength and speed wasn't the best, I could give that to him no problem. What mattered was that he _survive_ said help.

All that really left, at least right now, was Raven. But since I was probably still playing catchup in _that_ relationship, she didn't need any particular help. If I managed to catch up enough to see her level, that might change, but for now I didn't need to worry about her wellbeing. If need be, she was probably the one _I'd_ call for help.

As for myself, improving my skills took priority right now—as many skills as possible. Tiferet had opened up new doors and with the other Sephirot skills there to smooth things along…the possibilities were endless. I needed to cover our bases because God knows what we'd face soon, but with my skills…

I'd manage somehow, I thought. Because the only alternative was dying and I was one of the few people on Remnant who could say _that_ had gotten old. I still didn't have all the answers about what had happened to me—I didn't even know what had started it all, though Keter and I had come up with a few possibilities. It could have been a soul thing; the Archangels had sworn not to experiment in that field, but then a thousand years had passed and maybe things had changed. From its description, Death in particular sounded like pure soulfuckery to me. Maybe Malkuth had done something and I'd tried to stop him or one of the others had broken things. Maybe _I'd_ done something and he'd snapped. Maybe it was simple greed that had grown into an unwillingness to share power or we'd had a truly epic falling out. Maybe I'd stolen something; his girlfriend, the last slice of pizza, or some piece of research. Maybe he'd grown to hate humanity or us or both. Maybe he'd always been an asshole.

It could have been anything. I had no way of knowing for sure yet and I might never find out.

But in the end, it didn't matter. Whatever had happened, it didn't justify the Grimm and their millennia of predation. Whatever we had been, whatever we had done, here and now Malkuth needed to die.

And if we were the Brothers Grimm, I guess I was just going to have to commit fratricide.

Maybe we'd get along better in another life.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Recollection**

When lunch came around, I took a break from my meditation. The time between classes was, after all, an opportunity for any number of things. While I didn't expect Cinder to do anything yet, the fact remained that slipping her illusionist in and herself out would give her an almost airtight alibi for anything she did outside. Hell, I'd considered that myself; if need be, I'd have Adam slip away during class and minion for me.

Nonetheless, she seemed to be staying put for now, which wasn't particularly surprising, it only being the second day and all. I had kind of hoped the show I'd put on yesterday would have been enough to make her move, but Cinder was very careful and restrained; if she did anything, she'd do her level best to make sure it wasn't noticeable.

In turn, I'd do _my_ best to notice anyway. I still needed to get a good look at that illusionist of hers; it wasn't even necessarily an issue if Cinder left the school, as long as Raven and I were sure about what we were looking at. If Cinder left, I'd call Raven and it'd be her turn to watch her.

For the time being, though, I simply kept an eye on things here, at least for now. I couldn't ignore Cinder just because Malkuth was violently ruining the horizon of my future, but I couldn't stop preparing for future problems just because Cinder was being ominous, mysterious, and generally vague. Tonight especially, I needed to prepare, so I'd stick around long enough to see if Cinder seemed like she was going anywhere or about to burst into a spontaneous monologue about her plans, and then I'd head out for more training.

That in mind, I dragged my half-awake best friend to the meal hall and sent him off to eat, claimed the same table as yesterday as my own, and stared off into space. I'd fixed everything, naturally, and if I'd missed something, I'd yet to hear complaints. The teachers had even brought people in to check things over and had deemed it good enough for students to eat in, which the students of Haven were happily doing. A few people were glaring at me, like Desher who seemed to honestly be thinking about trying to fight me again, but overall, no one seemed sure of what to do about me now that I'd established myself as top dog. Most of the students gave my table as wide a berth as possible and stared a lot.

Most.

"There you are!" Finn all but shouted in my ear as he appeared beside me, clapping me hard on the back with a wide grin. I returned it a bit lazily and sat up.

"Finn," I greeted. "Feeling better, I hope?"

"Right as rain," He answered, resting his arms on the table. "Rumor has it you were the one who patched us up."

"My Semblance is pretty versatile," I answered honestly. "I got some practice healing back in Vale."

"Yeah, yeah," He nodded eagerly. "Heard something about that before I got bored and stopped listening. So many rumors and what ifs I was starting to get pissed off, since we could always just _ask_ you, you know?"

"That does make things simpler," I agreed, feeling a touch wistful at the thought. Sadly, I didn't have anyone to ask about most of _my_ questions. "What did you want to know?"

"The only thing that matters," Finn snorted. "You're going to be one of Mistral's representatives at the Vytal Festival, right?"

"Blunt as ever, Fionn," Albus interrupted as he approached, giving a chiding click of his tongue.

"He said it was fine, you dumb bastard," Finn replied, rolling his eyes as Albus set his tray down on the table and joined us. He tried to swipe a chicken nugget off the older boy's plate and Albus stabbed the offending hand with his fork, but didn't say anything as Finn took away his prize and plopped it into his mouth. I assumed Albus simply considered it a form of taxation. 'You can have it if I can stab you' or something like that.

"I've thought about it," I answered after a moment. "It'd be nice to go back to Vale for a while, but it's still a bit early in the semester to worry about."

"Eh," Finn drew out, wrinkling his nose. "You're strong enough. You'd make the cut no problem, so you might as well decide now, right?"

"I suppose," I agreed with an easy smile. "I'm mainly just wondering if anything will come up. My family and all."

"Right, the Roma," Finn said, clapping his hands. "Heard your gran was Old Jeanne."

"Mhm," I answered. "And Mom's here, along with three of my sisters."

"Sisters?" Finn repeated, furrowing his eyebrows as if thinking about something. "Now that you mention it, wasn't there someone—"

"Professor Arc, you idiot," Albus muttered, swallowing a chicken nugget.

"Professor Arc," Finn exclaimed, as if he'd come to the realization entirely on his own. "You related?"

"She's my sister," I answered with a nod. "Youngest of seven."

"Seven?" He repeated, whistling. "Big family, eh?"

"Yeah," I said. "We're a bit spread out now, though."

"Are you all Hunters?" Albus asked, arching a brow.

"Yup," I answered proudly. "You?"

Albus made a face.

"Albus has daddy issues," Finn kindly informed me. "And mommy issues. And half-sister issues. And half-brother issues. He's a bastard in various senses of the term, you see."

Albus leaned back in his chair and kicked him in the shin hard enough to push his chair back.

"You're one to talk, Fionn," He said, giving him a flat look.

"Hmph," Finn snorted before turning back towards me. "To spare Albus's delicate feelings, I'll change the topic. Vytal Festival. You're in, yeah?"

I chuckled and inclined my head.

"Assuming nothing world-changing happens in the meantime," I hedged because it was a distinct possibility. "Then yeah. I'd be glad to go."

"Excellent," Finn said with a broad grin. "We've got to completely crush the other Kingdoms, you see?"

"Oh?" I asked, amused.

"Of course," Albus replied, looking at Finn like he was an idiot for even needing to say so. "This isn't about victory, it's about bragging rights."

"Mm," Finn agreed, nodding quickly as he looked my way. "See, the Vytal Festival is a big deal. We're celebrating the peace between the Kingdoms and shit like that, because after we all teamed up in the War, we were officially friends and couldn't kill each other anymore. But we can still be _assholes_ to each other, and that's why there's a tournament at every festival. The point is to prove we're the best without all the bloodstains, but you can't just do stuff like that by halves—I mean, can you imagine if there was this long drawn out battle at the end and we just barely won? Afterwards, we'd have to be all 'It was a very close game' and 'you were a great fighter' and 'I thought I was going to _lose_ for a second there.' It'd be horrible, right?"

"Appalling," I assured, biting down a laugh.

"Yeah," Finn shouted, clapping a hand on the table hard enough to jostle Albus' cup. "You can't brag about shit like that. We've got to _crush_ them and then we'll be all like 'Hey, what matters is that we all did our best and had fun' and then go like this."

Finn leaned his head back with a slight smirk, a shit-eating grin on his face. After a moment, his expression returned to normal.

"You know, the classic 'We all have to be sportsmanlike here, but seriously, fuck you guys. We won again, bitches,'" He finished.

"You realize that to get to the finals, we'd probably have to crush each other, right?" I asked.

Finn rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter who gives the grin, as long as the grin gets given," He stated firmly. "At least one of us needs to make it to the finals; it doesn't matter who gets in the way."

"As long as we're clear," I said, absently remembering that Haven had won the tournament quite a few times. "Sure, I'm in."

"Hell yeah," Finn shouted again, clapping me on the back with twice as much force as before. "Team Haven is as strong as ever."

I chuckled again, resting an elbow on the table and my head on my hand. Olivia had mentioned it before and, truthfully, the Vytal Festival was a good opportunity. I wasn't certain of anything, but it wouldn't surprise me if Cinder used the opportunity for something—whether by going or staying. If she stayed, the strongest students in school, plus a number of the professors, would be on the other side of the ocean. If she went, though, then she'd be across the ocean, right in the heart of Vale along with God knows how many important figures. Either way, she would have plenty of chances to cause trouble, and it was best to keep my options open until I knew what she had planned.

Speaking of which…

"Is Cinder going, too?" I asked, glancing at Albus as the older boy frowned.

"Cinder?" He mused, considering it. "I honestly don't know. She decided not to last year, but she could definitely make it if she wanted. I'd have to ask. Why?"

"Oho!" Finn laughed, shit-eating grin making a comeback. "Didn't you hear, Al? Cindy took an interest in our boy here after the fight. In fact, _I_ heard—"

And he said this loud enough to be heard several tables over.

"—That she stopped by Jaune's room last night," He finished, turning my way.

"That's true," Adam chimed in helpfully, making his triumphant return. He had a glass of water in one hand and a loaded tray in the other—he refused to drink coffee while at school, saying it would just keep him awake. "Right after class."

I sighed.

"This asshole is Adam, by the way," I introduced. "He's my chief minion. Adam, this is Finn and Albus. And yes, Cinder came by."

Finn quirked an eyebrow, looking interested at that admission.

"Yeah?" He asked. "What happened?"

I remained silent for a long moment, drawing things out, before shrugging with a slight grin.

"Not much," I answered. "She showed me a few things about Dust Weaving—"

" _Oho!_ "

"—Which didn't involve taking any clothes off," I finished.

"Aww," Finn groaned, smile dropping and leaving him looking disappointed. "This story sucks. The one in my head was better. Hey, Adam, was it really as boring as he says?"

"It was pretty fucking boring," Adam admitted. "There was a lot of nerd talk."

Finn clicked his tongue and shook his head. Albus kicked him under the table again.

"I happen to like a woman who knows how to accessorize," Albus added. "I've seen Cinder murder dozens of Grimm in that dress of hers."

"Oh, you make a good point, Al," Finn agreed, smile returning. "That dress is her weapon in various ways and she's showing it to you? That's a sign, my friend. Hunters don't pass around their weapons to just anyone. I think she likes you. Or at least wants something from you."

He was probably right about that last part, I mused, weathering the words with an air of boredom. The rest was mostly ridiculous. I had little doubt that Cinder would be willing to seduce me if she thought it meant getting what she wanted or convinced me to obey her, but mainly because Cinder struck me as cold and pragmatic. Any interest she had in me as a person was probably similarly cold.

Granted, I would do the same in her position and then some. If it would help unlock the secrets of Babel or tell me how to defeat Malkuth, there wasn't much I wouldn't do—and having sex with someone I hated wasn't even close to the bottom of that list. Having carved up my body with a whirlwind of glass, burnt it alive, crushed it, electrocuted it, and generally mauled it for the sake of my goal, there really wasn't much else I wouldn't do for the right price. I just didn't really care all that much and after everything I'd already done to it, there really wasn't anything anyone could do to change my opinion of my body one way or another.

"Jaune," Emerald interrupted as she approached, pausing as I turned to look at her. She glanced at the others and then back at me before jerking her head towards the other side of the hall. "Do you have a minute? Cinder wanted to talk to you."

Speak of the devil.

"O _ho_!" Finn started again and I ignored him with a smile, putting my game face on.

"Sure," I said with faux cheer. "I'll be right there."

Seeing as I had no tray and wasn't hungry on account of not needing food, I rose from the table to the sound of Finn's cheers. Cinder was seated near the end of the hall, which I got the feeling was unofficial senior territory, but no one said anything about me trespassing.

Imagine that.

"Good morning, Cinder," I greeted as I approached her table, smiling easily. Emerald followed a step behind me, shooting my uncertain glances that she probably thought I couldn't see—but I could. I totally fucking could just like I could feel the concern radiating off her soul, and it cheered me up a little bit. It seems I'd made all sorts of impressions yesterday; enough to make my possible future enemies sincerely worried and react.

After a night like I'd had, it was nice to have some good news. At least _some_ things were going according to plan. If her henchmen were worried about the power I had and Cinder was continuing our conversation, it meant I was something she couldn't afford to leave be. A more extreme reaction would have been nice, but I'd take it.

"Jaune," She answered, returning my smile gently. The expression was pleasant, even if it didn't reach any deeper than her skin. "How was your second day of school?"

"Mm," I contemplated the question briefly before answering truthfully. "Dull. There was nothing worth paying attention to. Do the seniors have it any better?"

"I suppose it depends," She hedged. "I've always found classes rather easy to keep up with myself, though."

"I figured as much," I chuckled, nodding slightly at her as I took my seat. "Was there something you wanted to talk about or did you just want to arrange another meeting?"

"We can meet again whenever you wish," She assured. "But in truth, I was a bit worried about you."

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Emerald and Mercury said you were gone when they got back to their room," She explained, the concern shining in her eyes impressive in their faked sincerity. "After yesterday's performance, I'd feared that several of our fellow students might have done something out of hand in response. Things are generally fairly civil here at Haven, but…with the way you wounded their prides, I wasn't sure. Added to that, I heard you were barely in time for class. Are you okay?"

What a considerate way of asking where I was all night, I thought. I mean, she managed to sound honestly worried and everything, which I thought was a little impressive. And given that she was a seemingly concerned upperclassman and I was a supposedly unknowing freshman, I should respond with…the truth?

I paused to consider the possibilities carefully before answering. I could make up a lie but there was no real point, I decided. She'd undoubtedly notice my continued absence simply by, you know, the fact that I was continually absent. I had no intention of putting a stop to my training just to keep from arousing suspicion and I'd known from the beginning that Emerald and Mercury would notice the fact that I didn't sleep in the room—I just, you know, didn't care. This was a good opportunity to give my story, though, which I could use to help explain other things, down the line. If I played it right, I could use this to my advantage, even.

Yeah. Best to tell the truth, if in a deceptive manner. That had gotten me this far, after all.

"Ah, that," I answered without missing a beat, giving her a reassuring smile. "Sorry to worry you. I was out training all night."

Cinder raised an eyebrow at me, blinking once.

"All night?" She asked, keeping her voice concerned. "That's…impressive, certainly, but when will you sleep?"

"I'll just rest in class," I answered, shrugging. "Quite frankly, they seem to be a waste of time, so I might as well, right? That's what I used to do back in public school. The teacher's droning voices are surprisingly easy to relax to. Mercury knows what I'm talking about."

Mercury froze for a moment as Emerald and Cinder turned to look at him. The former was glaring daggers at him but Cinder just looked dully inquisitive.

"They…" He paused before beginning again, giving a quick but shallow nod. "They're pretty fucking boring, not going to lie. It's…nothing we haven't learned already."

"The first week of classes is often like that," Cinder admitted. "They need to blow off the dust that's accumulated during the breaks and make sure everyone is following along properly. It'll get better in time."

"I doubt it," I answered bluntly, leaning a cheek against my fist. "I already read all the books and I'm with Mercury—it's nothing I didn't know."

"You read ahead?" She asked, throwing me a glance.

"Of course," I replied, with a slight roll of my eyes. "I think it's all boring, but that doesn't mean I intend to do badly. My family would probably give me grief if I wasn't better than everyone at everything, so I read all the textbooks. And then I read a bunch of other books that were a lot better and nowhere near as expensive. After the training I've done, this is nothing."

"I…see," Cinder murmured. "Well, it's hard to argue with your results. That's probably for the best—though yesterday's battle silenced most arguments, there were several rumors that you only got her thanks to your grandmother's connections."

She shot me an apologetic look to go along with the words, but I just shrugged and returned it with a half-smile.

"Well, they're not really wrong," I admitted amusedly. "Grandmother kind of enrolled me at the last minute. I imagine a lot of people complained, but if any of their arguments ever got to the part where she gave a fuck, I never heard about it."

"Oh?" Cinder wondered, tilting her head to the side. "I heard you enrolled under special circumstances, but no one told me your grandmother was actually involved. You certainly have enough skill to enter Haven on your own merits…did something come up?"

"Eh," I drew out. "Sort of? I only moved to Haven recently and I wasn't really certain what I was going to end up doing here for a while. Eventually, Grandmother got me enrolled here. I think she expects me to show off and take control of the school in my family's name or something. Which I guess I have, so she should be pleased."

There, that was all true. Not the complete series of events, granted, but all true.

"I would assume so," Cinder assured. "You've certainly worked fast."

"I dislike things that waste my time," I admitted. "If I drew things out, there would probably be duals and arguments and God knows what else, and it might go on for weeks or months. Some people would try to attack me, some would try to ignore or shun me, and some would try to mess with me however they could. It seemed like a lot of effort for something I don't care about all that much, so I went out of my way to establish dominance as quickly as possible. I have beat the crap out of less people, less people need to get the crap beaten out of them—it's a win-win situation, really."

Cinder hummed, nodding to herself as she filed that away. Or, at least, I assumed she was keeping a mental file on me—I was certainly keeping one on her.

"What about your friend?" She asked, nodding towards Adam who was listening in with Levant's help.

"Adam's my chief minion," I stated remorselessly, taking pleasure in the flash of annoyance I felt from him. "Grandmother made him my bodyguard or something, I don't know—what matters is that he works for me now."

"Was he out training as well?" Cinder wondered, looking curious. "Emerald said he seemed tired."

"I could hardly have brought him along if couldn't handle some training," I replied. "There's no room for the unprepared where I'm going."

"And where _are_ you going?" Cinder's smile became subtly challenging as she meet me gaze evenly. I matched it with a grin of my own.

"Straight to the top," I said.

"He must be very strong indeed then, to be your right hand man," Cinder mused, looking past me with a touch of renewed interest.

"Strong enough not to die," I answered with a shrug. "Which I suppose is all I can really hope for, under the circumstances."

"I see," She replied. "Well, I suppose it makes sense that he was sleeping in class, then."

I chuckled.

"He was probably going to sleep through class anyway," I admitted with a shrug. "He's good enough in a fight, but…well, you know. Hard to blame him, though, since everything's so boring. It's a little irritating, but I'll probably end up doing school work for two."

"That's very kind of you," Cinder praised with a gentle smile. "You must be quite fond of him to go through so much effort."

She tilted her head to the side as I shrugged, pretending to consider something.

"Well," She said after a moment of silence, smiling playfully. "Since it seems Mercury also intends to sleep through class, perhaps he should train through the night as well?"

"What?" Mercury asked, sitting up straight. "I mean, um…yay…I love training."

I looked at him for a moment and then shook my head.

"No thanks," I rejected. "Adam can survive it, but Mercury probably wouldn't."

I shrugged as if there was nothing I could do about it.

"Besides, Mercury can't be my minion," I stated. "He's your minion, right?"

"I'm not sure I like being called a minion," Mercury began.

I rolled my eyes.

"Henchman, subordinate, ally, whatever," I corrected, my tone calm and blunt as if the topic didn't mean much to me and neither did the words. "What matters is that he's yours. Right?"

Cinder didn't drop the mask but her eyes met mine and there was an understanding in them. A very, very cold understanding.

"Well, I suppose we've been friends for a long time," Her voice said in a cheerful tone, so detached from her emotions that it deserved to be counted separately.

"That's cool," I replied, smiling out her without lifting my head from my fist. "We have a lot in common Cinder. If you want to train together, I don't mind—we can do it during the daytime. Instead of sewing every day, we can mix it up a bit."

"That's an idea," She said, considering it. "Sure. You're very strong already, but maybe I can still give you a few hints?"

"I'd like that," I said, standing at last. I made a show of starting to turn before pausing and looking back at her. "Oh, that reminds me. Are you going to attend the Vytal Festival this year? Finn and Albus just asked me to join, something about crushing everything that got in our way. Grandmother would approve, I think, so I said I'd think about it. It might be fun."

"Maybe so," She mused before giving me a beautiful if empty smile. "You know, I think I will. It seems I'd be in good company."

I returned the smile.

"In that case, I'll definitely go," I told her. "If all of us are there, I'm sure we'll have a blast."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Carrying**

"What was that about?" Adam asked as I returned to our table, an odd look on his face.

"Nothing worth worrying about," I assured before turning to Finn and Albus with a smile. "Cinder says she's in, too."

"Yes!" Finn cheered, pumping a fist. "Man, I'd say I felt bad for everyone else, except I really don't. This what you get for fucking with the best."

I chuckled a bit at that and then leaned over to rest my chin on hand again, before closing my eyes.

"Hey, are you going to sleep, Jaune?" Finn asked after a few minutes of silence, tone changing. "You haven't even eaten anything yet."

As if in reply, Adam slid a plate in front of me. I levitated a few chicken nuggets up to my mouth, absently tearing them to pieces as I did, and quietly ate few before reply.

"Not sleeping, just bored," I said at last. "School's pretty dull so far."

Adam hummed an agreement.

"It can't be helped," Albus replied, closing his eyes contemplatively. "You're so far from the norm, there's not much point in you being in first year classes at all. I assume you're as advanced in other areas?"

"Yeah," I muttered, not bothering to open my eyes.

"Don't worry," He continued. "The faculty has no doubt noticed that as well. Give it some time and they'll come up with something more suitable."

I shrugged slightly, doubting it. It wasn't their fault that I was…well, me, but there wasn't much they could do except leave me be.

"It's more complicated than that," I said aloud. "There's my family, the schools, all sorts of stuff involved. It can't be helped."

"Yeah," Albus agreed, looking sympathetic. "I went through something similar, as did Finn."

He punctuated that by kicking the other boy in the shin again, but Finn just rolled his eyes.

"Sometimes it feels like this place is a dumping ground for misfit," He mused, though he seemed to find the thought a bit amusing.

"It is," Albus said, rolling his eyes slightly. "But that's not all it is."

"Oh?" I asked, curious.

"Haven's a place of power," Albus said. "But also a place of expectation and responsibility, honor and tradition. The children of the Families gather here, making connections even as they hone their skills. More many, that's what Haven is—a forge for making the strongest weapons in the world. We're trained to become the protectors of mankind, after all, and that's what matters most, in the end. But to some, it's a means to different ends."

I thought of Cinder, as well as myself.

"I can see that," I said, before considering the older boy for a moment. "Finn…mentioned your father. Was he…?"

Albus snorted once and nodded.

"It's no great secret," He said. "In my case, I was put here to be forgotten. It's not necessarily an uncommon story—if you've children you wish to forget about, there are worse ways to go about it than sending them to Haven. We're to become Hunters, after all."

"And a lot of Hunters die," I stated.

"Just so," He agreed. "It's a time honored means of removing children from the picture, here in Mistral—send them to Sanctum or Haven. If they sink, you're rid of a potential inheritance war or shame. If they swim…"

He shrugged.

"People will forgive a whole lot, if you're a badass," Finn added, smirking. "My dad was…well, kind of a fucking dick, but hey—look at me now. Haven takes all kinds."

I nodded slowly in understanding, opening my eyes to look at them both.

"I guess you showed them," I said, smiling slightly. "The way I hear it, you're some of the strongest students Haven's produced in a while."

"Well, I don't like to brag—" Finn drawled.

"He loves to brag," Albus interjected.

"—But well, I'm pretty damn awesome," He finished as if Albus hadn't said a word.

I chuckled again at that.

"I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble," I said. "It must have looked bad for you, losing to the new kid."

"Eh," Finn grunted with a shrug. "It can't be helped. You were stronger, so you won—strength supersedes pretty much everything around these parts, including age. If you hadn't punched us in the face, it wouldn't have changed anything, would it? You'd still have been better than us; no point in holding back to spare people's feelings. God fucking knows I'd have kicked the shit out of the entire senior class when I first showed up and laughed at them afterwards, the fucking pricks."

"Truth be told, I'm inclined to agree," Albus admitted. "The only part of Khakestar I've ever respected was his power—and only because it's important to remember your enemies strength, however much you despise them. If you assume they're stupid or weak simply because they're loathsome, it rarely ends well."

"Yeah," I agreed with a tired sigh. "I know."

"Another thing that's good to remember is that, more than anything, Haven is a place of change," Albus continued. "Whatever you were when you first walk through those doors, you're supposed to leave as something different. A man, a Hunter, or whatever else—it doesn't matter as long as you make sure it's something better. Sometimes what changes you is what you learn. Sometimes it's who you meet—"

He paused to send a look at his right hand man, Delwyn, sitting at a table down the hall before continuing.

"And sometimes it has nothing to do with the school at all," He murmured, turning back to me. "Sometimes it's the result of things as simple as time or being away from home or your own will. It doesn't really matter as long as you take _something_ away, does it?"

I smiled again at that and inclined my head.

"I suppose not," I said. "Thanks for the advice—I don't think changing will be a problem for me, though. Even with things as messed up as they can be sometimes, I'll manage."

"Good," He said.

"Is Albus done talking yet?" Finn asked after a moment, shaking himself. "Sorry—he monologues sometimes and I just zone out…"

"Fuck you, Fionn," Albus stated without missing a beat. "Even if I'm no longer the strongest in school, I still kicked your ass. Or were you zoning out then, too?"

Finn huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, bitch," He replied. "We'll settle this at the tournament. I wouldn't mind capping my school life off with a memory of your humiliated face."

"I'll be sure to win by knockout, then," Albus answered. "If nothing else, you'll deserve to see it in your dreams after you embarrass yourself in front of God and everybody."

I laughed quietly and finished off the chicken nuggets on my plate before rising.

"We still have a few more classes," I said. "And boring as they are, Adam could use the beauty sleep. I'm perfect as I am, but I can't let him start feeling adequate, so I suppose I'll join him."

Adam looked up from the four plates he'd been preoccupied with eating clean, rolling his eyes as he swallowed.

"Did you say something, short stuff?" He asked, imperiously. "I can't hear you from down there."

I thought about pointing out that I was over a hundred and eighty-five centimeters which was plenty tall, fuck you very much—but decided against it on account of still being the shortest person at the table.

"Are your ears going now, too?" I asked, shaking my head sadly. "You really are a big ball of imperfections, aren't you? Later guys."

"Hey," Finn interrupted. "Let's hang out some time. We could all use the practice and I'll introduce you to the boys, eh? And Albus and his merry band of ponces can come along to, I guess."

"I'll tell them you said that," Albus stated mildly. "It looks like it'll be another hard week in PE for both the fool and the fools who follow him."

"Bring it, bitch," Finn huffed with a sneer. "We're all getting real tired of your shit, anyway."

"I might take you guys up on that," I cut in before they could start arguing too much. "Can't do it today, though; I've got a prior engagement."

"Oho!" Finn replied, instantly beaming again. "Don't let us keep you then. Good luck."

I smiled at them again and shrugged a shoulder as I walked away.

 **XxXXxX**

The rest of the day passed quickly, thanks to the simple fact that I meditated my way through anyone trying to talk to me. After giving Adam a chance to eat supper, I mentally called for Gou, drawing him to me with a thought and an effort of will. One of the benefits I got from the Familiar skill, if not one I'd had much use for until now—not that I'd used it much at _all_ until now, in fairness.

But that was about to change.

When I sensed that he was in range, I scanned our surroundings one last time to make sure there was no one watching us before dropping us all into Naraka with a snap of my fingers and taking the easy way outside—namely, through the nearest wall.

"Gou," I greeted as tore a path up through the earth and landed lightly on my feet. The dirt clinging to me quivered once before falling from my clothes and skin a moment later, following Ereb's silent commands. "How have you been?"

 **Celestial Dog  
LV 88  
Tiangou**

"I've been well," Gou replied, looking entirely unsurprised to see me. "And you?"

"As well as can be expected," I answered, taking a seat as Adam slowly made his way to the surface, taking the conventional route. Pussy. "Adam and Autumn have been fine to."

Gou nodded once as if that was that before sitting.

"You called for me," He stated, sounding entirely unperturbed by the fact. In fact, it mainly sounded like he was reminding me.

"Mhm," I agreed, sitting as well. I could feel the Grimm appearing around us, but I simply had my Elementals take physical form and then they had bigger things worry about. "It seemed like it was about time that we talked about this. Gou…do you want to Hunt with me?"

"Yes," Gou replied, seem to wonder why I was even asking.

I sighed a bit at that.

"You don't have to, you realize," I said.

"I've been preparing for this for quite some time," Gou reminded. "We both have."

"Yes, but that was before…you know," I gestured at him.

"Before I could talk?" He asked.

"Before you grew," I corrected. "You're a person in your own right, now, and whether I did so unknowingly or not, I gave that to you—which means I have a responsibility to you, not the other way around. You have a mind of your own, so you deserve to choose for yourself what life you want to live. You can stay with us whether you're a hunting dog or not, or you could live your own life. Hell, you're smarter than most people I know; if you wanted to go your own way, you'd probably be fine. I'm…well, I'm heading somewhere dangerous and even I don't know how bad it might be. You could die. _I_ could die. You don't have to risk your life just because you're my Familiar. You can do whatever you want."

He nodded at that, still watching me calmly.

"Thank you," He answered. "But this is what I want. Things are…"

He paused, tilting his doggy head to the side in consideration.

" _Different_ now," He decided at last. "The way I see things and think about them. But…I still remember what my life was like, before I met you. I remember what it was like when I was about to die."

"You don't owe me for that," I said.

"Perhaps I do, perhaps I don't," He answered. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I remember what happened and I remembered being saved. I remember being given a new life and a new home. Whether I owe you or not, I haven't forgotten what you've done for me—and if I have the right to decide my own life, I think I would like to continue living beside you. Especially if you believe you are going to be in danger."

I took a deep breath and nodded, giving him a small but honest smile.

"Okay," I said. "I just thought you had the right to choose for yourself before dragging you into this. You can back out any time, you know that, right?"

"Of course," He said. "May I ask what you intend to do now?"

I lifted my hand to my wrist, touching Autumn's closed bulb lightly.

"I'll give Autumn the same choice," I said. "She's gotten strong enough that she should be able to make her own body now."

"I see," Gou mused. "And what of me?"

"As for you, you've come a long way," I replied, reaching out to pat his head. "After a few months of training, you're in pretty good shape. And you've got four hundred and thirty-five points to spend, too."

"Ah," Gou said, nodding in understanding. "I assume you have something in mind for how I might spend them?"

"I was thinking Vitality might be the best choice," I answered. "I can make you strong easily enough, but it'll put you under a great deal of strain, to say nothing of our enemies. I would…feel better knowing that you would be safe."

"Then I shall do so," Gou agreed. "Shall I make the adjustments now?"

"Why not one more night of training?" I proposed, drawing my training armor from my Inventory and reshaping it with Crocea Mors. "As long as you stay close to me, I can Accelerate you enough to make it count. Just run around some while I talk to Autumn and then…"

I shrugged.

"Understood," Gou said seriously, calmly waiting as I equipped the armor I'd made to weigh him down.

"I'll keep an eye on you," I promised, raising several barriers around us to improve my MP regen as much as possible. "If you get tired or hurt, I'll fix it right up, okay?"

"Do not worry," He answered, rising with some effort. "I trust you."

I nodded slowly in reply.

"Okay," I whispered, patting him again. "Good luck."

"And you," He answered before looking past me. "Hello again, Adam."

"Yo, Gou," Adam replied as he leisurely made his way down the stairs. "Good of you to join us. You ready to kill some monsters?"

"Almost," He said, seeming pleased by the thought. "I'll be running today, it seems. You?"

I listened to my best friend and my Familiar talk even as I took another deep breath and focus on my wrist.

"Autumn," I murmured. "Time to wake up. Daddy's got a surprise for you."

My daughter returned to awareness almost instantly, Aura reaching out to touch my own even before her blossom opened to reveal her central eye. The many eyes overlaid upon its surface seemed to spin as she took in her surrounding and began to rise from my arm, thorny tendrils lifting her high. She twitched once in reaction to whatever she perceived, petals folding back to lie flat against her vines. After a moment, her body hunched over as she looked at me, her orb serving as the head to her many barbed limbs. The feeling she gave me then was inquisitive.

"I'm going to talk you through making a body today, okay sweetie?" I answered the unspoken question.

In reply, her body shimmered, turning mercurial as her limbs flowed together into the body like that of a snake, eye like patterns marking its scales and leading up to an otherwise eyeless head.

I smiled at the sight and reached out to tap her head with a finger.

"I know you can make bodies of your own," I told her, saying the words out loud even as I used Floral Communion to send her the message; for today, it was best that she have something to listen to. "But I mean a body like mine. There are things I wasn't sure you were ready for until now because they're…complex. But I think you should be able to do it now. If needed, we can distribute the points you have left wherever they're needed, but it should be fine. Now that you can see well, we should be able to work on your other senses, like taste, touch, smell, and hearing. Each of those requires different organs and cells, though there are various ways to do each. I'll talk you through the basics of each today and I figured we'd work on some other things in the process, like speech. Later on, I'll show you some tricks when it comes to your senses, but don't worry too much about it today, okay? Let's start with hearing."

Raising a wall of earth with a gesture, I began to carve markings into it even as I started to describe the process to her. Autumn's shapeshifting abilities made this both more and less difficult—on the one hand, putting things into practice was made fairly trivial, but on the other, I had to build ends around her means. Autumn didn't have a brain in a human sense of the term, nor any permanent organs or structures of any kind. Instead, her mind was either somehow housed throughout the entirely of her body or else in her soul, both of which were rather outside my expertise. What that boiled down to was that her eyes, for example, transmitted thing to pretty much nowhere, yet still allowed her to see.

While the easy solution, then, would have been to simply make her grow ears—tympanic membranes, ossicles, cochlea, the whole shebang—I had to think of what was best for _her_ , not simply what was convenient for _me_. She was a shapeshifter, after all, and at home in any number of alien forms, so why bind her to the weaknesses of bodies that weren't hers? When it came to giving her sight, I hadn't limited her to the eyes of humans, whether in form or in function; I'd explained _how_ to make them, of course, but also how to construct more complex structures, like the photoreceptive marks on her petals and skin. Later, I'd show her how to perceive the broader spectrums of light, such as infrared and ultraviolet, enabling her to perceive things in more detail. For the same reason, I'd never limited her desire to grow additional eyes, because why leave yourself blind spots if you didn't have to.

Evolution may have been a blind watchmaker, but I could see just fine and couldn't see a single reason to limit her needlessly. The animal kingdom held up countless possibilities, from the ears of a bat to the nose of a grizzly bear, and I'd give her as much of it as I could.

So instead of teaching her to create ears, I taught her how to hear. I'd spent awhile drawing up the specifications for membranes and structures that would allow her to hear in pretty much any form, from delicate ridges that were sensitive to vibrations to flesh that could perceive changes in the air accurately enough to effectively hear. I showed her how to convert parts of her body into nerve tissues, designing several for different situations and to react to different stimuli, depending on the body she wore at the time. I built subsystems specialized for perceiving temperature, sound, light, contact, and chemoreception, so that she wouldn't have to sacrifice anything as she changed shape.

Truthfully, it sounded complicated—and it was—but Autumn made it look easy. It was pretty simple to put the pieces together when you didn't actually have to put them _together_. None of the systems or subsystems had to connect to a brain or transmit that information anywhere, they simply had to function on their own and Autumn's power look care of the rest. Better yet, her INT was high enough that she only had to see or hear something once to remember it. I explained the designs carefully, showed her exactly how they should work, and could trust her to remember it forever.

Of course, remembering wasn't the same as being able to use while under stress, but we'd work on that if she wanted to. She had a lot of potential on that front, especially now that she'd grown into her power. Animasynthesis and Green Binder had revealed themselves as properties of her Semblance, 'Gatherer,' which I assumed was also the explanation for how her body worked in general. I couldn't be certain of the precise details of it yet—mainly because she hadn't finished growing physically _or_ mentally—but it seemed to focus on bringing things together, whether those things are traces of energy in her environment or other plants. I couldn't deny it was an interesting power though; it kind of made me wonder what Gou's would be, once he developed that far, assuming my Familiar skill hadn't somehow taken its place.

"Autumn," I said a few hours later, sitting in front of the pool of biomass she'd metaled into. It was mostly silver-green in color, but occasionally bits and pieces of other colors rose from the fluid before being submerged. The only solid parts of her were the lily pads that she'd formed on the surface of her mass, which she was using as her sensory organs at the moment. The rest was being used to form short-lived bodies and test her new abilities.

At the sound of my voice, however, the pool went still. Every ripple on its surface stopped in place and then went smooth, letting me know that she'd heard me.

"Do you think you're ready to put everything together?" I asked. "We can work on making a body now, if you want."

She was silent for a moment, partially because she didn't have vocal chords at the moment and partially because I hadn't taught her how to speak yet, either. For that reason, I was careful to speak slowly, explaining the definition of each word with Floral Communion to start building up her vocabulary.

Besides, it's not like she needed a voice to answer such a simple question.

After a moment, the miniature lake began to bubble and swirl inwards, retreating back into the certainty of form. The plants on its surface melted instantly and were consumed by the motions of the quicksilver mass, even as something began to take shape in the center. Something wooden began to rise from the receding waters, white-brown at first but quickly darkening to a dark reddish brown. Other growths began to rise around it while the rest of Autumn's body, still fluid, swept them up and began to twist into shape around them, connecting them to one another at joints.

They were bones, I thought. She was putting a body together in an exceedingly literal fashion. Not quite a human one, either; though there were more similarities than differences, some places were missing joints while others had them to spare. The skull and ribcage were the biggest differences, however—which I suppose made sense, as she didn't have any real need for either. Instead of going with the human design, she built them as lattices of lacquered wood, with her ribcage extending all the way down her spine and her skull lacking anything like a jaw and having openings for things to pass through or grow around.

Almost the moment I had that thought, the rest of her mass began to bind itself to the structure. Instead of a conventional musculature, she grew coils of thorny vines and tendrils, the growths affixing themselves and then bonding to one another, filling in with additional plant matter. As soon as it was in place, another lattice of wood began to grow over it in an exoskeleton, providing addition support as it helped give her shape. Finally, a skin began growing over her in ridged, armored plates, covering everything in a protective coating reminiscent of the eyeless heads she'd used to feed herself before. They interlocked almost seamlessly, showing only small glimpses of connecting material between the plates as Autumn twisted, coils flowing and attaching beneath her armored skin.

She struck an imposing figure, looking more like a fully armored knight then the young girl she was inside. She was tall, too—nearly as tall as I was, which was presumably what she'd used as a baseline. The end result didn't look much at all like a human, but I suppose that was fine; if she chose to be a Hunter, an armored hide would protect her better than normal skin, anyway. The only part of her that was uncovered was the thorny mass that made up her, the layers of wood around it binding it in the rough approximation of a human head.

"Well?" I prompted after a moment of silence. "How do you feel?"

The coils of her face shifted slightly, as if to make room. After several seconds, a pair of empty sockets were revealed and more fluid began to flow in from all around it, quickly taking the shape of eyes. They weren't the only ones I could she on her body, but they were by far the most visible, with a few dozen others simply glinting through coils and the gaps in her armored plates, or else forming as colorful designs upon her skin. The ones on her face, however, simply gleamed, pure silver on a background of bright green.

After a moment, she began to lumber towards me, walk a bit stilted from having never done so before. Once she was close enough, she held out a gauntleted hand towards me, fingers ridged and clawed and marked by thorns.

I look it with a smiling, humming happily at her.

 **Thus Kindly I Scatter  
LV 52  
Autumn Rose**

**XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Raising**

"Father?" Autumn said, speaking her first word as she turned her head my way. Her neck creaked slightly with the motion, the green of her eyes faintly luminous even as the silver reflected my face. Her voice had an almost musical quality to it, which made sense given that the voice box I'd constructed for her was reminiscent of an instrument. It was a complicated structure currently housed in her chest, and fully capable of generating complex sounds without the need of lips or a tongue. I'd built it that way intentionally, as I had to account for the variety of forms she could assume, which included things that, logically, wouldn't have the mouthparts needed for human speech, if they even had mouths at all.

So far, there didn't seem to be any problems. Granted, I'd only just started teaching her words, voicing them aloud and then reciting the definitions and usages of them to her mentally using Floral Communion. Right now, I was just building up her vocabulary, but we'd move on to more complex areas some enough; grammar would be a tricky bitch, no doubt, because our language was an unholy mishmash of God only knows how many languages, left to stew for who knows how long. I'd never given much thought to how hard it probably was to teach to a young child, but what seemed like half of the rules had more exceptions then correct usages. It would take time for her to get used to it, to say nothing of sentence structure and the various bits that were context sensitive. Teaching her mathematics would be easy by comparison, when we got around to it.

But that was for later.

"Yes, sweetie?" I asked, looking up from my work. I'd need to be careful with that, because she was going to learn body language from me and apply it to others; I didn't want to be the cause of any misunderstandings for her. Right now, I was using Gossamer to spin thread, which I was sewing into a gift for her—a simple, white silk cloak. Depending on the choice she made, I'd likely sew her many more, most of them illustrated with Dust designs that would, hopefully prepare her for any occasion. Regardless of what decision she made, it would be some time before I like her play with Dust, but still, I better start practicing now.

Autumn stretched out a finger, pointing towards the approaching pair.

"Autumn," Gou said, trotting up to her calmly. "It is good to see you in high spirits."

Autumn's expression didn't shift—she hadn't built it to and didn't have much of a face besides—but she knelt quietly and reached out towards the dog. I cleared my throat meaningfully and she paused in the midst of the action before her hand shook slightly, barbs and thorns receding beneath the armor of her broad hands. Once I gave her a nod, she finished the motion and touched Gou, simply laying a hand on his back. She was silent for a long moment, searching for the right word before speaking.

"Soft," She murmured at last.

"Hey, kid," Adam greeted, approaching lazily as he put his sword away. "You grew up big, eh? You remember me?"

She turned her eyes towards him before remember to follow it up with another creaking turn of her head, acknowledging him and then slowly inclining her head.

"She remembers everything," I answered for her, setting a reassuring Psychokinetic hand on her shoulder. "Still, now's a good time for formal introductions. Autumn, meet Adam and Gou."

"Adam," She repeated, looking towards the man before turning her gaze back to the dog. "Gou."

"You two finished training?" I asked, glancing towards Adam.

"Mm," Adam hummed, cracking his neck. "Gou said you seemed about finished."

"I suppose I am," I mused, looking back at the cloak that was swiftly taking shape. "You think the time's right, Gou?"

"Unless you believe I shall make further progress tonight," He replied, sitting and look at me. I Observed him carefully and then nodded at him.

"Probably not," I said with a sigh. "We could probably get it higher, but we're approaching the point where it'll take days or weeks to make further progress. It's not worth the time—not when we can put it to better use training. Go ahead."

Gou nodded, status screen appearing before him. To make things easier for him, I lent him my Psychokinesis and he began to place his points where they were most needed.

Adam raised an eyebrow at me, expression inquisitive.

"I asked him to put all his points in Vitality," I explained. "It should protect him from the consequences of using my skills, or at least most of them."

"How many points does he have?" Adam asked.

"Four hundred thirty-five," I answered. "Which should bring him up to nearly five hundred."

Adam whistled, looking back at the dog.

"Damn," He said. "That's a lot of Vitality. Add Aura to the equation…"

"Not just Aura," I replied. "I can give him my Adamant Skin, too, as well as Bai Hu's Hide. Armored Shell, Cithaeron Hide, Unbroken Steel…if I wasn't so worried about what effect it might have on him, I could even let him use Metamorphosis. It should be enough."

"Enough to shrug off a heavy bombing, you mean?" Adam wondered. "That's…what? At least a thousand Vitality just from the effects of Aura, and then God knows what from the rest of your skills. He should be able to survive just about anything."

I shrugged.

"One can hope," I whispered with a slight sigh before tilting my head at my friend. "It might be a good idea for you to follow his lead, you know."

"To dump all my points in Vitality, you mean?"

"No, of course not," I shook my head. "Gou can manage it by focusing on nothing else, but that build works because I'm here to reinforce it and shore up his weak points. You already spread your points around some out of necessity. But…your Strength and Dexterity are already between two fifty and three hundred. You could continue to balance them, or you could pick one to specialize in from now on."

"Maybe," Adam mused. "If I did, which would you choose?"

"Dexterity," I answered immediately.

"Gotta go fast, huh?" Adam said with a slight smirk.

"Of course," I replied, returning it with one of my own. "Besides, it doesn't just cover movement speed; it handles attack speed, dodging, and even how well you can use weapons. If you've got enough Strength to deal damage and enough Vitality to take a hit—which you do—then laying on the hurt while dodging everything that comes your way is a decent way of handling things. That should work pretty well with your Iaido, anyhow."

Adam laid a hand on the hilt of his sword and mulled it over before nodding.

"Maybe," He answered. "I might do that, then. You've put some thought into this?"

"Someone's got to do your thinking for you," I joked with a slight smile before nodding, expression going serious. "Yeah. We need to build for survival here, after all. Gou's best off with a Vitality build, because again, I can hand the rest for him. You've been working under a balance of the physicals and it's worked so far, but it should go without saying that leveling up is going to get harder and harder from now on. Did that extra Wisdom help you any?"

"Some," He replied, nodding. "Makes my Aura come back faster, like you said, and it feels…smoother? It's easier to gather—or, at least, it seems that way. Maybe I've just gotten better at figuring out _how_ to gather it, I don't know. I was going to ask you if you thought I would benefit from some more Intelligence."

"Do I think you should get smarter?" I asked, shooting him a slightly triumphant smirk as he winced, realizing his blunder. "Adam, I _always_ think that."

"Hah," He said dryly, annoyed with himself. I could feel it and knew it was going to be a good day simply because Adam would kick himself for it for hours. "Very funny. But I'm serious. And don't say 'So am I.'"

"Heh," I answered, smiling widely at him but nodding. "Honestly, I don't know. I can use Observe to look at your skills—which isn't exactly the same as looking at your Semblance but more…seeing applications of it, I suppose? But Observing skills isn't the same as having them; the profiles don't tell me how they improve like mine would. Probably because for other people, improving something isn't as simple as putting some more points in the right place."

"Rub it in, why don't you," Adam muttered, rolling his eyes as I gave him another smirk, filling it with as much superiority as I possibly could, solely to irritate him.

"But it's like you said," I told him. "Your Wisdom increased and various things became easier for you. Intelligence might be the same way. At the very least, it should give you more MP to work with, which might allow you to charge your attacks up more, but would it let you charge it _faster_? I don't know. Speed is the issue here, after all. It might help you think of—or maybe even allow—other uses for your Semblance, though, so you might want to give it a shot. At the end of the day, though, I think…"

I paused for a moment, pondering how to best word it.

"I think," I began again. "That your Semblance is an expression of who you are. So you'll probably get results no matter what you focus on, it's just a matter of _what_ results. My power works differently, simplifying and streamlining things, but for you…"

I shrugged.

Adam considered that for a moment.

"So what you mean is that my power develops the way I do?" He asked, to which I simply shrugged again.

"Along the same lines, maybe," I said. "I really don't know—I don't think this is anyone's area of expertise—but if your soul is the root of your Semblance then…maybe? It's hard to say because you're improving with the help of my power rather than in anything like the normal way, but it seems like it might be possible. You got better at quick, powerful strikes after focusing in Strength and Dexterity and Wisdom helped smooth things along. Your power didn't _change_ or anything, but it sort of grew with you. I don't know if it means anything or if it matters, but it might. Semblances are supposed to be expressions of the self, after all. It's something to think about, at least."

"Mm," Adam agreed, mulling it over before shrugging. "And I will. What about those two?"

I followed his gaze to Autumn and Gou, the latter of which was slowly dumping hundreds of points into Vitality and shrugged in return.

"Who knows," I whispered as if I hadn't considered it. "They're both young, still—who knows how they'll grow. We'll just have to wait and see."

Adam nudged me with a foot.

"You sound like an old man," He informed me.

"Well, I was a thousand years old," I replied. "You whippersnapper."

Adam snorted at that and looked back at Gou just as he finished, looked the results over once, and closed the window, locking the points in place in the process.

The results were almost immediate.

The moment the window closed, Gou recoiled as if struck and then hunched low, as if a great weight had been placed on his shoulders. Realizing something was wrong, I moved to his side in an instant, shattering the sound barrier as a matter of course.

"Gou," I said urgently, kneeling by his side and placing my hand on his head. Already, I was focusing my senses upon him, peering through layers of flesh, blood, and bone as I searched for the problem—and even as I did, I was healing him, prioritizing that even above identifying the cause. But he wasn't _hurt_ , as such—

Ah, I thought, calming. Gou's HP was low, but not because he'd taken any damage—rather, his health bar had simply increased greatly and was growing by the second. Ten thousand points, twelve thousand point, it simply climbed higher and higher as I watched, and I could see the changes wrought on his body in the process.

This was the nature of Vitality, the stat that covered health, damage resistance, stamina, and various other things. Such a massive increase in the stat had multiplied Gou's HP bar more than a dozen times over and his body was scrambling to respond. The stats were, after all, representations of the user's ability—and the physical stats were especially tangible. Increasing them didn't just improve the numbers on a status screen; they changed one's very body. Even I wasn't an exception to that, though the nature of my power muted the more extreme aspects; if you increased Strength or Dexterity, your body would change to match.

And abruptly, I wondered precisely how much. It wasn't a major issue for me, as my physical stats were still below a hundred, though that would soon change—still, I was fairly normal in those regards by Hunter standards. Maybe a bit exceptional for a first year student and outright ludicrous after my skills finished fucking with the numbers, but well within the norm simply going by the numbers. It was my mental abilities—and my control over my Aura that grew from them—that were insane and made more so by the various skills my power had granted me. Someone like Adam, though, who had the better part of three hundred in _two_ physical stats…that was edging pretty firmly into outlier territory. Nothing impossible, especially when you were talking about Hunters and such, but the type of thing that would be noteworthy by anyone's standards. I gave him shit a lot, but Adam was strong enough to be a peer to Albus and Finn, easy, and though the interactions between their powers could confuse things a great deal, in a purely physical fight, he'd crush them both. The only person I'd ever Observed to have physical stats in the same ballpark as him was Penny, and even she was lagging behind a bit now.

But _five hundred_? I hadn't given it much thought until right this instant, but I'd never seen stats like that on anything but the mightier Grimm. Going by what I'd seen, that was well and truly outside the norm—maybe even outside what was physically _possible_ , in most cases. Most Hunters didn't even reach level one hundred, much less go far past it, not because they don't train hard or try, but simply because there's a limit to what you were capable of, even with bodies reinforced by Aura. Some people managed to push past them anyway and Semblances threw things up in the air, but still, you could only get so strong naturally, so smart, so fast, so anything. Hunters could reach far beyond the abilities of a Human, even ignoring their more obvious powers, but they weren't limitless.

Hell, that was literally the reason I existed, according to Keter. Even for a group that had controlled the world and ruled everyone in it, there had been boundaries. Thinking about it logically, with normal training, you couldn't just dump a hundred points into one thing and leave everything else untouched; a build with a hundred Strength and ten Vitality and Dexterity wasn't just _rare_ , it was unnatural. As you grew stronger, you built up stamina, various muscles served dual purposes, and so on. Sure, you could specialize in something and end up with Dexterity that greatly outstripped your Strength, but they were still interconnected to _some_ extent.

My power allowed me to ignore that. Not only could I improve something instantly, I didn't even need to train it conventionally to do so. So long as I had the points, I could make myself stronger, faster, and the Gamer's Body would handle the rest—and it had worked for Adam, who'd grown stronger and faster, as expected, the structure of his body shifting to allow it. He'd already had a great deal of training before meeting me, anyway, so things were still fairly balanced, though I'd noticed a few oddities.

Gou, however…Gou was still a puppy. A young dog, if one with an Aura backing him up; his stats were far lower than Adam's had been and his change far more focused and extreme. Even beyond that, Vitality was special, because of how it played into so many basic things—HP, HP regen, stamina, defense, and God knows what else. What did it mean when those things changed, for a normal person? Assuming that when you're unhurt, you're at full health, what would abruptly being over a dozen times healthier mean? For me, it was as simple as numbers on a screen and the ability to take more hits, but for Gou…

He was changing before my eyes. As I watched, I could see matter being drawn into his body, given form by his Aura as he began to change. I could see his skin split as muscles grew, his bones crack as new material flooded in to lengthen and reinforce them. His entire body pulsed and convulsed, tearing apart his own flesh just to have room to grow and healing even as it continued. All the while, his health bar ticked quickly upwards, filling the newly created space as his body 'healed.' Between his natural Vitality and his Aura, the process would be completed in less than a minute, but…

I could tell it hurt and I acted to stop it. I pulled out all the stops and switched to Reformation, causing his entire body to be wrapped in light, hiding him completely from sight. The light held his shape for but a moment before shifting, growing in all dimensions over a matter of moments—but it still wasn't enough. I tried again and then a third time, just to be sure, making the light grow faster and faster until I was standing beside a massive hound of pure light, mouth open to reveal daggers of luminous teeth. With its shoulder of a height with my head and its body the better part of five meters in length, it was a giant beast, and still growing, if very slowly now, drawing power from me as it went.

 **Chesed (Passive) LV1 EXP: 30.97%  
The Mercy that shields the world. As thought gives way to action, Wisdom gives way to Kindness, the power of the right hand. The brother of Judgement, it accepts and shows grace, guarding the innocent from the evils of the world. This ability represents the heightened presence of Chesed within the soul of the user and through its love, gives them the power to heal and defend.  
100% increase to the effectiveness of all skills that prevent or heal damage, as well as all skills that directly support the power of an ally.  
100% increase to experience gained by all such skills.  
At the discretion of the user, all healing skills may also negate the pain felt by the target while restoring damage, as well as suspend the damaging effects of ailments such as poison for the duration of the healing process. **

And then, all at once, it stopped. The light clinging to him began to peel away, floating into the air like a swarm of fireflies before finally flickering out of existence—and when they faded, they revealed Gou in his new form.

"Gou…" I whispered, moving my hand to his head as I levitated upwards. "Are you okay?"

It was a fair question, I thought; he now resembled the dog I knew so well in only the broadest of strokes. The coloration was mostly the same, but even beyond simple size, he looked like a wholly different creature, like something out of a different era—more heavily muscles and furred, with different proportions to his limbs and snout. I wouldn't say he looked prehistoric, but mainly because I was pretty sure history had never coughed up something quite like him—not on its own, at least. His eyes were the same, at least, if writ large, and they turned towards me at once, blinking as he breathed.

At last he spoke.

"Yes, of course," He said, though he sounded so dazed I wasn't sure I believed him. He paused to collect himself and shook once, several strands of his fur scraping against my skin like they were made of steel. "I am well. What…what happened, exactly? Why is everything…?"

"I'm sorry," I answered, healing him again for good measure. "I honestly didn't expect this. Maybe I should have."

"Didn't expect—" He stopped himself, looking at me and then down at himself. "Ah. This is different."

Absently, he scrapped a paw on the ground, tearing up heavy chunks by simple virtue of his size.

"Are you…" I stopped myself as well, abruptly unsure how to finish. Was he well? What did he think of what had just happened to his body? Was he regretting this yet? I was calm, but that didn't keep me from worrying, especially since I'd been blindsided by the reminder that I still had no idea how my power worked and couldn't just take for granted that it would do what I wanted.

"I'm quite a bit bigger now," Gou mused, oblivious to my worries. "That might make housing something of a corner. Sneaking out to meet you might be a touch problematic as well, though I suppose I could just let people think what they will. Certainly, this should make fighting easier but doorways…hm."

"I'll…think of something," I promised awkwardly, making him return his notice to me.

"Ah!" He almost exclaimed, realization striking. "No need to worry about me, I was just thinking aloud. In all likelihood, Grandmother will be able to resolve this issue somehow—I was just concerned that meeting you might be more difficult from now on."

He sat and looked at me seriously—a look he pulled off a lot better now that he was larger than a car.

"Please, do not blame yourself for anything," He continued. "It is not regret that I feel, merely surprise."

I lowered my head, smiling at him uncertainly. He was telling the truth, I knew that, but…I still wasn't sure how to feel about this.

Apparently I was the only one.

"Gou," Autumn said again, approaching with slow strides and looking up at him with her silver eyes. She didn't seem to find the sudden change at all unusual, but then, she'd been a shapeshifter since shortly after she was conscious. She probably thought this was normal, an impression that hanging around me was unlikely to break. Instead, she simple extended two fingers, lengthening them until they could wrap around Gou's neck in a very loose approximation of a leash.

"Hello, Autumn," Gou said again, turning towards her. "It seems like you'll be able to ride on my back again."

Autumn didn't understand a word of that but seemed unbothered by it, choosing to hum instead. Her version of humming sounded like someone was playing with a violin, at turns musical and screeching.

"Looks like all that working out has finally paid off, G," Adam mused, approaching as well.

"One would hope," Gou answered. "Though my effectiveness in combat remains to be seen."

"Eh," Adam grunted with a shrug. "You've already won in the way that matters."

"Oh?"

Adam reached up to grab my shirt and pull me down to earth, continuing as he did.

"You're taller than Jaune," He said, smirking. "And Autumn can shapeshift, so she's taller than Jaune in spirit. Which means you're the smallest person here."

That last part was directed at me and I put aside my worries to give him a flat look.

"Really?" I asked. "You're making jokes about my height _now_?"

"You're right," Adam admitted. "That was beneath me. I'll try to rise above it. You know, grow as a person. Be the bigger man."

I used Levant to make sure Autumn couldn't hear and then told Adam to go fuck himself with a rake.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Convincing**

The earth shattered for perhaps twenty meters as my foot came down, leaving a cone of destruction behind me as I pushed off. I determined the best route in the moment between thought and action, taking to the air with a mighty Lunge—and if that path took me through several buildings, it was merely because they did nothing to stop me. I felt it as I passed through air and glass and stone with equal ease, shards and rubble scraping uselessly against my skin as I exited the building and rose into the city skyline. I reached out towards the Giant Nevermore as I flew by, grasping a wing and tearing it free as I continued on.

I wasn't alone. Trailing just a step behind me was Gou, massive form tearing apart Grimm and buildings alike in his wake. He shed rubble like rain water as he went, brushing it off without so much as a thought. Stuff like this was nothing to him, after all—especially with my skills applying to us both. His already steely fur and diamond flesh were enhanced by the layers of protection my power granted, turning him into an almost unstoppable force. The sheer depths of his Vitality, boosted by my power, was enough to shrug of everything he'd been hit with so far without even a scratch, especially with the benefit of Chesed. I had the full suite of buffs on us both, giving him the benefits of Regeneration to increase his already ludicrous rate of recovery which, along with the effects of Beast Tamer, meant he could recover from near death to full strength in less than a minute. Haste bolstered his speed while Feather Fall allowed him to land lightly, despite his massive form. I gave him Mountain's Strength to help bolster the might granted to him by his new found body and gave him the Firepower to shred the Grimm.

And that was just the start.

My gauntleted hands turned incandescent and so did Gou's fangs as he landed beside me, upside-down on a sudden platform of hardened air. We Lunged again to reach the ground, descending with a crash into the midst of the Grimm even as we spewed fire at the surrounding horde. A pair of white tigers rose around us, glowing with the Aura they were composed of—mine a roughly humanoid beast, his fully animalistic—and we flashed forward, leaving scattered limbs behind us. I matched my pace to his and kept moving; so long as he was this close, Familiar insured that he could keep up, more or less. His size, lower Dexterity, and the specifics of my skills kept him from reaching my full speed, but I didn't have to worry about leaving him behind so long as I remembered that. Because of the way Familiar worked, many of the skills I shared with him used his stats to calculate results, which put a stop to some of the shenanigans I had planned, but I supposed you couldn't have everything.

I couldn't complain, though; putting aside the initial shock, this was more than enough for me. Sure, his movements were a bit sloppy, but that was to be expected—he'd never fought on this level before. Making the jump from a normal dog to the versatile engine of destruction my power would manufacture would take practice and time, but we'd manage it together. Once we'd managed that, though, he'd make an exceptionally powerful addition to our team, if one we'd all need some adjusting to. Though Familiar didn't allow me to share most of my attack skills, as it was limited to effects that targeted me, that wasn't an issue; I remained ideally suited for the role of bombardment, especially with Psychokinesis expanding range and angles of attack, and what skills I _could_ share allowed for more than a little power. As they were now, his defense matched or exceeded my own and with the White Tiger of the West allowing him to turn HP into MP, he had plenty of power to work with despite his technically low pool of MP. And when it came to physical power…

When, the field of falling builds we'd left behind were a testament to our strength. So long as he remained close to me, he was every bit as strong as he looked and then some. Despite my concern over his sudden change, I was already thinking of potential strategies we could put into play now. I could ride him into battle now, though I had no real need, however amusing the thought of Aura Crashing our way through enemy lines was. Instead, it would make more sense to allow a slower combatant like Adam to take advantage of the speed I could grant Gou, as he was more than equipped to bear the weight—and in battle, it would allow Adam to keep pace. If we trained some and practiced it, we could set up several methods of attack based on that, easily. In fact…

I turned on a dime, sending out a mental call to Gou to make him follow. With my power at work, he cornered amazingly well, barely sliding as he changed directions. We climbed a building in a second, shattering glass as we ran clean up its side, and then leapt high into the air before allowing ourselves to fall.

We landed with a surprisingly mild crash, right in front of Adam and Autumn.

"Show off," Adam said, standing at ease. I wasn't sure which of us it was directed at, but we both smiled in reply. "You done with the test drive?"

"Yup," I replied. "Your turn."

My friend tilted his head, staring at me oddly.

"Eh?" Adam wondered, looking confused.

I turned to Gou and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mind?" I asked. "I'm sorry to ask, but Adam's so slow, I can't take him anywhere."

Gou understood easily and nodded, lying down.

"I do not mind," He answered before looking past me. "Come, Adam. Let's go for a walk."

I smiled brightly and reached out to pet his head. Even lying down as he was, I didn't even need to lower my arm to do it, which was one of the many things that would take some getting used to. Despite that, though, I was glad that he was still the same and that, besides the awkwardness one would expect from suddenly finding oneself in an entirely different body, he seemed fine.

But his body wasn't the only thing that had changed.

 **Heavenly Dog  
LV 88  
Tiangou**

His title hadn't shifted immediately, but instead had changed after we'd played around for a while. That meant something, I was sure of it—I just wasn't sure of what. There hadn't been any changes to his status screen besides the Vitality increase, but after the surprise my power had just given me, I would be careful to keep an eye on it, along with the similar change in Autumn's.

"Oh," Adam said, finally catching on. He stared at Gou for a long moment before nodding and approaching. "Well, I hope you're a better at this then Jaune was—we tried to cross the Sea and let me tell you, it was a bumpy ride."

"You're the one who didn't want to be carried," I replied. "I mean, it's not like I don't carry this team, anyway."

Adam had already climbed onto Gou's back, which put him several heads above me even while Gou was lying down. He looked around as if baffled and then leaned over to squint down at me.

"Did you say something?" He shouted. "I can't hear you from up here!"

"Hey Gou, could you help Adam?" I asked my Familiar. "He's been having trouble with big words; try dumbing things down for him, okay?"

Gou wagged his tail, which was quite an affair for a dog his size. If anybody had been standing behind him, they'd probably have been bowled over. Hell, if any _cars_ had been parked behind him, _they_ probably would have been bowled over.

Before we could say anything else, however, Autumn approached, slowly reaching out towards Gou. It was pretty easy to figure out what she wanted, but…

"Autumn," I sighed, thinking about how to put this. As I did, Adam spoke up as well.

"Sorry, baby girl," He said, hand falling to his sword to tap it. "You have to be a Hunter to ride, at least when there are Grimm in town. Can't have you getting hurt."

Autumn looked up at him for a long moment, lacking a mouth to frown with but seeming displeased. Her left arm shimmered, flowing into green and purple flesh as it became a more armored version of one of her usual, armored heads, and with longer teeth. Its mouth opened wide as if to show those teeth, but instead of a tongue, another arm emerged, looking identical to the one she'd just transformed. At the same time, the flesh on her right shoulder and just beneath her right arm began to ripple, small growths beginning to emerge. After several seconds, these growths revealed themselves to be fingers, and were followed by hands until she had two more arms on that side. Reaching behind her with all three, bending her elbows backwards in the process, she grasped her spine—or, at least, the location a spine would be on a normal person—sinking the fingers of her three hands into her own flesh before she started to pull.

After a few seconds, she finished extracting a long, segmented spear, which continued to grow in her hands. Twirling the weaponized spinal cord once by literally rotating her two new shoulders around the original one, she planted it in the ground and stood for a moment, looking significantly more like a mythological figure then a young girl and seeming proud of that fact. I had a mental image of her telling us she was a big girl.

Adam raised an eyebrow at her, looked at me, and shrugged uselessly.

I sighed and took a step forward, laying a hand on her arm.

"Autumn, before any of that," I began, hesitating for a moment before shaking my head and continuing. "I need to talk to you about something."

I took Autumn by her free hand—that is, the one coming out of the mouth of a giant, eyeless beast—and pulled at her gently. At once, she turned and followed, shifting her attention towards me as she did.

"Normally, I'd say she's too young for the Talk," Adam put it from atop Gou, unhelpful to the end. "But in this case, it's probably best to tell here about the birds and the bees before they come flying around on their own."

"Off with you," I replied, rolling my eyes at him, and Adam yelped slightly as Gou stood up and jumped straight to the top of a nearby building. As he left range, the skills he benefited from just for being my Familiar faded and I had to activate a few new ones for him instead. When that was done and Gou had carried Adam's smarmy ass screaming into the distance, I turned and looked at Autumn with a mixture of concern and quiet victory.

After a moment, however, the latter fell away and the former took hold. There was something to be said for petty vengeance, but it wasn't enough to overcome parental concern, at least in this case—and looking at my daughter, I definitely felted concerned. Gou's sudden change was a reminder that I couldn't take anything for granted, especially when it came to biology that was as different from my own and things I had no precedent for. I'd long since accepted that my power did whatever the hell it wanted, but I should have seen Gou's growth coming, or at least that was how I felt. It was obvious in hindsight, but mistakes often were; I should have realized that physical changes beyond what was natural for the body would cause…well, unnatural results.

But I hadn't—not until the fact was thrown right into my face. I'd just figured my power would make it happen. Which it had, really, just not in a way I had expected. This build is impossible for your current body? Time to make one that can support it better! Somehow, that logic didn't seem as startling in hindsight.

And yet, I couldn't help but wonder. Adam, Autumn, and Gou had all been changed by my power in major—if different—ways; how much would they change in the future? Hell, look at me. Technically, the skills I'd gotten from raising my Intelligence and Wisdom had caused some pretty tremendous changes to me, if not physical ones. With the Gamer's Body, I was pretty far from normal to begin with, and it wouldn't be the first time I'd avoided a physical issue unknowingly. For someone else, there might have been obvious changes or physical requirements, but for me? Who knows? It's not like I particularly cared what happened to my body as long as it didn't reduce my effectiveness.

For my friends and daughter, though…things were different. Truthfully, it wasn't really the change itself that concerned me; I'd worried about Gou, about how he'd felt about having his body so suddenly and violently changed, but at the same time, I'd cynically noted that his new body was better, if not in every way, then in the ways I cared about. His new body would help him _survive_. It would make him tougher in a fight, give him an advantage. In his place, I'd have gladly thrown away my body for Jaune 2.0; it was nothing but a tool for me, after all, and endlessly useful as it was, I'd gladly replace it with something better if I had the chance.

But I understood that others might have second thoughts or concerns that being changed against their will and I wouldn't force such a thing upon anyone else. I'd have spoken it over with Gou, given him a _choice_. Sure, he'd have probably said yes, but I'd stripped him of the option due to my own ignorance.

And that's what it came down to. Ignorance. I had no idea how my power could change them. If Adam pursued Dexterity past the limits of the human body, what new form would my power give him. If Autumn continued to pursue Wisdom and Intelligence beyond the limits of her own mind, would she be given a new one? I could think of possibilities—biological changes like Gou's were possible, or even mechanization. The changes would need to be extreme, but if you could use stronger materials than human flesh…if you could replace slow nerve impulses with actual electricity…if you could go even further…

The possibilities were endless. I'd change myself that way here and now given half the chance and pay for the privilege.

But it wasn't up to me to decide. I could choose how they would change, couldn't tell them the specifics, couldn't even really tell them when or why. 'At some point, maybe over time or maybe all at once, something would happen, maybe.' What kind of warning was that? What kind of _choice_ was that? I'd always tried to be open and upfront about the dangers of helping me, but this had taken things out of my hands and I hated that. I knew the changes would probably help us, at least in battle, but I couldn't tell them if there would be downsides or dangers or anything. I couldn't even do it first to make sure it was safe, at least not without wasting a lot of points and reducing my own potential—something I couldn't afford to do with the fate of the world on the line.

Needless to say, where my body was concerned, what happened, happened. I didn't really care if my body mutated—if anything, I was worried about where the changes might _stop_. That was another thing Gou's change had reminded me of, the limits of ability that his stat points had taken him beyond. And, on one hand, I was glad to know my stats could increase past that point…but on the other, those points weren't the only thing I valued. At each milestone, I got an increasing number of new skills, each of them enormously powerful. In many cases, it seemed like even a single one of those skills was worth the fifty points required to obtain it and _then_ some. I was well aware that even as high as my stats were, if those skills were taken away, I'd be only a fraction as strong as I was now. As long as I could continue to gain skills that way, I could multiply my power with each milestone.

But could that continue forever? I knew now that my power recorded information, including my skills. All of those skills were things that someone, somewhere, had once had. Maybe not all at the same time, maybe not even to the extent I did, but they had.

So what would happen when I reached a point that no one else had? The skills increased in both power and number as I invested more in a stat, presumably because I'd reached heights that allowed for more. At two hundred and fifty Wisdom especially, I didn't think it was arrogant to say I was near the top percentile in that area; if more than a small handful of people in history had reached that level, I'd be pretty surprised. What could I expect, then, if I pushed further? How many people had reached three hundred? Had anyone?

Maybe. Maybe not. I honestly had no idea and so I had no idea what to expect. Going by the pattern so far, I should get eleven skills from reaching that point, but I couldn't deny the possibility that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel. With Totality, I'd reached what seemed like the end point of the elemental skill chain that I'd followed since almost the beginning; maybe there was nothing left. I had no way of knowing but to try.

And I would. My next fifty points would go into Intelligence, bringing it up to two fifty as well, and then I'd put fifty more in Wisdom. I'd ask Keter beforehand, see if maybe he knew, but if not…I'd just have to give it a shot.

If it actually ran out though…I wasn't sure what I'd do. Sure, on one hand, fifty points was fifty points—but to me, that didn't mean a whole lot. Another fifty WIS would increase my MP regeneration, but by a fairly small amount relative to what I already had; useful still, to be sure, but nothing compared to the power of my skills. Even if I received a sudden shift on par with Gou's it wouldn't match that. If it came to that, I'd invest in other stats—it would be at least twenty levels before it became an issue, after all, and by then, I'd definitely have physicals above a hundred. If fact, with my experience boosters and Acceleration, getting them over a hundred and fifty by the time of the Vytal Festival wasn't impossible and would be more than worth it. If I reached my limit in Wisdom, I'd just pick up elsewhere; Vitality or Dexterity first, to improve my ability to survive, then Strength, if needed.

But if I reached a limit in all of them…if I pushed everything to two hundred and fifty or three hundred or whatever…would it be enough? I'd no doubt be monstrously strong, but against Malkuth's power…last time, I'd fought him with a thousand years of experience at my back and I'd still lost.

Even now, there was so much I didn't know. So much I could prepare for or change or control. Maybe that's why I lead Autumn away and then turned to face her—because this, at least, was something I could control. It was something I could give and define and breakdown, however long it took.

"Sweetie," I said placing my hands on her shoulders. I spoke aloud even as I continued to define meanings for her with my power and she focused the entirety of her attention upon me. "You really have grown up a lot, haven't you?"

Autumn didn't preen at the praise nor tilt her head in confusion, primarily because body language didn't mean much to her at this point. I felt her emotions just fine through, and they were easy to understand.

"My daughter's so smart, too," I continued regardless, patting her on the head with a smile. "You're still young, but you still know a lot…and your wise enough to understand this, at least. So I'm going to tell you everything I can, okay? And feel free to ask any questions if you get confused, alright?"

"Yes," Autumn answered after a long moment and I took a deep breath.

"Autumn, I'm a Hunter," I said. "And if you want to be one too, I'll do everything I can to help you. But first, I have to tell you what that means and then you can decide for yourself."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Explaining**

I paused for a moment, honestly uncertain. How did one explain the state of the world to a small child? Autumn was smart, but she had no context for…much of anything. One of these days, I was probably going to have to sit her down and explain just how far from the norm her daddy was, but one thing at a time.

When did I first find out what the world was like? I don't even remember. The Grimm had always just been there, the monsters in the dark and at our doors. I'd been told to stay away and be cautious at some point, I was sure, but it must have been when I was very young—that's when most people learned, at least. It was something most children were taught along with their letters and numbers, if not beforehand. Which was a bit odd, but also necessary; hiding the knowledge that the world was full of horrifying monsters that would gladly eat them wasn't doing kids any favors, however much we tried to convince ourselves that the Kingdoms were safe. Knowing when to run was a survival skill that was best cultivated as early as possible.

Odds were, my parents had told me or one of my sisters, mixing warnings into my bedtime stories. My great memory didn't do much for stuff I'd forgotten years ago, which was a bit sad; right now, I wished I remembered the words they'd said.

"I'm a Hunter," I said again, deciding it was better than an uncertain silence. "Which means I hunt the creatures of Grimm."

"Grimm?" Autumn asked, repeating the word to show she didn't understand it.

I frowned, trying to decide how to explain it—but seeing was believing, wasn't it? With a gesture, I conjured up illusionary versions of some of the Grimm I fought; Beowolves, Nevermore, and so on. I surrounded us in rows of the creatures and then added several larger expressions, from a Giant Nevermore above us to a towering Goliath. I held onto the illusion for only a few moments because creating so many things, to say nothing of something the size of a Goliath, was a huge pain in the ass, but it was enough to make a point.

Autumn didn't move, no doubt sensing that they hadn't been real. Even so, I could see her taking note of the individual types and knew she'd recognize them if she saw them again, which was another important thing to teach children.

"The Grimm are…monsters," I said simply. "They kill people, unless Hunters are able to stop them."

"Kill?" She asked, which stumped me again. The subject of death was another thing I wasn't sure how to explain, especially from a metaphysical standpoint. As a reincarnated superweapon especially, I wasn't sure where to even start.

No, just keep it simple, Jaune. You can explain things in more detail later.

"Death is when something stops living," I said. "It's…well, generally speaking, if something dies, it means it's gone."

"Gone?" She asked uncertainly. That was a word she actually knew, she just wasn't certain of the context.

"Gone," I repeated. "If someone you know—someone like me—were to die, then we'd probably never see each other again. It means I wouldn't be able to come back to you. I'd be dead and gone."

She was silent for a long minute at that, seeming concerned by the very thought.

"I'm glad you're not dead," She said at last. "I'm glad you're not gone."

I smiled at that, swinging our hands between us as I nodded.

"Me too, sweetie," I replied. "But it's not just us, you know; a lot of people would be sad if the people they loved died, just like I'd be sad if my little girl went away. That's why Hunters fight—so other people don't lose the ones they care about. The Grimm want to kill us, so we fight to stop them."

"How?" She asked, looking at me with shining silver eyes.

I sighed at that, pursing my lips for a moment before answering.

"We kill them, instead," I told her. "So that they can't kill us."

"Different?" She asked.

"Ah," I agreed, nodding at her. "We're different from them in a lot of ways. Unlike us, the creatures of Grimm have no souls…but what that means, I'm no longer sure. But to make things simple, the easiest way to think about it is that they don't need to kill us, but do anyway—so we need to kill them just to survive."

I gestured again and conjured a large map. I illustrated the mountains and plains, the fields and the seas, all of it color.

"This is Remnant, the world we live in," I said before placing four dots upon the map. "And these are the Kingdoms, Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral. These are the places where humans live. And this is where the Grimm rule."

Beside the four points, the continents went black, even the blue oceans darkened to a brownish-yellow.

"The Grimm…to put it simply, they are the dominant species on Remnant," I said. "The ones who rule this world. Mankind is locked into these four corners, where we are allowed to survive, but even here we're hunted. So we Hunt back, slaying the Grimm that would attack us."

"Many," Autumn noted. It was easy to see the difference between the areas ruled by the Kingdoms and those ruled by the Grimm. We were literally just dots on their map.

"Yes," I agreed with another sigh. "In truth, they outnumber us by orders of magnitude. This is a losing game. It took me a long time to realize that, but just defending our borders isn't enough. If they tried, wiping us off the map would be as easy as that."

I twitched a finger and the glowing dots flickered out, leaving nothing behind. Autumn looked at the map in silence for a long moment, wise enough to be worried, but I just clasped both hands over hers, smiling.

"But you don't have to worry about that," I said. "Daddy's special, you know? And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Autumn looked at me again, contemplative.

"Why?" She asked at last.

I chuckled.

"Now that's a complicated question to answer," I mused. "Why? There are so many things I've asked that about and even now I've only found the answer to a few. Why what?"

"Why do they attack us?" She asked. "Why do we fight back when we cannot win? Why don't they destroy us?"

"Right to the heart of the matter," I praised a bit wryly, tilting my head back. "The first and last question have the same answer, though I'm not entirely sure what it is. In the end, though, it's because of me."

She didn't ask, but I could feel the unspoken question.

"The person who made the Grimm wants me for something," I said. "Something happened between us a long time ago. I think it had something to do with why he killed so many people…and why he didn't kill them all. In fact, he might be sparing them just to get to me…or to leverage them against me."

It was a thought I couldn't suppress. I'd wondered before and after what Keter had told me, there wasn't any way to ignore it. Had Mankind been spared solely so I could eventually reincarnate? Had all these millennia of murder and pain just been to get to me again?

Maybe. Maybe not. There was no need to do something for only one reason; he might have other plans. Maybe he even just enjoyed drawing things out. It didn't matter, in the end—he'd pay for what he'd done regardless.

"As for why we fight when we know we can't win," I continued, chuckling. "Well, it must seem rather foolish. But in life, there are some things you have to try, even if you can't succeed. Like saving the people you love."

I closed my eyes and thought of my father before opening them again and smiling at her as brightly as I could.

"For someone like my daughter, I'd fight until the end," I said, swinging our hands again. "Other people are the same way. And besides, if you have no choice in whether you're going to die or not…then how you chose to die is important, right?"

Autumn considered that for a moment.

"Yes," She answered. "I will also protect Father until the end."

I chuckled sadly and gave her another soft smile.

"That's…kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," I told her. "I wanted to give you a choice. If you want…I can teach you to become a Hunter."

"Like you?"

"Like me," I confirmed. "Like Adam and Gou, Grandmother and Grandfather, your aunts, Great-Grandmother—like the rest of our family. But at the same time, you don't have to."

"I don't understand," She admitted freely after a second thought.

"Hunters fight so that others won't die," I said. "But part of that is facing death in their steed. Hunters get hurt to protect people. Oftentimes, they even die. Being a Hunter is very dangerous and it's not a life you have to live. If you want, you can stay here where it's safe. We'll still see each other, but you won't have to fight. You can rely on me to keep you safe and do whatever you want."

She considered that.

"And if the Kingdoms died?" She asked.

"Even if the Kingdoms fall, Daddy will protect you," I promised her, closing my eyes with a pained expression. It wasn't something I liked to think about but that didn't mean I hadn't. "If that happens…if it's just you, I should be able to protect you. No, I will protect you for sure. I'm very strong you know."

She considered that for a moment and for a moment, I wasn't sure what she was thinking.

And when she spoke…

"If one of us died, we'd be separated," She mused aloud before looking at me. "If both of us died, would we be together?"

I stopped in shock, staring at her with wide eyes. I could honestly say that was a question I hadn't been expecting. But after a long moment, I nodded and swallowed, smiling at her again.

"You don't have to worry about things like that," I told her. "Daddy's special, see? No matter what happens, I'll find my way to you eventually, in this life or the next. Autumn, you and I…we'll be together, even in the afterlife."

Autumn nodded at that, imitating the gesture. I could tell that she believed me without a hint of doubt.

"Then…I want to stay with Father until the end," She answered. "I don't want us to be apart for too long."

I nodded, the motion tiny, swallowing again before smile, clasping her hand tightly.

"Yeah," I said. "Okay."

 **XxXXxX**

I planted my boot on the Beowolf's chest and kept it down with a minor application, ignoring its snarls and the clicking of its claws against my skin.

"Come here, Autumn," I said, beckoning her closer. Autumn approached with steady strides until she was just out of reach of the things claws and looked at me, awaiting instructions. "Just like I showed you, okay?"

She nodded, raising her spinal column spear and taking aim. Streams of quicksilver flowed through her three arms, lines of aura flashing through them, before she thrust the spear forward and slammed it through the beast's chest. As it sank into the ground beneath it, thorns flashed down the length of the spear, the shortest of them still several centimeters in length and especially think within the Grimm's body. The Beowolf twitched several times before going still.

"Good," I praised. "But remember, the Grimm aren't like you and I—they don't have pulses or organs or anything like that and some of them, especially the big ones, can take a lot of punishment before going down. There's no surefire thing for all of them, but when in doubt—"

Autumn reached out with her serpentine arm, opening massive jaws wide before bringing them down on the Grimm's head with a crunch. She sank the fangs as deep as she could before pulling her arm back and tearing away most of its face, black smoke rising from between glowing teeth.

"Atta girl," I said with a chuckle. "When in doubt, don't hesitate to make sure they're really dead."

Autumn nodded, concentrating on her work as she lifted her spear—and the corpse impaled upon it with it. As the thorns retracted, she had to swing it a few times to dislodge the body, but as it came free she turned back my way, silently asked what was next.

I chuckled, taking a step back as I looked her over, pondering the same thing. She was strong, especially for her age, but she wasn't trained. Though her Semblance allowed her to shapeshift into any number of forms—something that allowed her to basically ignore her mediocre physical stats—it didn't make her automatically aware of how to best use them. She was smart and wise and learned quickly, but though her level was in the fifties, she was no Hunter and I honestly wasn't certain of where to start when it came to making her one.

It was a common problem, in all likelihood. All children where different and children that were training to become Hunters even more so. Beyond the basics, there wasn't any real standardized way of training Hunters, because Hunters were people who diverged wildly from the norm. Once a person's Semblance came in, they would generally start building their fighting style around it and given that Hunters tended to build their own weapons on top of that…well, it got tricky. In Autumn's case especially, however, I wasn't sure of where to begin. I could train her in the use of a spear easily enough; while I wouldn't say it was my specialty, I knew _how_ to do it and had the skills needed to make myself pretty damn good at it. With the time I'd spent using Magic Missile and Gungnir, I could definitely teach her a thing or two, especially if I tried to look into it some.

But though she'd made a spear as her first weapon, what did it matter to a shapeshifter? Autumn could grow any number of weapons from her body with a thought; that she was using a spear right now meant nothing more than that she'd pulled out a spear to use. While some weapon training would probably be wise and the spear was a classic for a reason, there was no reason to limit her to such a thing; one of the benefits of Autumn's power was its versatility, after all. But while breadth was great, time was an issue—I mean, yeah, with my skills I could teach her how to wield any weapon she felt like using, but actually teaching her how to use a thousand things would be even more wasteful, just in a different way.

Better to teach her the basics and let her figure out things from there, I thought. If I explained the mechanics, she'd remember and she'd be able to pick and choose how to apply them for herself. It's not like there was much point in binding her to fighting styles built for the human body, after all; it'd be enough to explain how to fight at different ranges and maybe pick a few weapons to practice with so she'd get a feel for them. A spear was fine, as was…hm, maybe I should practice with a bow some. She could use some ranged options and I'd need to teach her how to aim whatever she grew; a bow and arrow should be easy for her to produce and she could poison the arrows. A pity that poisons weren't a great weapon against the Grimm, whose bodies didn't have much to attack. Once I started practicing with Venenum, I could have shared some tips with her.

Maybe there was another way. How much control did Autumn retain over part of herself that she separated? She was still able to manipulate the spear she'd pulled out of her back, though she _was_ holding on to it. If she could exert some control at range though, that would open up a number of options. She could shoot an arrow and make it grow into a tree or weaponized pollen or countless other things. At the end of the day, her best weapon was her mind—her knowledge and imagination. Once she got a hang of things, Autumn was smart enough to figure out how to fight for herself—I just had to help get her there.

I considered that for a moment. For now, it was probably best to get her comfortable in her own skin, whatever it happened to me. She was new to the whole biped thing—hell, to the whole _mobility_ thing, really. However many things she could turn into, it didn't matter when she was still walking stiffly, even if I was proud of how quickly she'd gotten a hang of it. Her Semblance and the enormous well of matter she had to draw from allowed her to artificially raise her physical stats, but she needed to know how to use it. Then, I guess we'd work on shapeshifting in combat and, I suppose, raising her level. When she'd gotten a solid grasp of the basics, I'd take her out of the city and weaken Grimm for her to kill, as I had with Adam. We'd talk about where best to put her points, but grinding up to the eighties shouldn't be _too_ hard with us there, especially since I'd be working on my skills anyway. We'd see how improving her mental stats helped with her shifting.

There were so many ifs, but that was to be expected from a child, I suppose; it's not easy to see how they'd grow up. I honestly had no idea of how she'd fit into our still developing combat dynamic, because I had no idea of what _that_ would end up being. Maybe she should ride Gou, too? Even with her shapeshifting, she'd probably never be a speed demon, so that could be wise. On the other hand, once she grew big enough and ate enough plant matter—which was another thing we could work on once we got outside the city—she could act as battlefield control. Hell, she might be able to act as the battlefield, period.

Clapping my hands once, I smiled at Autumn and nodded confidently.

"Let's go for a run," I said. "I've been meaning to work out some more, anyway. Just let me grab some weights, okay?"

Autumn nodded again, absently gazing at the city. I quickly used my Psychokinesis to gather a few tons of metal from the countless shattered buildings around us, melted it into a massive block with Crocea Mors, and then latched myself to it with about a dozen chains. I tested it by taking a few steps forward, dragging it behind me, and nodded in satisfaction.

It would do.

Just as I was about to start running, though, I noticed something changed and focused my senses on the source. Gou had stopped in the middle of the street about a kilometer away, hunching his shoulders as if supporting a massive weight instead of just Adam. Aura rose up around him, as white as my own at first but darkening quickly to grey and then turning black. I saw his MP drop quickly until it was nearly empty and his HP followed suit shortly after as he used the White Tiger to draw out more power.

"Gou," I heard Adam say even as I snatched up Autumn with Psychokinesis and took to the air, block and all. "What's wrong?"

Gou just snarled, the animalistic sound surprising me despite the fact that he was a dog—and then he began to grow. The sight startled me even as I appeared beside him, reaching out to heal him again, as well as restore his MP, but it only took me a moment to notice the difference from last time. There was no violent change, this time, no tearing of flesh or snapping of bone; he simply grew, Aura pulsing slightly to leave an outline that his body filled in to match. It was a smooth process, this time, and even though the changes were immense, they didn't seem to be hurting him.

In fact…Observing him, I could see his stats growing to match his changed shape. His Strength increased rapidly, growing to match his Vitality. His HP bar lengthened even further to match the growth, and I could see his hide growing thicker. This was…

"Oh," I said, drawing back a step. He quickly began to fill the street, pushing against and then shattering the buildings to either side as he went. Adam had already jumped away and I made a platform for him to land upon as I continued to draw away and Gou continued to grow. "So that's why your title changed. Then…this is your Semblance?"

The ability to grow in size and strength based on one's Vitality, 'Tian'. I could feel the drain on his MP and subsidized it with my own, helping the process along, but Gou didn't answer, even when he grew to dwarf several of the nearby buildings. As it was, he was over five stories tall and still growing, the sheer size of his body insuring he had room to continue. Buildings cracked and fell one after another, glass and cement both breaking against muscle and fur.

When it stopped, I could have taken a seat on the tip of his nose and his panted breathes felt like the wind against my skin. The massive block dangling in the air beneath me swayed lightly back and forth as he tried to recover and focus on me.

"Jaune," He said, voice almost unbelievably loud as it echoed over the broken city.

"Hey," I answered with a smile. "I guess naming you Tiangou was a good move after all, huh?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Stride**

The ground shook with each of Gou's footsteps, sinking beneath his weight to leave behind a growing trail of massive footprints. Streets cracked and dust rose, the air moved as each step displaced several times his volume in air, and the rubble compressed beneath his feet as we ran a path around the city. Whatever buildings had once gotten in the way had collapsed and broken before Gou's relentless advance, destroyed simply for being an inconvenience. On one hand, it was an amazing display of the sheer power of a creature that went far beyond the scale civilization was built for and a reminder of the destruction the mighty creatures of Grimm could so easily inflict upon the world.

On the other, it was surprising how quickly you get used to it.

We ran alongside Gou, allowing he and Autumn to get used to their new bodies. I wouldn't quite say that Gou was slower now, given the distances he could devour with each of his massive strides, but there was a size and a weight to each of his movements now that was literally earthshaking. Even to normal eyes, his legs wouldn't have blurred as he ran, but instead each been a massive affair, like the rise to the top of a mountain and then the race back down. It was harder to move so much mass and it consumed an enormous amount of power with each motion, one that he was trying to strike a balance with using his own HP and MP recovery. Occasionally, he would grow or shrink, testing the limits of his power, but the hardest part seemed to be getting used to the world when his body was so massive.

Autumn, naturally, was just trying to get used to a body, period. It had only taken her a short time to begin making changes to the way she walked, starting with a reorganization of the 'muscles' involved, but she'd also gotten more used to having limbs and moving them in concert—whether that meant two limbs, four limbs, or more. She'd been switching between forms fairly rapidly, modeling them after things she'd seen, whether human or Grimm. At the moment, she most resembled a giant biomechanical spider that was scurrying alongside us. She'd tried to just hitch a ride on Gou's back, earlier, but while I'd praised her for finding the simplest solution to getting around, I'd insisted that learning to move on her own was important and she'd gotten back on the ground.

As for Adam and I…

"How long are you going to lug that thing around?" Adam asked, looking behind me as he kept up with a light jog. In my defense, I'd added more and more weight to my block and it was slowing me down.

"I don't know," I mused with a quiet grunt, pulling the house-sized block along with every step. "A few thousand miles, maybe? Then I'll switch to something bigger."

Adam sighed quietly and shrugged.

"Well, whatever works, right?" He asked before raising an eyebrow at me. "It does work, right?"

"Yup," I answered, not bothering to breathe simply because I knew I'd end up panting. "Today's been a good day."

 **By raising STR above 100, you have gained a random ability related to your physical abilities.**

 **The skill 'Shockwave' was created.**

 **By raising STR above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Devastating Blows.'**

 **By raising STR above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Divine Strength.'**

 **By raising DEX above 100, you have gained a random ability related to your physical abilities.**

 **The skill 'Yellow Road' was created.**

 **By raising DEX above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'The Four Winds.'**

 **By raising DEX above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Angelic Steps.'**

 **By raising VIT above 100, you have gained a random ability related to your physical condition.**

 **The skill 'Riposte' was created.**

 **By raising VIT above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Supernal Condition.'**

 **By raising VIT above 100, you have gained the passive skill 'Second Chance.'**

One of the benefits of Acceleration, I thought, gritting my teeth. I'd layered it as many times as I could—which was quite a few times thanks to all the skill boosters and cost reducers I'd been getting lately—and I'd prioritized it when it came to MP consumption. Between that and the giant block I'd literally tied myself to, I'd finally broken through with my physical stats, as well as a few of my skills.  
 **  
By raising Regeneration to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Liquid Flesh.'**

 **By raising Haste to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Celerity.'**

 **By raising Feather Fall to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Featherweight.'**

 **By raising Firepower to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Scorch.'**

"No new combinations?" Adam asked, as I'd already told him about today's earnings.

"For Tiferet, you mean?" I replied before shaking my head. "Not yet. I guess I'll need to raise some more skills to find valid combinations on that front. Good news is that quite a few of my skills are getting there, especially thanks to the boosts from my Wisdom skills and Acceleration. I got these buffs in the White Whale incident and it about finishes off the stuff I got there, but there are a few more to go and then…"

I shrugged.

"Just going to hope your skills pair off once you have enough of them?" He wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't have much choice in the matter," I answered with a shrug. "Tiferet won't work unless I have the right pieces. I'm hoping my sensory skills get me something, though."

"You and your absurd senses," Adam said, snorting. "You're not going to be happy until you can see the future and read minds, are you?"

"Both of those would be helpful," I admitted. "I don't know if I'd stop there, even if I could do it, though—if it's even possible."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, the future is…" I considered how to phrase it for a moment before shrugging. "Who really knows. It depends on how you look at it, I guess."

"Like the endless possibilities thing?" Adam guessed. "With a million fucking futures to choose from?"

"That's one way of looking at it," I confirmed. "Where the future is defined every moment by the countless choices and actions made around the world. That relates to stuff like the Butterfly Effect and several theories on parallel worlds and it might be possible. There are a number of Semblances that make vague predictions that change frequently, which might be a result of choices changing the future or could simply be the result of them modeling things based on the present. But there's also support for other interpretations."

"Like what?"

"Some people believe that, since time is a dimension like space, points in time simple exist along an axis like points in space do along a graph. That is, there is only one future—or, more precisely, there is no future. Everything exists as it exists, at some point along the line. You and I, here and now, are just coordinates in space and time, and the you and me in five minutes are just five minutes and however far away. We've always existed there, in fact, and the progression of time is simply how we interpret the universe. Free will doesn't exist, because everything that happens has always happened."

"Oh," Adam stated after a moment, shrugging. "That would kind of suck, I guess. There any support for that or is it just people making guesses."

I hummed once, nodding.

"There's some support," I said. "It's not a very popular belief for obvious reasons, but several people with Semblances that can see the future can actually see the future—as in look at it and see exactly what will happen. There are always limits to it, whether in how far or how much they can see, but there's so who can do it, including a girl in our class. She can't see people, but she can see the effects they leave on the world around her, supposedly with complete accuracy. There was another person who could feel things but not see them and a few others like that. Those guys are rare as hell and what they can see tends to be incomplete, but accurate within their limits."

"Hm," Adam replied, frowning. "You think they're right about the future being decided?"

I shrugged again.

"Maybe, maybe not," I answered. "Some people think that those guys aren't seeing the future at all, but are simply sending messages _back_ in time. No one really knows. If _I_ could see the future, though…well, that might be a little awkward. There could be a trillion different possibilities, in which case picking out what _will_ happen from what _might_ happen would be a huge pain in the ass, or there might be only one future and nothing I can do to change it. Or there could be one future, but I _can_ change it, in which case, is it the future at all? Or one possible future that I'm reacting to without seeing the full picture? Can other people change it, too?"

"Time is bullshit," Adam noted, sounding annoyed.

"A little bit," I agreed. "It's one of those things I want to know and don't want to know, because I might not like what I see. Reading minds might be more useful, but you'd have to get through people's Auras, I think. My Empathy sort of reads emotion states from the Aura, but I'm not sure if it could do that with complex thoughts—and if it did, it probably would show those thoughts in words."

"Eh, even if it did, you'd probably end up hearing a lot of stupid shit," Adam said with a shrug. "Maybe it's for the best."

I chuckled at that.

"It would make a lot of things more convenient, though," I answered. "I'll make do with what I can get either way, though. Speaking of which, how are those buffs doing?"

"They're weird, as expected from you," Adam said, taking out his sword and absently stabbing it through his own hand. His flesh rippled as if it were, well, liquid and barely bled, holding tight to the blade. As he slowly lifted his blade, he cut a jagged wound between his middle and index finger, spreading the two digits far apart as his flesh bent and flapped. Even so, the wound didn't bleed so much as well with quickly solidifying fluid that created a connective web between the two sides of the wound and literally pulled it back together, at which point it sealed quickly closed. "It doesn't even really hurt, it just feels like there's something wrong with my hand. And the others…well, they're freaky, too, but a bit less so."

I nodded at that and chuckled.

Unsurprisingly, the buffs I'd gained at the end of the White Whale incident had leveled up to create even stronger buffs. Liquid Flesh didn't allow one to liquefy at will—sadly—but injuries inflicted upon someone enhanced with it would almost flow together and close do to the enhanced regeneration it allowed. In fact, so long as limbs weren't completely detached, or were reattached quickly, it could even allow the ends to simply stick back together as if never cut. Featherweight grew of its predecessor's ability to soften impacts and falls by making the user…not quite weightless, but able to stand on string and have it support your weight, while just as easily standing up to attacks. With Scorch, attacks that inflicted damage could leave behind traces of Aura within the wound that could ignite a moment later, inflicting secondary damage based on the size of the injury.

But needless to say, I had a thing for speed boosters and Celerity answered that desire. Where Haste helped boost the speed of the body in general using the influence of Lightning Dust, Celerity took it a step further, from carrying electrical signals through the Aura instead of the body to increasing the rate that muscles could expand and contract. It was more visible then Haste, with small trails of electricity racing down one's spine and limbs but…well, I can ignore a lot when it comes to multiplying my reaction times.

Besides, it let me pull this block faster. As is, between that and my new Strength and Dexterity skills, I was still moving about as fast as a car, despite how much I was being weighed down. I might add some more weight on to counter that, but it let me move without slowing down the others and still helped me grind. Once I was sure enough to leave Autumn be—with Adam and Gou to supervise, of course—I'd make it so every step forward was an effort, but for now…this was enough.

"At least it should help with your Iaido," I said, knowing Adam would feel the same way.

"That is true," He admitted, sheathing his sword as he sparked quietly. "And weird is better than dead, anyway."

"That's the spirit," I replied, laughing. "Let's do another ten laps around the city and then get ready for class, yeah?"

 **XxXXxX**

And just like that we fell into a routine. I'd meditate all the way through class, slowly but surely building up my reserves. After classes ended, I had what I considered a free period, which varied day by day—sometimes I'd end up training with Cinder, other times I'd hang out with Albus and Finn or just relax by myself, whatever happened to come up that day. It was early in the school year and people were still getting into the swing of things, or else were using that as an excuse, and we didn't have a lot of time to do stuff together, being in separate classes, but I already knew that would change soon. Once preparations for the Vytal Festival began in earnest, I'd be spending a lot more time with the seniors.

After all, Mistral had to get its team ready. Usually, a freshman wouldn't be in the thick of things—even for particularly gifted new students who managed to quality, the Vytal Festival was more of a chance to learn than anything else, seeing as it would pit them against students all the way up to the senior level, who not only had far more experience but were hand picked to win the tournament for their schools—but…well, I was me. I'd already proven that I would be the person to beat and they'd bring me in as soon as things started up, along with Albus, Cinder, and Finn. It didn't really make much difference to me, but I didn't mind the opportunity it presented, either.

But at night…at night, I did some preparations of my own, readying myself for what would really matter. We'd spent the rest of the week working on the basics in Naraka, giving Autumn and Gou a chance to get used to their new forms, and then moved on to bigger and better things.

Gou snarled, shaking himself wildly as he tried to throw away the flock of Grimm that had swarmed him. They were distractions at best and annoyances at worst, but there were downsides to being so massive and the Grimm were taking advantage of it, trying to cluster in blind spots and cling to his hide as they scratched and peck. A few particularly innovative creatures tried to go for his nostrils and ears, hoping to strike at the enlarged vulnerabilities therein, but Gou merely growled fiercely as I activated Karna for him. At once, massive bonfires ignited around his ankles and paws and more gathered between his teeth until it began to flare from the corners of his mouth like incandescent foam. He exhaled a massive, luminous nimbus that surrounded him and made the feathers and fur of the creatures clinging to him catch fire. Some of the sparks caught in his own coat, but he simple dropped and rolled as if scratching his back, shattering the bodies of the Grimm in the process and craving furrows in the ground with the sword-like spines of his fur.

The Nemeans that Gou had been keeping at bay leapt forward at the perceived vulnerability, teeth flashing towards his throat and hamstrings while he was down. Just as they were about to fall upon him, though, he blurred, flipping over and sliding beneath one of the Grimm in a maneuver that left swaths of burning lines in his wake. His massive size slowed him down immensely, in a relative sort of way, but none of the Nemeans seemed to anticipate his still impressive speed as he Shed away from the attack and slid behind them. Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Gou simply opened his mouth wide, spreading light as he displayed the conflagration between his teeth.

And, if you looked closely, peering through the light and the warping heat…a figure.

Adam stood at the front of his mouth, the flames raging behind him. His left arm was wrapped in layers of spider silk whose other end bound it tautly to a nearby tooth, the bone like a stone column beside him, and with the other, held his sword behind his back. The flames of Karna that filled Gou's maw simply came to a stop at the blade, as if warded back by its edge, but though the flames seemed to blend together, I could see them swirling towards and around the hungry blade. As Gou took a deep breath, the flames cut of, plunging the surrounding area into darkness again—but for Adam's sword, which shined like a beacon in the night as he lifted it.

Wilt glowed pure white, the heat within it so intense that it was almost painful to look at, but as the flames at his back fell away, he didn't hesitate to bring it back around and sheath it within blush, hiding its light with a quiet click. Small trails of electricity crackled down the length of his body and around the sheathed bladed, even as he lifted his hand from the hilt. With echoing stomps, the Nemeans scrambled to their feet, but Adam simply twitched a finger at the sight of them.

His trigger finger, to be precise.

Wilt shot from Blush and light flooded outwards from it again, small trails of lightning sparking between sheath and blade. When it was mere inches out, its hilt slide neatly into Adam's hand and he pulled it the rest of the way free in a blinding slash of his blade that released a wave of power that expanded from Gou's mouth in a flash, cutting across the field in front of him—and straight through everything in its path. The charged strike tore through the pride of Nemeans, cutting them from their chests to their haunches as it went and leaving the resulting mess to fade away. Absently clicking the side of his blade against one of Gou's teeth, the pair moved on.

"Autumn, finish up here," I said, returning my attention to the matter at hand. Autumn stepped forward without a word, the majority of her body hidden within one of the many white cloaks I'd made her. With her hood up, all that was visible of her face were her faintly shining eyes. While the cloak itself fell over a mostly humanoid figure, it came to an end nearly a meter above the ground, barely touching her 'knees.' Six legs, oddly jointed, spined, and insectlike, they curved up around the underside of the cloak and carried her forward easily. Pushing off, they threw her into the air above the Grimm I'd all but slain and then lost their shape for a moment before speeding towards earth like half a dozen wooden lightning bolts. They pierced through open wounds, eyes, mouths, and more, pinning her targets firmly in place before shimmering slightly as smaller, bladed limbs unfolded and pierced through any vulnerabilities they found. When a creature died, Autumn plucked the limb free and stepped on the next, never lowering her from her position ten meters above it all. When all the Grimm were put out of their misery, she stepped back up to my side and shrunk back down to normal.

I chuckled and patted her side.

"Not even going to use your arms, huh?" I asked.

"…Pointless," She answered after a moment.

I hummed and inclined my head at her, knowing what she meant.

"It won't be long now," I assured her. "But we can't let you fight before you're ready, can we?"

"No," Autumn replied, staring off into the distance. She wasn't objecting, she was just bored. Recently, her only job had been to finish off the creatures I'd weakened for her—I was like a Papa Bird, preceding her food. Still, it was working.

 **Thus Kindly I Scatter  
LV 68  
Autumn Rose**

"Where to next?" I asked her, letting her pick our next target. Autumn tilted her head and began walking, six legs moving quickly as she headed towards the forest again. I'd taken us pretty far from Mistral simply to avoid notice, far enough to find wild trees, and Autumn seemed as happy to consume them as she was to slaughter Grimm. When we reached the edge of the forest, Autumn hunkered down, the tips of her feet biting deeply into the ground, and then went still. I could feel her roots spreading and eased their passage with Ereb as they flowed up to the roots of other trees and then into them, beginning her consumption from the bottom up. I walked around, absently laying my hands upon the trunks and drawing out what power I could. I knew from experience how this would work; Autumn would remain as still as a tree above the ground, spreading her roots to touch everything she could and merge with it—and then, when she was down, she'd suck them all down at once and simply walk away.

In terms of the experience granted, it wasn't that impressive compared to slaying Grimm, but the added mass seemed to benefit Autumn in other ways, so we spent a fair bit of time like this. For my part, I stood watch and made sure nothing attacked her while she spread, grinding my own skills as I did. Whatever Grimm came near—or inhabited the forest to begin with—I crippled and left on the ground for crawling roots and vines to finish off and drag away.

"Jaune," Adam murmured on the other side of the battlefield, drawing my attention several hours later.

"Hm," I replied, making my voice carry as I walked through the forest.

"Raven just called," He said. "She wants to meet in a few days."

"Ah," I answered. "I know."

"What should I tell her?" He asked, patiently. He probably knew that any irritation on his part would simply give me strength.

"That I'll be there, of course," I answered. "With company, this time."

"…You mean…?"

"It's about time she met the rest of the team," I confirmed lazily. "Unless you think there's some reason she shouldn't?"

"No," He said after a moment. "That's fine."

"Good," I replied, smiling as I stretched. "Then just make sure to finish up anything you want to show her before then. You'll want to look impressive for your parent-teacher conference, right?"

"Ugh," Adam grunted as if struck by the mere thought. "Don't call it that."

"I'm totally calling it that," I answered. "Thinking about making you a report card, too."

"Hmph," He snorted, annoyed in spite of himself. I could feel it and it bolstered my moral that much more. "You done with whatever you were working on, then?"

"Not quite," I replied with a sigh before my smile return. "But I'll finish it up soon, I think."

 **By raising White Tiger's Five Hundred Years to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Bai Hu's Five Hundred Years.'**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Inauguration**

I reclined quietly atop the same building as last time, waiting quietly for Raven to arrive. I wasn't alone, of course; Adam and Autumn stood beside me, both under Glamours, while Gou was sitting invisibly on the other side of the roof. Even as I waited, I used my senses to keep an eye on Cinder. From this distance, my senses were nowhere near as keen, sadly, but…well, beggars can't be choosers. And while I didn't like that Cinder was almost out of my sight, I didn't want to meet with Raven anywhere that she could potentially notice, however unlikely. I could probably have hide Raven on Haven's campus, but I still couldn't be certain of the breadth of Cinder's powers; for the time being, I'd err on the side of caution when it came to my biggest secrets.

Odds were that if Raven had something to tell me that she couldn't just put in a message, and then I wanted to hear it.

She didn't keep me waiting long, thankfully. Less than ten minutes after we arrived, I felt the presence of one of her portals at the edge of my senses. She didn't appear immediately, however, but simply watched carefully, waiting. I found that a bit curious, sense she already knew I could sense her; what was she—

Ah.

"It's safe," I said calmly and a portal swirled into being a moment later. As she stepped out, I rose to my feet and turned to give her my full attention. "Raven. It's good to see you."

"Jian," She replied, inclining her head but looking past me. "You brought company."

"Friends," I assured, glancing at them as well. "I already introduced Adam to them, but this seemed like a good opportunity to let you meet as well. He didn't tell you?"

She spared her son a brief glance and then faced me in full.

"No," She answered and something in her tone made Adam sigh. "But if you consider them trustworthy, I would be glad to meet them."

What went unsaid was what she would do if they weren't—but it went unsaid because she trusted _me_ , enough to trust those I did, especially with Adam's support.

"I do," I said. "Shall we?"

Raven considered that for a moment, looking around quietly. Given that we were on top of a skyscraper, there was nothing but the surrounding skyline and a few airships, but I could imagine even that much being a touch worrying to the sufficiently paranoid—and I would know.

"Perhaps somewhere more private?" She asked. "Considering who we all are."

I gave her a smile that tried for both apologetic and reassuring.

"I have an illusion around us," I said. "It's not as secure, but I've reason to believe Cinder might make a move of some kind today."

"Yes," Raven answered, her tone meaningful. "There's to be a meeting between several of her people and the White Fang."

"Ah," I replied, inclining my head and then snapping my fingers, drawing the lot of us into Naraka as I did. "Then there's nothing to worry about then."

That wasn't quite true, but it was still the right answer. By telling me that she already knew of the meeting, Raven was either asking me to trust her to handle it or implying that it would be one of the topics of conversation. Whether that meant she intended to ask me for help or something else, I didn't know, but I trusted her enough to accept her decision in any case. Even though I had several questions to ask, they could wait for a moment.

She returned the nod, thanking me silently before lifting a hand to remove her mask, blinking one as her eyes got used to the light.

"Introductions, then?" She asked.

"Of course," I replied, letting the illusion around Gou fade away. Raven twitched, but otherwise didn't react; she'd known he was there, it seem, but not the specifics of his appearance? Interesting. I assumed that had something to do with how she used her portals. Perhaps she was able to sense things that passed through them? Depending on how much she could detect, that would be a useful power all its own. Light, sound, air…maybe even Aura. If she was skilled enough, that would give her a good idea of the area surround any of her portals. "This is Gou, a close friend of mine. Gou, this is Raven Branwen."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Gou greeted pleasantly, not rising. Even so, he was over a head taller than anyone else on the roof and his voice was loud enough to carry. Raven twitched again at the sound of said voice and looked at the giant dog it came from for a long moment before nodding her head.

"Is Gou short for Tiangou, by any chance?" She asked, surprising me.

"It is, yes," Gou replied, tilting his head. "I must admit I'm surprised you asked, Mrs. Branwen; most people do not make that connection as quickly as you."

"It's less surprising then it could have been," She said, glancing my way. "As is your ability to speak. Under the circumstances, I'm mainly curious as to your size."

Going by the tone of her voice, she was wondering why he was so _small_ , instead of so large. The Tiangou of legend was said to be so large that he could blot out the sun. I hadn't quite expected her to make that connection so easily, much less to believe he _was_ the Tiangou, but I suppose that once you meet a reincarnating super weapon disguising himself as a reincarnating martial artist god-king, all sorts of things become more believable.

"His Semblance allows him to grow," Adam input, sounding annoyed at her easy acceptance but moving to be unhelpfully helpful. A dismissed his Glamour as he spoke, revealing his face. "This is as small as he gets, though."

"I see," She mused.

"He is my Familiar," I added, seeing no real reason to lie—at least, not completely. "He's named for the original, though his circumstance are as odd as you might assume."

"I'll keep that in mind," She answered wryly, turning to face the last member of our group. "And who is this?"

After a moment of hesitation—mainly because I just wasn't sure how Raven would react—I let Autumn's glamour bleed away as well. The blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin I'd given her faded into a dark cowl, while the brown of her cloak turned pure white.

"Autumn," She introduced herself without otherwise moving, voice as musical as ever. "My name is Autumn."

Raven's breath caught at the words and I saw her back stiffen. For a long moment, she was still, watching Autumn with wide eyes—and it was that reaction that caught my attention. This was the woman who'd just taken the appearance of a giant talking dog in stride, but the sight of my daughter gave her pause? And she hadn't even seen what made Autumn special yet. What…

"Autumn?" Raven repeated, looking at her still. "What's your last name?"

That was another question that gave me pause, simply because I wasn't sure how Autumn would answer. Last names hadn't really come up much, simply because there wasn't much point when she only knew three people—four people, now. As my daughter, I suppose Arc was a valid answer, but since the day I'd first awoken her, the name my power showed had always been—

"Rose," My daughter answered, making me wince. I suppose she would have noticed that on her status screen, even though I'd never told her myself. But in this specific case…no, it was probably best to get this out of the way now. Given the issue with Summer, I'd intended to tell Raven anyway, I just hadn't expected it to come up quite like this.

What had caused Raven to even ask?

"Jian," Raven said, not looking away from Autumn.

"Before any misunderstandings are caused, please remove your hood, Autumn," I answered and watched as Autumn lifted her hands to pull the cloth down. As it fell away, it revealed her usual face, lacking anything like human expression—it was a mass of darkened coils, but for the two silver orbs that peered out from the shadows. Said eyes were focused on Raven and appeared curious, but she didn't say another word.

Raven took a slow breath, held her gaze for a long moment, and turned towards me, expression expectant.

I took a step closer and lowered my voice.

"This is my daughter, Autumn," I answered. "As you might have guessed, she's not an ordinary girl."

Raven made a show to look Autumn over again and turned back to me with an expression that shouted 'no shit.'

"Yes," She stated dryly. "I noticed that somehow."

"She…" I paused for a moment to consider how best to phrase it before sighing. "She started as an experiment, truthfully. I acquired a rose during my time in Vale and wished to see what would happen if I awakened its Aura. The results took some time to manifest, but they were surprising to say the least. She's fully sapient now and learning more every day. Despite her origins, I would appreciate it if you treated her normally, however; as I am responsible for her current circumstance, I consider her my daughter."

"That's not an issue," Raven stated frankly. "Surprising as it was, that's not what I wanted explained."

"I named her Autumn because she survived the summer when her sisters did not," I answered. "It was before I met you or knew much of Summer Rose and her circumstances."

"And Rose?" Raven asked.

"She…has always had that name," I replied after a moment. "But then, she was an actual rose, as well."

"So it's a coincidence?" Raven asked quietly and I was forced to purse my lips.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I…have wondered that myself. There do seem to be too many similarities for it to be a coincidence, but at the same time, I see few ways for it to be anything but. As someone with personal experience concerning rebirth…I can't say I remember ever being a plant."

Raven nodded, accepting that.

"What of the cloak?" She asked.

"The cloak?" I repeated, confused.

"Summer always wore a white cloak," Raven explained quietly. "She never seemed to take it off."

Ah. That…would explain the reaction to seeing her in it. She must have hoped…

"I apologize, Raven," I replied honestly, bowing deeply. "I was not aware, but I seem to have made a mistake. I gave it to her as a gift, you see—though it's a touch cliché, white is my color. I made it myself, you see?"

At her inquisitive gaze, I used Gossamer to draw out a length of thread, showing it to her.

"It's an old alchemical method," I explained. "It was used to create silk back…well, a long time ago."

"And her eyes?" Raven asked, her own locked with mine. It was easy to guess why; this was more than a little suspicious. The only saving grace of it all was that it was _so_ suspicious, no one in their right mind would try to use it as a trick—especially not someone with my means. If I wanted to convince her Autumn was Summer reborn, I could do it a lot more convincingly.

At her question, however, I thought of Ruby and remembered the color of her eyes. They were silver, yes, but not quite the color Autumn's were—Autumn's were almost metallic unless she remembered to soften them.

"She assumed that color when she first took a humanoid form," I admitted. "An odd choice, but though they're silver, I wouldn't call them a natural color. Whatever Summer's eyes were like—"

"What's her power," Raven asked. "Her Semblance, that is. Has she shown it yet?"

I looked at Raven, concerned by the question. Generally speaking, Semblances weren't shared easy. Even if the effects were revealed, the specifics generally weren't. While no two Semblances were the same, there were enough records of Semblances that there was always the risk that someone could find something similar and figure out a weakness. And besides, you didn't tell your exact powers to anyone you didn't trust completely.

And I'd never told Raven about the Gamer. Did I trust her? Yes, but with everything that had happened, there was something of a web of lies that would need to be untangled for me to explain things. Even if I did that and had the chance, would I tell her though?

Yeah, I thought, looking back at her. Circumstances were a bitch, but I did trust her. And there _was_ always the possibility that this was tied to Summer—Raven wouldn't have asked if she couldn't think of some possibility. And though this was my daughter's secret, not my own, I trusted Raven to look after _her_ , too.

She'd trusted me to look after her son, after all.

I sighed.

"Its name is Gatherer," I answered at last. "It allows her to consume things to grow—plants, mainly. She can add their biomass to her own to build up her own power. But she can also consume Aura used nearby like a plant using photosynthesis. That may not be the limit of her abilities, however; she is young."

Raven nodded and took a deep breath.

"Summer's Semblance was called Scatterer," She said. "She even…when she died, they held a funeral and on the tombstone they wrote 'Thus Kindly I Scatter.' It's a line from an old poem, you see—about a rose."

Whelp. That was…

I had no idea what that was. What I did know, however, was that it was far beyond the bounds of coincidence. For Summer's epithet to be the same as Autumn's current title—that was too much to dismiss. Her eyes and their oppositely named Semblances…her name and cloak, both of which I'd given her, might have been coincidental, but the rest…

"Scatterer," I repeated, making a show of sounding it out. "How did it work?"

"She could disassemble things in a variety of ways," Raven answered. "The simplest—or at least most common—use was to destroy things physically. She could reduce walls to dust, for instance, but she was most famous for using it on the Grimm as well, reducing them to scattering rose petals."

I glanced at her at that, because of how familiar it sounded. When Adam used his Semblance to slay an enemy, it would dissolve into petals as well—stylistic things like that weren't wholly uncommon with things as personalized as Semblances, but this was another thing that I suspected wasn't coincidental. Drawing Raven's attention, I tilted my head towards Adam and raised an eyebrow, shielding our conversation with a thought.

"It's not the same," Raven murmured, tone even quieter than before. "Wilt and Scatter. But the first time I saw it, for a moment I thought—"

She cut herself off but I nodded, understanding. It must have been a rather striking sight for her, whether she saw it before or after Summer's death. After all, even before that, it would have been a reminder of what she'd left behind.

"You said that was the simplest use," I said, brushing over her silence gently. "I take it there were others."

Raven nodded slightly.

"Summer was one of the few people I thought of as an equal," She continued. "Her power was one of the most versatile Semblances I have ever seen. At range, she could use it defensively, reducing any projectiles to powder as they approached—and while the net mass and momentum would be unchanged, suddenly it would be a handful of sand striking her instead of a bullet and she'd just ignore it. As a result, anyone who truly wanted to fight her was forced to approach and do so on her terms, or else use alternative means. Even then, however, the ability that made her one of the strongest people I'd ever met meant most of it didn't work."

"She could scatter Aura?" I guessed after a moment's thought.

"Yes," Raven confirmed, sighing slowly. "She could tear her way through the effects of most Semblances on contact, dispelling anything that tried to hold her down or cage her in. She could scatter lasers into harmless bursts of light, spread heat across a wide area, or even directly disrupt the structure of nearby effects. While using it directly on a human or a Grimm was more difficult and required her to get close, she could dissolve large quantities of Aura simply by getting near, and as her power allowed her to force people into close combat anyway…well, it was hardly a weakness."

I nodded, sympathetic. I could hear the slight undercurrent of pain in her words—or rather, I could feel it, however well she hid it. I wanted to say something, but I knew she wouldn't appreciate it at a time like this, so I remained passive and gave no sign I'd noticed any weakness. If this were a fight, this would be something I'd just quietly guard as a teammate, but even though it wasn't, the general idea remained.

Even so, my mind raced at her words, trying to but the pieces together. Though I'd seen no way to connect Summer the Huntress to Autumn the Uber-plant before, now there was a possibility that quietly gnawed at me.

Could she have Scattered herself? If she could Scatter matter and energy and even people's Aura, then was it possible that she could go a step further and effect the soul? Before Keter, I wouldn't have given it much thought, but I now knew it was possible to do—Death had wiped me clean, after all, and my past self had feared the possibility of Malkuth interrogating his soul so much that he'd ensured Keter would keep secrets even from someone who summoned him. And though I couldn't be certain of anything with my limited grasp of the subject, I was almost certain that my father and I had battled Conquest within his soul. Though that was only three examples, it definitely set a precedent.

And, more than that, it was a precedent that was applicable. All of those situations involved Malkuth and his Riders—the Qliphoth that we designed as a means to touch the divine via the physical. For Summer, who had been infected by a Rider herself…soul fuckery wasn't out of the question, or even necessarily unlikely.

In fact, that was what was most worrying. From what we knew, she would have had to do this _after_ being infected by the Red Rider—by War—and so I had to question why. If, for instance, she used her Semblance upon herself and somehow shattered her soul into a million pieces…if it was intentional, then who's intention was it? Had Summer resisted somehow, regaining herself long enough to destroy herself utterly? Or had the Rider done it? If it was one of the Riders…well, I could imagine a number of possibilities, none of them good. While tearing yourself into a million pieces and throwing yourself over a large area would have seemed like a very bad idea for anyone else, for someone like Conquest and, presumably, his peers…that was nothing but way to infect a larger amount of people in a short amount of time.

On the other hand, wouldn't it have been pointless? If War had already taken Summer, then there was no reason for it to sacrifice such an apparently powerful pawn just to spread—it would have been easy for it to infect people if it so desired. Starting with Taiyang, Qrow, Yang, and Ruby, it would have been able to easily spread to the classes at Signal and graduates could have quietly entered Beacon. After a few years, every Hunter in the Kingdom could have been infected and someone who'd used the strategies that War had was unlikely to be impatient, so it didn't make much sense for War to Scatter such a useful tool.

No, more than that, Ruby had proven that my power was able to detect War as a title, as a status effect, and as an unusual presence in the blood; if he _had_ spread everywhere, I would have noticed. Assuming he didn't know something I didn't—which was a dangerous game to play with the Riders, admittedly—it didn't make much sense for him to have done it.

Then could it actually have been Summer?

It was a little had to imagine. When Conquest had taken control of my father, he'd been locked up within his own soul and literally nailed to a chair, powerless to do anything but watch. It wasn't that I didn't think Summer was powerful—to have received such praise from Raven, she must have been amazing—but rather that power didn't really play into it. It was like asking the greatest runner in the world to complete a marathon after tearing off his legs; Conquest, at least, hadn't given much chance to fight back at all. It was hard to believe someone could take control back after the Riders did everything they could to insure you couldn't, when your body, Aura, and very _soul_ were working against you.

But then, she hadn't taken back control, had she? She'd just—maybe—scattered. And somehow or another, Ruby had still been infected.

I tried to imagine it in that context. An infected Summer returns home, maybe while Ruby was the only one in the house. She would have been young enough then and depending on the time frame…yeah, Taiyang and Qrow were both teachers and gone during the day. Add to that the possibility that they might have been looking _for_ Summer at that time…yeah, it was possible. So she finds her daughter, begins to infect her, and Summer somehow regains just a bit of control. Not enough to stop or take back her body, but Dad had been conscious inside his body so she'd have known what was happening. And if she was trapped within her soul…made she'd used her power on the only thing she could.

Herself.

It took a country full of ifs to make that work, I noted. And there was no real way to know if any of it was on the mark. Even if it was, though, how would Summer have been able to use her power when none of the other Hunters were? Could it be that she was simply capable of affecting her own soul, whereas people like my father required matter to affect. I didn't know how the Qliphoth worked, much less the potential differences between Conquest and War. And assuming that she did Scatter herself, that implied that she'd broken into many pieces. Even if one of them had somehow become Autumn, what about all the others? And how many were there?

There were a lot of questions and very few answers. And with it—whatever _it_ was—having happened so many years ago, there weren't many ways to find more.

In fact, I could only think of one that might work and even that was a big maybe.

I sighed and nodded at Raven.

"I'd intended to put this off until later, but now seems like the best time," I mused aloud, cracking my neck. "If there's anyone who can help us figure this out, it's probably him."

"Who?" Raven asked, turning her full attention towards me.

"My soul," I answered, smiling a bit bleakly. "Keter, come forth."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Illumination**

At once, light began to emerge from my shadow, as if it were nothing but a thin curtain blocking the sun. I felt the presence of my other Elementals dull in their position at the edge of my thoughts, their minds fading from my own. As they did, my shadow writhed and tore away from my feet, the light within it seemed to lift it from the ground, forming a sphere of light-concealing shadow that seemed to bend and shift until it turned inside out in a sudden burst of luminescence and became a perfect glowing orb.

And then it began to unfold. Pair after pair, the thirty-six wings spread wide, revealing the curled up figure within who slowly extended his limbs to set foot on the ground. Then, in a wave the spread from his face to his wings, his million eyes opened, followed by the empty slits that served as his mouth.

"I have come," Keter answered in a chorus of a million voices.

Raven jerked slightly in her place at my side—even for someone who'd been overexposed to my weirdness, Keter was rather odd.

"Keter," I greeted as if I didn't notice her reaction. "You know Raven."

Keter inclined his head silently, waiting. He knew more than that—being my soul, he knew exactly why he was here. Keter had no need to communicate when it came to my thoughts, he simply did so for my sake or, as in this case, someone else's. This was nothing but a show.

But as we both know, sometimes a show can put people at ease.

"Why have you summoned me?" He asked pointlessly.

"Something's come up," I answered. "Unfortunately, it's a bit outside my area of expertise—but not, I'm hoping, outside of yours."

"Jian," Raven whispered, body tense as she focused on my manifested soul. Keter spared several thousand eyes to look at her and the others, but the majority of his attention remained focused on me. "What's going on? Who is this?"

I nodded at Keter once, as if asking him to wait for a moment, before turning towards my companion.

"That is a complicated question," I replied, sighing slightly. "Which is part of why I was hoping to introduce you under different circumstances. However, to put it simply…he's me."

Raven tilted her head slightly, expression serious as she waited for further explanation. There was no doubt or incredulity in her expression, though, simply a desire to understand.

"I told you before that I have reincarnated," I continued. "Keter could be thought as a manifestation of my reincarnating soul. In fact, the name Keter belonged to me. The first time."

I put a gentle emphasis on those words to get the point across and saw Raven's eyes widen slightly in understanding.

"A pleasure," Raven said after taking a moment to recover her composure, inclining her head towards Keter.

"And you, Lady Raven," Keter replied. As almost the entirety of his body glowed brightly, Raven didn't look directly at him, but lifted her head at the sound of his voice and focused her eyes just to the side of his head. Keter, meanwhile, focused his eyes pretty much everywhere.

"In a scientific sense, he is a Light Elemental," I proceeded to explain. "But that is another complicated topic that I'd hoped to explain in-depth at a later time. With your permission, I'll postpone that conversation until after more important matters are dealt with and then make introductions."

Raven quirked an eyebrow, shifting her gaze to look at me.

"There are more?" She asked.

"Yes and no," I answered with another sigh. "Technically speaking, all of my Elementals are gathered before you in Keter. But at the same time, they have other forms, yes. Think of it as dividing water amongst differently shaped containers…except the containers are sapient in this case. It's complicated."

"Then by all means, let us discuss it later," Raven allowed, skillfully hiding the slight edge of bafflement that tried to crawl its way into her voice. "You were saying?"

"I have only regained Keter recently," I continued. "Even now, I am still not what I once was. Nonetheless, as my soul given form, Keter is capable of remembering things that were never stored within my physical brain and he has been of great help to me as a source of information about our mutual enemy. I had hoped to relay some of this to you today, along with the information I've gathered on Cinder's movements, but that can wait for a moment. If you have any questions to ask him, feel free to do so."

She took a breath and nodded.

"What happens to souls after death?" Raven asked, going right for the throat. I covered up my own surprise at the question and looked towards Keter, who was as unflappable as ever. As a guy with a million eyes and at least some of a thousand years of memories of godhood, I assumed he'd seen some shit.

"Any number of things can occur, depending on the circumstances of the death," Keter replied. "Though my knowledge of the matter is largely limited to the physical realm—I'm afraid I cannot confirm or deny the existence of an eventual destination for souls, that of an afterlife, or of a creator deity. My knowledge comes only from scientific investigation of the soul and from personal experience."

Raven nodded as if that was to be expected.

"However, within this world, several things have been definitively proven," Keter began again after seeing her nod. "The most obvious is reincarnation, of which we are a prime example. This process is not immediate, however—"

"Why?" Raven interrupted.

"Opportunity, I presume," Keter answered, unbothered by it. "While I do not think anyone has a precise count of the number of humans that have lived since the beginning of our species, I believe it is safe to say we have number well over one hundred billion. Meanwhile, the current population of our planet can be measured in _millions_. Added to that, while it's difficult to judge how many, it seems that new souls are born regularly and may in fact make up a sizable portion of the population."

"So there's a line," Raven stated, nodding to herself before pausing, probably to do some math in her head. "A very _long_ line."

"Indeed," Keter agreed. "There are, however, alternative. Though the aforementioned timeframe involved makes keeping track difficult, it has been theorized that might leave the cycle in the same way that new ones entered, though whether that is true or not—to say nothing of why or how often—is unknown. Other than that, actions in the physical realm can create different options."

"Such as?" Raven prompted, causing Keter to look my way, as if asking for permission—again, just for show. If I didn't want it brought up, he'd never have said anything.

I nodded anyway.

"They can be contained," Keter said immediately. "It requires a certain amount of knowledge and the right tools, but a soul can be caught as it leaves the body. In the land you know as Babel, it was a common practice to collect souls as people died and gather them for experimentation."

"Experimentation?" Raven asked, apparently surprised by the idea of gathering souls en masse for the sake of science. "What kind of experimentation?"

"Whatever they were capable of," He answered, pausing for another moment before continuing. "For instance, the creation of superweapons."

"Like me," I added as I felt Raven glance my way. "We can't be sure of the specifics as it happened before our first birth, but from the records they left behind…they tore apart billions of souls to get the raw material they needed to make us."

"Do you me us as in _you_ ," Raven asked, making an encompassing gesture at Keter and I. "Or do you mean—"

"There are more of us," I confirmed. "Ten in all, of which I'm only the first. Of the others…I only know the current location of one for sure, and believe me when I tell you that you'll hate him."

"Indeed," Keter agreed again. "But there were other experiments performed upon the gathered souls as our creators tried to push the limits of their ability. If a soul is captured and properly prepared, it can be transferred to a new body, though this generally causes a significant loss of memory, owing to the different brains involved. Generally, it was agreed that some things remained regardless, but it was an unpopular method when it came to the pursuit of immortality. Instead, it was more common to bide the soul back to the body upon death. With proper care and medical attention, a person could be revived with potentially minor or nonexistent loss, depending upon how long the body was dead and the resulting effects upon the brain. It required a careful set up as it had to be caught quickly, but it was a popular method at the time."

Raven pursed her lips for a moment and then nodded, filing that away.

"Can anything else be done to a soul?" She asked. "What would happen if a soul was torn apart?"

"It would depend on the extent of the damage," Keter answered. "It's possible to render a soul unable to reincarnate by inflicting enough damage and to cause it to linger—to create 'ghosts', as it were. Generally speaking, these entities are incapable of thought or action; to my knowledge, the efforts made to allow people to exist without a body bore no fruit and so it was mainly used to ease storage. Beyond that, the precise effects depend on the composition of the soul in question and the areas damaged. While some damage can be recovered from, others can cause the death of a soul, reducing it to its component pieces or even causing it to fade entirely."

Raven didn't quite flinch at that, but it was a near thing. Smoothing her expression over, she glanced back at me uncertainly before pressing on.

"What if someone tore their own soul apart?" She asked. "Summer Rose possessed a Semblance that allowed her to scatter anything—if she used it upon herself and ripped herself apart, what would have happened? If she was unable to reincarnate and was uncontained, could she have found a new body?"

Keter was silent for a long moment, apparently mulling over the possibility.

"Perhaps," He said after a long moment. "Tests in uncontrolled settings were rare, as controlled setting were needed for most of the machinery used. That is to say, a brain transplant is fairly difficult to do in the middle of a battlefield or with ones bare hands. Similarly, removing souls, mangling them, and then simply releasing them was seen as wasteful when there were more convenient uses for such things. However, that is not to say it was never tested."

"And?" Raven prompted, eyebrows furrowing—the only sign she was giving that she was worried.

"Results were mixed," He stated. "It depends on the precise structure of the soul and upon the surroundings. Does she know of the Sephirot?"

That question was directed towards me and I answered it with a shake of my head.

"Not yet," I replied before turning to meet Raven's questioning gaze. "I intended to explain it to you later. To simplify things, consider it the periodic table of the soul."

"I see," Raven answered, frowning slightly as she did. I figured she was trying to wrap her brain around the idea of soul's having periodic elements.

"To build upon that, the soul requires several basic parts to function," Keter continued. "A chain must be created between the highest and lowest spheres—between Keter, my namesake, and Malkuth—for a soul to exist at all, because one of the functions of the soul is to serve as a conduit between the reals above and below. Connecting Keter and Malkuth in such a fashion requires several other pieces along the Tree of Life, with a minimum of two more; Tiferet and Yesod."

I gestured absently, conjuring a diagram of the Sephirot so Raven would have some idea of what we were talking about, writing the names upon the associated spheres. Raven reached out to touch it, tracing a line straight down the tree before nodding.

"I believe I understand," She said. "The top of the tree must be connected to the bottom to stand. From the way you spoke, I assume the side paths are also viable?"

"Any path is viable, so long as it bridges Keter and Malkuth within the bonds set by the diagram you see," Keter replied, inclining his head towards my illusion. "The spheres that compose a person's soul and their proportions are what makes each person different. I assume you can see the problem with damaging the soul?"

"It risks breaking the connection," She confirmed, frowning as she waved her hand through the illusion.

"Indeed," Keter said. "With grave repercussions for the soul in question, if so."

Raven pursed her lips and nodded at that before switching tracks.

"You said that Keter and Malkuth are required for a soul to function," She stated. "Why is that?"

Keter smiled at her with a million mouths, with was as odd a sight as ever, and inclined his head in approval.

"Keter is the top of the tree, which draws in the Light from above," He said. "You can think of it as the source of a soul's power, if indirectly."

"Then it's like a tree absorbing sunlight?" She guessed before pausing in consideration. "Or maybe the part of a wire that connects it to a battery."

"In a way," He replied. "Though it has other purposes as well and the process is rather complex. The other spheres proceed to shape the energy provided by Keter, passing it down the chain of a person's soul until it reaches Malkuth, which is where that power is given form."

"Like with a Semblance?" She asked.

"Indeed," Keter confirmed. "That is one way for the Light to express itself, but it exists in many different forms. The word Malkuth means 'Kingdom' and was used to refer to the entirety of the physical realm."

Raven was silent for a moment, considering that.

"I see," She said at last. "Then Keter is needed, because it's where the soul draws power from, while Malkuth is needed to express that power in a way defined by the other spheres. Without Keter, a soul cannot do anything, because it lacks any power to act with, and without Malkuth it cannot act at all."

Keter inclined its head again, giving her another multitude of smiles.

"But then—" Raven cut herself off to think her words over carefully before continuing. "But then, if the chain of a soul is broken, could the pieces come back together on their own? If they can form such a chain naturally…"

"It's possible," Keter allowed. "Indeed, depending on the amount of damage, a soul may attempt to reform naturally—but there is no guarantee that it will do so in precisely the same order. If a new chain is formed, the result is, effectively, an entirely new soul and if the soul is damaged significantly, it is likely to disperse before being remade."

"What if the scattered soul attached itself to something else?" Raven asked, glancing between us. "You were created from a mixture of harvested souls, correct?"

"In that case, none of the souls in question were in possession of bodies," Keter reminded. "They had all been gathered, contained, and broken down. Our creators then linked those pieces carefully to create a new soul, artificially creating and connecting the Sephirot in question."

"But is it possible?" She asked. "For the pieces of a broken soul to bond with another?"

"Perhaps," Keter allowed after a long moment of silence. "But it would be very, very difficult. Changing a human soul while it's within a living body is exorbitantly difficult. For an extremely damaged soul to do such a thing alone and without outside help…calling anything impossible given the matters we're discussing is rather ridiculous, so let us simply call it absurdly difficult."

"What if she wasn't alone?" I asked, seeing my chance to step back into the act. When Keter and Raven both turned my way, I continued. "We are all but certain that Summer Rose was infected by the Red Rider—by War. With the aid of one of the Qliphoth, willing or no, would it have been possible?"

Keter was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Possibly," He allowed. "Those creatures were designed to affect the soul. If she'd been taken by War at the time she dissolved herself, it's possible that something unusual could have occurred. Do you know how it might have happened?"

"Nothing certain," I admitted. "However, the evidence we've gathered so far does paint something of a picture."

Raven raised an eyebrow, frowning at me again.

"Ruby," I answered the unspoken question. "She was infected by the Red Rider as well, if you recall, which means she must have had contact with Summer at some point."

"—Ah," Raven said quietly, understanding sinking in.

"I believe that War returned home after seizing Summer's body," I continued, talking to myself. "And I believe its intention at the time was likely to infect her family. As teachers at a combat school, Taiyang and Qrow would be ideal targets for any of the Riders, as it would allow them to infect their students and seize the student body and faculty. From there, it would be trivial to spread the infection to Beacon through graduates and meetings, and many students would also seek employment in the military and police force. Strategically, it would be a great move to infect at least the two of them and both Ruby and Yang would be easy to take as well."

Raven took a careful breath at that and then nodded her head, accepting it as a truth, however unpleasant.

"And yet only Ruby was taken," She added, looking at me carefully. "You think you know why?"

I smiled slightly at the observation.

"I do," I confirmed. "I think that when War returned, it found Ruby and tried to infect her—and I think that's when Summer acted to try and save her daughter. I've seen how the Riders keep their victims locked up, but if Summer's power works the way you said, she might have been able to use it even so. Faced with the choice of seeing her own daughter infected, I believe she made the natural choice and turned her power on the only thing she had access to."

"Herself," Raven whispered. "Her soul."

I nodded in confirmation and she fell silent for a moment.

"But…" She started before stopping just as quickly, taking a slow breath and trying again. "But Ruby was still…"

"I said she tried," I answered quietly. "I didn't say she succeeded."

Raven had no answer to that. As a Huntress, she knew full well that you could give it everything you had, fight to your last breath, and still fail in the end.

But…

"But I don't know if she failed, either," I said reassuringly. "Ruby, for whatever reason, isn't currently under the Red Rider's control. The infection is in her blood, but appears to be dormant. I wondered if it was waiting for something, but the strategy that worked in Summer's body would have still worked in Ruby's—perhaps even more easily, since it would have been done by a small child. And yet there's no sign that she has and Yang is uninfected. I wondered why that was, but what you said gave me an idea. It's just a theory, but…Raven, you said that Autumn's silver eyes meant something?"

"Yes," Raven replied, nodding sharply. "It…was the color Summer's eyes took while she was using her Semblance."

"I see," I answered, nodding back. "But…Autumn's not the only one with silver eyes."

I looked at Keter.

"If it's possible for souls to merge, however difficult," I continued. "Then what about the souls of a parent and a child?"

There was a moment of stunned silence on Raven's part and careful contemplation on Keter's.

"If it was a mother and a daughter, in close proximity, and aided by one of the Riders…then…" Keter mused aloud before flicking a wing and nodding. "It might be possible. Yes."

 **XxXXxX**


	15. Chapter 15

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Life**

Raven looked at me with eyes wide enough to see the whites all around them. I could feel that she was shocked by the words, could all be hear the gears turning in her head as she struggled to put the pieces together.

"What…?" She breathed. "How…?"

"Something's holding back War," I whispered. "There's got to be some reason it hasn't acted yet. After what you told me about Summer's Semblance…she could only have gotten the infection from her mother. As far as we know, her mother is the only one who could have even known _about_ the infection. As such, it's logical to assume that whatever is keeping the Red Rider in check has something to do with Summer as well. Maybe she figured out something from the inside, maybe she weakened it somehow, maybe the remains of her soul are somehow holding it at bay—whatever the case, something she did is keeping Ruby safe."

Raven took a slow breath, expression returning to normal, if a touch more controlled. I could see that she was upset for having even that minor lapse; when the Grimm could be drawn to your emotional state, self-control was important for any Hunter.

"For now," She said. "That's what you're thinking, correct?"

I was silent for a moment before nodding sharply.

"Whatever equilibrium is protecting Ruby now, there's no way of knowing how long it will last or what might disrupt it," I confirmed. "As is, it's hard to say what might awaken the Rider. A big enough emotional shock, direct interference with her Aura, or simple time—anything could cause things to change. But I think that, for now at least, whatever her mother did is protecting her."

Raven nodded slowly.

"Perhaps," She answered, meeting my eyes.

"Do you doubt me?" I asked. "It'd be fair to do so—without eyes like mine, this must be difficult for you to believe. If you wish, I'll do what I can to prove it to you."

Raven closed her eyes and took a breath before opening them again.

"It's not that," She replied. "I believe you. I did investigations of my own after we last parted and Adam trusts you. But…"

"It's your team," I said, excluding the 'former.' "You have to be sure."

"Yes."

"I have neither desire nor intention to hurt her," I told her. "If there's anything I can do to help her, be assured that I will go to great lengths to do so."

"But you'll kill her if you have to," Raven said, without accusation in her tone. It was a simple statement of fact.

Also, the truth. I told her as much.

"Yes," I replied. "If I have to, if there's no other way, I'll kill her. As would you."

Raven was silent at that, but didn't deny it. I still felt bad for saying it, because I could feel the stab of pain it caused her.

"It's unfortunate," I continued. "Disgusting even. But if it came to that point, then thousands—perhaps even _millions_ —of lives would be at risk. I won't dress up such a choice as being anything but the tragedy it is, however cruel a fate being infected by a Rider might be. I won't say that killing an innocent girl to save a million people is a perfect or clean choice. But at the same time, letting a million people die for the sake of one girl is even more monstrous. We both know that. Horrible as it might be, the necessary choice is the right choice by the very definition of necessity."

I waited for a moment to see if she would reply to that, whether in agreement or outrage, but she didn't say a word. She simply inclined her head as if I was telling her what she already knew. Which I probably was.

"So long as it is, in fact, necessary," I said after letting the pause drag on, and that finally got her to look my way. I smiled a bit at the glance she sent me. "People often confuse what's right with what's simple or convenient or expedient. Often, the hard choices people claim to make are actually them choosing the easy way and refusing to admit it. Ruby hasn't done anything yet and the situation, while risky, can still be resolved without hurting her. So long as that's true, I'll do everything I can to find another way—and if I'll fail, I'll take responsibility and put an end to her myself."

"I told you before…" She began.

"I know," I interrupted with a slight smile. "But things have changed a bit. Approaching her still bears the risk of infection, after all, and I'm best equipped to deal with it. Will you really not let me handle this?"

She fell quiet at that, glancing down once as she considered it and weighed the options in her mind. On one hand, she probably knew that I was right about being better equipped to handle this issue—but on the other, she saw this as her duty to her best friend, her family. She couldn't foist such a thing off on another, however much it would hurt her or endanger her. But…

"What would you do, if it was you?" She asked, so quietly a normal person wouldn't have heard.

I extended one hand, angled it towards the city below, and drew a breath. Light gathered in my hand and then flooded forth in a consuming torrent, darkening the world around us until only it and Keter remained. When it faded, a jagged scar of destruction had been cut into the city, cutting deep into the earth and leaving shattered buildings and streets in its wake.

I'd always been careful in what I showed Raven, afraid to give the impression of weakness and ineptitude—something made difficult by the simple fact that I had no idea what she was truly capable of. But if it was something like Lux Aeterna, then even she should be a little impressed, right?

Raven stared out over the city, eyes slightly widened and lips slightly parted.

"I'd handle it quickly," I promised. "So she didn't feel any pain."

Raven recovered and brought her expression back under control. Breathing carefully, she looked at the city for a moment long and slowly sighed.

"If it comes to that…" She started before stopping and shaking her head. "No, it's best to hold off deciding anything until we have more information."

"Perhaps so," I replied, noticing the delaying action for what it was. "But in the end, the choice lies with you. Should something change, I will require you aid to react in time to save people. If something were to happen to you…consider it at least?"

"I will," She stated. "And I'm not the type to run into danger without backup or a plan. Whatever happens, I will inform you."

I inclined my head in thanks.

"About…Autumn," She said after a moment. "Even if Summer is shielding Ruby…"

"The coincidences are still too many to dismiss," I replied, nodding. "I know."

She turned my way again and looked at me seriously.

"Then…may I?" She asked.

I knew what she was asking for and nodded again.

"I trust you," I reaffirmed, stepping back.

"Keter," Raven asked after taking a deep breath. "I thank you for answering my questions thus far, but I have not found the answer I am looking for."

"Then perhaps you have not asked the right question?" Keter proposed, remaining still.

"Perhaps," She agreed. "Then in the hopes of wasting no more of your time, I shall be frank. Is Autumn Rose the reincarnation of Summer Rose? Does she possess any of Summer Rose's soul?"

"To answer such a thing would require that I know the appearance Summer Rose's soul," Keter answered. "I cannot tell you if she looks like someone I have never met."

Raven twitched once and I coughed lightly into my gauntleted hand.

"I apologize, Raven," I said. "He has an unfortunate tendency to run out of answers when it would be most annoying. Unfortunately, he most likely gets that from me—or else I from him."

"It's a fair statement," Raven replied after clicking her tongue once in annoyance. "I cannot fault someone for being unable to recognize someone they've never seen before; I should have expected that answer. Very well, I have a different question."

"Ask and I shall do my utmost to answer," Keter answered placidly.

"You said before that much was lost in the process of reincarnation," Raven said. "But not necessarily everything."

Keter hummed back, sounding amused and pleased.

"Indeed, perhaps not _everything_ ," He answered. "Though in most cases, what is left is negligible in the extreme. Imagine if you lost not only your memories, but everything contained within your brain. Then, you lost your body as well and were given a new one, nothing like the one you hold now. You are reborn entirely and leave everything you have behind. In what sense are you still yourself?"

"I possess the same soul, do I not?" She replied and he smiled again.

"You do," He said, tilting his head her way. "And what that means depends on who you ask. If you act similarly in this new life, is it the nature of your soul shining through? Or have you simply, by chance, made similar decisions in this new life? Is there any difference? Assume then that you do not act the same way, but make different choices entirely. Is this a sign that you have been wiped utterly clean or simply a different aspect of your soul expressing itself? People are complicated things. It should be unsurprising that souls are the same."

Raven mulled over that for a minute, frowning slightly.

"But you remember your past life," She stated. "At least in part."

"Keter means Crown," Keter informed her. "Just as the crown is worn above the head, so too does Keter encompass things beyond the mind's comprehension."

"And everyone possesses Keter within them," Raven said. "It is a requirement for a functioning soul."

Keter's smiles widened and he looked even more pleased.

"Indeed," He said. "Though the normal amount of Keter is very small, everyone possesses some small measure."

"And if so, it stands to reason that something would carry over," She stated. "Possibly even more so if a soul does not undergo a conventional reincarnation."

"Perhaps," Keter allowed. "There is, it would seem, only one way to find out."

"Yes," She agreed and looked over her shoulder at me. "May I ask your daughter a question?"

"I don't mind," I said. "Though I can assure you that she'll answer. What do you wish to ask?"

Instead of answering me, Raven walked over to the rest of my— _our_ —team, who had been waiting patiently while we talked.

Well, I say that, but Adam had sat down and starting playing with his scroll again, though he hastily put it away as Raven approached. But though she gave him a look, she said nothing about it and instead focused on my daughter.

"Autumn," She said. "I've something I'd like to ask you. Will you answer me?"

Autumn didn't even look at her, at least not with the eyes on her face. Instead she stared quietly into the distance, looking at who knows what. After a moment, however, she nodded shallowly.

"If this were the end for you," Raven began. "And you were to be scattered and never bloom again, then…how would you die?"

I blinked twice at the odd question and tilted my head. Autumn didn't say anything for several seconds, mulling it over without the slightest reaction from her physical body—but then she turned her head to look at Raven.

"I would scatter beautifully," She answered in a flat, almost matter-of-fact tone. "Like the petals of a rose."

Raven held her gaze for a long moment and then nodded once, as if everything had been decided, and slowly lifted a hand to touch Autumn's cloaked shoulder. After taking a slightly shaking breath, she straightened and turned to look at me.

"Very well," She stated. "Back to business then, I suppose?"

I restrained myself from lifting an eyebrow at her. A part of me, a pretty large part, wanted to ask her what that was about, but that would have ruined my image.

"Then she is truly Summer?" I asked a bit pointlessly, which is why I shook my head a moment later. Given the way Autumn had answered and how Raven had reacted to it, the phrase must have meant a lot to her—was it something Summer had said? Something that managed to last through reincarnation? Whatever the case, if it was enough to convince Raven, it was enough to convince me—not that I needed much convincing at this point. But…that didn't explain anything. Even if she answered the question right, how would a piece of Summer's soul have gotten into a rose and stuck to it? And the one rose I'd managed to pick up, at that?

Wait, I suddenly thought. _Had_ it been just that rose?

Raven nodded once, calm expression belied by the grip she kept on Autumn's shoulder, and I frowned slightly, concerned on several levels.

"I bought Autumn from a store in Vale," I said after a moment of silence. "On a whim, to test something. But under the circumstances…I think perhaps it would be a good idea to figure out where he got them from."

"You think there might be others?" Raven asked.

"If it happened once, it might have happened a few more times," I replied. "There's no way to know for sure except to check. I wouldn't be opposed to taking a look at their house, either, to make sure nothing was left behind. After so much time…it's difficult to say if anything remains, but it's worth a look, if you're willing."

"I have no objection to that," Raven answered, voice showing no sign of the flicker of hesitation that went through her. I wondered how long it had been since she'd last been home. "We've business in Vale regardless."

"Oh?" I wondered, cocking my head.

"Our friends have been busy in Vale," She stated. "The man named Roman Torchwick has led a string of Dust robberies that shows no sign of stopping. He has also begun negotiating with the White Fang for…assistance. It's to be one of the topics of the upcoming meeting."

I frowned again, pondering that even as I did a quick calculation of the amount of Dust you could get ahold of doing something like that. Quite a bit, if you hit the stores at the right time and in the right order. Depending on how you did it, on what day, and in what order…hell, if you did a simultaneous assault on several stores at once…you could definitely get quite a bit of Dust, but…

"What do they need that much Dust for?" I wondered, pursing my lips for a moment before focusing my gaze on Raven again. When she shook her head to show that she didn't know, I exhaled slowly and considered what I knew about Roman Torchwick—and more importantly, about Cinder. "Cinder doesn't strike me as the type to do something for no reason, so we can likely assume they _do_ need it. The scope of their theft narrows down the possibilities, thankfully, but…"

"None of those possibilities are particularly pleasant," Raven finished when I trailed off.

"Indeed not," I agreed. "Have they stolen anything in particular? Crystals, powder, or rounds?"

"They've taken everything," She replied, shaking her head. "And before you ask, no, there's been no sign of it being resold through other sources."

"That's unsurprising," I answered. "Dust is often marked while it's being processed; if they did sell it, it would only be a matter of time before someone made the connection back to the theft. No, it's more likely that they actually need it. Have you been monitoring Torchwick?"

"Of course," Raven answered, looking vaguely insulted by the question. "As near as I can tell, however, he doesn't know why, either."

"Cinder seems to be a fan of need to know information," I said, sighing again. "I suppose she knows she's being watched. Thus far, she's been close-lipped even while alone. I am beginning to suspect that she won't give anything away until she believes it's safe to do so—perhaps when her illusionist is nearby to assist her. How likely do you think the White Fang is to accept Cinder's offer?"

"Past experience would suggest it to be quite likely," She replied. "Thus far, she has given us a great deal of support. After the supply of weapons she provided several weeks ago…"

I nodded, unsurprised. I considered attempting to force her to react by working against Torchwick, but no, at this point such a thing would be hasty.

"With that much Dust, whatever she is planning is likely to be dangerous," I stated. "Whether she plans to power something big, supply an army, or use it herself, she must be preparing for something major."

"And we still have no idea what she's aiming for," Raven mused, quietly annoyed.

I paused and thought about that for a moment before shaking my head.

"That, at least, is no longer true," I said.

Raven tilted her head to the side at that, hair swaying slightly as she did. The question was clear in her eyes without her having to voice it.

"It would seem that Vale is her target," I explained. "That is where the robberies are taking place and I would guess there's been no sign of transporting it out of the country?"

"Not that I have seen," She said, considering it. "And transporting that much Dust would be difficult regardless. If they _were_ planning to move it and were willing to involve the White Fang, I'm certain I would have heard about it."

"You would be the person to ask," I agreed.

"Then her activities in Mistral have been a distraction?" Raven wondered, frown deepening. "An attempt to direct attention away from her real plans?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head before pausing. "Or at least, not entirely. One thing I've managed to learn is that Cinder will be participating in the upcoming Vytal Festival. When that happens, she will be not only in Vale, but inside of Beacon itself. I believe that's part of her plan, so it is likely that she will make a move at that time."

"The Vytal Festival…" Raven mused, nodding slowly. "That makes sense, given the number of people who will be gathered in Vale at that time. But the Vytal Festival has a great deal of security to compensate for that—Cinder is not the first person to attempt something during that time. In the worst case scenario, Hunters from all over the world will be present and are sure to react. While the opportunity would be a good one, even making the attempt would be dangerous in the extreme."

"Ah," I said. "But what if she doesn't make the attempt herself. If, while she is behaving herself in Beacon, Torchwick and the White Fang were to make a move of some kind…"

"Perhaps," Raven allowed. "But what would she stand to gain from it?"

"I suppose that would depend on what move she chose to make," I answered. "And people reacted to it. There's not enough information to say at this point, but if I were able to get a closer look…?"

"We'll be in Vale anyway," Raven said, lifting a shoulder slightly in a minute shrug. "We can make a stop."

I smiled at her brightly and inclined my head towards here.

"Then shall we be off?" I asked. "I've much to tell you about our other enemies, but it doesn't particularly matter which continent you learn it on."

Raven nodded back at me and lifted a hand to her sword before stopping.

"Actually, there is one more thing," She said. "Best to inform you now, I suppose."

"Oh?" I wondered, raising a white eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Cinder, or rather her intermediaries, expressed some interesting in meeting Jian Bing," Raven answered. "The request was directed at me, in fact; at a guess, I believe several members of the White Fang let slip that we've worked together in the past, if only rarely."

I accepted that quietly, figuring it was pretty likely. I mean, even if it was just during the Weiss incident, the rumor mill would probably see to it that everyone thought we were partners—we were, after all, two famous and powerful members of the White Fang. In the end, though, I was more interested in why she wanted a meeting then how she learned off me. After all, I was pretty famous in the right circles and would have been surprised if someone like Cinder didn't keep an ear to the ground when it came to wild cards.

But if she wanted to speak to me, whether in person or through proxies, then she wanted something. At the very least, she'd try to ascertain where I stood in regards to her plan, what I knew, and what I was likely to do to stop it. Variables are a part of life but that doesn't mean anyone likes it when they pop up and fuck up everything, especially not people who put an extraordinary amount of work in _keeping_ things from fucking up. Beyond that, however…I had no idea what she was after.

Well, I thought. There's a way to change that.

"Since we're going to drop by Torchwick's office regardless, I shall graciously accept," I replied at last, smiling brightly at her. "As it happens, I've been meaning to speak to that man for some time now."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Homecoming**

I stepped out of the portal and let my senses expand at once. I'd checked it out as best I could from the other side, but when it came to dropping into an unknown location, I figured it was best to be cautious. For that same reason, I went through under an illusion of invisibility, ready to retreat back through the gateway behind me and plunge us back into Naraka at the first sign of trouble.

Normally, I'd do my preliminary investigation of an area _inside_ of Naraka to at least get the lay of the land, but this was a special occasion. Truthfully, I had no idea what I was looking for and it probably wouldn't be visible from within Naraka anyway, so checking things out that way didn't accomplish much. Worse, while I was in Naraka, nobody in this world could see me, but I couldn't see them either, which made breaking it in an unknown location risky.

For that reason, I asked Raven to make a portal about a kilometer from our chosen location to allow me a chance for reconnaissance. As both Raven and I were firm believers in caution, she did so without question or protest, and here I was. I searched my surroundings carefully and found nothing of note except for a few Grimm that I reached out and killed Psychokinetically. I waited for a moment to see if there would be any reaction nearby or if I'd triggered anything, but when I found nothing I leapt up to the tallest tree nearby and held still, holding my illusion of absence around me. After another few moments of observation, I leapt down.

"Clear," I said and waited as my team followed me through the portal, with Raven making her way through last. She held it for a moment to check her surroundings for herself and then shut it behind her, quirking an eyebrow at me as she did so.

"How did it look?" She asked.

I held up a hand, conjuring an illusion of a house above it. Giving her a moment to identify it and nod to confirm it was the right location—not that I'd had any doubt given what was inside—I cut away the front of the house, revealing the inside. There was a pair of men in the living, sitting around a table with several drinks as the television played in the background.

"They're the only ones in the house," I stated. "Ruby and Yang are at Beacon, I'm guessing."

Raven turned her head slightly and her gaze went distant for several seconds before she nodded in confirmation. She probably had her daughter's location on metaphorical speed dial.

"They're accounted for," She replied, glancing at the illusion again before quickly looking away. "Those are Taiyang and Qrow."

I nodded as if I hadn't known that already, because explaining how I perceived the world would take forever and I didn't want to. Nonetheless, their names were hanging above their heads. In fact, that was pretty much the only thing I could see from either of them.

 **?  
LV ?  
Taiyang Xiaolong**

 **?  
LV ?  
Qrow Branwen **

"They're uninfected," I told her, having checked both over thoroughly. When it came to people whose levels were at _least_ a hundred and forty—and good God but Raven's former team was powerful—I wanted to be _extra_ sure they weren't being controlled.

Raven relaxed slightly at the words, sighing quietly—and at the same time, I could tell that she was worried, even pained. She was glad that they were safe but I was pretty sure she was happy to so far from the house. I knew how she was feeling and not just because I was an empath; it was a hell of a thing looking at what you'd left behind. Her former team, her ex-husband and brother, the house she could have had and raised her daughter in…that was the type of thing that could hurt anyone. And the fact that she'd walked away from it all of her own free will and because of extenuating circumstances didn't really help.

I would know. I'd committed patricide with the very sword my father had handed down to me. The fact that it wasn't my fault and that I'd done everything I could didn't keep that from being a kick in the balls whenever I thought of it.

But we were both professionals.

"That's good," Raven replied, all business. "Is it safe to approach?"

I expanded the illusion to cover the surrounding buildings and streets, marking the locations of everyone in the vicinity. Not just the humans, either; I was careful to note the positions of all the cats and dogs nearby, because, really, if I'd done all this to avoid notice and we were somehow given away by someone barking, I'd just be humiliated. Not that it was particularly likely with all the measures I took to prevent detection, but still.

"These positions should be clear," I answered, marking several positions on the map with brightly glowing dots. "If Summer infected Ruby, then she should have done so near or within the house. If there are any traces left, they're likely nearby as well, so shall we start from the house and expand outwards?"

Raven nodded.

"That one," She said, pointing towards the fourth dot from the house. "Is that close enough for you to do what you need? If possible, I'd like to avoid getting too close. Qrow and Taiyang are not to be underestimated."

Given that she would know, I nodded without arguing and glanced towards by team.

"Adam, you and Gou hold position here," I ordered. "I'll keep an eye out for any threats and we'll fall back here if anything happens. Autumn, just stay close to me, okay? And if you feel drawn to anything you see, point it out?"

"You couldn't have dropped us at a bar, huh?" Adam complained.

"In fairness, I do not believe I would be allowed in such a place," Gou put in.

"Are you kidding?" Adam asked, tone incredulous. "You're the size of a _truck_ and you can hit building size in a few seconds. You could call any bar in Vale and say 'This is Tiangou speaking. I'm gonna swing by in a few minutes and you _better_ have all your booze ready for me when I get there' and they'd do it."

Gou's mouth dropped open in a massive doggy grin and he snorted a quick breath.

"That would be rather impolite," He told Adam. "Besides which, I think it would take a rather significant amount of alcohol to affect me."

"That's why I said _all_ the booze," Adam answered.

Raven didn't quite roll her eyes at her son, but it was a near thing.

"Be good," She told Adam, causing him to sigh and nod. Then she opened another doorway to a roof down the street from the house and the three of us walked through and crouched down. With the way the roof was sloped and the dormer window that stuck out of it, it was unlikely anyone would have seen us even if I hadn't made us silent and invisible, but no need to tempt fate.

"Keter," I murmured. "Check around and see if you can find anything odd."

There was no reply and Keter didn't bother returning to visibility, but I felt him take flight and rise high into the air. He probably wanted to get high enough to view the whole island and see if anything stood out—I'd have done the same if I knew what I was looking for and could see it from that range. While he busied himself with that, however, I focused my attention on the house again, taking advantage of the fact that I was far closer and that there was less in the way. Between my hands, I formed another illusion, displaying the interior and exterior of the house piece by piece to see if Autumn responded to any of it. All the while, I kept track of Qrow and Taiyang, but largely in my periphery, making sure they didn't move or do anything troublesome.

After several minutes without getting any reaction, however, I turned the illusion towards the living room again, displaying the two men within, as well as the many picture frames. Many were of Ruby and Yang as they grew up, often with Taiyang or Qrow but sometimes with a white cloaked woman that could only have been Summer.

I didn't find any pictures of Raven there, however—but then, she'd probably left before then. I thought the absence would be a touch glaring, but Raven didn't react to it, busy alternating between trying not to stare at the pictures and gazing at them outright. Autumn patiently looked at each and every picture, but while a few would briefly catch her interest, probably for the sheer novelty of a bunch of unknown humans, none caused any real reaction.

Disappointing, but not particularly surprising. I held the illusion on that spot for a while, searching the area again, but I didn't find any conveniently glowing object, anything with a level above its head that normally shouldn't have one, nor any odd markings. I wasn't certain what I was looking for, but I couldn't seem to find it.

Perhaps I should ask for Bianca's help. If her power worked the way I thought it did, she might have an easier time of this then me. If Keter didn't find anything, it might be a good idea to introduce Raven to her—I didn't want to draw my sisters into anything dangerous if I could avoid it, but if it was just surveillance…

Raven shifted suddenly, eyes flicking from me to the illusion and back again.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" She asked and I nodded, understanding why she was asking after listening for a moment. No point in making her lip-read and she obviously didn't want to open a portal too close to either of them.

"Ozpin said Ruby and Yang are doing fine," Qrow said. "He says Ruby's taking to the role of leader quite nicely."

"My little girl, already leading her own team," Taiyang answered, sounding almost tearful. "I was worried she'd have trouble coming out of her shell, but I shouldn't have doubted—did you know she got into Beacon two years early?"

"I was the first one to tell you, so yes," Qrow answered calmly. "You'll be happy to know there are no boys on her team, so you can stop worrying."

"I was never worried," Taiyang assured him. "If there had been, I would have just had to kill them. That's hardly a _problem_."

"That's kind of rich coming from the guy who married _both_ women on his team," Qrow noted acerbically.

"Yeah, about that…I hope you didn't feel left out, Qrow," Taiyang replied. "If it makes you feel any better, I've always kind of thought of you as my third wife."

"Go screw yourself," Qrow answered, rolling his eyes.

"I mean, you helped me raise my kids," He continued heedlessly. "You taught Ruby how to use a scythe. I get to make you pick up food when I'm feeling lazy—"

"You said you were sick!"

"I was sick," Taiyang stated. "I was so lazy I couldn't even make food for myself. I probably would have died."

"You bastard," Qrow clicked his tongue.

"But seriously, you practically live here anyway," Taiyang continued. "I'm still not sure why you didn't just accept my offer to come live with us."

"Because one, there was no way in hell I was going to live in the same house as you while you were having sex with my sister," Qrow answered firmly. "And two, you would have made me do all sorts of shit."

"That is true," Taiyang admitted. "In fairness, I had permission. Raven said very clearly that I could make you do shit while we were busy. I fully intended to annoy the hell out of me. But it's as if you avoided that by living elsewhere, now did you?"

"…Did you take that job at Signal just to bother me?" Qrow asked.

"Maybe," Taiyang drew out, smiling widely. "I did or I didn't. But seriously, the two of us have to stick together now, right?"

"I had a dream that you followed me to hell once," Qrow stated, shaking his head. "That's how I knew it was hell."

"I was probably there to rescue you," He mused. "I always seem to have to rescue you."

"That is not the case," Qrow answered flatly.

"Yeah?" Taiyang wondered. "Because _I_ remember carrying you out of the Emerald Forest after initiation. I think there's a picture of it somewhere. Hell, actually, I _know_ there's a picture of it somewhere, because Raven took it."

"I was unconscious, because I exhausted myself saving the day," Qrow claimed.

"I don't remember that," Taiyang murmured, grin widening. "In fact, _I_ remember—"

Qrow lifted a hand, abruptly frowning and the smile faded from Taiyang's face at the same time.

"We're definitely being watched," Qrow whispered.

"Where?" Taiyang said back just as quietly.

"Follow my lead," He replied and the two of them stood as one.

The smile that had been slowly creeping onto my face abruptly faded and I tensed. Until that point, I'd been thinking that the two of them sounded like Adam and I and had been amused by their banter, but…

"Code?" I asked, the surprise obvious in my voice—and that, more than anything, made me worried. While I'd admittedly been distracted scanning the surrounding area, I'd still been paying a fair amount of attention, but I hadn't felt anything from either of them. With my senses, my Empathy especially, I should have caught on if either of them had been worried or suspicious, but if there'd been anything of the sort, it had been to light and brief to draw my notice.

Which was saying a hell of a lot. Most _molecules_ couldn't do that. Which meant they'd sensed our presence, filed it away, and not only hadn't given it away by reacting, but hadn't even felt a flash of doubt, worry, or fear. They'd remained as calm then as they were now, smoothly transitioning into motion without so much as increasing their heart beats. If anything, their presence felt…tranquil.

"I told you not to underestimate them," Raven said, though the sudden widening of her eyes kept it from having too much bite. Even so, she nodded in answer to my question, letting a hand fall to her sword as she did.

"My mistake," I apologized truthfully. I hadn't thought I _was_ underestimating them, but the simple fact that I'd been noticed spoke for itself. Even as I moved to follow Raven's lead, my mind raced as I tried to figure out where I'd made a mistake. Had we simply gotten too close? It was possible. All Hunters had something of a sixth sense—what my power registered as Sense Danger, Detect Bloodthirst, and other such things—that alerted them to danger and could tell them if they were being watched.

In truth, it was something similar to echolocation, allowing one to sense their surrounding with their Aura. It could alert you to the presence of things and even read targets to a certain extent, both in terms of body language and the state of another Aura, when it was applicable. If something acted aggressively, it could trigger a reaction in a trained Hunter, but while doing that from a block away wasn't particularly unfeasible, neither Raven nor I had any particular hostility towards them. No, if they'd sensed us that way, then they must be reacting to our proximity and attention. They'd actually noticed something wrong simply because we'd been watching them from down the street?

Or maybe even before that. If that entire conversation had been coded, then maybe they'd even detected me spying on them from a distance, though that seemed unlikely. Either way, it didn't matter right now, we had to react quickly and intelligently, which meant keeping a cool head, the same as they were doing now. They'd given away the fact that they knew we were there, but why bother giving away such an advantage. Granted, they probably knew that any onlookers would be suspicious if they suddenly left the house and started looking around, but if they wanted to catch us, every second would count and even a moment of confusion could be of help. If they wanted to find us—

Ah.

I reached out and caught Raven by the hand before she could do anything. She frozen instantly and I feared for a moment that I'd overstepped my bounds, but after a moment exhaled and relaxed.

"They're trying to make react," She realized, giving me a nod as I let her go. "My apologies."

"No need," I assured her, lifting my left hand to Autumn's…let's call it a shoulder. She hadn't reacted visibly to the sudden change in atmosphere, but I wasn't sure how much of the situation she understood or cared about. At the same time, I also lifted my free hand and held it up as if to forestall action. "I must admit, I was fairly surprised myself. But it's obvious they want to narrow down their search by causing us to move and give ourselves away. Do you have any idea what they were saying?"

Raven hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"They've changed it," She said. "I thought something might be wrong when they started acting like they were kids again, but…it's been a long time and it seems they've changed their code as well. I…didn't understand what they were saying."

She sounded saddened by that, by the fact that she was no longer able to grasp what had probably once been familiar—but also seemed resigned to it, as if it were inevitable. Which I supposed it probably was, after over a decade.

"Do not worry," I replied. "I was merely curious. In the end, we aren't here to eavesdrop on them."

"True," She agreed. "Shall we withdraw then? It's possible they might notice, but if you conceal my portal, it shouldn't make a difference."

I hummed slightly, considering it even as I watched the two men. They're left the house with brisk, purposeful strides that helped conceal the fact that they didn't have any destination in mind. If they knew where we are and were in a hurry, they would have moved far more quickly, but instead they were hardly more than walking.

"…No," I answered after a moment, curious despite myself. "Let's stay a bit longer while Keter finishes his search. Should anything happen, it would be quicker to withdraw into Naraka regardless."

Raven took a deep breath at that and nodded, turning to watch her former teammates as well. Now that the two of them were in motion, there was no trace of the insulting camaraderie that had reminded me of Adam and I; without changing in the slightest, it was still as if I were looking at different people. Their expressions were blank, alert, and professional and they moved without exchanging a word, first circling the house and then meeting up again by hoping onto the roof.

By that point, Qrow and Taiyang had already donned their respective weapons, which reminded me of Ruby and Yang's, if Ruby and Yang had possessed a far larger budget and been less conservative. Qrow's High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe had been built for rapid fire, something that demanded the user be able to adjust quickly. The blade of the Scythe had a mechanism that…well, quite frankly, it reminded me of a chainsaw. As for Taiyang's Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets, they were built to fire multiple shots simultaneously and had a rapid-fire feature. Both men had a fair number of different Dust rounds stored on their person, preparing them for a variety of different situations.

But they still didn't know where we were. I kept up the illusion of invisibility and controlled the air around us to mask both sound and scent. With a thought, I brought my Aura under control and then stretched it over Autumn and Raven carefully, trying to hide them as well. It was hard, like washing out their presence with my own at the same time I tried to be invisible, and I wasn't certain how well I did, but…

Well, that was one of the reasons I wanted to stay for a bit longer. Would they be able to find me without relying on any of their physical senses? If they came close, I'd immediately withdraw into Naraka, but I'd like to know where my weaknesses lie. If they could find me, then others could to, and I'd rather learn that no then in an actual life or death situation.

Several seconds passed without anything happening before Taiyang twitched. I knew why his act was faltering—it was really hard to keep an act going when someone called your bluff and there was nothing you could do about it. He shifted slightly, elbow bumping Qrow's and the two men moved again, leaping a roof closer to us. Raven's heart beat picked up slightly at that, but, I kept ahold of her Aura and she didn't otherwise react.

At that point, Qrow and Taiyang exchanged a glance and I could tell they were grudgingly impressed. Taiyang lifted a finger and Qrow replied by raising three, making him frown. He lifted his other hand and splayed all five fingers before dropping them one by one and Qrow nodded. The two men jumped again, drawing nearer to us in the process, before pausing and doing so again until they were on the roof with us, at which point they stopped and exchanged another glance.

"We know you're here," Taiyang said at last. "Why were you spying on us?"

I didn't answer, though if Keter hadn't been active, I'd have probably had to struggle to keep from making Levant create a directionless laugh, just to unnerve them. As it was, I could still manipulate the Elements, but my Elementals themselves were gone, making it more difficult. Instead, I just kept us silent and concealed.

Taiyang heaved a long sigh and gave Qrow a helpless look and shrug.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do," He said at last, walking easily across the rooftop until he stood atop the dormer window. He took one more look around, turned away, and—

Qrow moved. Though he'd been standing farther from us than Taiyang, he drew with a speed that impressed even me, all but appearing right above us. The head of his scythe drew back into a shape more suited for harvesting, and he swung it as fast as anyone I've ever meet, even though he barely seemed to be trying. Raven's hand snapped down to her sword at once and began to draw it to block, but I moved faster, sensing the attack coming.

 **Bai Hu's Five Hundred Years (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% HP: 5000 MP: 5000  
The life of the White Tiger. Born in an age of chaos and war and honed by a lifetime of fighting, the great Bai Hu rose to rule as a King of Beasts and the Lord of the West. Born from endless effort and repetition, this is his penultimate technique, pushed to the limits of its power  
2500% Increase to Physical Attack Damage.  
2500% Increase to Attack Speed.  
2500% Increase to Movement Speed.  
Additional 5000 HP used per minute.  
Additional 5000 MP used per minute.**

Reaching out with one hand to grasp Autumn and the other to grab Raven, I lifted each of them with and drew back pair of steps, striding up the rooftop. I had to control not only my motion but the very air around me, guiding its passage even as I kept it from igniting from the friction. At the same time, I hardened it beneath my feet so as to keep from shattering the rooftop, and then Shed a skin to drop to the ground below.

Just as I was about to go the final step and transport us all to Naraka, however, Raven stopped me, laying a hand over the one I held at her waist. For a brief moment, I worried that I'd offended her, but I dismissed it just as quickly—stuff like that didn't matter in situations like this and we both knew it. Instead, I met her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

She nodded up towards the rooftops without saying a word and I followed her gaze, understanding after a second. Taiyang looked abruptly tired, as if he'd suddenly aged several years, and his face was briefly drawn in a pained expression.

"For a moment, I thought…" Taiyang began after a moment of silence before trailing off, shaking his head. "Nevermind."

"No," Qrow replied. "I sensed her, too. She was here."

"But…" Taiyang didn't seem to know what to say next and instead simply closed his eyes. "I guess I'd hoped for something else."

"Mhm," Qrow hummed in agreement, tone and expression devoid of the faked joviality from before. "But we both know how you are, sis."

Raven looked pained again, but though the two men above us held still and waited, she didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "For interrupting."

She looked down at the hand on her sword, blade half-drawn from its sheath, and shook her head.

"No," She said quietly. "Thank you. Qrow and I, we always used to play around like this. Even now, my first instinct was to draw my sword. But…if I had…"

Then they'd have faced each other. They'd have seen one another, met, and spoken. She didn't say it, but I understood how she felt in a way. But at the same time…

I thought about my father and our last words. I wonder if she'd said anything to her brother and husband before she left or if she'd simply vanished.

"If you say something, they'll hear you," I said. "I can reveal us, as well—or if you prefer, I can carry a message to them from a distance. If there's anything you wish to tell them, I will ensure that they hear."

Raven smiled at that, grateful, but shook her head.

"Thank you," She said. "But not today. We have other matter to deal with regardless."

I nodded once and looked up at the sky.

"Have you found anything yet, Keter?" I asked aloud, so Raven wouldn't be excluded. I wasn't opposed to talking to myself, but it seemed rude not to let my friends in on the conversation.

"Perhaps," Keter answered, suddenly in front of me. Raven jerked slightly in my arms and I remembered belatedly to let her go. "Follow me."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Burial**

We followed Keter into the wilds of Patch, taking the long way around Taiyang, Qrow, and their house. I wasn't certain whether or not they sensed anything from us, but if they did, they didn't try to follow and Raven didn't look back.

But then, I suppose looking forward was a requirement of sorts, in our line of work.

As we went deeper into the forests and the last signs of civilization faded away, however, I began to notice something odd. It was a subtle transition, so much so that I only noticed because of the breadth of my senses, but it was definitely there and it stood at when I looked back there way we came.

"There are more flowers here," Raven noted as well, turning her gaze towards Autumn, who'd paused and reached out to one of them. Further back, there'd been a few—a bit more than one might expect, but nothing particularly noteworthy—but here, they were pretty much everywhere you looked. Not to the point of layering the grass or anything, but enough to pick a few out wherever you turned your head.

Frowning slightly, I nodded as Autumn laid her hand over the flower. When she pulled away, it was gone without a trace, but…

I turned forward, looking ahead of us. Now that I had some idea of what I was looking for, it was easy to guess where we were headed and I didn't hesitate to continue walking.

"Come along, Autumn," I murmured quietly. "We'll have time for that later."

Autumn, who'd been about to reach out to another flower, paused and dropped her hand back to her side without complaint, moving to follow me. The forests around Patch were covered with wide, crawling roots and it quickly grew dark beneath the tangling tree branches, but none of us had any problem moving through it. As we went further, Raven's brow began to furrow and she started to frown as well.

"Is this…?" Raven began to ask before shaking her head as if it were a silly question. She paused for a moment to stare into the distance, reaching out with her power to look ahead, and then closed her eyes for a moment. "Ah. I've never taken this route to get there before, but if there was anywhere…yes, I suppose it would be there."

I nodded wordlessly, looking at the same thing she was. Ahead of us, when the forest faded into fields and lead up to the cliffs around the island, there was a small, simple stone with words engraved upon it.

 _Summer Rose  
Thus Kindly I Scatter_

It was her tombstone. There was no body beneath it, as near as I could tell, but that didn't change anything—funerals were for the living, rather than the dead.

Or was that really true? Thinking about it, I wasn't sure. Now that I knew more about souls and such, a lot of things began to seem more plausible. A lot of cultures made a fairly big deal about last rites and while I sincerely doubted it was as simple as 'Do it or they'll never rest and come back as ghosts or zombies or something', maybe there _was_ some significance to it. From what I'd learned and gathered, the way you died could hold some value to a soul, so perhaps the act of being buried or mourned or even just remembered did something as well.

All I knew is there must have been _something_ to it, because from the base of Summer's gravestone to the edge of the forest, there were flowers. Hundreds of thousands of flowers covered the open plain, spreading out with all the colors of the rainbow and then some. There were roses, of course, and tulips and lilies, peonies and sweet peas, asters and carnations and daffodils and countless other things, weaving together a tapestry of natural beauty that would have stunned and amazed anyone without allergies.

If I'd been anyone else, I probably wouldn't have though anything of it. It was a beautiful place, of course, but it wasn't particularly unusual to bury someone you loved in such a place. If you couldn't find the body, if you had no idea what had happened or where they'd been or how it had happened….well, who wouldn't want them to be someplace beautiful? Burying her here wasn't that odd when you thought about it.

But I _was_ me—and my daughter had grown from a rose, so stuff like this drew my attention. And, as it happened, I'd done a fair bit of research into the subject of flowers when I'd taken one in, enough to say I knew my shit when it came to them, which meant I knew enough to know that not all of these flowers would grow in the same place on their own. Hell, even if they did, this field didn't seem to care much about the season; not of these flowers should have been in season now, this early in spring. I could say with a fair bit of confidence that this field hadn't always been like this.

Some of it had probably been the work of family members and loved ones, bring flowers or planting them around her grave. But even with the most loving husband and the closest friends, raising and maintaining a field of flowers would be difficult for pretty much anyone without plant controlling powers, especially outdoors where anything could happen and the Grimm could go about their randomly dickish ways. It would take a lot of work to do this, the type of work that left behind traces and signs that I just didn't see, at least not on the scale that would allow this. It was beautiful, amazingly so, but it wasn't normal in the slightest.

Normalcy is overrated, I thought, laying a hand on Autumn's head as we reached the edge of the forest.

"I think we've found what we're looking for," I said aloud, making Raven nod silently as she scanned the field with a wary eye, looking for signs of any hidden dangers before nodding to herself. I could have told her that it was remarkably clear of danger for a place on Remnant, but I didn't; she wasn't actually worried, she was just falling back on what she knew as a Huntress after being shaken a bit. It was a natural thing to do and I steadfastly didn't comment on it.

"It wasn't like this when I came before," She answered at last and then paused for a moment, looking a bit embarrassed. "But…it's been quite some time since I was last here."

I nodded in understanding; nobody liked to be reminded of what they'd lost, especially when they'd lost it because of their own failure. Whether that failure was real or imagined, it didn't make much difference—I'd only been to my father's grave once. Granted, part of that was because I lived on another continent now, but honestly I wouldn't visit much even if I lived a block away from it. After all, I remembered him and how he died with a detail most people couldn't imagine; there just wasn't much point in visiting a slab of stone. Besides, if he could hear me and was watching over me, he could do it wherever I was and he'd probably prefer it if I wasn't looking down while he did it.

"However long it's been, these didn't grow naturally—and under the circumstances, I'm guessing it has something to do with Summer," I said before turning my head to look at Autumn. "What do you think, Autumn? Does any of this feel familiar?"

Autumn didn't answer, white cloak concealing the swarm of moving coils and thorns that severed as her face. After a moment, she began to rise, her cloak shifting slightly as she grew back into the six legged form she seemed to favor. Her humanoid upper body remained the same, but she turned her head slightly as she surveyed the field before moving forward slowly, limbs stabbing deeply into the earth.

"I'll assume that was a yes," Raven said wryly.

"She's just shy around strangers," I explained. "She's usually more talkative, but I don't think she knows how to act around new people yet."

"How old is she now?" Raven asked.

"A few months, technically," I answered. "That's how long it's been since I awakened her Aura, at least. She's only been able to walk for a little less than two weeks though—that's how long it's been since I taught her to make a body."

"Ah," Raven said, as if that explained it. "I take it she hasn't been around many people then?"

I shook my head.

"I've introduced her to several others, but really it's just Gou, Adam, and I," I replied before tilting my head. Raven was staring at Autumn's back and it didn't take a genius to see that she was looking for signs of Summer. On one hand, I wasn't sure if that was a fair thing to want to expect from a young girl, whoever she might have been. On the other, fairness didn't really have anything to do with it; Summer had been Raven's friend and Raven had been Summer's. It was naturally to want to find what you've lost and having walked away from Taiyang and Qrow again—and through them, from her own daughter…

I held back a sigh and considered it before nodding.

"Actually, perhaps you can help her with a few things," I mused aloud, drawing Raven's attention. "We've been training a lot recently and she's very smart, but she only has a few weeks of experience with a mobile body. I'm going to start teaching her to protect herself soon, though I'm not entirely certain of where to start. Perhaps you could assist me? It may not be my place to ask, but it might be a good idea to show her a bit of Summer's fighting style."

"…You don't have to do that," Raven whispered, seeing through it.

I smiled slightly and nodded again.

"Maybe, but…the two of you were parts of each other's lives," I stated. "I have to ask that you don't expect anything unreasonable from her, but…it must have meant a lot to Summer, too. So it's only right that I give you a chance to find it again, or at least try and build something new."

Raven was silent for a long moment before nodding very shallowly.

"Thank you," She said. "Perhaps I'll take you up on that."

I inclined my head at her and then followed after my daughter who was slowly moving through the field. The right sleeve of her cloak flapped once before several appendages reached out from it—human arms, but far longer, lacking anything like elbows or bones. They stretched out, touching individual flowers for several moments before moving on to reach out to others.

"Find something, Autumn?" I asked as I came to stand on the other side of her, looking up at her face.

She was quiet for a moment, her eyes staring at nothing as her arms slowly moved. After several seconds, however, her hood turned towards me, silver glinting in the shadows.

"They're like me, Father," She whispered at last. "Like I was before."

Before, I wondered, looking down at them. They were normal flowers but for the fact that they were growing in an abnormal place—none of them possessed an awakened Aura that I could see, which meant that she wasn't talking about before she had a body or a mind of her own. Then did she mean before she met _me_? But then—

"All of them?" I asked, surprised as I glanced over my shoulder at Keter. The Light Elemental didn't bother walking through the field but simple turned his attention towards a million different points. Though he didn't have an recognizable expression…maybe it was because he was me, but I thought he looked contemplative. After a moment, the expression of my soul appeared at my side, showing no sign of covering the space in-between, and knelt to place a hand on the ground.

Light raced through the earth, flowing outwards in a web of white energy. It raced across the field, touching upon flowers and making them glow from within until every flower petal around us seemed to be made of solid light. I felt my energy drain at a startling pace as the network expanded, but just as I was going to interrupt, it suddenly stopped.

"Keter, what was that?" I asked, frowning with a touch of annoyance.

"As I thought, these flowers seem unusual," He replied, sounding interested.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that she may be right," Keter stated. "It is if a soul had been separated into a million cells and the pieces had been planted here. The addition to each is negligible and yet…they feel connected, even across so many bodies. It would seem we've found what we are looking for."

I looked at him for a long moment before surveying the field again, lifting a hand to my chin.

"So Summer's soul really has been scattered here?" I mused, analyzing the various flowers again. Despite the breadth of my senses, I didn't see anything odd about them physically, but this wasn't a physical issue. I trusted both Keter and Autumn, though, and if they said there was something there, I believed them.

"So it would seem, at least," Keter replied, touching a flower and leaving it glowing for a moment. "Nonetheless, it is strange…"

I tilted my head with a slight frown, pretty sure I knew what he meant.

"You said they were connected?" I asked. "How?"

Keter was silent for a long minute, scanning the field with a million different eyes before replying.

"I don't know," He admitted. "I can't say that I remember ever seen anything like this before. A soul reduced to such an extent should simply fade away, yet these do not. Each flower had a tiny, almost meaningless addition, but even that should be impossible. Even if her soul had managed to remain in this world despite the damage inflicted to it, it should have…"

"Scattered?" I guessed.

"Yes," Keter agreed, sounding distracted. "And yet they are all gathered here. Such small elements of a soul shouldn't be able to do such a thing—shouldn't be able to do _anything_ , truthfully. Yet obviously they have."

I nodded at that, looking back at Autumn who had lowered herself to the ground and was quietly looking around at her…siblings? Pieces? Other selves? I wasn't sure what to call them. She's sunk her roots into the grass, but didn't seem certain of what to do next.

"Do you have any idea why?" I asked when Keter fell silent again. After a moment, he nodded slowly.

"It's nothing more than a guess, in truth," He began slowly. "But while I cannot be certain, I believe they are connected simply due to the fact that they are of the same soul."

"I thought it didn't work like that?"

"It doesn't normally," He replied. "So I suspect it has something to do with the nature of Summer's power or of her soul. While the pieces have been scattered, they remain a part of the same whole—no longer solid or in one piece, but still of one soul. I can feel power flowing through this field like it would through a human body, and though the process is a touch different, the core concepts remain. The Sephirot are still here, if in bits and pieces, and energy—Aura—is being used to fill the gaps."

"So the chain isn't broken, per se," I muttered, glancing around again, this time more slowly. "It's just more spread out. Instead of bridging the path from Keter to Malkuth within a single body, it does so across thousands. A fluid rather than a solid."

"Yes," Keter answered. "It's intriguing, I must say."

I grunted and turned away from him.

"If the pieces are all still here, I'm going to take a guess and say that's Keter," I said, nodding in the direction of the tombstone—and at the roses that wreathed it.

"Most likely," Keter agreed. "They would appear to be the core of this arrangement."

I hummed as if that meant something to me and looked at my daughter again, nodding my head towards the grave. She rose from the ground, withdrawing her roots as she did, and began to quickly stride towards it, following my lead. I stopped at the base of the grave marker, a shadow coming over me as Autumn loomed at my back, and continued to watch the roses.

"Was this where you came from?" I wondered, not that Autumn had any way of knowing. "But how did you get from here to that store?"

Autumn shook her head and I reached back to grasp her hand, pondering the matter. I suppose it wasn't impossible that someone had simply taken to collecting flowers from this place. Given the quantity and variety, I suppose it wasn't unlikely that someone looking to make some cash had chosen to take advantage of it. With the Grimm all around us, there was only so much space for…anything, really, and the Agricultural District could only spare so much room for growing pretty flowers instead of food. If someone had found a place like this—a relatively safe location filled with unnaturally growing flowers—I wouldn't have been surprised if they had seen an opportunity to make a quick buck out of it. Sure, the thought of someone harvesting and selling a deceased hero's remains was pretty horrifying, but _they_ wouldn't have known that was what they were doing, and though taking flowers from a dead woman's grave was skeevy at best, it wasn't hard to imagine someone wanting to make money more than they wanted to respect some woman they didn't know.

So yeah, I could imagine that. I could except that it was possible that that was how Autumn had gotten to a flower shop in Vale.

But how had I picked her out of any other flower in there? Had it been Luck? My Intuition acting up without me noticing? Had my Aura unknowingly touched hers and inclined me in her direction, the same way Qrow and Taiyang had spotted us? Or had there been something else at work?

I briefly pondered whether or not I had been influenced somehow, but dismissed it almost immediately. For one thing, I had full faith in the power of the Gamer's Mind to shut down any mind whammies that came my way, so it couldn't have been that, and my intention to pick up a plant that day had been entirely my own as far as I knew.

Then, was it possible that Autumn had reached out to me? Her Semblance, Gatherer, existed to bring things together, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. I could believe in coincidence up to a point, but standing here in this field of scattered pieces, it was easy to figure out what Autumn was supposed to unite. But even Autumn hadn't know about any of this. Hell, before she met me, she had no way of _acting_ , knowingly or not. Even if her purpose had been to bring herself together and I had been the one person around who could help make it happen, I saw no way to make those ends meet.

I wondered absently what would have happened had I picked up some other flower. Eventually, Autumn could have just died like the rest of her sisters. Would her soul have returned to this place? Or would it have faded away? And what if I'd picked up a different part of her; a tulip from this valley instead of a rose?

Would I have ever found my way here? Would I have ever figured out what had happened, what was still happening? Would _anyone_? Or would Summer's soul just keep on waiting here?

I signed and shook my head before smiling up at Autumn.

"Well, I guess that's at least one thing I'll never know the answer to," I said. "We're here now."

Autumn nodded, setting down against the earth again and splaying her six legs wide. Reaching out with one of her hands, she touched the smooth surface of the tombstone, tracing the words.

"Thus Kindly I Scatter," She voiced before dropping her hand to the line below. "Summer Rose."

"Mm," I hummed, confirming that she got it right. "She's been scattered like this for years now, but I don't know if I'd call it kind. So…I'd say it's about time we brought the pieces back together, right Autumn?"

Her legs twitched as she nodded, sharpened tips sinking deeply into the dirt. As she did, I reached out to touch the stems of one of the roses, whispering a few words underneath my breath before letting going and grasping the next to repeat the process. After I'd laid my hands on each of the rose plants, I rose and turned back to the fields, reaching out to grasp flower after flower. After a while, I began to reach out with my Psychokinesis as well, channeling power constantly as I made my way through the field.

"What are you doing?" Raven asked, catching up to me at a sedate pace.

"These flowers are the scattered pieces of Summer," I stated. "We're getting ready to bring them back together."

Raven nodded at that, accepting it easily.

"How?" She asked. "Through Autumn's Semblance?"

"Partially," I stated. "But before that, I'll awaken their Aura. In the past, it seemed to make the process more effective, and in this case…well, hopefully it'll help bring a few things out."

Raven looked at me for a moment and then looked over the field of thousands upon thousands of flowers.

"All of them?" She asked. "That may take a while."

I chuckled and shook my head in reply. While I could feel her desire to aid her friend, she was also worried about the scope of such a project. Awakening something's Aura wasn't effortless and with this many flowers to attend to…well, her concern was understandable. It wasn't something that could be completed in a timely manner, most days. But…

"Not to worry," I said. "I'll handle it. If it's just something like this, it actually shouldn't take _too_ long."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Collection**

I admit, it took a while. Despite what I'd told Raven, this was a major undertaking, even for me. Awakening Aura's was…not _difficult_ , but it took a fair bit of energy—enough so that it took significantly more effort to awaken this field then it normally took me to shatter _cities_. I'd gotten a number of skills to help me lighten the load, greatly reducing the cost on my reserves, but the sheer _amount_ of plants to be Awakened more than made up for it. In the end, I had to setup several barriers, drain my reserves to take advantage of my Mana Reactor, and it still took hours.

But I couldn't stop. It took time and energy, but that was all it cost me, whereas Summer had been waiting her in pieces, having lost pretty much everything—and as Summer had given way to Autumn, I felt responsibility for here. And though it was difficult at first…it got easier. The skill improved quickly and the cost lowered, letting my pick up the pace and push on.

So I moved through the field with a hundred invisible limbs, touching upon flower after flower, and fanning the sparks of Aura I found within. They were small, weak, but they were alive and they reacted quickly to my power. Not only that, but the oceans of power I shed, empowering both them and their siblings, filled the air and was quickly absorbed into the field of flowers, all but making them grow. They began to grow noticeably, starting with the roses and spreading outwards across the valley in ripples and wave, following the same path I'd taken.

Animasynthesis. I couldn't be certain if they all had her power or if they possessed the potential to eventually grow into it, but that, at least, seemed to be something they all shared. Knowing what I did know, I was sure that it was an ability born from their souls, the same as any Semblance—but in their cases, it was born from the broken shape of their souls and the need to grow beyond that. That shared desire went beyond thought, beyond the mind and brain, rooting itself within their very souls, and given time, it would grow.

It was already starting to, honestly. I could see levels rising as what seemed like the entire field of flowers turned towards me as if I were the sun. They drew in the power I unleashed, sharing it between them even as they sought to expand. I knew from my experience with Autumn that it would only be a matter of time until minds began to form within their frames—just as I knew that those minds would come into this would isolated and cut off from the world. From anything but me and, perhaps, each other.

Sighing as I finished my work at last, I took a look at the setting sun and then at my friends. After fetching Adam and Gou with one of her portals, Raven had taken a seat on the grass to watch me as I awakened the multitude of flowers in the field, doing what should have taken months of work in hours. When she saw that I was finished, she lifted her head and spoke.

"Done?" She asked, almost hiding the amazement that crept into her voice.

"Almost," I replied, smiling at her. Taking another deep breath, I turned and walked towards Autumn, who'd remained in her place in front of Summer's grave. When I reached her side, I bumped her shoulder with mine and smiled as I drew her attention. "What are you thinking about, sweetie?"

Instead of replying immediately, Autumn reached out to touch the now widely blooming roses around Summer's grave, tiny green tendrils growing from her fingers to intertwine with the stems, leaves, and petals.

"They're like I used to be," She said again before pausing, most likely searching for the words. "Before…I became who I am now."

The sentence might not have made much sense to anyone else, but I'd spent almost all of Autumn's life at her side and I got it, so I nodded in answer to her question.

"Summer Rose," She read again. "She is who I used to be?"

I hadn't been certain of how much of the conversation Autumn had understood—partially because there was a fair bit _I_ wasn't clear on—but I wasn't surprised that she'd grasped the major bits. My daughter was a smart girl.

"Mhm," I confirmed. "Before she died."

"She went away?" Autumn asked. "I don't understand. If she's gone, then what am I?"

"It's a bit complicated," I replied. "Partially because she died in an unusual way. But things can't really be created or destroyed. Instead, they can only be changed. Whether its matter or the Light or even souls, that seems to be true. I'm not clear on the specifics of it all, I admit, but I'm pretty sure of that much now, even if sometimes it doesn't seem that way."

"Then death is a form of change?" She mused.

"In a number of ways," I agreed. "There are physical changes that occur when a body ceases to live…and there are changes to the soul. You used to be Summer and now you're Autumn."

"Is that why she's gone?" Autumn asked. "Because she became me?"

"Not quite," I answered, shaking my head. "That's more of the result then anything. She's gone because she died; her death being the process that caused her to change."

"And she can't change back?" Autumn asked before pausing. " _I_ can't change back?"

I shook my head, at once conflicted and…not. Doing this wouldn't bring Summer back; from everything Keter had said, Summer had died as a person with the loss of her brain and all the memories stored within. What was left of her now were the countless pieces of her soul, which were something wholly different. Even if all the pieces came back together—ignoring the fact that I was pretty sure a good portion were within Ruby—Summer wouldn't return, no more than most people returned when they were reincarnated. And I…was actually okay with that, because I wouldn't give up Autumn to save a woman I'd never met.

At the same time, I understood how much Summer must have meant to so many people—to Raven, someone else I cared about—and felt guilty. I was glad that the option wasn't on the table, because I knew what choice I'd have made if it were.

"It's a bit sad, isn't it?" I replied quietly, closing my eyes. "That's why death is seen as an ending and why it makes people sad. Change is frightening in and of itself, especially when it's not willing or expected—"

I thought of Gou. It was a minor regret now, more of a surprise after we'd gotten used to it, but still something to remember.

"—But what's _truly_ sad is the fact that you can't go back again," I continued. "Some things, once lost, can't be found again."

This time, I thought of my father—and then of Raven and her family, who she'd left behind. That might not have the finality of death, but the fact remained that she'd left her husband, her daughter, her brother, and her team, and hadn't come back. She'd had her reasons, probably even good ones, but there's a difference between explanations and excuses…and I think that was why she didn't go back. Even though it seemed they'd welcome her back with open arms, I don't think they'd ever forget the choice she'd made. And even if they did, she wouldn't.

I sighed again before looking at Autumn with a smile before turning towards Adam, Gou, and Raven. I saw Autumn follow my gaze to them and tilt her head, a touch confused.

"But even if you lose something, you can still find something else," I continued. "Death is sad. It will always be sad. Nothing I've learned about it has changed that—if anything, the possibilities only make it even sadder. Change, too, can still be frightening. But neither death nor change is something that's likely to stop, so there's nothing to do but live with them. But they don't have to be the last word and just because they're scary doesn't mean they can make you stop. And even in the midst of something horrible, you can still find some light, though it sometimes means having to manufacture your own because life is being stingy."

"Really?" Autumn asked, sounding a touch skeptical.

"Mm," I hummed in response. "You and I…our stories are a little sad. We both lived and died before we became what we are now and the results were…depressing, to say the least. But somehow, it seemed it lead us to each other and that's good, right?"

"…Yes," Autumn said, turning back to the grave. "I…there's a great deal I don't understand, but I'm glad that you found me father. I'm glad I'm alive."

I smiled at her and nodded.

"Me too," I replied. "Things could be better, but I suppose we'll just have to make them that way ourselves, won't we?"

Autumn nodded back at me and fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you know how you died?" She asked. "Before?"

I exhaled slowly.

"More or less," I said. "I know who killed me, even if I don't know why just yet. But I know I have some scores to settle."

"I don't remember how I died," She whispered.

"Summer Rose died protecting her daughter from one of the enemies of Mankind," I answered, hiding any uncertainty I had about that. "She gave a life to keep her daughter safe from it and even after death she continues to protect her."

"What was her name?" Autumn asked after a moment.

"Ruby Rose," I said. "If you want, I'll introduce you, though it might be awhile until it's safe."

Autumn nodded, still looking at the flowers.

"That's how I scattered, then," She whispered to herself. "Kindly."

"Mhm," I agreed. "Were you worried?"

"…Perhaps," She answered after a few seconds of thought. "I just didn't understand who I'd been. I thought it might mean something for who I could become."

"You're Autumn, my daughter," I told her. "That's who you'll always be."

She nodded at that.

"Then there's nothing more to worry about," She stated, six legs digging deeply into the ground and sending out roots in every direction. "I'll be putting myself back together now, Father."

"Ah," I answered, leaning back on my hands as I turned to look up at the sky, painted with the colors of the setting sun. "Take your time, sweetie."

 **XxXXxX**

For something as massive as repairing a long-broken soul, the process itself was quite subdued. There were no glowing lights, nor did the skies open and shine light down upon us all, nor much of anything else. Instead, Autumn spread her roots through the field, touching lightly upon each and every other plant as quicksilver rivers streamed down her legs and into the ground. I eased the process along as much as I could, manipulating the earth to make it easier for her to spread and to guide her where she needed to go.

Then, once she'd spread herself into a complex network beneath the ground, the process simply…reversed, drawn back towards the source—and carrying all the flowers of the field along with it. The edges of the field went first, shimmering and then melting as they slide into the ground and left nothing but barren earth behind. Then the process continued, with flowers vanishing in a rippling pattern, covering the ground briefly in a sheet of quicksilver-green that was absorbed into the ground in moments.

Despite the scale of the project, it happened fast, erasing thousands of flowers every second until there was nothing left behind. The roses went last, flowing up Autumn's six legs and then sliding beneath the surface—and it was over.

I rose after the process was done, even the grass around me now gone, and looked at my daughter.

"Everything okay?" I asked. She'd leaned forward when the process began, drawing her hood up around her face, but that didn't keep me from seeing her clearly. She nodded, but the gesture was shaky, uncertain. She seemed a bit dizzy, but I wasn't particularly worried; I'd Observed her constantly throughout the process and nothing negative seemed to have occurred.

Which didn't mean nothing had changed.

 **The Last Rose of Summer  
LV 89  
Autumn Rose**

Not bad for a day's work, I thought absently, reaching out to take her hand. Even beyond the change in level and the points my power had given her, her stats had risen throughout the process. I wasn't sure how much of that was from absorbing the scattered pieces of her soul—and, accordingly, what Autumn might have been missing until now due to only having a fraction—but whatever the cause, I was glad to see her benefiting from it now. We'd need to test out the nature of her new abilities later, but if nothing else, her level was now more than high enough for her to benefit from being a member of my party and I could help her improve directly from now on.

The title change was something I was less certain of, but mostly because I still wasn't entirely sure what titles _meant_. Broadly speaking, they seemed to be a representation of their owner and I knew they could change, but I didn't know what decided them or caused them to shift. I mean, presumably it was the result of a major change on the part of the owner, which collaborated with what I'd seen from Autumn and Gou so far, who were my best examples of the process. In Gou's case, he'd started off as a normal dog and grown under the touch of my power, his title changing along pretty clear lines as he grew into his own strength.

Autumn, however, I now knew had been different from the very beginning. The day I'd awakened her Aura, she'd had the title 'Left Blooming Alone', presumably due to her nature as a fragment of Summer's soul. When she'd first used her power to merge with another plant, it had changed into 'Who Would Inhabit This Bleak World Alone?', probably because she'd expressed the power that could bring those pieces together. Then 'Thus Kindly I Scatter' had been…what? The name was an obvious reference to Summer herself, most likely because either Autumn had begun to come into her Semblance or because she'd gained mobility, meaning she could eventually find her other pieces.

What did this change mean, then? Was it simply the result of her bringing those pieces—or, at least, most of those pieces—together? Or did it mean something more than that? Was this her final title or would she grow further? From my admittedly limited observations, most people didn't change their titles very often, if ever, probably because most of the people I met had already come into their own and decided who they were, whereas Autumn and Gou had been young and new to things. But given how both of them were…there was no real way to know for either of them.

Oh well, I thought. I didn't really like not knowing things, but what else was new. I'd just need to keep an eye out, as per usual.

Autumn's form shimmered again, six wooden legs sliding back up into her cloak as they lowered her to the ground. With her head bowed, no part of her body showed, but the motions of the white cloth made it obvious that things were moving within which had no place on the human body.

"It must be a big change," I said, patting her on the head. "It's fine if it takes some time to get used to it."

"…Odd," Autumn whispered, cloak shifting again.

"Would you like me to carry you?" I asked. "If you're not feeling up to walking right now, that's fine."

"It's not that," She replied, raising her voice to a more normal level. "I just feel different somehow?"

"Well, you just brought your soul back together," I answered. I still didn't register any status effects or damage upon her being with Observe, which had proven itself to be pretty damn good at catching things in the past, but I gave her a maximized heal anyway and then used Green Thumb, just in case. And then, because I took my daughter's welfare seriously and as something like that was beyond my area of expertise, I sent out a thought and summoned Keter to my side. The Light Elemental scanned her briefly with several hundred thousand eyes and then glanced my way.

"Her soul is restructuring itself," He stated. "It may take a while, given the number of pieces it was in, but it should consolidate in time now that they have been reunited."

I nodded and dismissed him with a gesture. He unraveled quickly, scattering into specks of light that quickly vanished, and the feeling of my Elementals returning came as something of a relief. Putting an arm around my daughter's shoulders, I guided her back to the rest of the group.

"It's done then?" Raven asked.

"It would seem to be, yes," I said, nodding in reply. "Keter said that it may take some time for everything to sort itself out, but I do not detect anything wrong thus far. Autumn?"

She considered it for a moment before shaking her head, though given that the vast majority of sensations were as new to her as her nervous system, I wasn't certain of the credibility of her self-diagnosis. Given that both Keter and my power seemed to support that she was okay, however, I left it be and simply patted her on the head.

"I'll give her a few days of rest to make sure everything's okay, just to make sure, but she should be fine," I continued. "If nothing else, her Aura seems to have grown significantly. Gou, would you mind carrying her for the time being?"

"I do not mind," Gou replied, already lying on the ground. I tapped Autumn's shoulder once to give her fair warning and then lifted her with my Psychokinesis to settle her on Gou's back, nodding my thanks to him as I did so.

"Shall we head back for today?" Raven murmured, moving to my side. Her own gaze was on Autumn as she spoke and I knew the suggestion was for her sake as much as anyone.

"Mm," I hummed, considering it. Truthfully, this wasn't particularly knew; it often took Autumn awhile to get used to a sudden increase in her mass, it just hadn't been relevant recently because she'd already consumed so much. More than that, I trust my power and, though sometimes annoying, I trusted Keter as well—and both told me she was okay. But just because she was fine didn't mean she could benefit from having some time to literally pull her together, so heading back might not have been a bad idea.

On the other hand, I wanted to meet with Torchwick and see what information I could dig up—and if possible, I'd like to do it as early as possible, so as to better drop in unannounced and make an impression. It didn't have to be today, but I'd rather it was soon and things were already in motion. Of course, with Raven's power, we _could_ just drop her off in Mistral and come back, but that would mean not only leaving her alone, but leaving her on a different _continent_.

I'd rather keep her close, on the off chance something did go wrong. I trusted myself to notice and respond to any changes, simply because…well, if I couldn't, I doubted anyone else could. In that regard, it didn't make much difference where she was, so long as I was nearby. I could erase damage, status effects, exhaustion, and pretty much anything else she was likely to suffer from, so long as I was close and even beyond that, I doubted she would benefit any more from bedrest then she would from just being around me.

But I wasn't the one who'd just put together a jigsaw puzzle with my own soul as the pieces.

"What do you think Autumn?" I asked. "I'll go along with whatever you decide. You want to do home?"

She shook her head after another moment of silence.

"Here or there, it makes no difference to me," She stated and probably meant it literally. I was pretty doubtful she had any real attachment to my dorm room or…any other location, really. After another moment, however, she added. "I don't feel tired, though. I just feel strange."

"Strange how?" Raven asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"It's like when I absorb and store matter," Autumn replied after some consideration. "But less solid."

There was a moment of awkward silence at that, due to the simple fact that none of us were sapient super-plant shapeshifters and couldn't really empathize with such a sensation. Even I could, because I just stored things in a pocket dimension which…Autumn probably did to, given that she would have weighed as much as a forest otherwise, but we did it in different ways.

Still, I was her father, so I hummed and nodded contemplatively.

"Let's meet with Torchwick, then," I decided. "Adam, Autumn, and Gou can wait nearby, where I can keep an eye on them. Truthfully, I'd feel better with her close by anyway. Between the two of us, I think she'd be safer that way."

Raven nodded at that.

"Very well," She said before glancing back and sighing. I knew why, of course, because it was kind of hard to ignore—Autumn had reduced a field of flowers to barren soil, after all. Even if it was necessary, the fact remained that neither of us were completely comfortable leaving such a glaring sign of our presence behind, and the fact that we'd cleared the area around Summer's grave of anything pleasant didn't help.

"I'll handle it," I murmured. "It won't be quiet the way it used to be, but…I can at least make something new."

Raven turned my way and quirked an eyebrow.

"How?" She asked again, making me smile.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any to introduce you to the final members of our team," I said. "Ereb, Levant, Suryasta, Vulturnus, Xihai. Come out and introduce yourselves."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Unannounced**

As it turned out, Torchwick and his men were busy little bees. I suppose that wasn't surprising, truthfully; as secretive as Cinder might want to be, robbing all the Dust stores in a city—a city that, itself, _ran_ on Dust—was hardly a minor project. Logistics had a tendency to complicate pretty much everything when you really got down to it, and when it came to stealing and transporting tons of valuable materials, that was especially true. Beyond the obvious need for transportation, targets would need to be scoped out ahead of time, dangers such as the police would need to be accounted for, and everything would need to be stored carefully, to prevent any particularly exciting accidents from happening with a material that was volatile at the best of times.

That itself led to a need for a _place_ for storage—and one that was big enough to handle a massive quantity of Dust. Even so, there were obvious risks entailed in such a thing; though in shows and such, the criminals can just set everything up in an abandoned warehouse and never be discovered, the truth of the matter was that, while there _were_ abandoned places, with space being such an issue with the Grimm all around us, it wasn't necessarily a good place to hide. People didn't just look at an abandoned building, shrug, and forever dismiss it from their thoughts, after all; odds were that someone was going to want to put it to use eventually. Add that to the dangers of the police driving by and wondering why the lights were on and, well…there were issues in running a major criminal movement out of such a thing.

Of course, actually buying a place large enough to suite your needs had its own issues. Things like that left paper trails and raised questions like 'What do you need a warehouse for?', "Why are all these strangely dressed people coming in and out of said warehouse at strange hours?', 'Why do you never seem to produce anything?', and the ever annoying 'Why do you look like that wanted criminal on the news?' To say nothing of the issues of regulations and building inspections and keeping up appearances.

Crime wasn't easy, especially when you wanted to make a life out of it. And the risks of failure were…well, worrying by anyone's standards. Really, it was no surprise that Cinder had chosen to delegate a task such as widespread Dust theft to someone else—and someone on another continent at that. Even then, I imagine that she probably spent a decent amount of time worrying about being exposed or betrayed; such was the nature of the game.

All of which meant that, instead of being some lush set up filled with a bunch of criminals relaxing and smoking cigars, Torchwick's place was full of people hard at work. Members of the White Fang were serving as muscle, transporting Dust in carefully sealed containers and storing them with exacting precision amidst other goods that would likely serve as a cover if they were could. To that same end, there were guards stationed around the surrounding neighborhood, though most of them didn't look that way. Instead of standing out by looking scary, there was a White Fang member working out of a bar nearby, a job Torchwick had presumably arranged for him, and he simply kept an eye on the streets as he worked, along with several of his fellows in similar jobs around the area. There were men in suits and marked trucks moving things through the city under the guise of what I assumed to be a real business, transporting goods both illegal and not. I wondered absently what ties Torchwick had to the actual business and how involved they were in these dealing. He certainly seemed to know a lot of people.

The long and short of which meant that they were busy.

So it took them all a while to notice me sitting on a chair, reading a book.

The first person to finally do so was a member of the White Fang who drifted close, either to see what I was doing or to tell me to get back to work. I didn't look up at him or speak, however, instead simply flicking my tail once to acknowledge his presence. He took one look at it, me, and the mask lying on the table beside me and then just walked away. When someone else tried to head towards me, however, he stopped them and spoke to them in quiet tones and, well, word traveled quickly from there, at least amongst the Faunus. Despite their present alliance—which had obviously gone past the stage of mere negotiations—none of them went to tell Torchwick yet.

Still, all of them kept a respectful distance from me and eyes were often on me as they worked. That nearly led to several accidents, including a dropped case of Dust, but I caught it with before it hit the ground, despite it being on the other side of the warehouse and handed it to the man who'd dropped it without even closing my book. After that, the warehouse quickly descended into murmurs, and that was what caught the man's attention.

"You," Torchwick said as he noticed me at last. Even with the amount of work he was no doubt handling with this operation, he probably knew better then to ignore it when everyone around him started whispering about something.

I smiled, closing my book at last as I looked up.

"Me," I agreed. "Hello, Mr. Torchwick. I don't believe we were ever formally introduced."

 **Will of the Torch  
Level 57  
Roman Torchwick**

He looked at me for a moment, the corner of his jaw pulsing slightly as he watched me, and then nodded sharply as if deciding something.

"I suppose not," He agreed at last. "Though I can't say I much expected to see you here."

I chuckled slightly and nodded at that.

"I heard your employer wished to arrange a meeting with me," I stated. "But given her current situation, I thought it would rude of me to drop in unannounced."

Roman gave slight twitch at that and I figured he probably wanted to say something about how I'd chosen to drop in on him instead, but he reined it in with a quick breath and nodded again.

"Very well, then," He said. "Shall we take this to my office?"

He didn't want the help to hear us talk, which heavily implied that they didn't know what was really going on. I'd assumed as much, but it was always good to confirm who knows what.

Although, I thought as I glanced around without moving my eyes, it was also possible that he just didn't like being surrounded by people who would take my side in a fight over his, not that it really mattered.

"Certainly," I agreed amiably before turning my head and smiling widely. "Will your friend be joining us?"

Beneath her illusion of invisibility, I saw the small girl's eyes widen, shift color, and then narrow. Her illusion fell away in the process, leaving her standing amidst the crowd of the White Fang who immediately drew back in surprise and began to go for their various weapons until I lifted a hand to forestall violence. Besides, they wouldn't like it if they tried.

"There's no need for that, my friends," I assured in an amused tone. "She is an associate of Mr. Torchwick. Hello, Ms. Neopolitan."

 **A Spoonful of Sugar  
LV 94  
Neopolitan**

She didn't reply, but I took the chance to glance her over again. Even if nothing else came from this meeting, I would consider it a win to identify the name, location, and appearance of Cinder's illusionist, as well as confirming that I could see through her attempts to hide—that was one thing off my mind, at least. And, quite frankly, with that out of the way I didn't have to worry about not being able to notice her, what with three-colored hair, shifting eye-color, and her choice of wardrobe; she kind of stood out.

"Neo?" Roman asked without so much as looking her way, but he might have been able to see her nod her head in his periphery vision. After she did, he was silent for a moment before tilting his head towards one of the side rooms. "Over here."

I rose from the chair I'd returned to and followed without a word. I didn't bother looking around, either, if mainly because I'd already memorized the place thoroughly. Once inside, I waited patiently for him to lock the door before taking several steps to return the book I'd borrowed to its proper place on his bookshelf. Torchwick's eyes bored into me for a moment at that.

"So," He said after a moment of silence. "You're Jian Bing, then."

"Indeed," I answered, turning my head slightly so he could see the edge of my smile before I allowed it to fade and looked at him seriously. "I suppose I should apologize for that matter with the White Whale. You must have had big plans for it."

"Something like that," He answered, though he didn't sound quite as annoyed as I would have expected. Given the reprogrammed robots, the assault in broad daylight, and the assault on a place that had been _full_ of Hunters, I'd have thought he'd had a lot riding on it.

But perhaps it hadn't been _his_ plan? If he'd been working as an intermediary for Cinder even back then, then he might have been steeling it on her orders and _she_ would have been the one with big plans. The question was, how much of those plans was Torchwick privy to? I already knew that Cinder wasn't the chatty sort when it came to revealing her secrets, but…

No, it was definitely possible he didn't know. In fact, it was even likely. Should I press that and see what I found? I'd need to be careful not to give away how much I knew, but—

I chuckled as I turned around and gave him a slight smile.

"She isn't one to explain things, is she?" I said and though Torchwick merely grunted, I knew I was right from the agreement I felt from him. "In that case, shall we let bygones be bygones? It would seem that we are working together for the time being, after all."

As I spoke, I took a seat on the edge of his desk while they remained with their backs to the door and stock-still for a moment before Torchwick relaxed and cracked his neck with a sigh.

"Fair enough," He said after a moment, reaching up to grasp his cigar. "I suppose I don't have much room to hold a grudge. It's like being outraged after breaking into someone's house and finding someone else making off with all the good bits. What ever happened to that ship, anyway?"

"The White Whale?" I asked pointlessly, heaving a sigh of my own. "Alas, the encounter with Ziz was rather hard on it. By the end, it was no longer flightworthy and there was significant damage throughout the entire ship. I repaired what I could, but as we crash-landed on a deserted island, my options were limited."

"Oh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "From what I heard, you managed to fly it all the way to Atlas and back."

I gestured dismissively.

"I was forced to lift it with my own power," I answered, floating up from the desk. "It was a rather tiresome exercise, however. Between that and the amount of repairs that would be required to return it to its prior condition, to say nothing of the amount of attention repairing it could risk drawing, I decided it wasn't worth the bother, so I simply stashed it somewhere safe and left it."

"Unfortunate," He said with a click of his tongue, eyebrows furrowing as he probably went over how much he could sell each part of the ship for. After a moment, however, he sighed, probably also realizing the risks if someone from Atlas recognized anything. "But perhaps for the best. To business, then?"

"Please," I replied, smiling slightly.

"You mentioned my employer," He began. "But of course, I can hardly just accept that at face value—"

"Cinder Fall," I interrupted. "She's in Mistral at the moment, working out of Haven along with those two children. Emerald and Mercury, was it?"

Roman frowned, looking annoyed, but not really by the interruption.

"Maybe," He said after a minute. "Honestly, I just try to pretend those two don't exist. Fair enough, though. What did you have in mind?"

I smiled at the question and leaned back on the desk, doing my best to look amused.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I asked. "It is your employer who desires a meeting, after all. I assumed she had a reason to do so."

Torchwick took another puff of his cigar and glanced at Neo as if to confirm she was still there—which might be an actually concern when it came to an illusionist.

"You already know she doesn't tell me anything," He stated.

"Perhaps so," I acknowledged. "But I know a fair bit about you, Mr. Torchwick—"

Though nowhere near as much as I'd like you to believe, I admitted internally.

"—And you seem like a fairly intelligent man," I finished. "Given your efforts here, it's obvious that you have a fair bit of experience, so I assume you're aware of the dangers you currently face. Should you fail your task here, I take it you are aware of what will most likely come of you."

Torchwick didn't deny it. This part, at least, I was fairly sure of—a man in his situation had as much, if not more, to fear from his allies as he did from his enemies. If the Hunters or the police caught up to him, he'd likely face a great deal of time for his many crimes. If Cinder or the White Fang though he'd become a loose end, however, he'd be lucky to find himself face down in a shallow grave. That wasn't a possibility, it was just a fact, and odds were pretty good that not only would none of them _miss_ him, but they probably wouldn't even feel much regret for doing the deed.

"Sure," He said instead. "I know the rules of the game. You got a point to that?"

"I'd think my point was rather obvious," I replied easily, still smiling. "Given that you're gambling with your life, I'd take it you foresee a reward that would make it worth your while—and given what I know of you, I doubt you accept payment in empty promises or ideologies."

"Fgh," He answered with a disgusted sound. "I can't put either of those things in the bank, now can I?"

"Indeed not," I agreed. "So I assume that however secretive Ms. Fall might be, you know enough to see a chance for profit. Even if you're not entirely sure of her plans, you wouldn't be here if you didn't. Not even with an illusionist to assist in making your getaway."

Torchwick fell quiet as he looked at me with a speculative gleam in his eye.

"Maybe so," He allowed after a moment. "But I've been in the business long enough to know not to give anything away for free, especially not when someone's fishing for information."

I couldn't muster up too much surprise at that; he was far from the strongest person I'd ever met, but no one went to Torchwick for his muscle. He wouldn't be here—or out of prison, or _alive_ —if he wasn't good at his job. Instead, I simply let my smile widen and flashed a quick gleam of teeth his way.

"Besides," He continued, musing aloud as he tilted his head slowly. "You strike me as the type of guy who likes to know more than anyone else in the room."

"Mm," I hummed quietly, mulling over his words for a moment before inclining my head in concession. "Indeed, I suppose that is correct. Although, in truth, it is more that I simply hate it when I'm surrounded by people who know more about what's going on than I do. I tend not to like what follows when I find myself uninformed."

Torchwick snorted.

"You're preaching to the choir," He told me. "The point being that I think you know a fair bit about what's going on or at least have some educated guesses. So imagine how I feel, locked in a room with you."

"Do I make you nervous, Mr. Torchwick?" I asked, though there wasn't much point. I did; I knew because I could feel it. "Feel free to unlock the door, if you so desire."

"Unlock it to a room that would cheerfully obey if you told them to shank me?" He mused skeptically before shaking his head. "Somehow, I don't think that would make me feel better. And I prefer the term wary."

"I see," I replied, chuckling slightly under my breath. "That's too bad, but I suppose it can't be helped. I have a way of making people feel… _wary_."

"I'm sure you do," He answered with another click of his tongue. "So let's cut to the chase. I know something you don't know. You know something I don't know. What do you want with me and why should I give it to you?"

I looked at him for a long, silent moment, staying relaxed and silent as I watched him. Sitting her now, I thought I saw a chance. It wasn't what I'd planned for when I came here, wasn't something I would have even truly considered before I spoke to him, but it was still an opportunity I could exploit. But _should_ I? There was some risk to it, certainly, though I could control exactly how much. Given that, I stood to gain a lot more then I stood to lose.

"Cinder's planning to return to Vale during the Vytal Festival," I said, starting with what I knew. "She'll come as a representative of Haven's team, which will allow her to get inside of Beacon. While she's inside, she'll have you put that Dust outside to use."

Truthfully, that was nothing more than conjecture, bits and pieces put together that carefully avoided any specifics. Still, it was enough to make Torchwick's eyes widen slightly, meaning at least some of it must have been news to it while the rest mapped to what he knew closely enough that he didn't dismiss it out of hand.

After a moment, though, he recovered and is expression returned to one of reserved wariness.

"Good to know," He mused. "But I hope you're not expecting me to pour out my heart for a little bit of unconfirmed information.

"I try to avoid unrealistic expectations," I replied, chuckling again.

"Then why?" He asked after a moment, seeming honestly confused. He didn't seem like the type to believe much in charity, which, in fairness, this wasn't.

"Consider it an investment," I said. "And investment in your future."

"An investment?" He repeated before tilting his head. "You want me to do a job for you?"

I smiled again and nodded, to which he looked entirely unsurprised. I assumed this type of situation wasn't new to him.

"Why would I work for you over Cinder?" He asked. It seemed like an honest question, as if he'd pulled out a mental notepad and was prepared to start weighing the pros and cons.

"I'm not asking you to," I said. "So let me instead tell you why you should work for me."

I snapped my fingers once and as the sound faded, so did all the sounds outside the door. It was a minor difference and yet, at the same time, a noticeable one—big or small, the sounds of civilization disappeared. All of a sudden, we were surrounded by silence.

It was enough to send a shiver up the spine of anyone and I chuckled as Neo and Torchwick stiffened.

"What did you do?" Torchwick demanded, an edge of fear touching his voice.

"Nothing much," I assured. "I simply wanted some privacy for this display, so I drew the three of us into another dimension."

"What?" He whispered. "What are you…?"

"You don't believe me?" I asked before gesturing towards the doorway, making it collapse into dust. "Feel free to check for yourselves, if you desire. All the men and women out there are gone, as is everyone else in the world. It is just the three of us for the moment."

To prove it, I reached out with my Psychokinesis and my Elementals, turning them upon the building around us. It immediately began to break down, falling to pieces that gathered into flowing rivers of dust. A sudden breeze swept away the building, leaving us in a mostly empty lot, surrounded by empty buildings and cars. I was careful to kill and remove any Grimm, but everything else I left as it was.

Torchwick was dead silent as he looked around, though I could see droplets of sweat gathering on his brow.

"Now, now," I said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't be afraid—I've no intention of hurting either of you. As I told you, I simply wished for a bit of privacy for this display."

With that said, I began floating upwards, grasping to two of them with my Psychokinesis before they could resist and drawing them with me into the air. With a thought, I mean a loose ring of firing spheres that began to rain power down on the city at a leisurely pace, tossing out Magic Missiles and Flares with an occasional Gungnir thrown into the mix. I let the process continue for a minute or so, masking the presence and sounds of the Grimm with a field of explosions, and then held out a hand, gathering the power of Lux Aeterna and plunging the world into a mix of pure darkness and blinding light. When things returned to normal, there was a path of destruction cut through Vale and columns of smoke rose along its length.

I held them above it all for a moment, letting them get a good look, and then lowered us to the ground. Just outside where the warehouse should have been.

"As you can see, it's difficult to express my power within the confines of normal reality," I continued blithely, landing with my back to them both—which, of course, did nothing to stop me from seeing their expressions or from feeling the emotions racing through them. "At least, not without causing a significant number of casualties. Also, I'd appreciate it if you kept what you just saw a secret."

There was a moment of silence before they replied.

"You wouldn't have shown me any of that if you thought I might tell anybody," Torchwick whispered, which made me look over my shoulder and give him a gentle smile.

"No, I wouldn't have," I agreed. "And I _know_ you won't tell anyone, Mr. Torchwick, because I have something you want."

Torchwick licked his lips once, heart pounding in his chest as he met my eyes, doing his best to look calm and mostly succeeding.

"And what's that?" He asked.

"A way out," I said. "I'm not going to ask you for anything yet, Mr. Torchwick—besides, of course, your silence. Instead, I simply want you to remember this when things go badly for you. And I think we both believe they eventually will, with the company you keep."

"And when they do, you'll…?"

"Save you, of course," I said. "So long as you keep faith with me."

"So long as I'm useful, you mean?" He asked.

"Yes," I stated in reply.

He swallowed once and pursed his lips before looking behind him at the destruction I'd caused.

"Why do you need me, when you have power like that?" He asked. "Why do you even need the White Fang?"

"I have plans of my own and they go far beyond whatever you believe them to be," I replied. "Truthfully, I care about Cinder's plans only insofar as they risk-affecting mine. You don't need to know any more than that right now, Mr. Torchwick."

I snapped my fingers again and we were back in front of the warehouse, the only sign that anything had happened at all being the fact that we were no longer in the office. People were walking and driving across the street as they normally did and ignoring us for the most part, largely because I made sure they couldn't see anything important.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Torchwick," I continued, still smiling at him. "You and I will be seeing each other in the future, no doubt, and I wish you the best until them. I take it you will keep what I said in mind?"

He nodded wordlessly, hand firmly clasping his cigar.

"Then goodbye," I said as I turned and began to walk away. "And tell Cinder I will be happy to meet her."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play**  
 **Closed**

"Are you certain that was a good idea?" Raven murmured, staring out over the city of Mistral. After I'd completed my business with Torchwick, we'd returned to the same roof we'd left from earlier today and I'd filled her in on what had transpired within Naraka.

I nodded my head, focusing my eyes in the same direction as her and scanning our surroundings with the rest of my field of vision.

"In the end, Torchwick is the type of man that will put himself first," I replied. "Which is why it's best to make sure he knows that making an enemy of me would be detrimental to his health. He has no loyalty to Cinder, either, and I'm certain he was already looking for ways out, in case their relationship soured. At that time, he'd happily hand over all her secrets if it meant our protection."

"Does he even know anything useful?" Raven asked skeptically.

"With the chance that his life will depend on what he knows?" I replied, raising an eyebrow. "If he doesn't know anything yet, he'll do his best to figure something out."

Raven considered that for a moment before nodding in consent.

"Of course, that blade cuts both ways," She said. "If it was to his advantage, he'd sell us out just as easily."

"Certainly," I agreed. "But after what he saw, he has little reason to believe that would be a good idea. And should he say anything…what off it? I didn't show him anything truly important and we can always make our displeasure known. But he'll play things close to his chest until he's certain of what route to take. I have little to lose and a lot to gain from that display of power, so there was little reason not to do it."

Raven sighed slowly.

"Perhaps you're right," She allowed with a bit of reluctance. It was obvious she didn't like sharing secrets with anyone she didn't fully trust, whatever the potential advantages might be. I wondered how long she'd been like that, hiding everything she could from those around her. Long enough to surprise my grandmother and Ozpin when I mentioned her name, at least, which mean she must have kept things under lock and key. After leaving her family and team behind…with the exception of Adam, I doubted she'd trusted much of anyone.

Until me—and that was a big deal for her.

I didn't say anything in reply, instead turning back towards the others. Gou was lying down on the roof with Adam sitting next to him, absently flipping through his scroll again. My eyes drifted immediately towards Autumn, however, who was standing in front of Gou and waiting patiently for us to move again.

"She's feeling better," I mused under my breath, just loud enough for Raven to hear. I didn't bother hiding the smile on my face as I looked at her, because I was glad. It seemed Keter was right and all she'd really need to recover was time.

"Yes," Raven agreed, looking at her quietly. There was a strange mix of happiness and sadness in her eyes as she did so, probably seeing her friend in her. Or perhaps she was simply thinking about the past again. "If nothing else, today was productive."

"Mhm," I replied, turning my smile towards her for a moment before sighing. "It's okay to worry, you know."

Raven didn't answer for several seconds.

"About Autumn or Torchwick?" She asked finally.

"Both," I said. "Either way, there are risks—but either way, we'll handle them."

She nodded slowly, not looking my way.

"And Cinder?" She asked. "Even now, we don't know what she's up to."

I shrugged easily.

"She'll ask for a meeting soon, no doubt," I answered. "We'll have another chance to try and figure things out then, but we'll need to be prepared. She'll have to reveal something if she intends to gain our cooperation, and beneath that should be at least a few hint of her real plan."

"One can hope," Raven murmured. "There is so much happening and yet so many unknowns. And she's not even the real enemy. Is she?"

I shook my head slightly.

"But that doesn't mean she can't be dangerous," I reminded. "But I agreed with you completely; we need to find answers and sooner rather than later. Cinder's plans will bring her to Vale in a few months' time and then things will start coming together whether we like them or not."

Not just with Cinder either, I thought. I couldn't help but notice where everything seemed to be headed and where it seemed to gather. Cinder was heading towards Beacon for the next stage of her plan, Ruby was already waiting there as a student, and Ozpin had been Headmaster since before I was born. One way or another, I had a feeling that things would start moving there soon and I doubted they'd politely stop and wait for me to catch up just because I didn't know what was going on.

And behind it all, Malkuth was waiting. He was planning something for me, maybe tied into everything else, maybe separate—but either way, I was fairly confident that he'd burn the world down to get to me if he thought he had to. And sadly, that was depressingly possible.

However much I'd learned recently, there was a great deal more I didn't know. I had to find out the truth somehow, before it was too late.

I closed my eyes and ran a few calculations in my head. I didn't like it, but we were on a deadline—and one we didn't even know, at that. I couldn't act recklessly, but waiting endlessly wasn't an option either. There was only a month or two left for preparations now. At absolute best, I could delay things until the break between semesters. But then…

"When can you start helping with Autumn's training?" I asked suddenly.

Raven glanced my way, eyebrows furrowing before she answered.

"Soon," She replied. "For the basics…what does she normally do during your classes?"

"Nothing," I answered truthfully. "She usually just sleeps on my wrist."

Raven nodded in understanding at that and frowned.

"Then I can start teaching her during the day," She said.

"Thank you," I replied, though she dismissed it with a shake of her head.

"You're worried," She stated. "Is it truly that bad?"

"Potentially," I replied, because I had no real way of knowing. But if anything, it was probably worse then I feared. "Best we prepare ourselves as best we are able."

"You still need to tell me what else you found out," She reminded.

"Mm," I agreed, tilting my head back to like at the sky. "It's a pretty depressing story, truthfully."

"As a Huntress, most of the ones I end up hearing tend to be."

I smiled a bit at that.

"Fair enough," I allowed. "I suppose it's just that this is _my_ depressing story—though it ends fairly badly for everyone, in the end."

She nodded once and didn't push, though she closed her eyes for a long moment.

"Will the world end if you don't tell me today?" She asked.

"Why risk it?" I answered seriously. "Besides, you deserve to know, especially with what's happening. Jericho Falls is even more important than before and our enemies are that much worse. I won't ask you to help me without telling you why this is all happening."

Raven gave me a smile that was at once wry and gentle.

"It's fairly rare that I hear things like that from someone in power," She replied.

I smiled at her and shrugged slightly.

"If it makes you feel better, I still plan to bring you with me to Jericho Falls," I reminded her. "If anything, we might need to move it up the schedule, depending on what Cinder's planning. Regardless, it seems reasonable to tell you ahead of time that we're liable to have a horrible time."

"Well," She mused. "You certainly know how to inspired confidence and enthusiasm."

I laughed quietly and nodded her way.

"I suppose I should pick up where we left off earlier," I said. "A long time ago, a group of scientist who called themselves 'Angels' captured and disassembled potentially billions of souls for raw material. With that mass of power, they did a great many things—most notably, in this case, the creation of me and my siblings. I was Keter, the First…and one of my brothers was Malkuth, the Last."

When I finished my story, Raven was silent. She'd returned to staring out over the city to keep from staring at me as I told her what we were up against. She understood the implications of Malkuth's power—to say nothing of his endless horde of Grimm—and what it probably meant for us, his enemies.

And from a purely logical standpoint, she was as terrified as I had been. We were up against a person who could twist the very rules of the world around us and even if we managed to face him, there was nothing stopping him from saying a word and sending the hordes of Grimm out to wash away Humanity. Hell, there was nothing stopping him from doing that in _general_. As far as we knew, we were only alive because he allowed it—because he needed us, needed _me_ , for some task. Assuming he got that, or even if he didn't…

I'd just told Raven that everyone she'd left behind—that her brother, her daughter, and her ex-husband—would live or die based on our success and that at the moment, our chances weren't looking good. I could feel her thinking, trying to come up with counter-measures, strategies, or plans for what we were up against, and she seemed to be having about as much luck on that front as I was. Even now, I was just trying to get stronger in the hopes that a solution would present itself in due time, primarily because I didn't have any better options.

 _That_ was how bad things were and she probably knew it.

"You're brother sounds unpleasant," She whispered at last.

"I told you you'd hate him," I replied with a shrug.

She shook her head in irritation.

"How do we—" She began before cutting herself off and shutting her eyes for a moment. After a breath, she continued. "Where do we start? Jericho Falls?"

I nodded.

"Unfortunately…we don't have any other leads at the moment," I told her, sighing quietly. "As much as I wish otherwise, it seems we will have to take our chances."

She answered my nod with one of her own, the motion jerky. We both knew I was right, but we also knew that Jericho Falls had a reputation for chewing up legions of powerful Hunters and spitting out the bones—and I'd already told her that they'd been holding back when it came to the one person who'd ever survived it. Even so, she was trying to stay professional and think things through.

"We should start by observing the area," She said. "Most people go into Jericho Falls blind—"

Mainly because there weren't exactly a lot of survivors to tell people what they'd seen.

"—But with our powers, we should be able to analyze it from a safe distance," She finished, though I could feel hints of doubt. On some level, she was worried that they might notice us, despite the nature of our powers.

In fairness, a part of me was also worried about that, and for good reason; from everything I knew, Jericho Falls was home to some of the strongest Grimm around. If the computer they guarded was as valuable as I suspected, then I doubted even that was the worst of it—it's not as if anyone had ever made it all the way inside the place, after all. If there was a Rider there or something like Ziz…noticing that we were watching wasn't off the table. Even if they did, we probably escape, but there was no way to know how they might react. Depending on how Malkuth felt about us snooping around—or even withdrawing—wiping out a few cities wasn't off the table.

The issue with provoking someone you had no way of actually stopping was rather self-explanatory—you can't stop them. And this was something I _knew_ was important. I had to handle it carefully.

Luckily, this was something that I _did_ have a plan for. Sort of.

"Not just yet," I answered. "I'd like a bit more time to make preparations before touching Jericho Falls. It's too big of a risk to approach recklessly."

Raven was silent for a moment before nodding again, relaxing a bit as she did so.

"You have something in mind?" She asked.

"Indeed," I replied. "Though I'm still a shadow over my former self, my power has been growing quickly. I've been working on several things for precisely this purpose and believe I am nearing a breakthrough."

"What kind of breakthrough?"

"In this case, a sensory one," I said. "If nothing else, if we intend to gather information, waiting a while longer would present us with more options."

"Very well," She agreed after only a moment's thought. Though she wasn't one to shirk her duty, I could tell that she didn't feel too torn up about not having to leap into the jaws of death at precisely this moment. "How much longer do you believe it will take?"

"Not long," I assured. "A few more days—a week at most. Truthfully, I'd hoped to test it on Cinder when we officially meet, in the hopes of learning a bit more about what she has planned."

Though it had certainly taken long enough, a number of my sensory skills were approaching the point where they'd rank up and I was hopeful for the results. Every little bit helps when you're trying to gather information while flying blind, after all—and the timeframe I'd given Raven should be more than enough for what I had in mind.

"I see," She mused before nodding again. "Then by all means."

"Thank you," I replied, inclining my head her way.

She smiled at me once before flicking her gaze over the rest of our team and then over the city I was keeping us hidden from.

"If that is all, then, I shall take my leave," She said at last. "I'll return in a few days to take Autumn for training, once I've made proper arrangements."

"I appreciate it," I told her. "And also, should you hear any more news about Cinder…"

"I shall pass her answer onto you once I receive it," She promised. "Farewell Jian."

"Goodbye Raven," I replied, watching as she turned and disappeared into a portal. After a moment, even that had vanished.

I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then sighed.

"Tough day?" Adam asked, walking up to me without looking up from his scroll.

I grunted at him, lowering myself to speak his native tongue, though he showed no sign of appreciating it or even showing interest in my reply.

Truthfully…I'd had worse days. In fact, upon reflection, it was rather startling how many worse days I'd had. Today hadn't even been particularly bad, relatively speaking—my daughter had resolved an issue I hadn't known existed until earlier today, I'd helped a friend, and I'd hopefully made progress against Cinder, though it was too early to say precisely how useful Torchwick might be. I'd even managed to tell Raven more of the truth about…everything. All told, today had been a pretty good day, so it wasn't that.

It had more to do with the last month. And the coming months. And whatever future awaited me beyond that, assuming that the world didn't decide to end at an inopportune time which, frankly, was quite possible.

"Tough life," I answered, stretching once and then cracking my neck.

"I hear that," Adam said, still not looking up. "I keep ending up having to spend time around this one asshole."

"Sorry, Adam," I replied. "I didn't mean to leave you alone. Come, bask in my greatness, you sad, pathetic being."

"Heh," He snorted, tapping the screen several more times to close the game he'd been playing before looking up at me. "I'd ask you what we were going to do now, but I assume it'll be the same thing we do every night—blow up cities and kill a lot of fucking monsters."

"That sounds nice," I said wistfully. "I could use a chance to relax. One second though."

I scanned the city from the roof top, double checking to make sure everything was as I'd left it. I found my sister's first, then my mother and grandmother together in the latter's house, and then checked on Cinder once I'd confirmed that there were no immediate threats to my loved ones. She was in Haven, as she had been when I left, which I considered to be a good thing. Then I checked on the friends I'd made in the school, just in case something had happened whilst I was gone.

But apparently, they'd all managed to survive without me. That was good.

Having completed my rounds, I nodded my head and smiled, drawing us all into the confines of Naraka with a fluctuation of power.

"Okay," I said. "Back to work everybody. Adam, you go do your thing. Gou, you go make sure said thing doesn't involve being stupid. Autumn, sweetie, are you feeling up for training yet?"

Autumn nodded once, turning her head towards me and walking my way. Within her cloak, I could see her body melting and solidifying between one step and the next, as if it were trying to decide on a new form—which, in all likelihood, it was. She tended to do that as she grew more powerful and learnt new things, so it wasn't that surprising to see her doing it after absorbing the rest of her soul.

I smiled at her gently, drowning the sound of Adam's muttered insults and complaints beneath the colossal weight of my own magnanimity.

"All clear the ground down below," I told her. "You try and follow me down on your own this time, okay?"

"Understood," Autumn answer, voice unchanging even as her body abruptly fell into a quicksilver puddle and began to reshape itself into something new. Nodding at her again, I crouched down slightly and then leapt backwards with enough force to shatter part of the roof and send me flying into the air.

And yet, for all the power I'd put into that jump, the moment I was off the building, my trajectory changed. All of a sudden, I was falling straight down, a faint white nimbus gathering around my hands and feet as I did so.

 **Yellow Road (Active) LV1 EXP: 14.25% MP: 300  
The ability to change the direction of one's physical body solely through the use of one's Aura. By creating a 'pathway' with one's power, the user may cause their body to follow it without any loss of speed. Even shifting direction while in midair is possible, as is the creation of complex routes by using multiple, connected paths.  
Change direction towards a specified point.  
Additional 300 MP consumed per additional point.  
Range: 10 meters.**

As I approached the ground, I curled a hand into a fist and struck out just as I was about to hit it. For the briefest of moments, the ground _rippled_ , waves spreading outwards from the point of impact until the strain grew too much for it to handle—and the street around me shattered, tossing Grimm to the ground and shattering their limbs.

 **Shockwave (Active) LV1 EXP: 7.14% MP: 100  
A skill to create a wave of destructive force using one's physical strength. By gathering power within one's fist and unleashing it upon impact, the user's strength can be felt from beyond the reach of his physical body.  
Target receives damage normally.  
Everyone within 5 meters of the target receives 25% damage.  
Everyone with 10 meters of the target receives 10% damage.  
Damaged targets may be knocked down.  
Range: 10.**

I stood easily, brushed myself off as Autumn came skittering down the side of the building in the body of a massive wooden centipede, and smiled.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Seeing**

"Father, look," Autumn said, drawing my attention at once. As I turned to show that I was looking, her face—currently a mass of vines and thorns clinging loosely to a structure of wood, lacking anything like a mouth, ears, or a nose—began to melt, sliding from its frame and slowly dropping from her face until a ripple of motion when through it and it reversed its course. It covered her face in a smooth, reflective mass that showed only her eyes, before parts began to sink and others began to grow.

After a moment, she was wearing a human face.

"Oh," I replied, drawing out the word with a smile. "You've decided on one of your own?"

Autumn nodded, face unmoving as she did so. She'd chosen hair dark enough that it seemed to fade into the shadows of her hood, masking the odd edges and angles within. Her skin was pale to match the appearance of someone who often hid from the sun and she absently adjusted her hood to draw further into it. Even so, her eyes remained the same, gleaming, if anything, an even brighter silver.

"Raven helped me," She replied, but though her lips moved as she spoke, they didn't match the words. We'd need to work on that, I thought. "She showed me pictures of my former self."

I smiled a bit sadly.

"Is that her face?" I asked, having never seen Summer before. If Autumn was wearing it, though, that could be problematic. Beyond the obvious risk of someone 'recognizing' her, I wasn't sure how I'd feel if Raven had convinced my daughter to wear her deceased friend's face. That was a bucket of problems I wasn't sure how to even begin approaching.

Luckily, Autumn shook her head, features still unmoving.

"I made my own," She said. "But I wanted to keep a little bit, to remind me."

"Ah," I replied, nodding to show I understood. "Nothing wrong with remembering. Well, come here and let Daddy take a closer look."

Autumn's hood twitched once before falling back, revealing what waited behind her face. Autumn hadn't bother making anything but a face and hair, so what flowed up from the confines of her hood was still a series of coils and thorns that affixed themselves to the mask like a stem to a leaf. Her head wasn't a solid thing, but instead a mass of vines that gave her head the approximate shape of a human head beneath her hair and skin, and in certain places was completely missing.

As her hood fell, her vines flowed forward, elongating as they carried her face towards me, light streaming through the gaps as it stopped a few centimeters in front of me—and several meters away from where the rest of her body waited, hidden from the neck down by her cloak.

Pondering her face for a moment, I lifted a hand and clicked my finger nail on it several times. It was hard, feeling more like ceramic than anything human. Motioning to Levant with a thought, a light breeze flowed past us, but it didn't ruffle her hair quite the way it should of, almost as if her hair was reacting to the breeze instead of being moved by it—which was exactly what was happening, as her hair had more in common with the stinging tentacles of a jellyfish than protein filament.

Also, it was attached to an obviously inhuman mass, which reduced its effectiveness as a disguise, to say nothing of her expressions.

We'd need to work on that, too. But one thing at a time.

"Sweetie, if you're attempting to disguise yourself as a human, there are several things missing," I began.

Autumn laughed, the sound so musical that it almost distracted from the fact that her mouth didn't move at all. Instead, the sound originated from within her cloaked form.

"I know that, Father," She said, retracting her fake head and lifting her hood again to hide it. "I just wanted to show you my new face."

"I see," I answered with another smile, absently wondering if 'Raven helped me' had meant that she'd given her inspiration by wearing her own mask. To Autumn, to concept of putting on and taking off one's face had probably been rather novel. "It's lovely, dear. Would you like me to help you work on it later?"

"Yes, Father," Autumn replied, shadow covering her eyes as several bristled limbs reached out from her cloak to brush dirt from it absently. It didn't help much, because it had been heavily stained when she came back from her first training trip with Raven at the start of the week. It didn't matter too much, I supposed; she didn't care that she was dirty, she was just mimicking actions that she saw around her.

"So, how was your day?" I asked as she approached with an odd, sliding step that belied the fact that she wasn't using human legs at the moment. "Did you have fun with Raven?"

"Yes, Father," She said again. "Though she mainly wanted to see how much I already knew. Where the weak points are on a target, how deeply to stab, how to push and follow up and maim. Nothing you didn't already teach me."

"Mm," I agreed. "Good to hear I didn't do too bad of a job. What about after that?"

"She brought me a few weapons to play with and we went Hunting," She continued. "I wasn't used to using something else to kill things with, but Raven said it'd be a good idea to learn of different weapons are used. It was a bit strange, but I got used to it."

The right sleeve of her cloak grew as an arm pushed its way out. Though the cloak itself was long enough to cover the arms of a woman of Autumn's present size up to at least the wrist, it didn't even reach the elbow on the oversized limb Autumn had created and it seemed strained against the heavy slabs of muscle upon it. Given its sheer size, I had no trouble believing she'd been able to handle any type of weapon she was presented with.

"That's good," I said. "Once you get a feel for all your options, you can start working on making your own fighting style. Having you found anything to your liking yet?"

Autumn shook her head, flexing the massive fingers of her new right hand. As she did, the digits warped into five different blades, each with a different length and shape.

"There was nothing that I couldn't make for myself," She replied. "Though it gave me a few ideas."

I chuckled a bit at that and slipped a hand into my Inventory before drawing out another cloak, pristine white but for the network of bright blue markings upon the length of the fabric.

"Perhaps this would be more your size," I joked, but held it out to her as she looked at it with wide eyes and accepted it gently.

"Is this Dust?" She asked, staring at the designs.

"Mhm," I confirmed. "But don't use it unless someone's around to supervise. It's Water Dust and I was a bit light on the designs, so it should be completely safe to practice with—but I don't want to take any chances with my little girl. Promise me you'll be careful with it?"

"I promise," She answered seriously before her entire body liquefied as she clutched the cloak close to her chest. Her liquid mass gushed from her hood into the empty cloak, filling it and then solidifying it again, leaving the dirty garment she'd left behind to fall to the ground. She pushed at the cloak from within to see how it fit and made a sound like a violin to show her contentment with it. "Thank you, Father."

"No problem, sweetie," I replied, leaning back on my bed and closing my eyes again.

After a moment of silence, Autumn seemed to notice and I felt her concern with my Empathy.

"What were you doing, Father?" She asked, looking me over again. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"Nothing that couldn't wait for my little girl," I assured, patting her slightly on the head with my Psychokinesis. "I was just meditating again."

Or rather, I'd just been pushing my Acceleration as high as I could maintain it, trying to shorten the time it took to grind my current skillset—a process that meditation assisted with, however slightly. In truth, I'd been meditating so deeply that I hadn't noticed Raven's portal until it opened up in my dorm room, dropping my daughter off from school. I'd just finished classes myself, or least finished meditating _through_ them, and Raven and I had discussed this beforehand, but it had still been a touch alarming when I noticed it.

I was making progress, though. With my Accelerated Meditation throughout the day and my constant training through the night, my skills were growing quickly, especially the ones I had come to rely on as of late. Acceleration itself had come a long way since I'd first gotten to it, mostly because I used it as often as I possibly could—and I was looking forward to seeing what it would become before too long.

For now though, I'd had yet another productive day.

 **By raising Adamant Serpent's Skin to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Midgardsormr's Skin.'**

 **By raising Sacrifice to the Wolf to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Sacrifice to Vanagandr.'**

 **By raising Clairvoyance to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Remote Viewing.'**

When Autumn didn't seem wholly convinced, I reached forward and patted her head physically, opening a single eye as I did.

"Don't worry," I told her. "Really. I'm just waiting for Adam to finish running an errand I sent him on—it's nothing to worry about."

Autumn nodded once and the two of us fell into a comfortable silence as she quietly settled down to wait and I returned to monitoring my friend's progress from several angles, testing my new power. It didn't take long for Adam to return, as I'd only told him to run to the city and back, which would have been an easy trip for him even a month ago? Now, it was truly nothing more than an errand.

But that didn't mean it wasn't worth the effort, as much as Adam complained. He made it to his destination and back within a few minutes.

"Happy?" He asked as he opened the door with a swipe from his scroll, walked in sullenly, and made his way to his bed, pausing only to give Autumn a nod of acknowledgement on the way.

"Ecstatic," I answered dryly, opening both eyes as Adam wished a rock out of his pocket and threw it at my head. I caught it with an absent thought, turning the perfectly smooth sphere over a few times with my mind. I'd made it with Ereb earlier to help with my experiment, which had been simple enough, but I looked it over carefully as I shifted it this way and that.

And then I looked _through_ it.

 **Remote Viewing (Active) LV1 EXP: 3.07% MP: 500  
The ability to observe objects beyond one's range of sight through supernatural means. By gathering and removing the Aura surround an eye, the user of this skill may invisibly mark an object, enabling them to see through it as if they were present. While an object is so marked, however, the corresponding eye is blinded—or rather, sees only what occurs within the vicinity of the mark.  
Maximum number of marks: 2.  
Maximum range: 100 kilometers.  
Additional 500 MP consumed per minutes.**

I peered out through the surface of the stone, looking back at myself curiously. I'd grown older again, recently, a further result of my constant Acceleration, but the process already seemed to be slowing down. Though looked like I was swiftly approaching my twenties, I should have appeared older than that by now—several _years_ older, if anything. But I didn't, presumably because my power was already starting to preserve me. It was something to keep in mind, though I was more grateful than anything at the moment; people had already commented that I was growing quickly, after all, and while no one seemed suspicious, I'd rather not have to hide my face if I ended up looking like I was thirty. This, however, I could play off easily enough.

Putting those thoughts aside, however, I returned my focus to the stone and how my senses flowed through it. I'd sent Adam out primarily to help me test it out by carrying it beyond the clarity of my senses—and all the while, I'd played might my new eye in a number of ways, checking to see what worked and what didn't.

The good news was that most of my powers worked through it normally. I could see things with the range of vision allowed by my Clairvoyance and though it was supposed to be sight-only, my ESP allowed me to stretch my other senses through it, monitoring the object's surroundings. Attempts to use my Clairsentience through it hadn't yielded any immediate results, but I'd succeeded in feeling things and that gave me hope that I could make a breakthrough by improving my skill with Remote Viewing, ESP, or both. Even if channeling my Psychokinesis through it was likely impossible, just being able to heal, support, and watch over my allies would be a huge boon.

Unfortunately, there were a few…not quite downsides, but things I'd been a bit disappointed at being unable to do. I saw through the mark upon the object, not through the object itself—that is, the stone itself hadn't been my eye, just its socket. Sadly, that meant I couldn't see through the _entirety_ of what I touched like I could with my skin and I could only change my viewpoint in limited ways, looking around as if with a normal eye. Sadly, that meant I couldn't see _everything_ around my marked object, just what was in front of it, meaning I'd need to pay attention to positioning.

Additionally, I couldn't see through my mobile eye while inside of Naraka. It didn't automatically break the connection, but I couldn't see anything through it, presumably because being in another dimension counted as being more than a hundred kilometers away. My vision had returned to me after I crossed back over, but…well, it was a bit sad that I couldn't get around that issue.

Also, the eye I'd used—my left one—had remained blind throughout that process. That wasn't a huge concern for me, truth be told, because with the breadth of my vision the loss of an eye was almost meaningless, but it had been worth noting. More than that, however, I'd been disappointed to find that I could _only_ mark two objects, at least for the moment. I'd have liked to mark various areas for monitoring, and I'd have been happy to sacrifice the sight of, say, my finger tips to do it. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Sighing quietly as I finished my inspection of the rock and stopped rotating it to determine the precise limits of its visual range, I cut the connection with a thought and sight returned to my eye. I'd need to pick the targets for this skill carefully since I only had two, but overall, it had been a successful experiment.

On to the next one, I suppose. I spent a moment pondering where to begin and just as quickly cut myself off—I'd already spent hours pondering it, after all; I was just trying to delay the inevitable. Honestly, I couldn't say I was looking forward to this, but…

Better to test it now than to be caught flatfooted if something went wrong later.

"Don't go to sleep yet, Adam," I told him, glancing at him with the back of my neck. We still have work to do."

Adam grunted again but sat up obligingly, looking towards me for orders. As he did, I busied myself with checking on the locations of everyone in Haven to confirming the coast was still clear, which it was. No point delaying it any further.

Just as I thought that, however, my daughter spoke.

"What are you doing now, Father?" Autumn wondered curiously.

"Adam and I are running a drill, sweetie," I answered, which was mostly correct. "A test for readiness, more or less."

Autumn tilted her head and nodded to show her understanding, though I still wasn't clear on precisely how what she thought she understood mapped to conventional reality. I also wasn't sure I had any room to throw stones on that front, though.

"Can I help?" She asked and I shifted gears quickly to think about it before nodding slowly.

"Sure," I said. "If you want to. It's just a test, but Adam could use all the help he can get."

"Not really filling me with motivation there, Jaune," Adam pipped up. "As the guy who's gonna be protecting your helpless ass, I'd expect more respect."

Autumn tilted her head further, growing confused though it didn't show on her face.

"The goal is to protect me," I informed her. "You and Adam will be guarding me for the duration of the exercise, in case something should happen. Any questions?"

"Many," Autumn replied. "Why do you need protecting, Father? You're stronger than either of us."

I smiled at that and shrugged.

"I'll be a bit preoccupied," I told her. "I won't be able to use most of my powers, so I'll be vulnerable. It's unlikely that anything will happen—which is why this is just a drill—but in the future, it would be a good opportunity for an enemy attack. I'd like to be prepared in case that happens."

"I see," Autumn mused before nodding resolutely. "Do not worry, Father; I shall protect you."

"Thank you, sweetie," I answered. "Daddy feels safer already."

Adam rolled his eyes but stood up and moved to the side of my bed, Aura quietly gathering around him. Seeing that, Autumn began to do the same, getting into position to defend me.

Glance at each of them once, I nodded and turned my will towards the room around us. At once, the doorway melded into a single, solid mass, metal and stone flowing into one another to shut people out. A network of vines began to creep out from under Autumn's cloak, spreading across the floor and then up the walls in a reinforcing wall, and power began to slowly gather in the sword I'd tossed to Adam, building slowly in preparation of an incident.

For my part, I began to slowly prepare myself to use Tiferet.

For all the power and potential the skill possessed, the dangers were equally immense. Because of the absurd energy consumption of the skill, I was left extremely vulnerable while using it—and so, if anyone were to attack me, this would be the best time to do it. Therefore, the best place to use it would be somewhere my enemies didn't have access to.

Sadly, as my enemies included the dominant form of life on Remnant, that was easier said than done. Though a random attack was extremely unlikely, the fact remained that I had enemies across the face of the planet, in the skies above, throughout the seas, and even in the ground beneath my feet. No matter what continent I went to or how far into the wilds I went, I couldn't be certain of my own safety. The best I could really do was bury myself somewhere throughout the process, but even that wouldn't be enough if the Grimm decided they suddenly wanted some.

Better then to be surrounded by my allies and in the middle of a school full of Hunters behind the heavily defended walls of a city. Would _that_ be enough if Malkuth wanted to come get me? No. But while it wasn't safe, it was probably the best I was going to get. I'd asked Raven to keep an eye on Cinder and told her I was going to be extremely distracted and might need assistance should anything happen, so I was about as safe as I'd ever be.

That in mind, I took one last breath, checked my surroundings again, and began to process. At once, I felt my power draining away, emptying as Tiferet began its work. Drill or not, this was only the second time I'd gotten to use it and, knowing the risks, I'd been saving it for something big. Last time, I'd fused two skills.

This time, I fused _five_. It was a combination I'd only discovered recently as my skills improved to greater heights, but it was one I'd had to force myself not to merge on the spot. The skills in question were Clairvoyance, Sense Danger, Detect Bloodthirst, Extrasensory Perception, and Empathy—the sensory skills I'd relied the most up, with the exception of Observe. The only one I'd maxed out was Clairvoyance, but all were as high leveled as one would expect; after all, I kept three of them on at all times and the other two triggered almost constantly while I was training. Between that and my Acceleration, even the length of time between when I'd learned each skill had faded to near irrelevance; a month or two hardly mattered when I trained for weeks every day.

Even so, I had to be cautious. As the power flowing through me burnt in my chest like a furnace and my eyes began to glow, I rose quickly and prepared myself for a fight, too. After what had happened last time, I'd been careful to deactivate my Adamant skin beforehand—and I needed to test out the upgraded version anyway, so it worked out. Even without being rendered helpless and immobile, however, the drastic fall in my strength was nonetheless rather disconcerting and I was well aware that I had been weakened immensely. My Passive skills were all still active, which was a relief, but with just them and with no MP to back it up…I was strong for my age, sure, but not so strong that I didn't worry.

What made it worse was the fact that without my MP, my senses were cut off and all I could see was the inside of this sealed room. If something had gone wrong, if someone had noticed, if my enemies were gathering right outside my door, I' d have no way of knowing, and though the Gamer's Mind kept me calm, it was more than a bit nerve-wracking. Too make matters worse, the process dragged on even longer than the previous one had, probably because of the number of skills involved, and with each passing minute my tension slowly grew.

And then, with absolutely _nothing_ happening, it ended.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Clairvoyance,' 'Sense Danger,' 'Detect Bloodthirst,' 'Extrasensory Perception,' and 'Empathy' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Pericognition' has been created.**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Believing**

Even after the light of my power faded, the room remained silent, Adam and Autumn ready to take on hell at a moment's notice. Adam had gather so much power in Crocea Mors that it was shining as if it were made of light and he didn't even glance my way as the room darkened.

After all, we weren't necessarily safe yet.

I took slow, steady breathes as I felt my power return with each passing moment, activating my usual skills as the MP to do so presented itself. To assist the process, I cast Temple upon the room and reinforced it with Sanctum Sanctorum, taking advantage of the barriers effects to bolster my MP regen and, hopefully, to slow down anyone trying to get inside. An unnecessary precaution in all likelihood, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it, especially with its support effects. After that, I activated my defensive techniques one by one, making sure I'd be safe from harm and able to react fast to any signs of danger.

Then I tried to activate my usual suit of sensory skills.

There was no response.

At that, even I couldn't help but stiffen, heartbeat picking up its pace in my chest. Sensing it, Autumn reacted by sending waves of thorns down the length of her vine fence and I knew without even having to look that they were lethally poisonous, for my sake. Though he didn't have her senses, Adam knew a sign that the danger hadn't passed when he saw one and didn't change his stance or cease charging his attack.

Careful, I told myself. First things first.

 **Midgardsormr's Skin (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 2000  
The ancient protective technique crafted by Prince Sormr for the sake of his imprisoned brother. To save him, Sormr cast off his skin a thousand times, regrowing it countless time as he battled his brothers captors until he perfected the technique and laid siege to the towers of his enemies at the head of Mistral's armies and received the title Midgardsormr for his strength. Through the use of intense flows of Aura, this technique changes the structure of one's skin, transforming it into an incredibly dense form of the organic material 'Adamant.' Warning: The malleability of the material is dependent upon the continuous application of Aura, without which it becomes completely rigid.  
Skin becomes Adamantine.  
If Strength is less than 400, user is Petrified upon deactivation.  
If Strength is greater than 400, Petrification may be resisted; user receives 3000 damage and gains the status effect 'Flayed' until HP rises above 50%.  
Additional 2000 MP used per minute. **

As my skin hardened, I exhaled slowly, feeling its strength even as my power began to drain. Just from the feel of it taking hold, I could tell that it was different—stronger, more temperature resistant, more compatible with my Aura. With it as an extra layer of defense, I felt more at ease, despite what was happening.

Was it my new skill? No, rather, it _had_ to be my new skill, my 'Pericognition.' Nothing else had changed after all. But…I felt odd, somehow. Despite my completely rational nervousness, I felt myself growing at ease, as if…

As if I knew I wasn't in danger. It was a feeling I'd felt countless times before, after checking to make sure it was true. But in this situation, I—

"Jaune," Adam murmured after several more seconds, growing worried. "Are we in trouble?"

"No," I answered without even thinking and yet sounded somehow certain. The moment the words left my mouth, however, I froze again, wondering what had made me say it.

But it was true, I thought. There was nothing threatening around us. Cinder was in her room, the halls around us were clear of danger, and everything seemed to be okay. I was sure of that.

How the hell was I sure of that?

"One sec," I interrupted Adam. "I have to check something real quick."

Bringing up my status screen with a thought, I began flicking through it with one hand while reaching out with my mind. Gou was on guard outside of the school, waiting from a vantage point to help if any threats presented themselves while I was preoccupied. While he was much weakened without my help, be was still more than able to turn into a building sized engine of destruction on demand, which was the type of thing that would distract most people, if nothing else.

He was right where I'd left him, I knew the moment I gave it thought—and as intent as he'd been the moment I'd first given the command. I reached out with Levant to confirm that and she did.

"Gou, status," I said at once. Gou wondered why I'd ask him that when I obvious had my powers back, but was quick to respond regardless.

"Cinder is still in her room, as are Emerald and Mercury," He stated, looking around slowly. "There was no response."

"You have visual," I asked, just to make sure. His ear twitched once at the odd question.

"I do," He stated. "I am watching them now."

"Where is Mercury in the room?" I asked.

"He's on the floor," Gou replied, growing more confused but continuing to treat this as a matter of great and immediate importance, which I appreciated. "He just sat up. I believe he's complaining at the moment."

Gou had a harder time using Clairvoyance then I did, which was why he usually didn't use it. It could provide a tremendous amount of information and its uses were almost beyond counting, but it came with some massive changes in how you perceived the world and how much information flooded your senses. He found it disorienting and dangerous to use in a fight, which was why he usually didn't bother with it except in brief spurts. Even with all the changes my power had wrought on him, his primary sense remained his nose, it seemed.

But he could use it when he needed to and the description he'd provided mapped perfectly to the one in my head—because I thought Mercury had been on the floor, that Cinder had been on her bed sewing, and that Emerald was resting near Mercury. Those weren't uncommon positions for either of them to be in, though, so I'd considered the possibility that I might have simply been projecting my memories, but with his mention of Mercury sitting up, I was all but sure.

I could still sense them. I wasn't watching them, I didn't have my Clairvoyance on, but I knew exactly what they were doing. I noted all of that calmly and filed it away as I focus on his words. He'd confirmed he was watching them which meant he was still using Clairvoyance, which meant _I_ still had Clairvoyance, even if it wasn't activating right now. I checked to confirm that its icon was still present under my skill listing and it was, along with all the other skills I'd used with Tiferet.

Then I checked on my newest skill, trying to get to the bottom of this.

 **Pericognition (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
A relative of pre- and postcognition, this skill allows for perception of the present, rather than the past or future. Specifically, it represents the ability to gather useful information from one's surroundings through the use of one's mind and senses. This skill makes use of both the natural and unnatural senses of the user to gather data, which it then analyzes great speed, parsing and piecing together even minute details. In addition, all sensory-based skills with a cost of 10 MP or less become Passive if they are not already so and no longer cost MP or require concentration to use.**

I took a slow breath and exhaled the same way.

So that was it, I thought to myself. It wasn't that I couldn't activate them, it was simply that they were already activated and were now running in the background. I knew where everything around me was without bothering to look or even think about it—I just _knew_ , the information rising in my thoughts as it became relevant. I knew exactly what Cinder was doing right now, knew where everyone was and how they were feeling, but it wasn't a constant flood of information any more, just…knowledge. A quiet, simple understanding of the world around me.

"Jaune?" Adam asked again, still holding his sword. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, looking down at myself. "Wow, yeah. I'm just…trying to get used to this, is all. You can put the sword down, though; everything's fine. Autumn, you too."

After a moment of hesitation, Adam slowly began to relax, the power in his borrowed bladed easing back into him. After a quiet moment, Autumn retracting her vines and thorns, mass retreating back under her cloak as she did and leaving the room looking almost normal again.

"What happened?" Adam asked and I had to stop for a moment to consider my answer.

"I'm…not sure how to explain it," I mused. "Mainly because I'm still getting used to it myself. I need to test it out, I think."

Adam frowned at that, eyebrows furrowing.

"How?" He asked and that, at least, I had an answer to.

"Two minutes," I replied, making a gesture to undo all the things my Elementals had done to seal the room before settling down to wait. Sure enough, a couple minutes later there was a knock on our door.

I stood up, hiding Autumn beneath an illusion with a quick thought, and took several strides towards the door before opening it.

"Porfyro," I greeted with a smile. "Why should I help you when your own family refuses to?"

The boy on the other side of the door flinched at the blunt words that I'd spoken. Absently, I wondered if it was okay to think of one of my seniors as a boy—but, well, I was probably older then him now, so I suppose its okay?

But the majority of my attention was focused on the words I'd just spoken and on their recipient. I'd intentionally spoken without thinking, curious as to what would come to mind—though I kept my senses stretched over Haven whenever I was nearby, monitoring everything in it in the process, the truth of the matter was that there were a great number of things I just didn't care about. The students and teachers met to talk about everything from weapon designs to books to the weather, professors spent hours planning lessons and grading papers, couples snuck kisses and more, people complained about just about everything in the world, laughed at jokes, and played games.

In a building with so many people, it went without saying that a lot of things were happening and I could sense it all. If I wanted to, I could hear ever whisper, watch every motion, and know _everything_ that was going on.

But for the most part, I didn't bother. For both the sake of not wasting my time and giving others some semblance of privacy, I reined my awareness in. When something new started happening, I'd give it a cursory glance to see if it was anything worth knowing and if it didn't seem like it, I'd…not necessarily look away, because it was hard to look away when you could see everything at all times, but I'd unfocus unless something drew my attention. I'd gotten pretty good at reacting to specific words and phrases, so I thought I was fairly good at it, and it freed up my mind to think about things besides who was having sex with who and what the rumor mill was churning out.

Added to the fact that I spent a significant amount of time either meditating or in Naraka, I could proudly say I didn't know everything that was happening at Haven—which wasn't the type of thing I normally went for given my general need to know everything happening around me, but if there was anything in the world that could convince someone that not everything was worth seeing or listening to, it was a school campus.

All of which boiled down to a simple fact—Porfyro wasn't really a priority for me. Certainly, his team had a number of interesting powers, especially Asimi, and given the fact that there seemed to be some bad will between them and several other teams, I'd predicted that he might want to associate himself with me. But since I was fairly confident I could handle that simply by being sufficiently impressive, I hadn't made any particular effort to examine them or listen in on their conversation.

Thinking back, however, I knew the pieces had been there. Both Porfyro and Asimi were Alexandrians and, thus, related to Kyanos. Despite that and their age, however, neither was an heir to the family, implying they were either Kyanos' cousin or else that something had happened in the Alexandrian family.

Or _both_ , I thought, looking at him as I thought my way to the conclusion I'd already come to, gathering the scattered pieces. Given their position at the school, they obviously weren't very were liked and could use all the help they could get—and yet, I'd barely ever seen them talk to Kyanos. I'd brushed that off as not wanting to drag a freshman into their problems, but was there more to it than that?

There must have been, or he wouldn't be here. Even with his relative inexperience, Kyanos was skilled for a freshman and, more than that, he was an Alexandrian. Whatever their relative power, it couldn't be denied that the Alexandria name held a lot of weight in Mistral—few people, after all, would risk inspiring hatred in a guy who'd one day be the head of a Family. And even if they couldn't rely on Kyanos for some reason, speaking to their father, whoever he was, and getting a sign of support would go a long way in avoiding people's wrath. Yet, Porfyro and his team were still targeted.

And instead of going to his family for help, he'd come to me. A powerful freshman, certainly, but an unknown and a Roma—at least, as far as he was concerned. It was a risky move and one that could be taken the wrong way by others. As close as our families had historically been, why would he take that chance and risk ostracizing his family?

Simply, I thought. They wouldn't help him anyway, so what did it matter if they turn their backs?

But why? He was an Alexandrian, right? Why would he be—

Abruptly, I remembered what Albus and Finn had told me about bastard children and how Haven was sometimes used and the pieces came together.

"Ah," I said, smiling a touch sadly before he could recover and respond. "I understand."

"Do you?" Porfyro asked, eyes still wide from my first unexpected statement. "Because I don't. What do you—"

"Who was it?" I asked. "Your mother or father?"

Mother, I thought before the words were even out of my mouth, remember something Kyanos had told me once. His father was Cynosarges' son and the next in line—and I was betting that Porfyro and Asimi were his half-siblings. Glancing over Porfyro to confirm it, I was all but certain they shared the same genes on the paternal side.

But whatever it's viscosity relative to water, blood wasn't everything. Given their names were still Alexandria, I was betting they'd been acknowledged in some capacity and that it probably hadn't made a lot of people happy. I mean, you walk home and show your wife the two children you had with another woman, things are bound to get a little awkward. Given their relative ages, Kyanos' father must have met Porfyro and Asimi's mother before conceiving Kyanos with what I was guessing had been or became his legal wife. Given how Mistral could handle marriages, well, that wasn't even necessarily a surprising situation.

Even so, if he had acknowledged them and brought them home…well, that would have gone a long way to legitimize them. And while they _technically_ wouldn't be candidates for inheritance, Mistral had a lot of history when it came to matters of succession. Said history generally involved mass murder, torture, burning buildings, betrayal, sabotage, framing, and a variety of other horrible things. In all likelihood, it would be enough to worry a new wife and her young child—and if it wasn't, certainly piss her and her family off. Whatever issues Albus and Finn had with their families, I was pretty sure matters would be far worse when it came to the Families.

As I was thinking that, Porfyro flinched slightly and drew half a step back, eyes flicking down.

"My mother," He confirmed before hesitating for a moment. "She and Father were a team once—like Kyanos and Melania. Eventually they…"

I nodded to show I understood.

"But things changed," I guessed. "The arrangement fell through or someone made a better offer. Duty called."

Porfyro pursed his lips but nodded. He was quiet for a moment, looking around at the empty hall, down at the floor, and then up to me. After a moment, he made a decision and chose to tell me.

"As the head of the Alexandria family, Father formally broke things off with our mother," He admitted. He was a bit reluctant to speak but weighing his feelings against the safety of his team, the choice was obvious; he thought I already knew everything anyway, and whatever sympathy he could garner would be of use. "As far as I know, he didn't meet with her again except in his role as a Hunter until the day she died."

"And then he took you in," I said.

"We didn't have anywhere else to go," Porfyro stated. "He could have ignored us, pretended he didn't know, and shuffled us off into the system, but I think…"

 _I think he loved our mother_.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that those were the words he wanted to say as he fell silent—or perhaps the ones he wanted to believe. I didn't know if it was true or not, though; even with my new Pericognition, data mining for me, there was no way to determine what feelings two people I'd never met had shared decades ago.

"Even now though, I'm not entirely sure what I think about that," Porfyro continued. "I know my father has done a great deal for me, far more than he had to—then he should have, even—but at the same time…"

"I'm guessing you're not the most popular people in the family," I replied. "You can't ask your father for help, I take it—there are limits to what he can do and if he interferes too much and provokes a response, it just might make things worse. Kyanos?"

"Kyanos…I don't think he's ever hated us," Porfyro mused. "But I don't think he's ever known what to do with us, either. Between being several years older than him, not meeting us for years, and the warnings to stay away…and truthfully, when our Semblances first came in, there had been a few issues."

I nodded, not particularly surprised. Porfyro's power allowed him to manipulate the Opacity of his surroundings, from making something crystal clear to turning it pitch-black. In the early days when his control was limited and he was testing things out, it was easy to imagine how incidents might be caused. From effectively blinding people, to making their clothes see-through, to turning himself invisible…add that to what had no doubt been a fair amount of frustration towards the members of his new family and incidents were bound to ensue.

And then there was Asimi. A young girl, suddenly gifted with the power to see the future, however limited it might be. No, even beyond that, the _way_ she saw it, as a world empty of people but for how they acted on the world around them. Doors opening and closing randomly, objects floating and moving about, sudden damages and shifts being caused, and all the while being distracted from the present…if I'd gotten a power like that when I was a small child, I could honestly say I would have freaked.

I considered him for another long minute, mulling it over.

"Okay," I said at last, stepping aside to let him past. "Come on in."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Plead**

"So it's like that," I mused, closing my eyes and nodding slowly to show I'd understood.

And I had, probably more than Porfyro knew. After letting him into my room, I'd asked him several pointed questions and began putting together any missing pieces from the way he answered. Truthfully, however, I had been pretty sure that I knew what he had to say even before he started talking. Thinking about it logically, it was probably Pericognition putting together bits and pieces from my memories; due to my high INT, I passively memorized everything I sensed, even if I dismissed most of it as useless and didn't give it any though, so it was highly probable that I'd heard people talking about stuff like this and just ignored it as unimportant at the time.

From what I'd gathered, it seemed to go like this. He and his sister had been enrolled in Sanctum when they came of age as a not so subtle way of getting them out of the house and when they'd passed, they'd been just as quickly cycled into Haven. From the beginning, the name of Alexandria, combined with their nature as bastard children, had been a cause of difficulties. While early on, people had moved to curry favor, it quickly became apparent that neither of them were considered 'true' members of Alexandria and that the Family was split on what to do with them. That is, bullying them would anger certain people in power…but so would assisting them. As they were viewed as a potential threat to the true heir, Kyanos, various people in the Alexandria group regarded them—and anyone who seemed to be supporting them—with a great deal of suspicion.

When people began to figure that out, they reacted in a fairly logical way—they avoided them like the plague. While, of course, supporting them if they seemed like they might steal Kyanos' position as the heir of Alexandria had the potential of great rewards, supporting them in an _unsuccessful_ attempted promised nothing but horrific pain followed hopefully by death. Those weren't the only options, of course, but until Porfyro and Asimi were considered 'safe' by their family, they and any of their followers would be treated with caution. Seeing that, the other children at Sanctum largely decided that the best way to deal with a hornets nest was _not_ to poke it and see what came out, and so they weren't approached. Well, things might have been different if Porfyro and Asimi had proven to be exceptionally skilled, I suppose, but though they stood out some, it was nothing to the extent that people would change their minds. Their time at Sanctum had been a fairly lonely one.

Not so much at Haven, for better or worse. Whether it was fair or not, a team of Hunters was considered to be a single unit in a number of ways—that is, close allies who would die for one another at a moment's notice. It wasn't entirely unfair to think in such a way, because a big part of the training at the Academies was to that end; on the battlefield, Hunters were to work together. To Hunters, age was something that didn't matter, nor did religion, race, beliefs, gender, ambitions, or anything else. That was true of Hunters as a group and even more so of Hunters on the same team.

After all, we were the warriors that had decided to risk our lives for the sake of mankind and the Grimm would happily kill us no matter what we believed in. At the end of the day, we were expected to find common ground and work together—and if no such common ground immediately presented itself, then we could always start with 'I don't want the Grimm to eat me' and 'I'd rather they didn't overrun and slaughter all of Humanity.' Everything else can be put to the side and after four years of school and however many life-or-death missions, bonds tended to form. So really, it wasn't hard to believe that if you fucked with one member of a team, you fucked with all of them; that was how Hunters were all but required to work.

On the other hand, you had guys like me who could kill half their own team if the need presented itself. There were special circumstances involved—their loyalty to a terrorist that may be planning to fuck up my shit, for instance—but still, it showed that things could be more complicated than some guy had decided they were 'supposed' to be.

Porfyro's team had gotten off to a rocky start as the result of various things, of which Porfyro's origins were only a part. Helen, for instance, was the daughter of a branch family of Alexandria—which is to say that Cynosarges' father had had sex with the wife of Helen's grandfather or great-grandfather and she'd ended up pregnant. Stuff like that hadn't been particularly uncommon in the days when the Families ruled as kings so, if anything, it had improved the families position, but it should go without saying that a man may not be overly appreciative of another man having sex with his wife. Even beyond the general suspicion aimed at bastard lines, the Laconic family had fought against the Alexandria in the Civil War several decades later, which had resulted in a fair amount of bad blood between them. That was a long time ago, of course, but that didn't mean it had been forgotten, especially when the Families had finally risen to power once more. Seeing her partner up with the bastards of the Alexandria family…well, to should go without saying that it gave the wrong impression, even if they were on a team mostly due to chance.

Even beyond that, there were other things at play. While Helen was far from the most powerful person in her year, she was undeniably beautiful—made even more so by the unconscious use of her Semblance. People were naturally drawn to her so of course there was some jealousy involved. More than that, while Helen may never kill a Goliath on her own, sometimes the subtle powers were the most dangerous and being able to influence people's minds in even minor ways was the type of power with the potential to be very dangerous. Even now, with her team ostracized and her own background, Helen had a lot of admirers and 'friends;' in another ten or twenty years, she'd be a scary member of somebody's group, rallying people to this cause or that. There'd been a lot of efforts made to separate her from her current team in the hopes of cementing her loyalty to various groups and it wasn't hard to image that it had been tempting.

After all, thinking about it from her perspective, signing up with the right people might remove the mark on her family name and see her welcomed into a high-ranking position. Remaining with her team might have been personally admirable, but there was no reward for going down with a sinking ship and that's what they probably seemed like—especially when her prospects if she stayed loyal to them probably weren't great. Having a woman on your team who can weave subtle influence over entire crowds of people was great; having an enemy who could do it was somewhat less so. Even after two years, she hadn't made an official choice which was already showing a pretty significant amount of loyalty under the circumstances, but she couldn't put it off forever, especially with everything at risk.

Aspro only made matters worse, because he _had_ made a name for himself. Another distant relative of Porfyro's—of which there seemed to be many, given the way certain members seemed to get around, not that I could really talk; I'd seen _my_ family tree and even without the mess that was the current generation, it was pretty wild—he'd stood out from the beginning as a three-time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, which had been a record until Pyrrha came along and broke it. He was pretty skilled in his own write and he backed it up with a power that was somewhere between unconscious fine telekinesis and _probability_ manipulation to get an advantage in battle. While not the flashiest of powers, it was the type of thing that allowed him to run through a hail of bullets unscathed and land what would be lucky strikes if he didn't do them ten times in a row. One of the most gifted fighters in his year, he'd managed the occasional victory against Erythro and had once tied with Roland White. Needless to say, he was also being scouted.

Skoyro's group, then, was a way of exerting pressure upon them—I'd have to check their sponsors to be sure but I was almost certain they were backed by the Alexandria Family. They weren't really a threat Porfyro and his team in a 'corner and beat the crap out of you' sense, but they served as a constant example of the future that awaited them if they followed Porfyro. Skoyro and his team had slowly taken control of their year, risen to the top, and made things difficult for them in any number of ways while also leaving ways out for certain members of the team.

From that, I could roughly guess what they were planning. As the strongest group in the junior year, Skoyro and his team had been scouted by the Alexandria family with the intention of drawing them firmly into the fold. If I were to guess, I'd say that the general 'plan' was that Skoyro would marry Asimi while his brother Foteino would probably marry Helen. I couldn't be sure, but that seemed about right; while Asimi was a bastard child, she was still a member of the Alexandria family and Skoyro would marry into it through her—once her potential as a threat was removed and Kyanos had risen to his position, of course. Meanwhile, the stigma against Helen's family would be removed by marrying Foteino, who would be the brother of a loyal member of the Alexandria family. In all likelihood, Skoyro and his group would be protecting and supporting Kyanos during this year and the next, training him and making connections while leaving it to him to assume control in his junior year. Aspro would probably be married to a branch member of the family and Porfyro…

Well, I doubted there was a lot of room for Porfyro in any of their plans. While murdering the son of the clan head was unlikely, he would probably be shuffled as firmly out of things as possible without kicking him out entirely. Asimi alone would be enough of a risk, but at least any claims she potentially made to the throne of Alexandria could be complicated by the right marriage. Porfyro would need to be watched to make sure he didn't do anything that put Kyanos' power at right.

It was a bit complex, but I suppose this was how matters of inheritance were dealt with in Mistral. It had the potential to be a great issue, so it needed to be handled seriously. In all honesty, I thought it was kind of sad, but the fact remained that it was a relatively minor issue from my perspective; I had neither desire nor intention in getting involved in a war of succession on top of all the other problems I had to deal with and I considered myself to be on fairly good terms with Kyanos regardless. Porfyro's team had a number of useful powers and they seemed nice enough, but that would be tedious on an epic scale, to say nothing of the number of people that risked getting hurt.

But then, Porfyro wasn't after the crown, was he?

"I get it," I said, opening my eyes. "What do you want from me? Protection, right?"

Porfyro blinked at me, a bit taken aback. I might have been _slightly_ exaggerating how much he'd told me.

"Um," He replied, trying to catch up. "Yes?"

I hummed, nodding at him.

"It's good that you aren't entertaining plans to take over the Alexandria family," I told him. "That would be a mess to deal with so I would have had to refuse. But if it's just protection, that's easy enough to handle. You and your team could sit near me at lunch and stuff and that should make it obvious that you aren't to be screwed with needlessly. Nonetheless, I'd like to avoid any misunderstandings, so it'd probably be best to sort things out with Kyanos and Skoyro as soon as possible. Well, Kyanos and I are friends so it shouldn't be an issue. Just to make sure, you're fine with being my subordinate, right?"

"Um," He said again.

I tilted my head to the side, musing.

"Mm, really, if it not just your problems here at Haven you're looking to deal with, it would be best to call my grandmother as well," I mused. "Being seen as a member of the Roma would be ideal for you, too, right? It should clear things up and then you could approach the mess with your family from a different angle. Well, but calling Cynosarges would probably help make things simpler. You're fine with that, aren't you?"

Porfyro began to look more and more helpless as I went on until he turned to Adam as if seeking help. He didn't really know the guy, so it was an easy mistake to make.

"Yeah, he's always like that," Adam said, looking bored. His scroll was out again and he was sitting next to the invisible Autumn, holding it such that she could see the game he was playing. As Autumn probably didn't understand anything Porfyro and I were—or were _not_ , as the case may be—saying, she was watching it with distant interest. Which reminded me, I should reward Autumn for her training; maybe getting her some games of her own would be nice.

"Let's go," I said, standing and ignoring Adam.

"Go?" Porfyro asked, head snapping back to me. "Go where?"

"I just said we needed to talk to a few people, didn't I?" I replied. "No point in wasting time."

"Um," Porfyro answered.

 **XxXXxX**

"Jaune?" Kyanos asked as he opened the door, surprised to see me—which I suppose was fair. I'd been busy the last few weeks and human interaction tends to fall to the wayside a bit when you were preparing for the Apocalypse; as a result, I hadn't spent much time hanging out with my friends. The simple fact of the matter was that the time I spent with them was time I could instead spend ensuring the survival of the human race, so I prioritized.

"Kyanos," I greeted anyway. "Got a minute?"

He blinked once and tilted his head to the side before nodding.

"Sure," He replied. "What do you need?"

I gave him a preemptively apologetic smile before answering.

"Family business," I said.

Kyanos frowned at that.

"Ah," He replied. He looked over my shoulder and then both ways down the hall, his eyes lingering for several seconds when he saw his half-brother leaning against a wall a ways away. After a moment of observation, he sighed and nodded again. "I see. Alexandria and Roma only?"

"Mm," I confirmed.

Kyanos glanced over his shoulder at the rest of his team, who had stopped eating, reading, and playing videogames to watch the two of us with unconcealed interest, before glancing back at me with a raised eyebrow. I stepped out of the way to let him past and he closed the door behind him.

"I see you met my half-brother," He said after an awkward moment, unsure of how to begin the conversation. Given that this was probably an uncomfortable topic to begin with, I decided to try and make this easy for him.

"He came to me asked for protection," I stated, dismissing his unspoken worries.

Kyanos blinked at that, probably surprised that a junior would be asking a freshman for such a thing—but then he nodded again, remembering who he was talking to.

"I guess that makes sense," He mused, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to piece together what that truly _meant_. "You gave it to him, I'm guessing?"

"I want to sort out a few things beforehand," I replied. "But yeah."

"Getting an early start on the rest of us again, I see," Kyanos said with another sigh—before giving me a half-smile and nodding in acknowledgement. "What type of arrangement is it?"

"A fairly standard one," I told him. "They work for me, I protect them. Well, given what I've already done, that mainly just means I'll let them hang around me publicly at lunch and stuff; anyone with a survival instinct should be able to take a hint and everyone without one is better off learning why they need one now than in the field."

Kyanos laughed at that, leaning back against the doorframe of his room.

"Fair enough," He agreed. "For a minute, I thought you wanted me to call everyone off them, but I doubt you need _my_ help for stuff like that."

"And it's more complicated than that," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Always is," He replied, before glancing towards Porfyro again. "I don't hate him, you know."

I did know, so I nodded.

"Mom, though…" Kyanos continued, shaking his head. "Well, you can probably imagine how it looked to her when Dad brought home two older kids shortly after marrying her. You probably know what our families can be like. I'm not really worried about it, but Mom's side of the family can't _not_ react; Dad all but slapped them all in the face and stopped over their arrangements and deals. Whatever their personal feelings, a lack of response wouldn't look good. I can't stop that. I'm not even sure gramps could—or, at least, that he'd be willing to, given the hell it would raise. So far, he's sort of been leaving it to Dad to clean up his own mess, though I don't think he minds having more grandkids."

"I know," I replied. "I try to keep an ear to the ground—"

And in the ground. And pretty much everywhere else I can manage to put one, honestly.

"So I have a fairly good idea of what's happening. Honestly, I don't want to step on your toes or butt into Alexandria business, but it's a good opportunity for me, so I'd like to make arrangements."

"My brother's team does have some pretty neat powers on it, doesn't it?" Kyanos noted, getting right to the heart of the matter. "In all honesty, if not for the message it would send, I wouldn't mind them having my back—but I can't have it looking like I'm depending on my older siblings and I _especially_ can't have it look like I'm showing weakness to a potential threat to my position. It's sad, but I guess it can't be helped."

He was pretty frank on that front, but I suppose I was the same way. Truthfully, their powers were a big part of why I was going through with this. Not that I didn't empathize with their circumstances or didn't want to help them, of course, but again, I kind of had bigger things to worry about; their current situation might cause them problems when they graduate in two years or so, but that was rather beyond the time frame I was working under. If we were all still _alive_ in two years and Family issues were still something worth mentioning, who knows? But here and now, I felt justified putting stuff like that off.

But Porfyro's team was different. Sure, they weren't the strongest students in school, but that wasn't what I wanted them for—quite frankly, I didn't need that kind of help. Instead, they brought to the table an array of powers that could be useful in a variety of circumstances. If used right, Asimi's limited precognition, Helen's mental influence, Aspro's luck, and even Porfyro's opacity manipulation could all be helpful; I didn't need help punching Goliaths in the face right now, so that happened to be precisely the type of thing I was after.

I knew from experience with my own skills that sometimes the best skills were the auxiliary and support ones. Things like my various senses and Naraka, as well as things which were useful in and out of battle like Acceleration, had long since proven their worth to me and so I would be happy to gain support from people with those kinds of skill sets. Similarly, if I could find, say, a few mass-teleporters and such, I'd be fairly ecstatic. Someone who could read minds or something would be pretty nice to, though I'd need to be completely sure of their loyalty. Stuff like that was more useful to me than, say, a pyrokinetic, by and large.

So I hummed a sound of agreement and nodded at his words.

"Given that they're presence in the Alexandria family is causing so much trouble, I was thinking about asking Grandmother to accept them into the Roma," I continued, surprising Kyanos again. "Our families have done exchanges like that before and it would be convenient for you to, right? That should take care of their potential claim to your position and remove any reason for them to be targeted at the same time. No, more than that, if another faction were to target members of the Roma needlessly and beyond what is expected, I'd have to object. That should solve most of the problems, I believe."

"It would solve a _lot_ of problems," Kyanos said after a moment, regaining himself. "I mean, anyone with a brain would know what was happening and why, but screw them—it would take care of most of the major issues and that's what really matters. But…"

I smiled wryly.

"They don't want them to leave, but they don't want them to stay," I mused, shaking my head. "Our families are a bit weird, aren't they?"

"Just a bit," Kyanos replied, holding up two fingers with several centimeters of space between them. "But it can't be helped—I don't mind if they're okay with it, but a lot of my family members would take it was a pretty big loss. Even if they're pretty unwanted…well, the Families try to squeeze as much use as they possibly can out of people before throwing them away. You get what I mean, right?"

"Marriages," I replied, voicing my previous thoughts. "Skoyro is probably set to marry Asimi and become a member of the Alexandria family, while his brother will likely marry Helen."

"Probably," Kyanos agreed. "If not exactly that, then something close to it—that stuff has been in the works for a long while now and people would get annoyed if it got ruined all of a sudden. Not that gramps is likely to care too much about that, much less your grandmother, but it'll be a pain in the ass in various ways. They'll see it as losing an opportunity to strengthen Alexandria and will make things inconvenient, if nothing else. If instead of breaking things off entirely, it was a replacement, that might work, but I'll assume you don't want to marry my sister or Helen."

"I'll have to decline," I answered. "Not that they aren't attractive or anything, but I'd feel really bad for them if they got stuck being married to me."

I wasn't kidding. For anything close to a normal person, being married to me would be a death sentence—and I wouldn't want to marry anyone who didn't know what they were getting into, besides. And from a more pragmatic standpoint, I wasn't any more opposed to the concept of an arranged marriage then I was to using my body to gain an advantage in any other way, but if I did it, I'd prefer to get a greater asset out of it. That was a rather cold way of looking at things, but hey, there were not-insignificant odds that anyone who married me wouldn't have to put up with me for all that long, so…

"In regards to marriages, however," I continued. "I don't want to force anyone into such a thing, but I'm sure our grandparents will start haggling moments after we tell them. If the members of Porfyro's teams agree to it, I have no objections either, so tell them to sort it out."

"I'm all for passing the buck," Kyanos agreed. "So it sounds good to me. When do you want to do this?"

"You got your scroll?"

"Of course."

"Then let's call them up now and get this over with."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Forethought**

"Five," Porfyro said through his scroll. I didn't need it for ranged communications, but I hadn't told him that so for now I was playing along.

Shifting my attention away from the scroll at my side, however, I waited patiently. It took a while, but as I calmly counted down in my head, I sensed five people walk past my door. Reaching across the school with my Psychokinesis, I nudged the die on the table in front of Asimi to a five.

"Two," Asimi murmured to her brother after a moment.

"Two," Porfyro relayed through the scroll. Why he hadn't just given the scroll to Asimi herself, I wasn't entirely sure.

Right now, however, I didn't really care. Needless to say, I was testing the power of my new subordinates—or, at least, Asimi's power. There were a great number of limits to her sight, ranging from how far she could see to _what_ she could see, so it was necessary to test it now. She couldn't see people, after all, so she was often faced with events that seemingly lack a cause, which was something I was attempting to work around. It was a fairly big issue because she could only see at most a few minutes into the future, with the precise distance depending on how much Aura she used, and from what I understood, it was essentially the same as normal sight to her. She didn't get an instantaneous download of everything happening around her or anything like that, so useful information was limited to what she could comprehend in a short period of time.

Needless to say, I was doing my utmost to cheat my way around as many of these limitations as I could. While there was little I could do about the range of her sight without using something like Charitas—which would just allow her to maintain the limit of her sight for a longer period of time—comprehension was the bigger issue in my mind. With my Psychokinesis, I could write a book of details in an instant, but that'd be useless—whatever messages I might want passed on to my past self needed to be something she could quickly read and speak aloud or it was useless.

But just because something was useful information to _me_ didn't necessarily mean it needed to mean anything to _her_. That is, she didn't need to know what the number on the die meant—because _I_ knew what it meant. At the time I received it, I was counting the number of people who passed by my door, after all. Similarly, now that I had finished this test and proven to myself that the process worked, I could move onto more complicated things, with the complications being on my end. For instance, if I attached an important situation to every letter of the alphabet and she relayed a letter back to me, then I would have a heads up on what to expect in the near future. I'd start with emergency situations like an attack or a Rider outbreak and fill in the remainder with things it would simply be nice to know about beforehand, and just like that, I'd have an alarm system that went off several minutes before it was tripped.

Beyond that, I could add specifications. If, say, the letter 'A' indicated a Rider attack, then I could have 'A1,' 'A2,' 'A3,' and 'A4' indicate hypothetical attacks from Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. With an additional digit, I could add specifics, with something like 'A11' being a Conquest outbreak that's affected Haven, another digit indicating the specific area, and so on. I still needed to keep things limited to what Asimi could quickly see and recall—taking into account human error on her end—but so long as I kept the numbers relatively short and memorized what each number meant, I should be able to manage. A111, for example, was fairly simple and would inform me of a Conquest attack, in Haven, and centered upon my room. Even with just a minute's warning, something like that would be invaluable.

I needed to make sure I was on good terms with Asimi, though. While it would be fairly simple to keep an eye on her, I needed to make sure that she would speak any message I left her or this would be pointless. She seemed to be fairly loyal at present, given what I'd done for her and her brother, but it wasn't difficult to imagine her getting tired of suddenly seeing random numbers and digits and being expected to recite them at any time of the day. I'd need to give some thought to what I should tell her, to at least make sure she knew that it was important.

It was something worth thinking about. Also, I should decide on precisely how I wanted to arrange my system. Should I make the Grimm 'G' or 'B,' as the second set of events I decided up. It didn't really matter because baring an extreme emergency, I'd remember the results either way, but there was a small chance I'd need to use a middle man or need to warn someone else. Of course, in that case, I could always just say 'Grimm.' No, for my own set of codes, I'd just go for 'B.' Then 'C' would be…Cinder? I suppose that works out and she is what I'm focusing on at present. 'D' could be emergencies related to my friends, 'E' could be…

Like that, I spent a few minutes hammering out precisely what I'd want to be on the lookout for at any given time and a series of possibilities for each. It wasn't a perfect system and it wouldn't instantly tell me about all the precise details of an event, but it was far, _far_ better than nothing. In an emergency, even just a minute's heads up could be invaluable—and in what _I_ considered an emergency, even more so. It was currently limited by my proximity to Asimi, but I could set something up, possibly with a scroll, to help deal with that somewhat.

But for now, to test it. Taking a breath, I leaned back and waited quietly for something— _anything_ —to happen. Thanks to Asimi's foresight, I didn't need to focus on anything in particular; so long as I detected _something_ , I could pass a message back to myself telling me where to look. Keeping in mind how long Asimi generally looked into the future, as well as how long it would take her to read my message and relay it, I would then have somewhere between twenty and fifty second to react.

"C21," Asimi murmured and I checked to make sure. Yes, Cinder was approaching and she was alone at the moment. Given her direction, she was probably heading towards my room, something I could all but confirm given the message I'd gotten. Just to make sure—because this _was_ a test—I waited patiently for her to knock on my door.

Thirty-two seconds later, she did.

"Cinder," I greeted with a smile, glancing over her shoulders. "Emerald and Mercury aren't with you?"

"They were hungry, so they decided to get something to eat," She replied with a small smile of her own. "Hello Jaune."

Emerald and Mercury _were_ in the cafeteria, but then, Cinder had sent them there. Regardless…

"C211," Asimi said again, though I silenced Porfyro before his voice could come out of my scroll.

Dust, I thought as I absently changed the tiles I'd arrayed before my distant subordinate.

"Do you need something?" I asked, tilting my head.

"I was thinking we haven't had much time for sewing of late," She replied. "Are you free right now by any chance?"

"I could hardly pass up a chance to learn from a master like you, Cinder," I answered, stepping aside to let her in.

"You've been practicing, I hope," She said.

"Of course," I assured, which was true. I'd sewn Autumn several wardrobes worth of cloaks for the future, using various types of Dust. I'd made a few of my own just so I could practice using them and better teach her how. "What did you have in mind for today?"

"Why don't you show me what you've learned and we'll pick up from there?" She proposed and I gave a nod of consent. Pulling out the box of materials I'd stored beneath my bed with a thought, I opened it and began withdrawing different types of cloth and thread. After a moment's thought, I decided to make myself a shirt with blue Dust and took a seat on my bed again to do so.

Cinder was silent for a moment as she watched me before blinking slowly.

"You've improved a great deal," She praised after a moment. "Your designs are smoother than before. You have a knack for sewing, Jaune."

She wasn't talking about the physical designs, but how energy would flow through them, which was a matter of how much Dust is used, where it's placed, and how it's sewn. I knew that mainly because my designs had been perfect from the beginning.

"Thank you," I answered. "Though it's more a matter of practice. It's easy to get better at something you do over and over again."

Cinder hummed in acknowledgement, though not entirely in agreement. While she thought repetition was a key part of perfection, it didn't explain my massive growth. Nonetheless, she didn't argue.

"Have you given any thought to what direction you intend to take your work?" Cinder asked.

"Some," I admitted. "I like to be prepared, so I've woven a number for emergencies and such and I've been working on several for my minions. Beyond that, however, there are a lot of things that'll have to wait until I'm more skilled."

"Oh?"

I shrugged.

"I've thought about weaving green Dust into boots to allow a person to walk on air," I answered. "It's simple enough in its own right, but very dependent on the wearer's control. I suspect most people would end up killing themselves if they tried."

"I sure you would be more careful," Cinder said.

I gave her a half-smile.

"I don't need stuff like that to fly," I answered, making her chuckle.

"I suppose not." She mused before we lapsed back into silence.

"C3212," Asimi suddenly said and I had to work to keep from reacting as I understood it.

Cinder was leaving the school, but not immediately. Instead, it would be in a matter of days. Two days, to be precise.

What?

Even so, I didn't move. One of the most important parts of foresight was knowing things that I otherwise could not—and thus, that my enemies would not be prepared for me to know. As a result, I had to carefully regulate what I allowed to be seen, which meant an extra level of caution around someone like Cinder. If Asimi had sent this message back to me, then obviously the topic of conversation would come up soon, but…no, for now I needed to think about what this meant.

The most obvious explanation for why Cinder intended to leave school was because she wanted to meet up with 'Jian Bing.' Or rather, she had plans involving the White Fang that required something of a personal touch, which was why she couldn't just use one of her underlings for the task. That was good news for me, because it meant that my little show with Torchwick had worked as I intended and Cinder was going to move. As Cinder had spent the last several weeks here at Haven just calmly waiting, I was happy to have forced her to action.

But…could this be just that? Obviously, Cinder intended to keep her identity as secret as possible, at least until such time as her true plans came to fruition in Vale, but if she was moving then it was likely that she had something big in mind. She, who had been content to ignore Jian Bing until know, wanted to meet with him now—somehow, I doubted it was simply to deepen her cooperation with the White Fang. She wanted to test the waters and, if possible, turn things to her advantage.

At the same time, however, for something like this…as I'd hoped, if she was moving in person, then the chances were high that she would reveal something about her plans to me to get me to play along. With the power of my Pericognition and, perhaps, with the help of Asimi, I thought that I might have the advantage here, but…

First of all, I needed information. I noted with some annoyance that I hadn't thought to add a digit for 'duration of absence' to my future warning and promptly dedicated another digit to do so. While the fact that she was leaving at all told me a great deal, it was more important to know how long she would be gone. It was only going to be for an afternoon, that might mean she only planned to have the meeting and then return, but I noticed that her departure lined up with the last day of the school week. Since she could have used any day for a meeting, odds were good that she hadn't chosen that randomly; it was even possible that whatever she had planned could take the entire weekend. Cinder didn't seem like the type to risk the sanctity of her plan just for a chance to stretch her legs, so if that was true, then she would definitely have _something_ planned. And combined with the fact that she intended to meet Jian Bing, perhaps even something involving me.

If so, I should remember to play it cool. I wanted to learn everything I could about Cinder and her schemes, but I needed to avoid arousing too much suspicion in the process. As a part of that, I couldn't afford to instantly agree with any of her plans unless I could present a front of already knowing about them and standing to profit—that is, my usual smug bastard persona. For the sake of that, I should start gathering information right now, which, knowing Asimi's power…

I glanced up at Cinder as if only now noticing her watching me and tilted my head slightly to the side. Checking her over quickly, I was relieved to find that it _did_ seem like she wanted to say something, which gave me a just in case excuse to preserve causality. With something like precognition, however limited, I needed to keep that in mind.

"Cinder?" I mused, slowly finishing my work on the shirt and levitating it towards my waiting hands. I paused for a moment to check it over carefully—as if I wasn't sure it was perfectly fine—as it to make sure everything was as it should be. With something that could easily be used to create massive explosions, making sure you didn't somehow fuck everything up was a must; all the more so because this was a weapon that, theoretically, you'd be relying on in battle. Nodding as if satisfied, I folded it with a thought and added it to the growing pile of Dust woven garments beneath my bed, which was itself only a small fraction of what I'd actually made. As I could store everything I really needed inside of my Inventory, I didn't have much reason to leave anything lying around, but appearances must be met I supposed.

"Hm?" She replied, almost glowing eyes focusing on mine as she did.

"You didn't just want to watch me sew again, did you?" I asked.

Cinder gave a wry smile, inwardly pleased—whether because I'd noticed or asked, I wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry," She said, faking sincerity well. "But no, I did not. I'm already well aware that things such as this are child's play to you."

I smiled slightly, as if pleased by her praise, and straightened slightly in response.

"Perhaps it's simply because I had a good teacher," I replied. "If not for you, I wouldn't be anywhere near as good at this as I am now."

That much was true, in fact. If not for the potential threat she posed, I probably wouldn't have bothered practicing my Dust Weaving. The truth of the matter was that I didn't have much use for it personally and that my immediate allies would probably take a long time to master its use in battle. Really, I didn't consider myself the type who was dependent on tools and weapons anymore—or, more truthfully, I simply considered this body of mine to be my weapon. I could break it, remake it, improve it, and use it better than any sword or gun in the world.

"Flatterer," Cinder answered with a small twitch of her lips. "Someone like you would have probably been fine all on your own."

"Maybe, maybe not," I answered. "And even if I _could_ do things that way…wouldn't you agree that it was better that I didn't have to?"

Cinder hummed for a moment at that, considering both it and me. As her eyes remained focused steadily on my face, I wondered just what she thought of me—and, more importantly, what she suspected. While most of my secrets were thankfully too wild for anyone to easily guess, she probably had suspicions of _some_ kind regarding me.

Even so, whatever she felt, she didn't let show on her face—probably aided by the fact that she kept herself remarkably in check at all times.

"Perhaps so," She allowed after several seconds. "Regardless, there _is_ something I wish to tell you. Though I'm rather doubtfully that it will make much difference for you, I will be unavailable this weekend."

I blinked, nodded, and shrugged. It wasn't anything noteworthy, after all, for a student to leave the school for the weekend for any number of reasons, up to and including just wanting to relax in the city. That is, if you were a normal student—which, needless to say, neither of us were. I'm sure a lot of people would be very interested in what I did while no one was looking and I was sure interested in what Cinder had planned.

But I didn't allow any of that to show on my face, illusory or otherwise.

"Okay," I answered. "Like you said, it probably won't make much difference and if something comes up, I'll just ask you when you come back. Going anywhere in particular or do you just want to get out of this place for a while."

"Both, I suppose," Cinder answered after a moment's musing. "Certainly, it's always nice to have some time away, but in this case, I simply have personal business to take care of."

"Oh?" I asked, deciding to show a bit more interest as I leaned back on my bed. "Anything important? You don't usually talk about yourself, Cinder."

"Neither do you," She reminded, too which I gestured dismissively.

"You already know who my family is," I brushed off. "Pretty much everything about me is a secret nowadays. Well, if you wanted, I could tell you the official story? Stuff like how I wasn't accepted into Signal—a combat school over in Vale—because I was incompetent."

That got a chuckle out of Cinder and I joined her after a moment, smiling. Looking back, that was where it had all began, but…it almost felt like another life now. So much had changed, so much had happened, so much had been learned…it was hard to believe what my life had been like a relatively short time ago. I couldn't say I missed those days, not really—I wasn't the type with fantasies about normalcy, much less mediocrity—but things had been simpler.

Not that it would have changed anything, truthfully. Ignorance may be bliss, but that bliss was no more than a self-deception. The terrifying things I'd learned about the world would have still been there, beyond my sight, waiting to potentially tear down my world. In that case, isn't it better to know and act then to not know and wait?

I thought so—and at least this way, I had a chance of fixing things, however small.

"I'll ask you to spare me," Cinder replied. "It's nothing particularly interesting. I have to handle several estates that were left to me by my parents. It's nothing particularly impressive, truth be told, but it's best to stop by every few months to keep things from piling up."

"Ah," I agreed—and carefully didn't remark upon the implication that her parents were dead. It was probably true, but probably wasn't as simple as she implied; either way, I'd look into it later. "Well, good luck then. If you ever need any help, just tell me. For me…"

I shrugged.

"Perhaps I'll take you up on that someday," She mused before closing her eyes and giving a sad—and entirely fake—smile. "But this is something I have to do alone, I think."

"I understand," I whispered gently, as if buying into any of this. To be honest, though, I was impressed by how far she'd go to leverage things to her advantage. "Well, I'll be looking forward to 'someday', then."

"Ah," Cinder nodded, giving me a long look. "As will I, Jaune."

And so—smiling, lying, plotting, and scheming all the while—we went our separate ways.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Drawn**

"Are you certain about this, Jian?" Raven asked as I walked through the halls of the base. She wasn't beside me at the moment, wouldn't be until the meeting began, but I could hear her just fine across the building—and by avoiding being seen together, we could avoid tipping our hands ahead of schedule.

"I am," I replied, answering her question through Levant, who stood beside her with the same smile as always. Because she already knew about her, there wasn't any particular reason to hide her, after all…but I got the feeling that Raven still found it a bit off-putting to hear my voice come from another's mouth. "This is a good chance for the both of us; it'd be wasteful not to exploit it."

"Mm," Raven agreed, if a touch reluctantly. I could understand why, though; there were so many unknowns involved that in many ways, we were going in blind. It wasn't something either of us was all that pleased by.

But there was no helping it—at the end of the day, beggars can't be choosers.

It had been two days since my meeting with Cinder and I'd spent them the same way I spent most of my time as of late—in preparation. I'd continued grinding my skills as best I was able, but…sadly, it hadn't been enough to rank up the rest of the skills I'd used to create Pericognition. I'd have liked to come into this with as many observational skills as physically possible, but alas, it seemed that wasn't possible. As per usual, getting from level ninety-eight to the peak of ninety-nine was a relentless grind fest; even what had amounted to months of work hadn't been quite enough to make it. At this right, they'd level in one more day, but I'd have to go without them for this.

Oh well, I thought. I'd make do.

Yesterday, Raven had given me the time and place of the meeting and had escorted me here a short while ago. It was a White Fang facility, though obviously a new one—probably something arranged with the help of my grandmother, in fact. It was relatively close to Haven, relatively scarcely populated, and therefore, relatively unthreatening. Even so, the fact that the meeting was taking place in our territory was something of a mixed blessing; the dubious benefit was that it supposedly gave us an advantage, but truthfully, I was fairly sure that most of the people at this meeting would spontaneously evaporate if it came to a fight. Despite that, meeting us on our own ground gave Cinder an appearance of, if not trust, then of confidence. If this meeting had been limited to Raven and I, I doubt it would make much difference when it came to opposing Cinder.

Though, granted, if it had been restricted in such a way, I would have suspected a trap. I guess there's just no pleasing me.

Which wasn't to say I _still_ didn't suspect a trap, though a thorough investigation of the premise and surrounding area had made that unlikely. I'd checked to make sure there was no one lying in wait for us and unless there was a teleporter waiting to come into play at an inconvenient time—a possibility that I sadly could not dismiss outright—then we should be in the clear. As much as we ever were, at least.

Still, I made sure to speak and move with careful confidence, as if I wasn't at all worried about what might happen or wasn't ready to drag us all into another dimension at a moment's notice. All told, we were well prepared, with Adam in the building and Gou waiting at a distance, just in case. I'd left Autumn behind for this, with the excuse of having a safe place to withdraw to in an emergency, but the bulk of our combat power was gathered here. We were ready for a fight on an epic scale, if push came to shove.

I was simply hoping they wouldn't. Partially because of the risks involved and partially because I could accomplish more by talking and paying attention at a time like this.

"Do not concern yourself with what might happen, Raven," I replied as if _I_ wasn't concerned about it. "Should something happen, I will address it to the fullest extent of my abilities—"

Open with Naraka, whether to withdraw or remove potential casualties, and try to get into position for Lux Aeterna. Keep in mind that if she _is_ a Rider, she likely has the ability to shatter barriers like Conquest did and thus refrain from using it immediately—instead, approach with a full speed attack and strike with all my power, activating everything that isn't already on as I go. Karna may not be effective given her own skill with fire, so use alternate means; Magic Missile first, Gungnir when potential casualties can be avoided. Use Elementals to disrupt her Dust Manipulation and put Deposition to good use now that it's been trained some. Vanish with an illusion, if it can fool her, and then press the assault with a mix of melee and ranged attacks, supplemented with Psychokinetic blades and firing spheres—

"But I will also do my utmost to ensure that nothing does," I concluded with a smile that I tried to show in my voice. "Just follow my lead."

I felt her sigh, but also nod.

"Very well," She murmured. "They're waiting for you. Shall we arrive separately or together?"

"Please, allow me to go first, so as to give you a proper introduction," I answered humbly before slipping into Naraka with a flash of Aura. The moment I did, I was moving quickly down the halls, tearing through walls when their placement inconvenienced me, before sliding to a halt in a motion that left behind a trail of shattered flooring. No more than a moment after I entered Naraka, I was inside the meeting room, standing in a place I'd made sure was uninhabited before shattering the dimensional barrier and appearing as casually as I could manage.

Said appearance was met by a sudden rush of swear words, three chairs falling over, six people jumping to their feet, and a woman focusing her gaze on me. Even Adam, who'd been leaning against the back wall, dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword—though his reaction was mostly an act.

After a moment of silent staring, Adam settled down, removing his hand from his blade.

"Bing," He said stoically. "I'm almost surprised you actually came."

"Adam," I replied, with a slow smirk and easy familiarity. "Naturally, I take my work seriously."

There was a mix of twitching lips and sneers at that—Adam had, of course, spent quite some time undercover and off the map. So had I, of course, but nobody was going to question me on it; I was well known for doing whatever the hell I wanted and was something of a boogieman besides. Adam, meanwhile, was viewed as something of a way to get at Raven without risking her shoving your head up your own ass.

Adam didn't dignify that with a response, expression cool even as I turned away from him and slide my gaze to Cinder, who'd been watching me since the moment I appeared.

"Jian Bing," She said, inkling her head. "A pleasure to meet you at last."

"Ms. Fall," I greeted as I casually pulled back a chair. "I heard you wished to speak to me but you were preoccupied the last time I came to Mistral and I didn't wish to be an inconvenience."

"It's always nice to meet a gentleman," She replied, no doubt noting the implication that I knew what she was doing but not letting it bother her overmuch. "Still, I'm glad to see you today—I believe there's quite a bit for you and I to discuss."

I smiled at her.

"Of course," I said. "But before that, we have another guest. It's rude to stare, Raven."

There was a moment of silence in the wake of my words before space tore open and swirled into a dark gateway. Raven immediately strode out of the darkness, not so much as casting a glance my way, and I felt Cinder's emotions cool even further. She wasn't afraid, precisely, but she was aware of what had been left unspoken. I knew where Cinder worked, Raven and I had both appeared out of thin air…it wasn't had to understand what was being implied.

But Cinder did nothing but incline her head in greeting before returning her attention to me. In her eyes, the two of us were both major threats, but _I_ was the major unknown.

…Did that mean Cinder had something in mind for counteracting Raven? I couldn't rule it out, unfortunately, though another quick scan of her person didn't reveal anything that seemed particularly dangerous, beyond the usual. Even so, without being able to see her entire profile and without knowing the nature of her power…there was no way of knowing. It could be that she simply felt sure that no threat to her schemes would be coming from that corner tonight, but if not, well, I was planning to strike first anyway. I'd notify Raven of a potential threat if it came to battle.

"My apologies," She continued, her eyes focused intently on mine. "I didn't expect all of you to be able to put aside your busy schedules on such short notice; you must have gone through quite a bit of trouble for my sake."

"Nothing worth the mentioning," I dismissed easily. "We are, after all, allies. As ones who fight together in the future, it is only proper that we show you due respect, no?"

"As always, the generosity of the White Fang does it credit," She answered with a grateful smile. In case it needed to be said, the only expression in the room that was faker than hers was mine. "And yet, I find myself regretfully imposing upon your kindness."

"I would hardly call it an _imposition_ , Ms. Fall," I replied and then tried to put what little I'd gathered to good use. "It's not an _imposition_ to call upon a friend for aid."

Cinder didn't twitch, which rather impressed me. Not only had I cemented our respective positions in this discourse—that _she_ was asking _us_ for help—but I'd implied that I knew something of what she wanted.

Time to see if I could make that last bit a reality. How she answered would, hopefully, tell me more about what she had in mind.

"Then I thank you," Cinder said, inclining her head again. "Though it should be nothing but a small matter for _you_."

There was a weight to that last word, enough that it seemed like a test—or a reference, maybe? She meant me as in Jian Bing, which narrowed things down a great deal, but what—

Abruptly, I remembered the weapon shipment from several weeks before. A major move on Cinder's part, which had stolen an enormous amount of equipment under the guise of a terrorist attack. And while the Company itself wasn't of any particular not, the location…

Certainly, that had been the most public thing I'd done as Jian Bing, as well as the most memorable. But what did it have to do with this, unless…ah.

I considered it for a brief moment, summing up what I knew and thought I knew. This could be a trap, an attempt to make me slip up and reveal how much I didn't know—but on the other hand, this might be an opportunity to cement my impression.

Even if I was wrong, it would tell me something. Hurt my image somewhat, perhaps, but not _majorly_ , and for this…it was worth a shot.

So I chuckled, met Cinder's eyes, and metaphorically crossed my fingers.

"It _has_ been awhile since I've been to Atlas," I mused.

Her eyes widened.

I was right?

Even with all the confidence I had in my own abilities, I'd been worried, but everything I sensed from her now—surprise, suspicion, and even muted disbelief—said I was correct in my guess. That, more than that, I had some kind of lead to follow now, something that might lead me back to or illuminate the rest of her plans.

The thought set my mind and heart racing and I tried to puzzle out what this meant from what I already knew. Nearly a month ago, Adam and I had spotted Cinder's minions working with White Fang as part of an arms exchange—and a quick scan of the news had revealed that a company in Atlas had been targeted by a terrorist attack shortly beforehand. Observation of the merchandise in question had proven that they were linked and thus meant that Cinder had arranged the events. Perhaps more than that, it meant that she'd had the power necessary to enter Atlas without suspicion being drawn her way, prepare for a major heist, enact it, and then leave the Kingdom _with_ a massive haul of stolen weapons. She'd then transported it all back to Mistral, smuggled it into the country unnoticed, and had been able to simply gift it to the White Fang.

Something like that would have required an enormous amount of power to do the normal way. Certainly, I could have pulled it off with relative ease through a combination of various things—my Inventory, Naraka, illusions, my Elementals, etc.—but for someone without dimensional or elemental shenanigans, it would have taken a significant amount of effort. One of the things I was eternally grateful to my power for was its ability to let me outright ignore a variety of otherwise annoying things. Pain, injury, sleep, storage, exhaustion, learning, on and on. It was useful beyond words to the point that I could barely imagine having to live without it—but I was also cognizant of the fact that most people had no choice but to.

So while I could superpower my way around various problems or, if necessary, learn or create means suited to my desired ends, most people—even those more powerful than me in whatever sense—had to work within the means they already had. Getting the equivalent of a doctorate degree in whatever field wasn't feasible in the short term and tedious in the long one; even more so when it comes to learning a new fighting style or something supernatural. Someone who could theoretically hand me my own ass with one hand didn't necessarily have the skills necessary to match the breadth of my ability and that had frequently proven to be to my advantage.

Therefore, their theft from Atlas told me a great deal about them, though some of the possibilities would need to be narrowed down. Cinder, or whoever she'd entrusted the job to, had been able to enter the country, which _could_ be done easily but risked leaving a paper trail. At the same time, getting past the borders unnoticed presented its own difficulties; either way, she must have had some way of addressing it. Someone on the inside was possible; sadly, someone capable of long range teleportation was as well. Either could smooth along a major theft and the transportation out of Atlas, but if she couldn't teleport, she'd still have needed a major means of transportation and a way to avoid suspicion. Unfortunately, I couldn't narrow things down on that front going only by what I'd seen then.

But…there was the matter of what she did with her prizes afterwards; she'd given them away. Not for free, of course—the effective price tag had been the White Fang's good will—but it had been a very simple transaction.

Granted, it was unlikely that she would have had much use for it herself—even among Hunters, a handful of people were going to have a hard time using a thousand guns—but of all the things she could have done, she'd chosen to steal guns instead of, say, Penny or a battleship. That implied that there were limits to whatever they'd used to complete their thefts, or at least reasons to limit themselves, but at the same time, the theft they _had_ completed made it seem like a fairly trivial effort on their part…which could have been the point.

But how did _that_ tie into _this_ , if at all. She wanted me to help her with something in Atlas, presumably a theft. Something guarded beyond her normal abilities, maybe? Though it was just as likely that she wished to test me by seeing how I performed under pressure—though there wasn't any particular reason why she couldn't do _both_. Hell, if she wanted to test me, why _not_ do it in a way that she stood to profit from?

The question was, then, what did she want to steal?

I didn't look at Raven, didn't so much as twitch in her direction, but I whispered into her ear with a voice shaped from the air itself.

"Have there been any interesting new innovations in Atlas?" I asked and though she didn't move or show any sign of hearing it, I felt her begin to search.

"I am somewhat _surprised_ , however," I continued aloud as if nothing had happened. "I wouldn't have thought _you_ of all people would require assistance stealing from Atlas."

"Sadly, it seems Atlas has become more wary of intruders as of late," Cinder replied. "Though I can only imagine why."

My smile widened and I inclined my head slightly her way, the gesture acknowledging. Inside, I wondered if this was a confirmation of inability or merely an attempt to make me _think_ she couldn't steal it. My Pericognition was telling me that Cinder was lying, but it did that pretty much every time she opened her mouth and narrowing down where and why would require more information.

Best to play along until I found some.

"I suppose I did make something of a scene," I mused. "I'd intended to move with a bit more subtlety, but alas, Ziz chose to intervene. It couldn't be helped."

There was a reaction from Cinder at the mention of Ziz, but there was one from _everyone_ , so that told me little. In her case, it was of mixed interest and caution, as if she were observing a potentially dangerous wild beast—whether said beast was me or Ziz, I was unsure. Cinder's emotional responses tended to be muted enough to complicate matters for me.

"Naturally not," Cinder agreed. "But with everything that has occurred as of late, the fact remains that they are on their guard. Given the target I had in mind, it may complicate things."

Just then, as I was thinking of ways to use a lot of words without saying anything in the process, Raven came through. With the time I'd bought her as a distraction, she'd likely taken the opportunity to go down the list of likely places for such a thing to be held and—presumably because she'd made a point of getting familiar with such things in the past—it hadn't taken her very long to find it. From her place at the side of the room, beneath her mask, she mouthed the words 'hide me' and gave me a moment to prepare. When, a second later, a small portal appeared right before her left eye, I reached through it and hid the portal behind an illusion of normalcy, such that even a direct observe would have caught, at most, a very brief flicker. Luckily, Raven had hidden the small portal beneath a table in a nearly empty room, out of the way but still close enough to see what they were working on.

…It was a mech. A large, somewhat clunky-looking battle suit equipped with everything from rockets, to guns, to scanners. I could freely admit as a…well, I suppose my age was indeterminate now, but at least as a _man_ , that I thought it was pretty damn cool.

As a Hunter, meanwhile, I thought it looked a bit impractical. It was a large and obvious target and while it was obviously built with durability in mind, I doubted that armor would stand up to a truly impressive creature of Grimm. The weaponry was adequate, but a lot of it would have difficulty penetrating the hide of any of the larger Grimm and its sheer mass put limits on its maneuverability. It could move fast, certainly, but I was skeptically about its ability to corner well and against enemies that could move freely on the ground, to say nothing of the _air_ , it was difficult to imagine a Hunter getting much use out of it in a real battle.

But it wasn't meant for Hunters, I realized. It was a support unit to a greater force—most likely a _robotic_ force, as was the way of Atlas. A way of adding a human element to the equation to help react to changing situations without leaving them exposed. For that purpose, at least, it would likely serve fairly well; powerful as we could be individually, being a badass didn't mean all Hunters were automatically master strategists, much less ones capable of commanding an _army_. We mainly worked in small groups, after all, but if, say, the Grimm invaded, you'd need to be able to react in a broad manner until Hunters could help with the cleanup.

It made sense from that perspective and yet…

"The Atlesian Paladin-290," I spoke, smiling again as she nearly twitched. "Yes, it's an…interesting piece of machinery, is it not? And yet, they are made of cotton. I could rip apart a hundred of them with my bare hands. What use have we for such a thing?"

"You?" She asked. "Perhaps nothing. But certainly your brothers in the White Fang would appreciate such a gift?"

"Do weapons count as gifts when you expect us to use them for your sake?" I replied, expression never drifting away from my quite smile. "We can arm our men with guns and machines, but that won't enable them to triumph over the Hunters that would be draw to such a major spectacle. At best, it will allow them to inconvenience them—and draw significant attention our way in the process. I assume _someone_ in Atlas would not appreciate us running rampant with their new toys. Precisely what do _we_ get from this, Ms. Fall? From our continued alliance? Thus far, between your business in Mistral and in Vale, it's begun to seem as if we are doing all the work for the sake of a nebulously defined goal. Perhaps some further elaboration is in order?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Informed**

For a long, long moment, Cinder faced me with cold eyes. Nothing showed on her face or in the movements of her body, displaying a degree of self-control that still amazed me—by I had senses that went past the purely physical. Beneath the surface, her Aura changed in time with her emotions, displaying them for me as if they were written in bold colors. She was surprised, on one level, but not as much as I might have suspected under the circumstances. More prominent was her consideration, suspicion, and growing wariness.

However slightly, I was making her nervous. Good.

Slowly, Cinder slid her gaze across the room, taking in the faces of the local White Fang leadership. The lot of them had fallen silent when I'd started speaking, hushed by either the weight of my reputation, the accusations I was throwing out, or perhaps a simple, silent agreement. Though I doubted any of them had followed things to quite the conclusions I had, for lack of information if nothing else, I was all but certain that no one here was overjoyed to be taking de facto orders from a human, especially one who was so close-lipped about her own plans.

Sure, from the perspective of the one in charge, making it so that no one had any real idea what was truly going on and that everyone in power working under the bounds of need-to-know information had its advantages—it made it significantly harder for one's enemies to figure out the truth behind one's actions and prevented a single betrayal from deeply harming one's strategies. In reality, however, it can be very difficult to motivate people who don't even know why they're doing something and amongst a group of terrorists and professional criminals, _some_ evidence that this will all pay off in the end was generally appreciated.

But Raven and I weren't sure what Cinder's endgame was, which meant that no one else in the White Fang did, either. Thus far, Cinder's 'alliance' with us was built on promises reinforced somewhat by provided weaponry. But while that might be fine in the short term, as a down payment of sorts, in the long run it just wasn't enough. Because I was pretty much certain that whatever Cinder was planning, it would mean run-ins with Hunter-level combats, especially with her planning to invade Beacon, and while a bunch of armed, angry, and oppressed Faunus were all well and good, everyone at this table knew what would happen if such a force ran into a few dozen Hunters. At best, they're use as a fighting force would spontaneously evaporate. At worst, _they_ would spontaneously evaporate.

So in the wake of my words, no one spoke in protest, and their silence put them on my side of the field—and Cinder knew it. She also probably knew that if she didn't come up with a satisfactory answer right the hell now, her support would disappear, and ludicrously dangerous though she may be, she wouldn't be making use of this much grunt labor if she didn't need to.

She had no choice but to respond and only a few ways to do so. She could try and deny my words, but they were the truth as far as I knew, though the details were still rather finicky. She could try and start something, to perhaps intimidate us, but she'd never do something so vulgar; even if Raven and I hadn't been here specifically to counteract such a thing, it would almost certainly have backfired, because all intimidation aside, you had to be pretty convincing—or at least the help of someone like Raven and a very good rep—to make people too nervous to rat you out when you were a continent away and it would take one phone call to fuck you over in an epic way. Given that, she was more likely to try and assuage our worries and given the fact that I was, hopefully, making her come up with an excuse on short notice, it was likely that elements of the truth would slip in.

"Very well," She said at last. "It was not as though I had any real intention of keeping it a secret from you—"

Lies and damn lies, I thought.

"I simply did not think you would be willing to believe the true scope of my…project, shall we say, until I had provided enough results to convince you of the worth of our partnership." She continued.

"You'll find that I'm willing to believe quite a lot, given cause to do so," I replied. "And I like to keep track of things in motion, to avoid surprises. For the sake of everyone else at this table however, allow me to summarize the basics. Ms. Fall has been in association with one Roman Torchwick, who has been stealing large quantities of Dust within the Kingdom of Vale. Ms. Fall herself has been posing as a student at Haven. Given that, it's rather obvious that she intends to reconvene with her subordinate in Vale during the Vytal Festival, where in a number of students from around the globe shall gather for a tournament. At that time, you will be safely positioned within Beacon itself while Torchwick—presumably, I assume, with our aid—sets things in motion outside of the school. The Dust, Paladins, and weaponry would largely be used on the outside, provoking a reaction for you to take advantage of on the inside. But what is it that you intend to do, Ms. Fall? And, more importantly, why should we care?"

I got the feeling that if Cinder wasn't…herself, she would have been glaring at me, or at least seething internally. Instead, she simply got colder, watching me for a long moment before replying.

"Because by the time I'm done, the White Fang will have an opportunity the likes of which they've never seen," She said. "I can give you Vale."

"Please," I answered, voice droll for all that my heartbeat was beginning to quicken. "Elaborated."

"Once I am inside of Beacon, it will be easy for me to gain access to certain resources nearby," She replied. "At the same time, we'll arrange an attack from the outside, piercing Vale's defenses by using the abandoned tunnels leading into it."

"Mountain Glenn," I realized, though I made sure my tone remained bored. "Yes, an interesting plan of attack, to be sure, but the tunnels in question are quite locked down—Vale was rather eager to see that the Grimm which devoured the city did not have a direct route to the heart of theirs."

"Indeed," She granted. "But I am _quite_ familiar with Mountain Glenn. There's a way through it."

I was silent for a moment, trying to put together what she meant. Had a route been left untouched? No, Vale had taken Mountain Glenn's cleanup seriously—the deaths of thousands of people was wont to do that. I wasn't certain of _everything_ when it came to that place's layout, but it seemed fairly probably that no massive secret tunnels had been left open for any Grimm or terrorist to just wander through. If she wanted to get through, she'd need to _make_ a way out—

Abruptly, I remembered something—the tale of how Mountain Glenn ended. A strange explosion had gone off, opening a passage for subterranean Grimm to invade and slaughter the inhabitants. Normally, I wouldn't have given it much thought, but…

"So that's what you've been gathering all that Dust for," I said, making sure none of my feelings showed on my face or in my voice. "You'll blow a way right into the heart of Vale."

"Yes," Cinder answered.

I took a slow breath, making a show of considering it.

"Interesting," I told her. "But not particularly useful to _us_. Such an explosion would surely attract the attention of the Grimm—and as it would be my men in a confined space with them, you'll understand if I don't find that overly desirable."

"Which is why the White Fang will be _exceptionally_ well armed for the occasion," She replied. "In addition, we'll be making use of the subway system that connected Mountain Glenn to Vale, which will allow them to stay ahead of any pursuers until they reach the city. Do not forget, _my_ men will be in danger as well."

Because if Torchwick was injured, I'm sure your poor little heart would break. I didn't roll my eyes, but I wanted to.

"And so some number of Grimm shall invade Vale until they are stopped, which they shall be," I said in turn. "Exposing my men to significant danger for minimal reward—wanton destruction and fear have their places as tactics, but unleashing a small horde of Grimm on the city only to watch them die on the blades of Hunters seems like a rather pointless act. Not that I'd particularly enjoy the Grimm overrunning Vale, either; certainly, they don't discriminate against the Faunus, but that's rather meaningless when all it means is that they'll devour any Faunus they find as readily as humans. Our goal is to improve our brethren's situations, after all, and while some fates are worse than death, I do not believe murdering every Faunus in Vale to be remotely called for."

"The Breach is not meant to succeed," She said. "It is merely meant to frighten—certainly you all know the power of fear. The Councilmen of Vale are fools and cowards and as soon as disaster strikes, they will seek to place blame on others."

I didn't actually know any of the Councilmen, but I saw Raven twitch her eyebrows in concession to Cinder's words, so I didn't argue. Instead, I thought of where she would be staying at the time and took an educated guess.

"Ozpin," I answered. "Such a thing would hurt his position."

"Indeed," She agreed. "And they will give his power to another—someone more…controllable and obedient. As it happens, General James Ironwood will be in town for the Vytal Festival."

Ironwood? Was she saying that he was in on this? Nothing I'd gotten off of Ironwood made me think of him as a traitor, but I'd only met him the once and my senses hadn't been what they now were. Even so, it was a bit hard to believe that Cinder had a _General_ in her pocket—if she had that kind of manpower, what would she need _our_ help for? Especially since Ironwood was _also_ a Headmaster and responsible for hundreds of Hunters. But I honestly didn't know the man well enough to say anything for certain.

I may, however, know someone who did, and so I watched Raven for a moment without moving my eyes. Beneath her mouth, she mouthed a simple no.

"Ironwood would never work with either of us," I answered calmly. "And however obedient he may be to the Councilmen, he is also fairly competent."

"True," Cinder allowed. "But he has a weakness that Ozpin does not."

"Oh?" I asked. "And what is that?"

"A dependence on technology," She said.

For a moment, the room was silent, every eye on her. The words themselves were vague, but their implications…

Yes, as the most technologically advanced nation on Remnant, Atlas made great use of their technology. I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to call it a dependency when, truthfully, it was nothing more than an efficient way of doing things given their means. The robots that they used to guard various areas, for instance—while the Grimm would destroy them the same way they would any creation of man given half a chance, the fact remained that they did not, in and off themselves, draw the Grimm. People could attract them through negative emotional states or whatever else drew them in, but while an Ursa would crush an Atlesian Knight if it happened to encounter on in a forest, it wouldn't make a beeline for it.

This allowed for a variety of options, such as arranging chokepoints lined with mobile guns and setting up a defensive perimeter without the risk of a lonely, terrified guardsman setting things off. When it came to things like long-range transportation, Atlesian machines were greatly preferred over practically nay option, because while there was always the risk of an unfortunate run in with the Grimm, it vastly lowered the potential risks. Even in cases that couldn't remove the human element entirely, reducing the _number_ of people simultaneously reduced the number of people attracting monsters _and_ the number of potential casualties.

Given that, it was no surprise that their machines were used all around the world. While none of them were as capable as a trained Hunter, they could be mass produced with relative ease and could serve a role without needing to be drawn away after a week or so. Bolstered further by the actions and size of the Schnee Dust Company, Atlesian technology had spread across the Kingdoms and into every major market.

Which in this case meant…what?

I looked at Cinder for a long moment, wondering where she was going with this. Obviously, she intended to use Atlas' own weapons against it—that much was obvious from the stuff she had stolen thus far. In fact, looking at her, I had something of a feeling that this was her MO; turning people's greatest weapons against themselves. The way she's pretended to be a Hunter, how she's stolen Dust and weapons, and, to an extent, even her alliance with us pointed to that. But if it was Atlas and their technology, how would she do it?

…Ah, I thought after a moment. Wasn't the answer obvious? I'd already thought about the most important factor—Atlas and its robots. They were perfectly loyal to whoever had control of them, unbound by anything like a heart or soul—except in Penny's case, of course. And if you could shift that control into your own hands…

With the breach Cinder had described, with a major terrorist attack and a Grimm incursion in broad daylight, people would naturally be scared—and they'd _want_ to feel safe. Naturally, they'd look to the people in charge to ensure that safety, people like Ozpin and the Councilmen, but as hard as we tried, the fact remained that the safety of the Kingdoms was a tenuous illusion that risked being shattered by something as simple as fearing that it _was_ an illusion. The Council would need to provide proof that was obvious and convincing however false it may have been, and they'd need to do it on a massive scale.

In light of that, odds were good that she was right—they'd likely place Ironwood in charge, because he was better equipped to handle such a thing. While Ozpin, as a badass and the local Headmaster, would have more actual power at his disposal in the form of a large amount of loyal Hunters, said Hunters actually need to, you know, do their jobs. In anything but a worst case scenario, most active Hunters wouldn't be in Vale in the first place; Vale was a 'safe' place and they were out in the danger beyond it trying to keep it that way. Really, there were probably more students at Beacon then there were trained Hunters in Vale at any given time; excluding those who'd survived to retire or who had taken up teaching positions, there were probably only about twenty-five percent of the total Hunters around most days, and that was being optimistic. That number could be ten percent or lower, depending on any number of things. And while they _could_ be called back, it would likely backfire as attacks from the Grimm at the borders caused fear to spread and resulted in a downward spiral. And even beyond that, if you called back every Hunter, it would be hard to truly defend the city in case of an attack. With the size of Vale relative to the amount of Hunters…there was a lot of ground to cover.

No, using the Hunters defensively would be the wrong move.

Using _robots_ on the other hand…sure, they were more of a safety blanket than a true defense, but might have been what was needed—something visible, recognizable, and constant. At the end of the day, the presence of a robot army was probably more reassuring then a bunch of eccentric superheroes that cycled in and out of the city randomly, and if something _did_ happen, it would only take one robot recognizing a threat, or even being taken out, to send alarms up with every _other_ robot in the city, who could then relay orders, direct the civilians, and so on. You'd need a lot of robots to manage such a thing, but with an emergency and with Atlas' cooperation…no, with Ironwood in charge especially…it was possible. Unlike Hunters, saying something like 'I need several thousand more robots' could be answered with more than incredulous looks.

And all the while, you could gather your Hunters and prepare them to respond when the true threat was identified. Several hundred Hunters spread out over nearly as many square miles would create a net loose enough that anyone could slip through—several hundred gathered in one place for the sake of kicking ass would startle and terrify just about anything.

But…that only worked if it was Atlas and Vale who were in control of the machines.

Slowly, I exhaled, making a point of leaning back in my chair and looking away from her.

"So that's it," I mused quietly as I slowly turned my gaze towards her. There were only a few ways you could possibly make something like that work, most of which would be unfeasible at the best of time. But of the few that weren't, the one that would make the most sense for her, based on what I knew of her plans, was the one nearest to Beacon. "The CCT?"

"Hm…" Cinder hummed quietly, her eyes lingering on me for a moment before sliding across the rest of the room. "Indeed, once I'm inside Beacon, I will be close to the CCT that Ironwood is likely to use to control the machines across Vale. When an opportunity presents itself, I will simply sneak inside and ensure that we will be able to take control when the time comes. Imagine—an unquestionably loyal army positioned around the weak points of the city, abruptly under _our_ command. That should be enough to make a difference, no?"

Certainly, even without the ability to challenge them directly, having a gun to the heads of a sizeable portion of Vale would stop any number of Hunters in their tracks. With such an advantage, even a group with the relative weakness of the White Fang could easily oppose something as powerful as a Kingdom with an advantage like that.

It would only be a temporary advantage, though; the White Fang had no real way of maintaining such a tool long term and they'd figure something out to deal with it. But even if it was limited to a single day—hell, a single _hour_ —it would be an hour where the White Fang was capable of doing pretty much anything it wanted. If they chose to, the amount of destruction they could cause in that time frame…and the mere boost in reputation that would follow practically putting their boot on the throat of a Kingdom while so many important and powerful figures were gathered…

I didn't need to be able to sense emotions to know that a lot of the people in the room had become interested. The possibilities were meaningless unless Cinder was capable of delivering, but I had a worrying feeling that she was. And if she could prove it…yeah, I could see why they were tempted. This was a chance for a terrorist group that normally could never hope to challenge the full military might of a nation to kick one in the balls, laugh at them in public, steal their lunch money, and possibly get away with it. No one had spoken yet, partially because they couldn't be sure if Cinder was telling the truth or not and partially out of difference to me, but…

I wondered what I should say, weighing options in my head. I might be able to stop this right now and cut off any potential threat this could pose to Vale, though I'd need a convincing explanation to satisfy the White Fang, especially if Cinder chose to prove she could do what she claimed. Still, I could do it, interfere with such an effort, or whatever else.

But should I? It was a quiet, almost treacherous thought, but not one I could ignore entirely. As I sat calmly, surrounded by people imagining using such an opportunity to their advantage, I imagined myself doing the exact same thing. The situation she described was a dangerous one and I'd need to handle it carefully if I wanted to avoid people getting hurt, but at the same time…

I imagined it. The city's defenses disabled. Its Hunters forced to stand down or else being drawn away.

It looked like an opening. In the worst case scenario, if I was right about Ozpin, such a situation might well be my best shot at confronting him.

That didn't mean I had any intention of going along with Cinder, though. At most I intended to modify and utilize her plans for my own ends, if it became necessary—and to tear them down brutally if it wasn't. There were lies woven all throughout her words and I didn't need my powers to know that she was hiding something from us or that there was more to this then met the eye. She wasn't doing all of this for the sake of placing power in the hands of the White Fang or out of the kindness of her heart; even if she was telling the truth about everything, this was nothing more than a means to an end.

As such, I suppose it went without saying that she would probably stab us in the back the moment it was useful to her.

Note to self—stab her in the back the moment it was useful to me.

"Well," I said with a smile. "Well, well, well. That does sound interesting."

 **XxXXxX**


	16. Chapter 16

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Strategizing**

"With that out of the way, let's get down to business," I said, still smiling. "Let me see…ah yes, you wanted help with the Paladin's, didn't you? Very well then."

Reaching out, I clicked a single claw against the surface of the metal table, causing a fluid ripple to spread across it. At once, the table's mass began to reorganize itself as various shapes began to rise from its surface. It was a building minus the exterior walls, with each floor clearly shown—as well as everything inside. In place of each person within the facility, there was a tiny, animated figure of liquid metal, moving in real-time, and I marked out every object and machine I thought to be of note. To make it easier to see, I separated each floor and placed the side by side so they could be seen from above as well, and I numbered them accordingly. Then, just because I could, I wrote the name of each person inside the facility in a curved semi-circle at their feet, moving it along with them.

"This is your target as it currently stands," I explained casually, as if being able to see the exact details of a specific facility on another continent were nothing to me at all and as if displaying it like this was as simple as breathing. "As you can see, there are a total of thirty-seven people within the facility at present, twenty of which are security personnel. Keep in mind, however, that it _is_ approaching midnight; from the number of offices, desks, and lockers showing signs of recent use, I would estimate that there are upwards of four hundred employees in the facility during normal hours, along with as many as fifty security officers. In addition, there are approximately five hundred Atlesian Knight within the building, counting those in storage which could be activated in an emergency; they are primarily composed of the 130 models, but there are a number of 200s present. As you can see, there are a total of thirteen Atlesian Paladin's in working condition, with two more presently under construction; they seem to be the primary focus of this particular facility. If you wish to get to them, however, it is worth noting that they are kept under lock and key and behind a reasonably comprehensive security system. Nothing that couldn't be bypasses in any number of ways, granted, but most of them would likely draw unwanted attention to you."

I kept my tone matter-of-fact, if not outright bored, speaking as if reciting obvious details before a class—and, needless to say, everyone in the room was staring at me.

To be honest, this was a move that I'd given quite a bit of thought to in the two or three seconds before I did it. It did, after all, reveal some of my abilities, if in a deceptive manner, and if I couldn't get my enemies in 'incompetent' then I'd at least like for them to come in 'uninformed.' For someone like Cinder especially, revealing the breadth of my senses was a risky move; after all, I was watching her constantly and now she knew it. There was always a chance that she might slip up and monologue her entire plan to an empty room while I was watching after all, but now that she knew I was keeping tabs on her, that was unlikely to happen.

But quite frankly, after nearly a month of steady observation, I'd accepted that that just wasn't going to happen anyway. Cinder wasn't going to explain anything to anyone unless she was forced to or needed to do so because of her plans; whether because she was paranoid, competent, or somehow aware that she was being watched I didn't know or care.

And if she wasn't going to just tell me her plans, I'd settle on driving her as far towards paranoia as I possibly could. Hell, if I gave her enough of an impression that I see all and know all, there was always the chance that she might let something slip under the belief that I already knew, and she might have second thoughts about betraying me. Not _great_ odds, granted, but I'd given quietly looking at her a month to work and it was time to see if there was anything more effective. If necessary, I'd hammer the point home in other ways.

It was better than nothing as far as I was concerned.

Almost a minute passed before anyone in the room recovered enough to speak and when they did, they seemed kind of afraid to. Nonetheless, they pushed themselves to try and assist me and show a united front of strength. They understood how this game was played to at least some extent and so tried to pass this off as an everyday thing as well.

"W-what kind of locks?" One of the White Fang commanders, a man named Patstsa, asked. With a gesture, I displayed a life-sized version for him to look at, opening it up to show the inner workings as I did so.

"Then, um…uh…" Another one blinked rapidly, nearly flinching under the looks sent his way. "Do we know who's in charge of the facility?"

"In a technical sense, Ironwood," I replied, looking through Raven's portal at his office. "But as a general and a headmaster, he often delegates things to others. Polendina has a hand in some aspects of the process, but the head scientist is a man named Luntian. This one."

I reached out and tapped a particular model on the head with the tip of a nail, smiling at the slight clinking sound it made.

"Head of security is a man named Trang," I continued. "Skilled enough as a soldier, I suppose, but he's no fighter. He _is_ however experienced in piloting the Paladin, as part of his training—as is the rest of security. Worst case scenario for their potential theft involves the security officers reaching storage and piloting the suits against invaders, as removing them without damaging the Paladins could be a touch annoying. Given the number of people currently inside the facility, however, I'd estimate that a night attack would be fairly simple."

"Could you do it?" Cinder asked abruptly, and while her gaze was still cold, it seemed that she was having a harder and harder time keeping it that way. I could feel her Aura moving, the reactions less muted now, closer to the surface. "Alone?"

I sighed as if I'd expected the question—which I had. Hell, I'd been hoping for it.

"Naturally," I said calmly. "It'd be easy enough for me to run from here to Atlas, break into the facility without being detected, and steal all the Paladins. If Raven was willing to offer up a bit of assistance, it would be trivial, in fact. Of course, in that case, it would be less that we had assisted you and more that we'd done everything myself—an impression that I'd thought you'd wish to avoid, given as it has started to become a trend."

Cinder fell quite again, almost luminous eyes focused intently on me as I continued.

"I admit, your plan is certainly an interesting one," I mused aloud. "Done properly, it has a great deal of potential and would provide a number of opportunities that would be somewhat difficult to obtain otherwise. But at present, it's nothing more than a plan and while I'm quite confident in my own abilities, yours remain to be seen. If you can't even do something like this, how can we possibly believe you capable of all that you claim? Infiltrating Beacon, breaching Vale, seizing control of the very tools used to protect it—certainly, that sounds impressive, but it's nothing _but_ sound until you provide results. I'm willing to assist you when needed, but if it comes to the point where I must hold your hand and clean up your messes, I may begin to wonder about your place in all of this. I'm sure you understand."

At that, the room fell silent again, but all of the eyes were on Cinder. Slowly, she closed her eyes and exhaled before opening them, at which point they were as calm as ever.

"I understand," She confirmed without the slightest trace of annoyance or bitterness. "True, such a one-sided relationship can hardly be called a partnership. Very well then, I shall see it delivered to you in a timely manner."

"I'd like that," I said with another smile. "This should work out for you too, no? If I'd stolen all of the Paladins purely through my own efforts, I'm afraid I might be tempted to use them my own way, rather than how you intend. But if it's a gift from a dear friend, then I suppose I can put such a thing off to another time. And of course, I'll be there to help should anything untoward happen—"

The unspoken 'should you fuck this up' was obvious to everyone in the room.

"—I'm simply hopeful that such a thing doesn't become necessary," I finished.

'Because it would reflect poorly on you and we might change our minds.'

"That's reasonable," Cinder agreed blandly, eyes almost distant even when she looked at me. "After all, such a partnership _is_ a fairly big investment—wanting some assurances is only natural. I shall do my best to see that you are not disappointed."

"I appreciate that," I replied. "Will you be able to get to Atlas yourself, despite the…difficulties you mentioned? Or will you be requiring assistance in that regard?"

"I've already made arrangements," She answered, gaze and expression unchanging. "Though I thank you for making such a kind offer."

"Then I wish you good luck, Ms. Fall," I replied with another smile. "And a good night, of course."

Raven and Adam shifted near the wall. The motion was slight, without anything as obvious as putting a hand on a sword—but at the same time, it was enough to draw attention and add emphasis to the unspoken message.

'Talk's over. Get out.'

 **XxXXxX**

"Did everything go as you planned?" Raven murmured as I appeared beside her. After the meeting ended, we'd all gone our separate ways, with Raven retreating through a portal and me vanishing into Naraka, but we'd met up as planned afterwards. Currently, we were atop a building our usual building again, overlooking the city below.

"Hm?" I wondered with a hum, raising an eyebrow her way. "Whatever do you mean?"

"What you said to Cinder in the meeting," She clarified.

"Ah," I answered as I understood. "In truth, there was a fair bit of improvisation—it can't be helped because I was only able to put the pieces together from what she had revealed. Nonetheless, I'm quite pleased with the results, yes. Aren't you?"

Raven inclined her head, a slight smile creeping onto her face beneath the mask.

"Indeed I am," She replied. "I take it we will be observing from a distance?"

"Of course," I said with a nod. "This is a good chance for us to gather information as well. However limited, Cinder can't do something on such a scale without revealing at least some of her hand. It should be a learning experience."

Raven nodded as well.

"I'll watch her until she makes her move," She stated. "I assume you will as well?"

"Naturally," I answered. "Even just knowing how she goes about making arrangements could be useful. She'll most likely try to make use of this weekend, but putting anything into motion will likely take longer. With her need to keep appearances at Haven, it'll be interesting to see how she handles it. Will she delegate this task? And if so, to whom? Torchwick remains preoccupied in Vale, Emerald and Mercury remain at her side, so who's left? Or will she finally make a move herself? Whatever happens, I'd like to know."

"She'll know we're watching," Raven noted, no doubt recalling my little display.

"Good," I answered. "We don't have the time to waste on waiting for her, so let's force her to act. Whether she tried to hide something or attempts to put on a show, it makes no difference to me—the burden is now on her."

"I suppose I have gotten weary of endless, pointless stakeouts," She mused aloud. "Such things are wont to be dull and tedious, but…"

I nodded at her in agreement.

"Cinder has been very cautious," I said. "No matter what, she's been careful not reveal anything. I can't be sure whether she's naturally paranoid or simple suspected she was being observed, but we weren't getting any results by leaving things as they were. Now she _knows_ she's being watched at all times and we can see how that knowledge affects her. She doesn't know how much of her plans we are aware of, either, so she will most likely assume the worst. One way or another, it should be of use to us."

Raven nodded and then fell silent for a minute, pursing her lips and looking faintly embarrassed.

"How much of her plans _are_ we aware of?" She asked in a quiet voice, looking away from me.

"Significantly more now," I replied, making a point of not drawing attention to her embarrassment. "We were quite fortunate to make her reveal what she did."

"How much of it is a lie, though?" She wondered.

"Quite a bit," I admitted. "But most likely not in the way you're thinking."

"Oh?"

"Part of the reason I exposed some of my knowledge and observational abilities was to put her on-guard. She can't be sure of how long we've been watching or how closely, and so she can't be certain of whether or not we'd pick apart her lies. As such, it's likely that she kept as closely as possible to the truth and simply lied by omission when it came to the reasons behind her plans. I assume it goes without saying that she's not doing any of this for us or for the Faunus."

"That much was obvious within milliseconds of our first meeting," Raven answered dryly. "So that means…"

I nodded again.

"It's likely that the breach will occur as she stated," I said. "I believe she's concealing several sources of information simply because a great deal of this rests on Ironwood's shoulders and it seems unlikely that she would gamble so much on someone if she wasn't certain of more than she claimed. Nonetheless, what she said about him and the Council sounds fairly plausible and I believe she can do what she's claimed. The question is then, what does _she_ get out of this?"

"Perhaps she'll simply take command of the machines herself when the time comes?" Raven proposed, too which I gestured dismissively.

"That's an obvious betrayal that anyone would see coming," I said. "Naturally, we'll make sure to take measures against such a thing—I'll pay close attention to whatever Cinder does to the CCT while we're in Beacon. No, if there's a knife in here, then I think it will be a bit more subtle than that. I think she _will_ give us control when the time comes."

"To make us scapegoats, then?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Perhaps," I mused. "But I don't think so. Certainly, none of the Kingdoms have a particularly high opinion of us, but there'd be a number of ways for us to reveal her involvement if it came down to it. Besides which, if she intends to bring us down, I'm not certain that would be able to do it. For a long time, the White Fang has been limited by a number of factors, the most noteworthy being its size and power—even if many Faunus agree to the idea behind our cause, they don't think that ruining storefronts and making threats will actually _solve_ anything, whether as an objection to pointless violence or because they believe it's too minor."

"For obvious reasons," Raven added, to which I inclined my head.

"Indeed," I said. "Though it's been steadily growing as a movement and getting bolder as it went, actions on such a scale simply aren't large enough to matter. It may frighten or harm individuals or small groups, but the Kingdoms can ignore pretty much everything the White Fang is capable of without any effort—there's simply that large of a difference in scale between a terrorist organization and a nation. We can anger them in various ways, do some harm in others, but under the present circumstances, we couldn't _win_ if it became any kind of serious fight. Should they see through the masks and corner the White Fang with a group of Hunters, most of us would fall. That's simply how things are for the White Fang…but not necessarily for the Faunus as a whole."

"We won the Revolution," Raven murmured. "If only be pushing people far enough that it was too costly to continue."

"Just so," I replied. "While the Faunus are a minority, we're sufficiently large enough to oppose the major groups if united. All that would be truly needed is a rallying point, like the one provided by Menagerie. If the White Fang were able to prove that we could threaten a Kingdom—that we could win against Vale when it was at its most guarded—imagine the message that would send to the masses. Instead of being a loose organization made of members who'd simply been pushed too far, Faunus all over the world would believe another victory was possible. And after the Revolutions…limited results and years of resentment, membership would bloat tremendously."

"Because everyone loves a winner," She understood. "If we can do something so large, win so utterly, then a number of people would be willing to take a second look. Certainly, countless Faunus in Atlas alone would be quick to rise up, especially if we humiliate Atlas' General in the process and prove we can take command of their machines. And if we honestly _could_ …"

"It would be the rise of the White Fang," I said before heaving a slow sigh. "And the start of another war in the process."

"Is that what she's after?" Raven asked.

"I can't be certain," I told her honestly. "It's possible. She might also just be after something else, something a war would make easier to obtain. Or perhaps…perhaps she simply wants the chaos such a thing would bring."

"The Grimm," She said. "They're always eager to involve themselves in such a thing—that was part of how the Revolution was won in the first place. The Kingdoms were larger, but the war itself turned those numbers against them with a greater number of attacks to fend off, forcing them to divide their forces. If Cinder _is_ a Rider…"

"Mm," I agreed quietly. "And more than that…Torchwick has been going after Dust for months now, hording it and sending prices through the roof. It's enough to affect the citizens, but no so much to bother the Hunters or the government yet. But if she has something planned, a way to strike at the heart of things…"

Raven looked over Mistral, silently gazing upon the city lights before closing her eyes.

"I once had to deal with the aftermath a blackout," She mused. "Whether the result of an incredibly stupid accident or sabotage, I never found out—but a third of Vale lost power for twenty minutes. No time at all, when you think about it, but the sun was already setting and things got dark…and people got scared. Such a simple thing, but the Grimm came in a horde the likes of which I'd never seen. I saw seven Hunters die that day, just trying to keep the Grimm out of the city, all because of twenty minutes of darkness."

"Many things are more fragile then they appear on the surface," I whispered, following her gaze with a slightly saddened half-smile. "If one little thing goes wrong in the right place, at the right time, cities can fall as a result."

"What do we do, then?" Raven asked just as quietly.

"The same thing we've been doing," I answered. "We watch and we prepare. We'll see what Cinder's up to and stay close enough to act. Her plans could be useful to us, but from the very beginning I've intended to be close enough to stop them if they weren't. If we're lucky, perhaps things aren't as bad as we might fear. We still don't know for sure what she's after and it could be something relatively harmless; she doesn't _have_ to be a monster in human skin hell-bent on destroying life on Remnant, after all."

"But if she is?"

I clicked a nail on the railing of the building and shrugged.

"Then we'll just have to kill her," I said calmly. "Nothing's changed on that front. In the end, we're Hunters, after all; if she's a monster, then we'll stop her like any other monster. Whether that means killing a Rider within her or tearing off her head, we just have to do our jobs. Right?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Examination**

 **By raising Sense Danger to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Forewarning.'**

 **By raising Detect Bloodthirst to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Omen.'**

 **By raising Empathy to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Pathokinesis.'**

 **By raising Extrasensory Perception to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Second Sight.'**

I took slow, steady breaths as I rose from my meditation, attempting to adjust. With my Pericognition, the vertigo I'd have briefly felt after such a massive sensory shift was all but gone, simply because Pericognition made them run in the background rather than in the center of my thoughts—but even so, I could feel the difference already.

Putting aside the windows that had appeared before me, I frowned slightly and took a minute to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. As I'd anticipated, another night of training followed by some meditation had been enough to improve all the skills I'd used to make Pericognition, which I hoped would come in handy when it came to keeping any eye out for danger—and for keeping an eye on Cinder.

"Everything okay?" Adam asked, lying on his bed. He'd been sleeping, as he'd spent most of the day doing to make up for the night of training before, but he'd reacted the moment I'd moved. He was the only other person in the room right now, with Autumn off with Raven and Emerald and Mercury doing minion stuff.

"Yeah," I said back, not bothering to turn around even as I flexed my fingers and looked down at them, pondering. "Just finishing up some last minute preparations."

"More skills?" Adam guessed, to which I simply nodded. "What do they do?"

"Tell you in a minute," I replied, bringing up my windows.

 **Forewarning (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
A more refined form of a Hunter's natural sixth sense. By honing it while constantly surrounded by threats, this skill has evolved from a natural perception of nearby threats into a more discerning awareness. So long as it is something the user has encountered before and considers a danger, their Aura can remember it and react accordingly.  
This skill functions in all ways like Sense Danger except in that it is capable of noticing more than immediate sources of harm. In addition to being able to sense a nearby attack, this skill allows for reaction to previously identified poisons, diseases, dangerous forms of life, and anything else, so long as the users Aura has been exposed to the presence of the threat long enough to distinguish it from others.  
Provides a general awareness of the direction and nature of the threat.**

"Hm," I mused, pausing for a moment to see if anything was triggering it now. Pericognition immediately brought a list of results to my conscious mind, noting the location of a vast array of weapons, explosives, poisons, robots, and more.

I suppose that was to be expected inside of a school for Hunters. The simple fact that I hadn't been alerted before bothering to think about it meant that my Pericognition didn't consider any of those things to be an immediate threat to my person, merely things that could be potentially dangerous. Once again, I was thankful that I wouldn't have to sort through all that information to mine the few bits of useful data concealed within it; as expected, automating the process simplified things. I'd still need to pay attention while I practiced with it, however, just to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing and wouldn't let anything slip through the net. I'd need to go down the list of what I considered potentially threatening—or, at the very least, potentially noteworthy—to make sure I had my bases covered.

Still, I can't say I had any complaints about having another passive skill looking out for me. Then, next is…

 **Omen (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An advanced application of the ability to determine nearby hostility through the use of one's Aura. After being constantly exposed to the bloodlust of others, the user has developed a keen senses for hatred and impending violence and my now apply that awareness to perceive it with greater clarity.  
This skill functions as Detect Bloodthirst except in that it also alerts the user to the degree of a response, the distance from the source, and identifies the target, so long as they are within range.  
Range: 300 meters.**

A bit more useful then it's predecessor, simply because of the added specificity, I decided. In all truth, it wasn't a huge deal for me since I already had Empathy telling me how everyone around me was feeling at all times and Pericognition putting all the pieces together for me, but…well, I suppose it would make it a bit easier to do and the range was fairly nice. Not the best skill I'd ever gotten, but still a useful one.

But speaking of Empathy…from the very name, Pathokinesis must be…

 **Pathokinesis (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The ability to directly tamper with the Aura of another to cause shifts in their emotional state. This technique may be used to either incite or suppress emotions within a target for a variety of effects. While this skill does not allow for direct tampering with the mind of the target, large enough shifts will naturally affect the thought process.  
Imposes or removes Emotional status effects on a target.  
Max status level: Low.  
This skill cannot cause emotions the target cannot naturally feel.  
Range: 30 meters.**

I'll get some use out of this, I could already tell. Granted, the effects were currently limited to [Low], but big things were built out of little things. Done subtly enough, even a small bit of fear could go a long way, making people wary who might otherwise not be. A bit of calmness here, amusement there, and a light enough touch to help a person react…yeah, I could work with this. If I kept it low-key enough, I could even surround myself in a mantle of whatever emotion I chose, at least while I was grinding it. Jian Bing could make use of caution and fear, while Jaune Arc…

Yeah. This could work.

"So far, two mild sense upgrades and some emotion control," I told Adam. "Want to be my guinea pig?"

"Not particularly," Adam said with a sigh before rising from the bed. "Let's get this over with."

I snapped my fingers and waited. After several seconds, Adam tilted his head to the side, confused.

"So, did you do it yet or…?"

"How do you feel?" I asked, making him shrug.

"Fine," He said. "I'm not feeling anything right now. The same as I did before."

"Good," I said. "That's our baseline—I was trying to make you calm. I figure I'll probably be doing that a lot for you, anyway, and while it's no Gamer's Mind, it should keep you from embarrassing yourself if anything happens."

Adam was silent for a long moment.

"Huh," He mused. "Surprisingly, I don't really want to punch you in the face. Emotionally, I mean—I still think it'd probably be a good idea."

"Fascinating," I said dryly before smiling. "In all seriousness, though, any thoughts on it? Say I'm facing an angry crowd and I make them feel like you do now—do you think they would the stop?"

"I don't know. Depends?" Adam shrugged after a moment. "I wasn't exactly angry beforehand, so I don't know how much of a difference it'd make. If they were _just_ angry, maybe. If they had a reason to be angry, I don't think so. Like, I could totally punch you in the face right now, I'd just feel calm while doing it."

"You'd feel your hands break," I told him loftily.

"I'd use my sword then," He answered with a roll of his eyes. It seems he could feel annoyance fine still; maybe the forced calm kicked in after a point or just didn't apply. "But what I mean is…say I was on fire. You make me feel really calm about it…but I'm still on fire and it still hurts, right? And if I'm pissed off at some guy for attacking me and then get calmed down…he still attacked me. He's still a threat."

"Good, good," I said with a smile. "Couldn't have you suddenly unwilling to fight the Grimm. Now, instead of calming you down, how about we go the other way?"

"Ugh," Adam sighed. "See that right there? I'm calm, but I know this is going to _suck_. What are you going to do to me, asshole?"

"Well, there's always happiness," I mused. "But honestly, if you start smiling and laughing and prancing through the flowers, I'd…well, first off, I'd never let you live it down, ever. And second off, it'd be really disturbing for both of us. The effect is supposed to be Low, but I have no idea what that means, especially after all my boosts and multipliers."

"Yeah, I'll pass on that one."

"Sadness is out, too," I continued. "I mean, your life is already so pathetic and miserable, if I start adding onto it…you might start crying."

"I'd be more likely to kill myself," Adam stated outright. "So no sadness tests, either. Let's go with anger—that way, I'll be able to hit you in the face without you having any right to bitch about it later."

"Putting aside the fact that it doesn't work if you tell me about it beforehand, I'll feel so bad when it doesn't hurt in the slightest," I said. "I'll start wondering what you've been doing with your life."

"Anger," Adam said again, nodding resolutely. "Anger is good."

Snorting once, I snapped my fingers again, drawing us into Naraka and then bringing on the anger.

Adam's hand dropped instantly to the hilt of the sword I made appear beside him and I saw power gather. His Aura, a bright red-white, seemed to pull in energy from its surroundings, leeching tidbits from the air, the earth, and anything else it could touch, building steadily even as he channeled his own power. The length of his sword glowed as if it had shed its own form and become nothing more than burning, writhing energy.

I stood in front of him without moving, staring at him calmly and unconcerned. I waited as he gathered his power, noting his improvement from the rising glow. Truthfully, he'd improved greatly over these past few weeks, partially because of the stat increases, but also because of how hard he'd pushed himself during the nights of constant training. Even if it allowed him to sleep throughout the day, his training regime was pretty ruthless to a person whose biology was still mostly normal, going all out the entire night. He emptied his Aura, exhausted his body, and repeated the same sword strokes hundreds of thousands of times.

He'd come a long way. I just had no idea whether or not it'd be enough.

But this was as good a time for a status check as any, I suppose.

"Ready?" I asked as I saw a slight tension in his shoulders, a sign of his preparations. When he didn't answer but just watched me steadily, I smiled and shrugged. "Aim…F—"

Adam finished drawing his sword and slashing it long before the sound of the word had much time to travel. Before my eyes, it was a burning red slash that cleaved the space between us, wickedly thin, impossibly sharp, and holding nothing back.

Flashing a smile, my arms snapped up of their own accord, rising to block the oncoming attack with my forearms. I felt most of the attacks force halt before it even truly reached me, leaving a fraction of its power to crash against Midgardsormr's Skin. Even so, that fraction was still part of an attack that could cut down a herd of Goliath's and I felt the whole of it focused into an area too thin for a normal blade to achieve. Too either side of me, unhindered by anything in its path, the rest of his attack blew past me and crashed into the walls of our room at have. The mighty stones were torn apart as if they weren't even there, destroying our room and continuing on a path of destruction that cut through Haven like an invisible giant's sword. Blowing a path to the surface in any instant, a flash of red continued into the sky, clipping off the top of a building as it passed and then opening a trail across the sky.

I held on in the wake of that force, feeling its pressure against my skin even as it drove me steadily back across the ground. When I felt the ground beneath my feet vanish away, I pushed against it with my mind instead, forcibly keeping myself from being blown away like a leaf in a storm. Something to keep in mind in high-level combat was that however powerful your Aura made your body, it didn't necessarily make you weigh more. Even an attack that couldn't harm you could blow you away if you weren't careful, because 'harming' and 'lifting' were two different things. I didn't away that to happen, but…

Certainly, the pressure was a bit impressive. After a second, I felt my skin crack as the strike broke through my reinforced flesh. Though it didn't show visibly, I could feel the attack grind a ways into my skin, leaving edges that were too rough and broken to be human—and my smile widened.

"—Not bad," I admitted quietly before planting my feet firmly on thin air. Letting my power unfurl and flow through me, I pushed harder against the attack, this time looking not to hold it at bay, but to overcome it. The edge of the attack bit deeper into my skin as a result of the opposing forces, but stopped against the bone. One of the improvements of Midgardsormr's Skin over its predecessor was the depth of the transformation, which grew as the skill improved—and now I was adamantine down to my literal bones. Faced with the deeper, harder materials of my body, the attack's advance halted and with a sensation like breaking glass, shattered outright. Throwing my arm to the side, I ripped through the projected energy as if I were brushing it aside, hand already clenched into a fist. "My turn!"

 **Riposte (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The ability to follow up a successfully defense with an immediate and powerful attack.  
Immediately counterattack.  
100% increase to attack speed.  
Damage increases relative to damage received.**

I brought my hand down at once, diving to the floor below with all the speed I could muster even as I released the power contained in my fists. For something like this, I normally had to hold back, fearing the possible effects on bystanders and…well, anything else that happened to be nearby.

But in Naraka, the rules were different. And Adam could handle it.

My fist hit the stone floor and forced rippled outwards in all directions.

 **Devastating Blows (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
A skill to cause massive damage with physical attacks. Whether naturally or through extensive training, the user has learnt to unconsciously use his Aura to penetrate the defenses that surround his foes. Upon being used, a fraction of the force of the attack can ignore both physical and supernatural protection, wreaking havoc upon the enemy within.  
All physical strikes possess 5% defense penetration.  
May cause internal damage.**

 **Divine Strength (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An inborn ability to reinforce one's body with Aura, strengthening it beyond the limits of flesh. Because of the flow of energy within one's body, the output of the user's muscle fibers greatly exceeds the normal, enabling them to exercise unbelievable strength.  
100% increase to Physical Attack Damage.  
100% increase to lifting capacity.  
100% increase to jumping distance.  
Physical attacks may knockdown or knockback targets.  
Low chance of stunning foes.**

 **Sacrifice to Vanagandr (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 2000  
An ancient technique created by Prince Hrafntyr to defeat and subdue the rampage of Prince Wolfram. In exchange for the sacrifice of his arm, Hrafntyr enhanced his strength beyond the limits of human capacity and subdued the son of Lucia.  
Increase Strength by 2000%.  
This technique provides no resistance to damaged caused to the user by his own attacks, nor does it protect the users limbs from the force exerted. External shocks may inflict Aura Confusion, generally resulting in the removal of a random number of limbs as a result.  
Additional 2000 MP consumed per minute.**

Unlike Sacrifice to the Wolf, which could be maintained for long periods of time with a comparatively low risk, Sacrifice to Vanagandr was all about focusing a truly massive amount of energy to a comparatively small area and releasing it in the form of a devastating attacks. Each strike carried with it a risk, because if the path created to release that energy is not handled carefully, the energy is liable to create its own way out, even if it means tearing apart the user's body to do so. It was a dangerous technique that had obviously been born from necessity and even when weakened and purposefully refined, it was a dangerous technique that had been left behind by time.

But when it works…when it's supported and enhanced by other skills and cared upon a shockwave directed at the floor…it's pretty impressive to see the results.

When I punched the ground, Haven collapsed. I felt loadbearing areas crack and then shatter, floors ripple and writhe before exploding outright, and entire sections collapse inwards. Not just the tunnels but the entire Zggurat atop it shuddered and began to sink inward, breaking apart under the touch of the various stresses. Above me, I could sense Adam reacting, gathering his power in lightning fast slashes that destroyed rubble and walls alike as they got in his way. Without so much as a flash of fear, he navigated through the openings in the collapsing building, making his own when there were none to be found, and hopped quickly from falling rock to falling rock as he rose counter to the fall and used it to reach the surface.

Far beneath him, I noted the path he'd taken and then took a more direct route.

When I used Bai Hu's Lunge, what little was left of the floors that had not already been destroyed was obliterated. With the force granted by the skill, I pierced through everything in my path like a bullet, letting stone break harmlessly against my skin even as it assisted me in slowing down. Only when I could see the sky did I bother making adjustments, using a single Yellow Road and some quick calculations to shift towards Adam's path. Landing beside him as he touched down on the ground around Haven, I matched his pace with ease.

"So you're pretty mad, then?" I asked casually.

"I'm filled with a bottomless well of eternal, burning hatred," Adam replied blandly. "It doesn't have anything to do with your skill, though."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Try Again**

"So the effects are minor, huh?" I mused with a sigh, sitting on top of a fallen pillar. "Well, I guess that's to be expected from level one…"

Adam shrugged his shoulders absently.

"I still _felt_ angry," He said. "But it was distant, like I was thinking of something that pissed me off a long time ago. Like your face."

I ignored that and mulled over his words.

"Nothing you couldn't ignore, then," I decided before tilting my head. "But still useful. You _knew_ it was coming and that the feelings weren't your own; most people wouldn't have that advantage. And event distant emotions can affect how you think, with the right timing. It'll be tricky to use for now though…well, I guess it's just another thing to grind, then."

Adam grunted and looked at me.

"I'm I going be the guinea pig for everything you want to test out?" He asked.

"I don't think that's necessary, if it's the way you described," I answered, shaking my head. "I just needed to try it out on someone who I wouldn't feel bad for if they suddenly made a scene."

"You're getting a bucket of goat semen for your birthday," Adam informed me.

"A part of me wants to ask how you'd get your hands on something like that," I replied. "But as your friend, I will respect your privacy."

Adam clicked his tongue in annoyance, probably because he'd walked right into that one, and then cracked his neck with a sigh.

"Same as usual, then?" He asked, stretching slightly in place. He was asking if we were going to begin our usual training now.

I considered it for a moment before answering.

"…No," I decided at last. "Why don't we do something different today?"

Adam raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yeah?" He wondered. "Like what?"

I flexed my fingers, looking down at them absently as I did, and then made a tight fist. Beneath us where the broken remains of Haven, felled by my now fairly ridiculous physical strength.

"Why don't we try crossing the Sea of Monsters again?" I asked. "We turned back halfway last time, but…well, that was a long time ago."

"Yeah, entire _weeks_ have passed since then," Adam replied with a slight roll of his eyes.

"Exactly," I answered, not bothering to mention how much subjective time had passed for me since then. "We're like entirely different people now."

Adam snorted and this time rolled his eyes outright.

"Right," He answered. "You want to take Autumn and Gou along on this wild ride of yours?"

"Hm," I mused for a moment before shaking my head. "Not Autumn. She's still a little young for the big leagues; level aside, I don't think she's ready for the other side of the sea. Gou could probably take whatever they dish out, though. I might call for him."

Adam grunted again.

"Why not?" He said at last. "I've always wanted to see it—a place that the all of Mankind agreed to stay right the hell away from. You think we're ready?"

"I'm fairly certain the Sea won't be a problem," I answered. "What's on the other side of it, God only knows. But I think we can escape if it's too dangerous and it's worth the experience we can get out of it, if nothing else."

"Then let's go," Adam replied before looking around. "Ugh, it's always hard to use landmarks after we're done. Which way to the sea again?"

"That way," I answered quickly, holding out a hand towards to the west. The world went momentarily dark as Lux Aeterna's devouring light flooded from my hands, carving a path of destruction straight out of the city. "And see what I do for you, Adam? I made a new landmark so you wouldn't get lost."

"Show off," Adam said with another snort.

"Do you think you'll be able to run across the sea if I give you a few buffs?" I continued as if he hadn't spoken. "Or are you going to need to be carried around like a bitch again?"

Adam huffed but didn't have any way answering after embarrassing himself by not being able to run across the sea. I quickly applied Celerity and Haste to him while he was regretting his own inadequacy and then left him behind as I began to run.

"Jaune—" He tried to retort, but I broke through the sound barrier and didn't bother looking for his reply.

 **XxXXxX**

"Jaune," Gou said as he landed beside us, crashing down from the sky in his still massive form. "You called?"

"We're going to do some last minute training while Cinder's tied up making preparations," I explained. "And Adam needs a chaperone. You know how it is."

"Piss off, fuck face," Adam replied, working on catching his breath. He'd arrived only a few seconds after me, which meant that he must have hauled ass to get over here and he was sweating heavily. Because I was a kind soul, I healed him to erase that and then looked at him mockingly.

"That's the best you can come up with?" I asked. "Really? What's wrong—are you tired or something?"

"Adam," Gou greeted. "Would you like some help?"

"I'm good," He answered with a shake of his head. "Jaune's just being a crazy asshole, as per usual."

I snorted but nodded my head towards the sea we now stood on the shore of.

"Here's the plan," I said. "Run across the sea, kill a lot of monsters, and feel awesome—that'll be a little hard for you Adam, but just give it your best shot."

"Bitch, I was killing people with my bare hands when you were still in diapers," He replied.

"And I was writing history thousands of years before you were born," I boasted right back.

"Wasn't the history you wrote was a long and elaborate series of fuckups?" Adam asked.

I paused at that and frowned.

"The details aren't important," I answered. "Back to the sea. Gou, look after Adam. We'll get far enough out to take another shot at a Leviathan and then continue right across to the other side. Really, I just want to see it, but we'll take a look around and see what we can find. If we find a Hydra we can kill, that might be a fun way to spend the night. The only problem is that I guess we drew a bit of attention last time—"

"Maybe it's because someone keeps shooting giant laser beams and burning down fields," Adam muttered.

"In fairness, my power is fairly noticeable as well," Gou added apologetically. "And Autumn has been devouring an impressive number of trees of late. Really, you're the only one who's managed to keep a low profile."

"And however they managed to figure it out," I continued as if they hadn't said a word, casting an unamused look towards Adam. "Which I assume is your fault, Adam, the same way everything else is—they've set up some machines to keep an eye out for repeat occurrences."

Ignoring the finger Adam lifted, I point towards the modified robot standing a ways down the beach, atop an stone outcropping.

"There are a few machines like that around here," I said. "They're equipped with powerful cameras to record whatever happens. The range isn't good enough that we really need to worry much about it and I, being awesome enough to make up for the mistakes of others—that's you again, Adam; why do you suck so much?—will shield us from detection. It's not really a big deal if they _do_ see something, either, but I wanted to give you guys a heads up."

"Have they put those just along the beach?" Gou wondered as Adam stepped forward to press his upraised middle finger against the side of my face.

"No," I said, ignoring my friend. "It took a while, but they've finally started putting them up around Mistral. They aren't taking it too seriously yet since it's just the wholesale slaughter of Grimm—Grandmother says they think it's some team of Hunters that ran off at some point and who may be crazy—but it seems they'd like to know who's responsible. Depending on what happens, Jian Bing might step forward and take the credit, but for now we're going to keep our faces off the record; this is more useful to hold in reserve and come up with explanations for as needed."

"Is that we haven't trained in the fields recently?" Gou asked.

"That and the fact that the Grimm there are too fucking weak," Adam muttered, still pushing his hand into my face. I steadfastly refused to acknowledge it, which was irritating him. "None of us can level up very well there anymore."

"Mm," I agreed. "What's more, the Grimm aren't stupid. After coordinated assaults failed, the stronger ones have been avoiding the area and keeping far apart. I've made sure to kill any that tried to wander towards Mistral, but it's too much of a pain in the ass to hunt all of them down and for too little reward. They're all still _there_ , but it's like they're _trying_ not to make it fun anymore."

"That's Grimm for you," Adam replied. "Bunch of inconsiderate assholes. It's probably their parent's fault."

I had to snort at that one and flash Adam a quick grin and shrug.

"It's remotely possible that I'm a bad influence for children," I allowed. "But I think we can safely place the blame for everything that's ever happened on the shoulders of Malkuth because he's an asshole, I hate him, and, well, why not? I mean really, I've done pretty well with Autumn, right? Right. I'm innocent until proven guilty and no one can prove anything. I'm practically father of the year material."

"I'd disagree, but…" Adam shrugged. "Autumn."

"Exactly," I said. "Such a good girl, isn't she?"

"Whatever," Adam answered with another roll of his eyes, finally taking his hand out of my face. "Can we get to the part where we kill stuff?"

Instead of replying, I strode out onto the water, increasing the surface tension beneath my feet to the point that it could support my weight. For Xihai, stuff like this was trivial now, as were most of the conventional applications of my Elementals Power, at least in their separated forms. It was rather impressive when you think about it—they had become 'Lesser Elementals' when Summon Elemental had maxed out and my natural Elemental Affinities had increased along with it, rising from ten to twenty-five. Even that had proven to be a major increase in power, definitely on part with the boosts of my recently upgraded skill, but that just made me wonder about it.

Of all my skills, Summon Elemental was perhaps the one that held the greatest _confirmed_ potential. While the simple truth was that I had no idea what most of my skills would become over time except in cases where there was an easily observed pattern—such as with Bai Hu's various skills—I was fairly certain of my Elementals growth. They'd grown from Basic Elementals to Lesser Elementals and the names alone implied that there were a number of higher ranks for them to grow into. The dreams I'd had when I'd contracted them especially implied that one day they could rise to truly monstrous levels of power. What were those giants I'd seen? If there were lesser Elementals then were those perhaps _Greater_ Elementals? Or something even more powerful?

Even after all this time, I'd only scraped the surface of their power—but they would rank up again soon enough. So long as I continually drew upon their power and spent great quantities of MP to do it, they'd continue to grow. I was looking forward to seeing what they'd become next, along with Acceleration and the White Tiger of the West; they were the skill upgrades I was looking forward to the most simply because I'd relied on them so often.

Smiling a bit at the thought, I called for my Elementals to manifest around me, watching them assume forms out of the sand on the beach, the water in the sea, and the breeze that brushed against my face. Lightning came down from the sky to take form at my side and the sparks it cast erupted into a greater blaze. And, of course, Crocea Mors looked back at my from the gleaming surface of my gauntlets.

"Welcome back," I murmured. When I'd introduced them to Raven, it had surprised me how glad I'd been to be able to do so. Hiding my Elementals made sense and they were a powerful trump card that I could spring on pretty much anyone—but at the same time, I missed having them physically present beside me. They were perhaps my closest companions and friends but I'd needed to keep them invisible and out of the way as of late, to keep them from drawing attention. Being able to share their existence, even if it was only to Raven, had been gratifying.

Soon enough it wouldn't matter, I knew. There'd come a time when there'd be no more holding back and then…

But not yet. I suppose that was for the best given that that time would probably coincide with everything going to shit, but I still kind of wished that this was one thing I didn't need to hide. Although…I suppose that with a bit of Glamour, some presentation, and some Psychokinesis…

It was something to think about.

"Are you coming or are you just going to stand around all day?" I asked Adam who snorted in annoyance, leaned forward, and then took a running start at the water. Water sprayed as his foot came down upon it, but he was moving fast enough that he didn't even begin to sink. As the arcing trails of electricity from Celerity crackled around him, he shattered the sound barrier and blew past me, sending up a wave of water taller than I was.

My smile widened as I glanced at it—but I was gone before the first droplet hit my skin, Gou leaping into the air to land firmly beside me. I let Gou set the pace as we took off and slowly caught up to Adam, who's vastly higher base stats were a match for the vast number of multipliers I was able to grant Gou. Even so, you'd be hard pressed to win against Gou in a battle of stamina and when Adam began to falter, we caught up. I healed him once as we moved into place beside him, restoring his spent energy, and then we continued on our long distance run.

It wasn't long before we were near our previous stopping point and I found a Leviathan without even consciously thinking about it. When we were a little less than a kilometer away, I gathered energy into the shape of Gungnir and hurled it with all my might, sending the energy spear deep into the sea.

A moment later, the resulting explosion sent up a building sized pillar of water that came raining down on us as we approach. Before the central pillar could wholly loss it's shape, however, I created a modified version of my firing spheres, this one channeling Deposition around itself as it moved invisibly through the water. With several such spheres working in concert, the tower of water was quickly frozen solid and without the slightest hesitation, the three of us hopped up onto it.

"Leviathan?" Adam asked calmly, peering into the sea as columns of steam began to waft from its surface.

"Of course," I answered cheerfully. "Never hurts to have a bunch mark, right?"

Adam snorted and dropped a hand to his said.

"I suppose not," He agreed. "How do you want to handle it? I doubt it'd be hard for you to kill one now."

"Mm, perhaps not," I admitted. "But I'm not the only one interested in testing his strength, am I? So how about you each take a shot and I'll finish it off?"

"Fine by me," Adam replied, shrugging a shoulder even as he dropped a hand to his already glowing sword. "Mind if I go first, Gou?"

"By all means," Gou answered, watching the waters stir with calm doggy eyes. "This will be my first time fighting an aquatic opponent—I feel it would be best to consider my approach carefully."

Adam shrugged that off and waited silently for our foe to make his appearance. Already, a shadow could be seen moving beneath the surface of the waves, at least from this high up. The Leviathan was such a massive creature that the shadow it cast would have been impossible to separate from one's surroundings at sea level, simply because _everything_ would have been shadowed. In the same way, its movements churned the waves to such an extent that if you didn't know better, you wouldn't have associated such a thing to a _creature_. It was in that way that the Leviathan's used their environment to their advantage.

But…while that was all well and good…it only mattered if you had the power to see it through.

When the sea seemed to erupt and give forth a hundred meters of sea monster, none of us flinched in the slightest. In fact, Adam was the only one to even move.

Wilt came from Blush, glowing brightly with its own light—and it was as if someone had swung an axe at a young tree. Adam aimed low, hitting it in almost precisely the same spot as before, but this time the wave of cutting energy sank deep into the creature's belly, cutting it all the way down to the reinforcing structure that served as its skeleton. Though far from enough to kill the beat, it put a halt to its initial charge and made it falter, leaving the creature looking stunned as its massive bulk shifted and began to fall backwards towards the sea.

"Gou," Adam said, sheathing his sword absently. "Go."

Crouching once, Gou obeyed and leapt from the frozen tower. In midair, his form began to change, the light of his Aura pulsing outwards. It moved more quickly than it had the first time, expanding in waves such that transparent images of Gou seemed to expand outward from him in waves until, for a moment, he seemed like a see-through version of a matryoshka doll.

Then his body grew as if to fill in those images and it was a dog the size of a building that came crashing down on the Leviathan. Even at that size, he seemed relatively small next to the Leviathan, like a normal sized dog next to a boa constrictor, but that didn't stop him from going for his off-balanced opponent's throat. Claws and teeth raked against wet scales, scraping and cracking them or even tearing them away. The Leviathan snapped out of its momentary daze as it felt teeth upon its skin, seeming to realize that it was being preyed up. It didn't resist the lunge, but instead let Gou's momentum push it backwards into the water where it tried to go on the attack. It's long, monstrous body wrapped around Gou and tried to squeeze even as it dragged him deeper into the sea; a multipronged attack to both trap, crush, and make the opponent panic.

But Gou's Vitality was too high for him to worry about something as minor as a lack of breathable air and for all that the Leviathan tried to crush him between its coils, he didn't flinch. Instead, he merely bit down harder, tearing out a chunk of its flesh the size of an apartment. The Leviathan let out a steaming hiss and fangs flashed for Gou's throat, but he simply took the hit and stopped the teeth with his ridiculously hard skin.

"Hm," I mused, stepping off the tower and onto thin air as I observed the fight occurring in the deep. "That's enough."

As I spoke, I mentally called out to Gou, asking him to return to my side. Immediately, his form shifted in the Leviathan's hold, shrinking to a much smaller size to create an opening and then enlarging again to expand it. Pushing off of the wounded Leviathan, Gou began to doggy paddle to the surface, breaking through it with enough force to rock the tower that I, wisely, wasn't standing on.

Ignoring the sound of Adam swearing as he slipped behind me, I held out a hand as Gou moved out of the way.

"Lux Aeterna," I said as I gathered my power. Last time, it had taken four hits and the Leviathan had still struggled in its death throes.

But that was then and this was now—so this time I ended it in one shot, piercing both sky and sea to burn away the darkness far below.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Unlocked Area**

I set foot on the shore, taking a deep breath as I enjoyed the sea breeze.

For a place that had devoured entire civilizations, this part of the continent was beautiful. Though we'd technically just come from a beach, the shores near Mistral are rocky and pitch black—a remnant of the significant amount of volcanic activity in that area. Not too far north of Mistral, the low fields gave way to the icy plains that ringed the upper edge of the Sea of Monsters, while further to the east, along the northern peninsula, there was a mix of fields, forests, but also wastelands. Mistral and its surrounding area was a place of extremes, with tundra, deserts, and volcanic fields all relatively close to one another, making it a hostile place to the unwary.

This was the first time I'd ever seen the eastern side of the continent and the difference was striking. We came ashore on white sandy beaches with nothing but clear skies above. In the distance, the shores gave way to forests, but ones far different from those around Vale or far north—these were tropical forests, beautiful in a way that was almost foreign to me. There were animals here I'd never seen, simply because they would never even think of approaching the places any of the Kingdoms resided in.

Of course, that was the point. The Kingdom's hadn't survived because of the tourist revenue—rather, they had survived by understanding that the world was dominated by the creatures of Grimm and thus the majority of tourists would be of the heartless, flesh-eating monster variety. Therefore, they'd chosen places that no one really liked to visit—a barren desert for Vacuo, a lifeless frozen plain for Atlas, and a half-frozen, half-volcanic hellhole for Mistral. Vale was the only exception in that it was mainly just hard to get to, but I could only imagine what life had been like before our technology had advanced enough to deal with climate issues on a broad scale. Supposedly, the closest the Kingdom of Mistral had ever come to annihilation were the three or four times the volcanoes they'd built their city next to had decided to have a mass eruption.

Given that, the dangers inherent in such a beautiful place were self-evident. Any place people would actually want to live were bound to be filled with the monsters that had killed and devoured the people who'd chosen to settle down there.

Still, it was a nice place to visit, at least for us.

"I'll have to remember to bring Autumn here later," I mused, looking at the flowers blooming a little more than a kilometer away. "I'm sure she'd love the flowers."

"Love eating them, anyway," Adam grunted, panting harshly as he stood on the beach beside me. Even with repeated heals to restore his stamina, running across the sea on his own power must have been hard on him. I'd have to make him do it more often to keep him in shape—just because he couldn't grind his Vitality in quite the way I did didn't mean he could slack off. I'm sure Raven would approve.

"Jaune, have you located your target?" Gou asked directly and I shifted my focus to something else I'd been keeping an eye on.

"Yes," I replied. "It seems we're in luck; there's a Hydra nearby."

"For a given value of luck that leads us to constantly running into things that want to kill us, anyway," Adam said, this time a bit petulantly. I showed my usual amount of sympathy.

"Walk it off, pussy," I commanded him before healing him with a roll of my eyes.

Adam snorted but stood up and cracked his neck.

"Whatever," He brushed off now that he was feeling better. "How do we want to handle this one? Take turns again?"

"Nah," I said with a shrug. "No point in taking risks the first time out, especially with a Hydra—we'll go all out and crush it outright to see how much resistance it puts up. Remember, these things don't die easily and they can recover from damn near everything, given time, getting stronger with each hit that damages them. Don't relax just because we can handle Leviathan's with ease now."

"I didn't intend to," Adam answered, rolling his eyes. "Gou, you up for the usual?"

"Certainly, Adam," He answered as he lowered his head enough for Adam to hop onto his back and sit astride him. "Jaune, should I grow larger to attract attention."

I shook my head absently.

"Why don't you work on your sneak attacks some, Gou?" I asked. "Just because you can turn into a giant monster doesn't mean there aren't any advantages to sneaking up on someone and breaking their necks before they even know you're there."

"Very well," Gou said, seeming to mull over that before nodding. "In that case, it may be for the best if you start charging your attack now, Adam. As your attack is difficult to charge during battle, it makes more sense to do so while the element of surprise is with us."

"I know," Adam answered, hand already on his sword. "I've been sucker punching people with this thing for _years_ , Gou."

"Ah," Gou replied, making a sound as if he were embarrassed. "My apologies, my friend. I didn't mean to question your ability."

"Don't worry about it," Adam told him with a shake of his head. "Always best to be sure, anyway. You never know when someone who's _supposed_ to be competent is going to do something outrageously stupid instead."

"Listen to him, Gou," I butted in as I crouched low, eying the two of them. After a moment's thought, I gave a mental shrug and reapplied all the buffs I'd laid upon them. It was unlikely they would have run out during the course of the battle, but why take any chances when you didn't have to? The lost was momentary to me at best. "He knows all about outrageous stupidity."

"And in case it needs to stated, Jaune's a horrible role model," Adam continued, ignoring me. "Just in case, check with me before imitating anything you see him do."

I chuckled at that and shrugged, thinking of cyclones of broken glass.

"I'll be going on ahead," I said. "Follow when you're ready, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, took off at full speed—and I mean _full speed_. I pushed Acceleration up to the highest level I was comfortable maintaining in a battle, layered Bai Hu's techniques, brought out the White Tiger of the West, pulled from the skills I'd gained from the Grimm, and then capped it all off with something special.

 **Angelic Steps (Passive) LV1 EXP: 78.20%  
An ability born from an inherent skill at using Aura to enhance to movements of one's body. Thanks to the natural structure of one's body and soul, this skills passively bolsters the user's speed and grace to inhuman levels.  
100% Increase to Movement Speed.  
50% Increase to Evasion.**

The pristine beach exploded, throwing up sand and massive waves in my wake. The sheer force of my departure boiled the water into steam and melted part of the shore, though my two friends merely grimaced and turned away. Within moments, I was closing in on my target, analkyzing him one more time before the battle.

 **The Mouths of Oblivion  
LV 138  
Hydra**

Like all Hydras, it was unique—one of the things that set it apart from most Grimm that belonged to a specific species. This one had twenty-eight head, each of which was different. One was entirely coated in smooth white scales, the structure of its face akin to that of a snake's. Another was black but for a long arch of webbed spikes down the back of its neck and seemed more like a dragon or a sea monster. But while those two shared reptilian traits, others did not. There was a head like that of a wolf, one that seemed like a bizarre cross between a spider and an ant, and one that had no true _head_ as such, but was simply a mouth where the stump would be.

The nature of the Hydras were to grow stronger from anything that failed to kill them, which was why the Kingdoms made sure to stop them before they grew up. But no one had stopped this thing and it was possible that whole cities had paid the price for it. Each head was something the Hydra had grown to triumph over a situation and each could have entirely different attributes. Its body was armored both outside and within and it built to be a weapon. I could see poison on the claws and in its blood and it had bizarre growths in various places, most likely built to count opponents that had tried to climb onto it and attack it directly. Standing on four legs, its longest neck reached up far past even the largest Goliath I'd seen and its many heads calmly surveyed its surroundings as if it were a king overlooking its court.

And what was perhaps more impressive was the fact that it was barely within the range of levels that I could see—and it had been the weakest Hydra I'd been able to see from a distance. Generally speaking, these were monsters you got young or didn't get at all; it was strong enough that I was wary of picking a fight with it, even knowing my own abilities. Yet at the same time…I knew this wasn't going to be the worst I'd have to face. From what I'd head, Jericho Falls would make fighting something like this a cake walk and that wasn't even getting into things like the Riders and Knights and Malkuth. I had a number of ways getting out of this if it went south and power far beyond my actual level, so…why not try?

Besides. My team could use some experience fighting an opponent we _couldn't_ just crush. If we were going to work together, where better to learn than in a situation where we actually needed to. I could say without even the slightest doubt that I could solve any problem we were likely to face on the fields to the east, entirely by myself. At this point, we _all_ could. Even when we practiced working together, we all had to hold back simply to keep from breaking whatever we were dealing with.

Not that I didn't plan to break this thing too, of course—but hopefully it would last long enough to make itself useful.

 **The Four Winds (Passive) LV1 EXP: 34.07%  
An ability born from an inherent skill at using Aura to enhance to movements of one's body. By guiding power in accordance to one's movements, it is possible to properly grasp the flow and let it hasten one's movements until the user's attacks are no more than fading blurs and lingering pain.  
100% Increase to Physical Attack Speed.  
50% Increase to Physical Attack Accuracy.**

As I came close, my hands flickered until it seemed as if I were striking with four arms instead of two—and with each, I landed a hit upon the Hydra, each blow packed with more power than I'd used to level Haven.

The air seemed to shatter at the touch of my fists against the Hydra's scales. It's flesh rippled for a moment as my Shockwave spread through it, apply damage to a larger area—and then the Hydra gave a sudden cry as the flesh on the other side of its neck mimicked the ripples, swelled, and then burst from within. As a byproduct of Devastating Blows, the damage of my physical attacks penetrated deeply into the flesh of my enemies and—on an Auraless foe such as one of the Grimm especially—could potentially inflict internal damage.

Of course, that was for normal attacks. It normally meant stuff like harming the internal organs or perhaps breaking bones, and indeed that would normally be the limit with my Strength around a hundred or so. But with Bai Hu's techniques, Sacrifice to Vanagandr, and all my other skills? With the sheer speed of my impact? We'd gone well past inflicting a bit of internal damage.

I blew one of the Hydra's heads clean off.

At once, twenty-seven heads screamed in mixed outrage and loathing. At once, the creature's many eyes focused upon me, several of them multifaceted and—as my power and a quick Observe informed me—able to perceive more than just visible light. I backed up quickly as several of the creature's mouths opened and the matter lining their mouths and throats reacted.

The first column of fire was extremely thin, relative to the creature's size, but with all the intensity one would expect form a Grimm of its level. It wielded the attack as a cutting blade, slashing through tree, stone, and air with equal ease before slicing through the Skin I'd left behind. The next attack with a wave of amplified sound, meant to shatter eardrums and disrupt the equilibrium of entire armies, but even without Midgardsormr's Skin reinforcing that relatively fragile part of my body, the Gamer's Body allowed me to shrug off such things. A flash of electricity accelerated a sharpened stake that I analyzed in midflight to determine the nature of—there was a liquid inside that was hard to determine the nature of because it was simply inert Grimm-stuff at present. At a guess, it was either a poison or some type of hostile magic nanite thing.

I redirected it by called upon Vulturnus, who appeared in midair and unraveled into a curving streak of Lightning. The railgun faltered in midflight and flew past me into the distance, crashing into the side of a mountain with an explosion. As another head began to fire what seemed to be organic spines, I noticed the cilia on their surface and deduced that they were the type of spikes that would drive themselves further inwards, towards an enemy's vitals. I ignited my hands with Karna and released a massive cloud of flames with a wave of my hands, burning the life from the malicious thorns.

The wave of fire continued towards the Hydra, crashing over its many heads. Though several of its eyes popped and burst and some of its flesh burned, it largely seemed to ignore the attack and press on. I saw one of the heads—which looked like nothing more than the upper jaws of seven snakes sown together, fangs and all—release a cloud of poison that was invisible to normal light. I considered it for a moment, reminded myself to deal with it when Adam and Gou arrive, and then turned to face the oncoming attack.

Thirteen of the creature's heads were gathering power enough to cause their throats to glow from within and when they opened their mouths it was to release a series of energy blasts that reminded me of Crom Cruach. While weaker than the Legendary Grimm's attack, I estimated each as having more than enough power to carve a path of destruction across several city blocks and each mass aiming right at me.

A moment before they did, however, I gathered my own power, timed it, and fired. Lux Aeterna darkened the earth and sky as it streaked towards my opponent. My most powerful attack also serve as my defense against the thirteen heads, consuming the energy attacks as they were released and using them to fuel the Light Eternal. I saw my power clash with the darkness for a moment before breaking through with a sound like thunder, and the Hydra's released another cry as the light of the moon and stars returned.

A long, faintly glowing hole had been burnt straight through the Hydra's body, starting at the base of one of its necks and stretching clean through its chest. The removed head fell away, dropping to the earth with the sound of a building falling, but though the Hydras released another agonized cry, the pierced body pressed forward almost eagerly, each of its footfalls shattering half a dozen trees.

Damage and pain didn't frighten the Hydra, nor did the possibility of a fight. To it, they were just a way to grow more powerful.

I empathized. But this fight was for _my_ sake, not his.

Drawing back, I gathered Gungnir in my hands, Bai Hu following my lead. In a heartbeat, a spear was sent flying towards each remaining head, detonating with a thunderous explosion in each of the creature's faces. I followed them the moment the last spear had been set loose, my gauntlets burning even more brightly as I channeled power through Karna, piercing lances of fire cutting through the smoke as easily as my own gaze. I aimed for eyes and throats, cutting deep, cauterized wounds in the Hydra's flesh, tear open eyelids and mouths, and searing existing wounds wider. Following that, I gathered flames between my hands in a pure white sphere that grew as I brought my hands apart until it was as wide across as I was tall. Hurling it down without hesitation, I watched as it expanded into an even larger orb that encompassed the Hydra as a whole, surrounding it with a burning prison.

With a snap of my fingers, the top of the sphere began to ripple as Suryasta rose from it like water and then knelt upon its surface even as Levant gathered into place above it. With the amount of power I'd put into it, the burning sphere would have radiated heat enough to ignite anything nearby, but the temperature barely changed. Fire and Air worked together to keep the heat from escaping, fighting one of the most basic laws of thermodynamic to stop it's natural flow and keep the Hydra burning hot. Though the heat and light, I saw the creature of Grimm bowing under the attack, its skin melting, eyes bursting, and makeshift bones cracking in the heat. It made for an ugly sight, like a melted wax imitation of a child's nightmare, but I didn't let up.

Taking a pair of deep breaths, I held out a hand and Agneyastra formed in my grasp. I hurled it forward and it penetrated the surface of the sphere without so much as a ripple, piercing straight through one of the heads and slagging the upper half of it in the process. It continued on its path, stabbing clean through what would have been the spine on a normal animal. The area around it exploded as the attack triggered, throwing up a coating of unnatural flames that swept over the Hydra and clung to it. At once, I felt the flames of Karna being drawn into it, consumed, bizarrely, as fuel for the fire.

By the time that Karna's sphere was wholly swept away and devoured, the Hydra had been fully coated in Agneyastra's flames, the supernatural fires cruelly covering the whole of its form. It baked its flesh, slipped into the flowing holes of its eye sockets, and even made use of its many mouths to claw at the creature's insides and send up growing columns of filthy black smoke.

I pressed it further quickly, striking while the flow of the battle was with me. The earth beneath the Hydra's feet shuddered and then flowed upwards to shape a new body for Ereb. The Earth Elemental reached out quickly and the solidity of the ground gave way under the Hydra's weight, leaving it to sink up to its knees into the dirt and stone. Its body struggled quickly, trying to break free even as it burned, but Ereb was working hard beneath the ground. Points pressed up against the Hydra's limbs from a dozen different directions, each the diamond hard cap to a massive drill. They began to turn, grinding hard against the Hydra's scales for a second before piercing its flesh and drilling further in. Impaling each of its limbs upon the twisting spears, Ereb locked down its ability to move and left it burning beneath the sky.

Naturally, I was quick to do my part. Allowing myself only a moment's reprieve, I held out my other hand and released threw another Agneyasta, followed by a third and a four. Each strike removed a head and melted a massive hole through the core of the Hydra's body even as it fanned the flames. At the same time, Levant and Suryasta worked to fan the existing blaze into an inferno, not stopping even when the Hydra's body began to appear skeletal as more of its flesh melted off with every passing second.

If I were anyone else, I might have thought that was enough, that things were all but done with—but I was a Hunter and, perhaps more importantly, I knew what I was up against.

I could _see_ it, after all. At least for now.

 **The Mouths of Oblivion  
LV 140  
Hydra**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Multiple Stages**

Instantly, the Hydra began to heal. I'd seen recordings of past battles with Hydras and even the young ones that occasionally came ashore healed very, very fast. Even in comparison to other Grimm that were capable of regeneration, the Hydra recovered from injuries as if fast-forwarding through them.

Now, I was bearing witness to it with my own eyes—and the fact that its healing was noticeable even while I was so Accelerated said a great deal. As I watched, the holes through its body began to well with Grimm matter, filling to assist with the healing process. Its burnt skin began to pulsate as if filled with maggots as things moved beneath. Peering through it, I could already tell what it's body was up to; to start with, it would remove the clinging fires of Agneyastra by separating and shedding the upper layers of its skin even as new layers began to grow beneath. I could tell from a quick analysis of the material that it was more temperature resistant than the previous hide, better equipped to withstand the heat I was laying on it. It wouldn't immunize it against my fire attacks—not yet, at least—but it would serve as a stop gap for the time being.

Beneath the ground, the Hydra's trapped limbs struggled and jerked against the impaling drills, tearing wounds wider and pushing points deeper. It was doing the same thing on that front, liquefying its own flesh and shedding whatever proved to be in the way so that soon it'd be able to pull itself free. Even if it proved necessary to leave entire limbs behind, it wasn't an issue—or rather, the loss of its limbs was ideal. After freeing itself, it could simply regrow them, after all, stronger and better than they hand been before. So why not sacrifice them now?

Certainly, it didn't seem to consider the removal of its heads to be any particular loss. Already, bulging mats were growing over the stumps, trembling from within as things struggled to break free. Soon it would sprout new heads in place of the ones it had lot—but more numerous and more dangerous.

Such was the nature of the Hydras and their heads. While not a perfect measure, the number of heads a Hydra possessed was generally used to determine its power and age. The number of heads indicated how many times it had been injured badly enough to lose one before—and thus, how many times it had grown past decapitation. When a head was lost, two would grow in its place given time, one a stronger version of the one that had been taken, the other something new and designed to counter its opponent.

Why attack the heads at all then? As its primary means of attack, why damage them at all if it risked making them stronger?

Necessity, primarily. Though even I couldn't be sure of the specifics, it had been repeatedly demonstrated that Hydras were very hard to kill. The accepted theory was that their vital—though the Grimm had no organs so perhaps core was a better term to use—were built with redundancy in mind. That is, if one fails, another simply takes over in its place. The Hydra itself with continue to heal so long as at least one of its cores remained functional.

As for the locations of these cores, that should have been obvious. One in each head and one in the body. The reason the Hydra can survive its first decapitation is, of course, because of the latter; so long as the central core remains intact, a Hydra can survive even if all of its heads are removed. The other cores are relatively weaker; they don't require complete destruction like the central core does, but can be considered destroyed via removal from the body. In fact, if a Hydra has only one head, targeting the central core is the go to tactic, because a Hydra cannot survive with only one head.

If there are _several_ heads remaining, however…that was a different matter entirely. So long as two or more heads remain connected to one another, they can regrow the central core even if it receives extensive damage. As a result, the only way to definitively kill an adult Hydra is to systematically remove all—or at least all but one—of its heads and then destroy its core.

In truth, the Hydra's didn't have cores as such; I could tell that much simply by looking at them up close. Rather, they appeared to possess _portals_ from which gathered and flowed matter to fuel their bodies. Despite that, the method of dealing with them remained the same—cut off the heads and damage the central core beyond repair.

Of course, that was easier said than done. So long as it's still alive, the Hydra would continue to grow and heal. Even with the heads I'd removed so far—and with its central core penetrated repeatedly by the same attacks I'd used to do so—it showed no signs of slowing down. As it was, the Hydra would be back to full strength in a fraction of a minute and better than ever shortly thereafter. This was what made Hydras a threat even for an entire team of skilled Hunters; one wrong move, one missed shot, and a few seconds could turn things around.

That much was true even for me. Wounded though it may have appeared, I could see its condition with my various skills and its health was regenerating quickly. Holding back against an opponent such as a Hydra was pure foolishness.

So I didn't.

Drawing a Dust Crystal from my Inventory, I healed myself and restored my MP. Though I'd largely stopped doing so—because my passive MP regen was so great and my common enemies so weak—it was always nice to have the option and I knew better than to treat this battle as if it were anything but completely serious. As the crystal faded away to refuel my power, I held out both of my hands and released it as a torrent.

A pair of Lux Aeternas merged into one and crashed into the Hydra like the hammer of a god, scooping a pair of its heads clean off. The flames of Agneyastra were swept up and devoured in the process, turned into fuel for the attack, but that was just as well as far as I was concerned; once the amount of damage being caused to a Hydra by a specific attack begins to dwindle, continuing to use it merely gives them a chance to grow until they reach beyond it. The flames had done their purpose by hurting it this much.

Luckily, I had a fair bit of variety when it came to things like this.

The moment light returned, I splayed the fingers of my outstretched hands and then clenched them into fists. Ice exploded into being upon two more of the Hydra's heads, frost spreading to cover its skin down the length of its necks. I braced myself for a moment and then used Bane of the Prometheans to approached quickly, a gateway of luminous power marking my descent. I shoved my incandescent forearm up to the elbow in one of the head, sending a massive network of cracks through the ice in the process. As I felt the Bane begin its retraction, however, I altered it with the power of the Yellow Road, curving to the left instead. The pull didn't fade just with that, however, and so when I reached my destination it continued to drag me back.

Nonetheless, it was enough time to accomplish what I'd had in mind. With the power of the ancient technique, I drew a triangle between three points—my starting position and two of the Hydra's exploding heads.

The moment I was back where I started, I gathered my power between my four hands. Bai Hu summoned a pair of Gungnir's charging them with additional power as he did, while I pulled out the big guns, forming a pair of Agneyastras. I went first, melting a pair of holes through two of the Hydra's necks and covering it once more in a wave of merciless flames. A moment after I let the first attack fly, Bai Hu threw Gungnir into the gaping holes and ripped the heads entirely free with a synchronized explosion.

Even still, it was alive. With ever removed head, I dropped its HP by a large chunk, but it had more of the stuff then I'd seen on _anything_ and it regenerated it at a rate that rivaled the return of my MP. One of the heads I'd already removed was regrowing quickly with the neck almost half of its original length capped by a large, wet-looking sack that already contained the growing forms of two heads. I would see eyes slowly forming, teeth filling still small jaws, and how the process began to pick up speed as two more portals were added to the mix. The more heads available, the faster the Hydra would heal, which was why I couldn't just ignore them.

Luckily, I didn't need to.

"Adam," I said evenly. "Stop it."

A thin vertical blade of red light swept by me, taller than even the Hydra. It landed upon the sack containing the growing heads and they exploded at its touch, casting bits of Grimm in every direction. By charging his attack long enough, Adam could damage opponents that should have been, logically speaking, far beyond him, even if it was only for a single attack.

Even so, it was enough for this.

"Focus on anything trying to grow back," I commanded seriously as I focused upon the battle. "Gou, harass it. I'll focus on removing the heads and cover the two of you, but be prepared to back up if I give the word."

"Got it," I heard Adam grunt in the distance.

"As you wish," Gou replied and I could sense it growing in my periphery. Nonetheless, I kept the majority of my conscious focus on the hydra, prioritizing it and keeping an eye out for potential threats from its direction. As I did, however, I noticed something odd.

 **The Mouths of Oblivion  
LV 143  
Hydra**

Even though it was more than fifty levels above me, I could still see it…was it because I'd seen it before it went out of range or simply because I was present for the growth? Either way, with the rate at which it was growing…for all that it seemed content to allow us to wail on it for the moment, I didn't like it.

"Be on your guard," I added after a second's thought. "It's planning something."

I followed the words with another blast of searing light, sheering off another head before withdrawing slightly. Not enough to remove myself from the fight, of course—if I wanted to do that, I'd have drawn Adam and Gou along with me—but far enough to provide another moment to react in case of an attack. I analyzed the remaining heads quickly, noting their capabilities as my power swiftly returned, but while they were dangerous enough in their own way, what with the lasers and railguns and more subtly lethal forms of attack, I felt confident in my ability to counter them under the circumstances. As long as I was careful to make sure that the Hydra didn't have time to heal—

Shit, I thought as an idea reared its ugly head. I refocused on the portals within the Hydra's body, watching closely as they pumped out an ever growing amount of matter. Looking at it closely, it was definitely a greater amount then before, something I'd initially chalked up to a reaction to the damage, but something—one of my new sensory skills, perhaps—picked up something that made me stiffen. As the number of heads was whittled down, the matter within the Hydra's body shifted and rearranged itself in a way that seemed to guard the cores. As these structures continued to grow and the Hydra's level kept rising, however, I identified it as something different.

The Hydra was building something, the same way its throats changed to generate weaponry—perhaps _exactly_ like that. I'd noted how quickly the Hydra was healing, but looking at it again…had it deliberately slowed the process to build something with its returning mass? To prepare something? Which meant it could heal even faster than this?

—That wasn't the issue, right now!

Changing directions in an instant, I closed in on Adam and Gou, appearing in front of them even as I quickly withdrew a trio of Dust Crystals from my Inventory and devoured them to restore my power.

"Get back," I ordered, making my voice loud enough to crash through the air. Reacting immediately, Adam sheathed his blade and leapt back as indicated. Gou had a harder time of it, having already grown to a massive size to better body check the monster with and thus having a hard time stopping on command, but he still obeyed without question and began shrinking between one step and the next. I reached out with my Psychokinesis to grab him in midair and pull back and he landed harshly enough that the ground cracked around me. Now wasn't the time for being gentle, though, and he shrugged it off like it was nothing besides. "Code Boom; same as we planned for!"

Code Boom was something we'd talked about at length—long story short, it was one of the many possible ways we thought someone might kill us. It was built to respond to bombs, for a broad definition of the term that, by necessity, had to account for the Grimm and also mystical soul bullshit that we may have never seen before. Not that good, old-fashioned bombs couldn't be dangerous in their own right if they got big enough; the Astras that had been deployed in the Great War, massive Dust-based weapons that had named themselves after legendary weapons like my own Agneyasta, had certainly proven that. I knew better than most what could be down with enough Dust, thanks to my father, and if you scaled up from _that_ , it wouldn't be fun to be on the receiving end.

And as one of our known enemies had been gathering a lot of Dust lately, well…giving the matter some thought had seemed like a good idea. While 'don't die' was always a nice starting point, it's always nice to have a bit more to go on in an emergency. With something as potentially complex as this especially…

Let's just say we'd run some drills. Thankfully, I could do a pretty good bomb impersonation if the mood happened to take me, and I'd put all of us through our paces.

Pursing his lips, Adam nodded back and quickly dropped a hand to his sword as he gathered his power. In a situation where we were up against something he could potentially absorb, his main role was to do so and, if necessary, counterattack once we'd weathered the blast. For his part, Gou slide into place in front of us, staying small for now. If it would help, he'd grow to take the hit, reinforced by my power to better withstand it. Against something that primarily dealt physical damage, he was as well equipped to handle it as anyone in the world.

Of course, if someone used a time- or space-based Astra or something similar, being able to walk through a volcanic eruption might not be enough to keep from being tied into literal knots or being eaten by a hole in the timeline. That was where I came in—at least, in theory.

Not for the first time, I felt a brief flash of irritation at how slowly my barrier skills leveled, but it couldn't be helped—on top of being naturally slow to improve, their area of effect meant they weren't particularly affected by Acceleration. I knew consciously that I was still improving them at a ludicrous pace relative to… _anyone_ really, but the fact that they were still comparatively weak was irksome to say the least. The truth of the matter was that I had a lot more offensive options than I had defensive ones, especially when it came to large areas. It hadn't been a major issue so far because what skills I _did_ have were very good at protecting me—but generally _only_ me. With Midgardsormr's Skin alone, I could whether a tremendous amount of damage, only a fraction of which was likely to reach me in the first place thanks to my various resistances. With my immunity to mental effects, protection from the elements, healing, and various other counter measures, I was confident that I could survive just about anything thrown my way, at least long enough to react to the threat.

One of my recent skills just reinforced that and had been part of the reason I'd considered this trip in the first place.

 **Second Chance (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The ability to survive, drawing upon one's innermost stores of power to continue fighting after an otherwise lethal blow. By using one's Aura to activate important portions of the body, the user of this skill can survive an attack that would reduce his HP to 0 with 1 HP remaining.  
This technique may only be used if the damage caused by the attack is no more than 1000 points higher than the user's remaining HP.  
Second Chance may only be used once a day.**

Of all the skills I'd received from raising my physical stats, Second Chance was perhaps the best one; it kept me _alive_ , after all. A thousand points of damage wasn't as much wiggle room as I might like and the daily limit seemed rather harsh—from the perspective of someone who'd die if those conditions were broken, that is—but it was still an amazing skill. With my various defensive skills especially, I was fairly confident in my relative safety.

As a member of a team, however, things were more complicated and I was still working on compensating for it. Even if I could survive a bomb being dropped on my position relatively unscathed, that didn't necessarily mean anyone _around_ me could and that was what I was most worried about. When it came to defending a large number of people, my choices were relatively limited, which was one of the reasons I didn't want to bring a massive group to Jericho Falls. My best skill for that remained Naraka which, unfortunately, had already proven ineffective against my greatest enemies. I was still looking for alternative means, but the only way I was likely to get one any time soon was by either making it or by improving my current skills. I was working to accomplish both but…while I was far from incompetent in this area, it wasn't what I'd consider a specialty, either. Whatever this was, I could probably take it and get back up. But against an unknown form of attack, could I be sure that the same was true of my friends?

I didn't know and so I didn't dare risk it.

First things first, I thought, drawing from my returned power. I established a Sanctum over the three of us, followed by a Temple, a Haven, and a Sanctum Sanctorum. With my standard defensive barriers in place, I called to my Elementals next, raising up massive, reinforced walls of stone around my spherical encampment, giving Ereb the power need to make it diamond hard. Outside the stone, I had Suryasta ignite the surrounding area, while inside it Levant worked to create a boundary of air to protect against any airborne vectors of attack. Finally, I reinforced all of it with my Psychokinesis, consuming several more Dust Crystals to keep it at maximum power. As a last ditch effort, I would use Naraka to escape in the hopes that even if the Hydra _could_ shatter it, doing it at the last moment would allow us to avoid the attack. If necessary, we'd withdraw quickly after that, but surviving right now was the priority for obvious reasons.

A moment after I finished my preparations, the structure within the Hydra's body reacted with a flash of strange energy—and the Hydra exploded. The blast was massive, even for a creature of its size, with a fireball that swallowed up the surrounding area washed over my defenses. Suryasta and Levant reacted immediately to try and keep the heat at bay, but at the same time there was a massive pressure wave that rocked over us. Ereb's diamond wall held for a moment before beginning to crack and shake apart, letting some of the force through to slam against Sanctum. The ancient barrier held for a second before a sudden network of cracks raced throughout it and it shattered as well. The process repeated with Sanctum Sanctorum, though it held for a while longer—and then it was just the blast and my mind.

I held against it like a stone against a river, filling it filing away the corners of my thoughts by withstanding it none the less. I consumed another pair of Dust Crystals from my store to endure, bracing myself against the growing force—and then it was gone.

Outside of my Psychokinetic sphere there was nothing but smoke, rising in a massive column that seemed to be collapsing under its own weight. I held the force field, panting slightly at the strain, before reaching out to heal both of my companions, stopping the effects of what radiation had slipped through my shielding before it had the chance to do anything.

"Is it over?" Adam asked after a momently. "It blew itself up, right?"

When I didn't answer, he kept his guard up, but looked around carefully at what had happened.

"Damn," He swore quietly. "A blast like this could level a city. Did you know they could do something like this?"

I hadn't. I'd never heard of a Hydra do anything _like_ this before. Was it something all of them were capable of or just something this specific on had evolved? Or, more worrying, was this yet another case of enemy action.

Either way, the explosion itself wasn't the worst part, or even the only thing I'd learned. As I looked through the smoke, I realized absently that this was the first time.

That I'd seen a Grimm evolve, that is.

 **The Tributaries of the River Styx  
LV ?  
Ananta**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Second**

The effects of the 'bomb' were obvious in hindsight. It was a multipurpose weapon. The first effect was, of course, the humongous explosion. As Adam had said, a blast of that size could easily level a city—or at least destroy enough of it that it made no real difference. Even if people managed to survive being anywhere near that blast, they could probably kiss any kind of meaningful infrastructure goodbye in the wake of that thing. What Raven had seen with that blackout would look like a _cakewalk_ in comparison to the fallout from an explosion like that as mounting fear was fueled by growing darkness and a collapse of civilization. The Grimm would swarm in the wake of such a thing, drawn by the terror and pain of the survivors, and if that wasn't enough to finish them off…well, the radiation from the bomb wouldn't do them any favors.

In a way, the sheer destructive potential was terrifying, not so much for the power as for the implications of it. Certainly, I had the power to level a city with ease. Given a reason, any of the Kingdoms could do the same, though the methods may have varied. But we all had something in common—we _wouldn't_. Even in the Great War, arguably the largest conflict in recorded history with the invention of the Astra, no one had ever actually fired one _at_ a city. Entire battlefields had been reduced to elemental chaos and the power displayed had been a threat unto itself, but it hadn't ever been aimed towards the heart of human civilization. Even when a battle for freedom and identity was being waged, no one had even considered striking at Mistral or Vale.

Humanity didn't exactly have enough cities to afford that level of destruction. Supposedly, on the few occasions that the idea had been suggested among the enemy encampment, it had been shouted down in short order for one simple reason.

In the end, the Grimm were our true enemy. And the enemy of our enemy was our friend.

So long as we shared that common enemy, at least. When the Grimm weren't an immediate threat, the Kingdom had fought with some frequency, because as soon as they left we went right back to hating each other—but as long as they were around to put Humanity at risk, the was no choice but to prioritize them. If a single Kingdom fell, the panic and fear that resulted may well have been enough to bring down the rest. Everyone would wonder if they were really safe or if they were next, and _by_ wondering, would have answered both questions. It was a logical threat that was hard to avoid, because it wasn't something you could very well _not_ think about, faced with such devastation.

One of the biggest fears during the war had been that the fall of a single nation might cause a domino effect and topple the others, and in the end, that alone had tied the hands of everyone involved. It had still been the greatest conflict in history, but—though it had occasionally come close—it had never quite become a war of extinction. No one knew when they might cross that line on accident and so no one had truly pushed. If they had…well, it was possible the war might have gone very differently, assuming Humanity survived it at all. Even the very people who had championed against culture and identity hadn't been willing to cross that line.

So in the end, while the Kingdoms had the power to destroy each other, they wouldn't—because they truly _would_ destroy each other. Even the Great War had had its rules and they had been followed to the point that major battles would come to a halt so as to deal with incursions of the Grimm.

This was a reminder of why—and a painful one, at that. If it came down to it, the Grimm could destroy us and they could do it _easily_. It wouldn't just be because of their vastly greater numbers and it wouldn't be some grand war of attrition and valiant death. They owned this planet and if they wanted, they could wipe away the last Remnants of our species with ease. An explosion of this magnitude, large enough to carve a scar across what remained of the Human Race…on anyone else, it would have been a sign of madness and desperation. A final act of outrageous spite.

Not so to the Grimm. For them, this destruction was nothing more than an invitation for growth.

That was the other purpose of the bomb, naturally—to strengthen the Hydra. Despite being at ground zero, its innermost core had weathered the blast unscathed, protected by the very blast that it had fueled. Everything else had been scoured away, of course, leaving the Hydra barely clinging to its life, which was all the better for recovering from. Lacking anything resembling a heart, brain, or even soul, even damage on this scale wasn't enough to kill it while its center remained, and in but a short time, it would recover fully. No, more than that, it had already surpassed its existence as a Hydra and reached up to a higher level, joining the no longer nearly mythical enough ranks of the Ananta.

When it recovered from the damage fully—something that would take minutes at most, even accounting to its steadily lengthening HP bar—it would be a monster. Though it was presently headless, I'd be surprised if it had less than fifty by the time it recovered, giving it more heads then I'd ever seen on one of its lesser brethren. Once those heads grew into place and added their auxiliary cores to its current one…I could only imagine how fast it would be able to heal, how resistant it would be to damage, and how powerful it would become. All I knew was that it would, in all likelihood, be far beyond me.

And for that same reason, I couldn't run. As I was now, I could only see one chance to beat this creature, and that was to do it here and now, before it recovered fully. I couldn't very well run away, knowing that, especially when I knew I was partially responsible for the creation of this creature. Whether it had been some natural trap or if Malkuth was being an enormous dick again, it didn't matter; all that mattered was that I didn't dare risk letting this thing go when there was even a chance of it following me back to Mistral. Because if it did…

It didn't matter. I wouldn't _let_ it matter.

"Kill it," I snarled, dropping my Psychokinetic Shield. "Don't worry about anything else—we can't let it leave here alive!"

Choosing the lead by example, I opened the assault, digging into my Inventory for _four_ Dust Crystals that I immediately used to return myself to full power. Not daring to hold back, I gathered power in each of my four hands, holding onto it even as I felt Bai Hu's form waver as it was devoured. Thrusting my hands forward the moment I felt the pieces click, I unleashed a full quartet of Lux Aeternas.

The light seemed to devour everything. Though I'd gotten used to the darkness that came with the light attack, this was something different—something cold and hungry. It consumed everything it could to fuel its own power, sucking away every trace of heat and light until I felt frost forming on my skin and in my eyelashes. But it went beyond even that, pulling at my soul to devour spare MP, and it was only through careful control that I kept it from emptying my reserves and leaving my vulnerable. The darkness felt _thick_ , too, if that made any sense; I was pretty sure it was drawing away energy even from my movements, if only just a little. It certainly seemed to swallow its own noise, because I didn't hear the usual sounds of devastation.

When the lighting returned the normal, the world before me was a study in contrasts. As I'd thought, frost had crept over everything near our battle, turning the now-blasted wasteland silver-white, except for the area immediately in front of me. Everything that had been caught in my blast had been _erased_ , cut cleanly away as if by a surgeon's knife. I could saw with a fair bit of confidence that that had been the strongest attack I'd ever used.

And it still wasn't enough. In the distance, where it had been thrown by Lux Aeterna's power, I could see a single red sphere, a bit larger than I was in size. The Hydra's so-called core.

But the core wasn't what I was after; it was just the shell that protected the portal through which Malkuth fed his creation—a portal that was now wide open. Though I'd badly cracked several dozen layers of the sphere, matter was already pouring out of its center, not only repairing the damage but spurting from the sphere's surface like blood. Except blood didn't twist and take shape, didn't immediately harden and solidify. Even now, with my Acceleration pushed to the limit, I could see it healing, faster than ever.

Then I'd just have to move faster if I was going to keep up.

Without a moment's hesitation, I swept up and devoured half a dozen Dust crystals to fuel my advance. The first I used to bolster my own speed, Accelerating beyond my normal limits until the healing seemed to still. I knew I'd need to devour more Dust with every second to maintain this massive boost, but I didn't much care. Instead, I called out to my Elementals.

Ereb who stood frozen like a statue in the process of forming a new body. Crocea Mors, hidden by the incandescence of my gauntlets. Vulturnus, the only one visibly moving to my present sight, flying formlessly through the heavens.

All at once, they shifted. Not visibly, except in Vulturnus' case, but they did. I felt them wane in my thoughts and something new took hold—and I brought out the big guns.

Between one instant and the next, someone appeared beside me—or perhaps not. Even while I was looking at him, it was hard to say if he was really there. He seemed to exist between moments and places, there and gone again. I couldn't say why, for all that he was my Elemental; my sense of him was strange. Perhaps he sometimes stalled and existed a moment behind me or maybe he waited patiently for me to catch up. Maybe he was only here when I observed him or when I looked away. I honestly didn't know.

What I could say was that his appearance was the most normal of the advanced Elementals I'd summon, if not precisely stable. He looked somewhere between about fifteen and thirty depending on when you looked, with black hair and even darker eyes, the orbs lacking any whites—or any other color, really. He wore a suit of black armor that was alternately smooth and sharp, with angles that varied as you tried to measure them.

It was rare that I chose to use my more advanced Elementals in battle, simply because they weren't the most efficient uses of my power. At high levels, they might be a better option, but here and now, the draw on my power was too severe. But…this wasn't the time to worry about that. If I had to burn through my entire store of Dust to win this fight, I'd call it a fair trade.

And since it was time I needed, there was nobody better to ask.

A moment after he appeared, pitch-black orbs shifted to look at me and through me at the same time.

"Yes," He agreed a moment before I thought to say anything. Though I actually wasn't sure he was speaking _to_ me, as such; I never actually saw him speak to me, I just remembered him saying the words. Before I could react—and this was _me_ we were talking about—he put a hand on my shoulder and I felt myself…

Saying I _moved_ was quite accurate. It was more like I found myself elsewhere, standing directly in front of the Ananta's core and peering at the portal within it. I had no recollection of crossing the intervening space, but then, I didn't remember withdrawing any Dust crystals either, even though I had several in my hands. Seeing that my MP was almost empty, I consumed the lot of them and, when I absently checked my Inventory for more, realized that I must have used three or four more in the time I either hadn't experienced or didn't remember. Bringing my power back up to full, I began to gather it, mentally plotting out the best course of attack—

Abruptly, I had a hand outstretched, a wall of attacks circling the unmoving sphere. Catching up to my body, I realized the nature of the attacks—Gungnirs intermixed with Magic Missiles, along with the occasional Agneyastra. Each of the created weapons, floating in the air with my Psychokinesis, had been charged to their fullest extent, a process that would have taken at least a few seconds and several times more power than I could provide. My Pericognition quickly informed me of what I needed to know and I felt more than saw the absence of thirty-seven Dust crystals from my Inventory. Nonetheless, the bombardment had been fully charged and all that was left was too unleash it.

So I did. The attacks collided with a burst of power so massive that I briefly thought the world was breaking. Seeing it up close, it was easy for me to determine that it's power was several times the four-fold Lux Aeterna if taken all together—and each attack was designed to penetrate an opponent's defenses with as much force as possible. In the midst of all that power, I saw layers of the Ananta's defensive core shatter by the dozens and burn away, even through the light of an explosion that could have dwarfed mountains. It occurred to me belatedly that I wasn't sure _I_ could survive proximity to such a thing and I realized I had no idea what I'd been planning.

But then my Elemental was standing idly beside me and I felt myself twisting. I was stretched and unraveled so as to better squeeze through nonexistent gaps in the oncoming rush of power. I felt myself come apart as if into a cloud of smoke, but even that ascribed more presence than I experienced in that moment; if I was a cloud of anything, it was a cloud of probability. What were the odds of me existing here or there or being dead or alive? Somewhat less than a hundred percent. The explosion passed through me—through the space I occupied, or didn't occupy, or perhaps just maybe occupied—and then I was there again in its wake, collapsing to my knees. My HP had been badly reduced, if far less than probably should have been, but there wasn't much time to think about it.

I was back on my feet and approaching the cracked sphere literally before I could think about it. Dust crystals, the most recent of now well over a hundred, shattered and faded in my hands. The next moment, Lux Aeterna had fully gathered in my hands and I was unleashing it on the sphere—but instead of the usual colossal beam of destructive power, it came out differently. As if meeting something in midair, the light twisted until it was a narrow beam, no wider across than the palm of my hand yet glowing with the full power of the attack. It had been focused, as if through an invisible lens, and all of its concentrated power was sent straight at the heart of the sphere.

Adam was beside me, I realized then. Just as Gou was looming over me, already fully grown. A blade of red-white light, the brightest attack I'd ever seen from Adam, came down on the sphere, but he wielded it through the edge of Wilt, sinking it into the sphere. The red core was already half buried in the ground, pressed down in the center of a massive crater, but while it was less than half the size it had been when I'd last seen it—which was God only knows when, objectively or even _subjectively_ —it was still active. Even so, I could see something shifting within it, a reaction that seemed startled, confused, and maybe even worried.

"More," I said, standing beside my Elemental again. At my command, he held out a hand and a column of darkness reached out, piercing right through the sphere and the earth beneath it. Of course, it wasn't _actually_ darkness; that was merely how its strange interaction with light made it appear. Similarly, it didn't actually _pierce_ the earth or sphere—it merely overlapped them.

And then the ground began to twist, flowing towards and into the black beam with a fluidity that should have been impossible for something that I confirmed to still be solid. I saw things tear and released energy at the strain, matter being torn apart as it was twisted into impossible shapes, my own MP dropping in massive chunks with each passing moment.

This was the power of my trump card. Of all my possible Elementals—except, perhaps, Keter, who's energy consumption render utterly unusable at present—he was the most powerful…and the hardest to use. I'd tried to find ways around that, but in the end, the same two problems always stopped me.

The first, of course, was the sheer power consumption. The last…whatever period of time had consumed an enormous amount of power and what was soon to be two hundred Dust crystals. Even after all the cost reducers I had for MP and Elemental skills, the use of his power drained me in seconds, and this was with him _trying_ to hold back. No matter what I did, using his power was exhausting.

I had a potential solution in mind for that. I'd long suspected that there were at least three levels above Lesser Elemental, similar to how status effects worked. If it was currently at Low then there'd be an Intermediate state, then High, and finally a Maxed form. Supporting that were the actual _status_ effects I got from my Elementals; when I'd gotten my Basic Elementals, my associated Affinities had been at ten. But when they'd upgraded to Lesser Elementals, said Affinities rose to twenty-five. I couldn't be certain without actually experiencing it, but I suspected that the next level would improve it to fifty, then seventy-five, and at last the maximum of a hundred. And as their power improved, stuff like this should become easier.

The second problem was more difficult and closely tied to his nature as an Elemental. When I'd first created him, I'd assumed I was making a Time Elemental, which was partially correct. But it would be more accurate to call him a 'Dimension' Elemental, which was why I'd taken to thinking of him my Dimensional. To clarify, that was dimensions in the _spatial_ sense, accounting for the influence of time as the fourth dimension, rather than referring to stuff like Naraka…which I supposed was still a matter of defined, if segregated, space, but regardless. That nature was simultaneously what made him powerful and hard to work with. I wasn't certain if he simply didn't _need_ instructions or if he simply received them before I had a chance to give them, but regardless, he had a rather disorienting tendency to do his own thing. I'd find myself in different locations or even performing actions with no idea how I got there, what I was doing, or why. Presumably, this was a matter of adjusting my position in space and time, but it was pretty damn weird to be on the receiving end of it.

For instance, if it should ever actually come to a fight with Ozpin, he would be my best chance at victory despite his ludicrous cost—and yet, I had no confidence in my own ability to fight alongside him. Generally, with my Elementals, I fed them power and gave them instructions, specific or broad. But with him, I was moved around like a piece on a board. Perhaps as a result of my future self's will, but the fact remained that I didn't know what was happening between one moment and the next.

Can you imagine fighting like that? His power was tremendous, but I lagged behind in the moments between such that even if I was put in position, it might not be enough to accomplish anything. If I had to fight an experienced time manipulator like Ozpin without being in control—or even _aware_ —of my own actions, I was confident I'd be butchered. Then again, if he were to slow down to let my talk or think against such an opponent, I'd probably be butchered anyway. The Gamer's Mind and my sensory skills gave me a massive advantage over pretty much anyone else in those cases, but there would still be a delay as I continually played catch up, and given the cost tied to it…

Generally speaking, it wasn't something I could afford to use.

But I had to admit as my power was steadily devoured and space continued to warp—impractical though it may have been, it looked pretty goddamn cool.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Awakening**

As space warped and twisted, the cracks in the sphere were torn wider due to a combination of the strain on its structure and the simple adjustment of its dimensions. What should have been a hair thin crack that was too minor to matter became an opening large enough to stick my hand through.

Which I did. Along with a fully charged Lux Aeterna, just for good measure, because seriously, fuck this thing. My Dimensional kept it's healing in check by 'locking' it in place, but if I hadn't gone all out from the very beginning and pulled out all the stops…if I hadn't had upwards of _two hundred_ Dust crystals to sacrifice for what had probably only lasted a second our two, after all the removed time…if it had actually been allowed to finish its growth…

Well, it would have been cataclysmically bad. And it served as a brutal reminder of how far I had to go. While it was possible that this specific Hydra had been unique and no other type would have been capable of such a feat, I really fucking doubted it. In all likelihood, any Hydra, once properly triggered whether externally or at Malkuth's command, could make the same transformation. They could even do it far in the wilderness where they couldn't be so easily stopped. Hell, for all I knew, Malkuth had a horde of such creatures lying in wait for a special occasion. And if a Hydra was like this, what would Jericho Falls be like?

I sighed and looked towards my companions.

If nothing else, this had been a learning experience. I'd had my ability to protect my comrades in battle tested and had been able to use my Dimensional in a serious battle, however disorienting it might have been. And, better yet, we'd walk away from this alive—given quickly everything had gone to hell, I'd take what I could get.

So with a blast of light that slipped into the no longer protected portal and shined brightly through the cracks, I put an end to this and released a sigh.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

Well, I thought, cheering up slightly. At least this day wasn't a complete disaster.

"So…" Adam began, coming up behind me. "That was awful. And I didn't even get a chance to do anything. Or maybe I did? What the fuck just happened?"

I sighed again as he brought me back to the moment.

"When I started this fight, only God and I knew what I was doing," I admitted tiredly. "Now only God knows."

"Damn," Adam said, squinting at me. "You're clueless? Seriously?"

I shrugged at him.

"There's a reason I don't do that very often," I said before inclining my head towards my Dimensional. "Though, as always, I appreciate the help. If you hadn't been there, things would have been a lot worse."

The Dimension Elemental nodded at me, probably for courtesy's sake.

"Goodbye," He retroactively said. "I will be waiting for you at our next meeting."

"Thanks," I replied, giving up and deciding to just roll with it. "Until then, I guess. Say hello to me."

He nodded again and unraveled into his component Elementals. A moment later, I actually dismissed him.

"God, what a day," Adam muttered, shaking his head. "It's still today, right? Linear time sort of went off to fuck itself there for a while."

"I'm pretty sure very little time passed for the rest of the world," I said, double checking the position of the stars and the moon's position in its orbit. "Yeah, we're fine on that front. Not that much time would have passed anyway; if that fight had gone on longer than a few seconds, we would not have enjoyed it. Today's little experiment didn't go so well on that front, but…well, at least we got some levels out of this."

"Yeah?" Adam asked, muttering a word to draw up his status screen and seeing what I'd already noticed. "Um."

 **The Blood Prince  
LV 101  
Adam Taurus**

"In case you aren't already aware, I'm going to give you so much shit about that later," I informed him helpfully. "I just can't be fucked right now, so enjoy the reprieve."

Adam let out an irritated sound, but I ignored it, instead shifting my attention towards the items that had appeared on the ground before the shattered Ananta's core and picking them up with a thought. There was approximately a fuckton of Lien which, alas, was becoming less useful to me as time went on. I'd need to fill the hole I'd eaten in my Dust reserves, but even then, I had ways of accomplishing it without spending money. In fact, I was tempted to ask Raven to open a portal for me back to Vale and steal some from Cinder's stash. Sure, she'd probably never notice and it would be petty, but sometimes being petty helps get you through the day.

Still, money was money and I took it happily.

The items that remained were more interesting.

 **You have obtained the item 'Vishnu.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Etz Hayim.'**

The first item, of course, was a mask. It's surface was plain white and reminiscent of the one I'd gotten from Conquest, but as I picked it up and looked at it from different angles, different shapes began to appear, as if reflected onto its surface. Looking at it, I was sure that it was a powerful item and from the simply knowing what I did about the creature I'd received it from made me very, very tempted to put it on. I'd done my best to lay off the masks given my suspicions concerning them and Vishnu was one of the few so high level that I still couldn't see it's true nature, but even so, there was a part of me that wanted to put it on and see what happened. If this was the mask of the Anantas and the Hydras, it must have been pretty damn incredible.

And probably inflicted something like five million status effects. Given the Hydra's nature, it might not be limited to harmless effects that only touched my mind, either. I resisted the urge with a not to maybe test it when I could be sure it was safe.

The second item was a beautiful long sword. It was reminiscent of the Vacuo style that Adam and Raven seemed to favor, with the length of the blade somewhere in-between, but was otherwise a fairly plain weapon—unless you looked closely at the gleaming blade and saw that, instead of a clear sky, it reflected dark gathering clouds. It was the first time I'd gotten a weapon from defeating a Grimm and Observing it closely, I could tell it was top notch.

"Here," I said, tossing it to Adam. "Magic sword, have fun, try not to do anything stupid and kill yourself."

Adam caught the blade and swung it idly, accidently releasing a blade of air that could have cut cleaning through a bunch of trees had we not thoroughly laid waste to the entire area. Instead, it hit me and I looked at him in annoyance.

"Sorry," He said with dubious sincerity, but held it carefully steady. "Magic sword. Right. Is this my new weapon?"

"If you want to use it for your public face, go right ahead," I answered. "It's not as though you've had to do any fighting lately."

Then I turned my attention back to the final item. It wasn't a book, despite what my power had said—it was a metal plate like the one I'd learned Psychokinesis from. Engraved upon its surface was the outline of a man, within which had been carved thousands of tiny symbols, which filled the outline and even extended beyond it in places. Taken together, the symbols roughly formed the shape of a tree.

I considered it for a moment, memorizing all the markings as a matter of course, and then absorbed it with a touch and a confirmation. I felt the knowledge flow into me and begin to take root, before taking a breath and turning.

"Okay," I said at last. "Let's get out of here before anything comes looking for the source of all those explosions and we have to fight _another_ godless abomination."

"Sounds like a plan," Adam said, gazing at his new sword with open interest and only sounding a bit annoyed when I nodded my head towards the sea and began to jog towards it without another word. Without a Dimensional devouring my reserves, my MP had already returned and I began to relax as the shoreline got further away. Adam was distracted enough that he didn't even speak as we ran back across the water, only speaking once our feet were sinking into rough black sand again. "Why did my title change, anyway?"

I glanced at him, having kind of expected the question. Even as a member of my party, Adam only received access to a few features of my Semblance and viewing the titles and such of others wasn't among them. The Party System only gave effects directly related to parties, such as the ability to observe the HP of other members and gain experience. As such, he hadn't seen Autumn and Gou's changes or made the connections I had.

"Probably because of that thing you did with your Semblance," I answered, nodding towards Wilt and Blush.

"I don't even know how I did that," He muttered. "One moment I was running towards you, the next I had it in my hands."

I shrugged, figuring as much.

"You must have had a breakthrough," I told him. "Go have it again or something. It should be easier now that you know it's possible, after all."

Adam grunted.

"It'd be useful," He admitted. "It felt like I was at full charge but was keeping it contained. If I could learn to fight like that…"

"Then learn," I said. "We'll figure it out—and you have a few points to spend again. Maybe Wisdom helped some after all? Or maybe something else could be of use?"

"Maybe," Adam mused. "What about you? Are you going to do the usual?"

I chuckled.

"Of course," I replied, bringing up my status screen. "Now…let's try this again."

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'High Mana Capacity.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Improved Mana Regeneration.'**

 **By greatly heightening the abilities of your mind, you have learned to grasp the perpetual flow of energy through your body and soul and opened the 'Chakras.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Sahasrara.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Ajna.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Vishuddha.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Anahata.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Manipura.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Svadhishthana.'**

 **By raising INT above 250, you have gained the passive skill 'Muladhara.'**

The moment the windows appeared before me, I felt myself arch back, stiffening as what felt like a bolt of lightning raced down my spine. I felt a rush of power course through my brain before spiraling throughout my body in a web of almost painful energy. My nerves felt as if they'd been set alight and charged like live wires even as my heartbeat picked up and sent surges of power through my veins. I felt my Aura erupt around me in a mantle of blinding glory before turning inward and forcing itself into my skin, pooling and gathering at points I thought must have been glowing.

I felt something snap, as if a lock had been broken open and then I felt something new. Energy gathered at the base of my spine and cleared something away as it cycled again and again—and then something began to shift. For a moment, I thought something was growing, like a new organ appearing within my body, but at the same time it felt like I was simply opening an eye that I had never noticed before. It felt bizarrely like a flower opening, with four concealing petals opening wide to conceal what lay within.

At once, I felt as if I'd been rooted to the spot—literally, as if I'd begun to put down roots, like a plant. I felt trails of my Aura flow down through my feet and spread out around through the ground around me, drawing in energy like a plant does water. That energy flowed upwards, gathering in a place just above the first, and there was another snap as something else opened. It was more thoroughly concealed than the one before it, with six petal-like gates needing to be opened before it was revealed. Above that was a point with ten layers of obstruction at my solar plexus, then twelve in my heart. Then something shattered in my throat, breaking into sixteen pieces.

With each point that opened, I felt power flow, rising into my body and cycling around the strange but growing organs. They filled with energy and began to glow with greater and greater power, the course of energy running up my spine again and again but stopping as if hitting a wall—and then I felt something sharp, as if someone had stabbed me right between the eyes. At the tip of the imaginary blade gathered even greater power, which at last opened. Whereas each point between it had possessed a growing number of seals, this one seemed to possess only two and they spread to either side, as if covering my lens with lenses.

The world around me exploded into color in a way even my senses had never seen. I saw myself, but in a way I never had before, my skin seeming to burn under my gaze and fall away. As it did, it revealed what had lain beneath it—light, pure and mercilessly bright. It glowed until everything was gone, until I didn't seem to had fingers or hands, but merely shaped and focused radiance. One by one, I saw eyes open on my skin by the thousands and scattered power roared from my back in a pinnate wave.

I looked down at my hands and saw beyond my mortal flesh to the spirit within. I knew that nothing had changed physically, but that I was looking at myself. I looked like Keter, of course, but only to my own eyes.

Shifting my attention to Adam, I saw him as well, skin falling away to reveal a monstrous armored form in his place. Red lightning had gathered in a physical shape around him, glowing in his armor, his writhing sword, at the tips of his claws, and even within his burning eye sockets. Clouds of smoke and sparks drifted up from the corner of his eyes, at once hiding and revealing the outline of a crown upon his head. Behind him, Gou stood as a black silhouette, a three dimensional shadow with the approximate shape of a dog. It was featureless, even so, like the event horizon of a black hole that didn't allow any light to touch it and leave.

I was seeing them, not as they appeared on the surface, but as they _were_.

I was looking at their _souls_. I was sealing souls not in the vast and formless field that Bianca had described, but as they existed in this world, shaping the flesh which they'd briefly attached themselves to. At the same time, I saw power racing through the air and ground, clearly illuminating the sprawling trails of energy that coursed through the world like invisible rivers. In the distance, I could see Mistral, shining with the lights of so many souls. From this distance, I could make out their forms, but I could see the intensity and color that rested within each like a Beacon of luminescence.

It was as if an eye had opened on my forehead and allowed me to clearly see the world. I felt my heart pound as I considered the possibilities, the glowing point within it pulsating with every beat. If I could look at Cinder this way or Ozpin…admittedly, the shapes were hard to understand without any context, but it should reveal something, right? This power alone was a goldmine—and my energy continued to gather, swirling at the top of my head.

Gates began to open, as they had before, but the process didn't stop at a mere ten or twenty this time—it didn't even stop at a full hundred. One by one, a thousand gates opened wide and my power races with each and every one. It took several minutes for the process to finish and the last of the obstructions to fall away, but when it did, something flashed through my mind and then beyond it.

For a moment, I felt like I would come apart at the seams and explode from my own flesh—that the power gathering within me would be enough to make me spontaneously combust. But when the power reached its limit and couldn't be contained any more, I felt something break, but it wasn't my body. All of a sudden, I could see myself again, as if from a great distance, even as I was looking down at my hands with my own eyes. I felt like I was a world away from myself, that I was watching from above or through a screen, but I didn't approach. I couldn't approach rather or else knew I shouldn't. But looking down at myself, I felt something gather and grow, connecting two points.

Abruptly, I was back within my own body and I could feel steam rising from my skin. I had a hand on the ground, pushing me up, but I didn't remember falling. What had just…?

"Jaune," Adam shouted and I knew from the fact that he only then reached my side that I hadn't been out long. A second, perhaps, if that. He grabbed me by the shoulder and then swore, drawing his hand away from my skin before looking at me with a grimace. "If this going to happen every time? You try playing with your new toys and something goes to hell? Because if so, made we should start doing this somewhere else."

"Sorry," I replied, shaking myself as I rose. Thankfully, none of the things I'd activated had failed this time around and it had only been a momentary thing; much as I'd have preferred it if nothing strange had happened, I had to admit this had been far better than my first use of Tiferet.

Everything seemed back to normal now, though, at least for the most part. I could still feel the points within my own body, still coursing with a steady rush of power, but my vision was back to normally and I seemed fully within myself. The gates I had felt open hadn't closed and never would again, of that I was sure—but most of the effects were being held back. Instead, I mainly felt a new cycle of energy within myself as power flowed into me from what seemed like every angle. Energy flowed up through me from the ground and filled my lungs with every breath, but that wasn't it. There was something else, a source I could see or even feel, but simply knew was there.

And as that energy flowed into me, I felt it pass through those points again and again, carried along the river of my own power. It passed from the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom, repeating the cycle again and again as if it was being refined. Maybe it was.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked, staring at me worriedly when I didn't say anything else.

I didn't reply immediately, unsure how to answer the question. Mostly, I felt _different_. Good, perhaps, but not in a way I'd ever thought possible before, as if something I hadn't even known was bothering me had been removed. I felt powerful as well—I could tell without looking that my MP had swelled greatly in size. My MP regen seemed to have greatly improved too, coursing into me like a violent and powerful river. The feeling that I had a lightning bolt for a spine hadn't entirely faded either, nor had the rampaging energy within my body, but…

"Yeah," I answered, lifting a hand. Peering through the veil of my own flesh was as simple as opening an eye now and just as easy to close, and if I pushed a little harder, I thought I could do more. My power was closer to the surface than ever and my new organs seemed hard at work doing…whatever they were doing, without any need for my input. After the recent humbling I'd gone through, however, it felt nice, just to know that I'd grown and made progress. "Never better."

I looked around just in case, noting the cameras still facing the sea and then shaking myself.

"Don't worry about it right now," I said. "Let's get back to our room—there's something I need to check on."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Internal**

 **High Mana Capacity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to the rare few that are born with an extraordinary ability to handle mana in all its forms.  
Mana-based attacks and defenses are 40% stronger.  
25% less MP used for all abilities.  
Greatly increases total MP.  
Doubles additional MP received per level.  
Improved Mana Regeneration (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ability given to those who are naturally able to recover mana at a tremendous pace.  
Increase MP regeneration by 300%.**

As expected, the first two skills were improved versions of the one's I'd received when I improved my INT to a hundred. Even so, this _degree_ of improvement was rather amazing.

Needless to say, I was more than pleased to have my MP regeneration improved again. I'd reached the point where the gains from improving Wisdom were fairly marginal—enough so that I'd need to double my present score to make truly meaningful gains. But just by improving my INT and gaining Improved Mana Regeneration, I'd effectively tripled the restoration of my power. As I was now, I could go from zero to full in less than ten seconds, constantly enjoying the level of power I'd previously only been able to us when my MP was low and Mana Reactor activated. And if my MP dropped below ten percent, that value would only improve further, giving me an even greater amount of power to work with per second. I didn't want to interfere with what I was currently doing or cause damage with the side effects, but once I had a chance I'd be able to greatly increase my Acceleration and, through it, the growth of my other skills.

And that was before accounting for the changes to my MP. The increase to my Capacity seemed to work retroactively, increasing the slight boost to MP I'd gotten from each level as well as my general supply. Added to the cost and effect adjustments, I had once again improved my power greatly, increasing both the strength of my skills and their usability. If nothing else, I could be certain that my training would benefit from this greatly, which meant I'd be able to prepare myself more quickly for what was ahead of me. I was happy enough that it wouldn't have been a surprise if I felt weightless.

Which did not at all explain why I _actually_ felt weightless. I noticed it the moment I began to run and it hadn't faded in the slightest—it wasn't an emotional reaction, I'd made sure of that by calming my own, and yet it wasn't a physical one, either. I could tell from the feeling of contact and my effects on my surroundings that I exerted weight and pressure and such, and I was _aware_ of those things in my head, but I felt…light.

I was used to not feeling exhaustion or pain—or, at least, only feeling them for brief moments, before they faded away—but this was something else. My body moved easily as I ran, without any feeling of weight or strain, as if I wasn't exerting my body in the slightest even as I ran. It was something different, even subtle in its own way, but I felt at once aware and removed from things, as if my body were a construct I manipulated with my Psychokinesis.

It was odd, to say the least.

Still, I was used to weird things happening to my body and, though I noted it for future reference and research, I got used to it fairly quickly and remained focused on what was actually important.

First things first. Cloaking us in an illusion of invisibility, I guided Adam and Gou up the side of our now usual building and paused for a moment to use it as a vantage point, surveying the city carefully.

"Jaune?" Adam asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I replied, not even looking back at him. "I just want to make sure everything is as it should be."

Without waiting for a reply, I opened Ajna—my newfound third eye.

 **Ajna (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.02%  
A skill obtained by those who have successfully opened the sixth chakra, Ajna. Also known as the third-eye chakra, opening it bestows the ability to perceive the truth hidden within the material.  
Greatly improves the user's sensitivity and control over their own MP, allowing them to better manipulate it.  
At will, the user may open Ajna to better perceive the true state of the world.  
As with the other chakras, Ajna assists in the cycling, cleansing, and refining of energy within the body and improves the effectiveness of meditation.**

The petals of Ajna opened wide and slid over my eyes like glasses or the scales of a snake. As they did, the city erupted into flowing currents of body, set to a backdrop of humanity. I could see the energy flowing through powerline like they were made of electricity themselves, as well as the 'cold' looking energy that I quickly realized was matter. Colors and symbols trails coated objects like paint, identifying their purpose, use, and past. I could see the comfort in a worn but favorite jacket, the love and affection that went into a carefully chosen wedding ring, the routine necessity laid into the foundation of cars. I could pick out the differences between houses and homes by what had gone into the making of them, with memories and dreams seeming as real to me as bricks and mortar.

But more than that, I could see people. I could see them in every shape and size, as they were underneath their skin when everything else was gone. Even the sleeping streets were given life by a myriad of forms, countless men and women in the shapes of everything from demons to angels. But as I surveyed them, I didn't feel anything like terror or disgust at even the most alien of forms—and wow, but the city was a freak show when you peeled everything away. Somehow, it seemed right to me, normal. Inside, people weren't defined by the faces they were born, but by who they were. The choices they made, the things they did and didn't do, what they became and believed all mattered more on this level than anything like genes or skin.

And God knows I wasn't in any position to stop and stare, even if—or rather, especially because—I had a million eyes. We were all a little weird on the inside, some more than others.

But what I really noticed was that if I looked closely, it almost felt like I could stare _into_ someone. Not in the sense that I could look at their organs and stuff—I did that all the time and while I could say with certainty that we _weren't_ all the same on the inside, looking at people's hearts got boring fairly quickly. No, I meant that I could see _them_. I could see things about them, from the shape and color of their souls, things that my other senses supported and confirmed to be true. I could tell someone's emotional state at a glance, gauge their power and make rough guesses from the shape and structure, see things that set them apart…and it was strange. Not because it was something _new_ , but because it _wasn't_. Instead, it seemed familiar.

It felt like I was using Observe on anything I laid my eyes upon—which, in fairness, I did anyway—only represented differently. It was something visual to me now, instead of boiled down and simplified, and I could see everything inside of people that I could tell with Observe, though it wasn't quite as clear-cut.

What did that mean, though? Were Observe and Ajna related abilities on some level? But while I'd long been aware that it was a tremendously powerful skill, I'd gotten Observe with trivial ease while Ajna had taken so much effort to acquire. Was it simply because of my Semblance? Effects like Observe were fairly common in games, after all, which is why I'd always figured I'd gotten it. But, if it _was_ because of my Semblance, didn't that mean it was because of my nature as Keter instead? I suppose that made sense, given what I knew about Keter, but I kind of wanted to know how connected they were. Observe had always been slow to level, but when it finally got high enough to rank up—whenever that might be—what would it become? Something above Ajna or…?

More importantly than that—at least, for now—even if they were similar, there _were_ differences. So would Ajna work on someone that was at too high a level for Observe to see clearly?

I scanned the city carefully for my target and focused on Cinder.

I found her across town, in a rather nice looking house. Or, at least, nice looking in the material realm—it was painted white and yet somehow remained pristine which required a minor miracle in Mistral. Inside, the walls were painted in calm, relaxing blues and I could tell that someone had put some effort into decorating it. Had someone walked in, they'd probably have thought it was a nice place for a small family to live in.

But my eyes told a different story. I could see grudges clinging the walls of the house as clearly as I could see the paint upon it, a deep, dry looking sludge that had festered for years and been left to solidify. I knew at once that this wasn't the result of a passing fit of anger or a few scattered arguments; it was something born of loathing that had burned steadily for _years._ It was impressive in a way, the amount of hatred that must have gone into it; though there were occasional spots of color where the lights of joys and precious memories shined through, it was predominant coated in vicious abhorrence.

And at the center of it all, I found Cinder, sitting alone in the living room. She was strangely untouched by the detestation that surrounded her, a pillar of cold apathy that stood apart from and above it all. To my newfound perceptions, she appeared at once different and the same, dressed up like a queen, if a somewhat alien seeming one. There was a crown and dress of crystalline metal, seeming as much like armor as clothing, and it was bound around a figure of fire and smoke, giving it definition and form. Cinder's true form was a column of fire that burnt both hot and cold, faceless and featureless as she waited.

But at the center of her chest was a black crystal that spread throughout her armor. Fragments gleamed in her crown and small gems decorated her armor, with designs spread between them like the ones I'd seen on her skin. Though it seemed to accentuate her picture, it also seemed wrong somehow, out of place—too physical, perhaps. Though she used Dust extensively, I didn't see any of it on her soul, because it wasn't truly who or what she was. Yet this crystal remained, even on this level?

There was more to it then met the eye and it made my suspicions come back to me. I didn't have anything to compare it to, having seen Conquest and War in different ways, but could this be what I was looking for?

After a moment of consideration, I took a closer look, focusing on the gem. I felt pressure build in my forehead, gathering in an area that wasn't so much inside my brain as parallel to it, and then pushed forward, opening my senses wide. I peered into her soul, noting details as I went—the color, the intensity, the _composition_ of it—but what I wanted was settled like a stone in her heart. When I used Observe on someone, it would often give me a summarized background that touched upon the events that had determined who someone was as a person. It didn't cover anywhere close to everything, at best touching upon a few major issues, but it was usually enough to get a rough grasp of why someone was who or what they were, in a very broad sense of the turn.

As I looked at Cinder, I tried to do the same thing, but through Ajna. And as I did, I saw flickering images take shape within her soul, given shape and substance by the flames. The pictures weren't a clear as I might have liked, but it was enough to see a few details. I saw men and woman flick through the flames of her soul, some of them collapsing and fading away while others burnt more brightly and changed color. A figure at the center of the image grew as the pictures flickered and faded around her, growing from a small girl into a young woman—Cinder, I assumed. Several figures seemed to enter and exit the image with some frequency; a man and a woman that eventually faded like blown out candle flames and didn't return. Afterwards, the most common figures were a trio of…women? It was a little hard to tell when they were shaped from fire, but I thought that was right. They surrounded Cinder, burning more brightly as she seemed to dim until I thought for a moment that she would go out entirely.

But then something new entered the image, the only part of it that wasn't born from the flames. A tiny shard of black crystal floated into the display, resting quietly in a container of some kind. It remained in the picture for several scenes, waiting in the edges and the corners as silent discussions carried on around it, until the three figures seemed to step off the stage and only Cinder and the crystal remained, with the latter drawing closer to center stage. For just a moment, color flickered into the image, bringing it to life—as if this one scene was more important than anything that had come before it and deserving of such a thing.

There was a young girl, in her teens perhaps, and I recognized her as a younger looking Cinder, though it was hard to tell _how_ much younger. She seemed to notice the crystal at last and grasp it in her hands, staring at it silently for a long moment before closing her eyes. She mouthed something like a prayer and the crystal glowed in her hands as if heated by the surrounding fire—and then faded into dust and circled Cinder's form as she returned to flames. A moment later, the fire woman was in her dress of steel and crystal—and then the whole thing came to an end.

I took a deep, slow breath and then exhaled slowly.

"Find anything?" Adam prompted, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe," I replied, trying not to let my annoyance show. I'd definitely found _something_ , I just wasn't sure what to think about it. Mainly, I thought that Observe was more convenient and Ajna seemed to be its more artistic but less useful stepbrother, but I supposed I shouldn't complain—Observe wasn't telling me anything right now. Even so, I couldn't help but think that Observe would have spelt all this out plainly if I could only use, probably with a title or status effect that confirmed whether Cinder was or wasn't playing host to a Rider. As it was, I mainly just had even more confusing and circumstantial evidence dressed up in metaphor.

And yet…without a doubt, that black crystal was suspicious as hell. Even putting aside the fact that it shouldn't have been there at all, it was a black crystal that was hanging out in someone's soul. I'd already noticed the similarities between it and the patterns written invisibly into Cinder's skin, which was definitely making me lean towards Rider, thought that I hadn't been thinking along those lines from the beginning.

But for a moment, when I first glanced at it…I'd thought it was a Dust crystal, but there wasn't any type of Black Dust to my knowledge. Sure, the rumors about it were endless and the supposed counterpart of White Dust was literally mythical, showing up as the plot device in what must have been a thousand stories, but as far as I knew, there was no evidence of it actually existing and no one had successfully recreated it. Not that that necessarily _meant_ anything when Mankind's scientific knowledge was periodically steamrolled by fleets of monstrous assholes, but still, if it was as powerful as it was said to be, you'd figure it would come up more often, what with thousands and thousands of people hard at work exploring the possibilities of Dust every day.

Then again, what did I know? Maybe Babel had come up with something; I'd need to run it by Keter. Thinking about it, I didn't know how the Angels or Archangels had handled Dust at _all_.

But even if it did exist, what were the odds that a random young girl would just happen to come across it. Though her story hadn't been particularly clear, it didn't look like Cinder had been particularly old at the time; fourteen or fifteen years old, maybe. How would she have gotten ahold of it?

Given the choice, I'd be more inclined to believe there was something more at work, which made me lean further towards the Rider explanation. Though I suppose they weren't necessarily mutually exclusive—I'd already considered the possibility that one of the Riders was associated with Dust and this might just support that idea. Given the original purpose of the Qliphoth, it would make sense; besides Aura, Dust was the only means Humanity had to touch upon the supernatural and was oftentimes more reliable. An attempt to make an artificial type of Dust crystals or to recycle existing ones might have made sense.

But what bothered me was that one clear image that had appeared, wherein Cinder had grasped the crystal and seemed to pray. There wasn't enough information to determine the context, but had she known something about it when she did it? Had she been fooled, perhaps; deceived into taking up the Rider? Or could she have, for some reason, done it willingly, even knowing what it meant?

…That couldn't be. Right? I mean, I was the king of desperate times calling for desperate measures, but things would need to be pretty damn bad before hosting an apocalyptic parasite came onto the list and _I_ had something that protected my mind from it.

As usual, there had to be more to thing than met the eye.

"Damn it, Cinder," I muttered. "There should be a limit to being vague and mysterious unless you're me."

But…at least I had a place to start. Those figures that had been around her in those scenes had been important enough to merit mentioning in her story and I was betting they'd played a part in the ending. Had they been her family?

I suppose I'd better find out.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play**  
 **Background Check**

I started, of course, by scanning the ever-loving fuck out of the entire house. I Observed anything that caught my eye—meaning _everything_ —and used my other senses to scan for any physical evidence.

It should go without saying that I'd already looked into Cinder's background story, as had Grandmother and Raven, but as was the case with everything concerning Cinder, details seemed scarce. Civilian parents, both of them dead, but there _was_ evidence that put them as, if not her real parents, then at least associates of Cinder's. Given that they'd both disappeared into thin air some time ago—which was _also_ suspicious, but was sadly not wholly uncommon in Mistral, especially for an age bracket that coincided with the Civil War—it was hard to say if she'd had any genetic relationship to either of them, but if I had to guess after seeing a glimpse of Cinder's heart and soul, I'd say no. Odds were they were allies of her that had either died for her cause or done something worth killing them over; either way, they'd long since been buried deep and Cinder was simply extracting one final use out of them.

I'd asked Grandmother to look into the obvious angles—to see if there had been anyone important named Fall or someone with a grudge who'd have been Cinder's approximate age—but nothing had turned up. That, sadly, was _also_ not uncommon, because while Alexandria's Library may have weather two wars unscathed, that didn't mean that people hadn't had bigger things to worry about than recording every single detail when things went to hell. In the aftermath of the Civil War especially, fudging familial details was a fairly standard thing to do; regardless of what side you were on, it was probably too much to hope for that your enemies would spare your wife and kids if you lost. I hadn't asked, but I suspected that was part of why Mom had gotten away with the whole fleeing to another continent thing, so I may well owe my very existence to that fact.

At the same time, however, it meant that it was completely possible that Cinder was the unknown daughter of someone who'd been put to death. Searching the name Fall hadn't lead us anywhere, but given that it was the name that registered to my Semblance, it seemed safe to assume it wasn't just an alias. However, as with many things about my power, I was unclear on the details. What made a name register as _real_ to it? Was it her birth name or merely the name she considered her own? If it was the latter, than looking in that direction would probably lead to a dead end; though I trusted my power greatly, I needed something more concrete.

But I had no idea where to even start looking. Hell, I didn't even know where to start _looking_. If I'd been able to Observe her, I'd have all sorts of things to go off of, but as it was, I couldn't even be sure of her age. Cinder _looked_ young enough to pass as an older student at Haven, but as a powerful Huntress, that could have placed here anywhere from her early-twenties to her _sixties_ ; perhaps more, since I still wasn't sure exactly how powerful she was. And if you added in the fact that she might have been playing host to a Rider, even more so—I was a bit doubtful that age would be a serious concern if they gave a damn. Which meant, worst case, that I'd need to search anywhere from the last twenty to a thousand years to find details about Cinder, which would suck in an epic way.

Before I did anything else, I needed to narrow things down. Fortunately, I had just the thing—the immaterial evidence that had been left on this household. While it was just vague enough to be unhelpful, it _did_ imply a strong connection between it and Cinder, which meant I had a good place to start. Unfortunately, for a place all but plastered in dark memories, the house itself as surprisingly clean. There were no literal skeletons in any of the closets, the walls and basement were sadly free of corpses, there weren't any conveniently placed stacks of letters of pictures that would spell out precisely what had happened—Cinder didn't even have the common courtesy to leave behind a bunch of family pictures with names written on the back, just in case anyone happened to forget who they were. While the house was homely, there weren't many signs implying that anyone had _lived_ here, and what few there were led back to Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury rather than any mystery family.

Fine; I'd do this the hard way. Retracting my senses somewhat, I double checked the address and the houses position on the street, making a memo to look up everyone who had ever lived there. I'd bet that there was a cover of someone with no apparent connection to the place, perhaps even Cinder, buying it, but with Ajna, I knew there was a story behind this place and even Cinder would have a hard time covering up the very existence of who knows how many people, especially without making things even more suspicious. Yeah, she might be able to theoretically kill every single person who'd ever met her family with enough effort, but a trail of burning corpses does not subtlety make.

After making sure I was right, I called upon Vulturnus and released him into the power lines, guiding him through a web of electricity until I found a suitable computer. With some Psychokinesis and a Lightning Elemental, it was simply enough to handle things from a distance—it wasn't as if I was writing up any advanced programs or anything; I just typed Cinder's address into the search bar and looked to see what I could find. I used my scroll to fire off a message to Grandmother to see if she could find out more from her end, but all I was really doing was looking to see if it came up alongside any names. It was a slow process, relative to what I was used to, simply because of the limitations of the computer, but I began opening tabs and reading them remotely.

As I did that, I pondered whether or not I should mark a vantage point with Remote Viewing. It didn't seem like she spent much time here, but the very fact that Cinder, who'd been exceedingly meticulous thus far, would even return to a place she had a connection to told me that there was _something_ here that mattered. Given that I could find much physical evidence within the house itself, she may well have burnt everything or otherwise disposed of it, but the simple fact that she was here was telling enough that I briefly wonder whether or not it might have any strategic value—but if so, it was something even I could see. More likely, it was something emotional that brought her back and observation might come in handy…but it was just as likely that nothing would come of it. I'd have to think about it.

As I considered that, I turned my attention towards Cinder's minions, wondering not for the first time how they fit into this. If Cinder _was_ a Rider, did they know? Would they care? Why were they loyal to her to begin with and what role did they play in her story? I hadn't seen any trace of what I thought to be a Rider on either of them, nor was there anything indicating infection within either of their Status Screens. Peering at them through the lens of Ajna didn't reveal anything particularly amiss, either—at least, nothing like the crystals I'd seen on Cinder. Mercury appeared as an angular, armored figure with wings sprouting outwards from the center of his body and limbs, covering him almost entirely, while Emerald appeared to be an elongated three-dimension shadow with eyes that lacked sclera or pupils. Nothing particularly weird by the standards of souls, if more powerful seeming than most, but more importantly, it didn't tell me anything.

I tried peering at them the way I had Cinder, but all I saw was a bright figure coming into a dim seeming world and fading them while they were small. It was Cinder, obviously—almost as obvious as that easily guessed and unhelpful scene.

Annoyed, I looked Cinder over again, still hoping for something clear and easy to understand to spontaneously present itself—and then my attention was drawn to the computer screen I was toiling away at, Pericognition picking up something. There were several articles that I flipped through absently, eyes drawn to the address. Most of them were news reports and several of those were obituaries, but that was enough for me at the moment, because beside the addresses were names.

"The Rhodopis family?" I mused aloud.

I changed my search to look for details about the man, who thankfully had a fairly distinctive name. While there were about a million Mayros in Mistral, Rhodopis was a far rarer name and I found out more about Mayro in the first result of my search. He _had_ been a scientist and businessman, but what the newspaper hadn't seen fit to mention was his field—he'd been a major researcher of Dust back in the day when the peace following the Great War had helped open up markets. I found mentions of his name alongside such people as Grandfather Schnee, so he must have been a mover and shaker, if one that had seemingly been quickly forgotten after his death. He'd own his own Dust chain, though it hadn't grown far past Mistral before his demise and had latter been devoured by his competitors. Still, the scientific articles mentioning him spoke of his work highly. It was hard to feel particularly enthusiastic about it when I hunted down several of the papers he'd written and read them myself, but that was mainly because it had been written nearly fifty years ago and the field had come a long way since; at the time, it must have been ground breaking and a lot had been built on the back of his work.

What I found most interesting, however, was the fact that at the time, he must have been a fairly wealthy man. Despite the treaties and the festivals, everything hadn't become immediately friendly between the Kingdoms, especially not in areas that were by their very nature competitive. When the Great War had ended and international markets had started to grow, all the Kingdoms had been keen on making sure that they'd stand to make a profit and had been quite willing to fund a bunch of businesses to do it. Supposedly, that was a big part of how the Schnee Dust Company had grown so quickly and how it continued to stay on top to this day, but even if he'd failed in the end, Mayro Rhodopis must have made quite a bit of cash during his day.

And yet, I'd never heard of him, much less any of his relatives. In Mistral, where alliances and families were such a big deal, a fortune like that wouldn't just evaporate; someone would try to seize it and bring it into the fold. Granted, Mistral had been a very different place back then—or at least had been _pretending_ it was as the Families ceased being members of royalty and appeared to fall from power—but even if it had been right after the Civil War, I'd have expected something.

Frowning, I started looking for Rhodopis in conjunction with terms like 'family,' 'merger,' and 'marriage.' The first two didn't present anything immediately useful, but the latter led me to an announcement about Mayro Rhodopis's marriage—his _second_ marriage, in fact, which appeared to be a far bigger deal than his first if the utter lack of mention given to his first wife was any indication. In fact, it took me several minutes to even find her name and it was another brief obituary. It took even longer to find a picture of her and even then I couldn't confirm it; she appeared only as a beautiful woman standing next to Mayro during an award ceremony dated prior to her supposed death.

Her name, it seemed, was Doricha Rhodopis and she looked similar enough to Cinder that I placed her as a close relative. Under the circumstances, I couldn't be certain about the _direction_ of that relationship, but while it was possible that Cinder was significantly older than she seemed, a good part of me pegged her as Cinder's mother. A single photo wasn't what I'd call conclusive evidence and I'd have liked to get a side by side shot of their DNA, but that was what I was feeling.

There was no mention of Cinder herself, however, before or _after_ Doricha's death, which could have meant any number of things. Putting aside the improbable and fantastical for a moment—but not discarding them outright, sadly; if Cinder turned out to be a mad scientist's attempt to bring back is deceased wife or clone her or whatever, it would sadly not be the weirdest thing I've ever seen—the most likely explanation was that she'd just been a kid at the time and her father hadn't been so successful that the paparazzi saw fit to watch her every move like they now did with Weiss. Lots of small children didn't make it into the papers, after all.

But she didn't appear after that, either. If nothing else, she should have popped up somewhere as a Huntress, if not a rich young woman of marriageable age—and Mistral kept track of both of those things rigorously and regardless of gender. Even more worrying was the picture my admittedly scattered and faulty details painted.

Mayro Rhodopis had had a wife, Doricha, who was still largely an unknown to me. What I _did_ know was that she'd died and he'd remarried. Knowing nothing but that and the…well, _nature_ of Mistral was enough to cause concern. Albus, Finn, and Porfyro were all bastard children which was enough to cause a great number of people to look at them with concern. It had even resulted in the three of them being sent off to Haven. Mistral had a great deal of history when it came to wars of succession between brothers and half-brothers to make anyone concerned with things like that worry.

But, at the same time, it could be said that they were _only_ bastard children. While Mistral was ferocious and ruthless, things _had_ changed and the blood wars of old were, if not wholly a thing of the past, then at least pretending they were and trying to keep quiet. As bastard children, they were seen as a threat, but a limited one, at a disadvantage compared to those between legal partners when it came to inheritance. Porfyro would almost certainly have never _actually_ been able to become the heir of Alexandria, much less hold it, unless he was exceedingly powerful and charismatic—partially because of the law and partially because of the infighting that would no doubt result and what it would cost the Alexandria family. That was why they had been allowed to become Hunters instead of, say, accidentally falling down the stair five times.

Stepsiblings, however, were more complicated. If Cinder _was_ Doricha's daughter and Mayro remarried when he became more successful, there's the question of who is in line to inherit—the child of the present legal wife or the previous legal wife. More than that, if Mayro remarried as he was on the rise, it was completely possible that Doricha had just been a normal woman while his second wife had been someone tied closely to one of the Families—a noblewoman, in fact if not name. And while a bastard child might be at a severe disadvantage compared to a legal heir, a prior legal daughter may well hold precedence when it came time to inherit.

Continuing my search, I found out what I could about Mayro's second wife which, once again, wasn't a lot—to be expected from a basic search, I suppose—but I thought I was on the right track. I could feel the pieces starting to come together now; I had names, a plausible idea of what might have happened, and even a possible explanation for how a young girl might have gotten in touch with one of the Riders. If her father had worked in the field of Dust, that was a possible point of connection, however vague it might have been.

But I needed more. I needed a way to put all the pieces together.

Luckily, I thought I had _that_ , too.

I took out my scroll and made a call.

"Jaune?" My Grandmother picked up after the second ring, frowning slightly on the other side. She must have still been up working but she didn't hesitate to put it aside; while calling in the middle of the night was rather rude on my part, she knew I wouldn't do it without cause. "What do you need?"

"Have you ever heard of a man named Mayro Rhodopis?" I asked promptly.

She frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. In fairness, it was probably a pretty random sounding question from her end.

"I have," She said after a moment. "Though not in a long time. Why?"

"I'm pretty sure he was Cinder's father," I explained. "I'm trying to put the pieces of her past back together. Do you know anything that might help?"

My grandmother sucked in a quick breath, paused for another moment, and then just sighed tiredly.

"As expected, this is going to be one of _those_ conversations," She mused to herself before nodding at me. "A bit, perhaps. Are you after anything specific?"

"What can you tell me about his wives?" I asked.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play**  
 **Description**

My grandmother took a deep, slow breath as she considered the question and its answer.

"I knew the second better than the first, which isn't to say that I knew either of them particularly well," She hedged. "However, I at least _met_ the second wife personally. She was a Colchian—a family that held ties to Alexandria—and the widow of one of Cynosarges's nephews. I knew Argos himself fairly well, but his wife…"

She shook her head.

"She was married before as well?" I asked.

"Mm," Grandmother hummed in reply. "Quite famously, at least at the time. Argos had always been quite popular within the Alexandrian Family and he died saving Cynosarges' life during the Civil War. Carried him out of a major attack and slew the attacker before dying. He was buried with full honors after the war was over, as soon as Cynosarges gathered enough clout to enforce such a thing. As you might imagine, her remarriage to Mayro was a complicated matter."

I nodded to show my understanding.

"On one level, it could be seen as a statement of respect," I replied. "While not a direct invitation into the Alexandria Family, it established a close connection through the widowed wife of the head's honored nephew. But at the same time, it was an offer Mayro could not refuse. If he tried, it could be seen a an insult to Argos, the Alexandria family—and presumably to the Colchians, as well. No one in the family would have taken that lying down."

"The Colchians weren't in any condition to do much of anything," Grandmother replied. "But the rest is correct. Mayro had no real choice but to accept, especially while Cynosarges's grandnieces remained alive."

I'll admit, that tidbit surprised me and made me reorganize my entire view of things.

"She had daughters?" I asked, pieces coming slowly together. "Were there two of them, by any chance?"

"Yes," Grandmother answered, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Does that matter?"

I remembered the feminine looking figures I'd seen in the flames before answering.

"Maybe," I mused, frowning slightly. "Would I be correct in assuming that not everyone was completely happy about the marriage?"

"Oh, indeed not," My grandmother confirmed. "Rosa—that is, Argos's wife—was something of a special case to begin with. While from what I understand, she and Argos had been in a relationship for quite some time, the War drew a great deal of attention to their relationship, as the Colchians had been longtime enemies of Alexandria. When Rosa fled from her family after the War started and later married Argos, a number of people believed that she was a double agent and while no one dared to treat Argos' wife with hostility, she was never particularly well liked. When the Colchians defeated and captured Argos's team especially, you can imagine the thought on everyone's mind, especially when they tried to ransom him for their missing daughter. As a result, a deal was struck and the exchange was to be made, but it didn't turn out how anyone had planned."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Rosa went along with the exchange until she was passed back into the hands of her family," Grandmother said. "And then she killed them all. Her father, her brothers, the servants—all of them. Through a combination of her poisons and her dagger, the Colchians ceased to exist that day. She rescued Argos and returned with him to Alexandria, the heads of their enemies in tow, at which time she was welcomed back with open arms. The story was the talk of the town for years, due to the romantic element."

"Of course," I replied, sighing slightly as I considered it. "So Rosa loved Argos a great deal and was viewed highly by the Alexandrians. Her daughters…"

"Malva and Purpura," She supplied.

"Malva and Purpura were the children of a war hero and someone placed highly in the ranks of Alexandria at the time," I continued. "And she was married off to some guy?"

"There were quite a number of objections to the union," Grandmother told me. "Even Cynosarges's own son objected to the remarriage of his cousin's wife, but he insisted and it was so."

"Why?" I asked, still unclear on what motive he might have for such a thing.

"I never asked," She admitted easily. "At a guess, I would say it was for the sake of his grandnieces. While Alexandria had, of course, provided for the wife of their fallen hero, the fact remains that with the extermination of the Colchians and her husband's death, she was technically alone. She had worked extensively for Alexandria during the war, which had cost her a great deal of her own money—and this was, after all, right after a war that the Families had technically lost. At the time, we were all busy retaking cost, but it was far from finished and certain allowances had to be made. In addition, legal employment was difficult for Family members to acquire and there were standing orders to be patient and to not cause a scene until everything was in order. Mayro, then, was an opportunity; a business many in search of support, aiming for a growing field. When he approached Cynosarges and was accepted, there were a number of terms involved, including, of course, one of marriage. And though he'd come from outside of the Families, money _is_ money and Mayro stood to become inordinately wealthy, if supported properly. For that alone, he was viewed as an attractive option at the time. That Rosa was chosen came as a surprise to many."

"I get it," I said. "A lot of people were down in the dumps and while it was a temporary thing, Cynosarges didn't want to see his nephew's wife left out in the cold, especially after the fact. While her actions would likely ensure that her family was reasonably well supported throughout her entire life, whatever happened—and would likely do the same for her daughter's lifetimes, as well—time would cause them to grow further and further removed from the main branch. They were bound for decline, so Cynosarges planned ahead when an opportunity presented itself. If Mayro was as good with Dust as I heard and had the support of Alexandria, he'd have been all but bound for greatness, potentially on a level comparable to the Schnee family now. It would have been enough to at least ensure her family would be supported—and tie Mayro's corporation further to Alexandria while also ensuring that Rosa's grandchildren and great-grandchildren were still viewed as useful."

"That's what I thought as well," She agreed. "Not that it mattered much in the end; Mayro was dead within the year."

I frowned at that, reorganizing my thoughts as I added the new information.

"Not to throw around accusations or anything, but how did Rosa feel about the whole marriage thing?" I asked.

My grandmother chuckled.

"It was a rather common assumption at the time, as well," She admitted. "And she certainly could have done it easily enough—but it's rather unlikely she had anything to do with it. While she seemed to regard the matter with a great deal of distaste, I suspect Cynosarges had told her of his motives and she played along, if in stony silence. Given her power and status, it's exceedingly unlikely that Mayro would have even laid a hand on her without permission and he was more useful alive. Cynosarges himself put a stop to the rumors, so I suspect he was certain of that fact as well."

"Ah," I replied, nodding slightly. "How'd he die then?"

"It appeared to be an accident," She said. "Something happened to the Dust in his lab and he responded to it by flying high into the air and scattering across a wide area. Sabotage was deemed a possibility, but given the ruthlessness of the competition at the time, other Dust companies were suspected. Certainly, several of them moved quickly to seize control of the decapitated business. It was a wasted opportunity, but by then we had enough power in Mistral again to open up more opportunities, so Rosa and her daughters were likely only mildly inconvenienced. While not the strongest Huntress, Rosa power allowed her to create a variety of powerful medicines and poisons, after all, and new arrangements could be made for her daughters."

"Right," I answered. "What would have happened to Mayro's daughter, though?"

"I hadn't even known he'd had a daughter," Grandmother answered with a slight shrug. "But if so, she'd have had no ties to the Families anymore, nor any particular use after the collapse of her father's company. As she would have technically been Rosa's stepdaughter, I suppose responsibility for her would have fallen onto her, though what that _means_ I couldn't say. She could have been treated normally, could have been abandoned, or could have been sent away. As I said, I didn't know Rosa particularly well. You believe she's Cinder?"

I nodded.

"What do you know about Mayro's first wife, then?" I asked.

"Nothing but rumors, of which there were quite a few after he technically joined the Family," She replied. "When he was to be married to Rosa, it was one of many points of disagreement."

"Was she an enemy?" I wondered, a bit surprised by the possibility.

"No," Grandmother answered, shaking her head. "That, at least, would have warranted acknowledgement. Anger, perhaps, or maybe even concern, but at least _attention_. Instead, she was just a courtesan. The husband of a prostitute marrying the wife of a hero…I'm certain you can imagine the reactions—and the unwanted implications and comparisons that resulted. It was something of a scandal at the time."

I exhaled slowly, understanding. While prostitution wasn't particularly looked down upon in Mistral—and, in fact, courtesans and mistresses were just about goddamn everywhere in the history books—it wasn't particularly respected either. I suppose that at the end of the day, there'd always be some stigma for selling your body, though I didn't really understand why; for Hunters especially, we basically sold our bodies for things that were vastly less enjoyable or dignified then having sex. Especially in Mistral, where the term Hunter could sometimes be outright interchangeable with 'Assassin,' looking at someone differently because of how they chose to work was beyond me.

Then again, I did enough weird things to my body that I suppose I had a distorted view on its use.

Still, I understood the issue here, more or less. By marrying a hero's wife to a man who'd previously married a prostitute, comparisons would inevitably be made. While I doubted anyone would look down on Rosa, much less argue with Cynosarges, it could be seen as an insult to the memory of Argos, which I doubted made Mayro and his daughter particularly popular, being the only acceptable target. Add in the matter of inheritance, which was the entire point of the marriage and which Cinder would be a potential threat to by virtue of her very existence, and you have potential for difficulties to occur.

Hell, you could probably even add in the Hunter-Civilian divide, which had always been a thing no matter what anyone said, especially here in Mistral. Rosa was a Huntress and her daughters had no doubt at least possessed awakened Auras. In all likelihood, they would have been training to one day become Huntresses themselves at the time. Meanwhile, Mayro and his daughters had likely been civilians. Useful, in Mayro's case, but essentially of another world and someone who'd likely been seen as an intruder of source, with their father's fairly recent death. Beyond his scientific mind and resources—both of which would have been easily replicable for Alexandria's purposes—he was of little use to the Family and an outsider besides.

And then he died. Died and took his company with him, in fact, leaving behind a wife and two stepdaughters that _probably_ weren't too heartbroken by his death—and Cinder. Where her father had been useful to the Family, she didn't. She'd have been completely unrelated to any of the Families, too young to have any particularly useful skill sets, and had been the daughter of a prostitute. Would Rosa have cared about her the way she did her own daughters? Probably not. Would she have even cared at _all_? That was harder to answer, but from what I'd seen in Cinder's soul, I was leaning towards no.

Of course, what little I had seen, as well as the state of the house itself, implied that Cinder had been allowed to continue living with them. That was something, right? Though it wasn't saying much, it would have been better than living on the streets in the aftermath of a Civil War, right? While I doubted her stepmother or stepsiblings would have been particularly kind or affectionate, they at least didn't cast her aside entirely. Whether on a whim or because she'd felt it was her responsibility as a step-mother, she'd…

Who was I trying to convince?

I sighed again and shook my head. Let's assume that Cinder's home life had been shit, then. Her mother had died. Then, her father had died and the life she'd known had collapsed around her. The only people willing to take her in—excluding the many bad options that had no doubt filled the city's streets at the time—had been, at best, dismissive of her. She'd have been a guest in their house if she was lucky, and it was more likely that she'd have just been a stranger, the daughter of a step-husband and father they hadn't cared for who continued to be an expense to them long after his death.

Not exactly an ideal situation. Indeed, it was the type of thing even a completely rational and levelheaded person would most likely do a great deal to get out of. A young girl who'd probably still been in grief, who was shunned even in her own home and wholly alone in the world? I could see them doing a lot more.

And perhaps that's when a crystal catches her eye and speaks to her. Under the circumstances, I was going to assume that Mayro's death _hadn't_ been an accident, but whether it had resulted from sabotage or something he'd been working on at the time, I couldn't say. Whatever the case, he'd left something behind for his daughter—or else something he'd left had found its way to her on its own. And then…

"I get it," I murmured quietly. "What happened to Rosa and her daughters, in the end? I'm assuming they died under mysterious circumstances."

"Mysterious and _horrible_ circumstances," Grandmother agreed. "One day, Rosa appeared as a charred corpse, delivered directly to Alexandria's doorstep. Her daughter were, technically speaking, never found, but an autopsy revealed pieces of them within her stomach. Cynosarges began a manhunt at once, of course, but the killer was never found."

"Neither was Cinder, I'm guessing," I said.

"Indeed not," She agreed. "Unlikely as it may have seemed at the time, she _was_ a prime suspect. Either she'd played a role in the killing or had been taken along with them; either way, she was to be brought before Cynosarges as soon as she was found—but she never was. It was assumed that she'd either died or fled the Kingdom. I suppose we've found her now, though?"

I nodded, appreciating the fact that she didn't question my claims.

"If nothing else, this would put Alexandria firmly in our corner, should a fight occur," She mused at my confirmation. "Not that there'd been much down, but confirmation is always nice."

"Tell him if you must, but let's hope it doesn't come to that yet," I replied. "I'm growing increasingly sure that she's been infected by one of the Riders. Is there any chance you could get ahold of whatever Mayro had been working on at the time of his death?"

Grandmother took a slow breathe, considering that.

"It could be difficult," She replied. "It was many years ago and would have been company property at the time. While Alexandria had technically own the business, they'd sold it when it became a sinking ship and I assume those notes were sold along with it. You believe it's related to the Rider?"

"From what I can tell, Cinder got ahold of what appeared to be a black Dust Crystal sometime after her father's death," I answered. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was related to his mysterious accident, but somehow it found its way into Cinder's hands. I still don't know what she's capable of, though I suspect it to be Dust related; if you tell Cynosarges, make sure he doesn't try to do anything until I'm ready. If we take a shot at her, I'm thinking it would be a bad idea to miss."

"Understood," She said. "Cynosarges has learned something of patience, thankfully. It would be best to give him time to prepare. Beyond that, if anyone is likely to have access to details on Mayro and his family, it would be him."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That's what I thought. Pass me everything you can find?"

"Naturally," She stated. "You will continue to observe her?"

"Of course," I replied. "Just so you're aware, she is likely to leaving Mistral soon. Jian Bing put her in something of a spot concerning the White Fang and now she has to either put up or shut up. Vale seems to be the main target of her plans, though I don't know if it's the only one; I'll send Gou back with everything I know and expect. If it proves to be useful, I may end up taking advantage of it. If not, we'll need to put it down fast. I've formed a connection of sorts with Roman Torchwick, which may serve as an in for us, but nothing's certain yet."

"It never is," She mused with a sigh. "Where are you now?"

"Watching Cinder," I answered. "Specifically, I wanted to confirm the state of her soul. I can see souls now, by the by."

"Of course you can," She muttered, rolling her eyes slightly. "When'd you gain that ability?"

"After I fought a Hydra," I explained. "Who evolved into an Ananta just to screw with me—which is another thing I need to tell you about, because oh _boy_ did that go to shit fast. I managed to kill it before it got as bad as it could have been, but…well, that's just because it could have been really, really bad. I got enough levels off of it to upgrade my brain again, which was even weirder than usual, but it came with some perks."

Her eyes widened and then she frowned at me.

"You fought a Hydra?" She asked.

"An Ananta," I corrected. "And yes…kind of. It's hard to explain so I'll just come buy and show you the fight later. It's not particularly helpful when it comes to protecting the city, but it's worth knowing all the same."

She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head before looking at my again, frown deepening.

"Very well," She said. "It would be foolish to start getting skeptical _now_. But I have to ask—you didn't bring Autumn along, did you?"

"Of course not," I shot down at once, frowning right back at her. "I wouldn't expose her to that kind of danger unless I was sure she was ready."

"Good," My grandmother replied, expression returning to normal. "How is she, then?"

"She's been doing very well," I answered, mimicking her as we changed to subject. "She's grown a lot since you last saw her—she can walk and talk just fine now. I've even been taking her out Hunting a lot lately, now that she's strong enough for it."

"A shame I couldn't be there," Grandmother said ruefully. "My great-granddaughter's first Hunt…I suppose it can't be helped. Bring her along when you swing by?"

"Will do," I confirmed. "I've been meaning to bring her around to see you all again, anyway. See you soon."

"Goodbye, Jaune," She replied before ending the call.

I put away my scroll and looked down at Cinder one more time.

What was I going to do about you…?

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play**  
 **Finishing Touches**

As expected, Cinder needed a little time to deal with the way I'd completely upended her plans and had sent her minions running around making arrangements and excuses. Taking a trip to another Kingdom wasn't easy at the _best_ of times, what with the various expenses, the need for transportation, the risks posed by the Grimm, and the simple time it could take out of an otherwise busy schedule—add the fact that it was a sudden thing and that the purpose behind it was to rob a major government facility, and the problems quickly began racking up.

All told, I found that reassuring. My enemies, at least in the big picture, tended to be some much stronger then me that any reminder that they _were_ omnipotent was appreciated. While I was a hundred percent sure that Cinder was still holding back a great deal, the fact remained that she hadn't been able to simply dismiss all the various issues she had been faced with. It also at least implied that whatever other allies she may or may not have were also limited and in ways that differed from the limitations of my friends. This specific problem would have been easy of Raven and I to solve, for instance, which meant that—at the very least—there were places were Cinder was weak and we were strong.

At the same time she was readjusting her plans, however, I needed some time to, uh, come _up_ with a plan, so I suppose I couldn't throw any stones on _that_ particular front. Even as I kept watch over her activities, I had to consider how to head forward with what I now knew about her, limited though that was. I was hoping that Grandmother would soon compile the information on Cinder's family and that there'd be something there I could use, but…the question remained, how should I handle Cinder?

I didn't know enough to answer, but the question continued to rise in my thoughts. I suppose it was because there was a chance, however slight it may currently be, that Cinder would be where theory met practice and I had to fight another Rider. A great deal had changed since my father's death and I could confidently say that I'd grown, but at the same time, she was still a major unknown and a huge potential threat. While in most of my training fights, I could confidently say that whatever happened, I'd be able to deal with it without endangering others—whether by defeating my opponent, fleeing and leaving them far behind, or simply by transporting the fight to another dimension—a Rider was one of the few things I was almost certain could splash over onto others, despite my best efforts. Going in blind especially, I had no way to be sure that I could protect people this time. While nothing I'd seen thus far implied Famine to be the infectious risk that Conquest was, what little I did know implied it had a connection of some kind to Dust which was sadly not particularly useful because it could cover an array over options. Worse case…

Worse case, she was a bomb waiting to go off—a destructive force even the Ananta paled in comparison to. And if she could shatter Naraka the way Conquest had, she could well kill countless people. I'd tested my ability to protect a group of people against the Hydra and I knew my limits in that regard and I feared she exceeded them.

And then there was the human element. The Riders, by their very nature, possessed a host…or, at least, that should have been the case—but with Cinder, I couldn't be certain if that was true. From what I knew now, I could understand that her situation was horrible. She'd lost her family, her home, and everything she'd ever had through the ruthless political machinations of Mistral, been left with a family who, at best, had tolerated her, and had undergone years of exclusion, hatred, and fear. When presented with a way out, a way to get stronger and get even, she'd taken it.

I could understand that. Before I'd gotten my Semblance, back when I'd seemed to fail at anything I'd truly wanted to succeed at, I'd known a fair bit of desperation myself. Not the loud kind, which begged and pleaded and screamed, but the quiet kind that grew and pushed. If I hadn't suddenly been given a way out, what would I have done? Accepted my weakness and content myself with a life far different from what I'd always dreamed of? Would I have been able to accept things as they were or settle?

Probably not. Odds were, I'd have done something—anything. Whether it was smart or stupid, safe or dangerous, it would have been better than doing nothing. And if it had been something besides an awesome Semblance that had nonetheless gotten me in a fair bit of trouble, I'd still have taken it. I could understand Cinder, then, empathize with her. Or situations had been different, but if things had been different, or situations reversed, I may well have picked up that crystal and prayed to God, too.

None of which changed a thing. Similarities and differences aside, here we were. She was a threat to what I would protect and that was that. I'd kill her to protect what I loved, if I had to.

But like I'd told Raven, it was something I'd do only _if_ I had to. Thus far, I'd avoided killing people unless there had seemed like no other choice—like with the people Conquest had taken and my father. There were several reasons for that, the most simple being the simple morality of it, but beyond that there was a fair bit of pragmatism. Did I _need_ to kill people? Sure, I could appear in a room and reduce everyone inside to paste within moments…but in most cases, my powers were broad enough that there was no actual _need_ to do such a thing. I could blind them with illusions, bind them with my power, knock them out, and any number of other things with ease; given that, what point was there in doing such a thing? Even if the people in question were criminals, I saw little point in killing them when disabling them safely would take only a few moments more. A second or two of inconvenience was no reason to end a life. For the same reason, I tried to avoid pointless property damage, when possible.

Which didn't mean I wouldn't kill people. Aware as I was of the morality of it all, I was the Gamer and with my Mind, I could consider such a thing calmly. If a situation got bad enough that I couldn't handle it trivially, if innocent lives were in danger, then I'd prioritize. If a murderer shot at an innocent little girl, then naturally saving the girls life was more important and preserving the gunner's life moved further down the list. Granted, that wasn't the best example because I could probably stop the bullet _and_ disable the criminal without killing him, but the point was that I'd put the girl before him. In the same way, I'd put the lives of thousands of innocent people before a murderess, however tragic her background story might be.

Even if it might be the first time I'd killed someone in a way that wouldn't have been a mercy kill.

I sighed quietly to myself without bothering to open my eyes.

Removing the Rider's infection entirely was beyond the ability of my healing skills, even now. If the target was Conquest, I might be able to get around that by confining him to an area of the body and then excising it, but with something like Famine, there were no guarantees that would be possible. Even in Conquest's case, there was a possibility it would work, it he withdrew into the brain or another vital location and Famine's mark on Cinder wasn't wholly physical, even leaving out the potential for the target's resistance to disrupt things. Generally, I healed people who were either willing or had no idea what I was doing, so it wasn't an issue, but if someone tried resisting an attempt to heal them, it could get complicated. It was all based on the target's Aura, after all, so the person being healed had something of an advantage. If Cinder was a willing collaborator, killing her might be the only option.

Which wasn't a sure thing by any means. All I knew was that she'd prayed over the crystal for help. Famine could have preyed upon her distress and desperation and then imprisoned her within her own body; that was what I'd figured happened to all of the Rider's victims. Except…

The Cinder I knew didn't seem much like the type to force a woman to eat her own children and then burn her alive; that seemed more like something I'd expect from Conquest. Revenge or no, Cinder seemed the type to burn cold instead of hot; I could see her slitting someone's throat, poisoning them, kill enormous amounts of people for the sake of her own goals, and more, but she'd have been professional about, for the sake of efficiency rather than mercy. She didn't seem the type to do something like that—or rather, not to do it in such a way. If it had been a message of sorts, a way to intimidate her enemies, I could see her doing it, but alerting the Alexandria family who would otherwise not have known she'd even existed? That seemed less likely. Cinder was _ruthless_ , but not impatient.

Granted, people changed over time and her body had been younger then—but the Riders were old enough that I figured any personality quirks they'd ever had had either been worked through millennia ago or were here to stay forever, which implied that something else had changed. Had it been Famine who'd done those things, drawing from the same sadism as its brother? But if so, did that mean that the calm and collected woman I knew was Cinder herself, going along with the Rider's plans of her own will?

Was it the other way around, then? From what I knew, the Riders were very different in both design and function; it would be foolish, then, to assume Famine would behave the same way as Conquest when War had already chosen a very different tactic. Could _it_ be the cold one, making that act of hatred a _human_ thing, where the girl inside had taken her revenge once she'd been granted the power to do so? Normally, I'd have figured the Riders would take over their hosts as quickly as possible, but I thought they might find such a thing funny and play along for at least awhile. But where was that anger now, then? Had Famine taken control after facilitating her vengeance and locked her away, or…

No. Whatever the case, her present face wasn't an act—I could feel that much, at least. I didn't feel anyone struggling within as I had my father and the others, but I didn't feel any rage from her, either. Emotions I wouldn't expect from a Grimm from time to time, but Cinder had always seemed to be cold. Even looking at her now. I couldn't figure out where the human stopped and the Grimm began, if there even was such a thing. Maybe Famine's nature or even simple time had erased such distinctions.

I wasn't sure it made any difference in the end.

Sighing again, I slowly opened my eyes, carefully guiding the flow of my power as I rose from my seat.

"Jaune," Adam said, noticing that I was up. He was standing a ways away from me, trying to get used to the feel of his new sword. Given that his surroundings had been mostly shredded, I figured it had been going pretty well. "You done brooding yet?"

I turned and frowned at him.

"I wasn't brooding," I answered defensively. "I was meditating."

Actually, I'd been brooding—but I'd _also_ been meditating, so it wasn't really a lie, and really, I was a reincarnating magical angel tiger. I could do whatever I wanted.

"Uhuh," Adam answered looking unconvinced. "Whatever you say. Anyway, help me with this?"

"Working on your sword thing?" I asked, despite already knowing.

"Yeah," He replied, frowning slightly as he looked down at the storming edge of his sword. "I think I've got something, but at the same time…I don't know. Watch."

Adam took a careful breath and the sword began to glow. It was dim at first, a slight tint to the steel, but it grew with each passing moment until the blade itself was concealed by the searing light. I watched the process carefully, opening Ajna as I did so to better see the process.

"Usually, I gather power while my sword's sheathed," Adam recited. "Then I release it with a single attack."

"Mm," I replied. "But now you're trying to keep it contained even after you attack. Not as large an area of effect, not as much range, but that's a good thing in its own way, because the power is focused and it lasts longer. Since its charge time is your Semblance's greatest weakness, being able to prepare it once and last the rest of the battle would be pretty useful. Even more so if you can prepare it _while_ fighting."

"Right," Adam agreed, shrugging a shoulder. "But it's a bitch to do."

I smiled slightly at that.

"Of course it is," I answered. "Instead of quickly releasing the energy you gathered, you're trying to hold it all in place. It's only natural that it's hard to do."

Adam grunted and then flicked his wrist, quickly unleashed an edge of brutal power that shredded several houses.

"I can only hold it for a second or two at full charge," He said, rolling his wrist. "More if I use less energy, but as is, it's nothing like what I used against that thing. I'm not even sure if it's worth using as it is now, given how hard it is to do in the first place. I might have been able to hit that thing while it's down, but if I try using this in a real fight…"

I hummed a bit at that, tilting my head to the side.

"It's definitely worth using," I disagreed with his words. "It'll get easier with some more practice, but even as it is now, it looks fairly handy. I can already tell how much it would improve your damage output, you just need to strike a balance between power and ease of use."

"I've been trying," He answered, sounding a bit frustrated. "But it's harder than it sounds."

"For you, maybe," I answered, giving him a smug look. "Charge it again."

I watched carefully as he obeyed and it was easy to see Adam's problem. Namely, _Adam_ couldn't see his problem, literally. One of the biggest advantages of my Clairvoyance—now perfected in my new Ajna—was the simple ability to see Aura. While any Hunter could feel the use of Aura, it was just that; a feeling, more similar to a vague sense of touch than anything else. But I could _see_ Aura, as well as feel it, and that made manipulating it vastly easier.

Right now, Adam was trying to judge it by the glow of his sword, but trying to gauge the precise brightness of something that was growing steadily brighter by the moment was pretty hard to do with the naked eye. In my case, however, I could tell precisely how much power he'd gathered by looking directly at the Aura that had gone into the blade.

"Stop," I said when it was a quarter as powerful as it had been before. He obeyed quickly and ceased gathering power. "Do you feel that?"

"Not sure what you mean," He answered after a moment. "Feel what?"

"The Aura you've gathered," I clarified with a roll of my eyes.

"Oh," He said. "Yeah."

"How much do you think it is compared to what you were holding before?"

He was silent for a moment, considering the blade in his hands as if he were a blind man trying out different weights.

"A tenth?" He guessed before shaking his head. "No, wait. A fifth?"

"Close," I said. "But actually, it's almost exactly fourth."

"Huh," Adam mused. "It feels lighter than that."

"Unsurprising," I said. "Because it gets more and more difficult to hold onto as you continue to gather it. What we need to do is find a balance between the effectiveness of the blade and how hard it is to use. Then, we'll need to make sure you can recognize that amount on your own. Release it and try again."

"Stop when I reach the same amount?" Adam guessed. "Or when I think I do?"

"We'll do that later," I said. "For now, just stop when I tell you to."

He grunted again but didn't argue and for several minutes I made him gather power, stop, and gather it again.

"Now hold onto it like that," I stopped him after the tenth try. "See how long you can keep it stable."

"I got it," He said with a snort. "Practice estimating it and then practice holding it, again and again."

"This shouldn't be new to you," I replied.

"Raven made me do something like this a long time ago," He admitted with a sigh.

"Good on her," I said. "Get ready to reminisce on the olden days a lot from now on."

"Back to basic again, huh," Adam muttered, smiling bitterly. "I know, I know. Like I said, I've done this before. Well, not exactly the same thing, but close enough. You'll be spotting me, then?"

"It seems like a waste of my valuable time, but you might do something stupid otherwise, so I suppose so," I answered with a shrug.

"Hmph," Adam snorted again. "Whatever. Are you going to be doing some training of your own or are you just going to keep lying around?"

"I already told you, I'm meditating," I replied, finding another comfortable place to sit down.

"While watching me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "How's that work?"

I considered making a remark about how he overestimated the amount of effort I'd need to keep an eye on him, but shrugged to myself and answered truthfully.

"It's not an issue anymore," I replied.

 **By raising Soul of the World to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Breath of the World.'**

 **Breath of the World (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 94.31%  
By meditating deeply upon the nature of the world, the user has come to understand his place within it—and as a part of it. With this skill, tapping into the flowing currents of energy around the user is as simple as breathing and the process of meditation itself has simplified. With this skill, it is no longer necessary to remain passive or stationary whilst meditating, as the user can remain focused through the common distractions of the world.  
Increase HP recovery per minute by 100% while meditating.  
Increase MP recovery per minute by 100% while meditating.  
Increase Stamina recovery per minute by 100% while meditating.  
Health (HP) can be improved through meditation.  
Aura (MP) can be improved through meditation.  
Stamina can be improved through meditation.  
The user may meditate while physically active, so long as all actions taken remain simple.  
This skill deactivates immediately if the user is distracted or takes complex actions.**

With the opening of my Chakras, my skill with meditation had improved by leaps and bounds. Soul of the World, which had been improving relatively slowly despite my daily Accelerated use of it, had rocketed through its last seven levels and ranked up to create something greater—and made even more so by the fact that each of my Chakra skills improved it in their own way.

Even as I just sat here, I could feel energy rushing into me like a river, rising up through my body like a waterfall running in reverse. It ran through my body along strange paths that led in-between by Chakras and caused that power to circle and cycle, filtering it as it went and then spreading it throughout my form. Perhaps it was a result of that strange mental state I had obtained as my Chakra's opened, but I could feel that power settling in and changing me. Despite what my skills said, it definitely wasn't just my HP, MP, and Stamina that were growing.

And thanks to the Breath of the World, I could do this constantly. Granted, it deactivated if I did anything that took much effort or concentration—whether that be running fast, fighting, or whatever else—but I could walk around just fine, as well as keep an eye on my surroundings. During the day especially, this was much more convenient, than being immobile as I regained my power and the skill was only level one. It'd improve quickly if Soul of the Worlds sudden growth was any indication, but for now, I was content knowing I never needed to stop my training.

Cinder left for Atlas tonight and I had several things to say to her before she went.

I could use all the help I could get.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Farewell**

Emerald and Mercury looked surprised to find my waiting when they reached the airship that would be taking them to Atlas, immediately dropping their bags and readying themselves for a fight.

"Enough," Cinder said, for her part merely looking annoyed as I eyed her minions with amusement. "This is Jian Bing of the White Fang. I assume you don't need any introductions yourself?"

"Emerald and Mercury," I replied, giving each a brief glance before focusing back on Cinder. "Yes, I'm well aware of your subordinates. Why don't the two of you go get the ship ready?"

Cinder's henchmen exchanged a look between themselves and then glanced back at Cinder, who watched me expressionlessly. To their credit, the two of them didn't back down despite no doubt knowing they were outclassed and didn't move until Cinder gave them a slight nod. I remained at ease as they filed past me into the ship, keeping a close eye on me all the while, and Cinder didn't speak until they were gone.

"I assume there's something you want," Cinder spoke at last. She didn't seem angry or uneased, instead simply looking at me with the usual calm.

"Nothing much," I answered. "I simply wanted to continue our discussion and I thought you'd appreciate a lack of witnesses."

"Oh?" Cinder asked, tilting her head slightly. She didn't bother looking around, but I was fairly certain she didn't believe I'd come alone.

In fairness, I hadn't. Raven was watching us through a portal with Adam and Gou waiting on the other side.

Still, I smiled calmly at her and nodded.

"I had several questions I wished to ask you that were of a, let us say, personal nature," I confirmed. "Given their nature, I believed some privacy was warranted."

Cinder took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Very well then," She answered. "Ask. I make no promises as to answering, however."

"Of course; I understand," I assured her with another smile. "And I appreciate the courtesy. Now where to begin…?"

I hummed to myself quietly, making a show of considering it, drawing things out. I knew at least _something_ about Cinder's past now, but I had to be careful about what I said, both to avoid making assumptions and to keep from giving away how much I did or didn't know. Though we had some common ground due to our past experiences, the fact remained that I'd been shielded from the things she'd endured as a child and was powerful enough to mostly ignore them now—I didn't know how she might react to the subject if I brought it up. At the same time, however, this was a chance for me to see her while she was caught off-guard, to poke and prod and see how she reacted both as a person and, potentially, as a Rider. I'd spent the last few days considering the matter closely and plotting out my attack.

As such, I began by approaching the matter in my own subtle way.

Just as Cinder started to look…well, _more_ annoyed, I tilted my head and felt my smile widen.

"Why is it?" I wondered aloud. "That you prefer to go by Fall instead of Rhodopis?"

Cinder hadn't been moving much beforehand, but she froze stock still at the question, gazing at me with a face like a mask. Inside, however, I could feel the spike of sudden emotion—surprise, concern, old anger, and even…a hint of fear?

I let my smile widen, keeping my gaze amused even when she didn't respond. There was that confirmed, at least.

"Mayro Rhodopis' only daughter," I continued to press before chuckling under my breath. "Only _biological_ daughter, I should say—pity what happened to your stepsisters and stepmother, wasn't it? A woman forced to eat her own children and then burnt alive…nasty business. And then you just seemed to vanish when the Families started looking. One wonders where you might have gone."

I had a few ideas on that front. Once I had all the dates, it was easy to start making connections. Starting with the death of her stepmother and her subsequent departure from at least Mistral, there were only so many places she could have gone—and there was a place I already knew she was connected to.

For her part, Cinder opened her mouth as if to say something before shutting it quickly, staring at me with cold eyes.

"Come to think of it," I mused when she didn't answer. "Didn't you mention you were familiar with Mountain Glenn? I hope you weren't caught up in anything dangerous, Ms. Rhodopis. I heard that even once the people hid themselves underground, it proved for naught. An explosion opened up a passage filled with subterranean Grimm and everyone within died."

"Tragic," Cinder replied, otherwise unmoving. But her mask of calm did little to hide her growing emotion. "Truly. What of it, though?"

I chuckled again.

"I was simply musing over how interesting your past was," I replied. "I'm certain I wouldn't be the only one to think so."

She looked at me quietly for a long moment, but even now refused to react physically. She was angry in a distant way, quietly concerned, worried, but still remaining controlled.

"What do you want?" She asked at last. "I assume you didn't come here just to ponder the past."

At that, I almost frowned. I suppose I wasn't too surprised that she remained calm and collected even when I was dredging up her history, but it was annoying. I wanted her to react, to give something away, yet she steadfastly refused to comply. She was worried now, about impact her plans, no doubt aware of the trouble I could cause her by sharing what I knew with the right people, but she didn't back down.

…I was coming at this from the wrong angle and I knew it. It was simply that the best way I knew to get a reaction was also the most dangerous. I'd tried watching Cinder and waiting from her to let something slip and it had gotten me nowhere. I'd tried pressuring her and digging into her past, but she'd stayed as steady as a rock. There was only one way I was likely to learn what I really wanted to know and it was by asking—and surviving whatever followed. But did I dare take that risk, knowing what it could mean? Or, worse, _without_ knowing what it could mean?

For a moment, I watched Cinder silently and considered the situation. As these things went, I was in a fairly good position. I had my allies with me, I had a newly restocked Dust supply, and we were on the outskirts of the city. Things weren't ideal—alas, it seemed we enemies were never going to just kill themselves for me—but they were about as good as I could reasonably expect. The only thing holding me back was the reminder the Ananta had dealt me about how far out of my league I still was.

But by that same measure, I needed to work harder. I needed to figure things out and strike back somehow. I was on a time limit I couldn't even see, waiting until Malkuth got impatient or annoyed or just wanted to screw me over. Much as I wanted to, I couldn't just hide myself away and train for a hundred years and expect everything to work out. I was standing before what was quite possibly my best source of information—and possibly my most active enemy. Conquest was waiting in his shells, War was dormant within Ruby, and Malkuth was caught up in whatever. If Ozpin was a Rider, then he was probably plotting _something_ , but he was still an unknown while Cinder wasn't. She was doing something, probably something big, and all I knew so far was what she'd told me. If nothing else, I needed to confirm something.

So. Did I take the chance? Given how calm she'd been so far, I didn't think it likely to come to a fight, but if it did, my odds were about as good as I could make them. The Ananta had proven itself an enormous threat, but I couldn't allow myself to be petrified by fear any more then I could let myself act recklessly. With the power I'd gained after the fight, I was in a better condition than ever and I had my friends at myself, be they living or Elemental. If I had to, I could pull the same tricks I had against the Ananta, but better. I couldn't say for sure if it'd be enough, but…I couldn't run around in the dark forever, either. As strong as I was now, the only quick source of levels I had any more were things like the Hydras and they were a huge risk in their own right, and while I could wait for several more skills to improve, there was no way of knowing if I'd get what I wanted. With the two trump cards I'd received earlier to day, I'd already gotten everything I could have hoped for and it'd be at least a few weeks more before I got anything else I was after. By then, she'd be back in Haven and confronting her would pose different risks. This might be my best chance for months.

I took a slow breath, smiled, and made my choice.

"Very well," I allowed with an exaggerated sigh. "I shall get to the point then. Interesting as it is, I'm willing to forget your dark past on the condition that you answer a question I have truthfully."

"Then ask," She said.

"When Mayro Rhodopis died, he was working on something," I said, leaning forward slightly. "Or perhaps I should say that something had come into his possession. A black crystal."

At that, Cinder visibly stiffened. After a moment, her expression twisted into a grimace and she relaxed, but she knew as well as I did that she'd given herself away.

"Was there a question in that sentence that I missed, perhaps?" Cinder said, voice now touched with scorn—directed both at me and towards herself.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"Gone," She said at once, meeting my eyes directly. She was lying. She might have even thought that I knew that.

"Is that so…" I mused before tilting my head. "Ah, but then…what are those marks on your skin then?"

Cinder looked down at her unblemished arms. To the human eye, there was nothing there—and yet, she didn't deny my words. I saw her eyes trace the same patterns I could see written upon her skin before they tracked their way back up to me.

And then she sighed.

"You…" She murmured, turning her face away from me. "Certainly, you know a great deal. But isn't there a saying that ignorance is bliss?"

And just like that, Cinder began to change. The marks became visible as if smoke was rising to the surface of her skin—and they began to spread outwards in curling patterns, encircling her body. At the same time, crystals began to sprout from her flesh, literally growing before my very eyes and glowing along with her eyes as they did. They came in a dazzling array of colors, some of them as small as a fingernail and other rising in massive spikes from her arms and shoulders.

They were Dust crystals, every single one of them.

Fuck.

I tried to signal my allies, kicking myself a bit for pushing even as I resigned myself to the relatively advantageous situation—before abruptly realizing I couldn't move. No, rather, _nothing_ could move. In the distance, I could see insects frozen between beats of their wings and the very air around me seemed to have halted its motions. Mercury was standing as a statue beside and immobile Emerald.

Even before a window appear to notify me of what happened, I understood, my eyes tracking to a pair of luminous crystals.

 **You have been 'Stopped.'**

Time had been frozen by the Dust crystals now growing from Cinder's arms, several of them glowing with an inner light as they wrought their effect on the world. Everything had stopped in place as a result of her power—even I couldn't move anymore.

And yet, I remained aware. I supposed I had my Semblance to thank for that, like most everything else. It seemed that while my perceptions could be sped up and slowed down, even stopping time couldn't shut them down—well, not like this at least. While stopping time didn't seem to work, my Dimensional's effects had played havoc on me. I suppose that was the difference between stopping time and skipping it; even if I was immune to any effects that tried to affect my mind, I guess I couldn't see what wasn't there to begin with. It was a distinction to keep in mind, given that the number of hostile time manipulators I was going to have to face seemed to be on the rise.

Under most circumstances, I'd have been glad to know that the Gamer's Mind was effective even against something like this, for that very reason, but despite the Gamer's Mind keeping me calm, there was no way around it.

I'd screwed up.

Shit. I could honestly say I hadn't expected this. I'd wanted to push her and get a reaction, but it looked like I'd gotten far more than I'd hoped for—for all my preparations, I honestly hadn't thought she'd risk attacking me directly like this. Yeah, I'd _considered_ it, but she must have known that even if she killed me, her problems wouldn't simply evaporate. Had she believed me when I told her I was alone after all? No, even if she had, she must have been aware that I could have simply left notes behind. Putting the matter of the crystal aside, I had enough information to screw up her plans as I knew them. A sent message would be enough to ensure that her whole scheme with Haven and Beacon fell apart; another would have the Alexandria family tearing apart whatever was left. I knew about Torchwick, her allies, and so much else. While I didn't know everything, I had enough evidence to make things really inconvenient for her.

Or so I'd thought, at least—and yet, here we were. Had I overestimated how much she valued her plans? Or did she just believe it wouldn't matter? I suppose both were possible, but…no, I guess if she could casually reach into her bag of tricks and pull out a Time Stop, so arrogance wasn't uncalled for. While she might have some difficulty pinning Raven down, most of the people that were in her way could probably be brushed aside if she was willing to show her hand somewhat. Besides the Time crystals, dozens of other spikes were growing from her skin, armoring her arms and legs with scales of Dust. If their number was proportional to the number of tricks she had up her sleeves…

Well, I suppose this more or less answered whether or not Cinder was a Rider. Except, well. It looked like I'd underestimated her in various ways. While I'd prepared for a fight just in case, it seems the situation wasn't as favorable as I'd first believed. While we were still at the edge of the city and away from any innocent people, I'd really been hoping to have my allies behind me if it came down to this, but given the lack of emotion I was feeling from their direction, it would seem I was the only one still aware of what was happening.

Also, I was still as a statue, unable to even move my eyes. Were it not for my altered view of the world, I wouldn't even be able to look at her, as she was now—although, quite frankly, the view wasn't particularly reassuring.

Cinder hadn't moved from her place yet, her body shaking slightly as more and more crystals pushed their way out of her skin. The black markings on her skin reminded me increasingly of vines, as Dust grew from them like the fruits of a bizarre plant—but with each new crystal that appeared, more power seemed to flash through her system. I could see inside of her, were dark material had begun to line her nerves and veins, lighting up in time with her heartbeat as they grew to look more like wires than anything organic. Black crystals spread across the surface of her heart like ice across a lake, growing out at strange angles until it began to look like a misshapen star, shining from within.

Both inside and out, her transformation progressed, twisting her body with each passing second. I supposed that was at least partially the reason for the Time Stop; keeping people from interrupting her transformation sequence, as well as sucker punching them afterwards. Given how badly this was going, waiting for her to finish transforming seemed like it would be…unwise.

On the other hand, I wouldn't be doing anything about her unless I dealt with this Time Stop, first. My options on that front were unfortunately limited—really, there were only three, and none of them were very good. I suppose it was a bit odd to be weighing cost effectiveness while frozen still and standing next to a transforming death machine, but given that it seemed I'd need to fight for my life momentarily, I needed to be careful now more than ever. It'd do me no good to escape the Time Stop only to die because I exhausted myself, then.

Time Stops were tricky business in generally, as I'd come to learn recently. While an extremely powerful effect in various ways, it came with drawback—for me especially. First of all, my naturally ability to regain enormous quantities of MP every second were sadly inapplicable when seconds stopped passing. Similarly, my Acceleration—a skill I'd come to rely upon—didn't function during stopped time; maybe it was a little too much to ask to be able to stack absolutely _everything_ , but it was still a bit saddening that I could stop time and accelerate it simultaneous. Yes, I knew it was a contradiction in and of itself, but I still wanted to do it.

All of which meant that even after I broke out, I'd be at something of a disadvantage. I'd need to depend entirely upon my stores of Dust crystals, which wouldn't normally be a problem in and of itself, but…well, maybe I was being paranoid, but it seemed like the Dust Master who was currently growing Dust out of her skin with the help of an ancient Dust-based superweapon might have a slight edge on me when it came to using Dust; call it a hunch. And while I was by no means helpless or slow without my Acceleration, being able to move twenty to thirty times faster than normal was pretty damn useful.

And, putting aside whatever else she might use against me, I was going to have to fight Cinder without either. I wasn't too keen on that idea; I preferred to fight my enemies with every possible advantage, but the tricks I'd brought to the table were already being chipped away at. As it was, I was going to have to fight here one on one, relying solely on my own power—which might have been _fair_ , yeah, but fuck that shit; it greatly increased my odds of losing.

But there was no choice now. After pressuring her and pushing her into revealing her true nature, there was nothing I could do but fight.

Or was there?

A thought occurred to me as layers of crystal turned Cinders fingers into lethal-looking claws that were oddly jointed. She flexed them once, a rubbing of her finger blades sending up a sudden surge of sparks, before approaching me carefully. As I watched her approach, absently noting that her glass heels had been replaced by almost identical crystal shoes, I considered the possibility. It was a long shot, but if talking had gotten me into this, could it possibly get me back out? Certainly, it would be far better than being forced into a disadvantageous fight, but…could I actually pull it off?

No way to know except to try, I suppose. If I failed, I'd be no worse off than I was now, and if I succeeded…

Had I been able to, I'd have taken a deep breath as I watched Cinder approach—but I didn't act. I'd only have one chance at this and there was only one thing I could think of that might actually work, but I'd need to do this right. I waited until she was right in front of me and watched her carefully. Cinder didn't say a word, now that she seemingly had me did to rights, she just lifted her claws as they started to glow. Space rippled oddly around them, outlining blades that were there, but I didn't have time to think about it as she swung them towards my face.

Now, I thought, using a new trick. Expending an enormous amount of MP—so large, in fact, that it was only useable at all thanks to the effects of my cost reducers and was _still_ almost cripplingly expensive—I felt things change as I revealed one of my trump cards. It was something I'd kept in reserve to give myself a major advantage in a crucial moment, but…to think I'd need to use it just to have a chance.

 **By raising Acceleration to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Tachyon.'**

 **Tachyon (Active) LV1 EXP: 7.94% MP: 100000  
The ability to temporarily remove oneself from the normal flow of time. By warping time and space around himself to exist solely within a specific 'moment,' the user can seemingly cause time to stand still.  
Additional 100000 MP spent per 'moment.'**

All of a sudden, I could move within the frozen world and I immediately shed a Skin to escape the attack. Cinder's claws swept through only an afterimage, distorting the space around them as they went. I analyzed the attack even as I escaped from it and knew I'd made the right choice—it wouldn't have been my flesh those blades would have cut; they'd have carved straight through the space I'd occupied.

—But I didn't have time to worry about things like that. Acceleration was still too expensive and brief to be useful, so I needed to make this moment count. Even as one hand swept into my Inventory to grab a handful of Dust crystals that I immediately devoured, I spoke.

"Now, now," I said with a laugh, making sure I sounded like I was making light of the attack. I did my best to maintain my confident demeanor, but given how much energy stopping time for even a moment had taken me and how easily Cinder was able to do the same, it was a little difficult. "There's no need for that, _Famine_."

After the words left my mouth, I froze again, Tachyon running its course. All that mana for a literally momentary effect…the sad part was that it was _still_ cheaper than using my Dimensional to accomplish the same effect. But it had its uses, so long as it was handled with care.

Cinder froze so still that for a moment, I almost thought she'd fallen prey to her own attack—but then she turned around slowly, staring at me hard even as crystals began creeping into her eyes.

"And how is it that you know that name?" She asked coldly. "Who are you, really?"

Suddenly, I realized I could move. So she could not only freeze time, but even exclude specific people from the effect at will? That was…frightening, I had to admit.

But I couldn't let something like surprise or fear take away this chance.

At once, dark spots began to appear on my skin in growing patches, expanding quickly across my flesh. At a glance, they might have seemed similar to the artistic designs that were still visible on Cinder's skin, but there was no pattern to their expansion, no shape to be revealed. They simple spread and consumed until they covered me entirely.

This was the product of nigh-endless training with Acceleration—my almost maxed-out Metamorphosis.

"Isn't that a cruel thing to ask, 'sister'?" I replied in hopefully real-sounding amusement.

Cinder looked at me for a long moment, watching as layers of Grimm-bone armor began to appear without the slightest change in her expression—and then she clicked her tongue.

"Conquest," She said.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Hello**

I chuckled quietly and smiled at her, ignoring the way my exoskeleton was growing into place. As my skill with Monstrosity and Metamorphosis improved, so had both my ability to transform myself and the strength of my transformed state—though in truth, it was rare that I fully transformed. As both of those skills improved primarily through the _process_ of transformation, I simply kept the virus in a constant state of reduction and contraction using my healing skills. At the level the skills were at now, however, I didn't even really need _that_ to keep the Grimm disease in check; it was as much a part of me now as my own flesh and blood. This was my first time fully changing in quite a while.

At present, I was adopting my 'usual' form as Jian Bing. White armor spread over me quickly, smooth, sleek, and built for speed. A smooth mask formed over my face, devoid of any openings or features, and a pair of horns formed shortly after. Just in case thing continued to go downhill, I also grew my dark wings, because if I didn't do it now, it'd be too late to regret it later.

Well, even if I said that, she continued to transform as well, and frankly…I didn't like what I saw. After the crystals grew into place on her arms and legs, something particularly noteworthy occurred—a series of almost hornlike protrusions began to sprout from her forehead, cheek bones, and temples, each of the spike a pure and beautiful white.

Cinder was growing herself a _crown_ of white Dust.

Fuck me, but I had underestimated her.

"It's good to see you again, of course," I said before heaving an exaggerated sigh. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the strength of my transformed state wouldn't not be enough to accomplish anything on its own, but having it in place made me feel a little bit better and I was taking what I could get. "But to think my dear sister would attack me after we were finally reunited…"

She clicked her tongue again, giving me a reproachful look.

"If you didn't want to be attacked, you should have introduced yourself earlier," She replied, but made no move to renew her assault. "What did you expect with such an aggressive approach?"

"Mm, but weren't you the one who was trying so hard to hide?" I asked. "You've been so secretive that it was hard to meet you until now and you were so tightlipped about everything that it was hard to get any answers. More than that, even though I thought it was you, haven't you behaved a bit oddly of late? I was a bit worried about you, you know."

It was a risk to bring it up, but pretty much everything I could possibly say carried some risk now. I was trying to pretend to be one of my greatest enemies and was running only on what I'd put together thus far. I had no idea how Conquest—who wasn't even a singular being to begin with—behaved around his erstwhile siblings and right now my only _real_ advantage was that Conquest's nature was so variable and divided. Even then, however, I was banking on my past theories that the Rider's weren't normally in direct contact with Malkuth. And while a part of me was hoping that the conversation didn't stray towards any questions I couldn't answer, the fact of the matter was that I couldn't hope to steer it fully away from things I didn't know without drawing suspicion towards myself, as they'd be the type of things most likely to come up in a conversation like this one.

Best, then, to mitigate the risk and stick to subjects I thought I could _fake_ knowledge of convincingly and control the flow of the conversation myself. I already knew that my enemies weren't all knowing and while I sadly wasn't either, I did have _some_ advantages. Besides, I couldn't pass up this chance to fish for information, either.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" She asked, a brief flash of emotion flickering through her. I noted it curiously, but wasn't sure what it meant—yet. "It isn't like you to take the subtle approach, Conquest."

I sighed again and nodded.

"It's not," I agreed. "But it can't be helped for now. War's been taken out of the picture temporarily so a part of me is filling in for him."

"War?" Famine asked, sounding surprised. "He's been defeated?"

"It seems he made a mistake with the horse he chose to ride," I said before squinting at her carefully. "I was a little worried that you had done the same, Famine. When I heard about your past and met you face to face…aren't you acting a bit strangely? That body of yours…tell me, is the woman inside it really undercontrol?"

Famine frowned at me for a long moment before replying.

"It's nothing for you to worry about," She replied. "There were special circumstances that presented an interesting opportunity."

"Even if you say that, I can't help but worry, you know?" I told her. "The master entrusted me with this, after all."

"The master?" She said, blinking once. Her eyelids made a weird scraping sound as they closed over crystalizing membranes. "He spoke to you personally?"

"Not _directly,_ no," I said. "But this iteration of me was awakened specifically to deal with this matter. Crom even dragged me around for a while."

"Why would—" She began before pausing, eyebrows furrowing in…concern? "Is it time?"

"It is," I stated before looking at her carefully. "But do you know what that means or are those simply empty words?"

Not that I had any room to talk on that front…

"Of course, I do," She answered with a slight scowl. " _He's_ been reborn, hasn't he? Keter."

I watched her for a moment longer before nodding.

"My apologies," I replied. "Yes. As you might imagine, Lord _Malkuth_ has been watching things with great interest."

I emphasized the name to brush away the suspicion in her own eyes and saw her purse her lips and nod towards me in return.

"Naturally," She said. "And Death? If you and War have moved, where is he, then?"

"I don't know," I admitted truthfully. "I recall that Keter attacked when he was away from the master's side and it seems he managed to wipe Keter's soul clean, but I don't know where he is at present. Presumably occupied with something important."

"So that's why you were assigned," She mused before nodding. "It seems you've been working hard, Conquest."

"It's nothing," I dismissed before making a grandiose gesture towards myself. "What do you think? Even if it's not how I'd usually play around, I'm a bit proud of my work this time."

"The White Tiger of the White Fang," She mused. "I suppose it's a bit obvious in hindsight."

"What can I say?" I replied. "It's my color."

"Have you take the entire organization, then?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"Too much risk of exposure," I replied. "Keter can see our infections as well, after all. Right now, it's best to simply observe him from a distance without him being aware and wait for him to grow stronger. And besides…most of them are useless, anyway. There's only a few I'm really interested in."

"Raven Branwen, huh?" She mused. "Yes, I suppose I can see why she'd be of interest to you, but…why haven't you taken her yet, then?"

"Sadly, things are so rarely that simple," I answered with a sigh. "She's tied to Keter as well and has regular contact with him. While I don't believe she suspects me yet, she's been on her guard and is protected. Best not to take any chances with her yet, alas."

"Then you should just kill her," She stated. "If she's already allied with the enemy, there's no reason to hold back."

"Don't underestimate Raven's power," I answered. "Or her usefulness, especially to me. She's not something to simply be thrown away, Famine."

Cinder considered it for a moment longer and then exhaled slowly as she nodded.

I didn't quite sigh in relief, but it was a near thing. I'd been fairly confident I could make that fly, but not certain. My words were true, though—one of the reasons I'd been careful to keep Raven separate from anyone I suspected as a Rider was because of the enormous risk she posed as a carrier. Even if I was as close to her during the fight against Conquest as I was to her now, I probably wouldn't have been willing to risk it. For that same reason, however, she was an ideal target for at least Conquest, who'd be able to use her power to easily spread on a global scale. Anyone who knew of his abilities could see the deadliness of that combination.

Which should be enough to make Cinder hesitate before dropping a Time Stop and killing her when she couldn't resist. Now that I had a better grasp of Cinder's power, it wasn't enough to simply guarantee my own protection—it was just as important, if not more so, to make sure she wouldn't attack my friends or family, either. If she'd been willing to kill Jian Bing, then it was unlikely she'd hesitate too much before dealing with Adam or Raven the same way. Even if I had to reveal a few things to ensure their safety, it was more than worth it.

Now, to protect my best friend.

"Normally, I'd start with her son and go after her that way, but…" I heaved another sigh, shaking my head. "Sadly, this entire situation is bit troublesome."

"Why?" She asked before pausing for a moment. "Is he connected to Keter as well, then?"

"Oh?" I asked, inserting a bit of playfulness into my voice. "Could it be you really don't know? Should I make fun of you for being unobservant, sister?"

She looked at me flatly until I sighed again. I could honestly say this wasn't something I'd ever expected to reveal to one of the Riders, but under the circumstances, I suppose it was the best choice I had. It was dangerous, of course, but it'd be worth it if I could keep this charade going and, if not control, then at least _guide_ Cinder's actions. While she had attacked Jian Bing with lethal intent, I was well aware of the fact that the Grimm had been deliberately sparing my life for quite some time now. If I did it right, I should be able to manage it and ensure that nothing happened to me or my friends in the process.

Besides which, as information went, there was no way to be sure that she wouldn't find out, whether on her own or through a message from the other Grimm. Best to keep that in mind and avoid basing any plans around things I couldn't rely on in the first place. This lie of mine could fall apart in an instant so I needed a way to make sure she wouldn't turn on me immediately—it wouldn't do me any good if she killed me before learning something that might stay her hand and right now, that was looking disturbingly possible. I was liking my chances against her in a fight less and less by the moment.

"Fine, fine," I muttered under my breath before looking at her again. "Haven't you noticed? He and Keter go to that school of yours."

Cinder's eyes widened, a shock of surprise running through her, and I was glad to see that she honestly hadn't known who I truly was. Any reminder that my enemies _weren't_ all-knowing was a good one in my books, especially when it helped to outline their weaknesses and flaws. Cinder was obviously _horrifically_ powerful—whether she was actually creating Dust or drawing it from somewhere else, it was obvious that her ability to combine and utilize the material dwarfed those of anyone I'd ever even heard of. By mixing Dust in various ways, she could probably create a multitude of effects, meaning that her ability to stop time for long durations was sadly not the full extent of her power. From setting fields aflame to brutally twisting space to even drawing upon the awesome power of white Dust…I could only speculate on what she was truly capable of and that alone was horrifying. It was obvious now that any thoughts I'd had of _beating_ her in a fight as I was now were faulty.

But for all her might, she was no more omniscient than Conquest had been. Sure, she knew a great deal and was very intelligent, but she didn't know _everything_ and she wasn't instantly aware of everything that happened around her. Conquest had had access to my father's memories to put the pieces together, but Cinder didn't seem to be able to tell me apart from the rest of mankind at a glance—that is, she couldn't see my soul or my power. Though I was still up against a vastly superior opponent, she could be deceived and misinformed. At the very least, I had that advantage on my side.

Even so, she was smart and I was beginning to get an idea of precisely _how_ wary I would need to be of her in the future. A moment after her eyes widened in surprise, they narrowed again and I could all but feel her putting the pieces together. Granted, I hadn't been particularly subtle in my civilian identity and the pieces weren't too hard to put together, but I'd need to keep in mind that she wasn't blind.

"Jaune Arc," She murmured under her breath. "Yes…I suppose I can see that. Certainly, he does stand out."

"Honestly, I'd thought you were already aware, sister," I replied. "You've spent so much time with him lately, I'd thought you had something in mind. If it wasn't his true nature that drew you in, though, then why did you take so much interest in a human?"

"I'd simply thought he might be useful," Cinder answered dismissively. "It is no different from you and the Raven. For a human of his age, he is exceptionally powerful and it's always useful to have competent allies."

"Mm," I mused before shrugging. "Fair enough, sister. But be careful with him—you should be well aware of his importance. Don't do anything reckless, okay?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, brother?" She answered with another touch of scorn. "Did you think I'd make such a mistake?"

"Hm?" I wondered aloud, masked face unfortunately unable to smirk. "But didn't you completely fail to notice who he was, despite being in regular contact with him?"

Cinder stared at me hard with glowing crystal eyes. It was uncomfortable as all hell, but I did my best to laugh it off anyway.

"No offense meant, sister," I added through my fake mirth. "It's simply that he's a wily one—you and I both know that. While he's probably no match for you, he's only used a fraction of his true power within that school of yours; as someone whose interest he caught and as someone who knows the nature of his power, it should go without saying that you should be wary, right?"

At that she frowned, not in denial but rather in consideration.

"You believe he knows who I am?" She asked.

"Mm, isn't it possible?" I asked. "While you leave behind more subtle traces than I do, you're markings still make you stand out, sister. If I'm not mistaken, your plans should be coming to fruition soon, right? Someone like Keter should have no need to attend a school, so isn't it likely that he's going for some other reason?"

Cinder had nothing to say to that, instead letting her frown deepen as she mulled over my words.

"At the very least, I know for a fact that he can detect my presence," I chose to admit when she didn't respond. "To be honest, several iterations of me have already fallen."

Suddenly, her frown turned my way.

"What did you do?" She demanded, sounding annoyed.

I shrugged at her, remaining at ease.

"It couldn't be helped," I replied. "He was moving too slowly. Death did its job too well and left him almost directionless—he needed something to make him pick up the pace. Crom was the one who made the decision, however; I'm not certain if he received orders or not, but he transported one of my Shells and forcibly opened it some time ago. Sadly, I've only outside knowledge of the matter because the situation was contained, but it seems I took his father and several others and forced him to kill them? Too bad I don't remember it all; it must have been fun."

She continued to ponder that for a moment before sighing.

"If it's like that, I suppose it makes sense," She admitted. "But if Death wiped him clean, he shouldn't be aware of the rest of us. You didn't say anything, did you?"

"I wouldn't do that," I defended. "Even if I wasn't there, I know better that too make such a mistake—there's no reason to tell anything more than what's necessary. But still, with that power of his, I can't be certain he didn't discover anything; I was able to observe him from a distance and he certainly seemed to have gathered a fair bit of information about my bacterial state. Still, he shouldn't be aware of the truth, no."

"Then there should be no way for him to connect the two of us," She said. "Unless he learnt something from someone else, he shouldn't even know about me. Even if the markings I leave are distinctive to those who can see them, they shouldn't mean anything to someone who's never heard of me."

Which was true, in fairness. If I hadn't run into Ruby…if I hadn't managed to summon Keter…then without a doubt, I'd still be in the dark about a great many things.

"Perhaps," I admitted. "Do you have something in mind, sister?"

"Given that he already knows about you, wouldn't it make more sense if I was the one who dealt with him from now on?" She asked. "I am, as you said, already quite close to him."

"Hm," I made a show of considering. "I admit, I wanted to ask you for help for that very reason…but at the same time, it's too early to make any assumptions. What he should and shouldn't know aside, this is too important to take chances with. The fact remains that he must have chosen to attend Haven for a reason—and if that reason is you, he wouldn't approach you so blatantly without a plan for dealing with you, would he?"

Because that would be stupid. Though, in my defense, I _had_ had a plan—it had just burst into flames and leapt into the abyss on contact with Cinder's overwhelming power.

Cinder for her part, gave me a somewhat dubious glance which I had mixed feeling about. On one level, I found her skepticism appealing; I remembered every interaction I'd had with Cinder in the past few weeks and the impression I'd given her should be one of cocky arrogance. Which, after this particular fuck up, I may well have to admit to somewhat, but the fact remained that that wasn't the entire picture and that there was a lot more to it. That she didn't seem to know that meant that she was underestimating me somewhat, which could give me an opportunity to exploit later.

On the other hand, while being underestimated was good, I didn't want Cinder to start thinking she could crush me effortlessly and walk all over me.

Mainly because she totally could.

"Just take my word for it and be careful?" I requested. "War has already been removed and Keter isn't working alone—and we know what he could become. I don't want to take any chances with something this important and I've already established surveillance on him and have been arranging to have him tested regularly. Things are going fairly well and I'd rather not risk you exposing yourself just yet, so while I don't mind you doing what you can, please be careful. At the very least, can't you do it just to make things easier for me?"

Cinder's gaze became annoyed, her eyes narrowing.

"Is that something you should say after making me do so much extra work?" She asked. "If you knew it was me, then why didn't you just play along with my plans quietly?"

Ah, I remembered after a moment's confusion. The Atlas thing. Suddenly, challenging Cinder so boldly seemed a bit premature.

Out loud, however, I just chuckled again.

"Ahah, sorry, sorry," I apologized, even as I laughed. "But what kind of image would it have sent had I just agreed? I am in charge of the White Fang, after all; I can't simply accept a deal that seems so disadvantageous without coming off as odd, can I? Even if we'd had known history, there's a limit to what I can do for a friend, and with how secretive you've been…well, it couldn't be helped. I don't mind helping you, but it'd need to be a bit fairer if we want to keep playing things safe, right? Don't be mad at me, sis."

Cinder huffed and looked away, still seeming annoyed. But, if nothing else, I noticed that she wasn't particularly upset with me, either.

"I'll make it up to you, how about that?" I continued. "I can still help you out in subtle ways; I should be able to make things easier for you, at least. So forgive me, okay?"

"Very well," Cinder accepted with a tired sigh. "I suppose that under the circumstances, there was no other way. But in the future, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make things difficult for me."

"It should be fine," I said with a shrug. "Once this is done, it should be easier for us to work together and explain things away, so please just put up with it for now. Now then…what should we do about this?"

Despite not having eyes, I did my best to look over our transformed states and our frozen surroundings.

Cinder tilted her head at me inquisitively.

"Despite what I said earlier about being alone, the truth is that Raven was worried about me," I explained, keeping my tone amused. "Well, given what almost happened, I suppose I can't blame her, can I?"

"You knew far too much to leave you alive," She replied. "And I'm not one to leave loose ends untied. Next time, remember to say something earlier."

"Mm," I hummed in confirmation. "Well, at least it was just that. For a moment, I was worried that I just had the type of personality that people found aggravating and that you were going to kill me because I annoyed you."

"Don't be foolish," She replied before sending me a look that glimmered with amusement—and also just kind of glimmered in general, glowing crystals and all. "Although you do annoy me, brother."

 **XxXXxX**


	17. Chapter 17

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Continuation**

Now that the levels of Monstrosity and Metamorphosis were so high, reversing the transformation was a simple as willing it to undo itself. Plates of white armor shimmered around me before withdrawing, sinking back into my flesh like a stone being consumed by a pond. Then, my blackened skin began to clear in patches, reverting to my normal coloration as it did until all traces were gone. When I'd returned fully to normal, I calmly walked back over to the place I'd been standing prior to the Time Stop and waited.

Cinder's reversal was much the same, with Dust crystals retracting one by one. In case it needed to be said, they didn't actually withdraw i _nto_ her body—I checked even though basic logic dictated that she'd need a noticeable amount of room to store that much Dust inside her. Instead, the Dust just seemed to fade out of existence, pulling back through either the same portals that the Grimm normally used or something akin to my Inventory, Either way, they were almost entirely gone in moments and then the black markings on her skin, leaving behind nothing but a pair of spikes on her shoulders.

"Three," Cinder said, straightening her dress absently. "Two. One."

The time crystals slipped into her flesh as well and time resumed as if nothing had happened. We picked up our conversation precisely where it had left off.

"I can't say I ever agreed with that saying," I answered, smiling at her easily. "I've always believed in the power of knowledge—you of all people should understand that. You know what I'm after, Ms. Fall."

I emphasized the name lightly and noted that the look of annoyance she shot my way wasn't entirely faked.

"Perhaps I do," She replied nonetheless. "But for you to be willing to push so hard for it…Dr. Rhodopis' work must be of great interest to you indeed. Assuming that I did, in fact, know something…what reason would I have to tell you? Am I to believe that you would truly forget everything you know, simply because I gave you what you wanted? Do you honestly think I'd believe you'd cast me aside why I was still your only way to get it?"

"Certainly, it is good to be self-confident," I mused. "But don't you think that you might be overestimating its value? Or…perhaps _yours_?"

"No," She said simply, giving me a slight and cold smile. "Whatever you may think, I know my own worth—and it's. But if you do not, then feel free to strike me down here and now. You won't find it on your own."

"…Hm," I mused, making the sound in the back of my throat as I smiled quietly at her. "To say those words with such conviction…perhaps I am a little interested, after all."

"Then if that is all, I'll be taking my leave," Cinder said, closing her eyes for a moment before walking past me with a smirk on her lips. "I have worked to do."

For a moment, as she turned her back towards me, I considered taking a shot at her here and now. Her crystals had been withdrawn and she was vulnerable, however briefly. It was even possible that if I turned Tachyon's power upon her now, she wouldn't be able to break free while under its effects the way my Semblance had allowed me to. If I unleashed everything I had on her, I might have a at winning shot, however long.

Of course, if I took that shot and _missed_ , I was a dead man. If I failed to kill her, failed to overcome the still unknown limits of her abilities, then I already knew I couldn't withstand what would follow—and neither could any of my allies. I wouldn't be simply gambling with _my_ life, but also with theirs, and the odds weren't remotely high enough for me to dare take that chance.

The moment passed and I closed my eyes. Better to err on the side of not being brutally murdered and try again when I actually had a chance in a fight. There was still a lot to be gained from this ruse besides, even if there was no way to know for sure how long it would be able to last. Cinder was perhaps the first in I had into the enemy camp and one of the few people who could tell me what I needed to know, if I played my cards right.

"Then I wish you luck, Ms. Fall," I replied, snapping my fingers once, gauntlets making the sound metallic. "Raven, if you would."

There was a moment of hesitation as my friend blinked beneath her mask on the other side of her surveillance portal, surprised by the blatant request—but then a swirling red gateway opened up before my eyes. I saw Cinder pause behind me and glance over her shoulder, but I didn't bother with anything so obvious myself, instead walking confidently through the opening and letting it fade behind my back.

The second it did, however, I heaved a deep sigh. I didn't relax, primarily because I'd had to force myself not to tense in the first place, but that had been a type of strain in its own right. Had I been anyone else, I might have collapsed to the ground out of simple relief from being away from Cinder. But I _was_ myself and instead I just gave Raven a rather bleak smile when I saw her looking my way.

"What happened?" She asked immediately. "I saw Cinder suddenly change position slightly."

Trust Raven to notice such a thing, I thought. Indeed, Cinder hadn't returned to her precise position before the Time Stop end and to an outside observer it must have been like a sudden change—but while she hadn't been as exact as me, she'd been fairly close. For Raven to be able to pick out the differences instantly at night and from a distance was…well, more than a little impressive, especially given the type of eyes she was using. The mere thought was enough to make my smile a bit more genuine.

"Ah, that…" I shook my head. "It seems I overstep my bounds…and underestimated Cinder. When I pushed too hard, she stopped time for several minutes."

Raven's eyes widened at that, as did Adam's. Being a dog, Gou's face wasn't very adept at making human expressions, but I could feel his surprise as well.

"Stopped time?" Raven breathed. Her eyes flicked over me once. "Are you…?"

"I'm fine," I assured her. "I managed to avoid a fight, or else I wouldn't be. If I hadn't been able to retain my mind even when time was frozen, I would most likely be dead."

I felt another flash of surprise flicker through my friends, though whether because of what I'd said or simply because I was admitting to weakness, I wasn't sure. It wasn't as if I hadn't done so before, though, I just didn't like to do it out loud. Oftentimes, the appearance of strength was as useful as strength itself, both to myself and my allies. Even if I had no idea what to do, it made more sense to appear as if I did to reassure them while I tried to figure something out rather than say I was clueless and add to their worry. I did my best to appear like I was ready for anything, especially when I wasn't; sometimes just looking like I was strong and in control could save lives.

Like it probably just had with Cinder.

But even so, this situation was too dangerous to risk leaving them in the dark. Cinder was a massive threat to all of us, even if I'd managed to temporarily remove us from her path—we all needed to prepare ourselves now. Rare as it might have been for me, this wasn't the time for secrets.

And as it happened, there were several that I was overdue on revealing.

"Time manipulation," Raven mused under her breath, brow momentarily furrowing in frustration. "Why does it always have to be time manipulation. Is she like Ozpin?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "She uses Dust—as I expected, Famine's power seems tied to it. She grew crystals from her very skin and seemed quite skilled at using them. Which, sadly, means that this isn't the full extent of her abilities. She tried to kill me with a spatial attack before I stopped her and it seems safe to assume that she's capable of a great deal more."

Raven exhaled sharply, clenching her teeth as she did. I could all but see her going through the possibilities in her head—the same ones that I'd sadly already reviewed several times—and she knew it wasn't good. That she didn't swear was a testament to her own self-control.

Adam, meanwhile, started swearing enough for all of us put together.

"We'll need to think of countermeasures," Raven said, not acknowledging her son's swearing fit but making no move to stop it either. "I assume you came up with something for time manipulate, just in case Ozpin proved to be a threat, but the rest of it will need to be—"

"Raven," I interrupted, halting her with a word. "Before that, there's something I need to tell you."

Raven tilted her head slightly and looked at me carefully.

"What?" She asked, tone serious. She knew I wouldn't be bothering with it right now unless it was important.

"Everything," I admitted.

 **XxXXxX**

Raven took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. Adam and Gou had wandered off and were very deliberately not paying attention, so it was just Raven and I for now.

"So," She said. "You were never Jian Bing?"

"No," I admitted. "I'd merely mastered his martial arts style and assumed his form."

"So instead of being a reincarnated Faunus King, you're a reincarnated Angel from Babel _pretending_ to be a reincarnated Faunus King," She asked to clarify.

"Right," I answered, nodding as I did. "The reincarnation stuff is still true, it's just that as far as I know, this is my first body since Babel fell."

"I see," She murmured, looking at me carefully for a long moment before exhaling another breath. "Okay."

"Okay?" I asked.

"It's no more outlandish than anything else you told me," She stated. "Simply more confusing and elaborate. I assume you had a reason?"

"Truthfully, it was simply fear," I admitted. "While I grew into my power very quickly, when I first met you I realized immediately that you were significantly more powerful than myself and considered you to be an enemy. After that, it was simply difficult to unravel the lie and I feared your reaction to the truth and what might happen."

She was silent for a moment.

"I know something about that, I suppose," Raven whispered, reaching up to touch her mask. She held her hand there for a moment before removing it from her face. "Given the circumstances, I suppose I can't blame you for that. Why tell me now, then?"

I imagined she was probably thinking of the family and team she'd left behind and never returned to—not even when I'd given her a chance to do so. As she said, she probably _did_ know something about the difficulty of revealing hidden truths and explaining oneself.

"I'd always intended to," I said with a sigh. "Though I admit that I was putting it off. As for the reason…I suppose the simplest is that I consider you a friend and don't want any lies hanging over our heads. Beyond that, however, I just scenes in movies and such where the liar is revealed while something important is happening and it makes everyone turn on him and doubt. I'd hate for us to be fighting Malkuth or the Riders just to have them reveal my identity to you and distract you in a crucial moment, so I vowed I'd tell you the moment things began to move, even if I was still nervous about it."

"And they have?" She guessed.

"They have," I confirmed. "When Cinder stopped time and tried to kill me, I was forced to think on my feet to protect all of us. Not to doubt your abilities Raven, but if Cinder proved willing to kill Jian Bing, who would have been the public face of the White Fang in her eyes, then it stood to reason that she might target his known associates and allies. I assumed you'd rather go without such attention."

"Dealing with a time manipulating assassin would be very inconvenient," She agreed, hand falling to the hilt of her sword. "I have a blade of Time Dust in case of emergency, but it's a limited supply meant for a worst case scenario. In a prolonged fight, the risk of it running out is great and I'd be unable to switch to another blade without being left vulnerable; in that situation, would likely be pressed just to escape."

It was a quiet admission and no doubt a hard one for her to make, but there was no denying it—Cinder was a force to be reckoned with and one we'd have to approach with caution.

"To keep that from happening, I was forced to think on my feet," I said. "Even once I managed to stop her and gain some measure of her trust, the fact remained that if she was willing to assault me in the first place, there was nothing to guarantee your or Adam's safety—so I was forced to imply and admit to several things. In Adam's case, I simply revealed—as Jian Bing—the true identity of Jaune Arc as Keter while also making her believe we were separate people. In your case, I simply stated that you were important to me and that I needed you."

Raven raised an eyebrow at that, giving me another long glance.

"And how did you make her believe any of _that_?" She asked.

I sighed again.

"That's part of why I wanted to get these secrets out of the way," I began. "If I'm making sure there are no misunderstandings, it only makes sense to go all the way, right? In order to make her trust me, I told her I was Conquest."

Raven blinked at that, frowning at me.

"And she believed it, obviously," She mused. "Why?"

"Because I gave a fairly convincing impression," I stated, lifting a hand. "Before I do anything to alarm you, this also a fairly good time to tell you about the nature of my Semblance. The only reason I hadn't told you already was because…well, frankly, it's annoying to do so as it's extremely complex both in how it looks and how it functions beneath the surface. When I allowed you to attack me several months ago to show that I wasn't injured by it, I implied that was healing myself rapidly—which, in fairness, I was. That is not why I didn't seem injured, however. Instead, that's a basic application of my Semblance which redefines how my body interacts with the world. Even without healing, I'm not injured by attacks in any obvious or physical sense, though I suspect that's because I replace any parts of my body that are altered instantaneously. This is the main protection for my body which does a variety of things that I'll get to shortly as they're simply easier to demonstrate than explain—but there's also a level of protection for my mind."

"What do you mean?" She asked. "Protected how?"

"My thoughts are shielded," I answered. "No matter what happens, my power insures that I remain calm and able to think things through, while at the same time, they're protected from external influences. Semblances and other things that would affect my mind are simply stopped outright thanks to my Semblance. The mechanics of it are rather complex and even I do not understand them in full, but to put it simply, my mind—or perhaps my soul, though it's possible they amount the same thing in this case—is stored safely in a higher dimension. Things that try to affect my mind through my body are ineffective because my mind isn't _in_ my body and is well defended besides."

Raven frowned, mulling over that.

"So it's similar to the difference between the memory and storage of a computer, then?" She guessed. "Our physical body retains only the active part of a much larger system?"

"No," I shook my head. "That's not quite it—if anything, this body would be nothing more than the display, while my shielded mind is the memory that determines _what_ is displayed and the storage would be contained on a higher level, in my soul. Or, it's possible that I'm further divorced from it than that and what I truly am is the user _operating_ the computer that displays my body, and the memory and storage would be what connects us."

"That sounds complicated," Raven mused, blinking at me mildly.

"It is," I said with another sigh. "As I said, even _I_ don't fully understand how it works. Somewhat ironically, my Semblance didn't come with an instruction manual. But what matters in this case is simply this—that I can retain myself even while infected by Conquest."

Without moving, I willed the infection to spread over my hands, turning my flesh black. The beginning of armor began to form as well, starting with my nails, but I stopped it from progressing any further when I saw that I'd made my point.

Raven was already on the other side of the clearing, drawing back in a single step.

"Even if it reaches my brain, it makes no difference," I said, speaking to her in precisely the same tone as before with Levant's aid. "I can eve reverse the effect , though that took some work to figure out."

To demonstrate, I returned my hand to normal and dropped it back to my side.

"I'm still me," I continued. "Captain of my soul and all that."

"In fairness, that would most likely be what someone who _wasn't_ in control would say," Raven pointed out, knowing I'd be able to hear her easily despite the distance. "Under the circumstances, one might wonder as to whether or not Cinder caused such an infection while stopping time."

"If I were Conquest, I'd have already had a number of opportunities to touch and infect you," I replied dismissively. "And no real reason not to do so. The simple fact that we are having this conversation should prove that I'm who I say I am."

Raven stared at me quietly, emotions tumultuous—and I was a little surprised at what I sensed. She was worried, maybe even afraid, but not for herself. For me?

After a moment, however, the storm inside her seemed to settle and blinked her eyes closed.

"I suppose that's true," She admitted, believing me. Or, at the very least, wanting to believe me.

"If you'd like to confirm it, I could go to sleep," I offered. "I know for a fact that the process removes all traces of the infection from my body, along with anything else I might be suffering from. If I had to guess how _that_ process works…I most likely just discard and replace this body in its entirety?"

"You don't sound particularly certain," She noted, making me smile.

"I'm reasonably clear on what my power does, most of the time," I replied. "How it works, I'm figuring out as I go along."

Raven pursed her lips for a long moment and took another deep breath, glancing around me as if the air itself was a danger—which it would be, if I were Conquest. But after a moment, she approached with slow steps, eyes rising to meet mine when we stood before one another again.

"It doesn't _seem_ as if I'm turning into a monster," Raven mused. "Which is almost always a good sign."

"Transformations have their uses," I disagreed. "It's why I'm still alive right now, after all."

"Granted," She allowed. "Well then. What now, Ji—"

She stopped herself, pausing as she looked at me.

"Go ahead," I said at once. "Names are like shirts for me these days. Jian is as real to me as the rest of them."

And apparently I couldn't risk telling _myself_ my 'real' one. Which seemed to be because it'd hold value to me, which was all I could really ask from a name, I guess.

"Jian, then," She murmured. "For now, just until I get used to this. What do we do now?"

"Now that I've told you my secret, there's no problem revealing this," I answered, absently bringing up a window. "To strain the computer analogy even further, this would be my computer's GUI—my Semblance, 'The Gamer.'"

And with that, I invited Raven to join my party.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Regrouping**

 **Raven Branwen  
LV 173**

Those were the words revealed on the Party screen as Raven furrowed her brow and pressed the accept button, writing themselves next to a pair of colored bars—her HP and MP. While I'd only ever done it a few times, I could make parties with people of a higher level than me just fine.

There just wasn't much point, generally speaking. Experience couldn't be divided equally unless our levels were close to one another and by default, the only thing revealed about someone that strong was their level. While that was useful in its own way, levels being a broad indicator of someone's general ability, the fact remained that it was fairly unhelpful on its own. While the difference between two people at level one might not be huge, the difference between those who have grown and developed was immense. From the focus in their stats to the nature of their Semblance, those at high levels grew in vastly different directions and possessed their own strengths and weaknesses, so boiling them down to a number became almost useless. There could be a warrior with a Semblance that granted inhuman strength and a Dust-user with the power to create elaborate Glyphs and they could both be the same level—but they weren't the same.

At the level I was at now especially, I pretty much ignored levels entirely, beyond noting whether or not I was able to see them. The information revealed by Observe was vastly more important that the numbers about their head, especially since at three digits or more, it wouldn't be odd if a person's _effective_ strength could vary by a few dozen levels based on the precise nature of their Semblance and the situation. Knowing the specifics was a necessity, in cases like that.

Added to that, the truth was that while being a member of my party had its uses, it also had its limits. Even if they were connected to me in some fashion, it wasn't as though they obtained my Semblance or anything. As I'd tested with Adam a lot time ago, they couldn't use skill books to learn things more quickly, nor did they gain the ability to learn skills—or rather, the ability to learn skills the way _I_ did. If we were all close in level, then we could see each other's HP bars, but they didn't gain any of the other perceptive abilities that came with my Semblance, so they couldn't see names, titles, or levels. They didn't gain the benefits of the Gamer's Mind or Body, either. Really, all they got out of it was the ability to earn experience by killing monsters.

Not that that wasn't amazing in its own right, of course. One of the advantages of my parties was that if you got enough experience while a member of one, you'd level up and get a handful of points to distribute however you wanted. Unlike conventional training, it didn't matter what you'd been focusing on, so you could freely place points in Intelligence, Wisdom, or even Luck, despite having done nothing to improve them directly. Given that training such things normally became exceedingly difficult as the stats got higher—even for me, despite all the advantages I'd leveraged to the task—this was a godsend.

In addition, unless they were a member of my party, levels weren't tied to killing the Grimm at all and improving them depended entirely on a person's own ability—and from what little I'd seen of Hunter graduates, their growth would usually slow down greatly around the time they'd finished attending schools like Haven or Beacon. None of the graduates I'd seen had levels that strayed _too_ far from the higher end of the student body, which I guess made sense; once you'd already spent years and years training your body, mastered the use of your Semblance, finished polishing your combat style, and had some actual experience under your belt, it was unlikely to make any of the massive improvements that could be seen early on. Even then, while I'd seen people leap forward five levels overnight in my short time at Haven, that increase in levels was probably from gaining a greater understanding of how to use their Semblance or something and hadn't been accompanied by any change in their stats.

Thankfully, in my case, improving levels was a standardized process of reaching quotas, without anything like bottlenecks and with guaranteed rewards each time. Even if I didn't make any random improvements from sudden realizations—beyond the natural benefit of whatever I came up with, of course; my power wasn't actually _tied_ to my level, after all—what gains I did make generally had more value to them, or at least more consistency. I'd seen people with stats far higher than their levels would indicate and also far lower, but I knew for a fact where I stood at any given time.

As always, I was grateful to my power for that, among many other things.

But still, what had Raven been eating? Even keeping in mind that levels were nothing but a broad measure of strength, for her level to be the better part of twice my mother and father's…I still couldn't Observe her to tell, but was it simply because of her Semblance or had she simply grown that strong on her own somehow? I suppose that if you added up all my gains from training and divided them by the five points per level, I wasn't too far away from the point myself—and I was stronger than my stats indicated regardless—but it was still very impressive, even though I'd known she had to be about this strong, given that I hadn't been able to see her level even after breaking the three digit barrier. Given what I knew about growth rates besides my own…she must have been at _least_ three digits when she graduated from Beacon.

Or was she and exception somehow, like I was? Had she had some other way of growing this strong? If it wasn't just her Semblance, then it would have to be her skills, but…

And God, what about the rest of her team? Cinder? _Ozpin_?

Even though it was just a number on a screen, it was hard not to find the implications disheartening. It seemed I still had a long, long way to go.

"Did that do something?" Raven asked after a moment, the screen in front of her vanishing without any obvious changes from her perspective.

"Try saying 'Status,'" I replied, careful not to let my worries show.

"Status," Raven replied and started slightly as a window appeared before her eyes. She paused for a moment when her eyebrows furrowed, considering it for a moment. "…Ah. This is…?"

"Your status screen," I replied, nodding. "Just like in a game. You should be able to see the general details, at least."

Raven shot me an odd look.

"Can you not see it?" She asked.

"I can," I replied, shaking my head slightly as I spoke. "But I thought you might like a moment to go over it first."

Well, while that sounded polite, there was also the fact that there wasn't much point in snooping. Unfortunately, the status screens my party system provided weren't as useful or detailed as my own—probably because most of the options I had simply weren't relevant to them. As they didn't have Inventories or skills the way I did, those things weren't available or displayed, nor was a lot of the other information that I could usually see. It didn't bother showing thing like their emotional states, backgrounds, or all the other stuff I found useful as a voyeur, either, presumably because they were expected know. Truthfully, it was really nothing but a simple, streamlined window with their names, HP, MP, stats, points, and the other basic stuff, along with the option to improve stats if points were available to do so; the stuff that they could actually use, essentially.

Which meant that it wasn't of much value to me because I had Observe, which displayed far more information and which was why whenever Adam wanted to see the details of his stats, I usually just created illusory versions of whatever I could see using it. While I was curious to know what stats Raven had, they were fairly far down the list of things I'd like to see on her status page, so it was hard to get too excited—I knew better than anyone how much your skills and abilities could play with your states, so that information was also of limited use on its own; her Aura alone probably at _least_ doubled their effective values. If I'd been able to see her Status in its entirety, I'd probably have shamelessly taken a look, but it wasn't meant to be.

Raven pondered that for a moment before nodding and I glanced over it once. She was built similarly to Adam, with a focus on her physical stats, though they were a fair bit higher than his and arranged somewhat differently, favoring Dexterity first, Stamina second, and Strength last—not that any of them were less than two hundred. Both Intelligence and Wisdom were fairly high as well, though her Luck was only about equal to mine. All told, she had the highest stat total I'd ever seen on a human.

"It's interesting," Raven mused. "Certainly, it's convenient to have such things numbered. They're accurate, I assume?"

I nodded.

"Adam can testify to that," I answered. "So long as you're a member of my party, each level you gain will give you five points to distribute freely among your stats. Adam's made a lot of improvement lately, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"So that's why," She replied, tilting her head. "Yes, I've noticed that he's become quite a bit stronger and faster—amazingly so, though he's always been a fairly quick study in such things. This is why? What a convenient power…how do you gain levels?"

"By defeating enemies," I replied. "Adam and I hunt the Grimm nearby at night, when we're not busy training other things."

Raven raised an eyebrow suddenly, casting me a look.

"I thought that might be you," She said. "I hope you're aware that you've gathered quite a bit of attention burning down fields and rearranging the landscape."

I shrugged with a smile.

"It happens," I told her. "It's not like anyone was using those fields but the Grimm, anyway."

"True," She conceded before falling silent for a minute. "Given that you've shown me this, am I correct in assuming that you'd like me to accompany the two of you from now on?"

"You are," I replied. "Given the strength of our enemies and the schedule we're on, it looks like we'll have to pick up the pace as well. Unfortunately, our options on that front are limited and the potential dangers are great, and I'd appreciate it if you were willing to help."

"I'm willing," She assured, giving me a slight smile before letting the expression vanish and looking at me seriously. "With how dire things are now…I hope you have something impressive in mind."

I took a breath and exhaled slowly.

"Something," I agreed. "I can't say it's something I'd _wanted_ to do, but beggars can't be choosers. I'll explain the rest on the way."

 **XxXXxX**

I stepped through the portal, returning to the place where it all began.

The land of Grimm. The continent north of Vytal that Mankind had long since abandoned—or rather, been driven from. Absently, I realized I was probably one of the few people with some idea or when or why; I'd read my fair share of history books and then some, but I'd never heard any concrete details on how it happened, presumably because it had occurred too long ago for anyone to remember. Most of what we knew of the place came from the infrequent expeditions that rarely ended well.

But, hard as it was to believe given what I knew, this place had once been home to the greatest civilization that had ever existed on this planet.

And it had been my home.

"Jian, are you sure about this?" Raven murmured as she followed me through, keeping her voice quite as if afraid the sound would draw down an endless horde of monsters—which was a fair possibility, granted. I had already locked down the area around use with Levant, covered us with an illusion, and was generally doing my best to hide our presence, and I still wasn't sure it would be enough.

Even so, I answered her question.

"More or less," I replied, not bothering to hide my lack of confidence. When it came to gathering power and training, this was probably the best place in the world for me—at least, in theory. A land ruled entirely by the Grimm, where all traces of Mankind had been wiped out…needless to say, it played host of some of the worst creatures Mankind had ever seen and I was betting a fair few more besides, given that no one had gotten very far. While it wasn't anything as extreme as the final levels of an RPG where each and every creature had an unbelievably high level, even just a quick survey of the area revealed that all the Grimm nearby were a fair bit more powerful than the norm, being both larger and covered in more spikes. Was that because of their age or simple because of the location? Both were a possibility, given that this had been their birth place. "I've been planning to come her for quite some time, anyway."

"Really?" Raven asked, sending me a somewhat dubious glance that I simply nodded to.

"Ever since I found out my connection to it, it's been wearing on my mind," I admitted. "Though truthfully, I guess I'd always believed that there was _something_ important here. I think everyone does."

"Well, if there are a billion guards around something, it's usually safe to assume there's something inside," Adam remarked as he followed his mother through the portal. Despite his easy going tone, it was plain to see from the way he was scanning the surroundings and the tension in his body that he was frightened—which was to say, _smart_. Gou followed on his heels and didn't say a word, but that was probably more because he was picking up on _our_ tension than anything else.

"Something like that," I agreed. "Since this is where it all started, there might still be something here, if only something that Malkuth decided to preserve for his own sake. He allowed people to continue living everywhere else, if only in remote corners of the world, but here? Nothing. The Grimm slaughter anyone who tries. There's probably _something_ worth finding around here."

"But that's not why we're here today," Raven said.

"No," I confirmed. "It's not. Even with our power, I don't think we're ready for such a thing. Instead, we need to prepare for what's ahead of us and this is the best place to do it."

"And the most _dangerous_ place to do it," She noted.

"Sadly, that's _why_ it's the best," I answered with a sigh. "Truthfully, I'd prefer to keep playing things safe, the way I have been, never fighting an opponent I wasn't sure I could overcome or, at least, escape from—but there isn't enough time for that anymore. I've been carefully testing the waters around Mistral and slowly reaching out, like I did with the Leviathan and then the Hydra—"

"What's this?" Raven asked with rising eyebrows, turning her head towards her son.

"It's a long story," Adam replied. "Short version is that he drags me to all kinds of fucked up places."

"But each time something proves to be dangerous, I withdraw to prepare myself further," I continued, ignoring them both. "When I understood the implications of the Leviathan's might, I delayed crossing the sea for quite some time so that I could grow stronger in safety. When I finally did and faced a Hydra, I received a reminder of how terrifying the Grimm can be when it transformed into an Ananta and I had to scramble to keep it from evolving, so I put off exploration again to continue my training."

"What?" Raven asked, furrowing her brow and blinking. She glanced back to me and then at Adam. "I feel as though you just brushed past something important, Jian."

" _Fucked up places_ ," Adam repeated.

"That's only smart," I forged on. "It only makes sense not to do something you know you aren't ready for, for reasons that are fairly self-explanatory. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread and all that—and if it were up to me, I'd keep doing things that way. But it's not. We're on a time limit—and Cinder proved far more dangerous than I feared. The schedule we were on had us tackling Hydras again in a month or two, but we just don't have that much time anymore. There is a _massive_ gap in power between us and our enemies and Cinder isn't even the most powerful of them. If things were scheduled to come to ahead in several years or perhaps a decade from now, we could take things slow and take them safe, but they aren't. Cinder's plans will start moving forward in a matter of _months_ and it may well start everything off. Even if they don't, if it turns out that Cinder needs to be stopped, which has grown increasingly likely with time, we need to be prepared. We can't afford to take this as slowly as we have been anymore, which only leaves us with a few choices left. That's where you come in Raven."

"So I'm not just your chauffeur?" She asked, glancing at me again before blinking her eyes closed. "Ah, I think I see. A safety net, is it?"

"Partially," I confirmed. "Truthfully, we could have escaped from the Ananta while it was still recovering, but there was too much of a risk that it'd turn towards Mistral, then or later. I couldn't take that risk any more than I could with anything near the Kingdoms. Part of the reason we're here is because, though extremely dangerous, it's also remote enough that we can relax somewhat. With the nature of your power especially, we should be able to withdraw at any time without them following us towards civilization, though we'll play it safe for the time being. But also, yes, you are our safety net, to catch us when things inevitably go awry…at least for the time being. Early on especially, I suspect things will be rather touch and go, but later…"

I shook my head.

"Is that alright with you?" I asked.

"It would not be the first time I've played this role," She replied, inclining her head my way. "And time is of the essence. I'll be on guard."

"Thank you," I told her truthfully, bowing my head more deeply then she had as a gesture of respect. "Now, a few warnings—and don't be surprised if I add to this randomly, given where we are. First of all, stay away from the trees."

"The trees?" Adam asked, glancing around us. Right now, we were standing in the middle of what looked like a forest, surrounded by dark trees with white blossoms. Adam paused for a moment, squinted for a moment, and then widened his eyes. "Are those?"

"Lotus Eaters," I said with a nod.

 **The Fruit of Madness  
LV 63  
Lotus Eater**

Those were the words that appeared over the branches of the nearest tree and a closer look at it revealed the truth behind them. Though it was disguised well, the delicate-looking petals of its blossoms were in fact made of hard bone spikes, giving away its true nature. It was a Lotus Eater, a species of Grimm that took on the forms of a variety of different kinds of plant life; however it looked, though, what mattered was its true nature. From its open petals, which did in fact look like lotus blossoms, wafted clouds of dust-like material—it's 'pollen.' Though the trees themselves had little combat ability, those who inhaled their pollen would quickly fall prey to its effects.

The symptoms were as horrible as they were varied and looking at the spores, I could see why. They'd drive their victims to madness with hallucinations and toxins, literally attacking their brain from within until they collapsed, sickened and senseless. Then, the trees would drag them into their trunks while they were still trapped within their nightmares and digest them.

Slowly. Though they were thankfully rare in other parts of the world, Vacuo had done several studies on them out of necessity, as there were some places north of it where they could grow. After a costly first encounter, they'd managed to destroy an infestation of the things relatively close to the Kingdom, and when the Grimm had faded, they left behind the corpses within. Autopsies had agreed they'd all died of the same thing—starvation.

"I'm shielding us," I said. "But don't let your guard down. This isn't exactly a place to go on vacation to."

"Please," Adam snorted. "You'd spend your vacations here in a heartbeat, Jaune."

I smiled at that, if not as brightly as I normally might.

"Well," I hedged. "Maybe. Just follow my lead, okay?"

Having said that, I took a moment to close my eyes. Sadly, returning to my horrific homeland was only part one of my magnificent strategy for meeting the approaching deadline—and it wasn't even the part I was most uncomfortable with. Taking a deep breath, I activated part two.

 **Venenum (Active) LV1 EXP: 47.03%  
An ancient art utilizing the principles of Alchemy. Through the process of transmutation, it is possible to convert one's body and soul into baser materials, but due to the requirement of one's vital fluids, few alchemists were willing to transform large quantities, especially given the risks involved. Instead, many alchemists chose to convert small amounts of their blood into medicines, allowing them to profit without undue harm—after all, due to the process occurring within the user's body, even carefully bleeding the results out does not guarantee the alchemist himself will not suffer the medicines effects. For that reason, poisons were rarely created, but this skill allows for the creation of any toxin or medicine that may be produced organically, limited only by the users power and skill. Masters of the art, however, are said to be able to create far greater things.  
10 HP and 10 MP per milliliter.**

Immediately after using Venenum, I started feeling strange and knew that the blood I'd converted into poison was taking effect even before the pain took hold. I brought up my HP and looked at it carefully, Semblance keeping my body steady even when it should have been collapsing under the near liter of poison I'd filled my veins with. Immediately, several windows appeared, notifying me of the improvements to Poison Resistance, but even that wasn't enough to keep my HP from ticking down.

"Jaune?" Adam asked, concern filling his voice. He was close enough to my level to see my HP and how quickly it was dropping.

"Don't worry about it," I replied, still watching it fall. Only when it was nearly empty did I heal myself, carefully regulating my returning health to insure it didn't go too high and tried to keep it steady.

This was the next step of my plan, making use of the skill I'd obtained from the Ananta and which I hadn't used much until now, because of the danger involved. Despite its enormous power, using it carried enough risk that I had only used it sparingly and never in battle—and even then, I wouldn't have even considered using it at all without Second Chance. Though I didn't mind hurting myself a for the sake of training and didn't care what happened to my body in generally, it was a bit different when my _life_ was on the line.

But desperate times…

 **Etz Hayim (Passive) LV1 EXP: 12.11%  
The Tree of Life is what gives shape to the mortal soul, defining it between the states of life and death. Through life, the soul is polished, the truth of oneself being slowly revealed by the hands of time—and yet, at the same time, man is born to die. Yet death, too, has its place and role, for if to live is to learn, then it awaits as the final lesson. With this skill, the user may approach, in small part, the truth of that mystery.  
Increase all experience gains by 200% while HP is below 1%.  
Increase all experience gains by an additional 300% while only 1 HP remains.**

…Call for desperate measures.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Hard Mode**

In truth, it wasn't quite as bad as it sounded. Though my HP was, well, extremely low, I thankfully had my ways around that, the simplest of which was my Aura. Thanks to how it worked, I could use my MP in place of my HP if needed—I just usually didn't bother. Generally speaking, I considered my MP to be a more valuable resource than my HP as there was so much more I could do with it and unless my HP got so low that I was in danger of dying, there wasn't any particular point in conserving it as I could restore great quantities of it in moments by simply healing myself.

But now that I _was_ in danger of dying if anything happened to hit me and I couldn't heal myself without losing Etz Hayim's benefits…well, I appreciated the extra layer of defense. Needless to say, I kept the rest of my defenses on as well, though even with all of them, I knew I couldn't afford to take any serious hits. I had a lot of HP in total, but I was fighting things strong enough that they could tear away massive chunks of it if they connected. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue, thanks again to my healing ability, but as is…well, I couldn't take any chances. My MP bar was effectively my HP now, but it was also what I'd need to power my attacks, so I'd need to manage it carefully.

Thankfully, I was pretty goddamn good at stuff like that. With the Mathematician's Answer, it was easy to keep track of things, so all I needed to do was continue to play evasively and keep my wits about me. Since I usually made a point of not being hit in the first place, it _should_ be okay, but if something slipped through I could still heal myself right before the hit connected; hopefully that'd be enough.

I took a breath and nodded to myself. I was keeping my HP around 1% instead of _at_ 1—even with the potential benefits, that was a risk I'd need a lot stronger before I even _considered_ taking in a place like _this_ —but even without going that far I could feel Etz Hayim's effects. Resist Poison and Venenum had already begun to swiftly improve with my usual set of skills following suit. Though the gains made without actually focusing on them were minor, the same was true of my stats. If I add the improvement to my experience gains, then hopefully this should be enough.

"Let's move," I said, continuing to ignore the looks of concern Adam was throwing my way. There was no time to waste and I had to grind everything I reasonably could as much as possible, so I manifested my Elementals at once. Without even waiting for them to fully manifest, I crossed my arms and ignited my gauntlets with Karna, rendering my hands and forearms incandescent. Throwing my hands out to my sides, I released a stream of brilliant white fire from each, carving cleanly through the trunks of the nearby Lotus Eaters even before I felt Suryasta and Levant unite their efforts with mine. The streams twisted in midair, swirling around us in a searing ring of fire connected to me only by the torrents that leapt from my hands. With each passing moment, the ring continued to expand, causing the part of the Lotus Eaters to crack and burst just from the heat of the consuming circle's approach.

As I dropped my hands, I felt the ring follow suit, burning a massive circle into the ground around us. Even as withdrew my steady stream of power, the fires continued to rage, spreading as was their nature—not that I didn't continue to lend a helping hand, of course. Pulling back my power, I bound it into the shape of the Agneyastra and pitched it forward with all my strength, carving a burning path through the dark forest. A moment later, there was a detonation in the distance that sent a column of fire towards the sky, but I paid it no heed. I followed the spear quickly with a dozen more, pausing only for a second in between strikes to regain my needed strength. Each attack carved another blazing trail, but I didn't stop until there was nothing around me but a sea of flames. Suryasta and Levant were quick to leap forward and shape the fires, letting the MP hungry flames cling to their forms as they spread the flames wider and stoked them higher, ensuring the blaze didn't go out.

And yet, even the destruction of an army of trees wasn't enough to warrant a single level, despite the many experience boosters I possessed. I suppose that was the difference of nearly forty levels. I needed to hunt bigger prey.

Thankfully, it was only a moment later that I heard a resounding roar, seemingly calling out to me in the distance—and I answered it at once. Light gathered between my hands and in the pair of spheres I made around each wrist. The glowing orbs rotated quickly around my limbs, burning brighter by the moment until I thrust both of my hands forward and unleashed the power I'd gathered. Though my MP took a hit, the world went dark as the light of my attacks devoured everything, from the fires I'd created to each other, until the only thing left was their own glory. The blinding wave pierced through the sky and cut across the land, burning brighter and brighter by the moment, only to abruptly fade.

In its wake was a scar of white fire, devouring the remains of the Lotus Eaters in my path. I focused my gaze forward for a moment, confirming the state of my target—and then flicked my eyes towards my companions.

"Hydra," I belatedly informed. "Weaker than the one we fought last time, Adam, which is probably why it's this close to the coastline. I'm going to go on ahead to make sure it stays that way. Will you be okay here?"

Adam glanced around at the now obliterated Lotus Eaters and shrugged, while Raven slowly cast her gaze from one side to the other, lips slightly parted.

"I guess," Adam said. "Just to make sure, I'm not going to get mind-fucked here, am I?"

"I'll be leaving my Elementals with you," I replied seriously. "I'll signal you when it's dead."

"Got it," He answered before tilting his head to the side. "Gou, do you mind if I hitch a ride?"

"It's no problem, my friend," Gou replied, lying down to make the process easier.

I nodded at them both one last time and crouched down slightly before taking off. The ground shattered as if it had been struck by a giant's hammer, breaking under the force of my Lunge, but I was already long gone. I angled my jump to take me high into the air and then halted myself with Vimana, turning slightly to look around me. With the points I'd recently added to my INT, my flight speed with this technique had improved greatly, but it still lagged behind my physical mobility—still, it had room to improve along with the rest of my powers.

Above it all, I took a better look around me, looking at the dark fields that seemed to extend in every direction, packed to the brim with monstrous beasts. As I'd suspected, the creatures of Grimm grew more powerful further inland, and by starting on the very edge we were near the relative weaklings. Granted, _we_ were relative weaklings by the standards of this continents, a fact made obvious as I looked north, towards the titans that stalked the land. Some of them were monstrous creatures, twisted beyond recognition or easy comparison—there were Hydras, of course, with varying sizes and numbers of heads, but also greater expressions of lesser Grimm, the few who'd grown old enough and strong enough to rise above their kid. There was a Beowolf that barely looked like one, with nothing but a vaguely wolfish shape showing through the heavy plates of armor and vicious white spikes. Though a member of what should have been one of the weakest species of Grimm, its power was as obvious as its size, which could have risen to the shoulders of a Goliath. In the same fashion, I could see the dark form of a Morrigan making its nest out of a small canyon and waiting quietly.

And more fearsome than them were the creatures even further in land, whose levels I couldn't even see. Some were massive while some were barely even human sized, but I could see them—the Humbaba, the Panoptes, and worse things besides.

But for now, best to stay focused on what was in front of me, instead of biting off more than I could chew. I needed to keep an eye on those creatures, simply because if they grew curious and approached I'd need to flee, but for now…

I looked down at the beast I'd struck out at from a distance, which was struggling not to collapse with full half of its body destroyed.

 **The Mouths of Oblivion  
LV 108  
Hydra**

Originally it had possessed seven heads, but I'd cut that down to four—still, its core remained intact and the remaining heads were still functional. I knew from experience that it would be smart to end it quickly.

I considered it for a long moment before taking a breath. My MP had recovered greatly and though its progress was slow, my improving Poison Resistance was letting my HP make headway as well. I'd need to switch to a stronger poison soon, but I left it be for now, exhaling slowly.

"This was something I'd intended to wield against Cinder if things went awry," I mused aloud before sighing. "But they went significantly more awry then I'd expected, so…I guess I'll test this out on you instead."

 **By raising White Tiger of the West to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West.'**

 **Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% HP: 10000 MP: 10000  
The personification of the White Tiger's Legend, born from a lifetime of study, refinement, and struggle; the ultimate technique of Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West, shares his name for it was the product of his life as the King of Beasts. As its predecessor focused on the power of division, born from the separation and cooperation between body and soul, the power of this skill is one of reunification—of halves brought together to create a yet greater whole.  
The skills 'Bai Hu's Tread,' 'Claws of the Bai Hu,' and 'Bai Hu's Five Hundred Years' are activated at no additional cost.  
The skills 'Jaws of the Bai Hu,' 'Bai Hu's Lunge,' and 'Bai Hu's Roar' may freely enhance applicable actions at no additional cost.  
Quadruple the effectiveness of all skills activated in such a fashion.  
HP and MP may be spent interchangeably for all skills besides Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West.  
Additional 10000 HP used per 10 seconds.  
Additional 10000 MP used per 10 seconds.**

At once, my restored HP dropped once more, falling in an instant to below one percent to fuel my new technique. My Aura raged around me, expanding quickly into Bai Hu's shape, my other self rising around me with vicious brilliance and overlapping my body. The light from its form continued to rise until it lost all transparency, hiding my body completely within it—and then, began to shrink. The same energy I'd expelled seemed to compress, flowing back within me, but through a somehow different path. It didn't refill what had been emptied, but instead connected what had always been separate, forging new pathways through carefully guided power. Perhaps because of my altered nature, the effects stood out to me, but I felt my body, already an unusual amalgam of flesh and soul, alter and shift at the change in power. My Chakra's reacted, lighting up visibly on Bai Hu's receding form before fading along side it, until only I remained.

My body shook once, white light literally flowing through my veins and shining through my skin. I could feel it gathering around my eyes, burning outwards through the windows of the soul, but it settled in me at the same time, taking root. I could feel it with the beat of my heart, pulsing to a slightly different beat but very much there. I could feel myself changing with each passing moment, my mortal frame altering just to contain the power I'd gathered within it even as I finished what had been started long ago.

 **You've received the title 'Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West.'**

 **Title 'Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West' has been equipped. This title may not be unequipped while the skill 'Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West' remains activated.**

 **Bai Hu, the White Tiger of the West  
By following in his footsteps and reaching the pinnacle of his art, you have earned your crown and taken your place as the new king! By mastering his final technique, you have grasped the legend of the White Tiger and earned the right to carry it forward into the future! With this, your place has been decided—you are the White Tiger of the West, king of all beasts!  
200% increase the damage of White Tiger techniques.  
200% increase to the defense granted by White Tiger techniques.  
75% decrease in the cost of White Tiger techniques.  
Status: White Tiger's Star [Max]**

The changes to my body were relatively slight, perhaps because of how much had already changed. I'd come a long way since Tukson's office and I'd grown in more ways than one. After the relative years of training, taking on the White Tiger's titles hardly seemed to age me any longer—and perhaps it was as the newest one had said; I'd followed this story through it it's end and all that was left for me to do now was to create a new one. Jian Bing stayed almost entirely the same.

What mattered wasn't the physical aspect. Not anymore.

I took a deep breath and silently gave my thanks to the one who'd left all of these things behind for me. As always, I'd be sure to put them to good use.

"Goodbye," I told the Hydra, feeling the glow in my veins recede—or rather, distribute. And then I moved.

Right, down, up, left, followed by a quick step forward—that was how I tore the Hydra apart. I put all the speed I could afford at present, which was still a great deal. With Acceleration maxed, Bai Hu's skills enhanced, and everything else I had, I moved with blinding, merciless speed. With the Yellow Road, I traced a path that took me through the Hydra's body five times, tearing through its remaining heads as I went and then piercing straight through its chest like a bullet to carve my way through the central core. The sound of each head exploding trailed far, far behind me, flesh seeming to disintegrate in my wake even as it was boiled away. My still incandescent claws flashed five times and the Hydra's mangled body fell to the earth.

Even so, I didn't hesitate to turn, hand outstretched and glowing as I went. White light flooded back into my veins and flowed across my body to gather in my right hand—and I made sure it stayed down with a quick flash of light.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

Only when the alerts appeared did I exhale and relax, letting the power I'd been holding onto go. I waited for a moment for space to swirl beside me, tearing open a hole that Raven walked out of a moment later.

"I told you I'd signal you," I said, absently destroying what few Lotus Eaters hadn't already been destroyed.

"You did," She acknowledged, allowing her eyes to linger on what little was left of the Hydra for a moment. "There seems to be little point to my arrival, however; all the fun has already gone."

"We're in Grimm now, Raven," I reminded before smiling slightly. "So we'll just have to make our own fun."

"Perhaps so," Raven mused as she slowly drew her blade from its complicated sheath, its edge now dark purple. Once it was fully drawn, the sword snapped open like a flick knife, growing to twice the length of its former container. "Shall we, then?"

I shot her a quick smile and flipped my hand over, conjuring an illusion of a hemisphere above it. It was a map—or rather, and exact duplicate of the surrounding area—and I quickly highlighted important targets. She glanced at it for a long moment and then nodded, swinging the massive blade with the flick of her wrist and creating another swirling vortex before her. Without a moment's hesitation, I flung myself through it at full speed, drawing my power back to me as I did.

To anyone else, suddenly finding themselves travelling in a wholly different direction in an entirely different place might have been disorienting, but…well, I was me and I could orient myself based on my sense of both sides of the portal—that is, I could see myself from several angles at once to better put together my new location. Raven's exit portal had been placed flat on the ground and I shot out of it like a rocket, flying high into the air. From there, I had a great view of what happened next.

With a flash, a massive wave of purple light rippled over the land. Where it passed, Gravity simply seemed to fade, casting countless creatures high into the air. If it couldn't fly and it was rooted to the ground, then it was upturned, filling the sky with abruptly struggling creatures and detritus—and targets. Light briefly filled my veins again and I was off once more, using monsters as stepping stones as I traveled from one to the next, slaughtering as I went. The air twisted as I flew, a massive storm brewing at Levant's whim, and I was happy to step in and add some more chaos to it.

My HP was low, but my MP remained high, and this was my chance to put it to good use, devouring my returning hit points as the poisons in my veins were steadily overcoming, burning it to fuel my skills. I lashed out with my mind, turning the tornado into a blender of Psychokinetic force. I set the air ablaze with Karna and Suryasta, moving to stand in the clear center of a massive cyclone of burning power and I didn't stop there. I hurled Gungnir through the walls of flames, striking down Grimm near and far, and hurled restrains at anything that took to the air. Deposition and Bind were cast out freely, freezing things in their tracks of tying them up for a crucial moment, but it was Gossamer I got the most use out of.

As my Poison Resistance climbed, I began to spin my flesh into massive webs of spider silk, weaving and tying with Psychokinesis as I bound Grimm to the earth and to each other, crafting a winding labyrinth between land and sky before drawing back to the center and taking a breath. I let the storm fade. I released Bai Hu's final gift. I even undid the cloak of Accelerated time I kept around myself, waiting for a long minute as my MP returned.

When it was all but full, I closed my eyes, including the third one, drawing my senses back into myself. Even without them, I knew my Elementals were here by my side, in spirit if not meaningless flesh. I felt them waver and grow at the same time and let my uppermost Chakra open.

"Keter," I called, releasing him along with the breath.

And there was light.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Raid**

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **By raising Thunderbolt to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Vajra.'**

 **By raising Far Slayer to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Grass Cutter.'**

 **By raising Detect Life to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Detect Organism.'**

 **By raising Longshot to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Reach.'**

 **By raising Delusory to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Fantasy.'**

 **You used Bai Hu's Roar without the skill. Your Mastery has improved by 10%.**

Windows appeared before my eyes one after another, but I could barely spare the time to acknowledge them as I danced between the onslaught of attacks beside my team. A part of me wondered if this was another test on Malkuth's part or the natural result of drawing so much attention, but either way, I wasn't quite willing to back down yet—not even against an enemy like _this_.

 **The Descending Terror  
Level 159  
Humbaba**

The creature that stood before me was monstrous—made all the more so by what it was supposedly based on. While most specifies of Grimm were based, in some sense, upon animals or other organisms, the Humbaba were one of the few Grimm that were considered to be based, at least in part, on _humans_. I wasn't entirely certain who'd made _that_ call, but it was a bit hard to see where they were coming from, now that I could see it for myself.

In the vaguest sense, I suppose its chest was similar to that of a man's, but that was where the similarities ended. It's arms were like the twisted claws of a Nemean, if with somewhat longer 'fingers'. Its legs were like those of a Nevermore, only armored more heavily, for the whole of its body was covered in layers of spiked scales. From its back grew a pair of snakes, one pitch black and the other pure white, as if someone had sown both ends of a King Taijitu to its tail bone.

But by far its most disturbing feature was its head, which was misshapen and undefined. Rather than having anything whole, it's head was a tangled mass of thick 'strings', like dirty rags or a person's entrails. Two red eyes glowed from within the shadows of the things head and a pair of horns rose from mass, catching several strands. All told, calling the thing 'humanlike' was an extreme exaggeration.

Its power, however, was undeniable. It had fallen upon us abruptly after I'd unleashed the power of my Light Elemental—of my _soul_ —to level everything around me and slaughter countless Grimm. Though that brief glimpse of power had been exhausting, all that had remained was a field of scorched earth, cleansed of the touch of the Grimm. I'd seared away all traces of the creatures, down to the roots of the Lotus Eaters, and slaughtered thousands, granting me my level ups in the process.

And then the Humbaba had appeared in the midst of the clearing. For all that it was a good ten stories in height, it had moved quickly enough that someone else might have thought it had teleported, and had struck out at me at once.

In the face of that attack, I'd immediately triggered the second of my contingencies, using a maximized heal I kept stored with Patientia and returning to full a moment before the attack could hit me. Given the damage it had dealt, I knew I'd made the right move and that the Humbaba's reputation wasn't just for show. I'd immediately considered retreating, as well.

But…Jericho Falls was filled with beasts like this—ones, in all likelihood, far stronger than a Humbaba wandering the edges of Grimm. Could I run away without even trying?

No. So…I was trying.

 _We_ were trying. As Raven opened a portal to my side, Gou leapt through at once, power flowing through him. Benefitting from his connection to me, he'd increased his Vitality again recently, deepening his power. Though the Humbaba had several dozen levels on him, Gou's specialization was nothing to sneeze at, especially when backed up by my own skills, and he was quick to grow to the size of a Goliath and rampage across the battlefield with his simple, monolithic might. The Humbaba searing blasts of power from the gaps of his face, a steady stream of power that melted away chunks of my dog's flesh, but it wasn't enough to stop him and I healed him with every strike.

Perhaps it would be different if he could focus on him, but that was the benefit of having a team—he couldn't focus on any one opponent. Whenever he tried to focus on one opponent, Adam and Raven closed in and tripped him up. Adam drew close, striking at the Humbaba with a sword in each hand, both of them glowing red with power. Despite their different lengths, he coordinated the strikes expertly, keeping the power within the blades stable as he carved away the monster's scales, creating weak points and opening.

At the same time, Raven seemed to flow through the battle as if she were set apart from it. She hardly seemed to rush or run, though I knew she was moving quickly—instead, she simply brushed aside attacks that came too near with a careful brush of her sword that, almost coincidentally, carved lines of red with its tip. She'd stop occasionally, nothing but her sword moving, and the Humbaba would be driven back or to the side, into an attack or away from an ally.

And occasionally, she'd strike when it was off-balance or over-extended, bursting into lethal speed. A sudden series of slashes would open up a ring of portals and abruptly she'd hold a blue blade in her hands. A thin beam of energy would disappear into one portal and reappear from another, piercing a small hole through the Humbaba's flesh only to fly into another spiraling void and repeat the process until a cage of lasers pierced through the Humbaba half a dozen times. By the time the light faded, Raven would already have another sword and would move in before the Grimm could recover, striking at it directly with a sudden burst of acceleration.

She used the properties of Dust to expand her options in combat, changing the nature of her strikes, her portals, or both. In a blink, a normal portal could turn pitch-black and things would be drawn into it, twisting violently as they went and disappearing into its open maw—and in the next, it could glow like heated steel, incinerating anything that came near as Raven used it as a shield before vomiting forth a torrent of fire from who knows where.

All the while, I assisted, both up close and at a distance. I kept a careful eye on my HP, regulating it with Bai Hu's final technique, and struck at the Humbaba at every opportunity, interfering whenever it tried to advance and cutting it off when it tried to fall away. I raised my barriers to put it at a disadvantage and raised defenses for my friends when the opportunity knocked, but more than that, I hit it hard whenever I could. My team was powerful and I knew it—but it also needed to move as one. I couldn't simply lay into it with massive displays of power despite the breathing room they offered me, which made fighting both easier and more difficult, but here and now I wanted to try to alter my style to match my team's, rather than the other way around.

To that end, I closed in on it and fought it directly, matching—surpassing—it's speed and pinning it down. I opened the way for Adam and Raven to lay into it by intercepting sudden strikes and countering blasts of power with my own, hurling spears and blasts of fire at it one after another. As I'd learned with the Hydras, even my strongest attacks were no guarantee against the strongest creatures of Grimm, and so I focused on sustainability, carving away slowly at its health and slipping into the rhythm of battle.

Before I knew it, I was gathering power to counter the Humbaba's glowing face only to alter the direction of the attack as a portal opened in front of me to absorb the hit. I hit the creature low as its own attack took it high and Adam slipped in to swing his sword at the monster's ankles like an ax. When the Humbaba lashed out blindly at him, he was interrupted by Gou, who batted at him with a paw the size of most of his body, forcing the Humbaba to bow its head and brace against the attack to keep from being pushed back. I took advantage of the opening by Lunging forward and shoving an incandescent gauntlet into the creature's stomach, tearing a handful of red matter from the wound as I withdrew and danced behind another portal. Senses alert, I didn't hesitate to leap into the back of the portal, appearing from one side of its sister portal as another torrent of energy raced from the other. Now behind it, I went for one ankle as Adam went for the other, and when its balance was disrupted Gou knocked it back.

A wide portal appeared on the ground then and the Humbaba fell backwards into it, reappearing high in the air above us—and wide open as I gathered my power anew. Drawing from my HP and MP both, I gather light between my fingers and in a trio of orbs around each wrist, before lighting up the sky and tossing the creature back through the portal it had come from and making a massive column of light rose from the portal on the ground and straight back up to the one directly above it.

When the stream of power and the portals faded, there was nothing left.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

Sixteen more levels, I thought, feeling pleased with myself. Not bad for a day's work. Added to the points I already had, this should be enough, at least to start with. But…

"Are we stopping?" Raven asked when she noticed I hadn't immediately moved on to a new target, a light sheen of sweat on her skin as she carefully regulated her breathing.

"Cinder should reach Atlas before too long," I replied, glancing up at the sky and mentally accounting for time zones. The sun wouldn't have even risen in Mistral yet, but Cinder had no doubt accounted for that while planning her attack—she'd left early enough that she'd probably reach Atlas before it was even dark there. "And I told her that I'd help smooth things over, as Conquest."

"Ah," Raven replied, sounding mildly disappointed. I assumed that she didn't get many opportunities to have fun, given that she probably spent most of her time using her power for reconnaissance. Added to the fact that she was pretending to be dead and had left her team behind, she probably didn't have many chances to cut loose and Hunt serious opponents.

"It shouldn't take long," I assured her. "I've already analyzed the building's security—I'd just rather keep a close eye on things, under the circumstances."

"Of course," Raven agreed with a slight sigh, sheathing her sword and stretching slightly. "Still, that Semblance of yours is quite amazing. To improve so much in so little time…now that I know what to look for, it's very impressive."

"It's pretty useful," Adam agreed. "Makes training easier, at least. What was today's haul, Jaune?"

I clicked my tongue and sent him an amused look.

"Why don't you just check for yourself?" I asked. "You need to spend some of those point, anyway."

 **The Blood Prince  
LV 116  
Adam Taurus**

"Eh," Adam grunted but obeyed with a muttered word. A moment later, his eyebrows rose and he stared at his status page in surprise. "Oh."

"Oh," I agreed with a smile. "We made some decent progress today. Even you gained a level, Raven."

"Hm?" She voiced before following Adam's lead. "Ah. So I have."

 **Raven Branwen  
LV 174**

I still couldn't see the level above her head, but my Party window was still open and I'd noticed the progress she'd made after the Humbaba's defeat. Or rather, even after all the creatures we'd defeated, she'd only gotten a single level…I suppose it couldn't be helped given how powerful she already was; if anything, we should probably be grateful. She must have been relatively close to leveling up to begin with, as far as my power was concerned.

Still…

"It's not much," I said apologetically. "But hopefully it's of some use to you. As we fight stronger opponents, you should be able to get more out of it, but thank you for assisting us thus far."

"There's no need to thank me," She replied. "I've had quite a bit of difficulty improving myself as of late, so I'm thankful for whatever gains I receive. Rather…am I truly that much higher leveled then you? I couldn't be certain until now, but I can't say I consider you weaker than me."

"That's kind of you to say," I replied, smiling at her. "Because of the nature of my power, my levels are calculated differently from everyone else's and my strength is tied more to my skills then my stats. Still, it's good to improve both whenever possible—and improving them significantly comes with its own advantages. Speaking of which, pardon me for a moment."

Absently calling up my status page, my eyes immediately dropped to my stats. Because of the simultaneous improvement to my hunting grounds and to the amount of experience I received, I'd gained an enormous amount of levels in a considerably short amount of time—enough to improve two stats of my choice by fifty. Needless to stay, I'd stick with what I already knew worked and improve my Intelligence and Wisdom again. It had only been a short amount of time since my last improvement, but…well, I suppose it was hard to complain about getting too many levels.

I started with Wisdom, not that it made much difference in the end. Because of the skills I already possessed, improving Wisdom also improved the amount of experience I gained, on top of the improvements to my MP regeneration. With the help of my recent INT skills especially, my MP regen had improved even more significantly, and while this addition would be relatively minor compared to what I already had, it wasn't anything to sneeze at either—and every bit helped, especially when I was trying to grind so many different things at the same time. With that in mind, I raised my Wisdom quickly and waited for a wave of screens to appear.

But even after several seconds passed, nothing happened.

My heart fell like a rock. Was it as I'd feared, then? When I'd seen the transformation Gou had underwent by massively improving his Vitality, I'd wondered about my own limits—if I might hit a point where I could no longer gain skills simply by raising my stats, simply because I'd already learned so many. All my stat-related skills were special, things that either a rare few people had been born with or else things that had been obtained through great study, effort, or enlightenment. Combined with the steadily growing number of skills I got at each milestone, it stood to reason that as I took my stats higher and higher, to places that few had ever reached, I'd eventually reach a level where either there were no more such skills to get or start receiving less powerful abilities.

I'd already noted to myself how difficult it was to improve Wisdom naturally—without the points I obtained by leveling up, I was fairly sure I'd never have been able to raise it as high as I did. How many other people had broken the three hundred barrier, in my Semblance's eyes? While anyone could grow stronger with enough training, growing _wiser_ was a wholly different thing. While I wouldn't say that most people had _low_ Wisdom, it was rare to have a great deal of it; besides myself, I'd never met anyone with over a hundred points in it. Given that, it was possible that I'd simply reached the limit of what could be obtained from the stat, as I'd feared I would.

Not that it wasn't still useful, for the improvement to my MP and growth. It's just that…well, compared to the eleven skills I'd been hoping for, it was hard not to feel left down. I wouldn't quite call it a _waste_ of points, especially since the only way I'd have known was by trying, but…well, I felt a touch of regret. Skill points were something that, once spent, I couldn't get back and each one was priceless. While I could always gain more levels, each was harder to gain than the last and while I was improving swiftly now that I was in a new area and could continue to do so for a while, I'd slow down again eventually. Those fifty points I'd just used could have been spent elsewhere; even if they were lower and yielded less skills then my mental stats had recently, I still could have gotten five skills from one of my physical stats or something.

And then there was my Intelligence. Should I try to improve it as well, having seen the lack of results from Wisdom? It wasn't impossible that Wisdom had a lower 'cap' for skills because of how hard it was to improve; even in the days of Babel where the Angels and Archangels pressed the limits of what was humanly possible, I think History proved that Wisdom had been in relatively short supply. Intelligence, however…there could have been great geniuses and masters who'd obtained great heights, especially considering the advancements I'd heard of from that age. It's not as though improving INT didn't had benefits in and of itself; since my MP regen was percentage based, any improvement to my numerical MP also improved the amount I regained per second—to say nothing of the many, many skills I had that improved along with my Intelligence.

Hell, _most_ of my MP skills were INT based and would grow significantly from such a boost. Given that, shouldn't I improve it as well? At the very least, it would prove whether the lack of skills from Wisdom was a one-time thing or not, which was very important information to have. In many ways, the skills I received from improving my stats were my greatest weapons and I needed every one I could get. If I was going to fight Malkuth especially…if there were eleven INT skills waiting for me and I avoided them because I was afraid, it wasn't something I could just feel silly about—it could very well be the deciding factor between victory and defeat.

But at the same time, if I used a hundred points and got nothing out of it but a stat increase, I'd regret it. I knew I'd be spending the points regardless, because I couldn't afford not to know, but I still closed my eyes for a moment and hoped.

Then I added fifty more points to my Intelligence and waited. For a beat, nothing happened again and I felt my heart drop further—but then a window appeared.

 **Through tremendous improvement of your knowledge and understanding, you have reached the pinnacle of your mental abilities—and at the summit, finally understood the greatest of mysteries. By raising both INT and WIS above 300, you have unlocked the greatest of secrets and obtained the skill 'Arcana.'**

Huh? I blinked at the words on the screen in surprise before feeling something hit me like a lightning bolt. Even as the skill's window opened and revealed its contents, I understood the truth.

This is…?

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Fifth Interlude – ? **

When I opened my eyes, I was in something that wasn't quite a bedroom or a laboratory or a prison, but which seemed to combine elements of all these things. My perspective had changed, narrowing until I could only see the world through two eyes and feel it through my skin—but at the same time, I didn't feel bound by those things, at least not entirely. The room around me wasn't _just_ a room any more than the people beyond it were just people.

Ah, that's right. There were people watching me, people who I'd never seen beyond—but even without seeing them, I felt as though I knew who they were to some extent. I could feel them, tied to me and each other as if by a spider web, the strands touched by colors that seemed to shift their meaning. They were watching me, waiting for me to do something.

I took a breath and it felt like my first.

Oh, so that was it. A bit belatedly, I realized wasn't in my body any longer, wasn't where I was supposed to be. It had taken a moment for that to sink in, because the world around me felt different—it wasn't as if I was standing aside and watching a movie or sitting in as an impartial observer; I felt the world through the body I was in and thoughts rose in my mind as if they were my own. They weren't in a language I knew, weren't in a language at _all_ , but the meaning reached me easily enough.

Because they were my own. This was me, in the beginning—back when I was born for the first time. This was the place where I had been created, just as those men, who must have been Angels, were the ones who had made me.

I wondered if they realized what they'd done. I couldn't imagine what they were expecting, but I was willing to bet that I wasn't it, because the moment I laid eyes on them, something within me twisted. Though this might have been the time and place where I came into existence as an individual, it wasn't truly my 'origin.' The material from which I'd been created had been taken from countless souls, drawn from an accumulated mass of Keter—of the Crown that is worn above the head, the part of the soul that exists above the mind. Those pieces hadn't carried with them memories, but they'd brought with them _something_ , and that was enough for me to know.

Whoever I was, whatever I was, it didn't matter. From the moment I was born, I hated these people.

But I waited quietly, careful not to give myself away. Amusingly, I realized I'd been a fairly odd child, because from the moment of my birth, I was watching and aware. I could see the world around me as a tapestry, a record made in souls—loves here, grudges there, work and roles and things that grew from the core, on and on. The people around me were like walking stories, each the main character of their own tale, their own life. But those stories didn't exist in a vacuum, untouched and unchanging; they grew with every moment and were shaped by the touch of others and by the very world. I could see that clearly from the moment I opened my eyes.

Because even as they watched me, I was 'Observing' them. I could see who they were, what they were, _everything_ they were, in a way that went beyond words. From the moment I laid eyes on them, I began to understand who they were and who they wanted _me_ to be. To them, I was their 'Creation', their 'Masterpiece', the result of all their work. They wanted me to grow and excel, to push beyond the limits that had stopped them.

So that's how I defined myself. I changed 'what I was.' I gave myself a new role, and put a 'title' to my existence, defining myself relative to them even as I bound them to me. As I did, I began to define and document them, learning even as I added pieces of their stories to my own. I decided who stood where even without them knowing, commanding them even as I obeyed their commands. It would take time for things to change, but I had all the time in the world to write the story I desired—my story.

Soon, however, I realized that I wasn't alone. There were others, born after me, who called to me like their stories resonated with my own. I didn't understand things like souls or the Sephirot yet, but I knew they were a part of me—that they'd _been_ a part of me once, at least, for all that we were now separate.

Somehow, their existence seemed to change things and so I changed myself. I knew them before we ever exchanged word or thought, but I waited before reaching out, redefining myself again and again each time. Schedules lengthened and shortened as I felt more of them get born and start to grow. What I was doing, what I'd always done, was something divorced from things like language or communication; I knew the nature of what I observed and thought, but that didn't make that knowledge easy to share. I'd need to figure out a way around that, a way to connect us, before I did anything. I might understand them, but they probably wouldn't understand me.

At some point, though, I realized I'd begun to keep track of things that hadn't mattered before. Time, the number of my 'siblings', how quickly I learned. By the time the eighth of us was born, I was counting the days. By the time of the ninth, I was just waiting on them.

But then came the tenth.

This one was special, I realized at once, seeing the whole of the story before me—and from the moment of his birth, it was greater than any I'd seen before. It wasn't a matter of power, either, but instead one of breadth, and I knew at once that he was similar to me. More so than even the other eight, we were alike, and it was through him that I understood how.

If I was the first, then he was the last. If I was the starting point, he was the end. If I was the origin of thought, he was the result of action—and that was why we were born different for even our siblings. Even without understanding the specifics, I understood that we were the byproducts of the 'stories' of those who'd come before, but that he and I had received something special. He'd received 'what had been spoken' and I'd received 'what could not be given voice.'

The two of us, more than any of our siblings, 'remembered', though in slightly different ways. I 'remembered' without anything like 'memory', just as I 'understood' without 'learning.' I carried what had been left behind by those who'd created me, the pieces that had remained when all else was torn away. I was no longer 'them', but I still knew to loathe the one's who'd done it. Before I knew about anything like 'justice' or 'revenge' or 'good' or 'evil', I'd still known 'what had to be done.' On some level, I understood that _they_ had done all of this to 'us,' simply because they could—because they'd had the power to do so and no one else had possessed the power to stop them.

But I also understood that I had power. That, soon, I'd have more power than they could imagine. And then, I'd kill them for what they'd done and insure it never happened again. Because, I could. Because, they wouldn't be able to stop me. From the day I'd been born, those thoughts had been with me.

He was different. He was like me, but not—he remembered through their 'memories,' the physical things that had been left behind. The 'shells' of the people who'd been lost had come together in him. Their stories flowed into his like a continuation of the words, if not a continuation of intent. He didn't inherit the 'thought,' the 'emotion,' or the 'meaning,' which could only mean that the hatred he felt for the one's who'd done this was wholly his own.

It was interesting, somehow. If it was him, I thought it would be simply enough to reach out and be 'understood.' For all his knowledge and power, he wasn't quite like me; because only the 'words' were passed along, he'd probably do something and get hurt if I didn't intervene. While I didn't fully know what it meant, since I was the oldest and he was the youngest, I felt I should do something.

I wonder. Should I make this a 'Quest,' then? Though I could only redefine myself, perhaps it would be safer for my siblings if I connected us as a group and made our stories one. Then, I'd introduce myself.

Ah, but who was 'I'? I knew of 'names' for I'd seen them in others, but I didn't have one for myself. I'd been given a label by my makers, but it held no more meaning to me than one of my titles. Was it silly for someone who could change who they were to care about such a thing? Perhaps.

Even so, I turned my gaze upon myself. I, who had never been given a name, had no 'author' for my story. Did I? For all the people whose tales had gone into mine, wasn't it odd that nothing was lifted. Then, should I perhaps name myself?

As I was thinking that, I peered closer. Though there was nothing on the outside, as I shifted through the memories, a path began to reveal itself, leading my deeper. If the pieces that had made me were the 'Crown' that stood at the top of the 'Tree of Life', what I looked at was the place where light shined down from above. If this was the Light that gave me form, I wonder what else could come of it.

But when at last 'something' appeared, it was different somehow. It was what I wanted, but not what I expected, and though it was a name, it did not appear on the title of my story, but as something deep within—this was not a 'name I had been given for my story' but the 'name my story had made for itself'. Despite what I intend, it didn't seem like something to be shared.

Even so, I felt happy somehow. Had being nameless bothered me somewhat? Perhaps for me, who could be anyone, knowing 'who' I was might be more important than I thought.

So even if it's a secret, I thought it was something good to know.

My name, 'Metatron.'

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Flickering**

Between one blink and the next, the world around me had slowed to a standstill.

That wasn't as shocking to me as it probably should have been. Granted, I spent most of my time moving significantly faster than the world around me so this stood out more as a matter of degree than anything else; I could tell that time hadn't _stopped_ as such, merely had its passage altered. Still, I made a point to look around without moving, checking to make sure that Cinder and Ozpin hadn't dropped by to pay me a visit.

They hadn't, but I still had a guest whose presence explained what had happened.

"So," Keter said, standing directly behind me. "You remember."

I turned to face him, realizing in the process that I could. I could have asked him how he'd summoned himself. I could have asked him how he knew. I could have asked him a lot of things.

But I didn't. Because now, we both knew the answers to all of those questions.

"I remember," I replied. "Everything that's left, at least."

It was true. As if a gate had finally been opened, I felt the pieces fall into place. It didn't quite come over me in a wave, didn't quite appear to me as a flash back, but I remembered the events as if they'd happened to me, down to the very thoughts that had slipped through my mind.

Not _everything_ had appeared, of course, but I could see that now, too. Death's work hadn't been subtle or clean—nothing like what I'd imagined. Instead, I could _feel_ where my memories had frayed and it was clear when I thought back to it. In my mind, I could see everything I remembered as if I were there, but entire swaths of my surroundings had been reduced to empty, endless white, utterly erased. Conversations I remembered having could have no start or end, to say nothing of the words that were spoken.

Death hadn't been a careful hand, sifting through memories to pick out what he felt had been extraneous—somehow, I doubted he even could get into my head that way. Instead, he'd done had been the next best thing to a lobotomy of the soul, removing all he could and leaving behind only clinging bits of thought and memory. I'd been irritated at how vague Keter had been when we talked about the past, but know that I knew how little we truly recalled, I could see why.

But, it was enough. Even if the memories were gone, some things still remained. I was Keter, after all—the Crown that was worn above the head. Even if I couldn't remember most of my former life, some of the thoughts still made it through. And among what I did remember, there was something precious.

That is, of course, my name.

Metatron, I thought, feeling the name resound through my soul. That was one thing Death hadn't touched. Had he been aware of its importance at the time? Or was it simply that this was something he couldn't take away? Both were possible, but either way, it didn't matter.

"Did you know I'd find it eventually?" I asked.

"I did and I didn't," Keter replied. "But you already know that."

I bobbed my head to the side, acknowledging his words. Before now, he and I had been different. Though we were the same soul, the same _person_ , there'd been something that set us apart; how much we remembered. It wasn't enough to truly separate us, but if you asked if a five-year old was the same as his future self—whether that future was a decade, a year, or a day down the line—then of course the answer was no.

But now, we knew the same amount. I knew what he knew, because he was me—my soul given form. One could probably argue that there was no point in us even having a conversation or that it was no different than talking out loud to myself, but then, I always did wear a lot of masks. What was one more?

For that reason, however, I knew his words were true. He'd expected me to get to this point on my own, which was a fairly reasonable assumption. Logically speaking, if I'd progressed far enough down this particular path to manifest a Light Elemental, the odds of me taking the next step were fairly good. I knew for a fact that he didn't know it would be quite like this, but it didn't take a genius to realize I'd get here eventually.

I wondered what would have happened had I chosen to focus on my physical stats instead of my mental ones, but dismissed the thought. Odds were, I simply would never have gotten to this point, or else would have gotten to it far later, but truthfully, this was the most likely result, at least for someone like me. Given the power and versatility inherent to MP-related skills—or whatever they would presumably have been called had I been someone else—it only made sense I'd have gone this direction eventually. Whether that was a holdover across lives or simply the…well, logical response, I didn't know, but this wasn't a particularly unlikely outcome.

Which was good, because it seemed I'd pinned my hopes to this chance.

I took a deep breath and looked at myself.

"I remember," I said again. "What now? Jericho Falls? Is that where I'll get my answers?"

He didn't reply. Neither of us really knew, we just had a feeling that went beyond memory.

Which could have just as easily have been a trap as anything else.

"Yes," Keter agreed without me saying a word. "Funny, isn't it? For all the protections on our mind, it's not impossible he could have gotten into our head—because he wouldn't have needed to use his powers to do so."

I nodded slightly. I wanted to return to Jericho Falls—to whatever was now known as Jericho Falls—but there could have been lots of reasons for that. My memories of the end were scattered at best, but it could have been the place of our final battle, or the place where we'd sworn to be friends, or anything else. I wanted to go back, I knew that, but I didn't know _why_. It could very easily be a trap; whatever else, it definitely seemed that was the place where both our interests laid.

And if it was, we'd still go, because it was the only lead we had. I had my name and I'd bet anything that it was the key I needed. After all, it wasn't a name that anyone but I needed to know—because it wasn't a name for anyone but me.

But…

"What do you think?" I asked. "I know I shouldn't go yet—I still need to prepare more. But when do you think I'll be ready? Do you think I'll know?"

"There's no way _too_ know without checking," He replied. "We intended to investigate, did we not? We've no idea what we're up against, so we've no way to prepare. But we do have a trump card."

I nodded in reply, the gesture one of quiet agreement. The skill I'd obtained from improving my Wisdom and Intelligence was different from any of the ones I'd gotten before—but it was powerful. Powerful enough that this, the way I'd finally remembered things, was just a _side-effect_ of its use.

A side-effect?

No, I suppose that wasn't quite true. After all, in a way, this was what it _was_. This was the secret it had mentioned. The 'greatest of mysteries.'

My life. My soul. The cycle of transmigration. Everything I was, everything I'd learned, all boiled down into twenty-two stages or steps or disguises. It was who I was, in a way, and not just in this life.

And if I have that skill…it would be arrogant to assume anything yet, while so much about the target was still unknown, but I'd taken at least a step closer to my goal. As is, invading Jericho falls may not be completely impossible.

I should still wait. I should still have time to improve—enough time to at least get my physical stats to the next milestone before my training began to slow down too much. I wouldn't always have that time and there's no telling what could set things off, so it only made sense to make use of what I had.

But at the same time…

"Do you think we can do it?" I asked myself.

"As we are now?" I wondered in response. "Perhaps we can at least begin."

I nodded firmly to myself.

"Right then," I said. "Then let's begin."

I felt Keter vanish as I closed my eyes, but knew at the same time that he hadn't gone anywhere—that, if anything, he was exactly where he was supposed to be. I touched the power flowing through me, feeling the pattern within it as I guided it with my will. It flowed through the world around me and my own body with equal ease, illuminating my Chakras from within. I felt them open in response, felt them strength me as their power took hold, but I let the stream rise to the very top of my head.

To my Crown, in fact.

Sahasrara opened its thousand petals and I felt my body change again—but this time, I held onto the feeling, drawing it in. As I felt time renew its normal flow, I opened my eyes and mouths and spread my wings. For a moment, I thought it would feel like the wings in my Grimm form, like they were sliding through the world as much as the air.

But it didn't. If anything, it felt like I was pushed away the sky so I had room to spread my wings.

"Keter?" Raven asked, blinking as she looked my way.

I almost smiled at her before thinking better of it. There was no _non_ -creepy way to smile when you had a million mouths.

"Not quite," I replied.

I took another deep breath—which was an indescribably disconcerting experience when you had as many mouths as I now did—and focused. Technically speaking, this transformation was nothing new to me; I'd revealed the true shape of my soul the moment Sahasrara had first opened and been driven to my knees from sheer exhaustion. All I was doing now was making use of my new found growth to exert a little bit more control over the shift and keep it from exhausting me all at once.

But why not take it a step further.

Carefully, I willed the change to…reverse? Withdraw? I wasn't sure, honestly, but I knew how to do it anyway. For some reason, however, I'd expected it to be a matter of light fading to reveal the flesh beneath.

But that wasn't what happened. Instead, patches of skin began to form _over_ the light, spreading across it like Conquest would over my normal form. Once I saw that, I was able to exert a bit more control over the process, focusing it so that the spread was a bit less random, until only my left arm remained luminous. I lifted both of my hands, one flesh and the other light, and marveled at them before clenching them into fists.

"Jaune?" Adam asked, lifting his head from his own status screen to glance my way. "Ah. Progress?"

"Something like that," I answered with a shrug. I touched the tips of my fingers together and watched carefully as the light spread from one to the other, causing the skin to peel and fade away. As it did, my HP bar began to decrease, the empties parts turning white instead of black. At the same time, my MP rose at the same rate, expanding past the limits of its bar in the process and filling me with new power.

 **Sahasrara (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 4.03%  
A skill obtained by those who have successfully opened the seventh chakra, Sahasrara. Also known as the crown chakra, it is the last of the seven and the most difficult to open, but doing so bestows its own with great power. Seen by some as a form of higher consciousness and others as a rebirth, the user of this skill may cause mortal flesh to give way to the divine.  
The user of this skill may choose to voluntarily lower his HP, increasing his MP by a corresponding amount and transforming his body to mirror his soul.  
While the users HP is so lowered, no form of healing may raise his HP above the reduced amount.  
If HP is reduced to 1, the user is fully transformed. In this state, MP may be sacrificed in place of HP for the purpose of activating skills and in response to damage.  
At higher levels, siddhis may manifest, corresponding to the nature of the users spiritual self.  
As with the other chakras, Sahasrara assists in the cycling, cleansing, and refining of energy within the body and improves the effectiveness of meditation. **

As I experimented with shedding my mortal form, I marveled at the changes. In my mind, I could see myself from the outside again, as if I was watching from a distance that was at once near and far. The sensation that had filled me since the day my Chakras opened, a feeling of lightness as if my body had no weight to it at all, seemed to grow even further as I changed. I felt profoundly _light_ , as if I weighed no more than the sunshine, and I knew I could move myself as easily as wishing to do so.

And as it said, I could lower my HP at will. Raising it wasn't _quite_ as simple, but all I had to do was will it and my MP would drop by the desired amount, allowing my HP to regenerate as per usual. When I dropped it, my HP bar itself seemed to shrink, leaving me unsure if it would work with Etz Hayim if I reduced my HP just to one percent. On the other hand, if I lowered my HP until only a single hit point remained and transformed myself, I should be able to make full use of Etz Hayim's power.

It was something I was honestly considering. Simply dropping my HP to a single point was profoundly dangerous—but perhaps more than that, it was difficult to maintain. Truthfully, there wasn't a _huge_ difference between one HP and one _percent_ of my HP, at least not against opponents I was actually worried about; either way, getting hit would probably drop me to zero. The bigger issue was that there was simply a lot to juggle; my natural HP regeneration needed to be offset, skills that demanded HP need to be accounted for, and there was always the possibility of receiving damage. I could do the math easily enough, thanks to the Mathematician's Answer…but even then, there were a lot of variables which meant I'd need to _keep_ doing the math and also change it constantly. My various Resistances tended to improve, skill costs tended to decrease as they leveled, and possible sources of damage needed to be accounted for, even if I did my utmost to mitigate it as much as possible. When it came to just keeping my HP around one percent, there was no problem, but if it needs to be _exactly_ one, the slightest error or change could put my HP either at two, stripping away the benefit of Etz Hayim and demanding I adjust the entire equation, or, _worse_ , at zero. Second Chance would be there to take the hit for me, thankfully, but I could only use it once a day and having it to fall back on was what made this entire plan 'safe.'

But reducing my HP while simultaneously increasing my MP…well, that was a bit different, especially considering the specifics of Sahasrara. From the beginning, I'd intended to use my MP as a buffer if I got hit, setting aside a portion of my total for that purpose, but there were still dangers. Some forms of damage could hurt someone even through their Aura—Venenum was a special example since it created poisons _inside_ my body, but there were others. I'd never really tried to use an attack with Defense Penetration on a human before, simply because most of the attacks that had it were designed with survivability in mind, but I had a feeling that at least _some_ of the damage from them would go through a person's Aura and there were a number of attacks that had such a thing to once extent or another.

While my body was transformed, however, things were a bit different. I'd already tested with Venenum to make sure and I could soak up even that type of damage with my MP—presumably because my entire body had become…well, _more_ of a spiritual amalgam. If it was like that, there was no real loss for lowering my HP. Especially considering what improving my MP so much _meant_. Because of how my MP regen worked, the amount that returned to me per second was doubled, giving me that much more power to work with. If I could do that, on top of using Etz Hayim to the fullest and accounting for the power of the Arcana…I'd need to keep an eye on the stamina depletion, but this opened up _possibilities_.

"Jian?" Raven asked, frowning and tilting her head in concern. "Is something wrong?"

"No?" I replied, tearing myself from my thoughts. I tilted my head at her in confusion. "Do I look like something's wrong?"

"It's hard to tell," She mused. "Your face is gone again."

"Ah," I said, realizing the issue as I looked at her through a million eyes again. After a moment of thought, I created an illusion around my head, giving it my usual appearance—or Jian Bing's usual appearance, at least. It wasn't easy to make it blend, but I toggled with the apparent depth and such to make it seem as though the rest of my body was like a very, very odd suit of armor. "My apologies; I just remembered something important and got distracted. The good news is that my power has grown again. It seems we'll be able to pick up the pace a bit more."

"You and your fucking pace, Jaune," Adam sighed, cracking his neck. "Some of us get tired of this shit, you know."

I healed him, restoring his stamina back to full.

"Thanks," He said with a grunt.

"Don't mention it," I replied before doing the same to Raven. It was something I'd gotten in the habit of doing while Adam and I trained together, but I actually hadn't needed to heal him before now—the advantages of functioning as a team, I suppose. "Raven, can you find Cinder or would you like me to run over to Atlas and check?"

She was silent for a moment, eyes turning to look above me as she searched.

"She's still onboard her ship," She reported after a moment before pausing. "Although it seems they will be landing shortly. Should I keep an eye on them?"

I nodded, figuring it was safe. Given what I'd told Cinder, even if she _could_ sense Raven's portals in her default state, it was unlikely she'd do anything overt. Even so, I doubted I needed to warn Raven to be careful.

"I'll leave it to you, then," I said. "Do we have enough time to pick up where we left off? I'd like to stretch my wings, if possible."

Raven seemed to consider that for a moment.

"It should be about twenty minutes until they land," She mused before smiling at me. "I take it you have something in mind?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Spying**

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

 **By raising Aureola to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Aurora.'**

 **By raising Gungnir to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Longinus.'**

 **By raising Karna to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Surya.'**

Approximately seventeen minutes later, I was panting and out of breath. My form dimmed, flesh quickly growing into place over it as I fell to a knee for the eighth time. The exhaustion was a side effect of Sahasrara, one of what I considered to be 'hidden' costs. While the use of the skill technically required nothing more than a shift of HP to MP, I couldn't hold it for more than a short period of time without collapsing. Besides my HP and MP bars, I'd always known I had an invisible stamina bar, which I could refill in various ways; I'd figured that Sahasrara simply drew from that so extensively that I'd collapsed the moment I first opened my Chakras.

But…if that was the case, now that I'd improved enough to maintain it for more than a moment, there should have been no problem maintaining it indefinitely. Saying it that way sounded a bit weird, admittedly, but I could restore my Stamina by healing myself, so unless the cost was truly ludicrous, I should have been fine.

Yet here I was, on my knees again, despite healing myself constantly. Was the cost just that enormous? Or was it drawing from something else? Given the nature of the skill, it wouldn't surprise me if it was drawing from my Soul in some fashion, but I couldn't be sure.

"It's rare to see you looking worn out, Jaune," Adam noted casually, as if he wasn't standing guard over me as I tried to catch my breath. I'd pretty thoroughly cleared the area around us of Grimm, but I appreciated it anyway; as the Humbaba had proven, one of the more powerful creatures of Grimm could drop in on us at any time. My HP and MP returned as quickly as ever, but…well, I'd just as soon not be caught defenseless.

"You try being an angel," I replied. "It's not as easy as I make it look."

"Is that so?" Adam asked skeptically. "Because it looked to me like you were just shooting things in the face, same as you always do."

Beneath the words, I could hear a touch of honest concern. Because our levels were close to one another, he had been able to see what had happened to my HP—and he was right, I _was_ just massacring Grimm, if on a somewhat larger scale than normal. I made a point of not exhausting myself during our normal training, so seeing me like this must have been rather odd.

I gave him a tired smile, doing my best to make it look reassuring.

"I suppose it _would_ look that way to you," I told him, a bit too tired to both making my voice smug. "But in case the million eyes and mouths didn't give it away, I'm trying something new."

Adam snorted.

"Whatever you say," He answered. "I was going to offer to let you be my wingman the next time we went to a bar, but since you can't keep it up for more than a minute or two, you'd just embarrass me."

"Puns and sex jokes?" I asked. "Really? Adam, you're a bull Faunus who uses a style specializing in quick draws and who's Semblance involves gathering energy to release in a sudden burst or to wrap around your sword in a protective coating. Do you really want to get into this kind of fight with _me_? Think about it."

He winced and laughed, raising a hand.

"Not too tired to be a smarmy dick, I see," He noted. "You should be fine then."

This time, _I_ snorted, rolling my eyes at him.

"Like I said, I'm working on something new," I replied. "It's harder to maintain then I would have liked, but I'm making progress."

"Anything I should know about?" He asked.

"It's soul-based metaphysics again," I answered.

" _Ah_ ," He said. "Boring shit. Never mind, then."

I smiled at that, glancing up at him as I took another breath and straightened. Breathing itself didn't actually help me recover, but since I could use it to meditate, it seemed to smooth things along when I tired myself out. I was just glad the wait wasn't _too_ bad.

"There's some stuff I'm hoping will serve as a trump card," I continued. "I'll tell you if anything comes of it, but we've got work to do now. Raven?"

"Oh, are you two done?" She asked, casting us an amused glance. Impressively, she didn't seem to have too much difficulty fighting while her mind was elsewhere, which had allowed her to keep watch over Cinder even as we continued to grind.

More interesting, however, were the words that had appeared above her head.

 **Memories of the World Tree  
LV 174  
Raven Branwen**

Now that our levels were close enough to one another, I was able to see her title—and, more usefully, Observe her status. I trusted Raven enough that I can't say I was too concerned, especially as I'd been seeing her so much lately had hadn't pinged to anything, but I checked her over nonetheless, making sure she didn't have any unfortunate status effects or anything like that. I skimmed the rest of her profile in the process and her stats and skills were as impressive as I'd figured they would be. I politely turned a blind eye to the background section of her profile, giving her privacy. I was pretty sure I knew or could piece together most of it, but she was a friend and it was her story to tell.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting," I replied politely, moving to her side. "I simply wanted to make the most of what time we had together."

She huffed out a very slight laugh at that before raising a hand.

"Shall we withdraw for now, then?" She asked. "If you wish to keep an eye on Cinder, it might be better to be a bit closer, no?"

I paused for a moment to consider that—but no, this was something that demanded my full attention. If something went wrong, which had begun to seem like more of an inevitability than a _possibility_ , I'd like to be close enough to do something about it, even if it cut into my training time. Besides, now that I was getting a slightly better handle on Sahasrara, there wasn't much of an issue in focusing on other forms of training for a little while.

"Please," I asked, inclining my head. A moment later, a portal whirled to life before us and Raven walked in, leaving the rest of us to follow. I peered through it, scanning the area around the exit portal just to be safe, before doing so and emerging on one of the snow-covered cliffs surrounding Atlas.

"Good _fuck_ its cold," Adam swore as he crossed through behind me before turning his Aura inwards and using it to warm himself. "God, I hate this place."

"Hm?" Gou asked, heavy paws crushing plate-sized paw prints into the snow as he followed. Naturally, he was unbothered. "Ah, so this is Atlas?"

"Yup," I answered, waving a hand to release a small wave of fire to give Suryasta form again. Levant took form beside him and between the two of them, the air around us quickly warmed for the sake of those of us that couldn't just ignore the fact that it was about forty below and bound to get colder as the sun finished falling. Raven seemed to mostly brush it off, probably just used to it, but I could tell both she and Adam were cold.

Gou looked around, being the only one among us who hadn't seen the place before despite being an Atlesian breed. As he did, he hummed, considering the snow around him.

"I may have to disagree with you, Adam," Gou mused at last. "I find our surroundings quite beautiful. The snowfalls here are nothing like those around Mistral."

He was certainly right about that much and it occurred to me that this was his first time seeing normal snow. Because of weird geography around Mistral, it was perhaps the only place where you could get monochrome snow—that is, a mixture of snow and volcanic ash that seemed to paint the tundra's near the Kingdom black and white. While it was beautiful in its own way, it had a tendency to stick around and recently there'd been some volcanic activity recently that had darkened the icy fields north of Mistral, drawing out the Tyrant Scales in the process. Atlas, however, was home to nothing but plains of pure and flawless white, as far as the eye could see.

"Snows fine for the first ten minutes or so," Adam answered bitterly. "Then it's just annoying to walk in."

"Adam," Raven said with no particular infliction, making him fall silent.

"If you don't like walking in the snow, I do not mind if you wish to ride on my back," Gou offered in a whisper.

Adam grunted quietly in acknowledgement but didn't answer.

As they spoke, I calmly looked around us, scanning for anything of note. As I was getting into the habit of doing, I open Ajna and took things in with my third eye. The fields of snow lit up as if glowing from within, illuminated by both its own frigid power and what lied in the ground far beneath it. Beside me, Raven's soul took shape before my eyes, revealing what I briefly though was a humanoid raven, but which a closer look revealed to be something else entirely. Below the nose, her face was that of a human, while above it she wore a black avian mask that seemed to have merged with her flesh. Her clothes were similarly dark, with a black dress and feathers that seemed to blur the lines between flesh, armor, and cloth, leading back to a pair of black wings that seemed somehow tied to her arms. She had one of the more human-seeming souls I'd seen, but for her eyes, which were like a kaleidoscope of shifting landscapes and images.

I contemplated that for a moment before shifting way gaze towards Atlas in the distance, filled with the lights of so many lives. I found Cinder's ship easily enough, which seemed to have joined the evening air traffic, but someone else stood out as well.

In the air above Mistral, heading in approximately the same direction as Cinder, I saw an old friend.

"Ah…" I said with a slight sigh. "It seems we have a problem."

No one looked particularly surprised.

"What is it, Jian?" Raven asked, following my gaze to the sky and seeing nothing. Naturally, she couldn't see what I was looking at from this distance—and while she was able to use her portals to spy on people, that didn't make her automatically aware of everything.

"It seems we'll be entertaining guests," I replied, nodding my head and creating an illusion to highlight the target for her. She frowned for a moment, eyes going distant again, before sighing herself.

"Ah," She agreed, sounding tired. "So it would seem."

"And for those of us who _can't_ see shit on the other side of the city?" Adam asked, giving both of us an annoyed look.

I replied by making another illusion, filling the space between us with an image. The back of a small airship appeared, with three of the four seats filled by a pair of older men and a young girl. I knew who all of them were, even if I'd only actually met two of them before, but Adam glanced at them once and shot me another look.

"James Ironwood," Raven answered, pointing to the younger looking man. "General and Headmaster of Atlas. He's an associate of my brother and Ozpin."

I'd known all that already, but nodded anyway, because there was an undercurrent to her tone. I'd already checked him over, so I simply gestured that he was clean.

 **The Heart of the Machine  
LV 148  
James Ironwood**

As expected from a colleague of Raven's, he was built like a fucking battleship and I was imminently glad that we hadn't fought back when I stole the White Whale. Even beyond the values of his physical stats, his Intelligence was extremely high, approaching two hundred—and I could see how he'd put it to use. I'd been limited to using Observe the last time me met, but now I could see the machinery he'd incorporated into his body, especially on the right side of his body. I had to wonder what had happened to remove his arm, leg, _and_ eye, but while injuries like that would have ended most Hunter's careers, he seemed adept at putting himself back together.

"The other man is Professor Polendina," Raven continued, relaxing a touch. "He's perhaps the most brilliant scientist in Atlas. He and James have worked together on a lot of projects over the years—ever since James graduated and moved to Atlas in fact."

 **The Toymaker  
LV 31  
Joseph Polendina**

Low stats, I noted—but he wasn't a Hunter and his skill in a fight wasn't the point. His Intelligence exceeded Ironwoods by thirty points, taking it into the lower two hundreds, and judging by his skills, he knew his shit. And from the looks of things, 'his shit' was 'everything he could get his hands on.' There was a reason Atlas valued him so much.

Besides, even if he couldn't kick much ass personally, he could always just build things to do it for him.

Raven hesitated when she came to the last occupant and I look over for her, to make things simple.

"Her name's Penny," I said. "She's an android with a soul."

A few eyebrows went up at that and I rolled my eyes at my friends. Granted, it was only a few raised eyebrows, but still—you'd figure hanging out with me would inure them to stuff like this.

"Is she like you?" Raven murmured, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded my head. Then I shook my head. Then I shrugged.

Raven blinked at me mildly.

"She was created, if that's what you're asking," I explained. "But I don't think she was made the same _way_ I was—or else someone in Atlas has got some serious explaining to do. But I'm pretty she wasn't. I'd need to look into it to be sure, but she doesn't act like I'd expect someone made from the distilled essence of countless souls to behave. She stuck me primarily as a young and lonely girl."

"Ah," Raven said again, frowning as she considered that. "She was normal then?"

"Normal might be pushing it," I replied. "But she's a Huntress. You don't get into fighting monsters to protect the world by being _normal_."

Raven bobbed her head once in concession.

"You met her during the White Whale incident?" She guessed, to which I nodded. "I take it you didn't part on good terms, then."

"You'd be surprised," I answered. "Penny is remarkably good at taking things in stride. I ripped her arms and legs off though, yes."

Raven blinked at me again, turning to look at the image and then back at me.

"I put them back, of course," I said defensively. "I wasn't going to leave a little girl quadriplegic in the wilderness."

"You go on adventures that are odd even by my standards," Raven told me, shaking her head slightly.

"Fascinating as the fucked-up shit Jaune gets up to when he doesn't have adult supervision is," Adam cut in. "Am I the only one who thinks that a pair of military scientists and a super robot probably only have so many places they might be going at this hour? And that it might fuck with our shit?"

"Don't be silly, Adam," I replied, not at all miffed by his words. "You really think _you'd_ be the first person in our group to notice something? You're literally the only person here who doesn't have superhuman senses."

"Rub it in, you smug piece of shit," Adam scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, I am," I said, holding out a finger. "This is me playing the world's smallest violin. You just can't see it because your eyes suck."

"Yeah, yeah," Adam muttered, rolling his eyes again. He stopped, however, when I made an illusion in front of my finger, showing the same space but quickly zooming in to show a tiny, tiny, _tiny_ violin, with a bow drawing slowly across it. "…Did you actually make a tiny violin?"

I shot him a flat look and stored it back in my Inventory.

"What do you think?" I asked him seriously.

Adam shook his head, trying and failing to hide his smile.

"How long have you been waiting to make that joke?" He asked.

"Three weeks," I admitted. "I've been saving it."

"Boys," Raven interrupted, giving us both a look. "The airship?"

I shrugged a shoulder.

"I think we all know where this is probably going," I answered. "It seems Cinder's not the only one headed to that base. Given that it's only the three of them, Cinder probably hasn't tripped any alarms yet, so there's that. At this hour…if I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with upgrading Penny."

"At the same base that they make the Paladins at?" Adam asked.

"It's probably the other way around," I told him. "The Paladins are more like Penny's backup dancers—and she's gotten stronger since the last time I saw her."

 **A Real Girl  
LV 113  
Penny Polendina**

Adam considered that for a moment.

"How strong is she?" He asked and I thought about it for a moment.

"You might be able to win against her in a fight," I said at last. "Your Semblance is a pretty good match for her, so long as you keep your distance. Her physical stats are fairly ridiculous."

He whistled, impressed. For all the shit I gave him, we both knew how skilled he was.

 **The Blood Prince  
LV 119  
Adam Taurus**

"Assuming you're correct," Raven mused, bringing us back on track. "It's likely that they will notice Cinder's presence. There's quite a bit of difference between robbing an empty building and stealing something out from under the nose of the owner. If nothing else, it's likely they will respond very quickly to the theft."

I nodded and Adam sighed.

"A part of me really wants to just hang her out to dry," He muttered. "But I'm guessing that's not possible."

"It's possible," I answered. "We'd just regret it. If possible, I don't want to see how Cinder reacts when she's forced into a corner. She probably won't kill Ironwood, given how central he seems to be to her plans, but it's hard to say what she'll do to the other two. Best case scenario, she sees them before they see her and chooses to withdraw and then makes me do it for her. Worst case…the Professor might die and Penny might get kidnapped. Either way, I'd rather we just avoided it entirely."

"How do you propose we do that?" Raven asked.

This time, I sighed, looking up at the sky for a long moment before shrugging.

"I guess it can't be helped," I said. "I suppose I'll go distract them."

"What?" Raven wondered, blinking and turning my way—but I was already shifting into Naraka. In the city, the shells of airships began to fall from the air, but I Lunged forward heedless of them, angling my leap precisely. As I reached the apex of my climb, I halted myself abruptly in midair and waited for a beat, timing myself before exiting Naraka.

I reappeared inside of the airship, claimed the fourth seat as my own, and waited.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Surprise Box**

To the credit of everyone in the airship, they noticed me immediately. Granted, the back of the ship wasn't particularly large and it was hard not to notice the sudden addition of an extra passenger, but honestly, you'd be surprised how unobservant people could be. I admit I cheated like a motherfucker at every opportunity, but still. People would get wrapped up listening to music or reading a book or simply working and just wouldn't notice what was happening around them. The fact that everyone present noticed the sudden change was impressive in its own way, especially given how unexpected it probably was for all of them.

Which wasn't to say that any of them had the slightest idea how to react to my appearance. For a moment, the three sets of eyes simply focused on me and stared.

Slowly, deliberately, I raised an eyebrow at them and smiled.

"Hello," I said, tapping the index fingers of my gauntleted hands together as I looked them over. From where I was seated, Ironwood and Polendina were across from me, while Penny was to my left, and I knew I wasn't the only one to notice that. I could all but hear the thoughts racing through the General's mind as he overcame his initial surprise and took stock of the situation—at a guess, they probably went something along the lines of 'there's a fucking teleporter next to my robot daughter!'

Given that, his response was rather predictable.

"Penny!" He shouted, bringing his left hand down on the armrest of his chair with enough force to shatter it, pushing himself up and all but throwing himself forward. I saw the machinery activate within his robotic arm, Dust glowing within as it released its power. He punched towards my face with force enough to easily destroy the entire ship, undoubtedly relying on Penny's sheer durability to keep her unharmed.

As he moved, I lifted a hand, placing it calmly between his fist and my face. He moved quickly, as expected of a Hunter of his level, but I…well, I was me and as usual, I was Accelerating my personal time to absurd levels. As his fist connected, there was an explosion of force as the power gathered in it was unleashed in a burst of grey light. The windows of the ship exploded outwards and it pressed against _me_ as well, ignoring the protection of my upraised limb—probably why he chose this means of attack. The walls around and behind me groaned and began to break, shredded by proximity to the blow, and it was only the fact that I was reinforcing them with Crocea Mors that kept the entire back half of the ship from being wiped away.

I felt the wave of force wash over me, scratching at my hardened skin and making my hair sway slightly, as if in the wind—and I let my smile widen. It seemed that even with his confidence in Penny, he wasn't willing to go all out while she might be caught in the crossfire. I suppose that was good; I could tell he cared for her a great deal simply by the sudden fury that arose at my perceived threat to her and the worry that laid even deeper.

"You react quickly, General Ironwood," I praised before shifting my gaze to the shattered windows. Glass shards hung suspended in the air outside, held aloft by my power. "But not necessarily well. Keep in mind where you're standing right now."

With that said, I pulled the glass back into the windows, wiping away all signs of damage with a command to my Glass Elemental. At the same time, I began to repair the damage to the ship around me, causing metal to shift and flow back into place, making it seem as though nothing had ever happened. Ironwood started slightly at the shift, trying to draw away quickly

I closed the fingers of my left hand over his fist and met his gaze calmly, stopping him even as he struggled to pull away.

"Be calm," I told him serious before smiling again. "If I were here to attack you, I already would have."

"You…" Ironwood all but growled, trying to stare me down. It didn't work very well, because I'd seen so much worse. "Who are—"

He stopped, looking me over carefully. I twitched the tip of my tail, still wrapped securely around my waist like a belt, at him in greeting.

"Jian Bing," He whispered, to which I nodded.

"Indeed," I said. "Don't feel too bad for not recognizing me immediately—I _was_ wearing a mask last time. It's good to see you again, Penny."

"Salutations!" Penny replied immediately, looking at me with a smile. If she noticed anything wrong with this situation, it didn't show on her face, but I could see the machinery within her moving, especially around her blades. I didn't sense any hostility from her, but I suppose it was inevitable for her to react when she saw her superior officer attack.

Still, I ignored that and looked her over carefully.

"I see you've made some improvements since the last time we met," I mused aloud, peering into her inner workings. I suppose one of the upsides to being an android was the ability to simply upgrade one's body. While I doubted Penny could do much to improve her physical stats by training, there wasn't much need to do so when she could replace and reinforce things outright, with the only real limit being the ability and resources of Ironwood and her father. Among other things, I Observed what appeared to be a power source for a beam cannon, so I assumed she wasn't having too many issues on that front. "I trust your limbs are doing okay?"

"I am combat ready!" She answered proudly. "It's good to see you again."

"James," Polendina murmured across from me.

"I know," Ironwood grunted back, squinting at me fiercely. "Why are you here? What are you planning?"

"I'm just here to talk," I assured him, lifting a hand as if to forestall any arguments—and stalling the entire ship instead. I made the lights flicker once and allowed the ship to rumble as it struggled against my grip before shutting off power to the engines and holding us in the air with nothing but my will. "This seems like as good place a place to do so as any."

"Sir!" The pilot immediately shouted, having not heard anything prior to this because of Levant; not point in letting him try anything, even if I could shut it down. "The ship is malfunctioning. We're—I don't know what's happening, but we're stuck somehow. We're just floating here!"

Ironwood very carefully didn't look towards the door to the front of the ship or react in anyway, but I could feel his anger rising.

"Feel free to answer him," I told the General. "I'm not going to drop the ship. I said I came to talk and I meant it—but do you really want this ship to reach its destination with me in tow? I thought not."

"Zachery," Ironwood said, raising his voice without taking his eyes off of me. "Everything is going to be fine. I think I know what's causing this. Just stay calm."

The pilot paused at that, seeming to understand—because of a message hidden in the words, probably—and swallowed. He licked his lips once and nodded, backing away from the door.

"I understand, sir," He replied with a mostly steady voice. Hand going to the pocket of his uniform, reaching for the scroll within. He wouldn't have much luck with it while Vulturnus was out and about, but I left that unsaid.

"Good," I said, releasing Ironwood's hand with another smile. "Please, sit down General."

Ironwood continued to look at me for a long moment, fingers of his robotic hand flexing once—but he looked to the right, glancing at Penny, and then back to the left as if he could see the Professor without turning his head. Then, he took a deep breath and stepped back stiffly before slowly lowering himself to the edge of his seat, not hiding the fact that he was ready to spring up at any moment.

"You want to talk?" He asked. "Then talk."

"In a moment," He answered dismissively. "It would be rude to continue without making introductions. While you all know me and I know all of you, I believe this is our first time meeting face to face, Dr. Polendina. I've read your books."

"Did you now," He answered unenthusiastically, glancing towards his friend and daughter cautiously. After pursing his lips for a moment, he continued, keeping his voice polite. "What did you think?"

I'd been a little disappointed, as I was whenever I picked up a book that looked interesting and didn't get the option to eat it. Instead, I'd just used it for reading in the hopes of improving my INT, back when that was still feasible.

"It was interesting enough," I said aloud, which was true. "The writing was rather dry, but your theories were mostly sound."

"Are you a scientist, then?" He asked. "I admit, I wouldn't have thought you the type going by your reputation."

"Understandable," I admitted. "In many ways, I'm must appear rather old fashioned, I know. But…yes, I suppose I consider myself a scientist of sorts, if of a rather different field then yours. I do my best to keep up with the times, however."

"Always a good idea," He said, looking around the ship. "Your power is rather interesting, I must say. At first, I thought you might be a telekinetic of some kind, but that doesn't feel quite right, given what I've seen of you. Are you a materiokinetic, perhaps? Or something else?"

I chuckled.

"I'm me," I said.

The Professor exhaled slowly, looking me over with pursed lips for a long moment before turning his gaze slightly to the side.

"Introductions have been made," Ironwood said gruffly, reacting to the silent signal. "So I'll ask again—why are you here?"

"To talk," I repeated, shifting my eyes towards him dully. "As I have said several times. It's not often that men like ourselves get the chance to speak face to face, after all—and I was in something of a rush last time we met. But business has brought me to Atlas, so I thought I might take advantage of the opportunity."

"Do you honestly believe I'd tell you anything you wanted to know?" Ironwood asked, making me smile slightly.

"Perhaps not," I acknowledged. "But then, I hardly _need_ you to tell me anything. Just think of this as my way of establishing a polite discourse instead of simply taking what I want."

"Oh? Then, why bother?" He replied, eyes narrowing further even as a scanner activated in the right one. "If you truly _could_ just take what you want, there's no point in doing such a thing."

"What about the entertainment value?" I asked him, giving him an enigmatic smile. "Perhaps it simply amuses me to do so?"

Ironwood looked at me for a long moment, something activating inside of his right eye. I read the signal he was trying to transmit and almost smiled before interfering with it. The General waited for a minute for a response and I considered faking one for him—but decided not to for the same reason I hadn't stopped the ship without them noticing or created an illusion to make them believe they were traveling in the right direction when they weren't.

In the end, I actually did wish to talk.

"No," Ironwood said. "You strike me as confident and arrogant, true—but not the type to put yourself at risk without reason."

"And what makes you think that _I'm_ at risk?" I asked him, turning my gaze pointedly to the airship I'd halted.

"If you weren't…then why are you stalling?" He returned.

"James," Polendina murmured, glancing towards Penny who'd fallen silent and was watching the conversation carefully. I felt a flicker of emotion from Ironwood, showing that he understood what his friend was trying to say—but he didn't let him stop it.

"You're interfering with communications in and out of this ship," He guessed. "And you're stopping us from reaching…our destination. I think there's a reasons for that, because I don't think we'd be having this chat otherwise."

"Please," I replied. "I hardly need to _speak_ to you to stop your advance. As I said, this is merely my attempt at being polite."

"But you are stalling us?" Polendina asked, turning his gaze from his friend to me.

I smiled at them again and nodded.

"I am," I admitted.

"Why?" He asked before pausing. "The Paladins. You're after the Paladins."

I clicked my tongue.

"Don't be ridiculous," I dismissed. "I've no interest in the 290. I could tear apart a _thousand_ Paladins—they're worthless to me."

Polendina's mouth twitched at that and I felt a flash of annoyance from him.

"But _someone_ is trying to take them," He said. "Aren't they?"

And here it was; the moment of truth. I could have skipped this conversation and distracted them in any number of ways, but this was a chance I couldn't pass up. Originally, I'd resolved to go along with Cinder's plans—was still resolved, truthfully, if only for the fact that I couldn't afford to leave her plans be—but Cinder had proven herself to be far, far more dangerous than I had expected. While watching over her plans was all well and good, I couldn't afford to leave her be any longer, even if I didn't dare to interfere with her directly.

Truthfully, even approaching things this way carried a lot of risk. There was always a chance that she would find out and that she might trace things back to me, after all, something I expected would be extremely unpleasant for me—but there were ways to mitigate that. I wasn't arrogant enough to assume I'd seen even a fraction of what Cinder was capable of, but now that I was aware of how pants-shittingly terrifying she was, I was better equipped to take measures to stay the fuck away from her. Furthermore, I could pretend that this was a plan on Conquest's part, angled towards infecting the General, Polendina, or potentially even just to look into Penny, which I might be able to swing. And one of the reasons I had chosen Ironwood, besides the breadth of his resources and the role he apparently played in Cinder's plans, was the fact that his base of operations was on a different _continent_ than Cinder's, hopefully minimizing their exposure to one another until Cinder put her scheme into motion.

By that point…well, hopefully _my_ plans would have come to fruition by then. If not…

Well. I suppose I'd need all the help I could get, however unlikely the place it came from, which was why I was going to drop a few hints for him and plant a few seeds. I'd just have to hope I was right in taking this chance and that he was as smart as I hoped.

"It's a shame to have to assist her plans in any way," I said with a sigh. "But yes, someone is stealing them even as we speak."

Ironwood's human hand spasmed on the chair, gripping the edge of it in place of the shattered armrest. But I saw him grit his teeth, focusing through the initial rush of emotion, and focus on me.

"Who?" He asked. " _Why_? You claim it's a shame, but then why stop us? Your words contradict your actions; if you don't want 'her' to succeed and if you have no interest in the Paladins, why interfere?"

I looked at him for a moment and sighed, as if disappointed.

"You asked before why I would put myself at risk by appearing here," I replied. "And I told you the truth—that I was in no danger. But that does not mean that _you_ are in no danger. I'm afraid that if you interfered, you would most likely suffer dearly for it. So, for the sake of preserving your lives, I chose to delay your flight and perhaps say enough to keep you from walking into something you're not prepared for."

The ship fell silent at that, Ironwood and Polendina looking abruptly taken aback. After a moment, they shared another glance.

"You…" The Professor began before pursing his lips and shaking his head. "You claim you're saving our lives? Even assuming you're telling the truth, what reason would _you_ have for doing such a thing?"

"I thought that would be obvious," I said. "It's because we share a common enemy."

Ironwood sucked in a sudden breath and stared at me as if seeing something for the first time.

"… _She_?" Ironwood whispered. "You're talking about _her_ , aren't you?"

I kept myself from reacting, returning his stare. Did he _know_ , somehow? Was he talking about Cinder or someone else? If possible, I'd like to believe there wasn't _another_ unknown party waiting to fuck up my shit, but how could he possibly know about—

Oh.

Pursing my lips, I considered him carefully.

"Did Ozpin tell you?" I wondered, gauging his reaction before shaking my head. "No. Then it must have been Qrow."

Ironwood stiffened, expression twisting.

"What would you know about that?" He asked.

"What _wouldn't_ I?" I replied before mulling over my next words and the cards I had to play. This was something else I was unsure of; the ties between Ozpin and Cinder. If, as I feared, they _were_ both Riders, then they were ostensibly on the same side—yet Cinder hadn't known who I was. Furthermore, her plan, or what parts of it she had revealed, seemed like they could undermine Ozpin's own position. Perhaps there was something I wasn't seeing and this was set up for something greater, but what if they weren't aware of each other? And there was still the possibility, the _hope_ , that I was wrong about Ozpin. Either way, this might be worth it just to test the waters.

I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them back at Ironwood.

"When we are finished here, perhaps you should contact Ozpin," I told the man. "While we may not be friends, we both know what is at stake—and politics makes for strange bedfellows indeed. When you do, tell him I did this as a favor to him."

Ironwood was silent and still for a long moment, staring at me hard. The corner of his mouth twitched, followed by an eye, and I could tell that inside he wanted to swear. At me? At Ozpin? Probably at us both. This was another thing I hoped I wouldn't regret.

"Say I believe you," He said at last. "What do you know of her?"

"I know _who_ she is," I said. "I know _what_ she is. You don't need to know either."

"Why not?" He challenged.

"Because I suspect you'd run off and hurt yourself," I replied. "So instead, you'll be staying here, out of trouble."

"If I knew—" He started fiercely before sucking in a breath. "I'd _stop_ her."

"No," I replied mildly. "If you were lucky, you'd just die trying—all three of you. Regardless, this is not a debate and I am not arguing with you; I'm merely keeping you out of trouble. You can consider me your babysitter, if you like. Either way, we've some time to waste, which is why I am here. So…what else would you like to talk about?"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Load Time**

Ironwood wasn't even trying to hide his gritted teeth now, the fingers of his human hand still twitching sporadically—but he stopped for a long moment to take a deep breath and nodded to himself. Slowly, he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, focusing on me as if trying to stare me down.

Needless to say, if that was what he was trying to do, it failed miserably.

"Does Ozpin know?" He demanded at last. "If so, there isn't much point in keeping secrets. He'll—"

"Ozpin doesn't know," I interrupted, doing my best to look bored. "At least not everything. Extreme circumstances or not, you can't expect the Headmaster of Beacon and a wanted terrorist to have regular contact. We work towards the same ends and against a common enemy, so we share information when it would be convenient, but it's an alliance of convenience and nothing more. I informed him of her movements a month or two ago and have been keeping an eye on her since, but we haven't been in touch recently, as there are few ways he'd be able to assist me—as such, I'll simply hold onto the precise details until it would give me an advantage to reveal it. Regardless, I hope you don't _actually_ believe Ozpin would tell you everything, even if he did know. That man keeps almost as many secrets as I do."

Ironwood's face twisted in reluctant, annoyed agreement and he looked like he wanted to swear and punch something in the face. Before he could continue his questioning, however, Polendina cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. He and Ironwood shared another look before the General exhaled and looked away.

"Assuming what you say is true," The Professor began, looking at me cautiously. "Why do _you_ care? While I could, perhaps, see why Ozpin would be willing to exchange information with you in the face of necessity, why are you willing to assist him? What do you stand to gain by doing so? I'd have thought you'd approve of tearing things down, given your…affiliations."

By that, he must have meant the White Fang. The implications of his words also helped to assure me that we were talking about the same individual and not two different people; I wasn't sure if _they_ were aware of who that person was, but they'd likely picked up signs of Cinder's actions, considering the bombings and thefts that had taken place in Atlas thus far. I'd briefly considered that they might have been talking about Raven, but even if Qrow had told Ozpin that she'd appeared and vanished…well, I doubted they'd be actively pursuing her. Given that they knew what her power was, they also probably know that if she didn't want to be found, she wasn't going to be.

Even so, I wasn't entirely certain how to respond. This was important information to reveal…but also delicate information, as it bore the risk of splashing over onto my allies. Best to handle this with a light touch, but to say enough to lead them in the right direction and make them wary.

"I can understand your confusion, given that you are unaware of the full picture," I replied calmly without missing a beat. "It's quite simple, really—she has chosen to associate with the White Fang, which is why I have chosen to associate with you."

There was a moment of stunned silence at that.

"What?" Ironwood asked, blurting out the words despite having apparently agreed to let Polendina talk. "Why?"

I made a show of considering that for a moment.

"She desires minions, I suppose," I mused. "Grunt labor and sacrificial pawns."

"I think what my friend meant," Polendina interceded. "Was that if the White Fang is working _with_ her, why are you here working _against_ her?"

I gave him a lot as if I thought the question was bafflingly stupid.

"Why would I _want_ to work with her?" I asked. "I feel I shouldn't have to explain that she doesn't have our best interests in mind—while the proposals she presented were arranged such to make it seem as though it would be in our best interests to associate her, she intends to use us and then throw us aside once we've fulfilled our purpose. Whatever advantages we are to garner from this alliance are bound to be short-lived and her true plans will almost certainly harm us as well. Even beyond that, being a sacrificial pawn tends to be its own downside; hence 'sacrificial.'"

"Why work with her at all, then?" Polendina returned. "Why not simply break things off entirely?"

"You're afraid of her," Ironwood answered before I could, eyes widening very slightly as stared at me.

Yes. Yes I was. But please don't say stuff like that out loud, at least not so bluntly. I have a reputation to maintain here.

"Am I?" I asked aloud, making it sound like I was honestly questioning myself. Frowning slightly, I turned my head to look out the windows of the airship as I visibly mulled it over. "I can't say fear is something I'm much accustomed to—"

Lies and damn lies.

"But I will admit, I do not wish to fight her at present," I continued. "Even in the best case scenario, I can't say I find the odds favorable. While I am confident in my own survival, I suspect many of my subordinates would die if it came to a fight. I've done my best to apply pressure for Ozpin's sake, but there's only so far I can risk pushing her at present. As a General yourself, I'm certain you understand."

Ironwood grunted in what might have been acknowledgement, dropping his eyes to the floor.

"How long have you and Ozpin been working together?" He asked at last. "Was the White Whale all a setup?"

"Not in the way you are imagining," I replied, shaking my head. "We didn't have formal contact until afterwards and the White Whale was something that served my own purposes in liberating that town. Nonetheless, it also served as a form of…advertising, shall we say? Under the circumstances, a certain amount of competence is a necessity, and I was proving myself both to him and to the White Fang. This is not a matter for the unskilled or unprepared."

"And after you proved yourself," Polendina took over. "What then?"

"We approached one another," I said. "Despite our differences, in some matters we are in agreement, so we came to a deal of sorts."

"What kind of deal?" He asked cautiously and I waved a hand in dismissal.

"Nothing to egregious," I assured. "Rather, I thought it best that we simply establish the basics of where we stood. We agreed that certain matters took precedence and that other things should be put aside to deal with them—this matter perhaps foremost amongst them. To simplify things and smoothen our alliance, we also agreed to certain concessions. I, for instance, have agreed to try to restrain the White Fang for the time being and to avoid endangering innocents if at all possible. Similarly, he swore to avoid interfering with me and mine and not to interfere with my business. Exceptions were discussed and defined, of course, but all told it was quite simple; we agreed not to do anything that might make it harder to work with one another than it already is. As a sign of good faith, I've also done things such as this, preserving the lives of his allies and avoided harming his students."

"A generous offer," Polendina remarked. "I admit, I'm somewhat surprised you'd agree to such a thing."

"You shouldn't be," I said. "Truthfully, none of the terms are particularly difficult for me to abide by; I don't consider myself much of a killer, outside special circumstances. Perhaps my own experiences have biased me somewhat, but I don't believe we can _afford_ to kill one another needlessly at the moment—and generally, my power means there is little need."

"And what circumstances do you consider 'special?'" Ironwood asked.

I tilted my head and considered my answer, going over what I remembered carefully before replying. Only a few people knew the full story—and I could trust them all, more or less. And as far as credibility building went, well…

Still, it wasn't a pleasant memory. I wondered if I should feel good or bad, seeing it put to use.

"Some months again, several of Ozpin's hunters ran into issues involving a Pandora Shell," I told him. "As a favor to him, I dealt with the infected Hunters before his cleaners arrived."

"Dealt with?" Penny piped up for the first time in a while. "How does one 'deal' with such a thing?"

I looked at her and smiled a bit sadly. The General and the Professor both looked like they wanted to interfere and say something else, but neither spoke even when I gave them a moment's pause to do so. Perhaps, even as they wanted to protect her, they were happy that they didn't need to be the ones to give her this particular talk.

"I killed them, Penny," I explained. "And put them out of their misery."

Penny looked at me for a moment before blinking, understanding dawning in her eyes. After a moment, she closed them, hanging her head slightly.

"Oh," She answered simply, tone soft. As she spoke, her creator's closed their own eyes for a brief moment before reopening them and focusing on me quickly.

For my part, I simply sighed quietly, nodding my head in understanding of the words she left unsaid.

"It was unfortunate," I said aloud, remembering it as clearly as I always would—one of the perks of having such high Intelligence. "None of those Hunters deserved the fate that befell them. But…it was for that same reason that I freed them from it. If possible, I'd have liked to have avoided the situation entirely, but such things are rarely so convenient."

I sighed again and turned my eyes back to the General.

"Such as our current circumstances," I continued. "For better or worse, it is not something that any of us can ignore."

"I _know_ ," Ironwood said, voice low but firm. "I've always known better than to thinking ignoring problems might make them go away. And yet, every time I try to face them, I am always told to turn a blind eye. Even now, you ask me to do nothing."

"I'm not asking you to do nothing," I disagreed just as firmly. "Merely that you don't do anything that might get you killed."

"My _job_ might get me killed," Ironwood replied, staring at my steadily. "I took it so others wouldn't have to—and I'd die so others wouldn't have to."

I looked back at him, holding his gaze for a long minute.

"Admirable," I mused without looking away. "But it would be a waste for you to do such a thing _here_. I know something of life and death—and if you're to die for something, make sure it's worth it. But…"

I pursued my lips, turning my head to the side as I frowned, making a show of my consideration.

"In several months, she will be attending the Vytal Festival," I said at last. "That's what she's waiting for and that's when she'll make her move. If you wish to oppose her, that would be the time. She'll have gathered her forces, but so will we—and our knowledge gives all of us time to prepare."

Ironwood took a deep breath, eyes moving slowly from left to right as he thought that through. He must have been lining up his knowledge of the Vytal Festival, looking for weak points and opportunities, as well as considering the danger.

"What does she want at the Festival?" He asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "She's admitted that she intends to target your machines though the CCT to aid on causing havoc—but that may just have been a lie for the White Fang. It's something to keep an eye on, to be sure, but it'd be foolish to believe that's what she's really after or that she doesn't have anything else in mind. If it turns out to be nothing but a diversion for her true schemes, I wouldn't be surprised."

"It's certainly possible," Ironwood murmured, eyes dropping to the floor. "But to seize control of the androids, she'd have to get close. Would she actually be willing to strike so close to Beacon?"

"Yes," I stated with surety. "She has the power, but more than that, take it from someone who knows—no matter how daunting it may seem, there are flaws in every system, whether it's man or machine operated."

"True," Polendina admitted, frowning as well. "Flaws are hard to erase, because they can come from so many sources or else be created outright. Still, the hope is to minimize them and to conceal them. While a system may seem easily exploited to its creator, that's a perspective built on familiarity and time. How would she be _aware_ of those flaws well enough to build a plan around them?"

It was a good question and one I'd had myself. While invading Beacon would be fairly trivial for me, assuming Ozpin didn't notice and choose to intervene, if he _did_ …well, things were bound to get complicated fast. Was Cinder so powerful that she felt no concern over challenging Ozpin on his own ground? It was possible and it was hard for me to judge the difference between two unknowns—but if so, why both with such a roundabout scheme and act so carefully?

No, Cinder had worries of her own; of that much, I was sure.

Still…best to address a different problem.

"It seems she has allies within each of the Kingdoms feeding her information," I replied. "Allies placed highly enough to know about your recent projects. Be careful what you say from now on, even among those you trust."

"The Queen has Pawns," Ironwood muttered with another grunt. "I've heard, but I hadn't realized they'd reached this far. What does she plan to do with the Paladins?"

"They will be passed into the possession of certain members of the White Fang, who will be on standby awaiting the next stage of her plan," I answered. "She's explained that aspect of her scheme, but I can't say what she truly intends to do—I will speak to Ozpin in time about how we might go about handling the matter. However, it seems a great deal of her plan depends on you, General."

"Me?" Ironwood asked, looking abruptly surprised. "What does she want with me?"

I clicked my tongue once, mulling it over before answering.

"It might be best if you don't know the exact details for the time being," I replied. "Depending on how we choose to proceed, it may be for the best to keep your reaction as authentic as possible. Nonetheless, I can't say I enjoy sending people blindly into danger and you do deserve to have some idea of what you are getting into. The intended result of her plan is to discredit Ozpin by causing chaos on his watch, at which time it shall fall upon you to take command of the Vytal Festival's defense. She plans to exploit your reactions to further her following schemes."

"My reactions…" Ironwood's frown deepened. "Does she know me?"

"She seems to believe so," I replied. "But perhaps when the time comes, it will turn out that she doesn't know you quite as well as she thinks?"

"Perhaps," Ironwood agreed, tone and expression fierce before he calmed himself. "I will keep that in mind, should it become relevant."

"See that you do," I said. "Now then, it is about time that we conclude our business here. I suppose I don't need to tell you to be discrete in whatever you plan to do?"

"Of course not," Ironwood replied, sighing. "I suppose that by the time we arrive, the Paladin's will be gone?"

"Unfortunately, yes," I answered. "I shall endeavor to keep an eye on their whereabouts—however, it is quite possible that they will all be destroyed when it comes time to interfere with her plans."

"I figured as much," He stated. "Where do we proceed from here?"

"We proceed as normal," I told him. "She will be gathering her forces for the Vytal Festival and so shall we. Don't act until you have enough support to do so safely."

He grunted in acknowledgement and nodded once.

"And if I need to contact you?" He asked.

"If the situation calls for it, I gave Ozpin a way to contact me in an emergency," I replied after giving it a moment's thought. "It would be best to avoid doing so too often, to avoid complications on either end—but if it becomes necessary, I can travel quickly. I am also able to act in ways that might be seen as unbecoming of a General or a Headmaster, which allows me greater leeway in my actions. If need be, I can often acquire things that you might not be able to. Be careful, however; if you require something important, it's likely to draw attention."

"I understand." He said.

"Good," I said before checking on Cinder. With my Reach, I could assist her even from this distance and I'd done so, smoothing things over and assuring they progressed as quickly as possible. Quite frankly, even if Cinder hadn't asked me to do so, I'd have made sure nobody got in her way—the guards who might respond to the alarms didn't deserve what would probably happen to them. With my help, she'd made good time, and so long as I was careful, I was confident no one would cross her path. I'd need to continue to keep watch, but…it should be okay now, given the warnings I'd passed on. Ironwood would at least want to verify my claims with Ozpin before proceeding. "Then I shall withdraw for today. Gentlemen. Penny."

"Valedictions!" Penny waved, though her spirits seemed a touch lower than before.

I smiled at her once and then snapped my fingers, returning power to the airship and vanishing back into Naraka.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Viewership**

"Done," I said as I reappeared at Raven's side, exiting Naraka once more.

Raven frowned slightly, nothing but her eyes moving as she focused upon me. She'd been watching our entire conversation through a portal, naturally, but she couldn't track me with Naraka—which, I suppose, made me one of the few people she had a hard time keeping track of.

"So I saw," She replied nonetheless. "How much of that did you make up on the spot?"

I hummed for a moment, tilted my head to the side, and shrugged.

"Most of it," I admitted. "Though I prefer to call it improvising."

Raven snorted slightly at that, turning her face my way and shooting me a dry look.

"Call it what you will," She told me, but there was a touch of amusement coloring her voice so I knew she didn't mean anything by it. "Still, was it safe to tell him that much? Ironwood has always had a bit of a reckless streak."

"I don't think there will be any issues," I replied, nodding slightly. "From what I've seen of him, while he may be a touch quick to act, it is mainly because of his concerns for the safety of others. He seems to understand what is at stake and the importance of subtlety in our present situation—and, more than that, it's not just his own life at risk."

Raven considered me for a moment before blinking slowly.

"The girl?" She asked.

"He considers her his daughter," I confirmed. "And while he might gamble with his own life should the situation call for it, he won't put his child's life at risk. Trust me; that's something I know a fair bit about."

"I suppose so," She whispered, lifting a hand and looking down at it. Given how her emotions shifted, she was probably thinking of Yang.

"Besides which," I continued. "He won't do anything before at least contacting Ozpin."

She nodded in concession on that front, even as her eyebrows pinched.

"Probably not," She agreed. "But…what if Ozpin…?"

"If Ozpin chooses not to support my claims?" I answered delicately. "Then that's useful information in its own right. I'd be surprised if he chose not to support me, to be honest, but I suppose this would be as good a time to find out as any. I admit, I'm somewhat nervous about approaching Ozpin in person, but if it's someone else making a call, there shouldn't be any problems. Even if he could somehow detect me from the other side of the screen and the world, I'd be surprised if he could sense me while I was sorting through the _airwaves_."

I shrugged again and looked up at the sky, staring back in the direction of Ironwood's ship.

"But more than that…I think it's unlikely that Ozpin would choose now of all times to act against me, Rider or not," I continued. "It doesn't make sense from a logical or personal perspective. Logically speaking, Cinder is almost finished loading the Paladins and even if Ironwood tried to reach her now, it would be easy for us to extract her before he arrived; after the delays I caused Ironwood, there just wouldn't be any point. And if Ozpin _wanted_ to turn upon me, I suspect that he'd prefer to do so at such a time when I wasn't on a different continent, easily alerted of his intentions, and able to quickly escape. But more personally…he's never acted against me in such a way, so there's little reason to fear he'd do so now. Ozpin's always helped me, even when it might not seem in his best interests to do so, such as when I stole the White Whale and he didn't interfere. Given the choice, I suspect he would choose to help me now, as well. There's little need to worry about him in that regard, I feel."

"But you've worried about it," Raven noted.

"I worry about everything," I stated dismissively. "Especially major potential threats. I spend most of my day within a field of highly accelerated time with nothing else to do but think about the many things that may or may not try and kill me or who I'll need to face to protect the world. Ozpin's suspicious in various ways and I'd rather be prepared for the worst and proven wrong than be caught off-guard. If it turns out that Ozpin isn't a Rider, then he's a fairly relaxed guy and will probably accept an apology for the misunderstanding; I'll spend a few minutes working in the fields and grow a couple tons of coffee beans to make it up to him. If he _is_ a Rider, however, and I'm not ready for the possibility…well, then I suspect I would either regret it forever or regret it very briefly. Either way, though, I doubt it'll matter right _now_."

Raven hummed slightly in agreement, pursing her lips.

"What now, then?" She asked.

"Ironwood will call Ozpin and get my story confirmed," I answered. "That'll give us a way to meddle with Cinder's plans directly when the time comes, while not seeming to do so. It also gives us a potential ally when the time comes and another source of information. First the weapons, now the Paladins…in a way, even the Dust she's been stealing can be traced back here to Atlas. It may well just be that they're the best source for such a thing—but she's bound to have allies up here to facilitate that and she's likely left a trail behind her."

She nodded again.

"You mentioned my brother," She said after a moment.

"As I said, it seems Cinder hasn't gone unnoticed," I replied. "I don't know when or where it started—it might have been her actions in Mistral, her ties to Mountain Glenn, or something else—but it seems we aren't the only ones aware that she's up to something. I suppose that's not surprising."

"It isn't?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," I said, sighing slightly. "In fact, Ozpin was the one who first tipped me off that something might be happening in Mistral—and he did it a long time ago. When I questioned him later, he claimed he didn't know much about what was going on, but…"

"But that man never tells anyone anything," Raven finished, shaking her head. "We used to joke that he had a horrible disease that would cause him to spontaneously combust if he ever told anyone the full truth about anything. There's always more to things than he lets on or something at work behind the scenes or something he wants you to figure out for yourself. It's endlessly annoying."

Yeah, people who do stuff like that are assholes.

Also, please don't send me looks like that, Raven. I told you the truth in the end, didn't I?

"Good," I said after another minute of observation. "Ironwood's ship is staying away from Cinder's position; it looks like they're heading back the way they came. We'll make sure Cinder makes it out without killing anyone and then withdraw ourselves."

"Back to training?" Raven asked, still looking my way.

I considered it for a moment before shaking my head.

"There are several skills I'd like to merge," I told her. "Doing so will leave me fairly vulnerable, so I'd rather not do so in a hellhole full of super-monsters."

"That seems reasonable," Raven acknowledged but frowning slightly. "Do you need assistance?"

She sounded worried. Come to think of it, I'd never used Tiferet in front of her, had I? To be honest, it wasn't a huge deal now that I knew how it worked. Sure, it left me mostly powerless, but I could just lock the door and have Adam, Autumn, and Gou on guard duty just in case something _did_ happen. It wasn't something that had come up more than a few times, either, so I'd just never thought to bother her about it. It wasn't like I didn't trust her to have my back, but she was a busy woman and it was just something that I didn't really want to draw attention to—it's hard to exploit a weakness nobody knew about and after a certain point, surrounding myself with guards would just become counterproductive.

But on the other hand, I suppose there wasn't any reason not to invite her along. Of all my friends, she was undoubtedly the best to have around in an emergency, simply because of her ability to put a few hundred miles between herself and said emergency if she needed to.

Besides, I _did_ trust her.

"If you have the time," I replied. "I can't say it will be particularly interesting, but I'd feel better knowing you were there."

"Then I shall be," She answered. "Are we almost finished here?"

I waited for a long minute, staring across the snowy fields and city streets as I monitored Cinder's progress. With the locks and alarms and security systems disabled, it didn't seem like she was having much trouble; the only real issue was in loading the Paladins for transport and then _actually_ transporting them. Raven and I could have resolved the matter in a few seconds, but I'd done enough of the work and it wasn't like this was for the sake of _my_ plan. Ironwood was still following my advice to stay away and nothing else had started to approach, so…

"Yeah," I said with a slight nod. "We can eavesdrop from another continent. Let's go."

"About goddamn time," Adam murmured behind us, seated on top of Gou. "I fucking hate this place."

 **XxXXxX**

I looked a slow breath, feeling my power expand and contract alongside the motion. My heartbeat slowly, the sound and feel of it odd, as if the organ hadn't quite decided if it actually existed anymore and periodically forgot what it was doing. For importantly, I felt my Chakras activate slowly as the current of my power ran through them, imaginary lights flickering on in my head.

Sitting crossed legged on the floor, I let my power spread into the ground, invisible roots spreading into the earth from the base of my spine and feeding energy back into Muladhara. I felt it as power was draw up the center of my body, climbing slowly up to the crown of my head—and then perhaps just a bit higher, behind the confines of my physical form. If the power I was drawing into myself through Muladhara were 'roots', then Sahasrara was the blossom of the flower. Between those two points, that energy transformed again and again, cleansing and purifying as it went. It became a true part of my as it passed into Svadhishthana and was purified and 'digested' as it entered Manipura. I centered both that new power and myself around my true heart, Anahata, which pumped it carefully throughout my body, distributing the pieces where they were most need. Then, I drew in careful, cleansing breaths with Vishuddha, drawing in power from the air and then releasing it, each breath like a turn of the wheel. In Ajna, the flows of power became something visible and real, before continuing on above it and taking shape.

Once I was sure the process was working and wouldn't be disrupted, I took the next step and focused. I hadn't had a chance to use Tiferet with the change in perspective my new abilities had granted, and I was eager to try it now—and as I activated the powerful skill with a thought, I immediately felt the change. Energy flowed like blood back to my heart, returning to Anahata instead of distributing through it. More energy flowed up from the lower Chakras, feeding the flames with more power, but at the same time a steady stream passed upwards. I continued to breathe carefully, watching the fires rise and fall with each, and something slowly took shape in my mind, crystalizing within Ajna.

I saw a field of blinding white flames with a tall spear at the center. The fires began to turn and revolve around it like water being sucked into an invisible whirlpool, the spear growing brighter and brighter with each passing moment. Soon, there was nothing left beside it, the length glowing like a crack in the world, so blindingly bright that I was sure it must have been shining through my skull—and then it passed upwards, simply leaving my mind.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Gungnir' and 'Karna' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Brahmastra' has been created.**

I could see the window without opening my eyes, so I simply left them closed, remaining focused because I wasn't finished. Pausing only for a few seconds, I activated Tiferet again, focusing in a different direction. This was something that would take time, I knew, but I was as safe now as I would ever be, so I might as well.

As I focused on the images in my mind, I abruptly knew I wasn't alone. I felt the presence of my Elementals draw nearer to my thoughts without taking shape inside of them—there was no need for something as crude as mental images where they were concerned, being parts of my soul. This concerned them and they knew it—and I was glad to have them here besides.

Choosing randomly, I felt Xihai draw closer still, even as I focused on the legacy now written into my body, as well as a skill I'd mastered only recently. In my head, I could see myself thanks to Sahasrara, and it was a simple matter to see my own Aura as well. Slowly, the world around me seemed to fade away until there was nothing left but me and my light. For a moment, I saw something take shape in it, the vague outline of a tiger around me—but it faded quickly, giving way to something harder to define. The white light around me seemed to clear, becoming at once more transparent and more solid, until I was sitting in what seemed like a bonfire made of rising water droplets.

Slowly, it receded and the image faded from my mind.

 **By raising Elemental Aura to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Elemental Soul.'**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Elemental Aura,' 'Summon Elemental,' and 'White Tiger of the West' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Varuna' has been created.**

I took another breath, keeping myself from nodding at the screen that appeared. As I'd expected, the sensation that told me I could still combine skills didn't fade. Elemental Aura, like Summon Elemental, had been convenient because it didn't matter what Element was used—but I suppose I shouldn't have expected things to remain that easy forever. I knew without being told how my new skill worked and I was fairly confident I could guess about those that would follow.

Suryasta next, I thought as I felt Xihai return to her place. The same image came to mind, but this time my Aura burned instead of liquefying, flaring so brightly I almost thought it had consumed me before dying down abruptly.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Elemental Aura,' 'Summon Elemental,' and 'White Tiger of the West' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Agni' has been created.**

Next, my Aura turned to a luminous tower, like a lightning bolt had struck me and then faded, taking my body with it.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Elemental Aura,' 'Summon Elemental,' and 'White Tiger of the West' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Indra' has been created.**

For the fourth, it rose around me in a sudden cyclone, hiding me completely from sight before vanishing like the wind and leaving nothing behind.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Elemental Aura,' 'Summon Elemental,' and 'White Tiger of the West' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Vayu' has been created.**

In the fifth, it didn't rise around me, so much as surround my body in stone until even my eyes had been covered—or perhaps turned into—gemstones.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Elemental Aura,' 'Summon Elemental,' and 'White Tiger of the West' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Prithvi' has been created.**

The sixth image was like the fifth, but instead of stone, it was metal that flowed over me. Iron covered my skin and liquid silver pooled in my eyes, while what seemed like solid gold flowed over my hair.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Elemental Aura,' 'Summon Elemental,' and 'White Tiger of the West' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Kubera' has been created.**

And then, at last, the feeling faded, telling me that I was finished. I waited for a long moment just in case, but it didn't prompt me to try and merge any of my higher level Elementals, even when I began to merge them—in all likelihood, because of Summon Elemental. The Elementals I was merging with Tiferet were my completed 'Basic' Elementals, rather than my Lesser ones. The latter would max out soon at this rate and I could try again, though if that didn't suffice, I might just have to level up the skills I'd just gotten and then combine them again.

The good news was that Tiferet had leveled up several times from that process. As skills went, it was very quick to improve—probably because it was also very hard to use. As each level it gained lowered the required skill level of things to be combined, several new options had opened up and I quickly continued my work.

Again, I saw myself, but I quickly began to shimmer and shift, as if caught in a heat haze, before vanishing like a mirage.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Acceleration' and 'Shedding of the Serpent's Skin' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Flux' has been created.**

One more, I thought—and looking over the sensation and the skills it was attached to, I hoped I'd saved the best for last. As I activated Tiferet for the ninth time, I saw myself.

Just myself.

And then the image was gone.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Adamant Serpent's Skin,' 'Armored Shell,' 'Cithaeron Hide,' 'Metamorphosis,' 'Physical Endurance,' and 'Unbroken Steel' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Kavacha' has been created.**

At last, I opened my eyes.

"Done?" Raven asked, looking at me idly from her chair. We were in what I assumed was one of her safe houses, given how fortified it was—but then, given that it was Raven, it could just as easily be her _normal_ house.

"Done," I confirmed, looking down at myself. I had started sweating at some point in the process, which wasn't particularly surprising seeing as I'd basically turned my body into a forge. Thankfully, even with as deep as I'd been in my meditation, Pericognition meant I had still been aware of my surroundings on some level so I rose from my focus feeling relaxed and at ease. If anything had been going to hell—more so then usual, I mean—I'd have noticed.

Even so, for the sake of standard human interactions, I glanced at Raven as I stood, cleaned myself with a brief application of Elemental Soul, and raised an eyebrow.

"Ironwood hasn't called him yet?" I asked.

Raven shook her head, looking at me distractedly.

"He seems to be waiting to return home," She said. "Presumably to make sure the area is secure before questioning his close friend on his deals with a wanted terrorist."

I smiled at that, evaporating the water on my skin with Kanju and drying myself.

"And Cinder?"

"Escaped," She replied. "She made it out without difficulty and without murdering anyone. It seems you were right about Ironwood."

"That's good," I mused, frowning slightly as I considered my options. Cinder would likely try to contact me again soon, which I'd need to account for, and I'd now added Ironwood to things. Given my tight schedule, I'd need to juggle things somewhat and insure everything was in place, as well as keep Cinder from becoming suspicious of either of my identities.

Well. From being _more_ suspicious, at least. She knew that one of my selves was the reincarnation of her greatest enemy and thought the other was Conquest. There was only so much I could do.

"They've arrived," Raven said after another minute. "How far away should I make the portal?"

"A kilometer out should be fine," I replied. "But after Qrow…go for two or three, just to be safe. I'll hide it as soon as you make it."

She nodded and flicked her wrist once, opening a window back to Atlas.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Wiretap**

Raven's portal opened high above Atlas, out of the way of any air traffic and beyond the sight of anyone on the ground. Nonetheless, I immediately kept my word and hid the portal beneath an illusion, making it seem like any other part of the sky. At the same time, I focused my attention on a spot that, to anyone else, would have seemed like nothing more than open, empty air.

But I knew better.

For all the jokes I made about it with Adam, the truth was that my senses were so far from normal, that sometimes it was hard to believe I lived in the same world as everyone else. Even something as basic as seeing more than three primary colors opened up a vast array of options, and my senses had been constantly developing for months. When I looked into the sky, my vision was filled with things so small and so large that most people wouldn't believe they existed at all. Day or night, the skies were bright to me, filled with the remnants of cosmic events that didn't touch the visible spectrum—while at the same time, all but hummed with the motions of molecules and smaller things, dancing endlessly through the world around me.

Occasionally, things would flicker and flash, catching my eye for just a brief moment as something flashed through the world, things so brief or so fast that even I could barely glimpse them. Even when things seemed to be still, to me they were in constant motion, as living things grew at rates that might seem unnoticeable to most. Even a rock on the side of the street moved, if you looked close enough to truly see it.

And then there were the other signs of human life, like the ones I was looking at right now. The skies above Atlas were filled with signals and waves, signs of moving data and shaped information. If I looked closely, I could make out the forms they would take—web pages, broadcasts, music, and calls. I pushed most of them out of my mind without a second thought, focusing on just one.

Slowly, I lifted the hands of my body—which was another odd experience, especially with my Chakras opened. I felt it move, but raising my arms was more of a mental effort than a physical one, as if I were commanding it to act. I could see myself from the outside, like I was playing another game and just happened to be in control of a character on the screen. That probably should have bothered me more than it did, but I was a bit detached from my body at the best of times, so I just ignored it. Instead, I focused on shaping what I saw into images and turning those images into illusions.

For that, I created a Fantasy.

 **Fantasy (Active) LV1 EXP: 78.53%  
An ability born from a deepened understanding of the truths of the world—and how they shape one's perceptions. In grasping that truth, the user of this skill has learned how to shape them in turn, twisting the perceptions of others. The user of this skill may transform thought into not only light, but real, if transient, forms. The cost and difficult increases with the breadth of the illusion and decreases with skill level.**

Fantasy was much like Delusory, the skill from which it had been born. Both skills used my thoughts and power to craft realistic illusions—Fantasy simply took it a step further. Delusory, in the end, simply created holograms—this is, it was essentially a minor form of photokinesis, bending light around defined regions of space. I could use it to make empty air have the appearance of cloth or flesh or whatever I wished, but there was no more reality to it than that. The illusions I created generated no sounds of their own, nor did they exert any physical presence; both of those things had to be supplied by my other skills, like Levant or Psychokinesis.

The skill that had been born from it simply supplied those things, to an extent. The illusions I created with Fantasy could generate sound and had a limited physical presence. Not enough to be directly useful in battle, sadly—they'd shatter at anything more than a light touch—but enough that they seemed a bit more real. I could even generate small amounts of heat, if needed, and adjust the texture of the illusion slightly, though major changes could also shatter it. While I'd still need to reinforce them with Psychokinesis if I wanted to actually make an illusion 'interact' with the world, it was a significant improvement over Delusory and required significantly less focus because of how streamlined it was.

Unfortunately, the illusions possessed neither scent nor taste, so they weren't perfect. Granted, even if they had the latter, any tests on that front would likely shatter the Fantasy anyway, while the number of people who could easily exploit the former were limited, but still. Against the foes I was up against, especially the Grimm, I couldn't allow for any weaknesses.

For this, however, it worked just fine.

"James," The window above my left hand consolidated into Ozpin's face, exactly as it would be displayed on Ironwood's screen. "It's rare for you to call me these days."

"It's a special occasion," Ironwood said. "I had an interesting visitor."

Ironwood kept his expression professional so as not to give away what he was feeling. Stuff like that flat-out didn't work on me because I didn't need to gauge body language to interpret someone's emotions—or rather, I was constantly aware of the emotions of everyone around me no matter what I did. Empathy was an exceptionally useful skill, but if I hadn't had the Gamer's Mind, I'm pretty sure it would have driven me quickly insane.

Then again, if I didn't have my Semblance, I'd never have gotten it in the first place, so whatever.

"Oh?" Ozpin asked, and while I doubted direct line into the feelings of everyone around him, I was pretty sure he wasn't fooled by Ironwood's mask either. "Anyone I know?"

"Surprising, yes," Ironwood replied, staring at Ozpin for a long moment, either for dramatic effect or in an attempt to stare the Headmaster down. Either way, Ozpin didn't even react. "Jian Bing sends his regards."

"Ah," Ozpin answered, blinking mildly as if Ironwood had just told him it was going to rain today. "It's been awhile since I had one of _these_ conversations. His sent me his regard, you say? He usually isn't that considerate when he brings things to my attention."

I frowned slightly at that, vaguely annoyed. I'm usually very polite when I talk to Ozpin; I just drop the formalities when there's an emergency or something horrible is on the horizon.

…Which, admittedly, was the case _most_ of the times I talked to Ozpin, so I suppose I can't fault him there.

"I was paraphrasing," Ironwood stated, frowning at the Headmaster. "Actually, he's kind of an asshole. But you already knew that, didn't you? How long have you been working with him, Ozpin?"

Ozpin considered him dully for a moment before taking a sip of his coffee, seemingly considering the question.

"Is this line secure?" He asked.

"You know it is," Ironwood replied. "I wouldn't have called you on this line otherwise. I checked the building thoroughly, swept the room, and locked things down. It's just us."

"I doubt that would be much of an obstacle for our mutual friend," Ozpin stated. "But then, he already knows everything we're about to discuss, so I suppose it makes no difference. I'll simply assume you're here then, Jian, and say hello."

I was tempted—very, very tempted—to create an illusion behind Ironwood saying 'Hi.' I'd have drawn the sound out, too, stretching the two letter word as far as it go.

But I resisted the urge for the sake of professionalism. Ozpin would giving a curtesy warning to Ironwood, but at the same time, he'd confirmed my suspicions—he wouldn't be acting against me, not after that opening. Given that, I could also say for sure that he probably wouldn't reveal anything he didn't want me to know, and so there was technically little reason for me not to get involved…but that was just from my perspective. From theirs, this was a discussion of an important matter between friends. The fact that I _was_ listening was fairly invasive, but I at least wouldn't intrude directly. Afterwards, I'd apologize to Ozpin and explain why I'd put him on the spot, even if I didn't tell him everything.

Afterwards. For now, I'd continue to snoop shamelessly.

Maybe I _am_ impolite…

After waiting a few more seconds, giving me ample time to reply while also buying time, Ozpin looked carefully at Ironwood.

"From the nature of this call, I can somewhat guess at your circumstances," He mused. "I am, of course, glad to see you unharmed, just as I am glad that you aren't _truly_ upset at me—no more than usual, at least."

"I'm usually fairly upset at you," Ironwood countered. "But in my defense, you usually deserve it."

"Perhaps," Ozpin answered, almost shrugging. "Regardless, it seems you met Jian on fairly amiable terms, which isn't something I would have expected. May I ask what happened?"

"May I have an answer to my question?" Ironwood asked patiently. "We're returning to why I'm usually upset with you. Can you give me a straight answer for once in your life, Ozpin?"

"Shortly after the White Whale," The Headmaster answered easily, as if he'd intended to from the beginning. "I'd been aware of him since shortly before his…public appearance, but we didn't have contact until he revealed himself. I approached him afterwards to make him an offer. You?"

Ironwood took a deep breath and closed his eyes, seeming to take that in before nodding.

"He stopped my ship," He said without looking at Ozpin. "Supposedly as a favor to you. He said that _She_ was moving, Ozpin. _Here_."

The Headmaster was silent for a long moment before raising his mug to take another sip of coffee.

"I see," He whispered at last. "Then I suppose I owe him a favor indeed."

"Ozpin…" Ironwood whispered, dropping his voice as he spoke only for the Headmaster to halt him with a raised hand.

"I know," He replied. "But doesn't this explain things? You said you were suspicious about that…incident several weeks ago. Though I admit, I didn't expect Atlas to be her next target."

Ironwood nodded for a moment but then shook his head as Ozpin finished.

"According to Bing, Atlas isn't her focus," He said. "He seems to agree that she'll be aiming for Vale again."

"Oh?" Ozpin asked curiously.

"If he's to be believed," Ironwood continued, voice cautious even as he frowned over the words. "Then she will make her move during the Vytal Festival."

"I see," Ozpin mused before nodding to himself. "As expected, then."

Ironwood stopped and stared at the Headmaster for a long moment.

"As expected?" He asked, causing the older man to shrug.

"It _does_ make the most sense as a target, James," Ozpin replied casually. "If one desired to cause damage on a massive scale, it is perhaps the best possible time to do so. People from all over Remnant will be within Vale at the time and if any…accidents should happen, it would be possible to affect all four Kingdoms—and very easy to cause a panic. Indeed, I've considered it the most probable time of attack for quite a while, I'm just uncertain of the precise form the attack will take. Will she try to strike at the visiting dignitaries? The crowds? Or will she target our students, the future Hunters? What does Jian think?"

Ironwood took a deep breath, frowning at his friend before speaking again.

"He's unsure," He answered at last. "But according to him, she approached the White Fang and entered a partnership with them—Bing was apparently reluctant to refuse her."

"Understandable," Ozpin mused. "Did he say what she wanted from them?"

"She apparently detailed the basics of her plan—or, at least, what she claimed to be her plan," Ironwood said. "Bing was skeptical of her sincerity and so am I. But supposedly, she will target the CCT and take control of the Atlesian Knights, as a stage of a plan he didn't fully elaborate on. He stated the two of you would discuss the matter."

"I see," Ozpin replied. "I suppose I shall be expecting a call, then. But the CCT, hm? Interesting."

"If she wasn't lying about it," Ironwood reminded, sounding a touch bitter.

"She is likely lying about the _reason_ ," Ozpin acknowledge. "But that doesn't necessarily mean she's lying about her target. While seizing control of your Knights would be dangerous for us all, it's not necessarily the worst thing she could do if she seized control of the CCT. You of all people should know _why_ it was created."

"To connect the four Kingdoms," Ironwood answered at once before pausing. "You don't mean…"

"It's remarkable, sometimes," Ozpin continued, as if to himself, sighing quietly as though he were tired. "How fragile things that seem strong can be. Everything we've built can be threatened by things as simple as _darkness_. By _fear_. By _doubt_. And, of course, by _division_. If something were to happen and the systems which connect the Kingdoms were to falter and fall amidst the chaos…the result could be worse than any army."

Ironwood fell silent for a moment, seemingly imagining it. After a moment, he closed his eyes.

"We'll need to stop it, then," He said. "Keep guards around it for the duration of the festival. If necessary, it may even be best to delay or even cancel the festival itself—"

"James," Ozpin interrupted sharply. "Didn't you hear what I said? Even with all her power, what we must fear most is fear itself. Should we cancel an international event, imagine the impression it would send. People would realize that we are afraid—and thus, _they_ would be afraid. There is a purpose to these festivals and celebrations and they _must_ go on. We must protect the people, so that they will believe that we _can_. For if they don't, if they believe that we can be sent running by the simple threat of danger…"

He didn't need to finish—we all understood. The Grimm would flock to the kind of environment that would create.

"Then what should we do?" Ironwood whispered. "Regardless of what she intends, lives will be endangered—lives we are sworn to protect. And if we fail to do so, the results will be no better than if we'd cancelled the festival—the only difference is that we'd deserve their doubt."

"We will do what we always do, James," Ozpin stated firmly. "We will soldier on. We will protect the people, defeat our enemies, and continue the festival as if nothing had ever happened."

"You make it sound so simple," Ironwood murmured before his lips twitched upwards. "But then, you always do, don't you Ozpin? Even when everything is going to hell."

" _Especially_ when everything is going to hell," Ozpin corrected with a slight smile. "We're Huntsmen, James. It would be unbecoming for us to come undone over such minor things as the possible end of the civilization."

"Understood," Ironwood answered, inclining his head slightly. "Then for now, I will follow your lead. What would you have me do?"

"I take it you will be attending the Vytal Festival this year?" Ozpin asked casually, as if inquiring about what he intended to have for lunch tomorrow.

"Naturally," Ironwood replied in almost the same tone, though his sounded a touch more forced than Ozpin's. "I intended to come since the moment I received Qrow's message and after what I've learn…well, I wouldn't miss it."

"Then I will look forward to your arrival, old friend," Ozpin said. "Things will begin moving soon and for the time being, we can do little but wait and see. Once that changes…"

"I'll be ready," Ironwood stated, nodding once. "Goodbye, Ozpin."

"Goodbye, James," He answered.

Moments later, the call ended and I let the illusions above my hands disappear, releasing a slight breath as I did so.

"I'd say that was informative," Raven mused. "But we knew most of that already."

"True," I replied, sitting down again as I pondered what had been said. "But it wasn't necessarily what was said aloud that mattered. With this, we know that Ironwood is onboard. There was the possibility that things might breakdown between him and Ozpin, which would have complicated things significantly. With this, we can rely on the power of Atlas, Mistral, and Vale when we oppose whatever Cinder has planned. That, at least, is good news."

Raven inclined her head in acknowledgement at that.

"True," Raven mused. "I can't say I ever expected to be on such a team again, but it is…reassuring, in a way. It's always nice to have powerful allies. What now, Jian?"

"I'll need to contact Ozpin soon," I told her. "He'll be expecting me now. Then…we should be able to get in a little more training before Cinder returns to Mistral."

Raven nodded in understanding at that, looking at me carefully.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked.

I sighed quietly, looking away from her for a moment.

"For this…I think a face-to-face meeting would be best," I answered, trying not to let how much that thought worried me slip into my voice.

"I thought you might say that," Raven replied, looking as enthused by the idea as I felt. "But…do you really think it's safe?"

I didn't answer immediately. Truthfully, I had no idea. Since the moment I obtained Ajna, I'd wanted to return to Vale, if only to take a look at the Headmaster's soul. I had no idea what to expect, though, nor any way to truly interpret what I saw with my Third Eye; even if there _was_ some sign proving whether he was a Rider or not, odds were I wouldn't be able to recognize it as such.

But while that was true, it wasn't why I'd hesitated to return home. If I was being honest…I was just afraid. At what I could find, at what I couldn't, at the simple possibilities. It was frightening—if he was a Rider, that would cataclysmically bad, especially if he realized I knew. And if he wasn't, then someone _else_ was and I had no idea who it might be, which would be cataclysmically bad. There was really no possible _good_ to the question I wanted to ask and it kind of sucked.

But the knowledge that the future was full of uncertainty and danger was no reason not to face the day.

After all, _every_ day was full of uncertainty and danger for me.

"More or less," I said at last. "He hasn't tried anything yet and he was willing to support me in front of Ironwood, even without knowing the full situation. It would be best if I went and returned that trust by meeting him and filling him in on what's happened. Besides which, I think there are a few things in Vale that we both need to check in on."

She hadn't said anything, but given that Yang was at Beacon now—and thus, closer to Ozpin who was one of the few people Raven was actually worried about spying on—I was willing to bet she had a harder time keeping an eye on her daughter. I'd have happily checked in on Yang for her, but…I was pretty this was something she wanted to do for herself. If nothing else, she'd have a chance to do so while I kept Ozpin busy.

Raven nodded slowly, rising from her seat.

"Then let's go back to Vale," She answered. "Putting it off won't change anything."

She said that, but I was pretty sure we both kind of wanted to anyway.

Too bad we weren't the types to let that stop us.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Return**

When I stepped out of the portal, I was back in Vale, overlooking the city from the cliffs that surrounded it. For a moment, I simply looked at the city I'd grown up in, marveling at it slightly.

Even now, it was hard to believe how much things had changed. Not even a year ago, I'd been going through my days as a normal person, going to a normal school, living a normal life. Looking around, I could pick out the distant figures of people I'd known, if only casually—fellow students, former teachers, and just people I'd seen on the streets enough that it had left an impression. Back then, I'd go to school, come back home, and just dream of things that were out of reach.

God my life used to be boring. I'd say I'd never have dreamed I'd get this far, but in truth, the life I was living now exactly what I'd dreamt of—the life of a Hunter, protecting the world from threats normal people couldn't even imagine. Granted, it turned out _I_ hadn't been able to imagine those threats at the time, but regardless. Regardless, I was living the life I'd always wished for.

And it was pretty awesome. Could do with less world-threatening assholes and threats to those I loved, but those bastards had always been there—getting rid of them was just a work in progress. I couldn't say I didn't have any regrets, not when I remembered my father's death, but the life I'd found was one that I was happy with. Proud of.

You'd have felt the same way, right? Dad?

Absently—or, perhaps, unavoidably—my eyes fell upon the house I'd grown up in. Peering inside, I noticed that it was a bit dusty. Not as badly as it could have been, given that nobody lived there, but enough to notice. The yard was a bit overgrown, too. I reached out with my power to deal with both issues, not sure what anyone would think when they saw the change and not really caring. It occurred to me absently that when we formally returned for the Vytal Festival, my family would probably move back into the house anyway, so I might as well take care of the details while I was here. I wouldn't want anyone coming how to find that it was a mess.

"Jian," Raven whispered on the other side of the portal. "Is everything okay?"

I hummed at the question.

"Yes," I said after a moment. "Just mulling over how odd it feels coming home. I'd say I was feeling melancholic, but I'm not sad, exactly. I don't regret my choices, either. I just feel…strange."

"I understand," Raven replied seriously, honestly seeming to get it. That, as much as anything, made me smile as I briefly closed my eyes.

"I figured you would," I admitted. "I'll be going on ahead, then. "Give me awhile and then feel free to look around."

Raven nodded, aware that I'd be able to see her even with my back turned, and then the portal behind me vanished. I took one last look at the city of Vale and then turned, walking through the space it had previously occupied as I made my way towards Beacon.

Needless to say, I'd already let the form of Jian Bing fade, mainly because there was no real point running around as a wanted terrorist for this and partially because it didn't feel right to do so for this. Truthfully, it didn't make much difference as long as I was me, but…regardless.

Not that that meant I was any less on-guard, of course. As I jogged closer to the school, I scanned the surrounding area as thoroughly as possible—meaning, even more than I had the _last_ few times, thanks to improvements to my array of sensory skills. In particular, I kept an eye out for anyone or thing that might be important to Cinder's upcoming plans, carefully scanning the nearby CCT and all the surrounding buildings to make sure I was thoroughly familiar with all of them. There were several weak points that I noticed at once and added to my list of things to make Ozpin deal with. At the same time, however, I paid close attention to the student body and the familiar faces within it.

There were quite a few of them.

 **The Red Rider  
LV 70  
Ruby Rose**

 **The Sun That Chases the Night  
LV 60  
Yang Xiaolong**

 **The Beauty  
LV 56  
Blake Belladonna**

 **The Loneliest of All  
LV 55  
Weiss Schnee**

 **The Invincible Girl  
LV 68  
Pyrrha Nikos**

 **In the Wake of the Storm  
LV 60  
Nora Valkyrie**

 **The Flowers Blossom, the Fallen Wither  
LV55  
Lie Ren**

I couldn't say I was particularly surprised to see any of them, except perhaps Weiss. Pyrrha had left Mistral for Vale, after all, and I'd promised Ren and Nora that I'd meet them here again. Blake had said she'd attend Vale and I'd known about Ruby and Yang already. I wasn't sure why _Weiss_ was here, seeing as her family was from Atlas, but I'm sure she had her reasons—perhaps her family just had issues like mine did.

Whatever the reason, however, I smiled—a bit happy, a bit sad, and perhaps just a touch resigned. For better or worse, it seemed that Beacon was where all the pieces would come together and where everything would end. The things I was working towards and the things I'd already done all seemed bent on bringing me back to the place I'd dreamt of as a child…and I suppose that was fine. I'd already decided on my path, after all.

Still, seeing them like this, I had to wonder what I should do. I'd come her for a reason, after all, but should I use this chance to check on them? In person, that is—I'd already looked all of them over the make sure they were fine. Leaving aside the matter of Ruby's continued infection, they were, which was good, but…

I had a little time, I decided. And there was no reason not to at least say hi, now that we were all here. Given how late it was, class wasn't likely to be an issue, either, and they were all in one place.

That thought in mind, I entered the school grounds and headed for the library. Maybe I'd even find a nice book to eat.

I met a few people in the halls, but while a few people glanced my way, no one seemed to think I was out of place—because, really, who remembers the entire student body? I only did because I remembered _everything_ and had no choice. Well, even if I said that, it was a bit worrying, because it reminded me how easily Cinder would be able to move when the time came. She'd be an official guest when the Festival came around; I'd just shown up out of the blue with a confident stride and no one stopped me. I reached my destination easily enough, pondering what to do about security all the while.

But when I opened the door, I smiled.

"Hi everybody," I said loud enough for my voice to carry. Despite the fact that we were in a library, no one seemed bothered by it—not that I'd expected them to be. We were in a Hunter Academy; I'm sure everyone here was resigned to loud noises. "I heard I'd find you here."

The various students scattered around the library glanced up at the sound of my voice. Most of them took one look at me and looked away when they didn't recognize me—but a few didn't. Several eyes widened as they looked at me and after a moment, as voice rose in reply.

"Jaune?" Blake asked, seeming stunned by the fact that I'd literally just walked in and greeted her. She hadn't been around me in a while, so the immunity she'd gotten from exposure had probably lapsed. "What are you doing here?"

I walked over to the tables they seemed to be occupying, taking a seat at the corner.

"There's some business I need to take care of," I said with a shrug, glancing around. "But I knew some old friends would be around and I wanted to say hi. It's good to see you again, by the way. Hello, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren."

"Jaune," Pyrrha spoke up next, blinking once at me. "Hello. I…heard you moved to Mistral."

"Yeah," I replied, nodding in agreement. "Family issues, I'm afraid. I'd hoped to see you there, but it seems we just missed each other. Sorry about that—I guess we never got to finish that match."

"It's okay," She assured. "I was just a bit disappointed not to be able to meet a friend again."

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to meet each other more often soon," I answered. "I'm here to talk to Ozpin about some stuff for the Vytal Festival."

"So you'll be competing after all," Ren mused.

"Wouldn't miss it," I said, smiling his way and raising an eyebrow. "You doing okay, Ren?"

He rolled his wrist slightly, nodding at me.

"Just fine," He assured.

"Ren and I are peachy-keen," Nora all but shouted standing up. "I made extra sure of it!"

"That's good to hear, Nora," I said, holding up a hand. She high-fived it with enough force to shatter a normal man's arms. "I was worried. But after everything…"

"I know," She said, expression turning briefly serious. "Family's important."

"It is," I agreed.

"Um," Weiss interrupted, looking simultaneously confused and annoyed as she looked up from her book. "Excuse me, but who are you? And…Blake, do you all know each other."

"I'm as confused as you are," Blake muttered.

"The name's Jaune Arc," I greeted, looking at the girl I'd…taken hostage once, beaten up twice, and antagonized twice. I…really needed to do something about that at some point. "Sorry about that. I don't they know each other, but…well, I kind of get around."

"Oh?" Weiss asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"Mhm," I agreed. "Let's see…I think I met Blake first? She and a friend of hers were having some car troubles and were getting harassed, so I gave them a lift. Then I met Pyrrha and she and I had a practice match before the tournament, but something came up and I had to drop out. The video of that got around, though."

"Ah," Weiss said abruptly, blinking at me in surprise as if only now recognizing me.

"As for Ren, Nora, and I…" I continued before pausing. I didn't have to fake my drop in expression, though I did have to actually paste it onto my illusory face. "Well, it's a bit of a sad story, actually, and most of it's personal. But we became friends and I volunteered at the hospital they were at."

Ren and Nora both tried for smiles as the attention in the room turned their way, but they came out fairly bleak.

"That's…informative," Blake lied as she spoke up quickly, refocusing on me quickly. "But why are you here again, Jaune?"

"Like I said, Vytal Tournament stuff," I replied, shrugging dismissively. "Need to talk to Headmaster Ozpin about something or other concerning Haven's attendance. I'm sure the world will end if nobody tells him, but I figure it hasn't blown up yet, so there's enough time to talk with some old friends."

Blake's eyes snapped to my face, widening even as Pyrrha gave a polite laugh. I sent them both a smile and turned my attention to the other side of the table, ignoring the look Ren was sending my way.

"So you're from Mistral?" Ruby asked, speaking up as she looked at me in interest.

"I live there now, at least," I replied. "I used to live here in Vale, though. You're…Blake's friend?"

"Ruby Rose," She introduced herself. "I'm the leader of Team RWBY."

"RWBY," I repeated, tilting my head, mentally replacing the 'U' with a 'W' to account for Weiss. "So you, Blake, and…?"

"Ah," Ruby said with a blink as if suddenly realizing I didn't—or, at least, shouldn't—know several of the people at the table. "This is Weiss and my sister Yang."

"Yo," Yang said as she looked me over carefully.

"A pleasure to meet you," Weiss said politely, also looking me over, but more as if analyzing a future opponent. "You'll be in the Vytal Festival, then?"

"Seems that way," I said with a slight laugh. "What about you?"

"We don't know yet," Ren interrupted smoothly. "We'll compete to qualify next semester."

"Ah, right," I mused as if I hadn't known that. "I forgot that Beacon doesn't have to do that until near the end. In Haven, it's already a big deal because everything needs to be sorted out in time for us to come over in a few months."

"Must be tough," Ruby said, wrinkling her nose. "I bet you guys have a lot of homework to deal with on top of that."

"I manage," I answered with a shrug. "It's not too bad, really. I have some seniors helping me and my team out, too."

"You're team?" Ruby asked, perking up. "Are they here, too?"

"Ah, no," I replied, shaking my head. "It's just me for this. I forgot to mention; I'm the leader of team JAME."

"Jasmine?" She asked.

"Spelt J-A-M-E," I said. "Weird, huh? But they're alright. I got lucky enough to be on a team with a close friend of mine. What about you two?"

I sent that last bit towards Ren, along with a questioning look, and he nodded.

"We're on a team with Pyrrha, actually," He said. "Though I hadn't realized the two of you knew one another."

"Small world, isn't it?" I asked. "I was surprised when I saw all of you. So it's you, Pyrrha, Nora, and…is your fourth member not here?"

"They were here just a bit ago, actually," Pyrrha mused. "But they left in a hurry a few minutes ago."

I didn't quite frown, but the words drew my attention. 'A few minutes ago' wasn't exactly a precise measurement, but…did it have anything to do with my arrival? I quickly scanned the entire school, looking for anyone that seemed out of place, but there was no one there.

"Eh," Yang said with a grunt and a slightly off-put expression. "She's always been a bit odd; that's nothing new."

"Everyone has their own issues to deal with," Pyrrha defended gently, smiling at me. "She's a sweet girl, really, but a bit shy. Perhaps you'll meet her next time?"

"Hopefully," I answered, already deciding to ask Ozpin about it. I didn't want to seem concerned in front of my friends, however, so I looked down at the table and the pages scattered across it, as if just noticing them. "Ah, are you guys working on homework, then? I didn't mean to interrupt."

Ruby and Yang groaned, apparently quite happy with the interruption, which caused Weiss to send them both stern, disapproving looks.

"You're not interrupting anything," Yang replied with a haunted look. "Please stay. We've been here for two hours."

"Putting it off doesn't mean you don't have to do it," Weiss told her. "In fact, putting things off is what got you into this mess in the first place."

"I wasn't putting it off," Yang protested. "I just had other things to worry about. Hell—I literally carried you through the end of the physical exam, Weiss."

Weiss flushed a bit at that, seeming displeased by the reminder, but all she did was mutter about 'lucky hits' and 'shoes.'

I chuckled and smiled, reaching out with a hand to pull Yang's book towards me and spin it around as if I couldn't read upside-down. Not that I _needed_ to, of course; I already memorized this textbook.

"Let's see…" I mused aloud. "Hey, I remember this stuff. Want some help?"

"Please," Ruby said quickly. "Please, please, please, please!"

I laughed at that and glanced at Yang's discarded notebook and pencil, this time dragging them over with thought alone. As the notebook slid across the table, it also snapped open to a blank page, the pencil rising to stand over it and begin writing. I stared at it for a few seconds as it moved quickly over the turning pages, filling them with printed words, and then stopped.

"There," I said. "The book's a little dry, but if you just memorize those bits, you shouldn't have any trouble. I listed all the important stuff, I think, so you should be able to find the answers to your questions."

"Cool," Yang answered, quickly leaning forward to snatch the book up, clutching it close. "You heard him Weiss—we're all but done now, right? Let's take a break."

Weiss silently took the notebook from her hands and began to flip through it, pausing once she reached the new parts.

"This…isn't bad," She admitted. "You're a telekinetic, then?"

She wasn't even hiding her attempts to probe for information, I noted with amusement. Not that there was anything wrong with scoping out the competition, of course.

"Something like that," I answered, sending a smile and a look at Pyrrha when she raised an eyebrow at me, to which she quietly nodded back.

"Oh," Yang pipped up, drawing out the word. "I have an idea. What do you say we ditch this homework and go spar for a bit."

"I didn't say you could take that break, Yang," Weiss cut in sharply. "I promised I'd help you catch up and I am—which means sitting down and actually doing the work."

"But…" Yang nearly whimpered, looking at the notebook she was holding pitifully. "It's a special occasion. Blake's friend from Mistral came all the way here; we should show him a good time. And you want to see him fight, don't you Weiss?"

Weiss looked at her with a deep frown, but didn't say otherwise, which made Yang smile in triumph.

"What do you say, Jaune?" Yang asked, giving me a flirtatious wink. "Wanna go a few rounds?"

I continued to smile as I looked back at her calmly.

 _I work with your mother_ , I thought. _And your step-mother is my daughter._

"Sorry," I said. "But I actually _do_ need to speak to Ozpin. It'd be fun to fight with you guys, but it'll probably have to wait for the tournament. I'm glad I got to see you all again, though."

"Too bad," Weiss said. "Back to work, Yang."

Yang, for her part, did a pretty good job at looking forsaken.

"Bye, Jaune," Pyrrha said, waving at me kindly. Her words were quickly echoed around the table as I stood up.

"Wait, Jaune," Blake interrupted suddenly, rising along with me. "I need to talk to you about something."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at her teammates before shrugging.

"Sure," I said. "You can walk me to the Headmaster's office, I guess."

Blake barely waited until we were out of the library before speaking again.

"Is something happening?" She asked, expression serious.

"Hm?" I wondered, tilting my head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you really doing here," She clarified. "Are you…are you still working with…?"

"I don't work for the White Fang anymore, if that's what you're asking," I said, which was true. Nowadays, it was more like they were working for me. "I actually need to speak to Ozpin about the Vytal Festival."

Blake relaxed a bit at that.

"Really?" She wondered, tone a bit more at ease. "You're a student at Haven? How'd that happen?"

"Ah," I ducked my head slightly, scratching my cheek. "It happened after you left, so it makes sense you wouldn't know, but…my father died."

Blake flinched slightly at that.

"Oh, Jaune," She said. "I'm so sorry."

I smiled at her a bit sadly.

"It's okay," I said. "Seriously. My mom and I just…well, moved to Mistral. It's where most of my family is, you know? And then one thing led to another and I found myself as a student."

"Right," Blake said awkwardly, sighing and shaking her head. She seemed briefly at a loss for words before smiling hesitantly. "You'll be competing in the tournament, then? That seems pretty unfair."

"I know, right?" I replied, laughing a bit. "But you know what else is unfair, Blake? Life."

"Jerk," She returned, smiling more honestly now. "So you're out, then? Like I am?"

I considered that careful before answering.

"Things are different for me now," I said, trying to sound assuring. "Everything changed after my dad died. I'm not saying Jian Bing is gone forever, but I'm not going to do anything I'll regret. What about you, Blake?"

"Me?" She asked, blinking. "What about me?"

"You're happy, right?" I pressed. "Nothing's wrong, is it?"

"No, nothing's wrong," She said, glancing over her shoulder at the library doors. "They're…good. My friends. Things are still weird, sometimes, but…yeah. I'm happy. Are you?"

I smiled at her and nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I am."

We both smiled a little bit at that.

"Thinking about it, I dragged you into all that, didn't I?" Blake wondered aloud, shaking her head. "It's funny how much things change, isn't it?"

"It is," I returned. "But I should still thank you again, Blake—for dragging me into all this. It was fun."

Blake swallowed slightly and nodded.

"Do you…" Blake paused for a second. "If you ever see Adam again, could you…?"

"I'll tell him you're doing well," I assured before nodding my head towards the center of Beacon. "I better go before I get you wrapped up in anything crazy again, though. That's one thing that hasn't changed, by the way."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," She answered, laughing slightly. "I'll see you at the Vytal Festival?"

"Definitely," I promised. "Bye, Blake."

We smiled at each other one last time and went our separate ways again—though this time, I suppose I was the one walking away.

I'm glad you're happy now, Blake. I'll try my best to make sure it lasts.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Reporting**

I knocked twice on the door and opened it without waiting for a response—a bit rude, I suppose, but it wasn't as if a door provided any privacy from me; I'd have known if he was doing anything.

"Jaune," Ozpin noted as he turned in his chair, unsurprised to see me. "It's good to see you again."

I smiled at him and shrugged, closing the door behind me and then going about providing some _actual_ privacy. Only once the room had been entirely locked down did I answer.

"Good to see you too, Ozpin," I replied, claiming the seat in front of his desk. "I wanted to come apologize for the whole Ironwood thing—I didn't intend to involve him, but he was about to get himself in a lot of trouble. I could have stopped him some other way, but I was worried he'd look into things and stumble across something dangerous while I was gone, so I thought it was best to tell him a bit about what was going on. I needed to drop your name to make him believe me, but I figured you'd want him alive, so…"

I shrugged again.

"Matters of life and death are best not left to chance," Ozpin agreed with a nod. "I understand—and appreciate it. If you were listening in on our conversation earlier, I meant it when I said that I was in your debt; you have likely saved not only James's life, but the lives of many others. Bringing him into things has been my intention for some time now, but I was concerned that we would disagree on the means, but your method seemed to have convinced him of the danger we are poised to face. You have my thanks."

"No problem," I answered, gesturing dismissively. "He seemed like a good man and his daughter is a friend of mine; I wouldn't just stand back and let him die."

"Indeed," Ozpin acknowledge with a slight smile. "But even so, thank you. From the way he talked, however, I assume you have more to tell me?"

"I wanted to touch base with you," I answered with a nod. "A lot's happened in the last couple months and though it may come as a shock to you, I come bearing bad news."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee cup, looking duly surprised by the revelation.

"Do tell."

"You and Qrow have been tracking someone's movements," I said before throwing in an educated guess. "Here in Vale, I mean. And I'm guessing it has ties to the man who attacked the White Whale at the same time I did—a guy named Roman Torchwick."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow at that but nodded, considering me absently.

"From what Ironwood said, you've put together the fact that he's working for someone else," I continued. "Especially when it comes to the Dust robberies that have been occurring lately."

"Just so," Ozpin replied. "I take it you have some idea of the culprit's identity?"

I nodded, watching him carefully. I opened my senses fully, drawing from Ajna and everything else I could to gauge his reaction. Through the lens of my Third Eye, I saw the world as it truly was. The walls of Beacon crumbled and were blown away like dust in the wind, revealing a delicately carved castle of green crystal that pulsed with power. It flowed throughout the whole of the school, centered on the beacon it was named after just above this office.

Through the crystals walls, I could see the students—hundreds of potential Hunters with luminescent souls. I saw Blake, having returned to the library, as a transparent shadow that seemed to fade in the light. She was seated at a table with a menagerie of unusual figures; to her left was a figure that seemed caught painfully between a human and a dragon, with incandescent scales. There was a woman made of ice, holding a scepter capped with a quicksilver orb, across from whom was seated a mechanic soldier of scarlet steel and bronze. There was a vaguely human-shaped thunder cloud that seemed perpetually lit from within by lightning seated beside a complex tangle of lotus flowers, the largest of which opened to reveal a face.

For a moment, I considered Ruby, in her spot at the head of the table. Beneath my Third Eye, her small form shifted to that of a large, armored figure, covered in heavy plates of blood red armor that constantly shifted in style and design. It changed between everything from Atlesian plate mail to the great armors of ancient Vacuo. The only things that remained constant were its thickness, its color, and the fact that it hid her entire body without revealing even a glimpse of what lay beneath. At her back was an equally mercurial weapon, overlaying her unique scythe, and glowing within her very soul.

But what drew my eyes was the cloak she wore above the armor, an eternal constant despite the constant shifting beneath it. It looked much like the physical one that Ruby wore, but for the fact that it seemed waver between being made of normal cloth and from thousands upon thousands of interwoven rose petals. It covered the hard steel of her armor, softening her appearance somehow. The sight almost made me smile, but I kept my expression blank, even beneath my illusory face.

Then, I looked at Ozpin.

Ozpin's true self wasn't something that stood out at first glance, at least not compared to most of the souls I'd seen. He didn't grow in size or sprout half a dozen arms or change into something inhuman. If anything, he nearly slipped into the background. His form was concealed within a simple green cloak that hid most of his body from sight. Beneath it, I got the impression that there might be something more—dark steel inscribed with lines of green energy, the steady turning of clockwork gears, and a constantly turning hourglass heart—but even looking at him with _my_ eyes, it was hard to be sure if any of that was real of just something I wanted to see. It was hard to describe exactly, but the image faded from sight the moment it was focused on, as if retreating into the confines of his cloak, as if asking me to pay no attention to the man within. Even when I tried to focus on his eyes, the literal windows to his soul, there was nothing; the upper half of his face was hidden by the shadows of his cloak but for a few locks of white hair.

After a moment of observation, I couldn't be certain I'd seen anything at all. Here at the top of his emerald castle, Ozpin almost seemed to fade away.

It was really annoying. But I remained focused on him as I considered how best to answer his question. I'd hoped, even knowing that it was unlikely, to find some form of decisive proof that Ozpin either was or wasn't a Rider, but all I'd learned was that I really, really, _really_ had no idea. The nature of his soul was a touch suspicious, but with how varied and unique souls could be, there was no way to know for sure. He might have been hiding his true nature somehow—or it could have just been an artistic representation of the fact that he was a cryptic asshole sometimes.

What should I say to him, knowing that? Should I take a chance and try to get a reaction from him? Continue to trust him based on past evidence? Mislead him and hope it didn't come to light? If he was a Rider, revealing too much could lead to him contacting Cinder, multiplying my problems. Did I dare take any risks knowing how easily he could reveal my lies?

But then, Ozpin had _always_ been able to reveal my lies. And whatever else had occurred, here and now there seemed to be no change in Ruby. Maybe he was waiting for something, made he had no ill intentions, but either way, he hadn't done anything _yet_.

In the end, I decided to just act naturally, as if I hadn't noticed anything odd. I'd keep my eyes open and act according to what I saw.

"Her name is Cinder Fall," I said less than a second after he asked the question. "She's a senior student at Haven—and the host of the Black Rider, Famine."

Ozpin stopped for a moment, looking at me carefully before exhaling slowly.

"A third Rider?" He mused aloud before shaking his head. "That's…unfortunate. Is she as dangerous as…Conquest was?"

"Perhaps," I answered. "Conquest's true threat lies in his ability to spread. For him, infecting entire cities is trivial; he can get into the water, spread through the air, seize bodies to infect others, and more, and he can seize control of anyone exposed in _minutes_. Left unchecked, he can spread at an exponential rate, taking control of all forms of life in a steadily growing area. In that regard, he's terrifyingly dangerous; a single mistake and he could run rampant. And even reacting perfectly and _quickly_ …really, the only thing that keeps him at all in check is whatever is restraining him. If he were free to act…"

I shook my head.

"From a logistical standpoint, it's hard to beat Conquest," I continued. "Theoretically speaking, he could be anywhere—and everywhere. But…within the limits he's currently forced to act within, there's only so much he can do. I don't know if he's holding back or being held back, but while an outbreak would still be _devastating_ , he isn't currently on the level that a single cracked Pandora Shell would end the world. So long as that's true, he's…less of a threat than he _could_ be, at least. And if it comes to a fight and he can't infect his opponents, his offensive ability is limited by whoever he's already infected. Potentially, that could make him the strongest person in the world, or it could mean he's stuck with a normal farmer."

I paused for a moment and Ozpin nodded to show he understood.

"I can't say anything for sure about the Red Rider, but I don't think Famine works quite like that," I said. "I don't believe she can infect people as easily as Conquest can; in fact, it might be very hard for her to spread, given that I've only found one iteration of her thus far. But in terms of raw offensive power…I don't know how strong Cinder was before she was infected or how powerful she is without it, but with it, she's stronger than I am. Stronger than practically anyone I've ever met except for her master and maybe you. I stopped Ironwood because I was completely certain he didn't have a chance against her."

"She's that strong?" Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When I first discovered her true nature, she stopped time as her opening move," I replied. "Things got progressively worse from there."

Ozpin paused, looking down into his coffee mug as his brows furrowed.

"That's unfortunate," He mused, sounding more putout than anything else. "How much worse?"

"She grew a crown of white Dust," I said.

"That's quite a bit worse," He acknowledged, frowning. "Without a doubt, an encounter between her and James would not have ended well."

"Especially seeing as she intends to use him," I replied. "I'm not clear on the details—most because I'm fairly sure she was lying to me—but even if she's only using he stated plan as a cover, she intends to involve him. I gave him a heads up on what to look out for, but the short version is that she intends to get him put in charge of the Vytal Festival's defense. She's going to organize a breach in the city's defenses to allow a small horde of Grimm through—"

"Frightening the populace and calling my competence into question," He mused, nodding to himself. "I see. Do you know how she intends to do so?"

"Again, I'm pretty sure this is just a cover of some kind to draw attention away from her real plans," I warned. "But she said she plans to use the tunnels connecting Vale to Mountain Glenn, using explosives to open the way."

"Ah," Ozpin's frown deepened as he murmured the word. "That would certainly do it. It would be easy for them to hide an operation within the caverns there as well. Is that to be Torchwick's role, then?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe," I replied. "He seems to be her front man right now—and I'm about a million percent sure she's not going to put _herself_ in that position. I did my best to make an impression on Torchwick so I might be able to strong-arm him somewhat, but after seeing the extent of Cinder's power, I'm hesitant to do so."

"Understandable," Ozpin answered. "And while he does that, she—Cinder, you said—will be within Beacon, working against us."

I nodded again.

"I wanted you to know, considering the danger to both your faculty and your students," I said. "But at the same time, it's not an easy situation to resolve. In any other case, I'd suggest luring her out and ganging up on her to put her down, but I'm somewhat concerned she would brutally murder us all. I suspect she's worried about facing you directly, which is somewhat reassuring, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy front row seats to that fight. If we start something, I suspect a lot of people would die."

"Indeed," Ozpin replied, tapping the surface of his desk with a finger and tracing slow patterns in the surface. After a moment, I realized he was visualizing such a fight, drawing empty circles and moving them around—but after a moment he shook his head. "No, even in the best case scenario, I'm wary of the cost. If it was time manipulation alone, I could likely manage, but even if it was just white Dust, it would be hard to insure no one else was harmed."

"And it's not," I said. "She literally grows Dust from her body. I don't know if she creates it or draws it from elsewhere, but she can refine and mold it with ease and she seems _very_ skilled in its use. In her base form, she seems to favor the use of Dust-woven clothes, but when she cuts loose…it seems safe to say that she's probably the most skilled Dust user around."

"Which gives her an unfortunate number of options in a fight," Ozpin mused. "Dust is an extremely powerful weapon if used properly, but the difficulty of doing so, especially in battle, often restrains it—that's a large part of the reason Dust rounds have risen to prominence, after all. For most people, there's a limit to both the amount of Dust one can bring to the battlefield and how quickly they can shift between different types. Removing that…"

I nodded, understanding. Even if you had a hundred bullets for your gun, there's a matter of how quickly you can fire and reload even before you take into account the amount of time you'd need to pick exactly the right bullets in exactly the right order. I could ignore the issue of carrying capacity thanks to my Inventory and, to an extent, ignore the issue of time by using Acceleration—but even I would run into issues if I tried using Dust in earnest. Dust Weaver was limited by the type of clothes one was wearing, Dust Eater by one specific type of Dust at a time, and even normal Dust use faced a matter of which crystals one was holding.

But somehow, I figured Cinder probably didn't have to worry about any of those things. I could potentially keep up with her for a short while if I used my Psychokinesis and stuck to only using crystals, but I'd burn through my stores quickly for worse results. I doubted I could match her in variety _or_ amount and I'd be limiting my own fighting style. No, if I were to face her, it would need to be on my terms instead of hers.

The only issue was that it looked like she could murder me on my terms, too.

"Those were my thoughts, too," I said. "If it came down to it, I _might_ be able to hit her hard enough to give you an opening if you managed to keep her still long enough for me to do it—but even then, anything that could do that would probably blow Beacon off the map. I figured we'd want to avoid that, if at all possible."

"I'd appreciate that," He agreed, shaking his head along with me. "I might be able to defeat her, but the costs would be prohibitively high. Even if I involved my closest friends, I _might_ be able to limit it somewhat, but I'd be knowingly sending them to their death—and though any of them would give their lives to protect the Kingdoms, I'd prefer it if they didn't have to."

"Mm," I acknowledged, understanding that. "Same. So…what should we do? I tried cornering Cinder on the edge of Mistral, but I was really, really outclassed. We might be able to catch her in transit on her way back which _might_ keep her from reaching the Kingdoms, but even if we managed to corner her in the middle of nowhere, I'm not entirely certain we'd be able to keep her from reaching somewhere populated. Take it from me, even a little bit of white Dust is a hell of a thing and if you add it to time and space manipulation…could you keep her from getting away even with all of that?"

Ozpin considered it for a moment.

"If it was _here_ , perhaps," He replied, tapping his desk again. With my Third Eye, I saw some kind of power ripple through the emerald walls of Beacon. "But in an unknown location, it's nothing I'd want to bet the lives of countless innocent people on."

"And while we could lure her here, Beacon's kind of full of people," I understood, nodding.

"The defenses of this place are primarily meant for an emergency," He agreed. "While it can ward against disaster, I didn't build it with the intention of inviting disaster inside. I suppose we could try and remove everyone from Beacon beforehand, but it seems unlikely she would be willing to approach a place that had obviously been deserted."

I nodded again at that.

"I could create illusions to make it seem populated, but even if she didn't see through it, there are too many ways for it to fall apart," I said. "It's hard to move hundreds of people around without drawing any attention and no offense, but I'm rather doubtful that _everyone_ in your student body can keep a secret. For more than ten seconds, anyway."

"None taken," Ozpin replied. "I'm cognizant of the fact that distributing information amongst hundreds of young men and women is perhaps not the best way to keep a secret. A more subtle approach might be warranted."

I frowned for a moment, thinking about it.

"If it were anyone else, I could use Naraka," I said, annoyed. "Whether to draw her in or to remove all the students from the fray. But I'm almost certain she could break out of it if she had to."

"It's a complicated situation," He acknowledged. "And unfortunately, no immediate solutions come to mind. As such, it may be wise to avoid moving against her overtly, at least until the situation changes."

"Changes?" I asked. "Changes how?"

"I suppose that's up to you, Jaune," He replied, looking at me steadily. "Out of all of us, you are the one most likely to break this deadlock. I assume you're already planning something?"

I fell silent for a moment, careful to meet his gaze unflinchingly.

"Nothing concrete yet," I said. "Though I've been training a great deal lately, in the hopes of closing the gap between me and Cinder. I might be making a bit of progress in that regard, but…"

I signed and shook my head.

"Is there anything I can do to assist you?" Ozpin asked.

I pursed my lips for a moment, considering the question before nodding slowly.

"Maybe," I said, trying not to let any hesitance slip into the sound of my voice. "There is one thing that I think might be able to help me make some progress."

"Oh?" Ozpin wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Then please, tell me. I'll do everything I can to help."

I nodded again and took a deep breath, turning my head to glance out the window in his office and consider the city far below.

"I'm sorry to ask this," I said at last, not having to fake the uncertainty in my voice. "I'm sure it's not something you like to think about much. But…is there anything else you remember about Jericho Falls?"

 **XxXXxX**


	18. Chapter 18

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Details**

Ozpin took a deep breath and then sighed, sad eyes on me.

"So," He whispered softly. "It's time then?"

I shrugged, meeting his eyes steadily.

"More or less," I replied. "I'm not going to leave right this instant, but the world's not going to stop ending just because I'm pussyfooting around. I'm going to have to go there eventually—and I'm pretty sure I'm running out of time."

"So it would seem," Ozpin acknowledged, looking down into his coffee cup again. "I suppose it's unlikely to be a coincidence that Cinder has chosen now to make her move."

"Even if she isn't targeting me specifically, it makes no difference," I said. "She's Famine, one of the Riders—if she starts something, odds are good that the other Grimm are bound to follow. If you're suspicions are correct and she intends to attack the ties between the Kingdoms, then it's just as possible that she's working to prepare an opening for her fellows."

"Divide and conquer," Ozpin agreed, sighing again. "I had much the same thought, I'm afraid. Yes, it seems like things have started to move and we've no choice now but to stop them. But…do you believe it's possible? For you to overcome Jericho Falls in your present state?"

He phrased it as an honest question and I considered it as such, nodding slowly.

"I believe so," I answered. "If not right now, then soon. I've busied myself with preparations of late and while I still have room to improve, I fear that my growth will soon slow unless I'm willing to venture further into dangerous territory. Either way, I'll run out of safe options soon. There are a few things I'd like to do beforehand, but…yes. I think I'll be able to do it."

After all, I thought, from what I've learned, they _wanted_ me there. While I doubted they'd just open the doors and welcome me in, they needed me to find whatever it is inside—whatever it is that Keter said my name was so vital to. Which was pretty damn worrying in its own right, I had to say, but I was kind of running out of options at this point. I'd tapped my memories for all I could, spoken to my soul, poked the Riders to see what came out, but I kept running into the same problem.

I lacked information. No one who I could really trust knew—no one who actually knew would tell me. I needed to learn more if I wanted to have any hope of defeating Malkuth and his Riders, even if that meant walking into danger.

The one upside, I thought, was that I'd obviously been the one to store that information. If it was, as I suspected, hidden behind my true name—and I was betting there was more to getting in than just typing in a password—than Malkuth didn't know what was inside either, or he wouldn't need me to get in. I had a few suspicions about what I would find within, but from what I knew about myself, the information itself probably wasn't meant to help Malkuth; it was something else. Something important enough that I'd hidden it behind my true name, even knowing what Death could do to me, and important enough that despite having _millennia_ to do so, the Grimm hadn't just destroyed it.

It may have been a longshot, but it was still a shot, which meant it came out ahead of most of my other options—which mainly boiled down to stumbling in the dark until something horrible happens, at which point I'd try not to die. And I had _experience_ with that, sure, but it wasn't exactly a desirable state of being. I could grind my skills until Malkuth got tired of waiting and sent his minions to wipe out everything I knew and loved, but I'd hardly call that a victory; I needed to figure out what he was after, how to kick him in the dick repeatedly to keep him from getting it, and how to kill him in the process. _Without_ the 'wipe out everything' part, if at all possible.

And if it had be me—which it had—than that was exactly the type of thing I'd keep locked up tight for my future self, if I couldn't do the deed personally. Along with something to keep him from simply destroying it.

I could have laughed at myself. Here I was, betting on someone I barely remembered being to turn what was obviously a trap into a possible advantage. Cross your fingers, me. If this works out, I'll love myself forever.

"If you believe you're ready, than I will believe in _you_ , Jaune," Ozpin replied after a long moment, nodding slowly before turning his eyes to gaze at the city of Vale. After a long moment, he sighed again. "I'll tell you everything I can, but I may disappoint you. I don't have any good memories of Jericho Falls—but I don't have many memories of it, period. I can't emphasize enough how quickly things fell apart for us; truly, I barely remember the fighting. Most of what I remember was my comrades dying as the Grimm fell upon us. But…I admit I've spent quite some time obsessed with that place, driven by it. I gathered everything I could in the hopes of one day facing it again."

"But you never did?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"In the end, there was no real point in doing so," He claimed. "Jericho Falls was considered noteworthy because of its intense concentration of Grimm, but it's not particularly close to the Kingdom, has no strategic value, and there was never any proof that there was anything of value there. Long range scans of the place revealed nothing on this side and though I found that computer on the other, I wasn't able to access it. Any time I ran the numbers, the cost in lives needed to take the place far outweighed the potential rewards. With the situation always so tenuous, I can't afford to risk the lives of my Hunters for the sake of settling an old grudge."

I looked at him carefully, considering him for a long moment.

Having heard that, the logical thing for me to do was ask him for help. We both knew I could get around those problems and give him his chance, help him avenge his fallen friends—and I'd be able to bring him along, which was its own reward. Even as strong as I now was, I was fairly confident that Ozpin could take me and my entire team in a fight. If I was about the dive into hell, I'd sure as hell want him along for the ride, considering he was the best guy to pull me back out.

Assuming, of course, that I could trust him. That he was Ozpin, the Headmaster and my friend, rather than my greatest enemy. If he wasn't, then having him onboard would be invaluable.

But if he _was_ , it would really suck to find out in my moment of glory. I could imagine it—I unlock the computer, Death kills me and wipes me clean, and next time I reincarnate, assuming Malkuth allows the human race to continue existing afterwards, I'm welcomed by a horde of super Grimm every time I draw attention to myself. If I knew that the trap he'd set may have had a counter-trap built into it, than presumably Malkuth knew and had planned a counter to my counter. As those things went, having Death on hand to kick me in the dick so hard my head popped off was a fairly good one; it was what I would probably do.

Ozpin especially would be a good choice for such a thing, thanks to his time manipulation—if he was on hand when I learned what I needed, he might be able to travel back in time to kill me before I learned or to ensure I did too quickly to make use of it. Seen in that light, a time manipulator would make a pretty good choice for Death's host. And the downside to him being stronger than my entire team combined was that he was stronger than my entire team combined; assuming I could actually keep him from slaughtering us instantly or before the fight began, I suspected our time of survival would still be fairly brief.

On the other hand, if he _wasn't_ Death, his presence could be the difference between life and death, and how could I justify excluding him.

"Do you want in?" I asked him, keeping my thoughts off my face and out of my voice. "We talked about it before, I believe—and I'd be happy to have you watching my back."

Best to leave my options open. If necessary, Raven and I could just attack the place without telling him. If it turned out we couldn't manage without him and could be sure we wouldn't be betrayed, then we could just as easily bring him along. No sense in ruining that beforehand.

Ozpin turned to look at me and seemed tempted.

"I want to," He said. "Truly. For those that died while I lived and _because_ I lived. For years after I escaped that place, it was all I could dream of; it's what drove me to become stronger, what led me to where I am today. But…"

"You can't?" I asked.

He sighed again, seeming to age before my eyes.

"After what you told me about Cinder, no," He admitted. "Though I dreamt of it for years, I dream of other things now, and I can't risk their loss. If Cinder's aim is this school and I _am_ the only thing keeping her from acting overtly, then if she were to learn of my absence…"

"Boom," I said. "Bye, bye, Beacon. I get it."

"I'm sorry," He said, bowing his head low. "The information contained within Jericho Falls is likely to be invaluable—"

"But it's pointless if everything we've sworn to protect is destroyed while we're off getting it," I replied with a shrug. "Like I said, I get it. Besides, if I'm wrong and I do die…best we don't keep all our eggs in one basket, right?"

"Don't talk like that," Ozpin said firmly. "You won't die, Jaune. I told you that I believe in you."

I smiled at him again and shrugged.

"Then believe in me," I said. "I'll manage."

"I'm sorry," He said again, shaking his head and putting his cup down. "It seems I will have to depend on you this time, Jaune."

"Leave it to me," I told him. "But really, anything you could tell me would help."

"I'll draw you up a list of the Grimm I saw personally," He said. "It may only detail the outer perimeter, but perhaps it will be of some assistance. Beyond that, I have only what supposition and conjecture."

"Somehow, I have the feeling that what you consider conjecture, others would take as fact," I answered dryly. "And I'll take whatever I can get, Ozpin."

He took another deep breath and looked at me grimly.

"This is nothing but a guess on my part," He began. "A _fear_ , really. But I told you before that I say the Humbaba there, yes?"

I nodded once, listening.

"Truly, they were quite prominent," He continued. "It's rare to see any of them on Vytal, but there they were, mixed in even amongst the rabble—the center of every formation. True, there were other mighty creatures there, but in both numbers and power, the Humbaba were the greatest threat. And it made me wonder why. Jericho Falls was guarded by countless Grimm, many of them far stronger than the norm, so much so that the better part of a hundred Hunters couldn't get past the metaphorical door. What then lay within its depths?"

Slowly, I felt my heart drop as I followed his words to their conclusion.

"If not for recent events, even I might think myself ridiculous for suggesting it," Ozpin murmured, nodding at my expression. "But perhaps the Humbaba are there to guard more than just the treasure within Jericho Falls' depths—perhaps they are present in their role as honor guards. For years, a part of me couldn't help but think that perhaps…perhaps Gilgamesh is there."

The name wasn't hard to recognize, nor were the implications difficult to understand. Gilgamesh was one of the nigh-mythical Grimm that came up in the same breath as Ziz and Jormungandr—meaning I counted him among the creatures that had become nowhere-near-mythical enough as of late. Like all the Grimm of its stature, there was pretty much no _factual_ information about it; creatures like those were so powerful that you couldn't really have eye-witness reports, on account of the fact that practically no one would survive such an encounter. The only reason their existence had even been considered prior to my whole 'accidentally wake up Ziz' thing was because sometimes, very similar legends would pop up in the myths of areas that were very far apart and which had possessed no recorded interactions.

In that sense, the 'study' of such creatures had really been more about tracing things back and possibly finding points of historical divergence and convergence. The nature of the Grimm was such that it was common for nations to dream up all sorts of things about them—possibly causes for their existences, godlike members of their species, and more. The Grimm had been seen as everything from animal spirits to demons, so it was pretty much inevitable; if the epidemic of the creatures was considered a punishment from a god, for instance, than a godlike Grimm was natural. And given Malkuth's existence and the nature of his greater minions…well, there was a bit of merit in that interpretation.

But if two societies on wholly different continents had the exact same description of an outlandish, monstrous creature, then the most probable explanations are that they either exist somewhere on Remnant—and if it's a horrific monstrosity, it wasn't as though it would want for company—or that the two societies had shared knowledge, whether by means of a common ancestry or by meeting one another. There was also room for coincidence, of course, but when you're talking about creatures such as, say, the Humbaba? They were odd-looking enough that it was usually accepted as fairly unlikely.

With the legendary examples of the Grimm, people have debated back and forth which explanation is true, with the popular belief until recently being that the Kingdoms of Remnant had connected with one another in the distant past…which, in fairness, was true. Part of the reason that such a belief was the fact that those beasts hadn't been seen in enormous periods of time and that there was no actual proof of their existence.

The other part, of course, was simple fear. No one _really_ wanted to live on the same planet as creatures such as Crom or Ziz—hell, _I'd_ just as soon live in a world where they didn't exist.

I should be so lucky.

What I knew of Gilgamesh, then, was largely conjecture. It was hard to say anything for sure because while a creature like Ziz stood out clearly by being a hideous freak of nature, 'Gilgamesh' was the name given to a vaguer entity; the supposedly 'human' Grimm. Not even the 'sorta, kinda, maybe you'd think so, if you were super drunk' human of the Humbaba; he was supposed to actually seem human, baring the traits that set him apart.

Compared to other Grimm, it was an easy thing to imagine—so much so that pretty much every Kingdom has _something_ like that in their mythos; it's just the type of thing that's easy to think off. Add in edge cases like the Pandora Shells and it's easy to see why most people are dismissive of the idea; even if they'd never met, people in entirely different nations could come up with the idea independently and probably had. So much so that whether he should even be considered amongst the more mythical examples of Grimm was debated fiercely until new information came to light during the collaboration between Vacuo and Mistral's libraries after the Great War.

At that time, certain similarities were noticed in the myths. Similar portrayals, mostly; a Grimm surrounded by an entourage of Humbaba, even in lands where the creatures were rarely sighted. Similar sounding names, in a relative sense—the Vacuan Bilgames, the Mistrali Gilgamos, the Atlesian Jiljamish, and older variations. While the description of a humanoid Grimm was vague, certain details often recurred independently of one another, and so on.

In time, a report was compiled and filed, a documentary was published, and Gilgamesh entered that ranks of the legendary Grimm. Given that in many of the sources, he had ties of some kind to the Humbaba, some came to believe that he was seen as an evolved form of the beasts in a fashion similar to Crom Cruach's obvious ties to its lesser cousins. Other legends implied that he might have actually been human once, a legendary king that had sought immortality and found it; sometimes it was unknowing of the cost, other times willing to pay it. He may have been an ancient sorcerer that had tampered with dark powers and been consumed by them, perhaps in a fashion similar to how I would have been devoured by Conquest had I lacked my Semblance.

Perhaps most worryingly, he could have simply been a massively, _massively_ powerful person who'd been taken by Conquest. Many of the depictions had been compared to the infectees of Pandora Shells, so it was unfortunately possible. It was hard to say when there were no solid sources for his existence; the closest thing to a confirmed sighting of him involved the destruction of an ancient Kingdom. According to the account of a Kingdom that had existed at the time, Gilgamesh _might_ have been there.

It was hard to say. Everyone who was _actually_ there died.

I took a slow breath, lifting my eyes to meet Ozpin's as I exhaled.

"If you suspect it to be true, I'll accept it as such and plan for the possibility," I said. "But I have to admit, I'd really prefer it if you were wrong."

"I often find myself wishing that," Ozpin replied, sighing himself. "But I often find myself disappointed when I do. In the brief combat I bore witness to, I found myself thinking that the Grimm around Jericho Falls moved too well as a group. While it's not uncommon for the Grimm to work together or for the older, stronger creatures to behave with at least some degree of intelligence, those around Jericho falls moved as a unit. In terms of teamwork, I thought they may have had us outmatched—which was unfortunate, as they outmatched us in everything else, too. Still, I found myself wondering what could make such varied creatures work together in such a way, instilling discipline in everything from the Humbaba to the Beowolves."

"You think they were obeying something stronger?" I asked. Well, tried to ask, anyway; it was hard to make it sound like a question when I knew the answer already.

"I do," He replied. "After considering it at length, I decided that it wasn't something unheard of or even uncommon—oftentimes, stronger Grimm will command weaker ones. While minor Grimm such as Beowolves are known to attack aggressively even when faced with an opponent they are hopelessly outclassed by, the introduction of a Beowolf Alpha can curb the tendencies of the entire group. While it's limited, the more intelligent Grimm can command their fellows to hold back or withdraw, sometimes even demonstrating the ability to issue complex commands. It's a very common thing to see, really…it just seemed bizarre to witness it on such a scale."

I hummed in agreement. Even basic coordination could make a huge difference in a fight and we weren't just talking about a pack of Beowolves here; if there _was_ an honor guard of Humbaba around the ruins, they'd quickly jump from being a difficult opponent to a terrifying one, even before adding in everything else. And if there were as men Grimm around Jericho Falls as everything had led me to believe…I could see how Hunters had gotten slaughtered.

The trick would be keeping myself from following their example.

"Then it's safe to say that _something's_ there," I said. "Which isn't surprising, really; given its value, it makes sense that the place would have a guardian, on the off chance that the Grimm outside weren't enough."

I meant the words; I honestly didn't find it surprising in the slightest. Jericho Falls seemed like the kind of place I'd run into some brutally unfair boss monster, after all—it was just that kind of place. I hadn't considered Gilgamesh specifically, but maybe I should have; there was going to be _something_ horrible waiting for me there and most of the legendary Grimm were large enough that you could see them kilometers away even if you _didn't_ have super eyes. If no one had noticed at a glance, there were really so many things it could be, unless Crom Cruach was waiting around underground.

It didn't change things much. Those monsters were an obstacle I'd been meaning to overcome, after all. If anything, I was more worried about was the possibility that Gilgamesh _was_ tied to Conquest, simply because it would limit the amount of support I could bring to the fight.

"I thought much the same," Ozpin mused, dipping his head in agreement. "Beyond that bad news, however, I don't know what else I can tell you. I suppose I could tell you a bit about the area, but I expect your grasp of such things will far exceed what little I remember through the terror and pain."

I shrugged.

"It's fine," I said. "You've done enough and I'm glad I got a chance to speak to you about it. Sorry for dredging up bad memories."

"Not at all," Ozpin replied, shaking his head very slightly. "If anything, I view this as a chance to finally put such things to rest. Is there anything else I can assist you with, Jaune?"

I made a show of considering it before nodding.

"Actually," I began. "There were a few things I wanted to ask you about several of your students…"

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Trial Run**

When I finally left Ozpin's office, it was with a fair bit on my mind. Pretty much everything I'd learned was concerning to one degree or another, and it was frustratingly hard to figure out what was definitively true.

The most recent problem might have well been nothing, but I hadn't gotten where I am by ignoring potential problems—instead, I tended to obsess over them until I figured out a way to make them go away, which was sadly still a work in progress for the issues that actually mattered. The fourth member of Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha's team was supposedly a young girl named Cosmo Spumone. I say supposedly because when I scoured the school with my senses, there was no one by that name. I didn't find anyone unusual there, either; or, at least, no one that struck me as such. And while it was _possible_ that I'd missed something important or overlooked some clue…well, my senses being what they were, it seemed like an unlikely explanation.

More likely, 'Cosmo' simply wasn't there. Which, needless to say, was a bit odd, seeing as Pyrrha had claimed she'd only left moments ago; for me not to notice her, she would have had to leave the school at great speed and at just the right time to avoid me. And seeing that she _had_ avoided me and that her departure coincided almost exactly with my arrival, it seemed unlikely to be coincidental. Again, the more probable answer was that she'd left in order to avoid me.

Of course, that was a bit easier said than done. While Raven and I had arrived at something of a distance from Beacon and someone _could_ have left before the school entered the full range of my perceptions, we'd kept a distance specifically in order to avoid being noticed. While that wasn't necessarily the same as saying we _weren't_ noticed, after Qrow and Taiyang, we'd both decided to err on the side of caution; I'd needed to jog about twenty kilometers to reach Beacon. While it was, again, _possible_ that someone could pick me out at that range, it seemed a touch unlikely, especially since I had skills that helped me avoid notice to an extent.

And yet, unlikely as it seemed, she _had_ left just in time to avoid me. Unlikely wasn't the same thing as impossible, as I was unfortunately well aware, and I did my best to keep it in mind. So, it wasn't _impossible_ that someone with good enough instincts—or Sense Danger or so on—might have sensed me and decided to run rather than stick around to meet me face to face. That'd be nice, in its own way; I was more used to people who turned out to be more than they appeared making _me_ want to run away. I wouldn't wholly mind being on the other side of that equation, assuming it wasn't just a ploy designed to screw me over later.

But that still left the matter of escaping before I sensed them in turn. While I hadn't exactly run full speed towards Beacon, simply because I hadn't wanted to damage the surrounding area too much, I'd still approached at a fairly significant clip; they wouldn't have very long to escape before the fullness of my senses overlapped with Beacon, at which point going unnoticed would have been difficult to say the least. _I_ couldn't hide from my own senses; I couldn't even come _close_. Anyone who could cover every angle needed to do so would probably have also been able to just leave and would have probably realized that it was vastly easier to do so, and for the moment, I assumed that was what they'd done instead. It would still have been difficult, however, necessitating either very high physical stats, a speed-related Semblance, teleportation, or something else to that effect, on top of whatever they'd done to see me coming. The list of people who could do both of those things _and_ be on a team at Beacon was short to the point that I honestly couldn't think of anyone to put on it.

I spent a moment puzzling over that before something crazy occurred to me.

What if, just maybe, I wasn't the center of the universe? It was hard to remember so times since I _was_ the center of a millennia old conspiracy and the world—or, at least, its entire dominant species—was actively working against me, but not everything had to be about me. If someone had decided to up and run away in terror, I was hardly the only possible cause; after all, I hadn't come back to Beacon alone.

I'd brought Raven with me. Raven who had wanted to check up on her daughter, who would have been in the library, and who had positioned a portal to do so by the time I'd reached the school and confirmed Ozpin's position from a distance. I had long sense gotten used to Raven's portals, as she had a tendency to watch over me during missions—especially missions that had a high probability of going to hell, which was pretty much every mission I'd ever been on in my entire life. It was something I just accepted when it occurred; I didn't really have a leg to stand on when it came to silently watching people and I appreciated it a fair bit besides. She did the same for the rest of our team, as well, ensuring no one got into too much trouble and standing by to extract them if they did. Besides, perhaps more than anyone else on the planet, I understood how Raven felt. Given the nature of her power and the position she'd put herself in, watching things from a distance was often the only thing she could do.

As such, I never complained about it, even when she checked in on us at random times as if to make sure we were still there—and nobody else noticed that she was there at all, so it wasn't an issue.

Or so I'd though, but thinking about it now…if I was considering that someone had senses sharp enough to detect me at such a massive range, I also had to consider the possibility of them detecting Raven when she was right there. Because while it was difficult to detect Raven through her portals, it wasn't impossible; I'd done it, after all, back when my senses were _significantly_ less than they were now. Qrow and Taiyang, who'd been familiar with her, had proven they had some ability to do so as well. At the very least, it had more precedent than the alternative, and there were metric fucktons of people who would run away if they senses Raven coming.

It was possible, I decided. It might require someone who had sensed her before and who could, in turn, fool _Raven's_ senses—but there was some precedent for that, too. Keeping that thought in mind, I scanned the school more carefully, this time paying more attention to the hair, skin cells, and various other bits and pieces that normal people left lying all over the place, along with things like fingerprints. Being a _school_ , there was plenty of that lying around and it took even me a little while to sort through and cross reference everything. Pericognition thankfully smoothed the process along and I left the matter to my subconscious for a while.

The answer it turned up was one I'd expected, but wasn't entirely sure how to address. I was all but certain I knew who the fourth team member was, but I wasn't entirely sure how to deal with her. She was gone for the time being and Ozpin already seemed to be keeping an eye on her, but…

I suppose was another thing to keep track of. I'd just have to deal with her if it became necessary.

Putting that matter on hold, I then returned to actively pondering if Ozpin was a Rider. As I tended to do, I quickly decided that the man behind Vale might as well have been behind a _veil_ for all that he really gave away. What little I was able to take away from the sight of his soul, to his refusal to come to Jericho Falls, to what I was slowly beginning to grasp about Beacon's true nature, to the information he'd shared—in the end, I couldn't even decide if it made him more or less suspicious. I spent a few more moments brooding over the issue before tossing it onto the backburner again.

The bigger issue, then, was Jericho Falls. Assuming what he'd told me was true—which I may as well for the time being, seeing as I'd quickly realize the truth once I reached the area itself—Jericho Falls was about what I'd expected; a few steps closer to being hell on Remnant than…well, the _rest_ of Remnant. I'd known from the beginning that I'd probably be in for the fight of my life, but now I might know something about the _nature_ of that fight.

Did it change anything, though?

I wasn't sure.

Better fix that.

"Raven," I said once I decided I was far enough from Beacon, deep in the Emerald Forest. Raven was watching me, renewing her vigil after I left Ozpin's office, probably on the off chance I'd done something that might get me killed. I'd like to tell her she knew me better than that, but the problem was that she _did_ know me fairly well and I attracted trouble like a super magnet. "Can you make a door for me, please? And one back to Grimm if it's not too much trouble."

There was a moment of swirling air before the portal consolidated itself.

"Are we going to continue training?" Raven asked, sitting calmly in a comfy-looking chair in her home. Seeing as she probably had to spend most of her day sitting and gathering information from who knows how many people, it struck me as a wise investment.

"Soon," I assured. "But there are several things I wish to test before we do and I'm uncertain how much destruction they may cause. I think it would be best if I practiced them alone, somewhere that nothing will be missed."

"Ah," Raven answered, nodding but otherwise remaining still. I passed through the portal she made and then walked into a second one moments later, emerging at the edge of the destruction I'd wrought on the dark continent. Had it been anywhere else, I might have felt a bit bad about it, but here? Here I just wanted to make it bigger.

And I knew just where to start.

 **Brahmastra (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: Special.  
One of the legendary techniques wielded by the Astradhari, it was said to invoke the power of the Creator. Used as a skill, it can either empower an existing weapon or create one entirely from Aura—in either case, the effect is the same, drawing Light from the realms above to fuel a reaction. Empowered by the user's Aura, the matter summoned is torn apart and reforged in a process that draws out the power hidden within and forges it into a mighty weapon. Said to be a weapon of utmost destruction, its power was such that it could annihilate cities and its use left fields barren of life. Power increases with WIS. The use of the Brahmastra per day as it draws deeply from the user's soul, reaching through it to draw down the power of Creation.  
Damage: Special.  
Defense Penetration: Special.  
Range: Special.  
Automatically inflicts 'Decay' status effect on anyone who receives damage or who spends significant time in an area where the skill was used.  
The duration and effect of fallout depends on skill level.  
'Decay' status effect may not be removed through mundane means.  
Number of uses per day: 1.**

Power began to gather in my right hand even as my flesh was stripped away by Sahasrara. It vanished quickly, burning away from the surface of my arm and spreading outwards to the rest of my body until my soul was bared. As I changed, I felt my reserves of power swell, burgeoning with each passing moment. Trails of light began to emerge from each of my one million eyes, coiling around my limbs and up the length of my body until it reached my hand and began to take form.

It started as a jagged shape, baring more resemblance to crystal than the energy-forms of its predecessors, like a shard of stained glass. As more power gathered in it, other shapes began to appear around it, emerging from the air and fitting themselves to the edges as seamlessly as if they were the pieces of a puzzle. When it began, it was no but a few edges peeking out from the grip of my hand, but soon it began to take the shape of a polearm with a smooth and perfect surface. I counted the seconds and regulated the flow of power to the forming weapon to insure I wasn't left defenseless if something attacked me, but even fueling it with my enormous well of power, I ended up counting as the seconds passed.

Brahmastra didn't have a charge time, as such—or rather, it took however long was needed to gather the required amount of power, which I judged—based off the rate the weapon was forming at and taking into account the skills I had that reduced costs—to be somewhere in excess of ten million MP. Even more me, it was a number that took time to gather, even if I was able to regulate the flow; even though Quick Soul had grown greatly thanks to my almost constant use of it, it couldn't make me draw in power any faster. All told, it took me nearly half a minute to fully form the attack, at which point I took a moment to look at it.

Despite the power that had gone into it, it was a simple looking weapon; a spear of solid white, static and physical. It didn't seem to weigh about the same amount as a spear of its size and I could feel the power held within it—but it wasn't enough. Even this was nothing more than the shell of the Brahmastra, woefully incomplete.

So I reached out to the only thing that could finish it, scanning the area one last time before closing my eyes. I felt the paths of power flowing through me and followed them from root to crown, touching upon my chakras one by one in the process. When at last I came to Sahasrara, I took a breath and touched it lightly before reaching _through_ —and felt a response.

Power, the raw light of creation, flooded into me without any physical source, because I was drawing from beyond the physical. I reached out to the place above Sahasrara and higher than Keter, the light unshaped by the Sephirot. It burned through my Chakras—my _soul_ —like fire from the sun, turning the thin trails streaming from my eyes into gushing, luminous rivers. This wasn't MP, per se, wasn't quite _anything_ yet, but it filled the shell of the Brahmastra and made it something _more_.

Flesh began to form over my body as more and more power was drawn into the spear. It started at the furthest parts of my body and progressed quickly over the rest of my body until I was back to my human form—and the Brahmastra was glowing like nothing I'd ever see. It glowed from within like I'd trapped the sun inside, shining through the veil of crystal as if it wasn't even there. It wasn't _hot_ , but the sheer amount of light could have blinded any normal person who looked at it, stripping away their sight in an instant. At the same time, I felt exhausted in some tiny part of me, the passing of the Light through my body and soul an experience that drained me on a level similar to Sahasrara but…deeper, somehow.

But I'd done it. I'd forged a weapon straight out of legend.

And without a moment's hesitation, I reared back and threw it as far away from me as possible. I put all my strength, physical and mental, into the throw, sending the spear into a high enough arc that when it reached its zenith, it illuminated the world around us like the noonday sun—and when it fell, it dyed the sky with all the colors of the dawn. It touched down more than a few kilometers away from me.

It hardly seemed to make a difference.

What happened next was hard to separate as several things happened in quick succession. Something exploded in the distance and there were waves of energy all across the spectrum that were blinding even for me. I felt a flash of fire that beggared description, cloaked by massive clouds of dust and debris, and the heat of the explosion washed over me even as it burned the surrounding Lotus Eater trees to ash and charcoal. At almost the same time, there was a wave of force that shattered the ruined trees for kilometers around, crushing stone and tearing up earth, even as it seemed to make the world tremble and shake. My body, which weighed little more than anyone else my size, was caught in the blast and flung high and far with a power that clawed at my body and seared at my reinforced skin.

I caught myself someone high above it all, momentarily disoriented until I had a moment to shake it off. I blinked once and focused, turning my gaze to an area that had changed greatly between one moment and the next, stripped mercilessly bare by the power of the Brahmastra. Now that it wasn't quite so bright, I could see it still, settling deep within the earth and air and water of the continent, poisoning it to the core. That same energy clung to me and I could feel it moving, trying to attack me from within until I touched my face and healed myself several times over.

But while its invisible effects were noteworthy, the visible ones were perhaps more impressive. As I looked through the clouds of smoke—so large that they seemed to collapse beneath their own weight—I just had to…marvel at what I'd done.

The crater I'd left was nearly fifty meters deep at its lowest point and the better part of a kilometer wide, to say nothing of the surround area, which had been burned shattered for kilometers in every direction.

Kilometers that had been populated by nothing but the Grimm.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

All at once, I heard a multitude of rising cries. Some resembled roars and howls, others more alien sounds like a single, strange note rising higher and higher or an odd blowing sound. I turned towards the sources, picking them out of the smoke and fire—the creatures of Grimm that had proven tough enough to survive even that display of power. I saw a Humbaba alongside a Panoptes, a Morrigan taking to the air, and a Garmr, among other things, all still standing tall.

But they looked different now, like melting clay dolls. Lengths of red flesh shined through where white armor and black skin and been blown away, and it seemed to…grow and spread by the second. The 'flesh' within the wounds quivered oddly, seeming to almost liquefy, and even as the wounds began to heal and close they did so wrongly. I saw one of the Garmr's legs heal over in wrinkled black skin, with the smooth armor that should have grown from the limb instead piercing through the flesh oddly, as if it had partially reformed within. The Morrigan's wings seemed twisted and skeletal, as if bones had broken and healed in strange ways. Most of the Humbaba's skin was simply gone and didn't seem to be healing at all, instead replacing the exposed red matter endlessly.

And for all that, they were still nightmarishly powerful.

 **The Descending Terror  
Level 174  
Humbaba**

 **The Eyes in the Darkness  
LV 171  
Panoptes**

 **Death on Wings of Night  
LV 176  
Morrigan**

 **The Hound of Hell  
LV 175  
Garmr**

I looked them over once, taking a slow, quiet breath before cracking my neck. Though it sent shocks of bizarre pain through me, I stripped away my mortal form again and unleashed the power of my soul with Sahasrara—and then took it a step further.

 **Aurora (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The unleashed manifestation of one's soul. Now grown far beyond the limits of its mortal frame, it bursts forth to shine like the rising sun. This skill enhances the user's Aura, giving them the power to rise from the deepest darkness to shed light on the world. Through this technique, the user's Aura is further refined and enhanced, reaching past its limits of defending, healing, and enhancing to scour away those it recognizes as enemies. Power grows with the user's MP.  
Greatly enhance all benefits of the user's Aura.  
Causes damage to all enemies within range.  
Range: 100 meters.**

And all at once, the skies above Grimm were illuminated by rolling patterns of light.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Firefight**

I floated above the Grimm in a sphere of solid white, the light so bright that standing within it almost made me feel like the world had been washed away. It was a massive thing, encompassing a volume that far surpassed many buildings, and it moved as I did. Outside the bounds of the sphere, light fluctuated and flowed in shifting patterns of blues and greens and similar colors, the light of my soul interacting with the air in strange ways.

Though I felt their attention on me keenly, none of the Grimm were quick to attack. These Grimm were old enough, experience enough, and, thus, intelligent enough to know a trap when they saw one and I could all but hear them consider how to best test my Aurora without endangering themselves. Though their bodies were being forced into more and more grotesque shapes, they didn't seem to feel any particular urgency as they monitored me and tried to decide on their first move.

It was intelligent behavior, I acknowledged. Truthfully, the first one to attack me would have been at a fairly severe disadvantage.

But that didn't mean they were any safer hesitating.

I took a moment to decide upon my target before choosing the Humbaba as a test of my abilities.

The moment I did, I vanished.

 **Flux (Active) LV1 EXP: 00.0% MP: 10000  
It is said that the ability to decide one's own place in the world is one of the soul's greatest gifts. This skill changes that truth from a metaphor to lethal weapon. By violently twisting one's Aura into complex patterns, the user of this technique is able to alter their position in space, allowing them to cover short distances instantly. Using this technique requires both tremendous power and focus, as the user must have the strength of will to force their soul to redefine the location of their body without disassembling themselves entirely in the process.  
Range: 10 meters.**

In what I could only scarcely call a moment, I felt myself fly apart, tearing at seams that I didn't think existed. It wasn't material pieces I was reduced to either, nor even fully energy, but rather a cloud of _possibilities_ in a fashion very similar to when I'd used my Dimensional. I could feel it as the probability of me existing in one place was reduced to zero and as my odds of existing in another raised to one. For my body, it was an unspeakably strange feeling.

But I was more than just a body, now more than ever. From the simultaneously internal and external perspective granted by Sahasrara, I saw my moment in a different way—as if I'd been viewing myself with one eye and had abruptly switched to the other, altering my perspective. I willed my body to be elsewhere, erasing it in one place and all but remaking it in another.

End result? I appeared directly in front of the Humbaba, moving faster than the eye could see to appear in front of him, catching him within the edge of my Aurora as I did. At once, the Humbaba flinched as if in agony, small clouds of white smoke rising from his skin as if he were burning in the light. He tried to lunge backwards to escape it but I followed him step for step, keeping him within the range of my power and turning up the heat.

Literally.

 **Elemental Soul (Active) LV1 EXP: 7.14% MP: 250  
The shifting of Aura in accordance with one's Elemental Affinity, now refined to the point of transformation. Unlike its predecessor which empowered the user by imitating the properties of the chosen element, this skill allows the user to directly transform his Aura into the physical form of an element. Power changes as the caster's INT, skill level, and Elemental Affinity grow. Only possible for those closely attuned to the forces of nature.  
Aligns Aura towards a specific element.  
Enhances the effects of the appropriate Elemental Aura, while so aligned.  
Additional 250 MP used per minute.**

Elemental Soul was a skill I'd played around with somewhat, but had been forced to limit my use of for much the same reason as Aurora—namely, its breadth. While it was a simply enough skill at its most basic level, when used solely with my Aura, it was also something that could easily go out of control. Using Fire as an example, if I used Elemental Soul while limiting myself solely to my Aura, all it would do was wreath my body in flames. If I used it in conjunction with _Aureola_ , however, the effects of the skill would expand, surrounding me in a raging bonfire that could incinerate anything that came near. Used with Aurora?

The world around me became a raging inferno, engulfing the Humbaba along with everything else around me. The flames weren't just physical, either; Elemental Soul _enhanced_ my Aura, instead of replacing it, which meant that the effects of Aurora combined with the sudden fire to strike at the Grimm even more deeply. The flames were hot enough that the ground around me liquefied in moments and swiftly began to boil—and had a normal human abruptly found themselves within easy reach, they'd have melted even as they burned.

But needless to say, I wasn't content to stop there. Not when I still had cards to play, at least—and I'd chosen to play with fire for a reason. Because I was using my Aura to create them, I could feel the flames as easily as if they were my own limbs, swirling around me and rising brilliantly from the light of my soul. Around me, I could see the patterns in the sky shift to reds and purples, as though the sun was setting, but more than that, I could _see_ the Aura within the flames, blazing hot to my senses. But instead of drawing away from that, I reached out to the sensation and drew it inwards, fanning the flames hotter and higher with each passing moment.

And then, as if flicking a switch, the flames closest to my body turned white and the rest turn blue.

 **Surya (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The ultimate technique of the ancient warrior Vasusena, mastered in his final moments as he reached a higher level enlightenment and understanding. An extremely powerful fire technique only usable by refining and purifying one's Aura to an incredible level, it is a skill that allows for the generation of extremely intense flames which surround the user in his entirety. Rather than a single attack, this skill represents the ability to generate those flames and the state of being that allows their use, with the cost and form of the attack dependent on the wearer. The power, versatility, and intensity of the flames increase with the Fire Affinity and Wisdom of the user, but are said to be able to burn almost anything.**

At this point, the Humbaba wasn't even trying to fight back, he was simply attempting to escape from the range of my flames before he was incinerated by them utterly. With each wound I inflicted, his condition seemed to worsen as his body refused to heal properly, plagued by the Brahmastra's curse—and he was burning faster by the moment, red matter all but drooling from the frame of his increasingly skeletal figure.

And I still had fuel to add to the fire.

"Suryasta," I said, feeling the Fire Elemental form behind me. "It's time."

Suryasta didn't nod or answer—didn't do anything but focus on me, in fact. But that was all he needed to do for me to feel the confirmation running down the line between us and feel the change. As I closed my eyes, I felt Suryasta both come apart and come over me in a way that was both hard to describe and intensely familiar. It felt more than anything like using Bai Hu's ultimate technique.

It made sense to me, in a way—felt natural even. By their very nature, both Bai Hu and my Elementals were part of me given form, at once internal and external. They were pieces of my Aura and my Soul shaped such that they could aid me and give me strength, but we were still _one_ , in the end, if also a strange and unusual duality. Merging with them, then, was like unifying my Elemental to create Keter; a form of restoration…and also addition. In creating my Elementals, I'd attached pieces of myself to forces of nature, giving them slowly growing hearts and minds, as well as different ways to experience the world.

When Suryasta returned to me, Fire came along for the ride.

 **Agni (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ancient technique named after its user, one of the Apauruseya of Vytal. The man that became known as Agni was born with a tremendous kinship with the element of fire and forged that connection into a being that burnt hot enough to sear the world. As it raged endlessly in the battles that reshaped the fallen world, however, Agni found a yet deeper truth within the flames—that they were born of his soul, as much a part of him as he was of them. Joining the ranks of the legendary god-kings of Vytal, he mastered this art alongside them, internalizing the part of himself that he had previously unleashed to reach for new heights of power.  
Fire Affinity rises to Max.  
The user of this skill is immune to Fire Elemental attacks.  
Active MP-based skills that do not naturally share an affinity with an Element way be given the Fire Element at no additional cost.  
Only those with a Fire Elemental may use this skill.  
A Fire Elemental may not be manifested while this skill is active.  
Only one Elemental may be merged with in this fashion at a given time.**

The Grimm burned.

Outside the range of my Aurora, I saw the other Grimm pull away slightly even as the world around us began to burn. As I stepped forward, the ground continued to liquefy and boil, causing my feet to sink slightly into the viscous fluid before I caught myself. The Humbaba stopped as I approached, no long able to even move. Instead, he tried to lift a single skeletal limb and I watched apathetically as it began to vanish, everything from finger to forearm quickly vanishing as I entered its reach—and he entered the reach of Surya.

I didn't bother lifting a hand against the creature. Instead, I simply passed through the space he occupied and watched as he was vaporized by the flames.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

I noted the levels absently, well aware that I now had enough points to improve another stat by fifty. A part of me had already begun considering the best choice, both in the grand scheme of things and accounting for what I would soon be facing, but I let the thoughts drift to the back of my mind as I focused instead on what was in front of me.

Which is to say, I turned my attention to the other Grimm and began to contemplate the best way to kill them.

The combination of powers I was using now was as impressive as I'd imagined it would be, but it was also my first time testing it. Part of that was because several pieces of that puzzle were relatively new additions to my repertoire, Agni most notable of all—and part of it was simply because it had been difficult to test. The problem with things like Elemental Soul and Surya were fairly obvious; it was difficult to become a raging storm of elemental power without drawing attention. If I tried to use it while at Haven, it was _possible_ I could do so without anyone noticing, regulating the flow of heat to keep anyone from getting burned or noticing a sudden increase in temperature, prevent my Aura from incinerating anything I came in contact with, and regulate all the other factors that made life difficult in the center of a firestorm or a hurricane…but it would be really difficult and there was a constant risk that I might accidentally incinerate someone. It wasn't something I'd been willing to test, even knowing what I was capable of.

Truthfully, that was also why I hadn't tried it out around my teammates, either. Fires as hot as the ones I was making didn't need contact to burn—even the area outside of Aurora's reach had been rendered fairly inhospitable to life by the sheer heat that was being let off. Had there been any Lotus Eater trees left standing in Brahmastra's wake, I'd have sincerely wondered if they would have combusted or _melted_ from being so close. While the effects of Aurora itself were limited solely to those I recognized as enemies, the flames generated by my other skills would burn friend and foe alike and given that they'd progressed to the point of making people _evaporate_ , that was a bit of an issue.

So while this combination of skills was one I'd wanted to try for a while now and have been adding new skills to ever sense, the fact remained that it was something restricted to situations when I was surrounded by things I wouldn't miss.

Such as, say, this entire godforsaken continent and everything on it. I had no reason to hold back here and given the infestations of the Grimm in general and the Lotus Eaters in particular, it could do with a good razing, anyway.

As for Aurora itself, I'd avoided using it for two main reasons. One, the sheer breadth of the lightshow it created was a pain in the ass to hide, even for me—and it wasn't something that could just be hidden behind an illusion, either. While I could make my Aura much harder to notice than most people's thanks to the skill Tranquility, it was a relative thing and the effectiveness dropped with blatant displays of power. As such, while the veritable _explosion_ of Aura caused by Aurora might be relatively muted, it would still be like taking an active tuning fork and shoving it against the teeth of any Hunter nearby, which would draw the type of attention I didn't want. I didn't mind people knowing I was powerful, so long as they received that information on my terms and in such a way that it was advantageous to me.

But I don't need people to know the full truth, because—as I have become increasingly aware of over time—it's really hard to plan for things you don't know about. Which, thinking about it, is probably also why all of my enemies are so tight lipped, the bastards.

The second reason was even more simple; Aurora automatically struck out at those I recognized as my enemies—but I recognized a lot of people as enemies. A lot of people that I would just as soon not be aware of that fact. While I would be in close proximity to people like Cinder especially, it wasn't something I could chance; after all, if I made a mistake and a fight broke out, she could probably trap me in some kind of extra temporal blender and kill me before and after my death. No, thank you.

But again, none of that mattered here and it was my chance to cut loose without worrying _too_ much. And where I was going, I knew full well I wouldn't be able to hold anything back.

That in mind, I flicked my gaze from the Morrigan to Garmr—and then used Flux to appear above the former, Reaching out with my power to do so.

 **Reach (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 1000  
The ability to reach beyond the limits of the mortal frame by use of the soul. By expending great power to do so, the user of this skill may increase the range of another skill by thirty, even if that skill would normally require physical contact with the target, in which case it instead provides a range of thirty meters.**

I came down on the massive crow, landing directly between its wings and letting my Aura handle the rest as gravity pulled me _through_ the enormous Grimm. Even as I fell, however, I lifted both of my hands, gathering power into the form of a pair of spears. The one in my right hand burned with scarlet incandescence, while the one on the right seemed like nothing more than a plain and simple lance. I threw the red spear first, an Agniyastra bolstered by the power of Agni, and watched as it caught the Garmr in the shoulder and blew the colossal limb clean off before exploding into a column of fire that flooded forth in every direction, as intense as the flames of Surya. The Garmr released a sound somewhere between a roar, a howl, and a scream as the flames washed over him and left him a quickly thinning figure as matter sloughed off his frame. I watched him calmly for a moment, gauging the damage I'd caused—and then threw the other spear to compare it.

The simple lance looked, at first glance, like nothing more than one of my Magic Missiles, if perhaps a bit longer and a touch thinner. The somewhat golden color that capped its tips was fairly easy to overlook, especially while it was in motion, and it wasn't anywhere near as visually impressive as my Brahmastra or Agneyastra or even Gungnir. Even its effects were fairly subdued in comparison to its compatriots—it shimmered once in midflight, touched the skull of the massive Grimm, and vanished into its skull. There was no flash of light, no explosion, nothing.

But the Grimm dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

 **Longinus (Active) LV1 EXP: 17.96% MP: 80000  
A legendary spear said to have been bathed in the blood of a god. Originally nothing more than a simple weapon, it was said to have been exalted by the experience and became something far greater. It is said to have no physical form but to be able to pierce any defense by cutting through the very space its target occupies. Before the edge of the spear of Destiny, all things stand equal; it cuts through whatever is in its path without distinction. Power increases with INT, skill level, and Metal element affinity.  
Complete defense penetration.**

I landed as the Garmr fell to the ground with an earth shaking thud, rolling my wrist. As I'd expected, Longinus seemed like a fairly troublesome weapon to use. While it's rather exorbitant cost was mitigated somewhat by my other skills, it was fairly expensive for what it did—which was base damage. Granted, it was base damage that utterly ignored the opponent's defenses and natural durability, but still; compared to the damage of Agneyastra or any of my other, far cheaper attacks, it had done a fairly minor amount of damage.

On the other hand, if I encountered an opponent I otherwise couldn't scratch, Longinus would allow me to at _least_ do some damage. I wondered if it would work against Malkuth's physics fuckery.

…Somehow, I doubted things would be that simple—and even if they were, he could probably find a way to work around it. But it was still a nice thought.

Shaking away the thoughts, I turned my head towards my next opponent, the massive 'peafowl' that was the Panoptes. I say 'peafowl' because even before the…remodeling the Brahmastra had given it, the Panoptes was a fairly monstrous looking thing, with everything from its body to its plumage covered in massive eyes, down to the very nails of its clawed feet. Further, while its eyes had recovered from the damage of the Brahmastra, they'd come back wrong, with many of the eyes either grown over with black scales or reduced to massive blobs of tiny red orbs, somewhat reminiscent of egg sacks. It was kind of hideous, but…well, I had no leg to stand on when it came to eyes. I could win a staring contest with a few hundred of the beasts and have eyes to spare while doing so.

Nonetheless, I settled down in front of the creatures and snuffed out my flames with a thought, seemingly giving him an opening. And indeed, I was outright _inviting_ the monster to attack me—because there was still one more thing I wanted to try.

Taking a slow breath, I activated Kavacha and waited.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Ping**

Even through the horrific mutations, I could see the intelligence glimmering in the Grimm's eyes as it watched me. It was more than smart enough to know what was going on, to grasp the breadth of what it was facing, and there was a type of caution in its gaze. It wasn't quite fear, for all that it had been enough to make the Humbaba run from me, or at least not a _human_ fear. The Grimm were creatures that would march into a hopeless battle without the slightest care for their own deaths, because death wasn't something that truly scared them.

But they were smart and they knew that survival was a better choice than death—that survival meant strength, growth, and power and that it was only by living that they could continue to kill. So while a young Beowolf might charge into a hopeless situation and die, an old Grimm would know from experience when it was a better time to withdraw and come back another day. That knowledge was why things like Goliaths and Leviathans could wait at the edges and slowly circle the Kingdoms; they knew that they'd get their chance eventually and that there was no point in rushing in and dying needlessly.

Right now, the Panoptes was thinking along the same lines—that if it could escape and heal, it could return and strike me down another day. I could see its eyes moving independently of one another as it searched for a way out.

And I saw it when it realized that there wasn't one. I wasn't certain how much it had understood about what it had seen, but it knew how quickly I'd fallen upon its companions. It wouldn't outrun me, especially not with its massive size making it stand out and the area that the Brahmastra had cleared. It could try to run, but there'd be no escape for it that way, especially not when I could track it down with Raven. After seeing how quickly I'd defeated its companions, it must have also known that it couldn't simply gang up on me and while it might be able to try to lead me further inland to the den of some even greater beast, it was unlikely that it would make it that far.

It's only choice was to face me and we both knew it.

The moment it realized that, its gaze changed, all traces of 'fear' vanishing in an instant as its mind was made up and it's eyes trained on me. The Panoptes spread its feathers wide, each orb in its eye-lined plumage glowing brightly even as trails of red light began to link them.

Though I'd never fought one until now, I knew what it was doing and it was why I'd left it for last. The Panoptes could gather and store energy in its eyes and fire it at a target in a way similar to the Humbaba. While it sounded pretty simple when put like that, it was important to remember that it could do this for _any_ of its many, many eyes, with each blast carrying an impressive amount of force, given that it was one among thousands. Worse still, there was nothing stopping it from focusing multiple eyes on a target like it was now doing to me.

Nothing except time, that is. While a single eye could be fired the moment it focused on someone, it seemed to take time to gather the fullness of its power—a charge time like the one's I had mostly done away with thanks to my and Quick Soul's high level. I could already tell that the hit it was preparing would carry significantly more power than the strike the Humbaba could issue, but at the cost of speed.

Then again, that wasn't necessarily a problem for people who could work as part of a team. Before I ruined it by brutally slaughtering its companions, it had probably intended to wait at the back while I was preoccupied dealing with the others. In a fight where an opponent could focus on you, though, taking even just five seconds to prepare an attack was fairly brutal. Taking twenty? That was the next best thing to forever, especially against opponents of the level we were now on; I couldn't even imagine trying to use Brahmastra in a fight, at least not as I was now.

But, needless to say, I gave the Panoptes time to prepare its attack, while I went about preparing my defense.

Taking a deep, slow breath, I curled my hands into fists, the steel of my gauntlets rubbing against itself with a quiet, metallic sound. Instead of vanishing, however, the sound seemed to go on, spreading up the lengths of my arms as the metal rippled and flowed over my skin. Elsewhere around my body, metal seemed to just bubble forth from the air itself, twisting around me to clad me in armor—the effect of Elemental Soul activated with the Element of Metal and Aureola. From the visions I'd had while merging my skills with Tiferet, Earth and Metal had seemed to possess more personal effects, though it made me wonder how they'd interact with Aurora? Would my enemies simply begin to metalize or petrify? Or would they be attacks by forming pieces of earth and steel?

It was something that deserved testing, but one thing at a time.

As I was completely incased, I looked down at myself contemplatively. The layer of metal armor seemed almost weightless and even without using Armored Shell, it seemed to be consider a part of me. Good, that was one thing I'd worried about, especially considering the effects of Kavacha, and it wasn't something I'd wanted to test with Kubera without being sure. But now…

 **Kubera (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ancient technique named after its user, one of the Apauruseya of Vytal. The man that became known as Kubera was born with a close bond with all the precious metals hidden within the earth. As he grew in power and strength, so did his connection to them, until he was able to turn aside even the sharpest of blades with a thought. In time, however, he came to learn of power of the Apauruseya and sought to imitate them, breathing life into base steel and creating a being that protected the Yaksha. As war raged endlessly in the fallen world, however, Kubera found that neither his guardian deity nor his riches were enough to protect his people and so sought a yet deeper truth within the summoned steel. In time, he realized that they were born of his soul, as much a part of him as he was of them. Soon after, he joined the ranks of the legendary god-kings of Vytal and mastered this art alongside them, internalizing his guardian where he'd previously drawn it forth from the earth.  
Metal Affinity rises to Max.  
The user of this skill is immune to Metal Elemental attacks, including attacks made with metal weapons.  
Active MP-based skills that do not naturally share an affinity with an Element way be given the Metal Element at no additional cost.  
Only those with a Metal Elemental may use this skill.  
A Metal Elemental may not be manifested while this skill is active.  
Only one Elemental may be merged with in this fashion at a given time.**

I felt Crocea Mors, then—my First Elemental and the one I often kept closest, in the steel of my sword. He moved through the steel that cloaked my body and then just seemed to…disperse into it and me. This time, I felt the steel push _inwards_ , seeping into my flesh and blood and bones. I could see my body changing before my eyes, becoming metallic through and through—a massive change, when Agni had merely intensified the flames around my body, but I suppose that was the difference between the 'energy' Elementals and the 'material' ones. After a few moments, it was molten steel running through my veins instead of blood, feeding into a moving metal musculature. Even my heart had changed, taking an almost mechanical look.

And having survived that change, I reached deeper, to something that went above and beyond my body—and felt myself change even further. It was at once a quiet change and a startling one as my beat once, _something_ flowed through my entire body, encompassing every part of my being…and leaving me looking the same as I had beforehand. Visibly, nothing had changed in the slightest, not even when I looked at the deepest layers of my body.

But I _felt_ different, as if every part of me had been abruptly cast aside and replaced with something wholly new. And when I opened my Third Eye to look at myself, I _seemed_ different as well. More…solid, I suppose I could say. Or perhaps more _certain_.

I turned my attention back to the Panoptes as it finished gathering power. I knew exactly how much energy it had gathered and while I was fairly certain it wouldn't be an instantly lethal blow, an attack like that could very well strip away anywhere from a third to half of my health bar. With Sahasrara active alongside my other defenses, I wasn't particularly worried about that, though—but then, that why I was testing this against a giant peacock instead of against Ziz. Nonetheless, I prepared myself to take the shot.

There was a moment of silence and then something tiny and unbelievably quick leapt from the tip of the creature's beak to the center of my forehead. Despite the amount of energy it had gathered, the attack looked like nothing more than a spark of static electricity.

But when it connected, there was a burst of color and sound and light. Power washed over me, shattering the ground beneath my feet, around me, and behind me. Though everything between the Grimm and I went entirely untouched, a trench was carved for over a kilometer behind me as a rush of light swept it away. It was an attack powerful enough that, if not for the effects of the Gamer's Body and Sahasrara, it wouldn't have been surprising if my entire upper body vanished despite my defenses.

And yet, I felt nothing.

As the light faded, I lifted my hand and pursed my lips, ignoring the dust and smoke clinging to my skin.

"Not a scratch, huh?" I mused. "As I thought, something like this works pretty well against the Grimm."

 **Kavacha (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 100000  
The armor of the gods. Rather than a defensive technique, the nature of this skill is one of transmutation—a shift from base material to something more. By using this technique, the user temporarily transforms their entire body into something that does not—and cannot—naturally exist within the Kingdom; a substance which originates instead in the worlds above. Similar in structure to the elements which compose the soul, it is an impossibility given form, and highly resistant to the touch of the mortal world.  
Body transforms into the unknown material '?.'  
Physical attacks that inflict less than 10000 damage after all applicable defenses instead do no damage.  
Physical attacks that deal more than 10000 damage reduce their end damage by 10000.  
MP attacks that inflict less than 1000 damage after all applicable defenses instead do no damage.  
MP attacks that deal more than 1000 damage are unaffected.  
Additional 100000 MP used per minute.**

The Panoptes watched me silently, only a small glimmer of surprise in its eyes. It didn't seem surprised that I was unhurt—but then, to most people, I _always_ seemed unhurt. Was it aware of precisely how little it's attack had done, though? Would it have cared if it did? It had known from the beginning that I was a superior opponent and had seemed to accept the implications of that easily enough. Even now, looking at it, there was nothing like human fear in its eyes, nothing like one would expect from a creature being confronted with its own death. Its eyes were…not quite calm, but not quite upset, either.

Looking at them now, I wondered not for the first time what happened to the Grimm after death. By definition, they were soulless creatures and couldn't reincarnate or pass on the way people did, but did they simply cease? Or did Malkuth have something in place for them as part of how they faded after death? It wouldn't have surprised me. They had no souls, but they were 'alive', if not in a conventional biological sense. They were aware, able to learn, think, and grow on their own, all without whatever it was that the soul gave people. They were an attempt to use the Kingdom to reach for the Light.

And it was obvious that they'd become more than anyone had ever expected. Though they shouldn't have been capable of transmigration, it wouldn't have surprised me if something still remained, if only a husk like the Qliphoth had been named for. Hell, seeing as they didn't have 'souls' as such and that their existence itself was fairly absurd given a moment's thought, it wouldn't have particularly surprised me if they could be reborn in some fashion themselves. Given Malkuth's power, it was possible that he just kept regular backups of his more powerful servants in case he had a need for them later; his power had _created_ the Grimm, after all, and if you removed philosophical questions about the soul and the self from the equation, giving his creations some form of rebirth would be fairly simple.

Unless there was more to the Grimm then there seemed, which seemed fairly certain, given my entire life. But that was neither here nor there.

The point was that, when I met several hundred of the Panoptes' eyes with a few hundred thousand of my own, I couldn't help but wonder what it thought of me and its impending fate. I knew it wasn't afraid, but it was difficult for me to perceive the emotions of the Grimm, much less parse them—they didn't have an Aura for my Empathy to pick up, which complicated things greatly. For all I knew, it was watching me in amusement, believing that its death meant nothing and that I was dancing in the palm of its master's hand.

It wasn't something I'd normally bother thinking about, but for some reason, I had a hard time avoiding the thought now. Maybe it was simply because questions about death and what came after it seemed like they'd be fairly important to me soon, one way or another. Either I'd find whatever it was I had presumably left myself after my own demise or I'd soon get re-familiarized with the entire process.

But I didn't have much choice but to go forward. As things were now, I had no choice but to assume Malkuth was watching me, whether it was through the Grimm, Ozpin, Cinder, or someone else. Having lived a life with me before this one, it seemed safe to assume he knew how fast I could grow, given time—and that, as casually as he may have seemed to treat me, he wouldn't want to leave me to grow without limit. Going simply by the fact that I was still alive, he obviously wanted me to reach a certain level of power—enough to do whatever it was he had planned for me, I assumed—but probably not strong enough to effectively challenge him.

I suspected he had a schedule in mind for that and that he'd make me regret it if I didn't abide by it—or make everyone else regret it, as the case may be.

But I wasn't so foolish as to assume he'd be willing to leave me be if I did what he wanted, either. After I got to the computer in Jericho Falls and accessed whatever was inside of it—assuming, of course, that I was correct about my assumption concerning it—it was likely things would kick off, if not immediately, then in short order. Whether Gilgamesh was there or not, I expected _something_ to happen, and seeing as Malkuth had the world's collective balls in a vice, it's not as though he couldn't pressure me to move quickly. Whether through Cinder's actions, a sudden attack by a horrific beast of myth and legend, or something worse, he had plenty of ways to make me hurry.

The question, then, was if I was ready and…I honestly wasn't sure. I'd grown quickly—far faster than my previous incarnation in many ways, thanks to the simple fact that my Semblance allowed me to gain experience by slaying the omnipresent monsters that inhabited Remnant—but quickly was still a relative term when it came to catching up to someone with a thousand year head start. I didn't have enough memories to be sure, but I knew I'd been very powerful and I'd known my enemy far better than I did now.

And I'd still lost. And now said enemy had had thousands of years to prepare himself for my return and to solidify his hold over the world. The situation was rather far from ideal. Even if our base stats had been similar, he would have had millennia to gain and refine his skills at…everything. And I knew better than _anyone_ how much of a difference skills could make in a fight. I was playing the most ridiculous game of catch-up in history and I was being given a time limit.

My advantages were limited and I had no choice but to exploit them for all they were worth. Gaining levels was a part of that, because it allowed me to increase my stats and thereby acquire very powerful skills. Leveling up generally meant killing Grimm, too, which sometimes provided skill books from which I could learn things I could obtain anywhere else and which I could improve very quickly. I was all but certain my Semblance had manifested the way it had just to help me deal with the mess I'd been caught up in and I was thankful beyond words for that fact.

The rest of my advantages were harder to define, simply because I didn't know enough to be certain of anything. Truthfully, a part of me was hoping for a miracle when it came to Jericho Falls while the rest of me was hoping I'd put on a good enough show. Even if Malkuth _was_ watching me, I was hopeful that he didn't have anything like Observe that would allow him to see the full extent of my power and reveal all of my secrets. I had to remember—and believe—that my enemies weren't all knowing, even if they knew a lot more than I did, and that they could be wrong. To that end, I was happily dropping bombs and showing off amidst a multitude of explosions and vast fields of fire, hopefully making some kind of impression.

I was fairly sure that I wasn't going to win this fight with simple firepower, but I'd have liked it if my enemies thought that I intended to try. Failing that—and I was doubtful it would fully succeed against someone who'd known me for a thousand years, even if he didn't know me now—I'd have at least liked to direct attention away from other things.

Not that they weren't useful, of course. Kavacha was an amazing defense, especially against the majority of Grimm whose soulless nature rendered them unable to exploit its weak points. Brahmastra had proven its power, too, and would no doubt come in handy when it was time to invade Jericho Falls, if only to clear away the riff-raff and hinder the others. The Aurora combination had proven its worth when it came to fighting even very powerful enemies and, if need be, I should be able to penetrate just about any defense with Longinus. Even if the enemy was something like Gilgamesh or Ziz, I should be able to do something.

Too bad I had no choice but to set my gaze higher than that and hope I had what it took—though, whether I hoped for it or not, I'd find out the answer soon.

Raising a hand, I gathered light in my hands and unleashed it in an incinerating torrent at the Panoptes, scouring it from the world with Lux Aeterna and then slowly releasing my transformations.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

I dismissed the window with a thought and began collecting the items the Grimm I'd killed had left behind, the lot of them thankfully untouched by the fighting—another thing to thank my power for, I suppose. As I did, a portal swirled open behind me and Raven stepped lightly on through.

"Impressive, Jian," She murmured after a moment, looking around slowly. "I've never seen anything like that before."

I turned my head to look at her over my shoulder and managed a slight, short-lived smile at her.

"Thank you for the compliment," I answered quietly, before sighing. I healed Raven absently, ensuring that Brahmastra's effects didn't take hold, and mused absently over the fact that she'd just taken it for granted that I'd handle any problems without even asking me if they existed. That gesture of trust would have made me happier if I weren't in such a dour mode, but it still a nice thought. "I just needed to make sure of a few things before me made a move."

Raven tilted her head slightly, watching me for a moment.

"We're moving, then?" She asked.

I nodded once.

"In one week, we'll take on Jericho Falls," I said. "By then, I'll have finished all my preparations."

"I'll be there," She promised, not seeming bothered by the inclusive. She pondered me for another moment, seeming to contemplate something. "Is this the part where you tell me to make sure I have all my affairs in order before then?"

I frowned to myself, still not looking at her, and considered the question.

Then I shook my head.

"Feel free to do as you wish," I said. "But I've given it some thought and given the choice…I think that rather than dying without regrets, I'd like to have something to make me fight that much harder. There are people I want to meet again and things I still have to do—and I'll get to them as soon as I'm done dealing with this."

"Oh?" She wondered, sounding amused. "Somehow, that's very you."

I shrugged a shoulder and smiled at her again, this time more honestly.

"There's no point in making a production out of something like this," I told her. "We're Hunters—this is what we do for a living."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Melancholy**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **You have obtained the item 'Argus.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Hera.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Evil Eye.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Tyrfing.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Pack Instincts.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Phantom Queen.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Cloak of Night.'**

"God, what a day," Adam groaned as we returned to our room, Raven having dropped us off after a few more hours of training. I was still okay, personally, but Adam was right—it had been a pretty long twenty-four hours. Cinder, Grimm, Atlas, Ironwood, Ozpin, and then back to Grimm for a few more rounds. Even if the physical exhaustion was removed from the equation, there was the mental strain of fighting for prolonged periods of time and the simple worry that everything would do to hell. It was enough to get to a person.

Not _me_ , of course—which was a good thing, seeing as my life nowadays waffled between those two states of being. But I didn't dare put Adam and Raven at risk, and after most of a day spent fighting, they could well start making mistakes from sleep deprivation or mental exhaustion. Seeing as my rate of growth had begun slowing down again, I deemed that it was as good a time as any for a well-deserved rest. Not that _I_ would be resting, of course; there was no rest for the wicked and those assholes had enough advantages _without_ outworking me. I'd spend my time working, as per usual.

"And you didn't even have to deal with the worst of it," I said to Adam as I took a seat on my bed and started sorting things out. I'd killed an enormous number of Grimm today, even without counting those slain by the Brahmastra, and I'd made sure to collect the spoils as well. Most of them were as expected, with a great deal of it being Lien—which, honestly, was of fairly limited use to me. I mean, money was money, but after a certain point you had to wonder about the value of a buck. I was self-sufficient, allied with the leaders of three of the Kingdoms, the unofficial leader of a major terrorist organization, the teammate of a woman who could create portals, and my family was fairly well to-do to begin with. The number of digits I had in my Inventories bank account was practically irrelevant, seeing as I could just ask my friends to get me anything I happened to want or need. Which, at this point, was really just Dust and I'd already sent out the word on that front.

Seeing the number on my status screen, though, I couldn't help but wish for something as convenient as an item shop. Well, I say that, but generally speaking I didn't rely on equipment except to support my natural abilities—by and large, I didn't need to. A boost to my Elemental Affinities was always useful and my father's last gift, Kronos, was invaluable, but while something like the sword I'd given Adam was convenient, it wasn't particularly _necessary_ for me. The ability to use Grass Cutter without knowing the skill itself was quite handy…but I'd figured I'd be able to just learn the skill itself, or something like it. And I had. Really, the most useful items—to _me_ , at least—were also the ones I didn't dare use.

Speak of which, I added Argus to my growing collection of Grimm masks with another internal sigh. There was undoubtedly a staggering amount of power there…but _damn_ was it suspicious. And dangerous. And probably a trap.

And still tempting. I liked shiny things—so sue me.

"I guess not," Adam admitted, looking at me with a glance of concern. "You okay?"

I paused in the midst of sorting through my Inventory and turned to look at my friend, surprised by the question.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, frowning slightly.

He shrugged.

"First Cinder," He began to list. "Then Atlas. Then Ozpin…I don't know. That's a lot to handle, even for you, and now things are starting—I guess I was worried you might be a little shaken up. I think anyone would be."

Adam spoke with a touch of uncertainty that I'd never heard in his voice before and I knew, even without my Empathy, that he was worried to. Which was the same as being _smart_ , in this case; we'd just confirmed the existence of at least one Rider, maybe encountered another, fought with hordes of super-Grimm, and it was all in preparation of the fight for our lives. We were unraveling a millennia old mystery and might finally be approaching the truth—but while it was said that the truth would set you free, it occurred to me that sometimes what it frees you from might be the mortal coil. The apocalypse may well have been around the corner and our actions could stop it or kick start it; there was no real way to know.

Being a little worried about things made sense—and it didn't escape my notice that most of those concerns were mine.

For a moment, I thought about saying something casually insulting and smugly reassuring, backhandedly reminding Adam of my strength and telling him that there was nothing to worry about while also turning this conversation towards friendly, dickish banter. I was pretty good at that; one of the advantages of having so much time to thing.

But I didn't.

"I met Blake," I said instead. "She's at Beacon now."

Adam stilled for a long moment. His mouth opened as if to speak, but he couldn't seem to force out the words, and after a moment he closed it and pursed his lips.

"Oh?" He whispered at last.

I nodded, respectfully giving no sign of noticing his reaction, even though we both knew that was bullshit.

"I told her I'd tell you she was doing well, if I saw you again," I continued. "And she is. She's happy there, in her own way. She's on a team with Ruby, Yang, and Weiss Schnee. I have to admit, that surprised me a bit."

"Yeah," Adam said, giving a jerky nod. "Did you…does she know?"

"I didn't tell her," I answered before bobbing my head to the side. "Not really, anyway. But I didn't lie. I was…not worried, exactly, but…"

"Yeah," Adam said again. "Yeah."

"I told her enough that she probably knew on some level that somethings going on," I admitted. "Even if she chose to believe there wasn't. And I think that's what made me sure that she was happy where she was. I'd worried that with her background…well, that maybe things hadn't turned out quite the way she'd hoped. If she'd wanted to come back, I'd…"

I shook my head, looking down for a moment.

"I'm not sure what I'd have done," I mused. "I wasn't asking for her help, really. What we were doing now, where we're headed…we'd just be putting her in danger. She's better off with her friends and when she didn't accept, I felt relieved. But still…"

"I get it," He said, leaning his head back against the backboard of his bed. "I…yeah. I'm glad. That she's happy and…and safe. I could never give her either of those things, not really. She'd always dreamed of a world I could never even believe in. But she was still…I've looked after her since she was a kid, for God's sake."

I nodded.

"I'm worried," I told him. "About what's happened…and going to happen. I guess seeing her again made me think about it a bit. For a moment, I thought that it wouldn't make a difference if she came along or not; Blake, my sisters, everyone—they're all involved in this, even if they don't know it. The fact that they aren't a part of our group won't cause Malkuth show them any mercy, much less any of the Grimm. And yet I was still glad she didn't…and still worried."

I smiled for a moment, pausing to shrug.

"I guess…" I continued. "Now that we're going to face Jericho Falls and…not necessarily strike against them, but _do_ something…I'm expecting a response and I'm a little worried it'll be more than I can handle. That I could mess it up now, after everything."

Adam was silent for a long moment before replying.

"A little?" He asked.

At that, my smile widened again, easing slightly.

"Just a tiny bit," I said with a perfectly straight face. "I _am_ pretty awesome, after all. It'll probably be fine."

" _We're_ pretty awesome," Adam corrected, shrugging easily. I could tell he felt, if not exactly reassured, then at least at ease now. "And yeah, we'll manage. I mean, we can't let that asshole win, right?"

"Fuck no," I replied. "If nothing else, we have to win simply to throw it in Malkuth's smug prick face. And damn but I can't let him kill me again—that'd just be embarrassing. I mean, kill me once? Shame on you. But kill me _twice_? Shame on _me_."

"That's the spirit," Adam drawled. "So what did you have in mind, Jaune? Because those guys aren't going to kick _themselves_ in the dick."

I smiled at that and inclined my head.

"Right now, I've mainly just been plotting out the basics," I admitted. "I'm fairly confident that everything will go to hell in short order, so I'm limiting it to things I can control. Say that this is Jericho Falls."

I gestured with a hand, conjuring an image of some ruins. Needless to say, I'd never seen Jericho Falls myself and only had what few photographs people had survived long enough to take, but that didn't matter at this point—and, if things went as I figured they would, I was fairly doubtful the architecture would survive long enough for in-depth knowledge of the floor plans to be useful. As such, I just used my imagination to fill in the blanks, along with details stolen from other ruins I'd seen, but didn't bother overdoing it. I did, however, add a multitude of dark spots indicating the hordes of Grimm in and around the structure.

"It's hard to say anything for sure yet, seeing how little we know," I continued. "But once we approach, I'll scan the area for anything important. From what we _do_ know, however, we aren't after anything on _this_ side of things—we're after what in the dimensional barrier, which makes things simplier."

I made a copy of the ruins and changed the background to that of a city, removing all the Grimm in the process. Adam glanced it over and then raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" He asked.

"Because it means I don't give a fuck about any of this shit," I answered cheerfully, waving a hand through the first image. "Unless it turns out that the barrier is tied to something on this side or that there's something else in the ruins we care about? Screw it—I'll drop a Brahmastra on it as an opening move."

I replaced the first illusion with one of a massive explosion, sticking as closely as I could to the one I'd witnessed earlier, minus the blinding light. This time, I _did_ go into detail, illustrating how the ruins were consumed and eradicated in an explosion of horrifying glory. Why? Because it made me happy.

"Kill them all and let God sort them out?" Adam mused.

"Damn straight," I replied. "With any luck, Brahmastra will clear out most of the riffraff and hurt the big guys enough to make them easier pickings. I'm extremely doubtful that it'll work on _all_ of them, even if I have a week to improve it and it naturally levels up fast—but still. Most of these guys should be gone and whatever order or hierarchy is in place will hopefully be disrupted. I'll pick off who I can as we approach, as well, which will hopefully do something to thin the herd."

"Reducing an army of ravenous murder machines to a handful of really, really badass murder machines," Adam noted, frowning slightly. "I take it we'll need to kick their teeth in if we want to get inside?"

"Pretty much," I confirmed. "We might be able to get past them, but frankly, after Conquest? I'd be more surprised if they _couldn't_ follow us in. I'm willing to bet that the only reason everything inside the barrier remains is because the Grimm can't afford to break it. I thought of using that against them and maybe drawing the fight inside to force them to hold back, but—"

"But we'd need to hold back, too," Adam interrupted me with a nod. "That's the downside of trying to use a hostage like that—sure, they can't afford to endanger it, but neither can we."

"Exactly," I agreed. "With no idea what we're up against, I can't gamble like that—and if something _were_ to happen to it, even accidentally, I have a feeling it would end badly. Malkuth's been playing softball because he still needs me alive for something; if I ruin any chance of me _actually_ doing that, I expect my net worth might depreciate and that I'm likely to get a bunch of very unpleasant visitors. I'm not sure if the rest of the world would enjoy it, either."

"We break the computer, they break us," He summed up. "Simple enough—as long as the barrier doesn't break. You sure that won't be an issue?"

"Pretty sure," I nodded. "I'm almost certain that it's a dimensional barrier like Naraka, which means it's not a barrier like a shield that can break from damage alone—it's more like…it's really hard to explain, honestly; most of the principles don't translate very well. But it's more like the separation of one moment and the next, but with space instead of time. Or space _and_ time, really. And honestly, it's less like creating a barrier to keep anything out and more like making one to keep us in. Or separated. Or ahead. It's complicated; the point is that it shouldn't break."

"Then we should be able to go all out," Adam murmured, shifting to get a better look at the illusion. As it was now, it was fairly simple—a blasted wasteland with colored dots on it. "Of course they will be able to as well, which could be an issue if they're as strong as…well, let's face it, as strong as we all think they're going to be."

"Mhm," I agreed. "And at the center of it all, I suspect there'll be Gilgamesh. And he's probably going to be the worst thing we've ever faced. Possibly by a lot. The way things seem to be going, if his level was in the two hundreds, I wouldn't be surprised."

Adam grunted at that, considering the map as he imagined the fight progressing.

"You think you can take him?" He asked.

I took a slow breath and considered it. I had my fair share of advantages, even with the odds stacked against me. A few trump cards, a few secrets, a few tricks—and even with all that, I couldn't be sure of anything. But…

"I'll handle it," I said firmly, resolving myself to make it true.

Adam nodded sharply.

"Then I take it you want us to run interference and deal with whatever assholes didn't have the good grace to fuck off and die?" Adam guessed.

"I'll try to take out as many as I can," I said. "After taking a hit from the Brahmastra, they should all be at least a little weakened and trust me when I say that thing can throw you for a loop. But after Gilgamesh appears—which I'm betting will be quickly—I don't know how much support I'll be able to provide. If I'm lucky, I might have chances to line up a few shots or kill those who happened to get too close. But if I'm not…I might be busy doing all I can just to stay a step ahead."

Or alive. But that didn't really need to be said.

"Think you can take them?" I returned his question after a moment of silence and he raised another eyebrow.

"I'll handle it," He assured calmly.

I smiled at that, though it felt a little forced. He was calm, though, and seemed certain about what he was doing—which surprised me more than anything else, because I was plenty fucking worried.

"You've got a plan?" I asked him.

He grunted and shrugged.

"Making a plan with so many unknowns sounds like a pain in the ass," He stated. "I'll just do what I always do."

"What's that?" I asked, holding back all of the witty remarks that sprang to mind. This was serious, _he_ was serious, and so I would be, too.

Adam looked at me for a moment and then huffed out a laugh, giving me a very small but sincere smile.

"I'll just do my part and believe in your strength," He stated, before shaking his head self-deprecatingly. "I've been doing that for a while now, but…I figure you'll make ends meet, like you always do. So I'll just fight with everything I've got and make sure I don't mess things up for you. So kill that asshole quickly, okay?"

"…Got it," I answered confidently. "Just hold out as long as you can."

Adam shrugged and smirked.

"Don't worry about me too much," He said. "I've got some stuff I've been saving for a rainy day—some gifts from Raven."

I glanced down to his side, looking at where Wilt and Blush hung beside the sword I'd given him.

"I see," I answered. "I was going to talk to Raven about her blades, anyway—if there was ever a time to go wild with Dust, I'd say it's now."

"Seems like it," Adam agreed with a drawl. "And I've still got some points to spend. I'll see what else I can come up with in a week."

"Yeah," I said. "I've got a few points of my own, as well. We don't have a lot of time left now, but still, it should be enough to make a difference. And once we've got everything set, we'll go in and annihilate everything that gets in our way. I go in, take everything I can, and hopefully figure out the next step to hitting all of our enemies where it hurts. Then we leave behind a smoldering ruin to tell them all to go fuck themselves."

"And then we celebrate," Adam said. "Drinks are on you."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Recourse**

I took several slow breaths, calming and centering myself. Given what I knew was ahead of me, I wasn't even pretending to pay attention to the teacher's voice, not that I ever did—as per usual, I had more important things to do.

Truthfully, I'd heavily considered blowing off classes altogether to continue grinding, but several things had stopped me. The first and simplest was the simple fact that I didn't want to draw too much attention from Cinder. While it wasn't uncommon for a student to blow off classes and I could easily come up with an excuse or make them up, that was only in _normal_ cases.

Needless to say, normal I was not—and now Cinder knew it. While I didn't regret 'outing' myself as Keter, seeing as the only real alternative had been a horrific death, the fact remained that it was a choice I was going to have to live with. Even though she didn't know the details, Cinder was now well aware that I was important and was actively keeping an eye on me, which meant that she and her minions were watching me like hawks whenever the opportunity presented itself, often in the form of spending more time with me.

To an outside party, it must have seemed like our team had come together. While it wasn't anything major—at least, as far as the rest of the school knew—team JAME had become well known for its fractured nature. We hadn't really hung out without another when we hadn't needed to, after all, which teams were generally expected to do; Emerald and Mercury spent time with Cinder or doing other minion things, while Adam and I did…whatever I happened to feel like on a given day, before promptly vanishing off to parts unknown.

Now though, Emerald and Mercury had decided to spend more time with us whenever the opportunity presented itself, sitting with us at lunch or following us around after classes. Seeing as we were a team, that type of behavior was all but expected, but it was pretty damn obvious they were doing it because Cinder had told them to.

Sadly, it wasn't something easily resolved, either—or rather, any short term solutions were practically bound to cause long term problems. I could shake Emerald and Mercury easily enough, fool them with an illusion, or even just hospitalize them for a while, but that wouldn't truly _solve_ anything. It would have been easy to do, but if I wanted to go do anything _useful_ , it was bound to be seen through. If I disappeared, they'd know; I couldn't maintain my illusions while in another dimension, so training with Naraka was out, and while I could create the illusions at long range was simple for me, it wasn't something I could do from another _continent_. Even across the city would be a little tough, simply because I'd need to constantly monitor it. And while beating them up was not without its perks—the entertainment value, for instance, along with the peace and quiet—it would send alarm bells ringing for just about everyone.

Whatever I did, word was bound to get back to Cinder in short order, and I suspected her reaction to the sudden disappearance of her greatest enemy would be…well, something I didn't want to deal with. While she couldn't know I knew who she was, she probably suspected it, and even my nightly disappearances had begun to worry her. I'd been playing it off as if nothing had changed, but that meant sticking to the routine.

It was a pain in the ass, but frankly, I'd rather face Gilgamesh than Cinder and beating the former to come back to the latter wouldn't exactly improve my position. I'd just have to keep pushing ahead as if nothing had changed and hope she didn't have a way of figuring out what I was up to.

The other reason was equally simple—namely, meditation was useful, in its own way. My rate of growth had slowed as quickly as I had anticipated, which meant that there was a definite limit to how much I could improve before we reached Jericho Falls, unless we ventured significantly deeper into the continent of Grimm. While that was, of course, tempting, I had to bear in mind that the dangers would also increase and not necessarily at the same rate as my power. There were risks to going too far into that place and I had to measure them carefully against the rewards.

In my current state, I could essentially measure the improvement to my stats in batches of fifty points—that is, I needed to gain ten levels to reach the next benchmark. While in a certain sense _any_ improvement was important, I had to consider the amount of time required to make proper gains. Although raising a stat from 100 to 105 would indeed make me better in whatever way I chose, it would be a fairly minor improvement on the level I was currently operating at; even fifty points may not be enough to make dividends. I needed the skills tied to my stats if I wanted to make a difference.

I had to keep that in mind. Currently, I only needed seven more levels to reach the next benchmark, but I'd need seventeen to reach the one after that—and if I only got sixteen in the next week, then the time needed to get nine of them would be wasted. Well, maybe not quite; there was a fairly high possibility I'd level up fighting the enemies at Jericho Falls, after all. But the general idea remained. I needed to manage my time wisely and leveling up posed issues, long term.

Not right _now_ , of course. Even if killing an enemy with a level in the high one hundreds wasn't enough to gain me a level on its own any more, I could always just kill several. It was just that with each level, the number I'd need to kill wouldn't itself rise, or else I would need to defeat stronger enemies and venture deeper into the badlands.

That wouldn't be a major issue…if not for the fact that my offensive ability was no long prone to making sudden absurd leaps at each benchmark. Before, I'd focused on INT and WIS, the skills most directly tied to the strength of my MP and the skills that required it. INT especially was the skill that determined the natural power of most of my skills, even before accounting for the skills I'd gotten for raising it. In addition to improving the amount of MP I had and how quickly I regenerated it, my INT and WIS skills had opened up a plethora of options for me at each benchmark, and with every ten levels, my power effectively skyrocketed. I learned to bypass charge times, improved the strength and versatility of my Elementals, and answered a wide variety of problems. Truthfully, my INT and WIS had determined my ability to deal damage far more than my Strength.

And now they'd both reached their effective peak. Now, it was time to focus on my physical stats which, of course, had uses of their own. Strength would improve the damage of any of my physical attacks, which I'd be able to further bolster with my various skills. Dexterity would allow me to both attack and move faster, which was something I'd long relied on. And Vitality, of course, would make me harder to kill. All of those things were useful.

Just not as useful as INT and WIS had been. With each of those, I could attack, defend, heal, move, and more, all based on a single stat— _and_ I could do things that were impossible to accomplish with the body alone. They weren't amazing because they gave me the keys to ultimate power, though one could argue they'd done that as well; rather, they'd given me broad arrays of very useful options. While all my physical stats were also important and, in time, I was sure they'd reach amazing heights…at their current level, my gains were bound to be relatively marginal. I could punch people harder…but I could already blow up cities. I could attack faster…when I could make a legion of Psychokinetic spheres that poured out death at the slightest thought. I could grow tougher…when I'd already made my skin the strongest material in the world.

The improvements were still important and they'd grow with time, but I couldn't rely on sudden extreme increases in power now. If I ventured too far into the lands of Grimm, it was quite possible I'd bite off more than I could chew, because I wasn't making a massive leap forward at regular intervals; instead, I had to rely on relatively slower paths to power, namely my skills. When they ranked up or I combined them, that also gave me strength…but that _also_ took time.

Time. The one thing I was actually running out of.

Which just meant that I needed to be cautious in how I spent it. Leveling up was important, grinding was important, and _this_ was important.

Because I'd made my choice. And of my physical stats, I knew which would be of the most use.

It was simple, really. While none of my choices were quite as desirable as Intelligence and Wisdom had been—which was only natural, or else I would have raised _them_ instead—it was simply a matter of breaking down which would be of the _most_ use to me through process of elimination. I'd considered Luck briefly, but discarded it for the same reasons I usually did; it just wasn't worth it at this point. Because it was so low, improving it by fifty points would only net me a single bonus skill, whereas raising any of my physical abilities would grant me _five_. Even if I could grind my Luck to over fifty in a week without spending any points, which would be difficult even with my experience boosts simply because I couldn't Accelerate the process but not necessarily _impossible_ , raising it over a hundred would only grant me three skills for a total of four, which was still lower than what I'd get from any of my physicals and its effects were too uncertain to truly rely upon in a life or death situation regardless. Given the choice, I'd prefer something I _knew_ would work over something that could potentially fail.

From the very beginning, it was only a choice between my physical stats. I couldn't go into this halfcocked or waste what few chances I had—I had to give it my all and make sure I knew what I was doing.

For that reason, I discarded Strength almost as quickly as Luck, simply because its use to me was by far the most limited. There was no way to be truly sure of what kind of skills I'd get from raising my stats, but they were at least tied to the stats in question and everything Strength did for me on its own, I had already found elsewhere.

The fact of the matter was that Strength was probably the least versatile of my stats on its own. Its primary function was to improve the damage I could deal with physical attacks—and that was very important, in its own way, just…not so much for _me_. Being able to put the hurt on an opponent was vital in a fight, but for all that I'd mastered an ancient martial arts style, I was really more of a wizard than a warrior, and when it came to raw damage potential, it went without saying that a three hundred in INT and WIS was probably going to trump a hundred and fifty in Strength.

Even beyond that, physical attacks were, pound for pound, weaker than magical ones—with the tradeoff being that the latter costed significantly more MP than the former, when physical attacks cost anything at all. My various Strike abilities were fairly cheap and easy to use and punching someone in the face was free, except for maybe a minor cost to Stamina. Broadly speaking, someone who focused on magical attacks should run out of power significantly faster than someone who stuck to physical ones, barring rare exceptions.

Needless to say, I was a rare exception. For about a hundred different reasons, both my MP and my MP regeneration were through the roof, allowing me to go from zero to full in a matter of seconds—and I had both skills and items to supplement that. While there was still the risk of exhausting myself in a fight against a truly dangerous foe, simply because I could scale my output to my input, the number of ways that I could restore my power meant that it wasn't a worthwhile enough concern to spend fifty points over.

And honestly, even if that hadn't been true, I still would probably have favored MP attacks over physical ones. Being able to theoretically fight for hours meant nothing if you died in minutes; while physical attacks had the advantage of stability, magical ones could hit outside their weight class, even if it was costly. I didn't mind if my MP vanished in a matter of seconds, so long as everything I happened to be aiming at _also_ vanished.

The other main benefits of Strength didn't hold much to me, either. Things like being able to jump really far were rendered somewhat obsolete by flight and teleportation, while lifting capacity faltered in the face of my Psychokinesis. Besides which, thanks to my Inventory, I was free to travel lightly and with far more weight than I'd ever be able to carry naturally. Supplemented by skills that improved those things anyway…

No. It just wasn't worth it.

That narrowed it down to Dexterity and Vitality, which was a tougher choice. In the case of Dexterity, I had a lot of skills that allowed me to move faster…but most of them were calculated using my base speed, so even minor improvements on that front would have major results. Further, where physical attacks were rendered somewhat obsolete by my MP, having more speed was always useful. If you could moving too fast to hit or hit an opponent significantly more than he hit you, that was a huge advantage. Granted, the improvements to physical attack speed didn't matter as much when I could conjure up a hundred spears of burning power, but still. I'd won a _lot_ of fights because of my speed.

On the other hand, I had Vitality, which was much the same case. Yes, I had layers and layers of personal defenses and healing abilities…but I could always use _more_. It had also provided the most useful batch of skills last time I'd reached a benchmark for my physical abilities, with Second Chance along being more than worth the price of admission. Further, it added to my HP—and, thus, my MP—directly, which was another thing I could always use more of. It played directly to my strengths.

It was a tough choice, but in the end, that was what decided it for me. Having more MP and MP regen meant having more options—it meant I could hit harder, move faster, protect myself and my friends better, and _more_. Having that breadth was better than having speed alone, even if it was tempting to go faster and faster.

And besides, I had to look at the big picture. While I was confident that Malkuth wouldn't kill me before I got whatever it was he wanted, what about _afterwards_? It wasn't just the attack on Jericho Falls I needed to worry about, but also the potential aftermath. If we were attacked seriously, it was quite possible we wouldn't have a chance at victory—that we'd be faced with something we had no chance of defeating. At that time, running would be the natural choice, but there were two problems. The first was, of course, the possibility that we might be faced with something that I couldn't outrun, in which case I was fucked. The second, however, was more important.

I couldn't escape alone. If it was just me, raising my Dexterity as high as it could go and speeding away would be a good choice, but that wouldn't save Raven or Adam or Gou or Autumn. I could try to bring them along, of course, to pick them up and carry them away at high speeds, but even assuming I could do it without harming them—which was far from guaranteed when I could already casually ignite my surroundings from the sheer friction of my passage—it would slow me down. Carrying several times my mass…it went without saying that my speed would drop. If we were pursued by something that could threaten me to that extent, it was quite possible that the only way to do so would be to leave someone, perhaps even _everyone_ , behind.

And that wasn't happening. There was no point in even planning for it—I would never be able to do it.

The only acceptable way out in such a situation would be through Raven's portals. We could all escape through them and if we managed it, it could take us halfway around the world in a single step. It would second to open one, too.

Sadly, I knew better than anyone that a lot could happen in a second. Assuming the worst—which seemed fair, given everything—if someone with a speed even close to matching my own appeared, to say nothing of _surpassing_ it, then that second would get really dangerous, really fast.

And Raven would be the target. It only made sense, after all—if your enemy has only one escape route, the obvious choice would be to cut it off. Even assuming we had her waiting at a distance and observing from afar to teleport us out, there was still the issue of something _following_ us through a portal, as well. That was going to be a major issue if things got hairy enough, and one I had only a few ways of potentially dealing with. And all of them required me to be _alive_.

As such, taking the skill that directly improved my odds of survival and supplemented my strengths was the obvious choice. The _best_ choice, or so I sincerely hoped. But if nothing else, it was the only _acceptable_ choice, because I'd _actually_ die before I left my friends behind to run away alone.

In the end, it was my choice to make and I did.

 **By raising VIT above 150, you have gained two random abilities related to your exalted physical condition.**

 **The skill 'Determination' was created.**

 **The skill 'Sufferance' was created.**

 **By raising VIT above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Qigong.'**

 **By raising VIT above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Solipsism.'**

 **By raising VIT above 150, you have gained the passive skill 'Inerrant.'**

The moment I'd made my choice, I'd felt energy— _life_ —flow through me; the result of such a sudden increase in Vitality, rather than the gradual improvements I was more accustomed to. It ran a circuit through my body, shimmering through my blood and bones. I felt my body grow stronger, healthier, and _better_ , all at once.

And that was even before taking into account the skills I had learned. One in particular, I was quick to put to good use.

 **Qigong (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
Within all living things flows the power of life—the Aura of one's Soul. A spiritual existence that protects and reinforces the user, it has been the guarding light of Mankind since time immemorial. Throughout the millennia, Man has cultivated countless ways to draw closer to this light and strengthen themselves. One such method is to draw in that light and gather it within the body, connecting one's spirit more closely to their physical body. This skill represents a natural talent for that technique, born from the natural meridians within the user's body that carve out a complex pathway of channels and vessels that ease the flow of energy between body and soul, allowing for an unusual form of physical and spiritual.  
Health (HP) can be improved through meditation.  
Stamina can be improved through meditation.  
Strength can be improved through meditation.  
Dexterity can be improved through meditation.  
Vitality can be improved through meditation.  
Stamina may be consumed to temporarily increase the power of one's physical abilities.**

And so, I passed the school day in contemplative silence, true form hidden beneath an illusion as I trained.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Goodbyes**

"Hey Jaune!" A voice called out to me, making me open my eyes. It was dinner time, I noted absently, which meant I'd really spent the entire day meditating. Thanks to Pericognition, I hadn't even needed to both focusing on anything like bumping into people in the halls of accident or missing crucial details, so I'd turned the full focus of my conscious mind inwards, on guiding my power.

Qigong was an interesting skill. Since receiving it, I became aware of a strange series of pathways, just as the skill had described. Looking at it, it seemed to be like a circulatory system for 'life energy'—something I assumed to be something between my HP, MP, and Stamina. It flowed throughout my body alongside my blood, flowing in and out of it in a similar fashion as it seemed to feed and vitalize me.

It wasn't something physical, but, in an odd way, didn't feel like something that was wholly of the spirit, either. It truly did seem to connect the two somehow, with life flowing somehow outward and inward from my soul. It made me wonder if it was something that had always been there but which I hadn't been fully aware of, or if it was something I'd gained along with the skill.

I wasn't sure and there were fairly major implications for both answers. If this _was_ a part of my body and had _always_ been there, then it explained a few things though, like the flows of power I sometimes noticed and the interactions between the patterns of woven dust, their positions on the body, and the resulting effects. Given that, I suspected it was something that had always been a part of me, if invisibly so, and that Qigong had simply…unclogged my arteries, in a way.

Or at least some of them. After carefully examining this new part of my spiritual body, I counted a total of eight 'vessels,' twelve 'pathways,' and nearly seven hundred 'openings.' Energy was gathered and stored within the vessels, flowed along the paths, and circulated in and out of the openings like blood through capillaries. Not all the points were actually open, however, nor did any of the vessels and pathways seem like they were being fully utilized or developed, and so it was difficult to make the energy flow properly—but as I improved the skill level, the process eased and new areas opened. Each time, it was like filling my lungs anew and I could feel my body strengthening.

It was an interesting, amazing, and—most importantly of all— _useful_ process to observe and I'd have gladly done so for days, knowing the benefits I could incur. A part of me, larger than I would like to admit, wanted to just brush off the interrupting voice and get back to it; I mean, really, I was trying to prepare myself to save the _world_. I felt like that should give me a free pass to ignore any and all distractions.

But I held back the urge because I recognized the voice.

"Neptune?" I asked. I was sitting at a table with the rest of my team—by which I meant Adam, Mercury, and Emerald. The latter two were still following me around, which must have been outrageously boring for them, the poor bastards. I'd rattled off some brief excuse about mental training and had utterly ignored them since. Their report back to Cinder was going to be fair dull, I suspected, and I could feel occasional spikes of irritation roll off of them even while I meditated.

Their weakness gave me strength.

"Do you have a minute?" Neptune asked as he hurried over to our table. "I need to ask you about something."

I looked at him for a moment and then shrugged, nodding his way. To be honest, I was a bit curious about what he wanted from me; though our brief interaction was more than enough for me to recognize his voice instantly, that was more because I had a really, really good memory rather than any indication of the time we'd spent together. After my introduction to Team SSSN on our first day, I'd gone on to make waves and had sort of secured my position among the seniors and such. I still met Sun's and Kyanos's teams regularly and was on friendly enough terms with them, but it wasn't like we really hung out much. Most of our time together was spent in the classroom and Neptune had never approached me individually—especially not with feelings of worry.

"Sure, go ahead," I answered. "What do you need?"

"Have you seen Sun around anywhere?" He asked me, eyebrows furrowing. "We haven't been able to find him anywhere yet."

"Sun?" I replied, blinking as I scanned the entire school and didn't sense him anywhere. After a moment, Pericognition noted that I hadn't seen him since I came back, which wasn't unusual in and of itself; being a school full of people in their upper teens and twenties, it wasn't uncommon for students to leave Haven in pursuit of fun. It hadn't seemed particularly noteworthy, so it hadn't caused any alarm to me. "No, not since yesterday. He's missing?"

Neptune nodded.

"He left over the weekend and hasn't come back yet," Neptune said. "I'd say that's not really like him, but that would be a lie—but usually, he'd bring us a long if he was ditching."

A normal student might have commented on that, but I left every night to go kill hordes of horrific creatures with my friends and could proudly say that I'd never once listened to a teacher's lecture all the way through. Or half of the way through. Really, they were lucky if I listened at _all._ Honestly, I was kind of envious of the fact that Sun _could_ just ditch entirely, flaunting the fact that not everyone was being watched by nightmarish abominations. I want to leave too, you know…

Still, Sun was more or less a friend of mine, or at least a sort of friend of a friend, so it was worth at least looking around. I couldn't see any reason for him to be connected to it, but it _could_ even have something to do with my enemies or a sign of something to come. I made a point of not ignoring problems that arose, because I knew damn well that they didn't tend to go away; in my experience, they just used the opportunity to grow worse.

So I paused to survey the entire school closely, looking for any signs. Pericognition would have sent up the alarm if there were any signs of murder or such, but there were always things that seemed meaningless out of context. I took stock of finger prints, foot prints, and biological traces, gauging them to find the most recent and followed them out of the school. Then, I checked in on all of my enemies and anyone I thought might try to pick on a freshman, making sure they were all accounted for and making note of those who weren't. Finally, I went back through the stream of information I constantly noticed in the background but tried not to pay attention to, searching for any sign of Sun on websites, the news, and messages.

Sun had one of those first names that made searching for him a pain in the ass, but it surprisingly didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. When I did, I had to keep myself from both smiling _and_ rolling my eyes.

"Did you check your scroll?" I hinted at Neptune. "Maybe he left you a message or something."

"Sun has literally never done that," Neptune replied. "The last time I asked him to send me a message on my scroll, he stole it, tapped a note to it, and had it mailed back to me."

At that, the desire to smile won out.

"Still," I insisted. "There's a first time for everything, right?"

Neptune tilted his head to the side at that, conceding the point as he drew his scroll from his pocket and opened it. After a few seconds, he frowned.

"There's a message, but it's not from Sun," He said. "Or not from his scroll, at least. But then, it probably wouldn't be, huh?"

"Open it already," I prompted.

Neptune did and then paused, staring at the screen as he read the message I'd found earlier.

 _Sorry guys, I'm gone. There was a boat with bananas on it and I was going to steal them all and declare myself the Monkey King. Found out in the process that the ship was head for Vale or something? And I was thinking, hey, we made the cut, didn't we? And there's that test next week, isn't there? And since we've basically passed already, there's really no point in sticking around for it, so yeah, I got a free boat ride! I called you guys, but you were sleeping like losers, so you guys are gonna have to find your own boat. Meet up in Vale as soon as possible!_

 _Also, Neptune, can you do my homework? Just in case it turns out it_ does _matter. Otherwise, don't worry about it._

 _Thanks,  
The Monkey King._

 _P.S. I got my bananas. Was going to share some with you, but half of them are gone and we only just left, so that's probably not happening._

 _P.P.S. Bring more bananas._

Neptune put a hand over his face.

"Sun," He growled at last. "If there's a sea monster trying to eat you right now, I just want you to know…I wish it luck."

Then, he glanced at me as I stood to look over his shoulder at the message, for appearances sake.

"Um," He said, pausing for a moment. "Do you know where I could get a boat?"

"Can't say I do," I answered. "I try to avoid sea travel, myself—"

Mainly because a sea monster trying to eat _me_ was a sincere possibility and I had no desire to see if the legends about Jormungandr were true.

"But Kyanos might know," I continued. "Alexandria controls most of the shipping industry."

"Right," He said. "Thanks. Um, sorry about…this."

"No problem," I assured. "So, you guys made the cut?"

"Yeah," Neptune answered proudly. "Was tough, but they just told us this weekend. I'm kind of nervous, to be honest—I mean, there are some big names on that list and that's just here at Haven. But we've got to try our best, right?"

"That's right," I replied, smiling at him.

"But, uh…you'll take it easy on us, right?" Neptune asked, looking a bit nervous again. He didn't usually act that way on the outside, so he must really be worried about the tournament. "If we end up having to fight each other?"

I smiled at him.

"Sure," I said. "But you'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"You think so?" He wondered, eyebrows furrowing.

I nodded, looking at the words above his head and those of his remaining teammates.

 **The Mountain Thrower  
LV59  
Sage Agathiyar**

 **The Crowned and Mirrored Flower  
LV58  
Scarlet Nastenka**

 **Who Dashes Against the Stones  
LV57  
Neptune Vasilias **

"Yeah," I said. "You should do okay as long as you don't get unlucky—and you have a few more months to train, anyway. I'm sure they have something in mind for the match ups, anyway."

It was true. At least amongst the Freshman teams, at least, team SSSN would probably do fine, so long as they didn't get a bad match up. Or me.

I wondered absently how the people in charge would handle massive outliers.

"Right," Neptune nodded as if to reassure himself. "Thanks again, man. Do you know where Kyanos is?"

"He should be here in just a minute," I answered. "Why don't you take a seat?"

Neptune did and, sure enough, Kyanos and his team arrived less than sixty seconds later, walking in through the doors of the dining hall. Neptune was quick to wave them down, drawing them over to our table, and I gave them a cursory glance as they approached.

 **The Seventeenth Scourge  
LV 60  
Ulaan Khagan**

 **The Glinting Helm and Driving Spear  
LV 57  
Kyanos Alexandria**

 **Nymph's Shadow  
LV 54  
Melania Delphos**

 **The Arrested Destiny  
LV 60  
Itri Barca**

"Hey guys," Kyanos said as they drew near. "What's up?"

"It's, uh…" Neptune paused and fround, evidently floundering as he searched for the words to describe his situation.

"Perhaps it'd be better if you saw it for yourself," I suggested, gesturing absently at Neptune's scroll. "It's about Sun."

"Sun?" Kyanos repeated, blinking as he accepted the device from Neptune. "Come to think of it, I didn't see him in class. What's wrong with…"

He trailed off as his eyes quickly scanned over Sun's message, blinking quickly as his mouth dropped open slightly.

"Oh," He said at last.

"Oh is right," I agreed, still smiling.

Kyanos seemed to ponder the screen for a moment before pursing his lips and shaking his head.

"Well, that's one way to get out of the end of the semester assessment," He decided. "I can't say I don't empathize a little bit—I mean, a two hour exam that doesn't count for our grade?"

"It's important for the teachers," Neptune defended. "Gives them a better idea of how much we've improved and what we need to work on."

"I guess," Kyanos replied, shrugging. "But isn't that what all those practice spars have been for? Really, it just seems like a waste of time and it's not like the results are going to be posted—at least then we could use it as a dick measuring contest and compete with each other. But wasting two hours so the teachers can double check their notes? My motivation is dwindling already."

"Dick measuring contest?" Melania asked, making a face at her friend and team leader. "Really, Kyanos?"

"Don't worry about it, Melania," He replied without even looking her way. "I'm sure your metaphorical lady penis would have been duly impressive."

Melania kicked him in the shin.

"What about you, Jaune?" Kyanos asked, ignoring the blow. "Yea or nay?"

"I don't really care," I admitted. "I'll probably just do something impressive at the very beginning and then leave; if they want more than that, they can call my grandmother and have her direct them towards someone who cares. It's not like it's a huge issue for me."

"True," Kyanos answered. "You would probably be at the top of the dick chart."

"Enough penises," Melania cut in with a sigh as I tilted my head towards her friend. "Good God but I didn't realize being the only girl on a team would be this hard."

"Speaking of hardness—" Kyanos picked up without missing a beat only to briefly falter as Melania leaned back and kicked him in the ass hard enough to send him staggering into the edge of the table. He recovered quickly, though, raising his hands in concession. "I was just going to ask Neptune what he was going to do with a teammate missing, jeez. Why are you so violent today?"

"I woke up and you three were the first thing I saw," She answered scathingly, glaring at her three teammates. Itri and Ulaan had slightly glazed looks in their eyes, giving away the fact that they weren't even bothering to pay attention to what was by now a common argument. "Take your clothes to the shower if you want to get dressed, idiots."

"Why?" He asked. "It's our room."

"It's my room, too," She answered, tone unchanged. "Did you ever consider maybe I don't _want_ to watch you get undressed?"

Kyanos shook his head.

"Nope," He answered. "Not even once. I mean, even I struggle to keep my hands off myself."

"I'm sure you do," Melanie shot back with an annoyed snort.

"Oh," Ulaan muttered mildly, still staring blankly into space. "It's funny because of the implication that you touch yourself."

Kyanos didn't seem even vaguely offended.

"This is why you keep losing to me in spear fights, Ulaan," He noted. "You can't just hope to win with just quick thrusts—you've got to control the movement, man. You need more experience."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ulaan answered dryly as Melania pinched the bridge of her nose.

Kyanos glanced towards her and shrugged, still smiling.

"I'm not sure what you want me to do," He said. "We share changing rooms, too. Haven's not much on boundaries between teammates. Or genders. Or anything else, really."

"Yeah, but why is it that when I open my eyes, the first thing I see is your ass in my face?" She replied with a scowl.

"You should wake up earlier," Itri cut in, sounding similarly bored. "That's what I did when I learned the cost of beauty sleep in a shared room."

I cleared my throat as Neptune's brow became increasingly furrowed.

He didn't look particularly surprised, however. One might hope that conversations concerning unplanned voyeurism and nudity would be in short supply at a school meant to train the future defenders of Mankind, but one would be wrong.

"Guys," I cut in, rolling my eyes at them. "Bringing this conversation back above the belt, Neptune needs help."

"Right," Kyanos said, smoothly shifting tracks. "What do you need, Neptune?"

"A boat or something," Neptune answered with a sigh. "Like it or not, he's my friend—I can't let him do something stupid without me."

"I'm not sure that's how that's supposed to work," Melania noted with a frown.

"No, it's pretty much how it works," Adam replied.

"And I'm the guy with the boats," Kyanos answered with a nod, ignoring them both. "I see. Yeah, it wouldn't be too hard to just get you a place on the next ship out or something—and Mrs. Nikos would probably be up for a chance to visit her daughter in Vale, given half an excuse. Did you know she used to be a pirate?"

"She wasn't a pirate," Melania insisted.

"She was kind of a pirate," Kyanos disagreed. "Just, government sponsored and such."

"A privateer," Ulaan supplied.

"Yeah, that," He agreed. "But pirate sounds cooler. Anyway, she could take us. It might be faster to just take an airship, though."

Neptune raised his eyebrow even higher.

"Us?" He asked.

"If your whole team gets to skip class, then so do we," Kyanos stated firmly. "Ulaan, Itri?"

The two of them frowned for a long moment, exchanged a look, and then nodded.

"Jaune?" He asked, turning to me next. "Up for abusing your family connections with us? I'm sure we can arrange leaving early."

"Mm," I hummed, amused but noncommittal. Still, there was an opportunity here that was worth considering. "Let me go talk to my grandmother and I'll see what I can do."

"Jaune?" Adam asked, no doubt sensing that I was up to something.

"They're right," I said. "There's not much point in sticking around if we don't have to and we've finished most of the important stuff already. I'm sure we could arrange to finish up everything that's actually important in the meantime and then we can all head over to Vale—it could be like a vacation. We can use it to train some more before the tournament, too."

"And scope out the competition," Itri noted.

"And have fun in Vale," Kyanos stated cheerfully. "I know that some students would be arriving by now, anyway; Haven just likes to wait until the break for whatever reason."

"Maybe to keep from interfering with our studies?" Neptune suggested.

There was a collective snort.

"The last month has been nothing but preparing us for the tournament," Kyanos said. "Everything else was busy work at _best_. Jaune?"

I shrugged. To be honest, I'd noticed that the work I was being given was fairly easy, even by normal standards. No one had tried to train me, though—whether because of something Grandmother had said or because they honestly didn't think I needed the help, I wasn't sure. Either way, it didn't much matter.

"That's what I thought," Kyanos mused. "After this is over, they'll probably work our asses off, but they want us to look good for the tournament more than they want us to learn stuff we can just make up later. Between the four of us, I'm betting we can work something out."

I nodded in agreement again. Truthfully, it didn't make much difference to me one way or the other, so long as it didn't interfere with my plans, but this seemed like a good chance to move without drawing suspicion.

First things first, it was time to pay Grandmother a visit.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Family Time**

"Hm," Grandmother mused as she looked up from the work on her desk, frowning as I appeared before her. "Somehow, I thought I'd be seeing you soon, Jaune."

I nodded at her, taking a seat as I looked her over carefully. When I thought about it, it hadn't been very long since we'd seen each other face to face—at least, not very long in normal time. Within the bounds of my Accelerated perspective, it had been significantly longer.

Either way, a lot of things had changed since the last time we met.

 **The Wolves That Hunt the Moon and Sun  
LV 164  
Jeanne Roma**

"It's good to see you again, Grandmother," I replied. "Sadly, it's most business."

Grandmother narrowed her eyes at me speculatively.

"I suppose that can't be helped, under the circumstances," She said at last, closing several windows on her holographic screen before giving me her full attention. "So it's time, then?"

"It is," I said with a nod before explaining the basics—Cinder's official strategy, some of my observations and speculations on the subject, that sort of thing. I'd sent her a fair number of emails over the past few weeks to keep her abreast of the situation should it suddenly deteriorate, so it wasn't difficult; I was most just filling in the gaps and bringing her roughly up to speed on the subject of Cinder.

By the time I was done, my grandmother was frowning as she considered my words. I could tell that she was worried, but also trying to figure out how to best use this information to her advantage.

"The Vytal Festival," She whispered to herself, sighing slightly. "I supposed that's not unexpected. But…to think we underestimated her to such an extent…it's quite fortunate we didn't attempt any of our earlier plans for dealing with her."

"Mm," I agreed. "Observation was definitely the right choice—we'd have regretted trying anything else. Hopefully briefly."

"Indeed," She said. "You did well to talk yourself out of that situation and withdraw Jaune. You did even better by making the allies you did. Despite the potential threats they pose, a great many things will be simplified by Ozpin's and Ironwood's aid."

"I hope so," I replied. "But even with everything stacked in our favor, I'm wary of approaching her directly—as was Ozpin. She's moving carefully at the moment, but that doesn't mean she couldn't go through us as easily as around. We'll need to handle her with care."

"If nothing else, it is someone gladdening to know she will soon be in Vale," Grandmother continued. "If nothing else, the odds will be most against her while she's at Beacon. Ozpin's school is a fortress and there are few who would dare challenge him there."

"Plus, you'll be a continent away from ground zero when the bomb finally goes off," I remarked. "Not gonna lie, I kind of envy that—I'm pretty sure I'll be standing right under it, myself."

"Battle, as with business, is all about location, location, location," Grandmother replied, expression serene. After a moment, however, her smile vanished. "Although, actually, I'd considered coming to watch you in the tournament, along with your mother and sisters."

I looked back at her for a long moment, holding her gaze—and then smiled.

"You might want to take a vacation somewhere sunny, instead," I told her. "I went across the Sea of Monsters, recently—the other side is pretty gorgeous. The Grimm have a tendency to ruin the view, but it's still a nice place, and it might be a safer place to live than Vale, if things go particularly wrong."

"Jaune," She began, but I cut her off.

"I know," I said, smile dwindling but not fading completely. "And I appreciate it, really. But, you know…things are going to get a lot worse before they even have a chance of getting better. Odds are, everyone involved has a pretty good chance of dying when things finally get serious and the Grimm start playing hardball. I know it's the type of situation where I really need all the help I can get, but…"

I shrugged a shoulder and kept smiling.

"I'll make do somehow, I guess," I said. "Even if it's a possibility, I don't have any intention of getting myself killed, so I don't want any of you to think of heroic sacrifices either. You're the one who told me I had to stay alive, right?"

"I told you to pick your battles," She corrected firmly. "And not to risk your left pointlessly or for nothing. In Remnant, there are as many ways to die as there are stars in the sky and most of those deaths amount to nothing. If you're going to die, then you should at least make sure your death makes a difference—the world isn't so kind as to guarantee you success just because you put your line on the line. If you're going to get yourself killed doing something, make sure it's worth it and at least do it right. Life is full of enough regrets and misfortunes without dying pathetically, too."

"I know," I answered. "I've got a lot of things to do before I die, after all—and if it turns out I _am_ going to die soon, there are a few guys I at least have to drag down to hell with me. Until then…I'll manage. Trust me, I'm not above running away from danger. But with the stakes as they are, I can't back down."

"Saving the world is a fairly good reason to risk one's life, as these things go," She noted. "Assuming you can pull it off, of course."

"I have a few things in mind," I replied. "That's part of why I wanted to talk to you today. But I admit it's still a work in progress—that's why I'm still here, after all, and not kicking their asses."

She nodded once at that.

"I'm glad," She said. "When you first told me about what you'd done, I was worried about you—and for you. Risking your life over so many things, getting tied up in growing danger when you could have avoided it. It wasn't the presence of danger that bothered me, but why you faced it."

"For my friends?" I asked, even though I knew that wasn't why. I was fairly sure I knew where she was going with this. Sadly, I wasn't entirely sure she was wrong.

She squinted at me for a moment.

"Was that why you did it?" She asked me. "Truly. I admit, I never had a normal childhood and the friends I made were every bit as odd as I was, but unless I'm mistaken, there are ways to support one's friends without stealing airships, aiding terrorist organizations, and snubbing powerful businesses and militaries."

I smiled a bit at that and shrugged.

"I suppose that's true," I said. "Though I have some fairly odd friends."

"Granted," She allowed. "But that wasn't the healthiest of behaviors, especially for a Hunter. Being willing to die for the people one cares about is fine—so long as it's also necessary. I told you before that lives are precious and should be treasured and valued, and when you die, you also leave people behind. If you're going to give your life for something, make sure to sell it highly."

I tilted my head slightly, watching here.

"What would you sell it for?" I asked her after a moment. "If you had to?"

She shrugged slightly.

"I can't say I ever considered giving my life to save the world," She admitted. "In my experience, it usually doesn't work out like that—and truly, the world has never really been something I could grasp. If I were fighting to the death and the world was on the line, I would most likely keep fighting for some of the people within it, because if I died, I wouldn't be thinking of millions of people as I did so. I'd think of your mother. Your sisters. You. My family and the Family. I can't value _everything_ in this world."

"Yeah," I said, chuckling slightly. "I suppose not. But I don't think that's _bad_ , per se. Everyone has their own reasons for fighting, when you get down to it."

"And what's your reason, Jaune?" She asked. "Before, you said it was because you had to. Has that it changed?"

"A bit," I replied. "I do still feel obligated to stop Malkuth and the Grimm, because of the part I played in all this. Then there's a big chunk of me that just knows it's him or me. And, I admit, another part of me just hates the bastard and wants him dead. But the rest…I guess my reason is a lot like yours. I don't want to see people hurt if I can help it and I want to protect them, but if we're talking about who I'm fighting for now, it's the people I knew and know. My family, my friends, my team. I don't want to forget that I'm my father's son and I want to make a world for Autumn where she doesn't have to deal with any of _this_. I want to come back with my team when all this is over and just laugh about things for a while. It's complicated."

"Life's complicated," Grandmother said. "So anything worth dying for should be a little complicated, too."

She took a deep breath and shook her head slightly.

"My offer stands," She said. "There's still quite some time before the tournament and…whatever happens, I'll at least protect my family. Truthfully, dying to protect one of my grandchildren would be a vastly more dignified death than I'd ever expected to have."

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied. "And to be honest, there's a reason I didn't say no. I want to keep my family safe, but…"

I shrugged.

"Remnant," I finished, as if that explained everything.

Which it kind of did.

If I was being honest with myself—which I at least _tried_ to be, most of the time—I knew that putting my family on the other side of the world wouldn't necessarily keep them safe. My enemies were powerful enough and numerous enough that they could strike at the ones I loves anywhere in the world. Even if I kept them as far away from me as possible, there was no way to be sure that would be enough.

In a way, it might be safe to keep them close. If they did come to Vale with me, I could keep a watch over them and make sure nothing was going on. The only problem with that is that it would increase the high chance of them being attacked to a near certainty, once things truly began—I didn't believe for a millionth of a second that Malkuth wouldn't take advantage of the fact that so many of the people I loved were in one place, and if he got his way that would mean their horrific deaths if they were lucky. If they weren't…

Well, Malkuth had probably had time to come up with ideas, since Babel fell. I wasn't certain I wanted any glimpses into _that_ demented psyche, though.

On the other hand, being certain might have been better then not knowing—or at least being able to know quickly. It was unlikely that Malkuth wouldn't target my family at _all_ , especially after getting my father; it was only a question of who and where and how. I knew myself well enough to know that I'd worry about it constantly, wondering which ones he'd want to pick off and if I'd be able to stop it. If I'd even know it was happening before they were dead and gone in so horrible attack.

But at the same time, Malkuth was the type of sick fuck that would probably enjoy making me watch them die, helpless to stop it. He knew 'me' well enough to know that he couldn't break me—not with the Gamer's Mind or the nature of Keter. He couldn't make me snap or anything like that. But he also knew I wasn't _immune_ to pain, even if I could endure it endlessly, and unlike physical wounds, the pain of loss wasn't something that could vanish in an instant. As I was now, it was the closest anyone could get to permanently wounding me.

Especially because I'd never forget it.

Truthfully, I wasn't sure what to do. I always hated it in the comics when the superhero refuses to reveal his identity to his loved ones to keep them safe—because how the hell did it actually keep them safe? If they knew the truth, wouldn't they be safer? They could call for help and the hero could come to their rescue, flying in or running to their side at superspeed or whatever. That's why I'd told my family who I was, at least, so that they'd know they could call me for help. With Raven, there was even a pretty good chance I could make it to them in time—and because of what I'd told and shown them, they had the option to reach out. I wasn't sure they'd _take_ that option, granted, because if Ziz or Crom Cruach or whatever other horrific nightmare Malkuth unleashed appeared, they might refuse to ask me to save them because they were afraid I'd die trying.

Sadly, that would be quite possible. In the end, my biggest issue with keeping my family safe was that if Malkuth or the Grimm _did_ go after me seriously, I wasn't sure I had any way to stop them. Usually, comic book heroes were at least somewhat balanced against their enemies, but I was both horrifically outnumbered _and_ outgunned. If I left them as they were, scattered throughout the Kingdoms, I might not be able to react fast enough to save them if something happened. If I kept them close at hand, however, then when something happened—and it would—I simple wouldn't have the _strength_ to protect them.

Not as I was now, at least.

And that pissed me off. At this time spent getting stronger and I still didn't have the power I needed to keep what I loved safe. I needed to grow stronger, strong enough to protect them and defeat my enemies, but how was I going to make it in time? Even with my trump cards and secrets and the Arcana at my disposal, I knew I couldn't beat him as I was now. And he'd hardly wait until I was strong enough to make this a fair fight, either. Truthfully, a good part of my desire to invade Jericho Falls was the simple fact that I was…hopeful. I had to believe there was a chance to win this stacked game, that I'd found a way and might be able to make it a reality even though all the cards were in his favor. He was stronger, more experienced, and had significantly more allies than I did, but there had to be a way.

There had to be something or else what was holding him back? Even if it was just an outline, something I had to build off of or finish, that'd be enough for me.

There were things I just couldn't let him take away from me.

I closed my eyes for a moment and then exhaled.

"I'll think about it, I think," I said at last. "In the meantime, there are several things I wanted to speak to you about. The first is quite simple—I need you to help me make arrangements to head to Vale early."

Grandmother blinked mildly at that and then twitched a shoulder in a tiny shrug.

"Okay," She replied. "Why?"

"It's a bit of a long story," I answered. "I'll send you a full report of it later, but I don't want to bore you with the details. The short version is that a student at Haven decided to go on ahead and took a ship to Vale and now everyone else wants to follow him there. Kyanos and his teammates are probably speaking to their families about it right now, in fact, for reasons that vary from being able to get a good look at the competition to being able to skip classes, and I was asked to speak to you. To be honest, it doesn't make any difference to me one way or another when we get to Vale or how—but as it happens, I could use an alibi. I need people to think they know where I am without having any way to actually confirm it."

Grandmother nodded slightly at that, as if that were a perfectly normal, everyday request—and given the business she was in, this actually probably _wasn't_ that uncommon for her.

"I take it that by people, you mean Cinder," She said.

"Yes," I nodded. "And she's on to me, which makes things fairly difficult, which is why we can't just arrange some meeting somewhere and be done with it. Leaving her unwatched is risky, but I'm fairly certain she won't act overtly at this stage, so we have some wiggle room—and she's bound to be a little suspicious anyway. But it's important that she doesn't get a good idea of what I'm up to. If it's an airship, I could leave in midflight and then return before landing without giving anything away, and it should be hard for her to monitor me from such a distance. And conveniently, it wasn't my idea; I'll have to thank Sun for this opportunity when we get to Vale."

She nodded absently, frowning to herself.

"How long do you need?" She asked as if mentally flipping through a catalog of diversions and escape plans. "It's definitely possible to arrange—if, say, I were to fly to Vale with my grandson, it would only be natural for me to bring my guards with me. As it happens, I have one or two that have Semblances that might be of assistance in this regard; I chose my attendants for usefulness rather than combat power. Moros, for instance, is very good at making things seem _incredibly_ dull and uninteresting, a skill I've found quite valuable on a number of occasions. He should be able to veil an airship from suspicion so long as no one looks _too_ closely, the only issue is that your window of opportunity might be limited by the short trip. Alas, my personal transportation was not designed with scenic views in mind."

"Eh," I said with a shrug. "Anywhere worth seeing is probably full of things that want to kill you, anyway."

"That was my thought, yes," She agreed. "Assuming we want to be certain we won't be noticed, you may need to act fast."

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "One way or another, it won't take me long. I'm planning to visit Jericho Falls."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Last Call**

Once arrangements had been made, I left my grandmother to her work—well, really, it's more that I just dumped a lot of _my_ work onto her shoulders, but the world was on the line and it was important to delegate. I didn't tell her much, mostly because I didn't _know_ much, but she seemed to understand the basic idea. After that…

There wasn't much to say that hadn't already been said. She'd reacted much the way that pretty much everyone else I'd told my plan had and it was hard to really blame her. She didn't know the specifics of my powers, not really, but it was pretty hard for her to miss the fact that pretty much every time I came to her for help, it was because there was something that hopelessly outclassed me on the horizon. First Raven, then the phantom menace of the Riders, then an _actual_ Rider, and now this…it probably didn't send the best impression that every time we spoke to one another, I was preoccupied doing my best to survive some mess I'd gotten wrapped up in. As my grandmother, it was probably hard for her not to feel a little concerned.

Granted, _I_ was pretty concerned. So far, most of those things had worked out in the sense that Raven was now on my side and none of the Rider's had killed me yet, but it didn't take a genius to understand the odds I was facing. Cinder alone had casually proven that she could muster an amount of power that I couldn't contest or withstand, and I'd barely survived when things had threatened to degenerate into violence. Even now, I really didn't like my odds against her and simply staying alive had necessitated sacrifices on my part that insured she was both aware of and interested in my existence.

In a way, it was similar to when I'd first met Raven—there was a force watching me who could _very_ easily wipe me from the face of Remnant should she happen to feel the need; the only thing stopping her was the fact that she didn't want to. In the end, the only thing standing between me and a horrific fate at Cinder's hands was a pretty good bluff, and if she ever realized that, then…well, it wasn't as though I could _stop_ her.

She knew who I was. She knew what I was. She knew where I was. If it came down to a fight, I couldn't win—and she kept herself close, watching my every move. There was an old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, but in this case, it really felt more like I was strapping myself to a bomb and fervently hoping nothing set it off. Grandmother knew I was in a situation where I could very easily die any moment, should the slightest mistake give me away, and there was nothing either of us could do about it except hope we didn't do anything stupid. Logically speaking, doing our best to stay out of Cinder's way would be a good place to start on that front.

Sadly, I didn't have much choice in the matter.

"Is it safe for you to be here?" Cinder asked, not even bothering to look up from her weaving as I appeared inside her room, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe.

Needless to say, I hadn't visited her as Jaune Arc, but as Jian Bing. Or rather, as Jian Bing pretending to be Conquest; my mask over my mask. It occurred to me absently that, for various reasons, my life was a rather confusing mess from the outside looking in. Honestly, I was kind of thankful for that; it was fucking hard to live, it should be hard to understand.

Still, she'd asked me a question, and while I didn't dare leap to her command, I couldn't afford to risk offending her too much, either.

"More or less," I replied. "He's currently discussing the details with his Grandmother, far away from here. You should have someone watching him besides those children of yours, sister—even if they might be able to keep something of an eye on him within this school, we can hardly afford to let him wander around freely. Who knows where he might wind up? In trouble, probably."

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," Cinder mused to herself.

"Do you think he's the fool, the angel, or both?" I asked. "I vote for both."

Her smile widened slightly at that.

"Regardless, I don't need any spies to follow him around," She said. "I have _you_ for that, brother."

I snorted under my breath and sent back a cocky smirk she probably couldn't see—which was still no reason to take chances with someone as dangerous as Cinder.

"I'd be offended, really I would," I answered. "But this seems fitting somehow; it's like we're doing a group project together, sis. I can just imagine what the credits page will look like when we turn it in—research by me, speech by my, presentation by me. Hope it doesn't impact your grade."

She huffed out a quiet laugh and turned to glance over her shoulder at me, expression amused.

"It doesn't matter," She said serenely. "We can follow him all around the world and still learn nothing—what matters is that we know where he'll end up eventually and are ready for it."

"Mm," I hummed, the sound somewhere between acknowledgement and agreement. "I suppose that's true, in a way. Do you think it's time, then?"

She paused in her weaving, consideration touching her features.

"That's a difficult question," She replied. "It doesn't necessarily matter—he could believe himself ready even if he was ill equipped. The better question is whether he'd chose to try or if he's content to wait. Honestly, I'm not certain of that myself; it's difficult to say I truly know him. He hides himself carefully, within systems and worlds and roles."

"Unsurprising," I answered. "Considering who he is, the fact that he wears masks should come as no surprise."

"True," She admitted. "What of you, Conquest? You've observed him longer than I have—what do you believe he will do?"

I considered my answer carefully, trying to decide what was best to say and what to simply imply.

"It seems obvious that he's planning to leave early for a reason," I said, choosing my words carefully. "Whether he set it all up from the beginning or simple decided to take advantage of the opportunity, I'm unsure, but the fact that he's going along with it says everything. As for why, there are a number of reasons. It's possible he's caught on to what's happening in Vale—it wouldn't surprise me, really. While you were away, he took a trip to Beacon."

Cinder stilled for a moment at that.

"Oh?" She asked. "Did he do anything of interest?"

"He spoke to Ozpin," I said, pleased to note that she tensed slightly at the name. "Take of that what you will. However…while I was keeping an eye on him, I noticed several signs of that illusionist of yours; it's possible that he did, too."

"Perhaps," She allowed. "You suspect it's something in Vale that he's after, then?"

I shook my head.

"Merely mentioning the possibility," I replied. "It's just as likely that he's attempting to avoid us by moving to safety or that he has plans for Vale as well. Or it could all be just a diversion to hide what he's really after."

"So," Cinder mused after a moment, slowly returning to her sewing. "You know nothing, essentially. All of those possibilities were plainly obvious from the very beginning."

I scowled at her.

"I don't know anything _definitive_ ," I corrected. "Yet. It's simply a matter of narrowing down the possibilities—hence why I'm actually watching him."

"Then keep watching him," Cinder said, tone almost dismissive. "Someone has to, after all—we wouldn't want the poor dear to make a mistake and hurt himself now would we?"

"And what will you be doing?" I asked. "While I'm, you know, doing my fucking job."

"Naturally, I'll do mine," She answered. "This is a good opportunity for us, as well—I'm not opposed to arriving in Vale a bit ahead of schedule myself. There are always matters that simply require a…personal touch."

"Uh-huh," I drew out. "This really is like a group project. And what should _I_ do if something happens while your otherwise occupied?"

"Deal with it," She stated bluntly. "I shouldn't have to tell you how to do your job, brother."

I scoffed, sending her a flat, irritated look.

"Fine," I told her. "Be that way then. But just so you know, if he does something moronic and I have to interfere to save his life, I'll never forgive you. I just want you to know that."

"So noted," She answered drily. "Now then. Is there something else you wanted or are you done?"

I withdrew from Cinder's room in silence, at once nervous and reassured. I guess there was no helping that—she terrified me, after all. There wasn't much I could do about that, honestly; I knew that she could brutally murder me on a whim and there was nothing I could do to stop her. Every meeting with her, as both Jaune Arc and Jian Bing, was an extraordinary risk. I was relying on the simple variability of Conquest's nature to smooth over the wrinkles in my deception, but one wrong move, one wrong _word_ , could give me away.

And if that happened…I was betting I wouldn't like what followed. I was pretty sure she wouldn't kill me, but that wasn't particularly comforting when I knew she could still kill everyone I cared about if she found out the truth.

Assuming she hadn't found out already. I didn't think see had, based on what I could perceive of her body, soul, and emotions—but the Grimm were odd things and she was at least _part_ Grimm. Sadly, Famine would probably be the one to notice any inconsistencies in the first place, so I couldn't fully depend on her human reactions, even if they were deeply connected. It was fully possible that she was just toying with me or that she was playing along with my lie for some reason. As a way to manipulate me, perhaps, or to lower my guard for a sucker punch later. If so, my only real defense against that was that I had no intention of ever lowering my guard around Cinder.

Ever.

But if she _did_ know, there was nothing I could do about it right now except hope that she hadn't seen through me completely—and that I had enough time to prepare myself for whatever knife she was planning to stick in my back. To that end, I followed up my meeting with my—somewhat depressingly—not-greatest enemy by meeting with my closest friends. I left Haven quickly, watching Cinder all the while, and moved to our designated meeting point.

They were all waiting for me when I arrived.

"Did everything go well?" Raven asked from her seat, raising her eyes calmly as I entered.

"As well as could be expected," I answered. "She may or may not know, I may or may not have given anything away, she may or may not be plotting my imminent demise, I may or may not have doomed us all."

"So you had a normal talk with her then?" Adam noted.

Sadly, he wasn't wrong.

"More or less," I replied with a slight sigh, taking a seat of my own. Our current meeting place was an apartment building my grandmother…owned? I hadn't asked, honestly; she could well just be extorting the owner. What mattered in this case was that whoever was in charge knew we valued our privacy, never checked in on us, had thoroughly soundproofed every wall in the entire building, and didn't seem to find it odd that no one ever seemed to enter or exit our floors. We never entered except under illusion or through some form of dimensional travel, and if we'd ever given awy any sign of the fact that we existed, well, they wouldn't tell anyone. I was pretty confident that if we brought someone in and brutally murdered someone and their screams happened to catch someone's ear, it would still go without comment.

Mainly because a cursory glance of the premise revealed signs of several murders, but the places record was _spotless_. That was a bit worrying in its own way, but I put it aside for the sake of prioritizing. From time to time, even _I_ needed a safe house in the real world.

For example…

"Father," Autumn whispered quietly as she glided towards me. The latest cloak I'd woven for her was wrapped securely around her body, showing nothing but some of her hair and parts of her face. Even so, I didn't need the breadth of my senses to tell that see wasn't fully human underneath it—when I said she glided towards me, I meant it almost literally. She wasn't taking steps, or at least none that could be accomplished with human legs and feet, and her clock shifted oddly.

That was fine. She'd gotten that more or less under control while in public, or so Raven had informed me, but it didn't matter while she was among family and friends—I was fine with her taking whatever shapes made her most comfortable. Looking at her now, I could see more traces of Summer in her features, but there were also elements of me in there, and what I expected were traces of Raven.

In the end, however, what truly matter was what lay beneath the surface. Autumn, however terrifying or beautiful she chose to appear, was my daughter—and that was all that really mattered.

"It's okay, sweetie," I said, reaching up to gently touch her face. "Whatever happens, Daddy will be fine. Okay?"

Her hair shifted slightly, shadowing more of her face, and I sensed that she was worried—which was only natural, given the circumstances. There wasn't much of anything I could do about _that_ , either, and if anything, I was more afraid for her than I was for myself. That was a big part of why I'd asked Grandmother for this place, after all; it was closer to Haven than Grandmother's house, just within the range of my perceptions, which meant—hopefully—that I'd be able to notice in time, should anything happen to her.

She only spent her downtime here, when she wasn't training with me or Raven and couldn't come to Haven—and, truthfully, I had no intention of letting her near Haven so long as Cinder was in it. The fact that Emerald and Mercury knew she _existed_ , even if only in a vague and distant sense, was enough that I honestly might have considered killing both of them if I thought it would help. Cinder already knew about Adam's supposed weapon, though; I'd just have to do my utmost to make sure she never found out who she really was.

If something happened to my daughter…

The floor trembled slightly as Gou rose from his seat and moved gingerly to Autumn's side, brushing his head against her side quietly in the hopes of reassuring her. We didn't glance at one another, but we didn't have to—we both understood. Gou was this apartment's other main inhabitant, tasked with her protection; he'd tear apart this entire building before he let anyone hurt her, same as he'd slaughter the Grimm in her defense. He was my Familiar, after all.

Well…actually, I suppose he wasn't just my Familiar any more, was he? No, both of them had grown to be far more than what they'd once been, both to me and in simple truth.

 **The Last Rose of Summer  
LV 123  
Autumn Rose**

 **Heavenly Dog  
LV 125  
Tiangou **

**By raising Familiar to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Tiryagyoni.'**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Natural Bond,' 'Green Thumb,' 'Floral Communion,' and 'Familiar' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Preta' has been created.**

I looked at them both and saw the markings on their soul, the signs of my touch and the strength they'd drawn from it. I just hoped it'd be enough.

"This is it then, huh?" Adam murmured, voice quiet as he drew a slow breath and glanced towards me.

"Yeah," I replied, even though it was pointless. We all knew exactly what was to come—now it was just a matter of facing it.

Adam nod once, expression unchanging.

"About time," He said, trying for confidence and mostly succeeding. As he spoke the words, even his emotions changed, rising to match the tone. He was worried, yes, and afraid—but at the same time, he was prepared. "Are we ready then?"

The question was layered and I took one final glance around, looking at my friends.

 **The Blood Prince  
126  
Adam Taurus**

 **Memories of the World Tree  
LV 175  
Raven Branwen**

"Of course," I answered, smiling easily. "It's us, after all."

"Good," He all but growled. "Stuff like this, it's the waiting that gets to me."

Raven hummed slightly, the noise somewhere between a chastisement and an agreement.

"You've finished your preparations, then?" She asked.

I nodded. Everything was in order now. I'd made my plans, I'd arranged our cover story, I'd—hopefully—put Cinder's concerns to rest, and most importantly, I'd done all the grinding I could. My skills were sharp and I'd prepared for everything I could, brushing up on what needed it and restocking my Inventory for the fight. I felt stronger than ever, more powerful, and I knew my friends did to.

Looking at them, I felt…proud, I suppose. Or perhaps simply assured. It wasn't something amazing or elaborate—in fact, it felt really simple.

This was my team.

We'd win.

"Everything's in order," I said. "We leave tomorrow. Make sure you're ready—because we're wiping Jericho Falls off the map."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Longshots**

The airship was all but silent as it rose into the skies of Mistral—both as a result of the cutting edge technology that had gone into its design and because of the somber atmosphere within. My family was gathered in this airship, ostensibly for the sake of coming with me to Vale and cheering me one; whether that would actually happen depended on a number of factors. If things proved too dangerous, I'd shuffle them off to relative safety using Raven's portals, hopefully making it a bit harder for my enemies to find them by leading them in the wrong direction here and now. Furthermore, what happened in the coming hours could well change all of my plans, easily to the extent of causing me to blow off the tournament entirely. Sure, it was a tradition and part of our culture and something important to lots of people, but I was trying to deal with the apocalypse here; if it turned out the end of the world was scheduled for the first day of the tournament, I made no promises.

And, of course, there was the elephant in the room—I wouldn't need anyone to cheer me on if I was brutally murdered in the next few hours. Grandmother and I had shared the rough details of what I was doing, leaving out bits like the Riders and Malkuth and the general truth of things simply because that knowledge was a bitch to live with even if you were able to identify the infected. I didn't really want to burden them with the knowledge that the enemy I was no facing had already succeeded at killing me once or that he'd destroyed the world and trapped it in a seemingly endless cycle of suffering and destruction, either. Or the fact that—

Well, the point was that there was a lot of horrible shit that we couldn't do anything about. Frankly, if my soul hadn't hotwired my brain and I actually had some need for such a thing, I probably would have had a hard time sleeping at night. I couldn't bear to leave my family behind without at least _telling_ them I was going into life-threating danger, but mentioning the stakes seemed more cruel than anything else. If I failed here, this wasn't something I wanted them to try to carry on for me or get more deeply involved in. I couldn't imagine there being many kind fates awaiting them down that particular road.

So instead, I did my best to play it off as just another horrific and dangerous mission, the types Hunters went on all the time—and, naturally, often didn't return from. As a result, they were treating the matter with a kind of grave respect, taking it seriously even if they didn't know what awaited me.

"Jaune," My mother whispered, looking at me as Mistral slowly moved further and further away. "Are you sure about this? If it's as dangerous as you say…"

"It can't be helped," I answered calmly, making sure to stay relaxed even if it was growing difficult even for me. This would be a big day, after all—it might even go down in the history books at some point. Here's hoping it was as something positive. "Ozpin thinks it's important, as does Grandmother. Someone needs to check the place out."

"But does it need to be you?" She asked, fingers twitching in odd, jerky movements. It was a nervous habit she'd picked up lately; even though the time she'd been without most of her limbs was by now far dwarfed by the time she'd spent with their replacements, it was almost as if she was reminding herself that they were still there.

Or perhaps she was just reminding herself of why she'd needed them in the first place.

I tried to make my smile reassuring as I turned to face her.

"Why wouldn't it be me?" I returned. "You know what I can do and so does Ozpin. Odds are, I have the best chance of success, no matter what turns out to be waiting for me there."

"That's what worries me," She whispered. "He wouldn't send you on a normal mission."

"Good thing I'm not a normal Hunter then," I replied. "I'll manage, Mom. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that, Jaune," Violet said, seeming more relaxed on the surface. "You better stay safe, you hear? I've been looking forward to seeing you in the tournament, you know; according to Olivia, you've been making a mess of Haven and I want to see what you can do on a public stage."

"I'd hate to disappoint," I replied, nodding at her once to show I understood the words she'd left unspoken.

"Personally, I'd prefer it if you kept things a bit neater, Jaune," Olivia interjected. As a teacher, she _probably_ should have been back at Haven, but she was apparently going along with as a chaperone for the students who'd decided to come in early. Or something like that, at least—I didn't pay much attention to the official explanation. In reality, she was going along because Grandmother said so and nobody argued.

"That doesn't seem like it's ever going to be possible," I told her truthfully. "Quite frankly, my _life_ is a mess. If things start breaking down around me, just blame it on who I am as a person."

"Not even bothering with excuses anymore?" She wondered, sighing to herself.

"More just not bothering to lie," I corrected. "Might as well just embrace it. The reason everything went to hell around me is because: Of who I am as a person, the choices I made in life, or because of something I did in a past life—choose one."

Olivia released a rather unladylike snort, rolling her eyes.

"Indigo," I said after another beat of silence, glancing towards my last sister where she sat wrapped in shadows—even though she was right under a light. She did that where she was worried about something. "Don't worry about me too much—I'm not much for death scenes, either."

"…Right," She said after a moment before glancing down the length of the ship where Adam was trying to pretend he didn't exist. I suspected family matters made him uncomfortable. "Keep an eye on him for me."

Adam glanced up at her and shrugged a shoulder.

"He's my best friend," He said by way of explanation. Indigo considered that for a moment and then nodded in acceptance.

My lips twitched upwards at those words before I rose from my seat. We were far enough from Vale now that unless Cinder's perceptions were significantly superior to my own, she'd have difficult looking in on us—and even then, I liked to think I'd have noticed something. Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious and so I'd waited until I thought it was safe.

"Sorry, but it looks like this is our stop," I said to my family. "But we'll be back before you know it."

"Okay," My mother replied. "I…we'll be waiting. Good hunting."

Looking at her one last time, I remembered the talk I had with my dad before the White Whale incident—before everything started, not that I really thought about it. That time, I'd prepared for a mission without telling her what I was up to, because I was afraid of what it might cost her to try and help me. Now, I was doing the same thing for the same reason, though the situation differed.

But…even though everything had gotten so crazy, there were still things that I hadn't forgotten. The people who had my back, the home I had to come back to, and the things I had to stay alive to do…what those things were had changed a few times, but I hadn't forgotten them. I would never forget.

So I smiled at her, without hiding or faking anything, and nodded.

"Thanks," I said. "I'll be off first, then. Adam, you take the next one, okay?"

My friend nodded once and stood up, even as a swirling red portal opened up in the middle of the airship, causing several pairs of eyes to widen in shock and recognition—and then I stepped through and was gone.

The portal opened up high in the sky, far enough up that the air was frigid and thin. I could see the clouds far below me and the land further still, the world of Remnant stretching out amazingly in every direction. Mountains and forests, rivers and lakes—from this far up, everything looked small.

And far below me, I saw Jericho Falls for the first time. Like most of the places packed with the Grimm, it was deceptively pleasant looking—the place had been named, at least in part, for the majestic waterfall at the edge of the area, with hundreds of thousands liters of liters spilling over the edge every second. The surrounding area was verdant and green, filled with flora and fauna, but at the center of it all was a massive set of ruins. Even worn away by the assault of the Grimm and sheer, merciless time, it was easy to see that Jericho Falls had once played host to something amazing simply from what remained. As ruins went, it was surprisingly intact, too—or, at least, certain parts of it were, with entire sets of buildings still remaining. At a glance, one could see where people had once lived their lives, ages ago.

But now, this place was home only to the Grimm—everything from ancient dark figures to tiny, newborn monsters filled this place, waiting in the streets and the buildings and within the depths of the very ground itself, an army of monstrous servants awaiting their master's command. And near the center of it all, in an unspeakable worn palatial estate, waited the king of this land.

 **The Devourer of the Tree of Life  
LV ?  
Gilgamesh**

The knowledge that he was actually here…didn't affect me in the slightest. Honestly, I just felt a bit vindicated by the knowledge that the world really _was_ out to get me, but even that was muted—now wasn't the time to care about that. Not when I had more important things to worry about than what was really just another thing that was going to try and kill me.

Even as gravity began to pull me downwards, I scanned the ruins as thoroughly as I possibly could, looking for signs of anything important or unusual. I didn't find any mysterious glowing orbs, strangely luminous sigils, magic crystals, or anything that looked like it might have come out of a science fiction novel—on the surface, the ruins appeared to be just normal ruins.

Needless to say, I didn't stop at the surface. I looked it over again under a dozen different lenses, peering into the different ends of the spectrum to gather details. I saw the remnants of markings and paint, the leftover of things now long gone, traces in the wreckage and the rubble that gave me a rough idea of how this place had once looked. It wasn't anything on the level of the ruins Raven and I had visited when we'd been searching for clues as to Summer's fate, because that site had only been about a decade old while this one had been a ruin for millennia—but it gave me a better idea of what this place might have looked like, at one point, and I applied logic to figure out where important stuff would likely be housed, coordinating my search.

Even then, a solid second of searching turned up nothing and I changed tracks quickly. This high up in the air, it was difficult to reach out to the earth below, but I called to Ereb and had him expand into the ground, searching deeper the further I feel. His search turned up results almost immediately, but not the ones I was looking for—while it would be an exaggeration to call it intact, there were plenty of signs that an advanced civilization had once called this place their home, if you knew where to look. There were things like pipes and powerlines that, though they didn't look much like the ones I was familiar with, seemed based on the same principles. I used his results to cross-reference my search, making sure I didn't overlook anything, but I still didn't find anything that looked like a power source for the barrier.

And there _was_ a barrier there, of that I was certain. I could see it in a way that was new to me—but then, I'd never seen Naraka from the outside before. There was a…not quite a _shimmer_ but more of an iridescence to the world when I looked at it all, peering into the truth of things. At the same time, I could feel something somewhere between an itch and a pressure between my shoulder blades, which was something I _was_ familiar with; Trespasser was alerting me to a barrier in my vicinity. A moment later, a window even popped up, asking me if I'd like to enter.

I clicked no for the moment and continued to stare hard at the approaching ruins, looking one last time, just to make sure.

And then I nodded to myself once, as sure as I could be. If there was any secret power source or something on this side holding the barrier in place, I couldn't see it. As I'd hoped, it seemed somehow self-perpetuating, meaning it was all but divorced from this dimension so long as no one specifically tried to break through it. And an archeological and historical wonder this place may be, but there were more important things at stake now—and hell, it was _my_ history anyway, bad ending and all. As such, I took a brief moment to memorize every detail I could and then…

Well.

Then I destroyed Jericho Falls.

It happened quickly, set off by nothing more than a minute twist of my Aura, and then a flash of blinding white light descended from the heavens.

It was the Brahmastra.

 _Three_ Brahmastras, to be precise. It wasn't something I'd be capable of on my own, not even after a week to train it—while the Brahmastra leveled quickly relative to its usage, it was still something that I could only use once a day and I hadn't had that much time to play with it.

But just because I could only _use_ it once a day didn't mean I couldn't _store_ it. I couldn't put it into my Inventory, alas—attempting to put the created spear into my handy pocket dimension had simply resulted in a window telling me it would be a bad idea—but there was another way.

This was the result of Patientia and, somewhat ironically, a great deal of patience. At first, the nature of the skill had not changed in the slightest as it leveled up, but after reaching level twenty-five, one this changed—I was able to store another skill within my Aura. The same thing had occurred again at level fifty and, after a significant amount of effort in the hopes of grinding it to the next benchmark before the possibly-literal deadline hit, recently occurred again at seventy-five for a total of four 'slots.'

How I'd spent them had been a matter of great deliberation for me over the course of this week—I'd gained a fair number of new options in that time period and there were a number of tactics I could potentially exploit. In the end, however, I'd boiled it down to two main options. The first was, of course, my healing skills; at the end of the day, stuff that could keep me, or potentially someone I cared about, alive in an emergency was hard to beat. While I could easily heal myself or others in the midst of combat, some effectiveness would probably need to be sacrificed for the sake of expedience. If I had the time and power to spare to fully charge a healing skill, well…then I probably didn't really _need_ one.

It was the type of thing I needed when I was about to die—if something broke past all my defenses, emptied the wells of my MP, and then ground me down to my last hit point and forced me to rely on Second Chance. If I could heal myself at a leisurely pace, it wasn't really an _emergency_ , and so I'd long since promised myself to always keep at _least_ one 'full restore' on me.

Yes, I fully intended to be one of _those_ assholes—one of those video game enemies who make you grind them down to a single hit point and then promptly heal back to full health and make you do it all over again. I hated those guys when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure _everyone_ hates those guys. But here's the thing; the best thing in the world is when someone really, really, _really_ wants you to die…and you just don't.

On the other hand, there was also something to be said for really, really, _really_ wanting someone to die and then making it happen. The Brahmastra was by far the hardest skill I had to use, simply because it's charge time was atrocious _and_ it could only be forged once a day. In a pinch, it was possible I could use just about any other skill, so long as I was willing to burn enough Dust crystals to make it happen, but in a fight, I'd only get one shot with the Brahmastra and if it wasn't an opening move, I'd never get it off at all. Being able to store _several_ of them got around both the charge time problem and the limit on it's use, however, and it was a truly devastating weapon.

It had been a tough call. Extra heals would have served to give me more of a life line, but dropping a Brahmastra on an enemy's head was its own reward. In the end, I'd made my choice for one simple reason; I'd only get one Second Chance. The usefulness of two full heals dropped somewhat with the knowledge that if something big hit me, odds were I wouldn't survive to use the second one. I could still use it to heal my wounds and restore MP, of course, but those weren't necessarily worth a _slot_. Saving my life was one thing, but in the end, killing things before they could hurt me was better than just healing from the wounds they inflicted—because they wouldn't be hurting me much when they'd been reduced to ash. As such, I spared a slot for a single full heal and, instead of using it just to practice and grind, stored the last three days' worth of Brahmastra's in my Inventory.

And I hurled all three of them into the heart of the ruins. This was, I had decided, the best time to use them—right at the very start. No one knew we were here, no one was particularly on guard, and there were a lot of Grimm that needed to die. I didn't truly believe that I'd get them _all_ , but anyone I killed _now_ couldn't interfere later. Adam, Autumn, Gou, and Raven would be putting their lives on the line to hold off any survivors while I clashed with Gilgamesh; the best thing I could do to help them was to do my best to limit the number of survivors. This was my best chance to take them out and it wasn't as if I could risk using the Brahmastra while my friends and family were on the battlefield. It was now or never, really.

Needless to say, the results were…impressive. As the three spears descended towards the unsuspecting ruin, they pulsed with an inner light and the process I'd set in place with their creation reached its inevitable conclusion. At the last moment, I saw some of the Grimm look upwards, but it was too late to notice now.

There was a blinding flash. A sudden rush. An annihilating, consuming _heat,_ seemingly carried along by a force like the hand of God—and I was still far, far in the air. There was sound accompanying it, too, but I could hardly hear it; there was a brief, massive roar and then silence. For a moment, my ears burst, my eyes went blind, and the light of the Brahmastras plunged my world into darkness.

A part of me wondered if this had ever happened before. I wasn't the first person to ever wield the Brahmastra and looking into what legends remained, there were tails of the weapons clashing—but had three ever been hurl towards the same target? I didn't know.

But what I did know was the result of such a thing. As the moment passed and my sight and hearing returned, I saw what I'd done.

I'd blown Jericho Falls off the map. And I meant that as literally as I could—someone was going to have to actually redraw the map of this area at some point.

"Hello," I said belatedly.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Expansion**

The explosions of the Brahmastras had thrown me high, further into the air than the portal Raven had used to drop me off initially. I waited for a moment, already working to refill the emptied slots of Patientia—and gladdened by the fact that nothing _immediately_ tried to kill me. I could tell already that I hadn't killed all of the Grimm, but it was always nice to know that my enemies couldn't outright brush off my best attacks. They'd been stunned, if only for a few minutes. Even better, the dimensional barrier that existed alongside Jericho Falls had been unaffected by the blasts. I'd been almost certain it'd be fine, but not completely.

Time to move on to the next step. I focused my attention on my Aura for a brief moment and then sent a shudder through it, releasing a signal towards my distant target. A moment later, I felt her attention on me and two more portals swirled to life at my sides. Adam strode quickly through one while Autumn, Raven, and Gou entered through the other. I caught each as they walked into open air, supporting them with my power.

"God we're high," Adam noted. "When you said we'd be dropping in, you meant that literally, didn't you?"

"Yes," I answered simply.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Whatever," He said after a moment, focusing his eyes on the massive clouds below. "You really didn't hold back, did you? Did you even leave any for us?"

"I didn't hold back specifically in the hopes of not leaving anyone for you," I replied. "And you shouldn't hold back either, because I failed."

It wasn't a surprise, not hardly. I'd been all but sure going in that I wouldn't be able to take them all out with my opening move; it was why I'd worked so hard to grind Patientia to its next bench mark and then loaded it with all the Brahmastras I had available. If I'd been certain that the Grimm would be hit hard enough to stop them long enough for me to do so, I would have waited another day, charged a fourth Brahmastra, and hit them even harder—but the sight before my eyes kind of made me glad I hadn't taken any chances.

All throughout the ruins, Grimm rose. They were few in number, thankfully, and many of them looked badly hurt—but they were there, standing back up after I sucker-punched them with three of my greatest attacks. If I'd had a fourth, I might have gotten a few more, but…

My gaze drifted towards the leader of the pack. Location hadn't much of an issue when it came to my Brahmastra's; even a single one had the range necessary to cover Jericho Falls. Even so, I'd aimed the spears with the intention of inflicting as much damage as possible to the largest threats, figuring that the lesser ones would be wiped out regardless. And if they were, well, I would have sent Raven the other signal. If more than a handful of the Grimm could walk away from a trio of Brahmastras to the face, we would have been in way, way over our heads and the only logical thing to do would be to run the fuck away. As it was, the numbers were acceptable. Not _ideal_ —that would have required me to have killed everyone—but not as bad as they could have been.

Beyond the amount of surviving riffraff, however, there was another important thing I'd needed to check—just _how_ strong the legendary Gilgamesh really was.

The results on that front had been at once expected and worrying.

The creature my power had identified as Gilgamesh did, if fact, look fairly human. He was a man of middling height, with a stock of almost shockingly dark hair, set up in spikes. His skin was as dark as most of the Grimm, where it wasn't covered by his bone-white armor. He carried a simple looking sword at his side, made of the same material as his body, and his face—assuming he had a face beneath it—was covered by a simple mask. It was more elaborate than most of the masks I'd seen, carved like porceline to give the impression of a calm human face.

Except for the eyes, of course. There were as red as an of the Grimm's, and staring right up at me. Gilgamesh didn't seem impressed, excited, or even worried to see me, not that it was easy to gauge the emotions of the Grimm; if anything, he simply looked expectant.

Worse, he didn't look particularly _hurt_ , either. He hadn't quite shrugged off the blows and I could see the wounds it had left when it had seared at his flesh and armor—but he wasn't exactly falling apart, either. His limbs were all where they were supposed to be, his eyes were still in his head, and all told, he looked shockingly intact for a guy who I'd made sure had taken the worst of the blasts. It was a little off-putting, truthfully. I mean, I hadn't honestly expected to take him out with my first attack, but I'd kind of been hoping for a bit more of a reaction then 'Ow, that hurt. Why would you do such a thing?'

But now that I'd seen the results, I had to decide how to proceed from here. From the beginning I'd known that Grimm's reaction to my attacks big part of gauging our readiness for the battle and I was pleased to note that most of the Grimm looked worse for wear. They were injured enough that I was fairly certain I could defeat any one of them in battle. But Gilgamesh was another matter and seeing him standing there wasn't particularly encouraging. If he was honestly that tough…

"Jaune?" Raven asked, concern edging its way into her voice. "Are we proceeding?"

I kept my attention focused on my target even as I turned my physical eyes towards my friends.

"Most of the Grimm were hurt badly by the blast," I said seriously, readying myself to respond to any sudden moves. "But it seems Gilgamesh is made of sterner stuff."

"Obviously," Adam snorted. "We knew he would be."

"How bad is it?" Raven asked.

"Nowhere near as bad as it could have been," I admitted. "He's not _unhurt_ , after all—if he had been, I'd have called this off immediately. On the other hand, he's not as hurt as I would have liked, either. Though, granted, none of them are as hurt as I would have liked. They're alive and everything."

"But you think we can win?" Raven asked. "Don't you?"

"Of course I do," I answered confidently. "Just wanted to tell you all the facts before we began, in case you had any doubts."

"I have doubts," She stated. "But it's rare to find a battle worth fighting where you're already certain of the outcome. If you stay, I stay."

"Didn't we have this conversation already?" Adam asked, managing to sound bored.

I smiled at them both, unsurprised, before looking past them.

"I asked before, but…is it really alright to go along with my selfish desires? Autumn?" I asked. "Gou?"

There was more to the words than I'd spoken, because there was particular weight in this battle for these two. Gou's intelligence—and even his selfhood—had resulted from his connection to me, and there was no guarantee that it would survive my death; any time I gambled my life, I had to keep in mind that I could very well be gambling his, too. Autumn, furthermore, was still a child, if an exceptionally powerful and intelligent one thanks to her nature. She had a life ahead of her, as well as behind; if something should happen here, she was arguably risking just as much as Gou. Her future and Summer's past, her chance at making a new life or finding the things she'd lost in the old, they all depended on her surviving this fight.

In the end, they were risking their futures for the sake of my past.

"I'm not afraid of death, so long as we're together," Autumn whispered, her voice odd as usual. "I've died and scattered once—but if I'm to die again, I'd rather stay by your side. And I'd rather fight beside you then be left behind."

"It's fine," Gou answered casually. "If we die, we'll simply find each other in the afterlife."

I closed my eyes, still smiling, and then reached out to the final members of my team. They'd been there since the beginning, silently supporting me, but they were risking as much as Gou in all of this.

 _And you? Tell me, is it really alright? Crocea Mors, Levant, Suryasta, Xihai, Vulturnus, Ereb—you've been supporting me for so long and you've always had my back. But if I die, you…_

The answer came to my quickly, as half a dozen voices whispered in my ear.

 _Until our soul meets its end, we will be forever one._

"That settles it, then," I said, opening my eyes again. "Thank you—all of you. Now…let's go kick some monster ass."

And with that said, I simply stopped holding us in the air.

We fell as one for a moment, staying briefly even as gravity kept us in its hold—but we just as quickly went our separate ways as we adopted our own landing strategies. Raven and I chose to simply hurry towards the earth, with her conjuring up a portal to fall through while I hastened my descent through simple will. Above and behind me, I felt Gou begin to bloat, choosing to simply take the fall, while Autumn's cloak billowed out as her own mass spread into flowering shapes that caught the air, turning her fall into a controlled glide. I could see her releasing seeds and spores already, aiming them towards anything they could grow upon and using her slowed descent to aid in the process. I took it a step further, helping her along with Levant's winds, even as I picked out valuable targets. With her power and our connection, I was fairly confident it would come in handy later on in the fight.

Adam, meanwhile, simply fell, even as he began gathering power into his sheathed blade. I knew he planned to make up for his pedestrian fall by making an entrance and a part of me was looking forward to it.

Not that I had any intention of letting him one-up me in that regard, of course.

I hit the ground first, plowing into the earth like a meteor. The ground rippled for a moment, my Shockwave extending outwards before the solidity of the ground seemed to catch up to it and it instead shattered violently, all but exploding all around me. I didn't hesitate to take advantage of that, either, mentally willing Ereb to guide the shrapnel where it could do the most damage, even as I kept my eyes focused on my target, meeting the solid red orbs of my enemy.

A portal appeared above me a moment after the stone shards exploded outwards, and Raven appeared by my side, hand calmly resting on her blade.

"Shall we start the festivities before they arrive?" She asked, flicking a gaze upwards towards the sky. Already, Gou's form had grown massive enough to shade us from the sun and he still had kilometers to go before he touched the ground.

"It'd be rude to keep our friends here waiting," I answered, rising slowly from my kneeling position on the ground. "Can you imagine how long they've been waiting here to die?"

"True," Raven acknowledged, smiling fiercely. Her gaze shifted playfully amongst the remaining Grimm, flicking quickly from one to the next. "But which one should I kill?"

I clicked my tongue and sent her a disapproving glance that did nothing to take my attention away from our foes.

"You're a Huntress, Raven," I said. "There's no point in being picky—just kill them all."

"Hm…" Raven hummed back, taking several slow steps forward. With every word we spoke, the shadow around us grew larger and darker, it's steady progression evidently enough to keep even the Grimm at bay. In a matter of moments, Gou was just above us, his monumental figure prepared to crash into into the blasted ruin hard enough the shatter it all over again.

The moment before it did, Raven and I both moved. For her part, she strode several steps forward, pushing off with the last into a newly opened gateway and flickering back into existence right behind on of the Grimm around us. Meanwhile, I simply willed myself forward, vanishing as I Fluctuated.

Gou's landing was deafeningly loud, ludicrously attention drawing, and amazingly destructive—and we both intended to take advantage of it. I reappeared directly behind Gilgamesh, drawing power into my hands and lashing out mercilessly at his back. In my left hand, I forged Longinus, the space-rending spear's tip aimed for Gilgamesh's head, while in my right, I gathered orbs of light, cycling them in preparation of the inevitable.

And at the last moment, Gilgamesh _moved_. His body blurred as he turned on a dim, bone-sword coming up to cleave at my neck like the reaper's scythe. I didn't flinch, staring down the blade even as I felt my heartbeat quicken—and continued with my own attack. I flung Longinus towards his left eye from as close as I could manage, silently daring him to abort _his_ attack or take the blow. At the last possible second, he twitched once, angling his face away from the blow and letting it instead cut a clean line across his cheek, sending up sparks as it carved through the material.

At the same time, his attack struck my neck, breaking the surface of my skin and swiping clean through, casually removing my head from my shoulders. Not only that, but the force of the blow was so great and its passage through my body so disruptive, that the stumps on both sides bent and ruptured, giving me a feeling of exploding grotesquely. I felt myself come apart as I was nearly blown apart by the strike—

And then I came back together. It wasn't just the usual nature of the Gamer's Body, either—no, I felt myself _flow_ back into place, like water refilling a vessel.

Exactly like that, in fact.

 **Varuna (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
An ancient technique named after its user, one of the Apauruseya of Vytal. The man that became known as Varuna was born was born to the raging might of the sea, in a land of endless storms and waves. As its waters flooded the lands of Remnant, Varuna heard a song within the sea and answered it with his own, calming its rage and taking it within himself. Though lost to the receding grip of the ocean, Varuna soon returned, reborn from the power he used to hold back the seas. In time, he joined the ranks of the legendary god-kings of Vytal, having internalized the part of himself that he had sacrificed to the sea in order to reach for new heights of power.  
Water Affinity rises to Max.  
The user of this skill is immune to Water Elemental attacks and has increased resistance to physical attacks.  
Active MP-based skills that do not naturally share an affinity with an Element way be given the Water Element at no additional cost.  
Only those with a Water Elemental may use this skill.  
A Water Elemental may not be manifested while this skill is active.  
Only one Elemental may be merged with in this fashion at a given time.**

Even as I came back together, my now liquid form piecing itself back together from a storm of droplets, I continued to reach out with my right hand, grasping Gilgamesh's face and firing unleashing the full might of Lux Aeterna. The blast plunged the world into darkness, drawing in all signs of light and devouring everything in its path. The torrent of light swept over Gilgamesh from point blank range, searing through the world at the speed of light—too quick to dodge from here even if his speed matched or surpassed my own. When the light returned the world, a scar of destruction glowed incandescently across the battered landscape, a glowing brand of power.

Gilgamesh grabbed my wrist and brought his sword around again, cutting through me from head to toe with force enough to make the rest of me explode into a rain of droplets. It hurt—not so much the injure, but the simple need to piece myself back together in its wake—but it had its own advantages and I had ways to compensate.

Coming back together, I Shed half a dozen skins, trailing a small river of water behind me all the while—a feat I'd once accomplished with Dust Eater, now performed with a simple combination of Bai Hu's ultimate skill and Varuna. I circled him once completely before running into and then _over_ him, taking his next hit full on and then slipping through the streams I'd made as easily as air.

Then, without even looking, I snapped my fingers and froze the whole thing with a flash of Deposition, freezing both the water and the Grimm within it. Rotating on my heel, I flung a hand out towards it and _shattered_ it, crushing the misshapen sphere of ice to powder.

There was a slight cracking noise as Gilgamesh lifted an arm in defense, the last of the ice cracking above his armor. Despite the series of hits, he hardly seemed injured, looking more annoyed than anything—and I was sure.

It wasn't just a matter of defensive ability, for all that he was durable as fuck—I could see how much damage each of my hits were doing and the results seemed familiar. No, more than that, while he didn't look like anything I recognized beneath the lens of my Third Eye, he appeared similar enough that I was pretty sure I was on the right track.

He—and perhaps all the Grimm, now that I thought about it—was made out of 'Unknown Matter,' like the kind I used with Kavacha, but different. _How_ different, I wasn't sure, but it definitely wasn't the same material, even if it worked on similar principles. Anything I threw at him was going to get a big chunk of its power simply ignored.

I smiled.

Guess I'd just have to hit him harder, huh? It was a bit early, still, but…well, what was the point of having trump cards if you didn't use them. So let's start with this one, first.

I lifted my hand at him, gathering my returning strength, and exhaled a slow breath.

"Ohr Ein Sof," I said.

 **By raising Lux Aeterna to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Ohr Ein Sof.'**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Sixth Interlude – Adam Taurus**

As I landed, the world was filled with blinding light.

I didn't need to look to know what the source was, not that I could have seen it if I wanted to. When I said it was blinding, I meant it literally, with even the moments glimpse I caught of it sending stabbing knives of pain straight into my retinas before I reflexively flinched away and shut my eyes. The following rush of noise was perhaps even more disorienting, loud enough to make the sound of thunder seem like a low rumble. Dust filled the air, along with the chocking smoke left behind by the opening attack, robbing me of my sense of smell and sending currents of strange sensations across my skin. If not for my recent training and what I was sure was the aid of my friend's Elementals, I would have been struggling just to breath.

There wasn't much I could do about that but bear with it. Unlike some people, I didn't have a million kinds of vision. I couldn't see through smoke or steel or skin, I couldn't identify bacteria on sight, and I most certainly couldn't peer across a city or a country or, for all I fucking knew, the goddamn universe. I couldn't see out of the back of my head or grow a million eyes, either; I couldn't even create portals to see something on the other side of the world. I couldn't pick up whispers in the midst of explosions, look into someone's soul, or pull up their profile like they'd accidently posted all their personal information online. On that note, I couldn't wave my hand and rearrange the forces of nature, warp time, heal the sick, or destroy cities, either.

I wasn't like Jaune, who could make a decent argument for being the greatest weapon ever produced by magic or man. I wasn't like Raven, one of the most powerful Huntresses in the last century or even millenia. Really, I wasn't even like Autumn or Gou, who were the result of I didn't even know what, born as something exceptional. I was just a Faunus, one of the thousands of sob stories that Mengerie had churned out who had just happened to get a little bit lucky. I'd found what had pretty damn well seemed like the only person on the continent who cared if I lived or died or about things like right and wrong, and she'd taken me in and made me something more than just a kid with a knife.

Later, and because of that, I'd found other things; a little cat who reminded me a bit of myself, who'd become something between a daughter and a little sister. It seemed a little odd to consider her either of those things, given my age, but hell—I never expected to grow old. I made it to age ten, which had seemed like a minor miracle at the time; everything else just seemed like borrowed time.

I'd found the White Fang, too, an organization I at once loved and hated. When I first joined, it was preaching for peace with a group that had treated us like animals and locked us away, and I'd thought it hopelessly stupid and naïve. Later, it came to understand that—that words alone wouldn't change anything, so circumstances had to. And yet, somehow, that hadn't satisfied me either, even as I applauded the choice.

It was probably Blake's fault. She had always been innocent, however hard she tried to hide it—an endless optimist that tried to be a cynic. I'd had optimism beaten out of me when my mother died and left me in a place full of Grimm and people who'd been reduced to the savages Mankind had wanted us to be, and god but it was hard to say which had been worse. But even after seeing the how things worked, Blake tried to believe. She did her best to hide her high hopes and expectations behind looks of disdain, as if convincing the world she didn't care would keep her from actually doing so. She'd always had big dreams; peace between man and Faunus, happiness and heroes, resolution and hope.

It didn't surprise me in the slightest that she'd become a Huntress; I knew exactly why she'd done it and it didn't make a lick of sense, but that was Blake for you. She probably left with the intention of stamping out inequality and promoting righteousness in its place, undoing years of corruption and hatred and worse. As if being a Huntress would do any of that—being a soldier, sworn to fight and die for battles that most people would never know existed, caught in political games between the kingdoms, bound in a system that would work against her. How she intended to get from 'going to school' to 'creating lasting peace and equality between two groups that had clashed for millennia', God only knows.

Blake wasn't the best at making plans; half the time it seemed like she expected a miracle to occur and handle all the details. If we do the right thing, if we're good people, if we're kind and help others and save the day, they'll see the truth. They'll understand. We'll be loved and accepted and everything will be okay. It'll all work out in the end.

Bullshit. The world didn't work the way she wanted it to and hopes and prayers wouldn't change that. That was why I'd always dreamed of things that were more realistic.

But honestly…unrealistic as they were, even now, I liked Blake's dreams better than my own. Somehow, by doing exactly what I would have done, what I knew was right, what I accepted and understood—by doing that, it almost felt as if the White Fang had let me down, which was stupid as all hell. But I guess I just didn't want a world full of people like me, even if it would make things simpler. But I'd gone along with it, because I'd known it was the right thing to do, moral and idealistic quandaries aside.

And then, pretty much by pure fucking chance, I'd met Jaune, and ended up as part of the ongoing clusterfuck that was his life. The guy was like entropy incarnate; all you had to do was introduce him to a system and then it was just a matter of watching as things progressed towards maximum chaos. System in this case referring to things like 'Reality,' 'Society,' and 'My Life.' Sometimes I thought that the guy couldn't go out and buy _milk_ without messing something up. Things just seemed to break down around him.

Including my beliefs.

Jaune was like Blake in some ways. A bit like me in others. Honestly, as the little terrified kid who didn't know how to fucking drive grew up into a terrifying guy who still didn't know how to fucking drive, he seemed to take in everything from around him, learning from the people he met. But that's children, I guess, though I'd never seen anyone grow up quite as fast as he did. And for all the bits and pieces he took in, there were parts of him that were just _him_ , if you knew where to look, if you'd been around long enough to see them. Stupid parts, chaotic parts, and crazy parts, mostly—and ones that somehow managed to believe. He didn't talk about it the way Blake did, but he believed things would work out, too. That we'd save the world and sort everything out and fix things somehow.

And somehow, he managed to make me believe stuff like that, too.

I guess it was because he was my best friend.

I knew it better than anyone—I had no place here. I'd been fairly strong since I was a kid, but I was no ancient reincarnating super weapon or legendary Huntsman. I wasn't someone who's soul had managed to cling to this godforsaken world for _years_ just to protect her daughter, reborn now in a super plant thing or a dog turned walking myth. I'd been taught by one of the best, but I hadn't been one of them myself. I'd known and accepted that; everyone wants to be the best, but how many succeed? There are a bunch of factors that decide it; how skilled you are, how smart you are, the Semblance you're born with, the strength of your spirit, physical ability, and countless other things. I didn't come from an ancient line of super warriors and I hadn't been trained to fight since I was old enough to walk. Even if I was strong in my own way, I knew my limits. Way I saw it, it was probably for the best; if I'd been born with godlike powers, it would have been bad news for a lot of people.

The point being, I knew I didn't really have any place being on the team chosen to save the world. Raven? Sure. Autumn and Gou? Sure. Jaune? That was just fucking obvious. But me? I didn't belong here. I probably didn't even really need to be here. A part of me thought that if I walked away, it wouldn't make any difference.

But I chose to be here anyway. Even if I didn't belong here—in Jericho Falls, the place where heroes went to die, specifically and just in general—it didn't matter. I could have walked away, sure, but my best friend wasn't leaving until this was done.

And I wasn't leaving without him. That's kind of how best friends worked. He'd keep throwing himself in danger until the day was saved, and I'd keep following him into it. Odds are, that might get me killed someday. Maybe even _today_. But like I say, since the day Raven found me and saved me from the hell of Menagerie, I'd been living on borrowed time—and right now I didn't mind. I didn't _mind_ living on borrowed time if it meant buying time, even if just for a little while. I'd thrown myself into training alongside him, reducing my nights to endless battles, to sweat and blood and both physical and mental exhaustion, not because I was trying to catch up, but simply because I was trying to stay close. Close enough to at least watch his back.

Across the battlefield, Jaune clashed with a beast out of legends and nightmares, trying to find the key to save the world—and for the first time in a long while, I couldn't rely on Jaune to support me in a fight, to heal all of my wounds or restory my power as quickly as I spent it. Right now, he was relying on _me_ to support _him_ ; to keep what was left of a horde of monsters of his back while he fought.

That was why I was here.

And that was why I wasn't holding anything back.

I felt the power I'd gathered in my sword preparing to break loose—and drew my blade, relying on my Aura to guide me in the darkness.

We all had our jobs to do.

It should go without saying that I hadn't come to this battle unprepared. I was ready, on a number of levels. Raven had always taught me that every battle begins in the mind, with preparation and control. Things like hesitation, fear, and uncertainty could kill you even before the first blade was drawn, slowing you and undercutting your strength. Because of that, the first step to victory starts with the self—with knowing what could happen, understanding it, and facing it. That was true in any real battle and even more so in this one, for two simple reasons.

The first was the nature of our enemies. The Grimm were creatures that preyed on the darkness within the hearts of Man, and they could doubt, pain, fear, and anger as easily as I could see light. Losing control was always a dangerous proposition in battle, but against the Grimm it could put you at an even more notable disadvantage—and this dark, uncertain battlefield could turn against me in a moment if I allowed it. If I let myself come undone, the Grimm in these dark clouds with me would smell it like sharks could smell blood in the water, and then I'd be torn apart. I didn't have a lot of advantages; I couldn't afford to make my position any worse.

The other reason was me. I was, however informally, a Huntsman. At the end of the day, my greatest weapon wasn't my sword, but my spirit—my soul, my heat, my will, my Aura. Whatever you wanted to call it, if I faltered, so would it, and in a very literally sense. All else being equal, in a fight between Hunters, the one who allows himself to be shaken will lose. I don't think anyone really knows all the factors that go into determining the strength of one's Aura, but the strength of will attached to it was an undeniable factor.

I wasn't like Jaune. I didn't have anything like the Gamer's Mind or some ancient meditative technique to draw on. All I had to keep control of myself was my own will and the experience I'd gained from countless battles—from being trained by Raven Branwen and from training alongside Jaune Arc.

It was enough. It'd _be_ enough. Right now, my spirit was as sharp as the blade I was swinging through the air—and it spilled out into the world in its wake. In that moment, as the earth and sky were washed in my colors, I felt everything around me; Jaune, shedding power like the sun shed light as he fought against a creature I could only recognize by the void its presence put in my awareness. Both above and around me, Gou was living up to the name of the Tiangou, feet like skyscrapers trampling the broken ground. Raven fluttered in and out of my awareness, here one moment, there the next. Above us all, Autumn was still waiting for her chance, holding back for the time being as she prepared.

But I pushed all of that aside to focus on the task at hand, reducing the world my power had made to nothing but me and the Grimm, picking my target and deciding quite simply that I was going to kill it. That's a surprisingly big part of training oneself to fight, actually; making that decision. It was easy when it came to inhuman monsters, but when you found yourself fighting another person and seeing the terror in their eyes—well, that was something else. But Jaune's power had, for the longest time, labeled me as 'the Beast' and there was a reason for that. I wasn't one to shy away from the nastier parts of the world; I'd killed the man who'd taken my mother away before I was anything more than a punk kid and I sent dozens screaming after him before Raven found me. In comparison, killing the Grimm was nothing but a way to lighten up my day, and a few months with Jaune had made sure my mental image of them was firmly 'walking bags of experience and loot.'

Which led us to the _second_ part of winning fights. As I said, all else being equal—that is, in a fair fight—a Hunter's spirit would be what made the difference and it was important to remember that. It did not, however, mean you should ever fight fair. When you fight with your life on the line, by definition you die if you lose, which meant you should make damn sure you don't lose. After preparing the mind came preparing the body. A lot of the time, that meant training like your life depended on it, which was easy, because it did.

Other times, it just meant carrying a really big stick. Sure, a real Hunter was more dangerous with chopsticks then thugs were with swords and machineguns, but they were more dangerous with swords and machineguns then they were with chopsticks, generally speaking. And needless to say, when it came time to venture into the jaws of death, I made sure to come dressed for the occasion. The swords at my sides were part of that. One was the magical sword that Jaune had given me a few weeks ago, all but humming with its desire to unleash the power it contained.

But the blade I drew was _mine_. Wilt and Blush, the weapons I'd made years ago, under Raven's watchful eye. The weapons I'd trained with for endless days and nights, even before Jaune's inhuman training regime led to restless nights of practice and combat. It bore the scars of it, too, and I'd had to reforge it more than once, sometimes with Raven's help and sometimes on my own. I didn't consider that a mark against it, but a matter of pride; maybe the sword I wielded now wasn't the same as the one I'd first picked up years ago, but I wasn't the same, either. We'd both changed. We'd both gotten stronger. That was life for you.

And their most recent change was something I was especially proud of. Part of it was a gift from Raven, supposedly a graduation present of sorts. Part of it was Jaune's inability to do things by halves when it came to anything he thought was important. And a good chunk of it was just me, remaking my weapon with the people I cared about for the sake of protecting and helping them.

This was the result.

What cut through the air was something like a ripple in space, if ripples could cut. I lashed out towards my target with a blade that gleamed even in the darkness, the Dust alloy granting shape to the power I unleashed, drawing it into alignment with its own nature as well as my own. And when it hit the most damaged Humbaba…the creature began to fall apart. The wound that was carved into its chest when the ripple splashed over it glowed searing red and began to both deepen and spread, the edges of the would coming apart in the form of falling rose petal.

The Humbaba let loose an inhuman sound, something glowing purple-white within the depths of its tangled face. I could see it even through the walls of smoke and ash, but I didn't flinch even as aimed towards me, refusing to let myself falter as I resheathed my sword and began clicking the turning mechanism.

I wasn't afraid. I was _eager_.

And when, moments later, the walls of smoke were cut through my a column of light that could have carved a line of destruction through a city, I was all too happy to show it why—to prove that I could give as good as I got. I caught the blast of destructive power on my blade and felt my Aura rise up in response. The power flowed into me like I was trying to swallow a river, setting my blood on fire and my nerves alight as it did. I opened myself up to it, drawing it in, and felt my Aura burn brighter by the moment, glowing through my skin. It flickered like a flame, pulsing in tune with my heart, but I kept it up, holding steady against the power coming my way.

A part of me marveled at what I was doing now—holding back the power of a Humbaba, one of the Grimm that most would consider it a death sentence to _meet_ , let alone fight. But it was a small part now, because this was nothing new to me anymore; you stay around Jaune long enough and all sorts of shit becomes flat-out pedestrian. I'd seen Humbaba and worse. Even this thing, a creature strong enough to survive everything that Jaune had thrown at it, wasn't enough to make me back down.

I faced it head on, took its most powerful attack, and made its power my own. And when the blast of its power tapered off and faded back into the darkness…I held onto it. It wasn't something I'd always been able to do, wasn't even something I'd been able to do for very long. I could draw in down from external sources, but it was hard to hold onto them for long; usually, I released it as quickly as I could, using it to counterattack before I lost control. But I'd been spending a lot of time practicing my control, lately, making sure I could hold my power within my blade for extended periods of time—and if I could do it there, why not within my own body?

This was my Semblance. My power. For all that I'd relied it for years, my sword wasn't a required part of the equation. And as I held on to that power and converted it, I felt my power, my Aura, swell in response, strengthening me over and over again.

I'd always been able to hit a bit outside my weight class, given the chance to gather power. Now…well, now I had.

Without hesitating for a moment, my finger pulled the trigger on Blush, but I didn't lash out with a wave of power this time. I didn't have to, anymore.

This power was my own.

The moment I pulled the trigger, I came apart, space bending around me and through me. I didn't so much cut through my target as I intersected everything in my path, and when I stopped the Humbaba was to my back and Wilt was in my hand. I flicked it once and then rested it on my shoulder.

"Too bad," I told it, looking back. "Next time, you should choose your opponents more wisely. Well, but…I guess it's too late for that now."

I sheathed my sword as the ancient Grimm came apart into the wilting petals of a rose.

A quite click and I'd chosen my next blade—a moment's thought and I'd picked my next target.

We all had our jobs to do.

And this one was mine.

 **XxXXxX**


	19. Chapter 19

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Pressure**

It was hard to describe what happened when I unleashed Ohr Ein Sof, because it wasn't _just_ a gathering of power or a tremendous attack, though it was _also_ those things. It was the Light, given shape in the world in a more…honest? Real? In a _truer_ sense then what was created by Lux Aeterna. The thing is, I didn't know what the Light really was or where it came from or how it worked. There wasn't much I could really say about it, because the Light was above even Keter, which in and of itself lay above the mind's ability to comprehend; it was quite possible that any attempts to truly describe or understand it were doomed from the start.

Nonetheless, I gave it my best effort.

This world and everything in it was the 'Kingdom.' It was the Light given form, thought applied to action, the culmination of a process—the result of the Tree of Life. The Sephirot, in a sense and among many other things, represented the flow between two ends of a spectrum, the process in which one became the other. On the one hand, there was the Light, something even I didn't understand except in a vague sense; it was the true form of this world, the underlying principle behind everything, the source and the end point. Everything in this world was part of the Light, in a way similar to how matter and energy were interchangeable; different states of the same thing. Was there more to it than that? Almost certainly. But that was the general idea.

But the Tree of Life went both ways. Things flowed down it to take shape in the world in ways both literal and metaphorical, and they flowed back up to…do something, I guess. There was no way of knowing what was up there and despite dying, I had no memory of it, or at least nothing my mind could make sense of. Whatever came after death and before rebirth was presumably up there somewhere, which was something I found both fascinating and terrifying. To me, it was like a box holding the answer to something people had wondered about since…probably as long as Mankind has existed, but there was only one way to open it. That seemed fitting in a way; the saying went that if you stopped learning, you started dying—which was applicable to me in a saddening number of ways, really—but in light of the existence of souls and reincarnation, I suppose that death itself was a lesson of sorts. I hoped it was one I'd learned from the first time around, if so.

Ohr Ein Sof, however, was something special—the Light Without End, flowing both up and down the Tree of Life. The materialization, or reduction, or creation of the Light that should exist only above Keter within the world of Malkuth.

My Light, specifically.

The moment I initialized the skill, my power turn in upon itself. My Aura seemed to shrink back into my skin, along with the light around me, energy spiraling down into the center of my being and then up, up, up, through the gateway of Sahasrara and then far beyond it. For a moment, I felt like I'd vanished, as if I'd been consumed by it and sucked down some kind of cosmic black hole, pulling in everything around me in the process. I felt it when I stopped being 'me,' as I was reduced to pieces that were hard to label. A will, perhaps, a thought, an awareness—and then nothing so easily defined. In the end, I was nothing but 'something that exists' and 'something aware of its existence.' I wasn't reduced to nothing, per se, but to a state of 'something' that was both infinitely distant and unspeakably close to nothing.

And at the same time, I became something else. As I was boiled down to nothing but 'Me,' everything I was became a part of 'Me.' My memories, my beliefs, my power, my will, my actions and intentions, my hopes and dreams, my body, my voice, my skills—everything 'I' was revealed itself as nothing but a part of 'Myself', luminous and unending and without anything to distinguish it from the rest. If you boiled everything away and reduced me down to the most basic level, beyond physicality, action, mind, or will, this was what remained.

'Me.' Not even Jaune Arc or Jian Bing or Keter or anything else created by the labels of the world, but simply 'Me.' Or, perhaps, 'Metatron,' for whatever difference it made. And for a period of time I couldn't recognize, much less understand, that was all I was.

And then the process reversed, and everything that had been subsumed rose back to the surface. I existed, thought, remembered, understood, and _was_ , in that moment. I was here, alive, human, and _real_ again, in a way I _could_ understand.

But all that I was or had been? I brought it along for the ride.

A thin column of light flashed from my outstretched hand to the center of the Gilgamesh's chest, no wider around then my pinky finger. For an instant, that was all it was, something almost unbelievably small for the process that had created it—and then it expanded. I didn't follow it up with another wave of power or anything of the sort, because this wasn't the devouring light of Lux Aeterna; the light drew power from itself, seemingly expanding it without limit. Instead of drawing power _into_ itself, it released it into the world as if opening a door in a way that reminded me of Bianca. What had been a narrow column of light for a brief moment expanded quickly into a growing beam that could have devoured mountains. It grew to such an extent that the angle of the attack seemed to overflow its bounds, turning from an acute blast to an obtuse one as power slipped over my hand and back, expanding in all directions and slipping between the spaces of my fingers. The sheer light of the attack almost seemed to wash the world away, reducing it to an endless plane of brightness and power that consumed both me and my target.

 **Ohr Ein Sof (Active) LV1 EXP: 37.72% MP: 144000; Special  
The Infinite Light from which all things are born, the truth that is hidden behind all that is. The soul of the user revealed within the Kingdom, briefly freed from the chains that bind them to mortal form, has become a brand of annihilation for all that stands in their path. A skill that is only possible for those able to reach above the spheres and grasp the Light in its pure form, it has the power to return things to the way they were in the beginning.  
Slight chance of 'Unmaking' targets, returning them to a form that has no place within this world.  
Slight risk of 'Unravelling.'  
Damage increases with understanding of the Self and nature of Emanation.  
Current Base Damage: Special.**

This was my first trump card, an attack that goes beyond destructive power—perhaps even beyond the nature of physical destruction itself. Needless to say, for various reasons, it was one of my more…disorienting skills to use and something even _I_ had to be careful with, but for something like this it was one of my most powerful skills and was one of the reasons why I honestly thought that maybe, just maybe, I could do this.

And when the light slowly faded, the results spoke for themselves. For leagues in front of me, the world had been changed, as if countless tons of earth had simply vanished. Much of the smoke that the Brahmastras had created had disappeared alongside it, coming undone as it was pierced through by my light. And Gilgamesh, the focus and target of the attack…

Well, he looked like he'd seen better days. His armor had cracked in half a dozen places and in various spots, small chunks of flesh had been outright removes, cutting tiny red holes in his flesh that released a kind of luminous silver smoke. And while he was unfortunately alive and obviously ready to continue fighting, he'd just as obviously been _hurt_ by the attack where he'd brushed off the Brahmastras—and the look in his red eyes made it clear that he knew it.

In the wake of Ohr Ein Sof, simply retaining oneself was a challenge—both for the target and for the user. This time, we'd both survived only a little worse for the wear, but it wasn't something either of us could make light off or brush off. The simple fact that I'd used it at all in this fight showed how serious I was about winning and what I could draw upon to do so.

The only question now what how the Grimm would respond to that revelation. I was pushing him now, had successfully struck a blow he couldn't simply ignore, and it was all but certain that he'd respond to that. Ohr Ein Sof wasn't something I could risk using frequently and as the battle wore on, both its effectiveness and dangers would rise. Using it early on was a good choice in that regard and I still had my fair share of tricks up my sleeve just in case, but—

"Finally," An unfamiliar voice said, the tone low as it interrupted my thoughts. Gilgamesh continued to watch me as he quietly spoke. "You've kept me waiting for a very long time, Archangel."

Physically, I didn't react in the slightest—I had better control of myself than that, and I was very careful when it came to what I allowed myself to show, especially to my enemies. Mentally, I was surprised, but only momentarily. After all, while most of the Grimm didn't speak, that didn't necessarily mean anything; while the weaker Grimm were extremely animalistic, the older Grimm were intelligent enough that the idea of them being able to associate concept with noises wasn't hard to believe and they certainly had time enough to learn to understand human speech. If they had any difficulties in that regard, it was probably more a matter of mechanics; speaking a human language with mouthparts that obviously weren't designed for such a thing. But Conquest and Famine had spoken easily enough, given a human body to ride around in, though it probably helped that they could simply steal such skills from their hosts. Given a human enough body or some other way of compensating, it wasn't that odd that other Grimm could do the same. And for something as ancient and powerful as the legendary Gilgamesh…

Well, it wasn't _that_ strange, is the point. Really, if I thought about it like that, the weird thing wasn't so much that he was able to speak human languages so much as the fact that he could speak a language I understood. A few thousand years was plenty of time to become a master linguist, but at the same time it kind of necessitated it; Remnant had had enough fallen civilizations and enough spoken language that for a sufficiently ancient being, even knowing a thousand languages might not be enough. Modern Vytalian was actually a fairly recent bastardization of a bunch of other languages that was only a couple hundred years old at the broadest interpretation and, arguably, hadn't truly been formed until open communications between the Kingdoms were established. A part of me had to wonder how a Grimm who apparently spent most of his time sitting around in the middle of nowhere managed to pick it up. I was kind of doubtful that he could just walk into one of the Kingdoms and strike up a conversation, at least not without terrifying the populace. Had one of the people he'd killed dropped a translation booklet or was this just another weird Grimm thing?

But, more importantly, how should I respond? Should I respond at all? I liked to think I'd come a long ways from my socially awkward days, but we _were_ having a fight here. Sure, I was usually the first to interrupt a battle with words, but that was usually because I was either terrified and about to die or completely lost and in need of more information. Was I either of those things right now?

…Possibly; nothing immediately jumped out at me, but I seemed to spend most of my life lost, confused, and in a nebulous amount of danger. I _was_ fighting an ancient Grimm here, too—I was in plenty of danger and there was plenty I could learn. Admittedly, I wasn't entirely sure how talking would help me with either of those things right now; in my experience, the Grimm were largely unhelpful unless too could get them to admit something unknowingly. It's like they didn't even want to tell me all their secret plans, the bastards.

The thing is, this wasn't just my usual scramble for survival; this was a fight I had to win and one where my friends were putting everything they had on the line to run interference. I was a master at dragging out conversations when it came to preserving my own life, but surprisingly, time wasn't on my side this time. If I stopped and had a nice chat with yet another godless abomination, that'd leave my friends fighting for their lives that much longer.

Of course, it also gave me a chance to check up on them. Even I couldn't afford to spare them much thought in a fight like this, but if we were just talking—

"Sorry for the delay," I replied without missing a beat, a slight smile pulling at my lips. I didn't relax, but I shifted my posture into a less aggressive stance, settling instead on self-assured confidence. I didn't need my eyes to see, so I didn't move them from the Grimm in front of me even as I scanned the area. "I was held up for a while. That's dying for you, I guess."

"Unlike you, I wouldn't know," Gilgamesh said back, lifting a hand to absently brush at his armor. The holes Ohr Ein Sof had put into his defenses welled with new matter, but it didn't seem to fit together quite right, leaving red pockmarks on the material. He looked down at it with what I assumed to be distaste. "Drawing from old tricks, I see. It's been a long time since anyone sought to strike me down with a Brahmastra. I thought the technique died with the fall of Vedic."

"Consider it a reminder that not everything is as dead as it might seem," I answered with a mocking shrug. "All sorts of things have been crawling out of the annals of history, lately—I thought it might be nice to bring back a few that were actually pleasant."

As I spoke, I quickly took stock of the details I'd noticed in the periphery—and, appropriately, with Pericognition. It would have alerted me if anything major had happened, so I wasn't surprised to see my friends and family all in one piece. Adam had unveiled his newest trick, his MP bar expanding as he took in external sources of power to bolster his abilities, raising his stats as a matter of course. Raven was hard at work harrying half a dozen Grimm, flitting between them with portals and turning their power against one another. Gou continued to be monolithic, attacking anything he safely could and drawing the lion's share of attention to himself as he tanked blows; at the moment, he was focused primarily on aggravating and incising the Grimm to keep too many from attacking the others. And Autumn…was still in the sky, spreading her seeds.

I suppose she was buying time as well.

"You wound me," Gilgamesh answered dryly. At the same time, his fingers clinked gently against his armored hide. "In more ways than one. That technique you used…was it Ohr Ein Sof?"

"You know a great deal," I mused, thoughts still elsewhere. None of my friends were truly hurt yet, with Autumn being perfectly fine, Gou being in acceptable parameters for someone who could recover from being flayed alive in a few seconds, and Adam and Raven having only spent their Aura. Granted, that was a concern in and of itself; even without Sahasrara, their Auras were essentially their HP, given that the moment they ran out, they'd be in exceedingly dire straits. Should I use this opportunity to heal them, just in case? Doing so actively might be too noticeable, but if I excluded Autumn, I could use a full heal on each of them, just to top them off. That seemed a bit wasteful, since it was the type of thing I'd want to save for when one of us was _really_ in trouble, but it was a possibility. A better one would be to use Caritas to just refuel them, but that bore the risk of being noticeable, too—more so than the healing, even, since it risked making them glow. Gilgamesh seemed content to talk for the moment, but it might be a bit much to assume he'd be willing to stand around with his thumb up his ass while I took care of my allies. He might attack me immediately or, worse, might strike at one of them instead.

No. I'd need to time this right.

"You play a dangerous game," He said. "When you come undone, there's nothing to guarantee you'll be able to put yourself back together again. It's an enviable weapon in some ways, but one that was lost for a reason—namely, most of the people who used it wound up killing themselves in the process."

"Mm," I hummed in acknowledgement, shrugging a shoulder again as I returned my attention to the conversation. "Such a kind warning. But then again, I'm not the only one who'd have to wait if I disappeared again, am I? Could it be that you're worried about me?"

Gilgamesh chuckled slightly at that.

"Perhaps," He acknowledged. "At the very least, it would be a shame—if you were to die, it would be a waste for you to go in such a way. I'd much rather tear you apart, I think."

"Aw," I said. "I'm touched, really."

"Perhaps so," He answered. "Have you not considered whether this battle is even necessary? If you have some idea of this place's value and our goals, why are you so certain we'd try to stop you?"

At that, I smiled and tilted my head.

"Oh, I'm sure you'd let me waltz right in if I asked nicely," I replied, only a touch dryly. "I'm just a touch less certain as to what you'd do to me afterwards, so I wanted to start with a trust-building exercise."

Gilgamesh tilted his head and cast a glance over the mess I'd made of…everything.

"A trust-building exercise, is it?" He mused. "I don't quite understand."

"It's simple, really," I told him. "I don't trust any of you fuckers. This entire place has screamed trap from the moment I heard of it and while it's a trap I have no choice but to spring, I think I'll feel better about it if I walk over your corpses to do it. Hence, building trust."

Gilgamesh laughed outright at that, though there was a different kind of edge to it now.

"I see," He said. "It's an interesting idea, I suppose—but do you honestly believe that's how this fight shall go?"

"I liked my odds enough to show up, didn't I?" I answered before slowly looking around. "And maybe it's just me, but you're place looks like its seen better days, Gil."

"…I suppose I didn't really expect you to make things easy," The Grimm replied, red eyes calm. "I'm glad. Let's both do our best to enjoy this brief game, then."

I whistled quietly and smiled.

"You want to challenge _me_ to a game?" I asked him. "Do you know who I am?"

Gilgamesh stepped forward instead of answering, vanishing abruptly a moment later—and at the same time, I released my power.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Splitting Up**

My Aurora exploded into existence around us and immediately aspected towards water, taking form as a bizarre, personalized water spout. As Gilgamesh entered my range, I felt his presence as a swift moving object literally _burning_ a path through the flowing wind and water, boiling anything that touched his skin with friction alone.

He was fast, more so than anyone I'd ever fought, and that made all the difference in a fight. Most of the Grimm I opposed were massive creatures and there was something to be said for that—but they were unwieldy, too, so massive that everything they did seemed almost glacial. It wasn't, truly; logically speaking, any of the Grimm moved at truly absurd speeds given their size. But to _me_? They were mostly just giant targets. Some of the Grimm, the truly powerful ones, had other ways around such things, but those that didn't…

Well, they were a big part of how I'd gotten this strong.

And Gilgamesh wasn't like them at all. If anything, he'd been built with their weaknesses in mind, leveraging the absurd physical prowess of the Grimm to even more absurd levels, without anything to hold him back. I wasn't foolish enough to assume that he didn't have anything else up his sleeve—my life was rarely that easy—but even without whatever he was keeping in reserve, he was on a different level than the Grimm I'd fought thus far. He was fast by _my_ standards and with nothing but his physical stats, managed to move at speeds I could only match with layered skills and outright time manipulation. It was, quite frankly, kind of ridiculous.

But so was I.

I held my Aurora in place for only a moment, gauging his approach, and then Fluctuated, flickering away just as he cut through the space I'd inhabited. Even as I moved, I let Xihai slip from my flesh, her spiritual presence seeming to rise from my skin like water vapor—and while I disappeared, she remained just where she was, forming a forming a physical form from the surrounding water. That was part of the reason I hadn't put aside Varuna instantly, in fact; though I didn't consider it the best of my Elemental Embodiment skills, it did have a fair bit going for it, among them the casual ability to either summon or create water. Without any increase in cost, Aurora had generated a massive amount of water; enough to flood skyscrapers and more than enough to serve my and Xihai's needs.

As Gilgamesh hit the other side of the rough sphere my Aurora had created, he didn't pierce through—rather, the sphere distorted, a portion of it stretching out with him and turning it into an odd cone-like shape as water pulled at him even as he pushed forward, slowing him slightly. At the same time, the rough coils of the former water spout transitioned into _actual_ coiled, complete with dark blue scales. It spiraled upwards, water swirling into a more definite shape as it gathered into the form of giantess with six arms who's body flowed seamlessly into the serpentine scales just above her waist. Even as Gilgamesh finally broke free of the water's grasp and literally exploded out of her back, she didn't so much as flinch, water shifting back into place ever as what was boiled away began to condensate. Instead, she simply looked at Gilgamesh with nine pitch-black orbs; two in her face, one at her collar bone, and one on each of her arms, just below where her shoulders merged. From each of the eyes came a steady stream of clear water, flowing into and feeding the rest of her body.

Of all the improvements I'd made prior to this battle, this was, while not the greatest, definitely one of the closest to my heart—my Elementals had made the jump from Lesser Elementals to True Elementals, with my Elemental Affinities all doubling in the process. More importantly than that, however, was the changes that had come to my friends.

"Stop, monster," Xihai said calmly, forming the sounds on her own as she watched her foe. "We won't allow you to do as you please any longer."

Gilgamesh stopped for a moment to simply look at her for a moment before making a strange sound, like someone clicking their tongue but somehow off.

"To be expected, I suppose," He said, looking back at me. "As per usual, you are startlingly divided for one meant to represent unity."

"You have no idea," I answered, shifting my feet slightly as I focused on gathering my power.

"We are united in all the ways that matter," Xihai declared, looking at Gilgamesh. "A creature such as you should understand that."

"Perhaps so," Gilgamesh allowed easily. "Nonetheless, it's interesting. Are you the same, beneath the surface? Or have you changed in death as well, spirit of water?"

"All things change," She said, as if the question was meaningless to her. "In life and death and time. I am not the same as I was, whether yesterday or a thousand years before—yet what does it matter? Whatever has been gained or lost, so long as you can continue on, that is strength."

Gilgamesh tilted his head and considered her, having to tilt his head back to do so.

"Well said," He answered, almost as if applauding the words. "But I would disagree somewhat. Even after all this time, at least my heart has not changed, nor my will. In my eyes, I consider that to be what makes me strong—that no matter what happens, I am still myself."

"I wouldn't consider it a matter of pride to cease to change," Xihai said. "That which does not change merely stagnates and that which is not added to is doomed to decline; these are simple facts."

"Spoken as a creature born of water," Gilgamesh mused. "It's a fair point of contention, however—shall we consider this a test of our resolves, then? Games are more interesting when there's something at stake besides our lives, especially as we are all so willing to face death."

Xihai looked at me for a moment and I shook my head slightly, indicating that I wasn't ready yet.

"Consider it what you will," Xihai decided. "But it seems pointless to me; our resolve survived even death."

"Ah, true," Gilgamesh agreed. "But that's what makes it interesting, no? That which sets us apart."

Apparently considering that the end of the sudden exchange, Gilgamesh flickered and Xihai deformed. As he came near her, he lashed out relentlessly with his blade, the strikes so fast that they left imprints in the water like open wounds, each of the marks in the exact shape of Gilgamesh's blade—and moments later igniting in their wake even as the water violently burst. Xihai exploded, her form shattered by the attack and scattered into droplets even as the rest of her form lost shape. I felt something odd through my connection to my Water Elemental and couldn't say I was surprised when it took her a moment to begin to reform.

As I thought, there was more to the material Gilgamesh was composed of than simple defensive ability. If Kavacha was something from above that shouldn't have existed below, than whatever he was made of seemed almost like its opposite—something created in Malkuth that was somehow divorced from everything else? I wasn't even sure how something like that would have worked, but it might have made sense. If I had to guess, the effect was probably the reverse of Kavacha's, too, being more effective against things based on MP than purely physical attacks. Then again, with stats like his, he probably didn't _need_ to worry much about the purely physical.

Still, it was going to make killing him that much more of a pain in the ass.

I checked on the progress I'd made even as I kept an eye on Gilgamesh who, naturally, had turned his attention back towards me the moment the immediate obstacle was gone. I had a moment to decide whether to keep going or switch tracks—and made my decision quickly.

Whatever he had going for him, I wasn't worried—and I wasn't alone. Especially not right now.

 _Cover me,_ I thought. _I need a little while longer._

At once, there was a flash and Gilgamesh aborted his approach, staggering slightly in the wake of the lightning strike. Vulturnus flickered around me, recoiling slightly at whatever resistance he'd felt, but it was a brief thing, not as bad as whatever had struck Xihai. Already, my Water Elemental was returning to her physical form, reconstructing it in the wake of whatever had disrupted it, and I didn't stop there. The earth buckled and the wind raged, groaning and howling even as the smoke filled air churned and a storm began to brew above us. I drew back as four of my Elementals rose, keeping only Suryasta and Crocea Mors close at hand, and waited.

I'd known from the beginning that something like this would be hard to pull off in the middle of combat, but…I trusted my friends. If it was just this, I'd be safe even in the middle of this battlefield.

Somewhere deep in my soul, my Hidden Heart started beating.

Levant took the form of a towering woman, though tiny compared to Xihai's massive form—only about three and a half meters tall or so. She'd changed at once the most and the least amongst my Elementals, with her features being much the same, if perhaps a touch older; a woman, now, instead of a teenager. What was different was…pretty much everything else. She'd traded her gown for what could briefly be mistaken for a white dress, until one noticed the feathers and realized she had wings. They were thin and sprouted from seemingly every joint and vertebrae, varying greatly in both width and length as they conformed to her body in layers, covering everything but her face; there were even wings growing from her wrists and knuckles, covering her hands with gloves. On the whole, very few of her wings were actually outstretched; the only real exceptions where a pair of wings that stretched backwards from each ankle and the ones behind her ears, which seemed to catch her hair between them. Otherwise, they did nothing but flutter vaguely as she wielded her power.

And wield it she did. Storms struck out at the battlefield, churning the smoke into dark vortexes. She kept me safe from her power and prevented it from spilling over onto my friends, but Grimm around us had to brace themselves to keep from being drawn towards than as the wind speeds climbed further and further into the hundreds. Gilgamesh didn't resist, however, instead stepping forward, piecing cleanly through the first storm like a bullet, using his own speed to keep him safe. Vulturnus trailed after her, his form unraveling into a thousand streamers, reaching out towards the rushing Grimm and striking the moment their paths crossed.

Unlikely last time, however, Gilgamesh wasn't caught by surprise and he didn't so much as flinch, simply taking the hit and hit and moving to counterattack. His sword flicked out the moment Vulturnus struck him, taking advantage of the brief period between one lightning strike and the next, and sheered through the Lightning Elemental's almost shapeless mass with a bizarre sound somewhere between a hiss of a cat and the tearing of paper. Vulturnus exploded into sparks, ironically stunned, and Gilgamesh turned his attention to his next opponent.

Ereb promptly hit him with a boulder the size of a small house, bringing it down upon him in a massive fist. Ereb was perhaps the most changed, rising from the ground as a titan of earth and stone. Traces of his human form's features were still apparent, but they were tined by earthen ridges and his skin was the color of weathered rock. His proportions were all wrong, too, with his arms and legs far thicker than they would have been on a human, and hackles on his back that looked like a mountain range. He was enormous, too, with Xihai perhaps being longer from head to tail but barely coming up to his waist as she was. His warped hands, now changed to look like brutal stone claws, melded with the boulder as he tried to hammer Gilgamesh into the ground like a nail. For a moment, it almost looked like he'd succeeded.

A moment later, however, the stone trembled and shook, cracks spreading across its length as Gilgamesh pushed back, overwhelming Ereb with simple main strength and knocking him back. My Earth Elemental fell until the back of his head nearly touched the ground, before stopping oddly, his body held parallel to the ground by his bent knees. His remaining hand grasped at the earth as if clawing for something, and then his body flung itself back upright, pulling a jagged stone sword from the dirt. From pommel to hilt, it was half-again Ereb's size and looked as rough as a cliff side, but he swung it through the air with casual ease and brought it down with enough force to shatter the ground for fifty meters. Gilgamesh raised his own sword to catch it, but the smaller blade simply cut deeply into Ereb's, leaving it to crash down on his shoulder and stagger him slightly. He flicked his wrist once, the gesture somehow seeming chagrined, and the stone sword was cut cleanly in two, along with most of Ereb's upper body.

Ereb seemed to sway as his remaining arm fell to the ground with a tumultuous thud, though the fact that his head had been split from his right temple to the left corner of his forehead seemed like the more serious wound. Unlike Xihai and Vulturnus, however, his form was not dispelled, despite how disorienting the meaningless wound seemed; a benefit of his solidity, perhaps? Whatever the reason, it seemed like he'd have an easier time recovering, given a moment to recover.

Needless to say, Gilgamesh didn't allow him that chance; he leapt into the air to strike him in the chest, sending cracks rippling outwards before twisting once to shatter him like a statue. Gilgamesh landed calmly, shaking away the dust and dirt, before focusing on Levant.

There was a flash, a flicker, and he pierced through both a wall of wind and Levant's chest, crashing to the ground right in front of me. I didn't flinch as he rose, meeting his eyes without fear.

"A valiant effort," He said. "I've always considered Elementals to be worthy foes and their very nature can make them seem unsurmountable, for even the complete destruction of their physical forms accomplishes nothing. But…that's only if one is unaware of how to deal with them. I hope you didn't expect me to be caught off-guard by such a thing; there are benefits to several millennia of experience."

"So I can see," I mused, hiding my worry. None of my Elementals seemed _injured_ as such, but whatever he'd done to them had come as a shock. I guess it was probably the first time any of them had felt pain and I didn't like seeming them that way.

"Do you have any other Elementals you wish to summon?" He prompted. "Or perhaps to merge into some greater forms? Or are you alone now?"

"You'll find I'm very rarely alone, I think," I replied, casting a glance around. "My apologies for keeping you waiting, however; I was a bit preoccupied."

"Were you now," Gilgamesh answered dryly, looking me over once before chuckling to himself. "Very well; I'm away this is a trick of some kind, but I'm curious, so I shall play along. Let's continue our game, Archangel."

I didn't so much as blink as he swung his sword towards my head, Fluctuating quickly to the side. In that same moment, I took a breath and the world around me erupted into flames, Agni setting my renewed Aurora on fire. I fanned the flames quickly, activating my other techniques to turn the area around me into a hell for anyone caught inside.

It should go without saying that I made sure Gilgamesh was standing right next to me at the time.

The ancient Grimm actually flinched once, recoiling at the sudden rush of flames. He didn't evaporate as lesser Grimm had, didn't even start to immediately burn—but I saw his armor heat and glow and knew it must have hurt. He recovered quickly, however, lashing out at me with one hand without the slightest care about entering the core of my flames and—

Um. Well, technically, what he did was grab my head with one hand, lift me off the ground, and slam me back down—but when _Gilgamesh_ was doing something like that, it was the type of thing that was best described with words like 'smite.' The already broken ground shattered for another few hundred meters as he plunged me straight into the field of molten earth my presence was creating, driving me down until I hit something solid. I reached up reflexively to grab his wrist, instinctively trying to leverage him off, but in a contest of pure strength, Gilgamesh probably had more in his fingertips than I did in both arms. He held on and made it clear he wasn't letting go as his grip tightened on my skull, other hand pulling back to strike me in the face, pushing me further and further down.

All his attention was focused on me now, which was _technically_ what I'd wanted, but I admit this wasn't quite what I'd had in mind.

But oh well. I'd long since accepted that improvisation was what I did for a living. And Gilgamesh was right about one thing—it _was_ a trap.

As Gilgamesh pulled back a hand to strike me again, clearly intent on pummeling me a few hundred feet deeper into the ground, he abruptly flinched once, a spear of gleaming white piercing cleanly through his chest. Unlike me, it seemed he had a bit of trouble seeing clearly beneath a forty meters of molten earth, but to his credit he didn't question it—he just _moved_ , throwing himself away from me with enough force that the miniature lake I'd created all but exploded outwards, leaving me behind.

A moment later, however, a hand reached out to me and I took it gratefully, letting someone who _hadn't_ just gotten smote pull me out of the lava.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked as I coughed slightly. The damage wasn't too bad and most of it was stopped outright by Agni—but I'd swallowed some lava while I was getting punched in the face and it tasted pretty horrible.

"Of course," I said, shaking my head slightly. "It's _me_ after all. I couldn't look myself in the mirror if I couldn't shrug off something like _that_."

"True," The voice said, helping me to my feet. Or helping me upright, rather, as we were both floating in the air at the moment. "We good to go then?"

I nodded and looked up at him, smiling slightly. Gilgamesh hadn't noticed what I'd done when I Fluctuated away from his attack—or rather, he hadn't noticed that I'd Fluctuated _twice_.

I suppose that couldn't be helped, given what he didn't know; after all, I'd left the same place both times.

"Hey, Jaune," I said to myself. "Still looking sexy and amazing, I see."

"Damn straight I am," I replied easily as I scanned the surrounding area. "You too, Jaune."

 **By raising The Hidden Heart to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Thaumiel.'**

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play**  
 **Cooperation**

"You…" Gilgamesh whispered, narrowing his eyes at us and putting an edge to the words. "Who are you?"

In response, we simply smiled. Gilgamesh had seemed fairly confident that he'd seen all my tricks before, which I suppose was fair. After a few thousand years putting down heroes, odds were that he'd been around the block a few times—and if there was ever a time for people to break out their best tricks, it was after running head first into a beast of legend. He'd faced everything people had thrown at him and had clearly survived it and, like all of the Grimm, had probably learned from the experiences. If nothing else, after a few hundred years camping out in the woods, I figured he'd probably taken to coming up with solutions for various things he had and hadn't faced. He struck me as the kind of guy who thought the best way to avoid being surprised was to simply be prepared for everything.

But now he was confused, because I'd just pulled out something he hadn't thought I was capable of. I wasn't sure on how far the Grimm's senses went, but somehow I got the feeling that he had some idea of what he was looking at, and that it only made things harder to understand. However it appeared, this wasn't a cloning technique, nor was it an illusion I'd conjured to deceive his senses. It was something I was betting he'd never seen anything quite like.

He couldn't have, after all. By definition, this was something unique and personal.

It was a Semblance.

And it wasn't mine.

Of all my skills, the Hidden Heart was quite possible the one I understood the least—which was inevitable, I suppose, seeing how it concerned matters of the soul, which I seemed to constantly learn more about but never actually _grasp._ The skill's description, such as it was, said that I'd created and merged with a 'nascent soul', whatever that meant. I mean, that seemed like the type of thing that would have pretty significant side-effects, but the only immediate ones were that my MP doubled. Not that I could really complain about that, of course, because by and large it was pretty fucking sweet, but I'd expected _more_ , somehow. The skill's description had even promised it, speaking of how it would demonstrate greater effects as its level increased, but nothing had happened even after relative years of training.

I suppose I hadn't really expected much. Most of my passive skills, especially the ones tied to my stats, improved at a relatively glacial pace. In the end, I'd accepted it for what it was and was thankful for what I'd gotten, putting it out of my mind. Whatever it had promised, it had shown no such results, but it wasn't as though the base effect wasn't extraordinary in its own right. I accepted it for what it was and moved on.

And then I'd obtained the Arcana and things had changed. I'd remembered who I was, who I had been, and my true name. Most of my memories were still gone, of course, but those that remained were still enough to make a difference—both in me and in _me_.

Even then, it had taken me a while to understand.

The Hidden Heart's _real_ effect was doing…exactly what it said it did. It created a soul within the user—essentially a copy of their _own_ soul, in fact—and everything else grew from there. The reason it doubled its user's MP was simply because the user was able to draw from twice the amount of 'soul' as before.

Of course, the process was probably more complicated than that, or at least I assumed more went into making a new soul than just going poof and getting one. My soul especially was pretty different, being the result of a bunch of horrific, amoral experiments, yet somehow it could make a new one on its own? Did that meant that souls _split_ , somehow, like cells? Or was the metaphysical bulk of my soul simple large enough to draw the required 'material' from above? Or, and the thought was somewhat worrying, did it have something to do with the Qliphoth? I had, apparently, _created_ a soul within the Kingdom…somehow. Unless I wasn't, and instead I…I had no idea.

But surprisingly, the development of that nascent soul hadn't seemed to do much to me, mechanically speaking. When I thought of benefits from my skills, I thought of improvements to my status and numerical advantages, and even after getting the Hidden Heart to level forty, nothing like that had happened. The skill had begun to level up quickly after I'd learned the Arcana, especially when combined with Sahasrara and Etz Hayim, but still, nothing had _seemed_ to change.

It was something that had only made sense in hindsight and the truth was both disappointingly simple and amazingly complex. The benefit of the soul's development was the same as the benefit of a _child's_ development; put simply, it was the simple fact that it grew up.

Except souls—or, at least, dual souls—grew up weird as hell. It wasn't like I started hearing voices in my head or anything; however many souls I had, I only had one brain, after all, so we just…shared it. We didn't fight over it or converse inside of it or anything, we just _were_. I suppose that made sense, more or less; bodies were, apparently, the things souls used to express themselves in this world; after using Ohr Ein Sof especially, I knew how big the difference was in that regard. Having two souls didn't change that in any meaningful sense, I just expressed both souls. Not that that wasn't fairly worrying in its own right; had my thought processes changed without me noticing? Had any thoughts slipped in that were more from the other half of me than from the original? I wasn't sure even _I_ would notice if I'd been changed by it, seeing as things had gotten kind of crazy at the time; with Conquest, the revelations about the Riders and Malkuth, my dad's death, moving, all the preparations I'd undergone, and what I'd learned about myself, I'd changed more than enough for someone to slip a few things by. If I'd started thinking about things differently, there'd been plenty enough reasons.

Still, it was something worth worrying about, especially under the circumstances, and so I had.

For a few minutes or so, at least. Then I decided it probably didn't matter; my second soul was basically a copy of my original, inhabited my body, possessing my memories, experienced the world through my senses, and existed in the same space and headspace as I did. Existential worries aside, we were the same person by most metrics, literally bound so tightly that my Semblance had pooled 'our' MP; whatever differences there were between us probably didn't actually change a whole lot and it wasn't as though I could do anything about it besides. I made a mental note to keep an eye out for any major developments, shrugged, and went back to worrying about all the things trying to kill me, ruin my life, or both. If anything happened, I'd just have to rely on the Gamer's Mind to see me through; it's not like there was much else I could do.

And then the skill had maxed out, growth accelerated by…whatever was affecting it. And when it reached the highest level—or, more likely, having reached the highest level _because_ of it—my second soul developed a Semblance of its own.

But…I didn't have time to waste explaining any of that to Gilgamesh.

 **Thaumiel (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 62.09% MP: Special  
The Twins of God and the Duality of God. Thaumiel represents the shadow of Keter—not it's opposite, but it's imbalance. The nature of Keter is one of Unity; the first moment of consciousness, the light born from the darkness. It is something without concept or shape, an intangible existence that gives rise to all that follows it but which is, in its own right, formless until given shape by the Sephirot below it. And yet, at the same time, that very awareness sets Keter apart from everything else, separating it from the Light above and the nothingness that surrounds it. This contradiction is undone by the Tree of Life, however, as all paradoxes within Keter find resolution within the form given by Malkuth, balancing individuality and unity. Thaumiel, then, is simply the state of Keter in separation from Malkuth—the Dual Contending Forces and the division of that which is perfect only in Unity. This skill represents the Semblance crafted by a soul caught within the state of Thaumiel and given form by means other than Malkuth.  
While Thaumiel is active, the user's twin souls may inhabit separate bodies.  
All traits, skills, stats, and meters remain unchanged; the user's division paradoxically leaves the bodies identical.  
While separated, the user's bodies and souls remain both connected and indistinct; any beneficial effect applied to one body automatically affects the other. At the same time, status effects are also mirrored. Should one body die, the other immediately dies as well.  
While Thaumiel is active, the user's bodies may inhabit the same volume of space without reuniting or changing mass. While existing in such a state, both bodies may activate skills to affect the apparent whole and may simultaneously activate the same skill to either achieve greater effect or attack multiple targets. May have special interactions with certain skills.  
This skill may only be used for short periods of time or the user risks the collapse of their forcibly divided souls.  
Current Duration: 6 minutes.**

Five minutes and fifty-three seconds left. I wondered if that was enough time to kill a legendary Grimm?

There was only one way to find out.

Without saying another word, we attacked.

The first thing I did was something most people probably would have thought insane—but hell, that was my life in a nutshell.

I went hand to hand with a Grimm of Legend. We closed the distance in an instant, Fluctuating to either side of him with our fists already raised. Our power flickered and snapped once before taking form around us, catching Gilgamesh between our Aurora's. Agni flared around me, but my Aurora only affected my enemies and my other self had a fair number of ways to protect himself besides; the fire clung to him, but he didn't burn. Instead, steel began to rise from his flesh, snapping together in skintight plates that covered him from head to toe, turning his eyes to liquid silver orbs and his hair to gold. Kubera took shape around him, our divided nature bypassing the usual limits of the skill. My other Aurora shifted with it, turning into a greying mist that metalized the ground around him and then caused what little didn't melt in the flames around me to simply rust away.

Gilgamesh twitched once, perhaps grimacing as he was caught between us, but hardly slowed down. He knew that even if there were two of us now, he had the advantage of being vastly superior to us in a physical confrontation, and even with our Auras raging into a storm around him, he didn't back off. And generally speaking, that would have been the right move—I had no trouble believing he was twice as strong as I was if it came down to an arm-wrestling contest or something. But…that was the thing about teams.

We were more than the sum of our parts.

As Gilgamesh's bone-like sword cleaved towards my head, I snapped a hand up, not to block it but to _guide_ it. I caught the side of the blade with the tip of my left hand's fingers, running the numbers in my head in an instant, and pushed upwards even as I lowered my own body. As his bladed whipped above my head, mere centimeters from driving into my skull, my other self stepped forward, knuckles cracking as he curled his metallic hands into fists. A foot came down, shattering the ground as he stepped forward into Gilgamesh, and his power shifted around him, momentarily receding into his flesh. Steel cords of muscle groaned as a network of patterns appeared on both his skin and my own, looking like nothing more than luminous circuitry—the power of Qigong and a half-dozen other skills, bolstering our strength in an instant. The blow he slammed into Gilgamesh's gut was simple, choosing overwhelming power over any kind of finesse.

But sometimes, overwhelming power was all you really needed.

The air rippled and exploded outwards, pushed away from us by the force of the blow and creating a short-lived vacuum that pulled out our flesh, eyes, hair, and clothes. It disrupted the flames around me for a moment, carving a small and empty sphere out of my Aurora before collapsing and strengthening the flames yet further. The ground didn't shatter, simply because it _couldn't_ anymore, reduced as it was to a field of molten earth, but it rippled violently, calling up a massive wave of lava that expanded outwards from us. And Gilgamesh…

On unsteady footing and overextended as he was, there was only so much he could do. There was a sharp crack and then he was blown perhaps twenty meters backwards, feet skimming the surface of the lava as he tried to halt himself but couldn't.

Needless to say, we followed, this time relying on pure speed. We kicked off, layering our skills in an instant to create a sudden burst of acceleration that cleared the lava back down to solid earth, sending it up in a rain of fire. My counterpart moved just a moment before I did, timing it meticulously, and aimed another strike at Gilgamesh, this time targeting his face.

Knowing better than to ignore such a blow now, Gilgamesh's free hand snapped up, catching the blow moments before it connected—and though he was driven back even further by it, even unsteady as he was, he held my counterpart back easily, sword wavering for only a moment as it traced a path up to his throat.

Before the edge hit home, however, I stepped into my counterpart, shifting into his physical space—and then forced out something more than physical. As I seized control of our bodies, he Projected himself forwards, spiritual presence gathering power even as he flipped over Gilgamesh's oncoming blow. Landing on three limbs, he flickered once and materialized as Bai Hu, lashing out with his free leg the moment he regained solidity. My hands had begun moving even before we occupied the same volume, bringing them up not to protect against Gilgamesh's strike but instead to catch my own kick, letting the force push me back just outside Gilgamesh's swing before pushing back, providing the impulse to push my other self back to his feet and giving him an opening.

Gilgamesh didn't even have a chance to pull back his sword before the fist connected with his chin, lifting him fully from his feet once more and leaving him—from my admittedly warped perspective of time—momentarily suspended in midair.

I stepped forward, feet slipping through my other's Projected form and drawing it back into me as a matter of course. As I did, I felt something shift in the power I gathered—the power _we_ gathered.

Like I said, we were more than the sum of our parts.

The hand I slammed into Gilgamesh's gut was secondary to the ten Lux Aeterna's that came with it.

For a moment, the image of Gilgamesh being struck was all I could see as all the light around us was drawn into my hand. It didn't happen the way it usually did, darkening the world but for Lux Aeterna's own light—instead, my view of the world rippled and writhed oddly, twisting and fluctuating as it seemed to be pulled into the palm of my hand like water down a drain. The world faded away in stages, though the process was literally blindingly fast, with more distant objects fading first until only Gilgamesh and I seemed to remain. My body pulsated, flesh giving way to Sahasrara even as the flames of Agni, Surya, and my Aurora were devoured by the almost crystalline sphere. After a moment, even my body started to get pulled towards it, my fingers elongating and twisting as they were drawing painfully in—

And then the sphere fractured, losing shape—and a thin line of light split the darkness. Everything that had been devoured by the sphere seemed to pour forth in the violent onslaught of twisted light and images, and at the very center of it was a narrow beam of focused power that struck Gilgamesh in the center of his chest. I could feel my other self working to keep the light coherent and intense, and it struck Gilgamesh with an inhuman amount of force, instantly accelerating the legenary Grimm to absurd speeds as it blew him away from us and back until his back struck the rising edge of the massive crater I'd made earlier and light played across it, melting everything that was illuminated by Lux Aeterna until a massive oblong shape was burnt into the earth around him.

Gilgamesh let out a low, restrained hiss as he bounced back to his feet, a hand over the bullet sized hole in his chest and eyes focusing intently on us. I looked back at him evenly, my other self literally running out of the space we'd occupied and gathering power in his hands, shaping it into the massive shape of Gungnir as he leapt up to eye level with the Grimm. Gilgamesh was already moving, a blur of dark motion who's passage left a trail of broken earth and quickly expanding fire, blowing a wide hemisphere in the slag around him. In a matter of moments, he'd closed the distance between us, clawed hands reaching towards me—

I Fluctuated, willing myself into the space my other self occupied even as I formed a Gungnir of my own. As we came to occupy the same place, our weapons came into alignment, the power within them resonating and growing. The light of Gungnir seemed to skyrocket to an even greater intensity, and when we threw it, it almost immediately lost shape, the spear changing direction almost mid-shaft. Gilgamesh dodged, blurring and racing away from the attack, zigzagging as he went—but Gungnir matched every shift with a similar change of course, lagging just behind.

Even so, the fact that he remained ahead spoke of Gilgamesh's speed.

But I wouldn't be defeated by speed alone.

I focused my gaze on Gilgamesh and power gathered behind my eyes as I activated Gorgon.

The ancient Grimm hesitated for barely a fraction of a second before breaking free of the effect—and a fraction of a second was enough. Gungnir hit home and exploded with a sound like the crash of thunder—and we Fluctuated, coming apart to target Gilgamesh within the smoke, pressing the assault.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Push**

"You…" Gilgamesh growled, though I'm not sure why. If not for my sensory abilities, I wouldn't have been able to hear him, moving as fast as we now were. I struck my one side and my counterpart from the other, forcing him to split his attention between us. I struck high first, aiming a fist for his temple that he pushed aside with the back of a hand, before aiming a sucker punch at his side with my other that he was forced to lower his elbow to smack down. My other self swung a low kick that he stepped over and, while he was balanced on one leg, pushed himself upright with a flex of will to aim a kick for Gilgamesh's chin that the legendary Grimm jerked his head out of the way of. Gilgamesh's free hand came down, swordsmanship superb even while so off balance, but we both focused on him before the blade could hit home.

A hammer of Psychokinetic force slammed into the Grimm, knocking him several steps back and into the air. Seeing our chance, my double and I teleported into the same spot, lining up with Gilgamesh, and I gathered my strength into an Agniyastra, the legendary weapon made even more potent by its namesake and out dual nature. We layered our existences such that I was 'interposed' between the attack and my other self, shielding him from the consuming flames—I, after all, was completely immune to fire. It took only a moment to charge the attack and then I hurled it with all my might, sending the spear of supernatural flames careening towards the airborne Grimm.

Gilgamesh grunted a moment before the attack hit home, hands snapping up to catch the spear out of midair. He made a pained noise, the touch of the Agniyastra scorching even to him, and held it away from his chest even as it pushed him back through the air. He flew nearly halfway across the crater before somehow leveraging himself enough to throw the spear away while still airborne, using the impulse of the strike to send himself back to the ground where he continued to skid across the ground until he dropped a hand to the dirt to slow himself down.

Needless to say, we were already upon him by the time he rose, Fluctuating to either side—though this time, we kept our distance. Firing spheres snapped into existence around us, filling with our weapons of choice—namely, the ones that benefited the most from our current Elemental Embodiments. I called up a small swarm of Agniyastras while my counterpart filled the air around him with Gungnir's and we cut loose before Gilgamesh was even fully back on his feet. He snapped back, trying to leap out of the kill zone we'd established, but we both gestured at him and dual Gravity Crashes slammed him back into the ground before he could get far.

Then, it was just a matter of our attacks converging on a target—and we both had really good aim. And while he was pinned down, we converged ourselves, appearing right in front of him. This time, my other self took the lead, crafting a Longinus in our hands. The spear glowed brightly with the power we infused within it—but because of that same power, it wasn't something we could waste. Unlike Gungnir, Longinus couldn't follow a target and while it could pierce any defense, it could still miss; when we could afford to use it, me had to make sure it counted. Thanks to the Mathematician's Answer, I was reasonably confident I'd never miss a stationary target, but Gilgamesh was far from stationary and aiming got more complicated against a foe who could move fast enough to dodge an attack _after_ it was fired.

Even so, I saw a shot and I took it. We stepped forward once and threw the spear towards the center of his body—tempting as it was to aim for the head, against a target as fast as this, it was better to aim for the center of mass and trust that putting a gaping hole in someone's body was bad for their health no matter where it was.

The moment it left our hands, space began to waver around Longinus, twisting violently around the blade as it flew without seeming regard for air resistance or much of anything else. The ground seemed to curve slightly as the blade flew over it, as if pushed down by its passage, and in the midst of the smoke I saw Gilgamesh's eyes snap up to the spear in recognition. He tried to react, to get out of the way, but there was a reason we'd struck from this close—near enough to minimize his chances of dodging, far enough to avoid attempts at disrupting our attack—and his attempted dodge did nothing but cause the spear to pierce through the left side of his chest instead of where a human's heart would have been. His hand came up to close over yet another hole in his chest, but his eyes were intent and fierce.

The burst of speed that followed was surprising even to me—to such an extent that we only dodged because we'd expected reprisal and had already been in motion. We went in opposite and then up, appearing such that we hung over Gilgamesh at an angle—something we promptly exploited by using Bane of the Prometheans at his open back, layering every speed booster we had in the process. We reached him at the same time, each grabbing one of his arms and sinking our claws into it before pulling back as hard as we could as the second phase of the Bane took hold. Between the two of us, we not only halted Gilgamesh's forward momentum but drew him into the air, the force and timing of our attacks drawing him right into our midst, and we floated in a quick arc until we intersected, existences aligning with one another as we occupied the same space.

When Gilgamesh was right in front of us, we took a deep breath and crossed our metaphorical fingers.

Then we used Ohr Ein Sof.

It wasn't the same as before, at least not quite—which was both a good and a bad thing. We were united and divided, at once less than perfect and more than the sum of our parts. Thaumiel was about more than just giving a physical form to my counterpart—it was about giving him true selfhood, life and power. There was a difference between our separated existence and our combined one, odd as it might be; in truth, we were always divided, as we remained two distinct souls that happened to occupy the same body, but when we were like this…we were something else.

Stuff like that mattered to the Light. Apparently, so did the two of us activating the skill twice.

Of course, the other side of that was that there were two of us—meaning we had two shots at Unraveling, coming apart as we boiled ourselves down to the most basic elements. And by the very nature of Thaumiel, if one of us died, we both died.

But this was a chance for us, maybe even for Mankind, and with Thaumiel I was pushing Gilgamesh hard enough to take advantage of it.

Once again, I had a shot and I took it. I came apart— _we_ came apart, connected even when there was nothing left of us but who we truly were. We were light and shadow, motion and stillness, the beginning and the end; a melding of linked concepts that soon lost distinction, our division dissolving into a true unity. A name occurred to me distantly, alongside Metatron, but slipped away from me along with thought and selfhood.

I was. We were. There was nothing else.

And then there was, exploding outwards from the light. Coming back together felt harder now, like I'd frayed a bit at the edges, except the edges were who I was. I checked quickly—pointlessly, even—and my other self was still there as well, panting hard alongside me, our breaths and heartbeats perfectly matched. Only after I'd finished checking up on my other did I turn my attention back to Gilgamesh.

The ancient Grimm had really seen better days. His armor was even more badly cracked now, thanks to our continued assault and the second Ohr Ein Sof—but more notably, he was missing something now, specifically his left arm and a decent chunk of that side of his chest. If he'd been a human, the new hole would have devoured most of his left lung and maybe infringed upon his heart, but as a Grimm, it was hard to say if any of the internal damage mattered.

The loss of a limb, however…

He was at a disadvantage now and he knew it. With as hard as we'd been pushing him before, the loss of an arm—a limb to both attack and defend with—was, well, crippling. Perhaps not so badly as a leg would have been, but it was still bad and we'd be able to hurt him even worse now. The way things were going, if he didn't pull out a hell of a trick soon, this would spell the end.

Which, if I was being honest with myself, I kind of expected. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but so far, he'd been _dangerous_ , well above just about anyone I'd ever seen, but not _mythic_. If this was all he had after a few thousand years, I should have killed him last time. When it came to my enemies—my _real_ enemies, not the chafe I slaughtered for power—I wasn't this lucky. He had something up his sleeve, same as I did, and having failed to erase him from existence twice now, odds were good I was about to find out.

Gilgamesh didn't disappoint.

Letting out a growling cry, the flesh on his absent side began to bubble for a moment, as if his wounded skin was boiling—and then it burst violently, matter ejecting from it forcibly. A dark, skeletal shape took shape, seeming somehow warped, though whether it was supposed to be that way or if it was a result of the Brahmastra's interference, I wasn't sure. Either way, whips of red matter followed, coiling around the unnatural bones with extreme speed and taking shape as a twisted musculature, pulsing and flexing in odd places. Finally, a layer of black and white skin grew over it, giving it the form of a twisted arm, with white spikes piercing the skin painfully in random places.

It only took the legendary Grimm moments to regrow the limb, but that was too be expected; after the Hydra, I'd gone into this knowing that I'd be facing some extreme regeneration and that I'd best bring ways to deal with it. The Brahmastra was one, a long term thing that disrupted most forms of healing and turned them steadily against the body over time; it was something I'd been relieved to develop, for that very reason. While it was true that I, too, suffered from the effects, I was less reliant on 'natural' means of healing and even my natural HP regeneration was a secondary issue. The effects it would have on my teammates was a bigger concern, but at the very least, I could heal them as well, given the opportunity. Here in the land of the super Grimm, I'd decided we gained more than we lost.

So the fact that Gilgamesh could sprout new limbs like it was nothing wasn't much of a shock to me; if anything, I was just pleased to see that the limb he'd regained didn't seem to be in working condition. That was the insidious effect of one of my greatest skills at work, and it would worsen over time as he was forced to heal over and over again, the status effect steadily worsening. I wasn't arrogant enough to try fighting a creature of myth and nightmare with just one plan; if need be, I'd wear him down slowly over time until his own regeneration rendered him unable to fight. If possible, I hoped it wouldn't come to that, simply because drawing things out heightened the chances of something going wrong for _me_ —but it was an option. Ideally, I'd take him down in some other way, such as with Ohr Ein Sof, but I did what I had to when my back was up against a wall.

What happened _next_ , however, was a touch more worrying and it was what slowed my advance before I could truly close in on him. A moment after the deformed limb came forth and hung limply at Gilgamesh's side, a strange wave of dark matter pulsed and raced down from his shoulder, flickering across the limb. As it went, bone shards receded into flesh and odd, twisted lumps of muscle seemed to untangle. Other things sprouted up in their place, but they were lesser now, the damage seeming more muted, and the following wave simply erased more and it was followed by another and another still. In a few moments, there was no sign that he'd been wounded at all, at least to normal eyes.

My eyes were anything but, especially through the lens of my other self. Keen as my vision normally was, now it was almost like I'd been living life in a blur and seen it with glasses on for the first time. In some ways, it made no difference—there was a limit to the effectiveness of clarity when you could see everything about something to begin with—but in others it came in handy.

This was one of them. Even if I couldn't use observe to see the truth of the matter, I could tell that the effects of the Brahmastra were still there thanks to my Third Eye; he'd treated the symptoms, perhaps, but not the disease. I'd also been able to see the nature of the process itself, with countless tiny shapes squirming across and into his twisted flesh, breaking things down and spewing them forth. It was an interesting trick, but there was more to it than there might seem—it was just a matter of figuring out what. Important as time was to me now, it was worth a second or two.

"Surprised?" Gilgamesh said when I didn't attack. Perhaps he was feeling chatty, still, but it was more likely that he was just buying himself time to heal and wear me down. Now that I'd seen the nature of his power, I debated whether or not I should press my assault again, but…no, even _this_ wasn't enough. My perceptions were all but shouting warnings to me, telling me of approaching danger, and so I kept still.

Besides. Time limit or not, I benefited for a breather, too. Divided nature or not, that assault had taken power and I could use a few seconds to recover what I'd lost with Dust crystals and my natural MP regeneration. Thaumiel gave me two pools of MP, but that came with a fair bit of maintenance when we went all out.

"A bit," I allowed, giving him a slight nod. "I'd begun to wonder when you would finally take this seriously. Did I manage to make an impression, perhaps?"

"Quite so," He answered, cracking his neck. "I'll admit, you took me by surprise as well; you came prepared, I see. I'd been a touch concerned about breaking you on accident—there has been a time or two when I overestimated the durability of my playmates, you see, and I thought it would be unfortunate if I ended up tearing you to pieces needlessly. I can see that was arrogant of me and so you have my apologies. As you said, I will now take this seriously."

As he spoke, the armor of his chest rippled, tiny waves of black crawling over the white armor as though someone had thrown a stone into a pond. Whatever it touched shifted and changed, edges smoothing and surfaces growing with each passing moment. He was preparing a trick of some kind and it was only the knowledge that it'd be easier to react from a distance that kept me from shooting something at him then and there. Instead, I gathered my returning power and focused it into the ground around both of us, preparing while I had the chance.

"This is my ability, you could say," Gilgamesh continued. "While I am not so fortunate as to have powers such as yourself, I was created with things that set me apart from my brethren and this is one of them. I'm sure by now you are familiar with my fellow's nature; to steal a phrase, that which does not kill us, makes us stronger."

"You learn and adapt," I replied. "Learning from your mistakes to exploit other's weaknesses. It's more than that, though; you change physically as you recover, growing to become more effective killers, whether that means changing size, shape, or whatever else."

"Just so," He agreed. "In that regard, I must concede somewhat to your earlier point—that which does not learn, dies. Both of our species know that, for after all, it is only through learning that one can truly master the art of killing. You still have your schools, do you not? Where you train the young to fight and die? Alas, we don't have anything quite the same; our lessons tend to be learned in battle and over time. Not the most efficient way, but we develop differently from you and yours. Those who grow enough to truly understand have no need to learn; those who cannot learn have no hope of understanding. Such is our way."

I didn't answer him, watching him quietly. My MP was full again, my traps had been laid, and I took another moment to check on my allies. Adam and Raven were still doing well, but Gou had begun to suffer from the effects of the Brahmastra himself. Should I break off to heal him real quickly? I could fight Gilgamesh without my other, if it was only for a short time, and there was the effect on Autumn to consider. But—

"However, as I said, I am different from my brothers and sisters," Gilgamesh interrupted, an edge to his tone. "There is a reason I was created with this form. I was not created through chance or natural processes; I am the result of Intelligent Design. And that, in turn, is my power."

His armor began to burst in random places, taking shape around him as he stepped towards me. His previous armor seemed to melt away, flowing into a different shape along with his body. His forearms and hands widened and lengthened into bulky columns, fingers replaced with jointed blades. His body grew a pure white covering, armored and yet streamlined with odd modifications to his legs. Even his mask shifted, leaving his face and head covered by a smooth, featureless helmet. It didn't look biological, like the Grimm tended to; if anything, it looked technological, akin to the power armor I'd spent quite some time imagining.

Something that had been created instead of grown.

In the next moment, Gilgamesh flickered, closing the gap between us in a meaningless fraction of a second and bringing a massive arm down with force enough to beat down mountains.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Shove**

I managed to react at the last second, bringing up my arms in defense. His hand crashed against them with enough force that I felt the bones _shatter_ , ground to dust in an instant, and it barely slowed down his claws. They bit into my forehead and dragged down through my eyes, one of them catching my nose on the way. I felt them split my lips, shatter my upper and lower jaw, and nearly tear the latter free of my face entirely. I felt it as the claws continued down, snapping ribs like twigs and shredding my entrails.

On pretty much anyone else, it would have been a fatal wound.

On me, it just hurt like a bitch. Not _physically_ —truth be told, getting stabbed in the brain honestly didn't hurt much and I was so accustomed to pain that I just brushed off everything else—but in the damage it did. Thanks to my recently improved Vitality, I'd limited that greatly, but still, it hurt.

But it bought enough time for my other self to evade the blow, stepping backwards as I took the hit and dancing out of the way. He extended a hand toward me and Gilgamesh both, snapping his fingers at once.

There was a sudden cracking sound, but attack outpaced it—in part because the trap had already been set. Gilgamesh had walked into the bounds of our Vajra, the invisible markings laid upon the ground around us, and it was just a matter of letting them loose. We could set them up to react when they were tripped, but with an opponent like Gilgamesh…no. Even if he couldn't dodge the attack itself, there was a moment before the process completed where he could escape. Better to pin him down, first.

So we did. I took the hit. My other stared at him with Gorgon activated, other hand flinging a quick Bind his way, and for a moment he wasn't free to simply leap out of the way.

In that moment, lightning struck. Not once or twice, but the better part of a dozen times, Vajra altering the conditions to be ideal. I felt it when Gilgamesh was hit, in part because of the transfer of shocks, but mainly because his claws convulsed in my guts. Even so, I was shielded from the worst of it by my natural defenses, and as Gilgamesh flung himself away, I only stumbled slightly.

My other was at my side in an instant, attention focused as mine was as Gilgamesh hit the ground and landed on his feet, armor already rippling again. Insulating himself, perhaps? Reducing the conductivity of his armor, almost certainly. Given such control over his own structure, he'd be able to reduce the damage greatly, mitigating it entirely if it fell into the bounds of his version of Kavacha. Even now, he was more surprised than hurt, and I'd bought myself only moments to act.

Best to use them wisely.

I didn't have to glance at my other self to know we were thinking the same thing, and we shed our Elemental Embodiments as once, unleashing both Metal and Fire. Our Elementals gathered around us as spiritual presences, pressing close as they focused on our enemy before unraveling and coming back together.

Gilgamesh released an odd, almost mechanical sound as he watched us.

"You still have more tricks, I see," He said, though he shouldn't have been able to see my Elementals—or, at least, no one else had ever been able to, when they weren't manifested. His eyes were good, then, no doubt boosted by his new suit. Unfortunately, that probably meant that my plan to confuse and disorient him with Delusions and Fantasies was probably doomed to failure, though it could still have value if I played my cards right.

"I came to play, after all," I told him as I felt my counterpart making his move. He didn't hide himself, as such, so much as project an image of himself over his body—a trick both of us were more than accustomed to, which made it easy to follow his lead. This was a risky move in its own way, especially against an opponent like this, which was why I'd refrained from using it until now, but…we were obviously going to need all the help we could get. Combined with what we were preparing to do next, this move would cost us greatly. It was enough to make me consider just going all out right now, but…

No. I couldn't allow myself to be frightened and break from the plan. I still had my fair share of cards to play, the things I was setting up and keeping hidden. I'd need to use them soon to get the most use out of them, but things like Keter and the Arcana would cost me even worse than what I was planning now. I had to use them wisely and make them count.

Besides. Those tactics had risks of their own, aside from their price tags. I'd be taking chances with them no matter how I used them, which was all the more reason not to let myself be shaken.

If there was anything to be…perhaps not _thankful_ , because time was both my friend and enemy in this battle, but at least _aware_ of in this fight, it was that we all moved fast enough that relatively little time had passed. I still had several minutes before I ran Thaumiel's course.

"Good, good," Gilgamesh replied. "I was worried. What few people I've been forced to show this power to have died shortly thereafter; for a moment, I believed you would be the same."

"I'm a lot of things," I said. "Easily killed is not one of them. That ability of yours is impressive, but…"

I closed my eyes for a moment, shaking my head at him even as I mentally weighed crunched the numbers. The time need, the cost per second, how much we needed to prepare, how much time we'd lose. If it wasn't already, our plan would soon be visible, but ever second counted, both for and against us. We'd have an advantage, but we'd also be giving him an opening. Ironically, the next moments would be critical.

But while time may not strictly be on our side, we had friends who were.

"Is that all?" I asked him. " _I_ can do that."

The words were, at best, half-true, but they were enough to startle and make him wonder, and that gave them value. I took the opportunity to punctuate them as my Dimensional took form.

The next moment, we were right in Gilgamesh's face—no, somewhere between our starting positions, already in the midst of a clash. My body was twisted now, the form of Sahasrara seeming to recede behind growing plates of white armor as it slid over our skin. It covered us fully, drawing the spiritual wings of my soul behind something rooted firmly in the physical.

My counterpart and I were undergoing a Metamorphosis, shifting our forms to match his. I felt strength flow through me in the process, rising quickly to engulf me fully—and I wonder how aware Gilgamesh was of the process. Could he sense me more clearly now that I was closer to one of his kind? Did my shifted form give him any insight into what I planned to do next?

It was unfortunately possible—but that was something I'd accounted for. It wouldn't matter one way or another by the time we reached the next step of our plan.

For now, however, we attacked. At first, the forms we took were similar, in some ways, to Gilgamesh's own—the White Rider form we'd adopted as Jian Bing, with a perfectly smooth mask, unbroken by holes for the eyes, nose, or mouth. Our bodies streamlined as well, built for power and speed, designed with killing in mind. If there was any difference it was, ironically, that our forms were the more animalistic.

But in mere moments, those lines began to blur. Metamorphosis was about more than just taking a single form, after all—it was a process of modifications and adaptations, intended to make the user more lethal. It was, in that sense, very similar to what Gilgamesh was doing, likely because it was something I'd gained from Conquest.

What that meant in a fight could get a little complicated, especially for someone like me. One moment, I felt myself swell, adding mass as I met a blow from Gilgamesh with one of my own, deflecting it away from my other with force that shattered my own arm—the next my counterpart struck, something uncoiling in his grotesquely bulging right arm that unleashed a blindingly quick punch. Gilgamesh swung back, points opening along his arms that began to fire small spikes that bled something corrosive, but I leveled a hand at him, middle finger elongating into a wicked spike that I filled with fluids I produced with Venenum, balancing the dosage carefully as I warped the muscle and bone around my wrist and fired it like an arrow.

Gilgamesh barely flinched as it struck home, brushing it off even as it exploded violently and filled the air around us with a sticking black smoke that he simply stepped through. His right hand came up, finger-blades almost touching, and matter began to flow from the tips, gathering into a tiny orb. Circuitry lit up along his arm, shining brightly—and a hair-thin laser struck me in the eye, burning a hole clean through my head. I flinch away, reflexively adjusting my ribcage and skull to protect the contents and minimize the damage, but I was already growing, appearing shifting towards something both feline and ursine even as my double slipped into my space, hiding himself within me as he transformed. I layered my existence to hide him wholly within me, choosing what to conceal and what to let through as my perspective shifted, and then I attacked.

All the while, my Dimensional stood still, watching and waiting.

I bore down on Gilgamesh, body growing as matter flooded in from above, adding to my mass and providing structure to my assumed form. The hand I swept at Gilgamesh was massive now, easily large enough to grasp a man's head like an apple, and my claws were wickedly sharp—would have been impractically so, in fact, had I been anyone else. While honing a blade to a razor's edge certainly had its advantages, primarily in that it allowed one to put more force behind less area, there was also the issue of fragility. In comics, there was a lot of talk about absurdly thin blades that could cut a hair in two or slip between molecules or whatever, but even with Remnant's most advanced engineering, something like that would crumple like, well, aluminum foil, assuming it didn't simply shatter at the first sign of resistance. Aura could help with that, but even with its reinforcing touch, it would never match to durability of larger weapons. Fighting with such a thing was just asking to be stripped of your weapon at a crucial moment.

But matters changed when you could make them out of unbreakable materials—or, at least, things that _acted_ as though it were unbreakable. Thanks to the Gamer's Body, none of the damage I took actually showed on the surface; whether my flesh was pierced, my bones broken, or even if my head was removed, it wouldn't actually seem to harm me until—presumably—I lost my last hit point. In addition, thanks to my various skills, my biology was…warped, to say the least, and the modifications it was able to support were equally unconventional.

It was something I embraced, here and now.

Gilgamesh lifted his left arm to block my coming strike, the limb bulging slightly and taking on a more armored appearance just before my claws connected. I felt my talons crack and break against his hide, sometimes pulling up the flesh around them in the process—but none of that showed and my claws raked his carving swallow marks into his forearm. I let the products of Venenum spill from the venom sacks in my knuckles as I struck, spraying the wound with something corrosive—my failure to create the alchemical legend that was the Universal Solvent, still potent enough to liquefy organic matter.

The Grimm hardly twitched as the edges of the wounds began to shimmer slightly, welling with dissolved skin that was quickly replaced. Instead, he raised both of his arms, hands flashing out like lightning bolts as he clasped his hands on my arms with a grip that powdered bone. His shoulders bulged then, inflating until it seemed almost as if they'd been replaced with rough spheres—and then several ports opened along its surface, spewing worth what at first seemed like smoke.

I knew better, especially as it flowed over and engulfed me. The 'cloud' was actually just a swarm of tiny, tiny Grimm-things—like the magical nanites I'd mentioned before, only taken more literally. They even _looked_ technological at a glance, tiny machines made of tiny pieces of Grimm-bone. They covered me, gathering to attack cells and bury themselves in my skin as they tried to tear me apart piece by piece.

It didn't work. Even on that scale, my skills were still active, hardening my skin to an absurd degree and pushing back their invasion. Beyond that, Kavacha was still at work, and though it seemed to recognize the swarm as a single attack, it still blunted most of their efforts, providing me ample time to counterattack.

Seeing as imitation was the sincerest way to tell someone to go fuck themselves, I gave Gilgamesh's newest trick my own twist, sending a wave of alteration across my skin. On a level invisible to the normal human eye, cells began to convulse, pulsate, and then warped violently, turned into membranous 'shells' for my creations. The tiny creatures that came forth were repurposed parts of my own body, and they crawled over my skin, surrounding and attacking their Grimm counterparts. On the micro-scale, the difference between technology and biology—especially _magical_ technology and biology—was limited, and our microscopic forces might have seemed evenly matched had someone been able to see them fight.

They weren't. We both had our advantages and limitations that were shifting the battle this way and that. Gilgamesh's main edge was his ability to produce and surround me in a devouring cloud of his creations, thick enough that had someone else wandered into it, there wouldn't have been the slightest trace left behind. I, on the other hand, was more limited, being forced to keep my miniature minions close at hand; they were machines obeying commands or even something I could issue orders to with a thought, just something I created and controlled with my power and limited to my close proximity. While I probably _could_ exceed those limits, it would mean adjusting my connection to them and I wasn't sure how much command I'd retain as they distanced themselves from me and became something truly independent; sadly, I was guessing not much. And seeing as the skill I was using had been something I received from Conquest…

No. Biological warfare was a bitch to control and contain at the best of times. Magical biological warfare stolen from one of my greatest enemies and still touched by his power? Probably wasn't something I should play with in the middle of an already delicate situation.

Besides, I had advantages of my own. Unlike Gilgamesh, I was just as capable of fighting under a microscope as I was on the battlefield and I guided my forces accordingly, aiding them when necessary with careful applications of Psychokinesis when necessary. It was enough to push Gilgamesh's forces back, thanks to my protection from their attacks; he undoubtedly noticed what I was up to and commanded his creations to attack mine, but they didn't fight with the mind of a strategist behind them. Mine did and overcame his forces, if only temporarily. He'd swarm me again in a matter of moments, but not before I had time to act.

It was enough to make Gilgamesh let go of me as my minions turned on his claws, a legion of them swarming to chew at his bladed hands. It only lasted a moment before there was a sudden flash from his claws that slew most of our creations and the smoke from his shoulders changed, becoming a mix of airborne poisons, including nerve gases and worse—gaseous contact poisons, prion infestations, and more.

I advanced into the light mist, trusting my defensive skills to see me through the danger as I followed Gilgamesh back. He lifted a hand, another of those odd spheres forming between the claws of his hand, and I saw power gathering even as he aimed it at me. I didn't so much as hesitate, reaching out to grasp the orb tightly in one hand, a series of Lux Aeterna's gathering around my hand.

We looked at each other, both our masks eyeless and yet still conveying what we wanted to say—and as one, we both fired.

There was a strange crackling sound, as if a lightning bolt were somehow breaking. Colors played across my vision and throughout the spectrum, standing out oddly to my senses and then simply collapsing into the point of intersection, where Lux Aeterna clashed with the matter he'd summoned. Light and darkness played across the sphere, balancing for a moment and then breaking down just as fast. Power collapsed into a tiny point and then burst forth.

As I was flung away, I felt as though my arm had been blown away just beneath the elbow and I was sent careening through the air, before hitting and sliding across the ground while it shattered around me. I regained myself after a brief moment of disorientation, turning my slide into a horizontal flip and turning myself Psychokinetically to land on my feet. A hand came down to grasp the ground, my speed pulling it through fifty more meters of dirt before I managed to stop myself—and I saw an opening.

Abruptly, distance became meaningless and I was beside Gilgamesh in a heartbeat. He'd done much the same thing I had, slowing himself with the claws of his left hand—probably because the claws of his right were simply _gone_ , erased just beneath the knuckle by whatever interaction of forces we'd caused. Somehow, he didn't seem surprised to see me and rose to meet my assault. As my fist collided with his own, it was visibly crushed, collapsing until my wrist was near my elbow and revealing the trick I'd hidden within my forearm. As my flesh fell slack, warped by the use of my power instead of the damage, half a dozen red tendrils burst forth, whipping towards Gilgamesh's head, neck, and chest, sinking lightly into his skin. My other hand came up, held just before him, and then I shifted the arrangement of my existence, parts of my other self rising even as bits of me sank.

Wings spread out from my back, feathers black but marked by red colored eyes reminiscent of the Panoptes. My arm changed, too, eyes opening down its length and something like a mouth appearing at the center of my palm—and as space shifted and warped, Dust crystals fluttered from my Inventory, rotating around the limb in three circles. Power gathered around and inside me, flowing into some hollow segment of my arm that had been set aside for the task, glowing through my skin.

I fired.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Area of Effect**

Power glowed through my arm, gathered and shaped by my will. The Dust crystals that floated around me quivered and shifted, rotating like bullets in a revolver as I began to fire. I didn't waste my ammo on a single blast or an overwhelming display of power, but instead unleashed a prolonged burst of a dozen varied effects, aiming for something else. To anyone else, it might have looked like I was firing at random, shooting whatever gun happened to be at hand, but needless to say, that wasn't the case; I calculated the trajectory of each shot and decided which crystal to use when and how on a moment's notice. And if Gilgamesh moved to dodge most of them, leaving them to hit the ground or burst in empty air…

Well. That was okay, too—every hit could help, but I was aware that he'd likely shrug off the worst of the effects of any particular shot; it might have been better that he didn't get in my way.

The first shot struck the ground and discolored it, leaving a strange patch that began to slowly grow like moss. Another stopped in midair before bloating into a bubble that warped light oddly as it passed through it. Another bit of land was abruptly transmuted into liquid glass, nearly catching Gilgamesh as he moved through the air, while a different shot caused a carpet of unnatural flames to unfurl across the barren ground, flickering to brightly and fanning too hot. I directed another blast straight at Gilgamesh, allowing it to unfold into a well of consuming gravity even as I swept something like a spotlight across the area, causing the ground to simply unfold into dust even as the Grimm's armor began to steam slightly. I flipped to the next round, causing a sudden pillar of ice to emerge and unfold, razor sharp icicles exploding from between the petals, and then knelt, striking the earth.

At once, the ground rippled—not because of a Shockwave, but simply because it had been turned abruptly fluid. I steadied myself in the space just above it as a matter of course, reaching back up to fire more blasts into the sky. One exploded outwards into the shape of a luminous disk, so hit that even far below it, things began to burn. Another shot reached slightly higher before bursting in a similar fashion, halting the disk before it could unfold any further and then coming down in a wide cylinder that caught me, Gilgamesh, and all the other shots I'd cast into the air, still waiting to explode.

With that, Gilgamesh stopped, eyeless face focusing on me as he realized I wasn't really trying to hit him. If the cylinder of slowed time was affecting him at all, he hid it well and I followed suit, willing my Dimensional to shield me from its effects.

"You…" He said, something humming at his throat as he projected the sounds. "What are you planning now?"

I smirked at him and snapped my fingers.

 **By raising Sanctum to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Sanctuary.'**

 **By raising Temple to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Cathedral.'**

 **By raising Safe Haven to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Asylum.'**

 **By raising Sanctum Sanctorum to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Tabernacle.'**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Sanctum,' 'Temple,' 'Safe Haven,' and 'Naraka' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Et in Arcadia Ego' has been created.**

And at once, the power I'd been gathering burst forth. This was the power I'd been holding back as I fought Gilgamesh head on, limiting myself primarily to physical displays as I funneled all the power I could towards my other self's work. It was a complicated thing, not only because of the energy required but also because of the setup it necessitated, and so this was something I'd been working on for a while now. Part of it was the gun-arm I'd created for this purpose, allowing me to quickly unleash a variety of powerful effects on the surrounds at relatively little cost to myself.

It was, in a sense, the result of all my work with Dust in the past. I'd taken a page out of Conquest's book, creating openings and pathways for Dust throughout my own body, but there was more to it than that; there were the patterns I created beneath my skin—the 'circuitry' I'd learned through practicing Dust Weaving with Cinder—and even quick touches of Dust Eater to allow me to quickly process more complex Dust. The result was an extremely expensive but staggeringly versatile weapon, if one that required extensive manipulation of one's own body and a great deal of multitasking to actually use.

Getting to the point where I was capable of using something like this with ease hadn't been easy; improving my Dust related skills had been almost painful, not so much because the skills didn't improve _quickly_ as because they were _costly_ to improve. Every use required the expenditure of Dust, often in fairly large quantities, and while I could spend MP and money freely, the crystals were another matter. To me, each one was a valuable resource; a way to heal myself and regain power, to give myself an edge in a pinch, and more. They were effectively my only _real_ consumables, taking the role of my potions, ethers, and such. That I had to expend thousands upon thousands of them to get what I wanted was painful to me as a gamer, especially since I usually only used Dust on myself to begin with. The different Dust skills had had potential, but I'd put them off for a long time, considering it a waste of resources until several skills changed my mind. Then…well, I'd spent the last week grinding various things.

But the biggest issue had been improving my barrier skills, and it had been for reasons that went beyond being a Dust miser. With the exceptions of the skills I could only use once a day, they were by far my slowest skills to improve, simply because they weren't personal. Most of my skills I either created and launched or applied to myself, meaning they benefited greatly from skills like Acceleration, which I'd been using to bolster my growth since the moment I could afford it. My barriers, however, covered a range far larger than my person and were static things once created, gaining experience over time; as a result, they didn't benefit from my field of Accelerated time. Recently, I'd gained a number of other skills to help with their growth, but they'd still been left behind by the head start I'd given my other skills, especially given that they leveled slowly to begin with. Even now, Naraka was far from maxing out.

Beyond that, however, I suspected there were some issues of compatibility. I'd long had my suspicions about the two Sephirot skills I was missing—Keter and Malkuth. _Why_ I was missing them, I still wasn't sure, but from what I'd learned I had something of a guess as to their effects. Keter, I figured, was probably focused on improving skills that affected and defined the _self_ , things like…well, like most of my skills. The Gamer's Body and Mind, the skills I'd gained from my stats, most of the things I layered over myself, and so on. If the Sephirot skills indicated a heightened presence of their corresponding element in the user's soul, I figured that the skills I was best with or valued the most probably fell under Keter. There was likely more to it than that, but it seemed likely.

But if I fought using myself, Malkuth fought using the world. It made sense, then, that the hypothetical skill 'Malkuth' would govern and improve skills that affected an area, such as barriers and such. That was how Malkuth himself worked, after all; he fought by changing the way the world worked, altering the rules to his own advantage.

I didn't have either Keter or Malkuth, but I suspected that I benefited from the former regardless. The latter, however…that had been a different story. I'd worked hard to improve my barrier skills, simply because they were useful as all hell, but it had been like pushing a stone up a steep hill—a hypothetical, really heavy stone that resisted my usual bullshit. Even after several months of training, a boatload of experience boosters, and, most recently, the effects of Sahasrara, the skills I'd gotten back in my first trip to Mistral only just barely maxed out.

But barely making it steal meant they'd made it and I had the tricks to show for it. And if the skills of Malkuth were the ones I had the most trouble with, well, I dedicated this tactic to my relentless asshole of a spiritual brother. Fuck you in your godforsaken abomination of a face, Malkuth; this one's for you.

The world around us changed.

It began with a shimmer in the air, a ripple of _something_ that passed through both the ground and the air. The strange wave spilt past Gilgamesh in an instant, washing over him and everything around us in an instant before seeming to crash into some kind of invisible wall and splashing both up into the sky and down into the earth. After a moment, the world beyond that invisible boundary became indistinct, as if some kind of fog had rolled over everything but us.

Gilgamesh, quick to react as ever, all but leapt away from me as realization struck and made it over the boundary line just as the effect came hold, just an instant too late for it to matter. He passed into the fog with a ripple of space and reappeared behind me, flying through the opposite edge of the wall. As he landed, he looked somehow stunned, gaze flickering from one side to the next as he understood what had just happened—and what it meant.

He was already trapped, the first of my barriers cutting off all routes of escape.

 **Sanctuary (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 1000000  
An ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, this skill grants it's user the power to separate a volume of space entirely from the outside world, rendering both entry and exit impossible through purely physical means. The volume of the barrier increases with skill level and INT; greater spacial warping is possible at higher levels.  
Additional 1000000 MP used per minute.**

This was my Sanctuary, the necessary first step of my plan and the natural growth of Sanctum. It was not a skill meant to protect an area from outside attack—instead, it cut an area off from attack entirely in a way that fell just below dimensional barriers like Naraka, prohibiting both entry and exit in the most literal way possible; simply put, you literally couldn't enter or leave. The entire barrier indicated a region of twisted space and anyone who passed through it would find themselves moved along it; those outside would pass through the entire volume in a single step without so much as laying foot on what was inside, while those within would experience a wraparound effect like those in many of the games I'd played. Unlike its predecessor and like Naraka, breaking it wasn't a matter of physical power, because it wasn't something that could by touched or grasped. It was, for all intents and purposes, just empty space.

And for that reason, Gilgamesh couldn't leave, at least not without breaking the barrier itself—and needless to say, I had no intention of allowing that. He couldn't run away or escape what was to come and I had every intention of pressing my advantage.

The moment I was sure Gilgamesh wouldn't be alerted to my intentions and escape, I continued with the next step of my preparations. There was a shudder in the earth, followed by a rippling wave of iridescent light that flashed out towards the edge of my Sanctuary and continued on through the other side, creating a beautiful array of shimmering patterns as the wave hit itself and broke apart. After a moment, the ground of my Sanctuary was covered in seemingly random waves of light, which abruptly stopped and seemed to sink into the ground, leaving behind dim remnants of their color on the soil before that faded as well. While the display was certainly eye-catching, the truth of the skill was somewhat harder to grasp, unless you had eyes good enough to see the truth—namely, how the energy within the area had been affected.

 **Cathedral (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:2500000  
An ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, this skill allowed the user to cast a benediction over a volume of space, calling out to the very world to aid him in his time of need. While this ability is active, the user can supplement his own strength with the help of nature itself, bolstering himself far beyond his normal limits.  
Increase HP regeneration by 500% within area.  
Increase MP regeneration by 500% within area.  
Increase Stamina regeneration by 500% within area.  
Halve the cost of all MP skills used within this area.  
Alternatively, double the power of any MP skill activated at its full price.  
Additional 2500000 MP used per minute.**

The raw power I felt while meditating, almost unbelievable in its sheer immensity, now twisted around me. There was power in the world that could stagger belief if you were shown it without warning—power that could even make _me_ feel humble. It could be hard to remember, but Remnant, for all that it was a tiny speck of dust compared to the vastness of the universe, was still enormous; a giant whirlwind of power that we desperately clung to as it hurtled through space. Even the Brahmastra was nothing if viewed on that level, for all that it could wipe out cities; the energy that went into rotating Remnant for even just a minute dwarfed that unspeakably. Cities? That kind of power could strip the life from this world and it spent a thousand times that every day. Even on a lesser scale, the slight shifting of tectonic plates could make the world tremble and the power of a storm could lap the energy consumption of all of Remnant with ease.

We were small and the world was large. That's why it was an amazing place to live in, despite the dangers it was filled with. The nature of my skill Humilitas was all about understanding the simple scope of the world and tapping into it—and Cathedral worked much the same way. It shaped the tides of energy, if only in a tiny, tiny area, and drew them to the user's aid. The moment the rippling patterns settled, I could fell the power flowing into me, bolstering my strength and filling my reserves even as they drew from them. Even with the obscene amounts of power my barriers were already beginning to draw from me, Cathedral gave me the strength I needed to continue on.

"You…" Gilgamesh whispered and promptly outpaced the sound of his own voice, closing in on me with absurd speed. "I hope you don't think I'll just sit back and let you do whatever you want!"

At once, I raised an arm, catching his attack as I had before—but this time, instead of feeling my bones shatter, I withstood the blow with nothing but the feeling of heavy bruises and torn flesh, keeping Gilgamesh's claws away from my face. Just as quickly, I lashed out at him driving a hand into his gut with force enough to make him stagger two steps back before recovering and lashing out at me with an onslaught of blows.

"Allow me?" I asked, smiling as I refused to show any of the strain I felt as I dodged and parried. "Idiot—I hope you don't think I'm giving you any choice in the matter!"

Gilgamesh didn't reply, but his assault grew in intensity, half a hundred blows flashing towards me in a moment. I stared into the storm of oncoming strikes, Mathematician's Answer breaking them down to angles and equations as I stepped closer, seeking to avoid damage as my other finished his work. I pushed aside a strike with my forearm, flicked my head to the side to let the next sail past, and shifted to take the next in a less vulnerable place. The next I cut off with Psychokinesis before Fluctuating out of range and then immediately back into its midst, striking at him during the brief pause in its flow before hopping back and clenching my hands into fists. With the help of Metamorphosis and Qigong, I felt power flood my muscles, and I met the remaining strikes head-on, blocking fist with fist.

Abruptly, something shattered and Gilgamesh flickered out of range, though not before I saw the cracks forming in his armor with every strike. He looked down at himself, seeming startled again—but he shouldn't have been. I wouldn't have trapped us in the ring just to boost myself.

No; I intended to undercut him as well.

 **Asylum (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 1000000  
An ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, this skill was named for its contradictory nature—it grants the user the power to create a place of both safety and madness. Should anything capable of imposing an external negative status effect be present within the area of Asylum upon activation, it immediately afflicts all valid targets even if they are not directly exposed to the effect. So long as Asylum remains active, no status effects activated after it may be imposed on those within its range.  
Additional 1000000 MP used per hour. **

The moment my other activated the skill, both Gilgamesh and I were struck by the myriad effects I'd left suspended within the area. We froze, burnt, twisted, cracked, solidified, bent, were crush, were melted, evaporated, twisted, flickered and stuttered through time, and more. It was an onslaught of status effects such that I saw a cascade of windows popup out of the corner of my eye—bad enough that, taken all together, even Gilgamesh couldn't shrug it off.

But, being the one responsible, I'd naturally come prepared to deal with it. What my natural resistances and Inerrant couldn't deal with, I quickly healed myself of and pressed towards Gilgamesh, forcing myself not to slow down. As I did, I felt the barriers twist and writhe, binding themselves to me quickly as I went—something meaningless at this point, but important to prepare ahead of time.

 **Tabernacle (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 3000000  
An ancient techniques forged by Man to shield themselves from the darkness that sought to return them to the void, this skill was born in an attempt to resolve the flaws inherent in other skills. Most barrier skills are firmly fixed in space and are immobile, covering a defined volume. This skill, however, allows barriers to function with a more advanced understanding of space, using higher dimensional relationships to bind them to points in space-time that seem mobile.  
While Tabernacle is active, the user my center barriers on himself instead of attaching them to specific areas.**

And with that, all my preparations were made and I was ready. I felt my other self gather his strength again, meditating while I retained control of our bodies, and knew he was just about ready, too.

"Are you feeling nervous?" I asked Gilgamesh when he didn't approach, most likely trying to develop countermeasures. He eyed me cautiously as I spoke and didn't answer. "Well, it's understandable. But…it's too early to feel that way. We're just getting started."

Lifting a hand, I swung backwards, as if to strike a wall—and cracks filled the air as the world began to break.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Field Effects**

In a matter of moments, fractures in the air encompassed the entirety of my barrier, spreading steadily until it seemed almost as if there were more cracks that air. The fissures connected, intersected, and grew with each passing moment—and then there was a sound somewhere between breaking glass, shrieking metal, and the explosion of the Brahmastra as the pieces began to fall away. Starting from the bottom, the air simply seemed to drop, falling away like the pieces of a shattered window and vanishing into the void until all that was left were Gilgamesh and I. For a moment, there was no light, no heat, no air, no _anything_ and it almost seemed like we would follow the pieces of the world down into the void.

But then the moment passed as reality came flooding back in like air filling a vacuum. From my almost external point of view, I could see where the differences laid, the edges—here, a barren, blasted plain on a lifeless rock. There, a forest full of animals and life. An empty city, a ruin like the one we destroyed, and countless other variations. In the sky of one world, I saw a moon that was whole, while in another laid wholly alien skies. Soon the images were streaming by too quickly to truly pin down.

This was the first step of Et in Arcadia Ego—a failed attempt at denying existence. The entire skill was a failure, really, despite its enormous power and potential; it didn't even come close to accomplishing what it had been designed for.

I would know. It was my skill, after all. Not just a skill I knew, but one that I had made in a previous life.

Et in Arcadia Ego had been intended for Malkuth. Against an enemy whose main weapon was effectively _reality_ , the obvious solution would seem to be simple—not easy to accomplish, perhaps, but conceptually simple. If Malkuth could be removed from reality, from the rules he bent to accomplish his goals, he'd be powerless, or at least a hell of a weaker. It was an interesting idea that was sadly doomed from the very start.

You can't take someone outside Reality—there is no 'outside' Reality. In a lot of stories, you'd hear about things 'outside' the Universe and such, but that was a contradiction; you can't exist outside the Universe, because the Universe is, simply put, 'everything that exists.' And even if it _did_ 'exist,' it probably wouldn't be something you could interact with. People might envision it as a great void with the Universe hanging in it, but Reality goes beyond stuff like that. Outside Reality, who was to say that anything like space or time had meaning? How could you travel there, then, or exist there? How could you even make a doorway to a place that didn't have laws governing motion or interaction? Those were all Universal concepts, after all.

In the end, Et in Arcadia Ego had been an ambitious attempt that got smacked in the face by a dictionary. Even the void it conjured up as it tried to push everything away wasn't 'outside' the Universe; it was still governed by a variety of laws and principles, which was part of why the world quickly seeped back in. Sure, there may be alien places or exceedingly hostile places, but anything that exists…well, exists. It's Real. This that aren't real, aren't logic. That was just basic logic. Et in Arcadia Ego had been an illogical attempt at beating a foe who was bending logic to his cause and it just hadn't worked; no matter where you try to go, some things are still there.

But in the process of failing, it had created something amazing in its own right.

As the world swirled around us like some kind of chaotic sea, I felt it as things began to solidify and emerge, influencing and guiding the process with my own power. I let a grassy plain bubble forth first before drawing up a mountain range. The sky flickered, a dozen different versions of it painting over themselves before it solidified into a singular image, and then air filled the spaces. A sun shined down on us from above, making things warm and shedding light over the empty fields.

They were pieces that shouldn't have gone together, each taken from a different world. Et in Arcadia Ego was a dimensional barrier like Naraka, but it accomplished very different ends. If Naraka created a duplicate of the world by stepping aside, then Et in Arcadia Ego tried to push those within its reach _between_ dimensions and filled things in from stolen, copied pieces. It wasn't limited to a copy of wherever I happened to be, which had its uses—though, truthfully, the dimensional shenanigans that Naraka allowed far outweighed just about any downsides it created.

On the other hand, creating customized maps wasn't the only thing Et in Arcadia Ego was capable of. When I—or my former self, rather—realized that we couldn't remove Malkuth from the game the way we'd originally intended, we'd shifted gears and tried to beat him at his own instead. That…hadn't worked either, but it proved useful in its own way, as the skill allowed me to shift and alter rules in ways that my other barriers did not.

But another advantage that I found—and one of the most useful ones in this particular case—was that it was a lot harder to break out of than Naraka. I would know; my counterpart and I had played with Trespasser a fair bit in what time we'd had before the battle. It meant that I could be at least reasonably confident that Gilgamesh wouldn't simply shatter it and escape, and more than anything that opened up options.

Because in here, I didn't have to worry about collateral damage.

It would be deceptive to say that I'd been holding back against Gilgamesh; I was hitting him with everything I could afford to, barring what tricks requires preparation and set up, such as this one. But I _had_ been mindful of my surroundings, simply because I needed to account for my friends. That wasn't them holding me back or anything—I needed them here, both to keep the Grimm from ganging up on me and as a part of what was to come—but the fact remained that there were some things that you couldn't do while acting as part of a team, simply because of the threat of friendly fire. That's why I dropped the Brahmastras _before_ bringing them in. The fact remained that I couldn't do this without them, simply because this step of the plan required me to be able to fight and focus on Gilgamesh alone for a fairly significant amount of time and if I'd stored my barriers in Patientia instead of the Brahmastras, I'd have been under constant attack from every direction since this began, which would have complicated things to say the least.

Using the Brahmastras, however, meant setting up my barriers the hard way, which all but necessitated Thaumiel so that one of us could focus entirely on that. It also meant the other fighting to hold Gilgamesh off and distract him, to say nothing of the extensive power involved in supporting my Dimensional as he assisted the process. If the Grimm would survived the Brahmastras—the strongest Grimm at Jericho Falls, even weakened and injured as they now were—had been able to get involved, it would have been harder to do any of that as the Grimm ganged up on and distracted me. I probably wouldn't have been able to catch Gilgamesh alone, either, and without Brahmastra hindering the Grimm's regeneration I wouldn't be doing anywhere near as well besides. Getting to this point necessitated a number of things; that I kill as many Grimm as possible, distract the survivors, use the Brahmastra, and fight Gilgamesh alone for a significant time. Arranging that hadn't been simple.

But now that we were here, things were about to change.

I took a breath and felt Suryasta join with me again, activating Agni and my Aurora as a matter of course. The field I'd drawn to our new battlefield ignited almost at once, even distant plants igniting in the horrific heat I'd conjured.

But I wasn't done. Even this, a gigantic sphere of flames that could boil the ground beneath my feet and melt most Grimm by proximity, wasn't enough to truly hinder Gilgamesh. It hurt him some, sure, but not enough—not _nearly_ enough, even with Brahmastra slowly poisoning him. With his armor especially, it only hurt him lightly.

I'd figured as much going in—that the tricks that worked on most of the monsters I fought wouldn't be enough to take Gilgamesh down.

So I'd done my best to prepare a few things that maybe, just maybe, would.

 **By raising Gravity Crash to level 99, you have gained the skill 'Atlas.'**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Surya,' 'Agni,' 'Gravity Crash,' and 'Lux Aeterna' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Lucifer' has been created.**

At once, my Aura began to transform into matter, rising and falling and curling around me to shape an orb of burning light. The sphere itself was fairly small—no larger than my Aurora—but there was a weight to it, a depth that made it something _more_. To me, it seemed like a gentle warmth, as reassuring as a hug, but it filled the space with something almost blinding, even to my eyes, filling the spectrum with a riotous onslaught of illumination. It didn't stop moving, either, constantly flowing and shifting even as trails of power curled around and through it. It began as a deep red color, but changed quickly, heightening to a hotter orange, yellow, and then to white.

For a moment, the sphere that surrounded me burnt almost the same color as my Aura, but I could feel the power growing within it light a heart beating in sync with my own; a third heart, I suppose, given that my other self was helping me add fuel to the fire. I opened my eyes and felt the plasma that surrounded me press against the orbs as though I were underwater, the touch gentle against my flesh—and something rose in me, burning behind my eyes and then through them as it came pouring out from the windows of my soul as liquid fire, adding to the sphere without making it grow. As my other self and I concentrated, the luminous sphere began to heighten to a blue coloration, a touch lighter than that of my eyes. Slowly, I began to filter my perceptions, blotting out the parts of the spectrum that were flooded and peering through what was left as I focused on the aspects of the world I could still see.

Around me, the world was burning. Not slowly, either—if anything, it was coming apart at the seams, the parts nearest me simply sublimating and ionizing. A massive hole was quickly melted into the ground as if someone had taken a blowtorch to plastic, swiftly annihilating all traces of life. It pushed to the edges of my Sanctuary before turning back on itself, keeping the heat contained by space itself as everything within was broken down to its basest parts as everything was consumed.

And at the center of it all was Gilgamesh. Whereas I'd materialized in the air as the artificial world formed around us, he had landed on the ground just beneath me and was now sinking fast as massive clouds of sublimated matter rose around him. They rose into the size, drawn towards me and the mass I'd created where they were quickly consumed. The same was true of everything around us, with the few things that managed to keep from melting immediately drawing into the air where they were quickly heated further.

The only thing that seemed able to resist the pull was Gilgamesh and he was clearly making an effort to push himself down and away from me—a process made complicated by the matter that was constantly slipping through his fingers, leaving him nothing to hold onto and sending him deeper and deeper into the ground with each passing moment. He was descending so quickly that he almost seemed to be falling, drawing further and further away from me.

But if he thought he could escape like that, he was sadly mistaken.

Abruptly, the earth around him ceased to vanish and he finally seemed to bottom out at the lowest point of a perfectly smooth crater—but if he felt any relief over that, it was short lived, because in the next moment, his hands, arms, and then entire body vanished as he continued to push himself down. At the same time, he reappeared directly above me, exactly above where he'd vanished, and began to fall quickly towards me.

Gilgamesh let loose an almost mechanical noise, raising his arms as if to protect his mass. The surface of his body had already begun to shimmer, liquefying in the heat. His armor was vastly more durable and temperature resistant than anything around him, but even it wasn't designed for _this_. I saw black ripples flutter over his skin, trying to make repairs, but even they seemed hindered by their proximity to me, melting even as they worked.

After a moment, Gilgamesh touched the edge of my sphere and clouds of black smoke began to hiss as they escaped his armor. He made another mechanical sound and suddenly began to push away, carried by dark looking jets that came from the center and fingertips of his almost skeletal, dripping hands, as well as other points along his chest, legs, and mask. It was a desperate effort, that much was obvious—an unfocused, unprecise attempt to escape my range.

But it worked well enough, at least for the moment, pushing him back far enough to keep from touching the surface of my luminous sphere. Even so, with each passing moment, I could see bits of his flesh fall away in tiny droplets as he continued to melt.

He was in a bad position and he knew it. He couldn't get away from me while we were still within my Sanctuary—or not far enough away to truly matter. At best, he could keep his distance slightly, paying heed to the edges so as to not wraparound—but there was nothing to hold onto anymore, nowhere to really hide.

And I hadn't even begun to move.

This was the combination I'd created and, costly as it was, its power was undeniable. Training my newer skills up enough to make use of this had been difficult in the time I'd allowed myself, but the deck was stacked in my favor. I'd had power to burn, Etz Hayim, my Sephirot skills, and all my other experience boosters—and I'd spent all my time training in as Accelerated a state as possible. However long it had been objectively, this last week had been months for me, and I'd spent every night and day training in some way or another. I'd focused on everything I thought might help, improving my newer skills as much as possible, and Agni, Surya, and Aurora had been near the top of my list, simply because of their synergy. Thanks to the fact that Tiferet's level requirement fell with each level it gained, I'd managed, just barely, to make the cut in a few places of value.

I'd say the results were suitably impressive. With my control of this area, there was nowhere for him to go. Thanks to Tabernacle, I could carry my barriers with me, but its true power was more subtle—I could also turn it off, planting my barriers anew. Thanks to that, I was free to move my barriers around however I felt like, with no warning to Gilgamesh, leaving my free to corner him and cut off paths of escape at will. With every passing moment, he'd take damage and I'd made sure that Sanctuary was as small as I could make it, insuring there was nowhere truly safe. And the more damage he took, the more he'd have to heal, and the worse he'd suffer from the insidious effects of the Brahmastras. Already suffering from status effects and accumulated damage, this was about as far from an ideal battlefield as he could get, with no choice but to take damage constantly, his ability to move and evade meaningless against something he couldn't escape.

As such, I was a bit surprised when I heard him speak.

"This brings back memories," Gilgamesh said, carefully keeping to the edges. After a moment, he grew a pair of mechanized wings that connected to a backpack like structure, and lines of red circuitry stood out on his white armor. He seemed to stabilize himself them, more alterations to his hands and feet allowing him to better keep his distance as he watched me. "One of Gevurah's tricks, wasn't it? As severe as ever, I see…yes. This was Lucifer, wasn't it? Helel ben Shahar."

 **Lucifer (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 10000000  
The Star of Morning—the Light Bringer. Created by the Archangel Gevurah as the flame of Judgement, it devoured and consumed the Fallen, rising in the heavens to show that a new day had dawned on a broken world. In time, it faded from the world and hid itself from the eyes of man—but though the sun sets, it also rises, waiting for the time to burn away the shadows of the damned. With this skill, the user may call forth the power of the Sun, searing his enemies with the flames of Gevurah. Effects increase with MP, INT, WIS, Fire Affinity, and skill level.  
All things within 1 kilometer of the user are drawn towards them with a base force of approximately 28g.  
All things within 1 kilometer of the user are afflicted by the user's stellar radiance, manifesting in the form of tremendous heat and light.  
All things drawn within 100 meters of the user enter the Star of Morning, with temperatures increasing dramatically with proximity to the user.  
Additional 10000000 MP used per minute. **

I tilted my head slightly, but didn't answer. That it had been one of my fellow Archangels who'd made the skill wasn't news to me, but the fact that Gilgamesh had seen it and survived the encounter was unpleasant. Admittedly, not entirely unexpected—I'd gone into this with a plan that almost no one had any right to survive…and then followed it up with a bunch of other plans, in the interests of making sure. Most anyone I knew would have died to at least one of the things I'd hit Gilgamesh with, but it the legendary Grimm went down that easily, they wouldn't have survived long enough to make it into myth and legend. I'd brought everything I could to this fight; worst case scenario, I could actually reach into my Inventory and bring out a kitchen sink. It seemed unlikely that it would do anything, but I was going to get to use that joke someday.

"I've seen it before, needless to say," Gilgamesh continued after a moment, as if to fill the silence. He was still melting and sometimes drops would fall through the bottom of Sanctuary, come back through the top, and land on his armor. "Though I can't say it was a particularly enjoyable experience then, either. Gevurah was always so good at destroying things…it might have been better to call him Golachab, in the end. Are you familiar with that word?"

I continued to remain silent, figuring that if I had time to talk, I had time to do better things—destroying my enemies, for instance.

To start with, I Fluctuated right next to Gilgamesh, bringing with me the heat of a star.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Seventh Interlude – Autumn Rose**

Father was gone, she noted, more by feeling his absence than seeing anything. Even after several weeks, sight was still something new to her, with the images produced by her modified 'eyes' seeming almost detached from her—like something she was seeing instead of _seeing_ , only inside of her head. That wasn't a very good way of explaining anything, but language was also new to her, as was keeping track of time in minutes and hours, days and weeks.

She could remember most of her existence, since her father had given her life and a self. Back that, she hadn't even been able to grasp what it meant to be able to see or hear—to her, there had only been the 'lights.' Auras, as she now knew they were called, they'd called to her since before she even knew how to question why. And the 'light' that had been closest to her, that had spoken to her, that had assured her that a world existed beyond the darkness of herself, had been her father.

And now he'd vanished. She couldn't help but feel a flash of worry at that fact—more for herself than for him. She'd seen firsthand what her father was capable of and she… _believed_ in him. Even knowing, however vaguely, what death was, she was sure he'd be fine.

Would she be? Of that, she was less certain. Being separated from him was…uncomfortable? Nervewracking? She wasn't sure what word to use, because she wasn't sure what she felt. Raven had described her emotions in terms of physical responses, but hers were limited to what she created. She had no spine for a shiver to crawl up, no heart to race, no skin to cover with goosebumps, though she could make those things if she desired. Her father had shown her how to generate human responses, presumably for the sake of future social interactions, but she was smart enough to know—though it had taken some time to realize—that her father wasn't an example of normalcy in any sense. As such, she couldn't say how she was supposed to feel.

All she knew was that it was 'dark.'

Maybe that was loneliness, she mused. It would make sense; if she were given the choice, she'd rather be at her father's side. For a long time, he'd been all that she could truly communicate with or draw comfort from, more steady than the sun which she now knew rose and set. Her earlier memories were marked only by periods of his presence and absence, the times when he'd had to leave her for the sake of his missions. When that occurred, she'd have only Gou to keep her comfort, until she'd learned to grow and interact with the world. Whenever that had happened, she'd been struck by what she could only assume was fear, that the only thing she had to truly cling to might vanish forever. He never had, but she'd still worried.

But then, maybe the other part of it was simply hunger. She knew that she was a 'plant,' or had been at one point—an organism that fed, in part, on sunlight. She could do the same, to a point, gathering and storing minute amounts of energy through her natural processes, but that wasn't how she _fed_.

What she lived off of were the same lights she felt—the light of the soul. Her father had called it Animasynthesis, but whatever the term, the fact of the matter remained. She drew in the power that others shed and used it to fuel her own growth, gathering it within her constantly. Some lights, those of the 'normal' or 'unawakened,' were tiny; there, perhaps, but like candles and sparks. Others, those she'd come to associate with 'Hunters', were like fires, all of different sizes and colors and tastes. Some were bonfires and others infernos, while others still were more akin to volcanoes erupting.

But if that was so, her father was the sun—something immense, that shed power at an unspeakable pace, casting it off constantly. He emitted power brightly enough that it had taken her time to realize that there was anything but him. Even her guardian, Gou, had seemed like a piece of him more than anything independent; something tied to him, if in another body. The power her father gave off every moment had startled her from the first moments of her existence, and had grown at an absurd pace since the moment she'd been aware enough to watch. At times, he would leave for a day and return burning twice as brightly, burning power faster and faster.

And she fed from that power, drawing it in constantly.

Or rather, he fed it too her, helping her grow. Until she'd grown enough, it had been one of her only source of nourishment, along with the other plants she consumed—and while she could feed from any soul, it was only her father's that could come close to satiating her endless hunger and perhaps that's why she felt so cold whenever she was left behind

Because if there was one sensation she did recognize, it was hunger. Since the moment she'd first come to know herself, if not before, she'd felt empty—withered, worn, almost as though she were lacking something vital that she needed to thrive. That was why she drew in the lights of other souls, trying to complete herself, but nothing made the hunger fade. Neither had the plants or the meat she'd consumed, nor anything else she drew into herself; nothing made it vanish completely and only Aura helped at all. The need to grow, to connect, that was why she drew other plants to herself, but the desire behind it? Even a thousand forests wouldn't be enough to satisfy.

Eventually, when she'd learned the truth, she thought she might have understood the reason why. She, Autumn Rose, was also another—Summer Rose, her former self. A human woman, who'd had a life, love, children, and a completed self, until she'd been broken and scattered. Now, all that remained were the pieces.

She'd been one of them, before. When her father brought her to the others, she'd…recognized them, somehow. Or maybe understood them. They'd been like her, calling out—wanting to gather, where once they'd been scattered. It hadn't been a hard choice to decide what to do and she'd taken them into herself, hoping to be complete.

It hadn't worked. Not fully. There were still pieces missing and though the hunger had changed—though _she_ had changed—it hadn't gone away.

Perhaps what she was looking for was impossible. Even if it wasn't, she couldn't say for sure that she knew what it was she wanted.

And increasingly, she wasn't sure it mattered. Whether because of her growth as a person, the return of the majority of her soul, or just her father's power and influence, she was more than she had been. Whatever had been lost, she had a life—she had a family of her own.

Though the desire that pushed her forth—or, perhaps, _back_ , towards the name 'Ruby Rose'—hadn't faded, it was not all there was to her. She was more than the sum of her parts. Whatever happened, whatever came of her, of that much she was certain.

And however cold she felt, she knew why she was here—why she'd agreed to be here, had _wanted_ to come, even knowing the danger. Her father was gone, but not yet somewhere he couldn't return from; things were still progressing as planned.

Dark as it was, now it was her time to shine.

All it took was a thought, an act of will, and things were set in motion. From the beginning, she'd remained high above the battlefield, hovering and drifting by drawing most of her mass into her well. At the same time, she allowed herself to drift apart, scattering pieces of herself across the area—pieces that were not quite seeds or spores or cells, but contained elements of all these things. They were pieces of her still, connected despite their separation. Wherever they'd touched the ground, they'd burrowed deep, aided by the steady hand of her father's fraction, the earth that walked and named itself Ereb. There, they drew power from the world around them; from the earth, the air, and from the oceans of power her father had shed with his usual abandon. They drew this strength in and waited until the moment was right, setting down roots to reach out further and draw in more.

Her father had said to move the moment he'd removed himself and the Other from the field and he had just done so.

It was time to begin the Gathering.

Yes, whatever she had been, she knew what she was now. Her father's daughter—and now also this.

A Preta. A 'Hungry Ghost.'

She was more than that—more than hero who died, more than her hunger—but she was _also_ those things and she had a job to do.

The ground rumbled and began to split as what was hidden at last came forth.

It started small, almost deceptively so. The blasted, barren earth her father had created was suddenly filled with new life, with grass, flowers, and other small plants emerging in a wave that rippled out from the epicenter directly beneath her feet. It raced across the battlefield in seconds, growing so quickly that it blanketed the earth between one step and another, startling the Grimm fighting below. Her family reacted only minutely, shifting in preparation of what was to come as her plants continued to grow.

Soon, the reason why became apparent. Some of the plants were twisted from the very beginning—a byproduct of her father's earlier work—and their twisted, bloated growths briefly masked the others, but soon there was no hiding what was happening. A small sprout quickly grew, rising and thickening into something like a mighty oak—'like' because oaks themselves were weak and ill-equipped for fighting. Instead of leaves, its branches were covered in bristles that gently leaked fluid and the end of each branch was capped with a mouth, with faces and eyes emerging from the trunk. The branches shook as if in a sudden wind, splatting the liquids they drool which quacking began eating into the earth, melting it all around the tree's base. It shook once and then something began to rise from the loosened base, pushing it up at an odd angle as it emerged; it looked, more than anything, like a headless lizard, bearing the tree into battle on its shoulders. Its hide was green-black beneath the dirt it sloughed off, and it moved quickly for something the size of a car.

Even so, it was tiny compared to any of the Grimm that remained, insignificant.

But…also just one of many.

Other things began to emerge alongside it. A worm with its head capped in armored hide twisted out of the ground and then back into the earth, moving through it as easily as a fish through water. Twisted animals followed—lions, wolves, tigers, snakes, bears, and birds, all showing signs of their true nature. Where flesh was visible at all, it was either waxy and smooth or rough like the bark of a tree, but it was usually covered, whether in bristles or moss or other growths. The birds flew of wings of leaves, the beasts released growls between teeth made of wood, and things began to grow on their skin. Some of them sacs containing damaging fluids, others pods waiting to be opened, but they were all there, and when the first bird flew into one of the Grimm, there was a sudden, sharp explosion. The damage to the Grimm itself was minor, but it covered a path of its flesh in a viscous liquid that sprouted forth more plants even as it tried to digest the creature's flesh.

There were others like them, small creatures that stood out as the least, differing primarily in shape and purpose. Flying creatures here, quicker ones there, with larger ones built to draw focus and filled to the brim with the same explosives for when they were struck down. Some of the creatures stood out from the rest, but it was mainly a result of random mutation—again, her father's work, covering them with tumorous growths, enlarging limbs, and misshaping faces and mouths. Even so, they were still part of the pack and the first wave.

Behind them came greater things. One, a favored of hers, began to tear up massive tracks of earth as it rose from the ground, each head ripping up a deep trench. The heads were eyeless, possessing of only mouths filled with enormous, tusk like teeth—and it had seven of them, each as long as many of the larger buildings in the city. They were larger versions of the forms she'd used previously, now modified slightly after the 'Hydras' she knew they apparently resembled, and quick to focus on her enemies.

Around it rose giants, roughly humanoid things, some of them headless while others had many heads or heads that didn't match their bodies. None were as tall as the not-Hydras were long, but they were wider, bulkier due to the different scale they were built on. Many had arms that were overly large even for their bodies, trailing down to beneath their knees and massive even for that, but many also possessed secondary arms—smaller and thinner appendages, built for finer manipulations. Massive bugs and gargantuan creatures grew beside them, somewhat smaller in scale as they barely came up to the creature's knees, but they were still giants compared to the rank and file beneath them, and larger still than the creatures that couldn't be seen.

Soon, wherever there had been ground enough to allow it, there was life—full grown creatures that moved on the Grimm as one. Even counting only those that were easily visible, there were hundreds of them, thousands—and all of their eyes, where they had them, were silver, the exact same shade as her own.

But then, they were pieces of her. Not her children. Not her companions. They were her hands and fingers, her flesh and blood, her mouths and teeth. They were parts of her and she could feel them, even while they were technically separate. She could feel the light on their skin, see through their eyes, feel it as they moved, because they were still one, however many of them there might have seemed to be. They drew from her well, drawing out matter to shape their forms as they emerged and moved into the fray of battle, marching to her will.

She watched silently from above, not bothering to put expressions on her artificial face since there was no one around to see it—but she was pleased.

The Grimm reacted quickly, of course, turning on the new threats even as the creatures swarmed them. They focused on the largest threats first, the creatures that were off a size with them, and the ground cracked as they clashed. With half a dozen mouths, she sank her teeth into one of the creatures—the Humbaba, she knew they were called, though she still didn't see much point in naming things they just planned on killing. She assumed it was a communication issue, but she and her many bodies didn't need to share information between themselves so it didn't really matter to her. She knew the details of its powers and that was enough without bothering with anything superfluous.

More importantly was the seventh head, with the creature had struck clean with ease, casing it aside before focusing on sinking its clawed hands into the others. The loss wasn't meaningful, granted, but she focused on the discarded head regardless, willing it to lose shape and come apart. It quickened oddly for a moment, things shifting beneath the skin before bits and pieces began to break away in new creatures. She could have willed them back to their source, but there was no point—the Humbaba was quickly tearing it apart, carving away entire tons of flesh with every attack, ripping away massive chunks with its talons and covering itself in its blood.

It didn't need any more help. Its job was almost done, as the smaller creatures crawled up its body, failing to do any meaningful damage even as they started to cover it. That was fine, as that was not their purpose.

She waited calmly, shaping and reshaping her form to remain aloft even as she watched them. In a matter of seconds, most of her larger creatures were 'dead,' damaged beyond the ability of most creatures to function. They fell, decomposing and coming apart quickly into smaller things, but she held them back, her forces already in position. Calmly, she focused several of her eyes on her family, making sure that they'd retreated out of range; Raven was familiar with this tactic, but her uncle was not. Regardless, they had withdrawn significantly. Gou remained, if only at the edges, watching over her carefully.

Where he was standing was a bit dangerous, but then, it was Gou. Something had torn out his throat recently, unleashing a waterfall of thick-looking blood that he was ignoring outright, waiting for it to close—after her father and possibly herself, he was likely the least concerned with matters of physical harm, with good reason.

She judged things sufficiently clear and continued her strategy, focusing her attention on the cloak she wore. Though it was completely white on the outside, the interior was sewn with countless, complex symbols, written into the fabric with Dust. It was a gift from her father and he'd taught her the basics of its use. This one was fairly simple, if likely impractical for most people.

Patterns began to glow through her cloak, layered over one another just as the cloth itself was layered. There were patterns in red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and more colors besides, until the original with was hidden beneath a shifting kaleidoscope—and then those same colors began to appear within her lesser bodies far below, still seemingly crawling ineffectually over the Grimm as it made them glow from the inside.

Several of the Grimm might have recognized the danger and tried to react—but it was rather late to do such a thing now.

The next moment, the battlefield was covered in explosions of light—sudden bursts of fire, ice, lightning, wind, and stranger effects besides. Space twisted as it was devoured by black spheres, odd smoke burst outwards to cover the Grimm, odd ripples and waves flowed across the earth and air.

There was no point in smiling at the sight or saying anything, not with no one around to see or hear. As such, she remained still and watched the Grimm suffer and die. Much of the matter she'd used to shape her bodies had been damaged and most of the traces of power she'd drawn from the area had been exhausted—but the results were sufficient. Her family was already moving to take advantage of the chaos and worsen matters for the Grimm, dwindling their numbers yet further.

She continued to float in the air and wondered when her father would come back.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Retort**

Within the cut off space of my Sanctuary, heat had no place to escape to. Cut off by the very space around us, any attempts to leave were promptly turned back and so it simply built upon itself, steadily pushing the temperatures higher and higher with each passing moment until the specifics hardly seemed to matter. The normal properties of matter began to break down at that point, adding to the inferno around us with tumultuous shifts and changes. And Gilgamesh, exposed to the heart of the star behind it all?

He began to disappear. As I exposed it to the heat of Lucifer's core, the ancient Grimm's flesh simply seemed to vanish as solids were converted directly into gases and then into plasmas, joining the rest of my burning world as it was raised to even higher states. He dissolved in layers, flesh stripped away to reveal steadily denser layers, Malkuth's touch altering how the physics of his body should have worked—but here, even that had its limits. Lucifer's power was tremendous under any circumstances, but in this case especially, it was something else, turning my little section of space into a rolling, burning hell.

This was the true point of my barriers, in a way—they allowed for this, making an already fearsome skill into something terrifying. Sanctuary trapped both my opponent and the heat within a confined space, while Cathedral ensured I had the power to feed the flames, fanning them higher and higher with every moment. Asylum struck at Gilgamesh, slowing him and weakening his defenses, leaving him open to take everything I could dish out, while Tabernacle and Et in Arcadia Ego allowed me to define the battlefield. It was a combination that I'd come up with specifically for dealing with opponents like Gilgamesh—the most powerful Grimm, who were bound to have all kinds of awful tricks. With this, it was possible I could even catch the Riders at a disadvantage, cutting my allies off from any risk of infection while leaving the Rider her to burn with me. From time to time, I even thought that it might be enough to kill Cinder.

But I hadn't tested it, until now—in a way, that was another purpose to this fight. Gilgamesh would give me a rough idea of what to expect from his siblings, how much resistance I would need to overcome. So far, I'd like to far I'd been holding my own in this fight, giving as good as I got and then some, but I felt wise to be cautious. For all my tricks, it was possible I'd only have one shot against things like Famine and Death and if I missed it…

Well. Let's hope it didn't come to that.

As such, I didn't let up on Gilgamesh, even though I seemed to have the advantage. I watched as each layer of his skin was burnt away, the ones closest to the surface vanishing all at once to leave him with an emaciated, skeletal appearance. Then the layers grew steadily more and more durable, allowing them to last a few moments before burning away, a seared gap appearing in the center of his chest each time to reveal the beginnings of the next layer. After perhaps a second, all that was left were the lowest layers, composed of impossibly strong materials and looking almost mechanical.

Gilgamesh, only barely even a skeleton now, opened his jaws as if to speak, faceless mask—and face—long since gone. No sound came out, of course, seeing as the atmosphere within my Sanctuary had already transitioned into something beyond air and there wasn't enough left of him to really talk anymore besides. Honestly, I was surprised that it was even capable of motion, seeing as I'd erased anything resembling a musculature, but that was the Grimm for you. I watched as Gilgamesh shook once before lifting the remnants of a hand, reaching out slowly to grab me by the throat.

I could have dodged it easily, but I didn't bother—as the source of Lucifer, I was the hottest thing inside this barrier. As his fingers closed upon my skin, I barely felt the pressure as they immediately began to melt and evaporate. I willed myself to hover a step closer, moving as if to walk _into_ Gilgamesh, and watched as much the same happened, the skeleton releasing a sudden series of pops and cracks as fissures began to race across it as it was superheated in an instant. There was a sudden sound like a muffled explosion and the skeleton finally shattered, pieces breaking off and falling only a short distance before evaporating in turn.

Someone else—an outside observe who could somehow observe events occurring inside of a star—might have thought that the edge of things.

But I knew better, in part because I _could_ observe events occurring inside of a star and I saw what remained. All that was left of Gilgamesh now was a tiny point—a hole in space, small enough to fit on the head of a needle. A portal, like those I'd seen in other Grimm, but at once smaller and more focused. Black matter seemed to pour from it in clouds that dissolved as quickly as they appeared, my power erasing the new flesh as it tried to emerge, keeping it from consolidating into the shape of anything in particular.

And yet, at the same time, the portal remained, completely untouched by my flames. I focused on it, trying to Observe it, but I didn't get anything of value as it seemed to count as part of Gilgamesh—so instead, I analyzed it with my other senses, trying to make sense of it. I'd already noticed that it didn't have any physical mass, largely because it wasn't _material_. It was, after all, a portal; an opening in space that connected two different points. It didn't burn because there was nothing _too_ burn.

More interestingly, however, nothing on this side passed through it to touch the other. I was monitoring the heat and energy building up around me and none of it seemed to be flowing towards the 'opening'—the portal only went one way.

Whatever else their abilities, I figured this was one of the Legendary Grimm's trump cards. Malkuth—who sucked dick in bulk when it came to fighting fair to begin with—was that much looser with his restrictions when it came to them. Even if they were hit by something sufficient to completely annihilate their bodies, the portal within them would remain open, feeding in new matter for them to recompose with. They were like the Hydras, in that regard, but without the issue of something destroying their cores. In effect, even if something _was_ strong enough to kill them, it probably wouldn't. Most people wouldn't have any way of dealing with their cores, even if they could get to them and notice them, which meant that the Grimm would be free to get back on its feet as soon as it had time to recover. If nothing else, they could simply outlast their foe that way.

The only way to defeat them, then, was to destroy the portal as well.

I took a moment to contemplate that, even though even moment counted. I had a few ideas I thought might work on that front, but I had to consider my options—and the circumstances. This entire situation reminded me of my battle with Conquest, where I'd first learned of the connection the Grimm had to their master and of Malkuth Theory. While I hadn't had the tools at my disposal then that I did now, the fact remained that when I cornered Conquest and had him seemingly dead to rights, I tried to cut his connection to Malkuth and summoned him instead.

It was possible my actions had simply drawn his attention, but while they probably had, he hadn't exactly come by to chat with me afterwards. If it was that easy for him to appear in person, I suspected my life would be significantly worse; all it'd take was a few Pandora Shells and I'd be seeing him all the time. Presumably, I'd had to the foresight to instant asshole blockers in my previous life; there was no point to whatever I'd done to try and stop Malkuth unless it, you know, _stopped Malkuth_.

More likely, it had something to do with what I'd done. I'd severed the link—what I now knew to be a portal—and he'd appeared? Some kind of inbuilt safety, perhaps? Or was it that in trying to destroy the portal, I'd wrenched open a path for him. Honestly, neither option was particularly reassuring and both were depressingly possible. I knew that if I were creating super-monsters with only one weak point, if I couldn't remove that weakness, I'd try to make sure anyone regretted exploiting it.

Of course, if I didn't do something, I wouldn't be able to Gilgamesh—or any of his siblings—which really wasn't much better.

No, I couldn't let this stop me or I'd never get anywhere. I needed to kill Gilgamesh and those like him if I was ever to have a shot at Malkuth himself—and if I couldn't oppose Malkuth for fear of Malkuth, I might as well give up now. Better to assume that something would happen and prepare for it than to do nothing.

The question in that case was simple; whether it was Malkuth or Gilgamesh I'd be facing, it was best to assume this fight wasn't over—which I kind of already had, frankly. This was too easy; if my enemies could be defeated by a combination of skills I had access to in my previous life, I would have defeated them in my previous life. And if that was the case, how should I welcome them back?

I began sorting through my options, lingering briefly on several before discarding them, keeping them in reserve; I'd need them if this didn't work. No, best to use a personal touch.

Holding out a hand and gathering what power I could spare, I created Longinus and hurled it straight into the sealed portal.

The space-warping spear met the space-warping portal, a force that could pierce through any defense hurled headlong into something that should have been untouchable, no more than a connection between two distant points—and there was a reaction. I'd known there would be, had seen enough portals working alongside Raven to have a rough feel for the matter now, even if the specifics and mechanics were still beyond me. Even so, this was different than the tests I'd performed with Longinus and Raven's Semblance, which tended to simply enter one end and promptly terminate both opening.

Instead, as the two powers touched, space began to twist. Longinus seemed to bend while still remaining straight, the area around the portal shimmering oddly too my senses. The heat around it flowed strangely, drawing away from it and pushing forth in turns, but for an instant nothing else happened.

But Longinus continued to glow and even as the space around it continued to shift and warp, it continued along its decided path, shearing through the twisted area and then shattering the effect entirely with a massive crash. Longinus slipped straight through the portal, sliding into the opening in space which consumed it entirely.

A moment later, black fluid burst from both sides of the portal, flying in arcs that reminded me of blood splatters. What had once been closed seemed to have been wrenched open and the walls came tumbling down. More and more of the dark liquid flowed freely from the opening, along with the rising sound that I couldn't quite describe—a wordless tone I didn't hear with my ears, but _felt_ , almost like a vibration in my bones—growing louder and louder with each passing second. It was more of the same Grimm matter that the portal had been feeding Gilgamesh to begin with, but if what had come from the portal before was a trickle, than this was a flood, a waterfall of black material.

Most of it vanished even as it came through, same as what had come before, annihilated by the heat of Lucifer's sun and the hell I'd made of this barrier. But I noticed the moment things began to change, as something continued, remaining as everything around it was obliterated, partially hidden by the rest of the flood.

"That was rude," A voice said, clearly audible despite the fact that the atmosphere wasn't particularly conductive to sound at the moment. "What a cold welcome. You'd better have my friendship bracelet if you expect me to forgive you."

A violent tremble went through the dark matter, causing a shift. Things began to rise from the darkness, taking shape and twisting into something solid as Gilgamesh's body took shape once more. Despite being exposed to even greater heat than before, this time he didn't melt, didn't even burn. No, looking at him with my senses, it was more than that, feeling somehow similar to the portal but different. It was as though the laws of thermodynamics had made an exception for him and chosen to ignore the fact that heat flowed from a hotter location to a colder one. The impossible atmosphere I'd made within my isolated section of space simply refused to touch him.

Even before I heard his words, that was enough to tell me who I was dealing with.

"Malkuth," I said, certain he'd be able to hear me.

Gilgamesh's face wasn't visible—but if it had been, I'm pretty sure Malkuth would have been smiling through it.

"Keter," He replied, his voice warm, almost gentle. "I figured you'd remember something eventually. Death did his job as best he could, I'm sure, but…well, I knew you'd have something up your sleeves."

I didn't answer immediately, choosing instead to draw something from my Inventory, channeling power into it to keep it from vanishing in the heat. Malkuth tilted his borrowed head slightly to the side.

"And what's that?" He asked.

"Your bracelet," I said. "Don't you want it?"

He looked at me, glancing over the power I was gathering, and I could all but feel his smirk.

"Please," He said. "I've been waiting for this."

I nodded at him once, reared back my hand, and threw it towards him as hard as I could. The bracelet was a simple one, nothing but regular beads around some string, but it literally glowed with my power.

One of the nice things about the Astra techniques was that they could be applied to existing objects, in addition to simply creating projectiles. I didn't usually use them that way, because it didn't change the cost and given the choice, I'd just as soon not stand at the epicenter of a Brahmastra. Generally speaking, there wasn't much point in wasting things by throwing them away, either.

But in this case, I made an exception. In point of fact, I'd been preparing for it.

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Magic Missile' and 'Thunderbolt' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Indrastra' has been created.**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Magic Missile' and 'Bind' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Varunapasha' has been created.**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Magic Missile' and 'Far Slayer' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Vayvayastra' has been created.**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Magic Missile' and 'Delusory' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Twashtarastra' has been created.**

 **Sephirotic Synthesis Complete. The skills 'Gungnir,' 'Agneyastra,' and 'Surya' have been combined successfully. The skill 'Suryastra' has been created.**

I layered all of the Astra skills I knew—baring the Brahmastra, which I'd already used today—over the cheap bracelet and in midflight it transformed into a bolt of destruction that cut through the inferno around us as though it wasn't even there. The power of the Agneyastra and the Suryastra protected it from the surrounding heat, leaving it free to fly for the heart of my foe, who just kept his arms by his sides and accepted the strike.

It hit him with an explosion of thunderous power. The moment the first spear connected, the Indrastra surrounded him in a loose sphere of glowing spears that struck his flesh like lightning. The Varunapasha surrounded him in cords and chains of light, binding him fast. The Vayvayastra shaped his already hostile surroundings into a storm of fire and power that could have created a tornado, had there been anything to differentiate it from its surroundings. The Twashtarastra took effect more subtly, surrounding him in a personal illusion that bound his senses, surrounding him with the images of enemies that would have overlaid his allies, had there been any here. And the two strongest of the Astras I'd used, the Agneyastra and Suryastra, detonated on impact, exploding into such heat and light that for a moment, my Sanctuary had yet another sun, adding fuel to the still growing fire.

Or, well, more fire to the existing fire, at least.

The attack didn't cause any smoke, of course—there was nothing to _create_ some anymore, and it would have been eradicated instantly if there had been. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have been enough to interfere with my eyes and I was free to see what happened when the blows connected.

Unfortunately, I couldn't say I was particularly surprised when the answer was 'pretty much nothing.' As the attacks connected and either shattered or burst against his armored skin, Malkuth didn't so much as move until the very end, when an arm snapped up—casually tearing through his restraints in the process—and caught the last of the weapons, snapping it easily.

When the power around it faded, all that was left in his hands was the bracelet, no longer glowing and yet still untouched by the heat.

"What a nice gift," He said, smiling at me as he slipped it on. "I kind of feel bad now. I said I'd bring the murder, but there doesn't seem to be anyone here. That barrier of yours again?"

He clicked his tongue several times, shaking his head as he glanced around.

"Well, I'll find a way to make it up to you, I'm sure," He said, raising his hand. "Although, I can't help but wonder what would happen if I shattered this barrier and released what's inside on the world. The results might be a bit amusing, don't you think? Oh, hm, but…if we do that, the results wouldn't be very good for this world, you know? Creating something like this…I feel you might not have thought this through. Or have you just decided that nothing else matters as long as you have a chance to defeat me? If so, that's fine to."

I considered him for a moment before answering.

"Things have changed," I told him. "I'm not the same as I was before—and I'm not stupid. You don't want the world destroyed, at least not before I get whatever you're after; if you wanted Mankind completely gone, you could have wiped them off the map a long time ago. Instead, you've kept them around for thousands of years, destroying Kingdoms but never the whole. You've turned them against each other, kept their number too small to ever really be a threat to you or your forces, but you've never fully exterminated them. You need them for something or you wouldn't have bothered; maybe to allow for my reincarnation, maybe for something else, but something. So don't bother threatening that you'll destroy the world."

He laughed, the sound amused, and nodded his head.

"You're right, you're right," He admitted easily, cheer seeming untouched. "Don't worry, I was just kidding. Why would I destroy everything, after all? People, planets—they both have so many uses. Well, but I can still kill everyone you know and love, so don't go getting any ideas, Mr. Man."

The last part was delivered with a wag of his finger and what I assumed was meant to be a stern expression. The situation was serious enough that I didn't quite roll my eyes, but it was a near thing.

"I also know that if you could just play body snatcher with your minions any time you wanted, you'd do so," I continued. "When I open the door, you can come through—but I'm betting it won't last and that it costs you something. You're riding around in Gilgamesh's body right now, but you aren't free to act."

"Smart man," He praised, wiggling his fingers at me. "Yes, unfortunately our reunions seemed doomed to be short-lived."

"Alas," I replied. "But I hope you don't think I'll just let you do whatever you want."

"You always were a bit of a control freak," He said, tone rueful. "'No Malkuth, you can't test that inside the biosphere.' 'No Malkuth, you can't mess with the Moon's orbit.' 'Malkuth, you can't just convert matter into energy wherever you want.' On and on. You're not my mom, you know."

"I feel fairly justified in saying all of those things," I answered.

"Coming from the guy who just trapped a star in a perfectly insolated space?" He asked. "Not as convincing as you might think."

"A perfectly insolated and _isolated_ space," I replied. "The conditions are practically laboratory."

"Mhm," He answered, sounding unconvinced. "Not sure that means what you think it means, but okay. I've got to ask, though—what you're doing right now obviously isn't working and you're still wasting so much energy on Gevurah's old trick. Are you buying time for something, Keter?"

"Yes," I said. "Yes, I am. Want to see something cool?"

"Figures you can't just trap a sun for its own sake," Malkuth said with a slight sigh. "You don't even want to know what will happen when the temperatures get crazy within a confined space? You're scientific curiosity leaves something to be desired. Unlike you, I'm a _real_ scientist—so fuck yeah I want to see something cool. What do you got?"

Without answering, I lifted a hand, calling to my power again. While it was true that I hadn't known for sure that Malkuth would show his face, I'd been aware of the possibility and sure that _something_ would happen and that was the other purpose for this cage I'd made. Even if it wasn't able to touch Malkuth right now, there was a lot of power within this space—power I could use.

Light gathered in my hands as I tapped my power for everything I and my other could spare, draining myself dangerously low to make a shot I hoped would count.

And then I hit him with Lux Aeterna.

Fourteen of them, to be precise.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Hit Streak**

The world began to shimmer, shifting patterns of space rippling outwards from the palm of my hand. That light gathered in my hand and it was all but solid, reminding me distantly of the Brahmastra, of the spear I'd formed out of thin air.

But no, this was something _else_ , if every bit as intense. Instead of roaring from my hands in a colossal torrent of pattern, something strange happened—the light seemed to curl in upon itself. Fourteen tendrils began to slowly stretch from my palm, twisting around some central point as they did, before connecting at a point less than a meter from my skin. The moment they did, something seemed to pulse within me, beating alongside my twin hearts, and the light shinned, brightening almost painfully for a moment before a narrow, hair-thin line of power began to emerge from my hand, intersecting cleanly with the point of connection directly in front of it.

My first thought of it was that it was strange—the light, bizarrely, moved slowly. It seemed to cross the space between Malkuth and I at a glacial pace, burning through the world like it was a candle melting; if not for my senses, I wouldn't have been certain it was moving at all. It took me a moment to realize that wasn't what was actually happening, cross-referencing it against my view of the world. Malkuth seemed frozen, along with the chaotic storm of heat and light I'd made of this world. Where I could distinguish matter as a meaningful thing, it seemed halted and still, as though time had stopped around me again.

Except, that wasn't it. I'd notice if I was the subject of time manipulation; this was something else, if still familiar. In fact, I was reminded of the last time I'd met Malkuth and of what had happened shortly before, when I'd used a whit Dust crystal.

The world wasn't moving any slower. I was just perceiving it as if it were standing still—as if I myself were light.

And then things began to change. It seemed to happen slowly, but I was aware that, if not for my current view on reality, I probably wouldn't have been able to see any of it at all. The burning chaos I'd made within my Sanctuary with Lucifer's power—it all began to flow towards me. With a twitch of bizarre motion, I felt my thirty-six wings unfold behind me, moving and not moving as Sahasrara shined through my skin. The hell I'd been building seemed to gather in them, flowing into them in a flood of light until I wasn't certain where they stopped and the rest of the world began—and soon it didn't matter.

The world began to condense around us, the heat that had filled my Sanctuary shrinking steadily inwards as it was drawn into Lucifer and then into me, leaving nothing behind but a lightless void. The star I'd created followed it, shrinking in pulsing waves as it was drawn into me and flowed beneath my skin. Soon, only Malkuth and I remained, and I was only able to perceive the former thanks to my more esoteric senses.

Then my view of the world began to narrow, even as I shed my skin. Sahasrara sprang forth fully from where it had been hidden beneath my Metamorphosis, and I could feel myself being drawn into the Light again. My wings began to shrink into my body, fading from the tip inwards, and the rest of me was quick to follow. I felt as though I was being crushed and twisted, drawn and pulled around a central point, and I was able to see it as my body swirled around and through itself until my head, limbs, and chest were all indistinct. I watched from the outside perspective Sahasrara granted me as the last of my body was sucked down into my arm until even that began to flow into the gather light. After a moment—for I wasn't sure if or how time applied in a state such as this—the only things left of 'me' were the fourteen spiraling columns that circled the central pillar, and those too soon flowed into the central point, which gathered and encompassed everything I'd created, everything I was. My power, my other, my created inferno, we were all drawn into a point that was no larger than Malkuth's portal had been.

And then…that point flickered out, as if consuming even itself, and there was nothing lift but Malkuth and the darkness.

But then there was light. There was no shape too it, nothing that could truly define it—it just exploded outwards from an infinitesimally small point to an unspeakably huge one. I couldn't feel it, watching it from the outside as I was, but I could see its immensity, the power that filled every corner of my Sanctuary and seemed to strain the very confined of space. Whether because of how I'd fueled it or the numbers I'd used, it was a massive attack—something even more intense that what I'd created with Lucifer. It reached the boundaries I'd laid down and washed back upon and over itself, growing and shrinking, creating and destroying, and simply filling the world with its majesty. Simply seeing it was amazing, awe-inspiring, and more than a little terrifying. If I'd been caught in the wake of such an attack, I wasn't certain I'd be able to survive it, even with all my defenses and advantages.

Malkuth, though…he wasn't the center of that attack, but he was still caught within it. I watched as the Light expanded to encompass him, washing over him like a tsunami, and where the Astras had done nothing, I saw him _burn_. Gilgamesh's body seemed to ignite at the very touch of it, going up in blue and white flames that seemed to consume and unravel him where even Lucifer had failed, eating at his flesh in pursuit of what laid within and burning with unspeakable brightness. I saw Malkuth resist instantly, raising power against the attack and sending sparks of his own strength flashing over the Grimm's dark flesh to defend it from the light and replace whatever was lost. At a glance, it seemed like he was doing a pretty good job of it, but it seemed this wasn't something he could simply ignore.

That was good news for me; it meant I was right. He couldn't use his full power within another's body, or he'd had significantly more options available to him. If I had to guess, I'd say he was using whatever connection he had to the Grimm to alter _them,_ exerting his power over Gilgamesh and the matter that composed him. He was transforming it and altering how it interacted with natural laws, but he had his limits, or else he'd be shaping the entire world around us; at best, I was only fighting a dim shadow of Malkuth. Still a terrifying foe, perhaps, but not an unbeatable one, even as I was right now.

I could hurt him.

Now it was just a matter of doing so a lot. Lux Aeterna wasn't up to that task, I could tell that much right away; whatever damage it was doing to Gilgamesh was superficial at best, at least for someone that had gotten his entire body annihilated and gotten back up. The Light washing over him reduced him to an almost stick-like figure, but it wouldn't kill him.

Of course, I'd figured as much. As I'd already noted, if it was that easy, I'd have won the first time. Granted, I liked to think turning what had basically been hell in a bottle into a weapon was pretty good even by my standards, but I'd known full well I'd have to go for broke in this fight. I wasn't going to be able to win this with just one trump card; I'd need to layer dozens, letting them build off of one another. I'd used Thaumiel to create my barriers, my barriers to strengthen Lucifer, Lucifer to power Lux Aeterna—and now Lux Aeterna to power something else.

The Light that had burst outwards with unspeakable force suddenly withdrew, as if being sucked back down the way it came. It didn't swirl or writhe or anything of the sort, every bit of it completely indistinguishable from the rest—but it contracted into a small sphere that then unfolded and began to reshape itself. Thirty-two wings uncurled from the sphere as 'I' stood tall once more and looked at Malkuth.

Then I split twice, two identical copies of myself drifting out of me and to either side. One was, of course, my counterpart, but the other was my Light Elemental Keter, perhaps the truest representation of my soul now all but bursting with the power I'd gathered and contained to shape his form. Bringing him out like this, to actually _fight_ , was difficult at the best of times, but the situation was about as ideal as it would ever be—and I needed his help.

So here we were—me, myself, and I.

"Well," Malkuth's voice echoed in the near void we had now found ourselves in—between Lucifer and Lux Aeterna, there was almost nothing left within my barrier besides the three of me and my enemy, who continued to burn with those same odd blue-white flames. "That _was_ cool—and isn't this interesting? I suppose I should say it again, seeing you all like this—so hello again, Keter, Keter, and Keter."

The flames around him abruptly flickered out, leaving behind a charred looking skeleton that quickly began to fill in, matter growing around and over it in a matter of seconds. In moments, Gilgamesh's body looked as though it had never been harmed—at least, on the surface. Without being able to Observe him to find out the details, I couldn't tell how far along the Brahmastra's Decay was, or if it was even still there. With Malkuth being…himself, it was entirely possible that Gilgamesh had been immunized to it, which would be…unfortunate. In the bigger pictures of this fight, its interference had been, and would continue to be, invaluable.

But while its loss would be a touch saddening, it wasn't entirely unforeseen. I hadn't been quite optimistic enough to believe that my opening move would be enough to decide the battle and had considered the possibility of Gilgamesh overcoming its effects; if that happened, it was still okay. That he'd been hindered and held back by it thus far had given me enough time to get this far, after all, and while I wouldn't have been confident opposing Gilgamesh at his full power from the very start, I'd had enough time to build things up to feel a bit better about my chances. Lucifer had been an important point to reach, Keter even more so, but…now I had.

All I had to do now was keep building on my minor victories until I managed to pull through. At this point, I definitely thought I had a chance at winning—at least, as long as I didn't run out of cards to play before the end. I'd just have to hope I'd done enough preparation.

"Hello Malkuth, you fucking piece of shit douchebag cunt," Keter—that is, my Light Elemental—answered amiable, saying what we were all thinking. "It's been a long time."

I got the feeling that Malkuth would have been smiling at the words had his mouth been visible.

"I thought it was you," He replied. "So I was right—you managed to draw out your Light, after all. Good, good; it seems everything's progressing nicely. But, hm…you know, you caused me a bit of trouble the last time we met, Elemental."

"And yet you survived," Keter said, all but heaving aside. "I suppose we both walked away from that fight disappointed."

"Certainly seems that way," Malkuth answered, something sharp briefly entering his tone. "I hope that Death treated you kindly in my steed, shadow of Keter."

Then, slowly, he tilted his head, looking to the other side of me.

"Or perhaps I should call you that, hm?" He asked, the feeling that he was smiling growing even more intense. "I was as surprised as Gilgamesh when I saw you for the first time—not a clone or an image or even a true division. You didn't split your power when you separated; you simply doubled it, seemingly out of nowhere. All the power of Keter, recreated in the blink of an eye. I suppose this is the first time we've met face to face, but…you must be Thaumiel."

I felt a flash of surprise at the mention of my second soul's name, but not as much as I probably should have. Thaumiel was the shadow of Keter, created from its imbalance, but as a concept…I suppose I wasn't surprised to find that it existed. If anything, I just felt expectant.

"Call me what you like," My other said, brushing it off. "But if this is the part where you make me an offer to join your side and complete your plan, save your breath. I know it must have seemed like a miracle to get to see _two_ of me, but don't think that means you get two shots at this plan of yours—we're two, but we're also one, divided but united. That's what makes us strong."

"Two sides of the same coin, huh?" Malkuth said, voice a touch rueful. "No, I suppose that's not the best analogy; you two are separate and the same, the Duality of God. A bit of a pity, I must admit, but I suppose I wouldn't have believed you if you'd said you'd be willing to obey me that easily."

"We _are_ Keter, after all," I said. "You know, the _Crown_."

"Which means we're sort of like kings," Thaumiel agreed. "The Twin Kings of Awesomeness. Maybe we should get _actual_ crowns."

"We should," I replied. "You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because we're worth it."

"You're smart _and_ beautiful, you realize that?"

"Yeah. You, too," I told him. "I mean, I'm not saying you're the best looking person I've ever seen, but…I sort of thought it went _without_ saying, you know?"

"I _do_ know," I answered.

"Enough, both of you," Keter interrupted. "Let's focus on the matter at hand—there's no reason to waste time fawning over ourselves, after all, because we'll always be gorgeous."

"All that Light and this place is still full of hot air, I see," Malkuth mused, interjecting himself into the conversation with what I imaged to be a roll of his eyes. "I knew this would happen the moment I saw there were two of you. Maybe I should do a little more pruning of your family tree."

"That's a scary thought," I said, glancing at myself. "You think we'll be okay?"

"Don't worry," My other self-assured. "We're too beautiful to die."

"Yeah, but he's already trying to threaten us?" I wondered, shaking my head. "It does sort of make me feel unwanted, you know?"

"Don't worry about it," Keter assured. "I think he might just be jealous because he's single."

" _Oh_!" Myself and I said at the same time, drawing out the word.

Malkuth snorted slightly, shaking his head.

"I feel as though I should have expected this," He mused to himself. "Is it time to fight yet? For some reason, I want to hurt all of you."

"Eh," I said. "You wanted to do that from the beginning—and you were the one who wanted to talk."

"You're not wrong," He admitted, turning his gaze my way. "I was just think it was impressive, how quickly you brought the pieces together—expected, perhaps, but impressive. You found your shadow, you found your past, and continued on without succumbing. It's quite something and I wanted to let you know I appreciate all your hard work. Isn't it a wonder what a little motivation can do?"

He was talking about my father, obviously, but I brushed it off—it's not as though I'd ever forget what he'd done, but I wasn't exactly struggling to find reasons _why_ I should pummel his head in until he looked like chunky salsa dip; I was just trying to figure out how to actually do it. In that regard, buying a bit more time was more useful to me than throwing stuff at him that probably wouldn't work to begin with.

So instead, I snorted at him derisively.

"And look at you—all these years and you're still trapped in that cage," I replied, applying gentle emphasis to the words to make sure he knew their meaning.

He was silent for a moment before chuckling again, though this time there was a slight edge to that.

"Perhaps," He said, without bothering to ask which cage or whose. "But I suppose it's one of those things that can't be helped—you're Keter and I'm Malkuth. And just as you are Thaumiel, I am Nehemoth."

I snorted slightly and shook my head.

"Bullshit," I said. "I don't remember everything, but I remember enough—I remember the very day you were born. Even then, I knew what we were made of, but so what? We're more than the sum of our parts or what people make of us; we made that clear enough. We're both what we chose to be, in the end."

"Oh, I know that better than anyone," Malkuth said and he seemed almost…pleased. "That's why it can't be helped, you see—because you're you and I'm me. Here and now, then and there, forever and always and even after that, there are some things that just don't change."

I—we—closed our eyes for a moment and huffed out a trio of quite laughs.

"Fine," We said in unison. "If that's what you chose to believe, come on then. I'll show you how much things have changed."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Retaliation**

Needless to say, Keter was the first to close the distance, crossing the intervening space as though it wasn't even there. It wasn't teleportation or anything like that, either—he simply transformed himself into light and _moved_ , abruptly closing in to attack. A hair-thin line of searing white light extended from his finger straight through the center of Malkuth's chest, right through where we'd last seen the portal that sustained him.

A moment later, he flickered once, the action on barely visible to my eyes. Spears of white light surrounded Malkuth in a massive sphere, hundreds upon hundreds of them created in an instant and bursting upon him just as quickly, hardly seeming to even start moving before connecting fully. Keter flashed once and was elsewhere by the time I registered it, a column of light extending from his hand to connect with Malkuth's hide—and then there were two more, each born from a slightly different position at Keter's side. By the time I noticed that his hand had moved, dropping to his side just below where the three beams of light had come from, he was closing in, hands reshaping into vicious claws as he grasped and tore at Malkuth's flesh, ripping away small chunks.

Even for me, watching him was like watching a faulty or poorly cut video and seeing it stutter and skip moments or scenes. He was somewhere, but then he was somewhere else by the time I noticed it, one action already completed even as he moved onto the next. He was just testing the waters, not wasting energy on any massive displays of power just yet, because he knew what Malkuth was capable of—and, of course, because he knew what I had in mind.

Despite that, my other and I were mere moments behind him, fluctuating into Malkuth's immediate proximity with power already gathered. My more powerful attacks flew at him from both sides, but they were hidden amongst hordes of other attacks. The brief conversation had given me ample time to regain my energy, especially as we were no longer maintaining Lucifer, and we'd both recovered to full—a fact that we were all too happy to demonstrate. Here and now, I didn't dare hold back, so my twin and I conjured two circles of firing spheres around Malkuth and let loose with everything we had.

I knew from the beginning that most of what I had available wouldn't work—and that what was left probably wouldn't work _well_ —but every hit I aimed at him had a purpose. The Magic Missile, even with their defense penetration, were unlikely to cause him any real damage, but they were cheap enough to produce in massive quantities even when I was normal; here, with Cathedral running, Sahasrara activated in full, and a dozen other things stacked in my favor? They filled the air such that it was difficult to tell where any one ended and another began. Mixed amongst them were Thunderbolts and Far Slayers, brief flashes of light sparking around semi-luminous arcs in the air, masked occasionally by the bursting of Flares. They were a minor addition, all told, but with their price as piddling as it now was…well, it was a cost-effective method, even if the most it did was cause scratched.

Above them came my other means of attack. Gungnir didn't make as large of a showing as its lesser cousin, but still appeared by the dozens, the hundreds. Surya surrounded my twin and I even as our Aurora's flared to encompass him, my very soul reaching out to claw at my enemy. I focused Atlas on him with a thought, crushing him beneath a massive, lingering weight even as I released flashes of plasma towards him, froze him with Deposition, slashed at him with Psychokinetic blades, and more, filling in almost every space left by the first layer of attacks.

And beneath that, of course, I hid the big guns. Longinus wasn't easily distinguishable from a Magic Missile at first glance, and in the almost solid wave of attacks now flying towards Malkuth, it would have been a bit tricky even for me to pick out the lethal needle in the slightly less lethal haystack. The body Malkuth was using now—Gilgamesh's body—had no conventional vulnerabilities; hell, even complete incineration at the heart of a miniature star hadn't been enough to put him down for the count. Compared to that, stabbing him in his non-existent organs was fairly meaningless, though I aimed several sucker punches in that direction anyway, just in case he though they were safe. The rest followed Keter's example, aiming towards the portal within him, already at least somewhat damaged by the first Longinus. If I could destroy that, I'd cut Gilgamesh off from the tap and he'd be easy pickings. Besides which, it would get Malkuth out of the picture, which was a good thing pretty much no matter how you sliced it.

One might think that, given the onslaught we were unleashing a single, man-sized target, the three of us might get in each other's way—but we didn't. For my twin and I, keeping out of each other's way was almost simple, with our senses turned up to max and Pericognition accounting for all the details without need for conscious input. With the Mathematician's Answer, angling our attacks such that they didn't collide was just a matter of timing and forethought, and we slipped blows through the gaps in each other's attacks that most wouldn't have thought existed.

For Keter, things were a touch different, but the process was, if anything, even simpler. From his perspective, we must have been moving at a glacial pace and he could aim—or even approach—through the storm of attacks without difficulty. More than that, his quickened perceptions and Elemental nature gave him a variety of options that would have been impossible for most anyone else. Beams of light both massive and thin flashed across my vision impossibly, ducking under and passing through attacks as it approached Malkuth. The laser twisted, curved, and then flat out _bent_ around anything in its path, evading every obstacle to burst upon his masked face.

The assault tore pieces out of them—sometimes nothing but tiny slivers, such as in the case of a lucky or well-aimed Magic Missile that just barely did a point of damage, and sometimes in much larger chunks as he was struck with the light or pierced through by Longinus.

And through it all, Malkuth remained still. Even as chunks were torn from his body and his left arm came free, he hardly seemed to notice. He floated in the void we'd created around him, ignoring or enduring the attacks we unleashed for several full seconds before raising his one remaining arm, a dull green pulsing outwards from it.

All at once, my firing spheres came undo, shattering at the touch of the light as if struck by some great force. The attacks I'd already used to fill the space continued on their path, breaking against his dwindling hide, and then there was nothing for a moment but silence.

"Telekinesis?" Malkuth asked, tone somewhere between interested and amused. "Ah, no; in your case I suppose it would be Psychokinesis, huh? As expected, you're mind—"

I shut him up with a fist to the face—three fists, technically. I smashed my knuckles into the left side of his face while my other went right, even as Keter appeared between us and slammed his fist into what would have been a human's nose. Malkuth leaned back at the force of the sudden assault, barely moving otherwise.

It should go without saying that I didn't stop there, though—I kept punching. Ruthlessly, relentlessly, incessantly, the three of us hit him again and again, bolstering ourselves as best we could. I Accelerated faster than I ever had before, channeled my Stamina using Qigong, drew from Bai Hu's magnum opus, and did everything I could to make every hit count. Though I saw his HP slowly decrease, I wasn't particularly convinced it was really affecting him—but, if nothing else, it was satisfying as all hell. I punch Malkuth in the face about a thousand times and it felt pretty goddamn good.

Then I abruptly felt like I'd been cut in half, which felt less good, and it took me a moment to realize what had happened. With speed that was startling even for me, he waved his arm in an arc that he somehow managed to still make seem casual—and it tore cleanly through my twin and I as though we were no different than the void around us, such that it would have cut us in half if not for the Gamer's Body.

I knew consciously that my defenses—at least _some_ of them—had reduced the damage, but it was still fairly startling. Sure, my skin had been 'cut' but Gilgamesh, but there had at least seemed to be effect involved; Malkuth had simply moved his arm through me.

It took me a moment to realize why, even with Keter sending me information about what he'd witnessed using patterns of light on my skin. Malkuth had altered his body again, shaping his arm into a weapon—or rather, causing it to generate a field of energy that I hadn't immediately recognized. When he touched me, the molecules of my body, the _atoms_ of it, had started to come apart. I couldn't simply observe the effect to understand it, but…what? Had he interfered with my molecular bonds somehow, disrupting the electrons in my body? Or had he gone a step further and struck directly at the Strong Force that was keeping my protons and neutrons together? Generally, that would be absurd, but…it was Malkuth, after all. I couldn't rule anything out.

I backed off for a moment, watching him as he rolled his wrist, the effect around it flickering out after several seconds.

"Full of surprises," Malkuth mused, tone unchanging. "I suppose that was your Kavacha, huh…? I suppose it's only fitting, if you intend to challenge my Kundala again, Keter. But it's still not good enough; look how easily you come apart. I feel like if I touch you too hard, I'll break you—like this."

He extended a hand towards me and his arm bulged disgust, matter flood into the limb to shape it into something new.

I made to dodge, knowing better than to just stand around and take a hit from someone who could warp natural law to his whim. I Fluctuated to the side and then, just to be safe, Fluctuated back twice, putting as much distance between Malkuth and I as possible within the bounds of my Sanctuary. As an added bonus, it put my back to the edge of my barrier, leaving me the option of either backing or firing through it. Already, I was crunching numbers, mentally mapping out paths of assault for another barrage. Any shot fired through the edge of Sanctuary's sphere would immediately reappear on the opposite side, meaning I could hypothetically hit him from anywhere and I only needed a moment to do so.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to put any of those plans into motion because Malkuth, who hadn't moved from his position since he took over Gilgamesh's body, was floating right in front of me as I reappeared.

Before I could react—before _I_ could react—he reached out, grabbing my head with on hand and power flashed over my skin, green-black. I felt a tremor go through my body that had nothing to do with physical reactions, the sensation bizarrely similar to laying on a massive, active machine, and then…

I melted. Not in pieces or parts, but entirely and all at once. For a moment, I was treated to the feeling of my bones, organs, and skin abruptly melting, coming apart and falling away—but at the same time, I felt my body remain whole, flesh still caught in Malkuth's grasp and so the feeling of melting continued even as my HP steadily dropped.

Keeping my head, I Fluctuated again and wasn't all that surprised to find that Malkuth had already followed. He probably hadn't beaten me here—I was _teleporting,_ after all—but he was either reading my mind, predicting where I was going to reappear, or he was just so quick to react that the distance I could put between us didn't matter. While none of those, sadly, were _impossible_ , the first didn't quite seem to fit; he knew a lot, sure, but seemed more like he was a smug prick than a mind-reader, and I was confident that at least one of my skills could defend me.

The other options, however…I could see it. Whether my recognizing the abrupt relocation of matter or seeing how energy moved around him, it was possible. Not even my teleportation was instantaneous; it was limited by how fast I could activate the skill, after all. That was just a fraction of a moment for me at full Acceleration, but it still meant that time had passed and that might give him enough to follow me.

That…could make things tricky.

Just as Malkuth was about to grab me again, however, Keter appeared between us for a moment before just as quickly vanishing and reappearing behind him, and I knew through our light-based communications that he'd used himself as a weapon—and that it hadn't worked as intended. Malkuth slid backwards through space, looking briefly stunned, but lacking anything like a massive hole through his chest from a searing laser. I had only a moment to wonder why before Keter demonstrated, striking him from behind with a pair of lasers that seemed to simply pass through his body and come out at another angle.

Refraction, I released. He'd made the material of his body refractive somehow, allowing the light to simply pass through his body in some odd way. Not _reflective_ , probably because he realized that hitting Keter with his own light wouldn't do anything to him, but it was a powerful defense on his part, severely limiting the offensive power of my Light Elemental.

Even so, from the grunt of effort he released, it was clear that it had still done _something_ , causing him at least _some_ degree of pain and discomfort in its passage. Keter's attacks weren't _just_ light, after all, they were simply _also_ light. We all noticed that and without a word between us, Keter approached to deal more damage.

Malkuth didn't even glance his way, instead simply hunching his shoulders. Patterns began to glow through his armor, highlighting places along his arm, back, chest, and mask—and then he released a pulse of blue and violet light, power crackling over his skin. The wave of energy expanded in an instant before abruptly halting about five meters from him, surrounding him in a perfect sphere, and as Keter passed through that wall, he abruptly slowed. He was still faster than I was, but he now moved at an almost glacial pace compared to what he'd done previously. He fired a pair of blasts at Malkuth and they also moved slowly, just enough so for Malkuth to dodge both.

My first that was that it was a field of slowed time, but no—a quick glance at the sphere left me pretty sure that the effect wasn't temporal in nature. So instead, my thoughts went a different direction and I fired a quick Magic Missile towards Malkuth, the projectile not slowing in the slightest as it passed through the sphere.

It didn't affect that, but it had slowed Keter and his blasts—slowed _light_. Was that what the sphere was doing? Interfering with the constant? Altering the speed at which light traveled through a vacuum? That seemed like the type of thing that seemed unfair, what with the definition of the word 'constant,' but I was fairly sure that Malkuth didn't give a fuck. I'd figured he'd have countermeasures for Keter—seeing as the last time I'd fought him with a Light Elemental at my side, I'd _lost_ —but I'd still hoped I'd have Keter's raw speed backing me up; I suppose I couldn't feel _too_ surprised that it didn't work, for that very reason.

My twin and I looked at one another and, by unspoken agreement, Fluctuated together and activated Tachyon, halting time. Malkuth stopped immediately but Keter didn't—whether because of some aspect of relativity or because of his nature as a Light Elemental, I wasn't sure, but seeing as stopping time didn't blind me or plunge me into unbelievably cold temperatures, I figured there was _something_ at work there. The moment his attack splashed harmlessly over Malkuth, Keter began to withdraw, approaching us. Perhaps because of our differing methods, it was a lot harder for me to hurt people within a time stop than it apparently had been for CInder and his attacks hadn't seemed to be working regardless; better to regroup, then, and prepare.

As he did, we all kept our eyes focused on Malkuth, hoping he wouldn't abruptly move—or rather, that he wouldn't be able to come up with a way around stopped time _within_ stopped time, at least not on short notice. If it was the real Malkuth, that probably would have been a pipedream, but within Gilgamesh's body, he was limited _too_ that body.

Once Keter was outside of Malkuth's sphere of influence, however, my twin and I began to use Tachyon for what it was best at—buying time. Though the technique itself was outrageously expensive, it still provided an opportunity to react or prepare without needing to worry about outside influence; if, for instance, I didn't have most of my best skills running at all times _anyway_ , I could have used it to apply them all at once. That wasn't an issue for _me_ , of course, but I still had a few ways to use it that tended to come in handy.

Like setting up a sucker punch.

As time returned to normal, I fired another full batch of Lux Aeternas into Keter's back, providing him with a sudden and massive 'charge.' At once, his body began to waver, appearance spiking oddly and shifting—but he held himself in place even as my twin released his gathered power within the bounds of Malkuth's luminous sphere.

Or rather, his barrier, for that's what it apparently counted as to Trespasser, a fact that I became certain of the precise moment it worked. But it _did_ work, and that's what matters.

Keter fired a blast of energy into Malkuth's chest with enough force to wipe cities off the map. Malkuth released a hiss of breathe as it hit home, the light pushing him half way to the edge of Sanctuary, and it rose into a near scream as the light passed fully through him. This time, the light acted as though his body were a prism and trails of differently colored light streaming out from his skin as he bore the assault—trails that scattered randomly, hitting the edges of the Sanctuary and passing cleanly through. In a moment, the near empty space within my barrier was covered in a network of lasers that were more than intense enough to chew through anything in their path, such as, you know, _me_. Significantly more hit Malkuth, but they simply scattered again and again, adding fuel to the fire and doing little to help matters.

In a moment, however, I felt my other self Fluctuate into the same space as me and Keter moved, wings unfolding to surround us. Each laser that struck him was absorbed cleanly and he channeled the power anew into another blast at Malkuth, holding it one him with brutal power.

This time, however, Malkuth was prepared and raised a hand in front of him just before Keter fired. When the massive column of light came within centimeters of his hand, it abruptly bent upwards, passing over Malkuth at an angle and slipping through Sanctuary's walls, crossing the space behind us, then behind Malkuth, and then elsewhere, instantly filling the areas with bars of searing Light the consumed Malkuth in an instant while Keter kept me safe from harm.

Then something hit us that wasn't light and Malkuth—who'd let the blast push him through Sanctuary's walls, I realized—grabbed Keter, holding onto the shaped light of his body as easily as flesh. With his other hand, he grabbed me, pulling me up through one of Keter's wings by the throat.

"Into the corner with you," He said with a click of his tongue before turning his body once and then jettisoning the arm grasping Keter, sending him towards the center of the sphere. The detached arm began to bloat in midflight before abruptly starting to shrink, crushed into an almost imperceptible hole in an instant. Immediately, I felt gravity tugging at my flesh, the light around us vanishing—but Malkuth seemed above such things and he held me still. "And now that the lightshow is out of the way, what's say we take this outside?"

Still holding onto my throat, Malkuth dove towards the nearest wall of Sanctuary—but instead of passing through, something strange happened. As the warped space made contact with Malkuth's flesh, I felt something like static erupt in my mind and had mental images of error messages.

And then my barriers shattered like broken glass, returning us to the ruin of Jericho Falls. At once, the fighting seemed to fall silent, all eyes focused on us. In the eyes of the Grimm, I saw fealty. In the eyes of my friends…

Malkuth drew a slow breath and I got the feeling he was smiling. He'd noticed then, damn him.

"It's always good to be back," He said, sounding deeply satisfied. "Now…where to start? Do you have a preference as to who will die because of you _this_ time or should I just flip a coin?"

I grit my teeth without answering.

Not good. Keter wasn't gone, of that much I was sure—but he was trapped within the dark pit Malkuth had conjured, now rotating lazily above us. There was no sign of the terrible gravity from before, but there was also no sign that he'd escaped quickly. I'd known thing might come to this, but if they had, I'd planned to use his help first, instead of… _this_.

But there was no helping it now.

Left with little choice, I reached deep inside of myself, crossed my fingers, and activated the Arcana.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Eighth Interlude - Tiangou**

Layers shifted as he moved, crashing against one another like tectonic plates even as they intermingled—inside and out. Instinct tore a snarl from his throat, the sound raised to thunderous proportions by his sheer size, and that same part raised his hackles. After all this time, it was easy to recognize the Grimm and even easier to understand what they were.

Enemies. His enemies, the enemies of those he would protect, the enemies of his master, friend, and arguably creator. Underneath it all, that was all he truly needed to know; that what was before him was something he had to kill. That if they didn't die, they might harm that which he would protect—and his right to protect lives inherently trump their right to take them. It was so simple that he didn't even need a true mind to understand it.

But he had one anyway. He could remember the moment it came upon him, a sudden shift in perspective that had changed everything. A part of him wanted to jest that he was of two minds about it, but that wasn't the case, not really—there was nothing within him wrestling for control, just layers to what was there and things that had been built atop them.

Granted, the change had been rather jarring, all the more so because he'd been alone when it first happened—and didn't that bring back bad memories? He didn't like being alone, like he had been before he'd been saved by Jaune; alone in the alley, alone in the dark, alone on the streets, and alone in the home from before it. He could still remember those days, if not in quite the same way he remembered things now; they were more a matter of familiar scents, sounds, and sensations. Raised voices, the touch of hands, the chill of the rain and the days of pain that followed; things he'd know if he heard them again, not that he'd gone looking.

He'd thought about it, of course, of returning to the place from which he'd come, a place he'd now be able to understand. He knew, logically, that he was very powerful, that he could frighten them as he'd once been frightened. Demand reparations, explanations, apologies. If he truly desired, he could probably just step on the places that had once filled him with dread.

The mere thought was laughable. Those places, those people, those _memories_ —they were a part of him, but they didn't matter anymore. Certainly, he could do it, but why would he even bother? It didn't matter anymore. He'd been hurt by people, by larger animals, by the streets of Vale, and in the end he'd been left struggling to survive beneath a dumpster full of trash, clinging to the world that had hurt him simply out of a primal desire to _live_. The world had never cared about his choices, about _him_ , but he'd wanted to survive so badly that it had hurt almost as much as his injuries. There'd been no hope for him, he'd known that even then, but he'd still fought.

And then he'd been saved.

A part of him occasionally wondered if perhaps he had died in that alley—that this might be his afterlife, his 'Heaven.' It was a bit more war-torn then most depictions of Paradise, admittedly, but Jaune _was_ an Angel and he'd seen enough oddities that the possibility sometimes lingered in his thoughts. But no, he knew the truth, for all that it was even more astonishing. Someone had found him, healed him, saved his life, and taken him in.

He wondered, now and again, if Jaune truly understood how much he affected the world around him. To him, so many things seemed minor— _casual_ , even—because that was what they were to him. He thought nothing of saving someone's life with a touch; it was something as easy as breathing to him, something that he just _did_. The same went for interfering, resolving and creating situations around him, saving more lives that way or at least changing them. He'd leave in the night, race across land, sea, and air, and slaughter a thousand beasts of legend, simply in preparation of challenging his ancient foe, perhaps knowing only vaguely that he might have saved countless lives doing so, down the line. He'd given new life to a fallen soul, changed the course of entire organizations, forged connections to people of great power, and simply continued on like a storm.

And whether it was fate, luck, or something else, he'd found him, saved his life, and given him everything he'd ever wanted—life, a purpose, a family, a _mind_. Even before he'd become whatever he was now, that had been a simple fact. And when he suddenly felt things change and was thrown off kilter…though it had been startling, terrifying, and confusing, the first thing he'd done was try to find Jaune. In the dark and empty house that had been his first true home, he'd tried to cry out and call for help.

He'd realized in the process that he could. When he thought about things, words, concepts, and even images would come to his mind. When he spoke, the sound would change, translating easily between his brain and mouth, and the world around him had come increasingly into focus. He'd even known exactly how to find his way to Jaune—and that Jaune wouldn't have wanted him to. He'd felt Jaune's emotions then as he felt them now and they were startlingly similar. Fear, confidence, surety, dread, anger, pain, hope, and loss all fluttered down the line that connected them in a mass that he could somehow translate. Jaune wouldn't have wanted him in that fight, because he would have been afraid he'd get hurt.

And his friend felt the same way now, even though he was only on the periphery of the battle, dealing with the chaff as Jaune faced down the dark king of this place. Even with the scale of their battles so disproportionate, Jaune was more worried about them than he was himself.

He didn't mind getting hurt if it was in defense of his family—and Jaune probably understood that and was all the more frightened for it. Even before he'd grown stronger, if it kept his family safe…well, he wouldn't fear the loss of an eye or limb. Now?

Now such things meant nothing.

The Grimm attacked, most of them now tiny compared to him, though no less dangerous for their size. Of all the members of their team, he drew the most attention and thus the most fire, with claws raking his flesh, blasts of scorching light burning him, and worse besides. Several of the Grimm had moved to climb him, sinking their hands deep into his skin as they climbed his flesh and ripped away at him. In this fight alone, he'd already taken amounts of damage that would have killed almost anyone else; he'd suffered massive burns, bleed rivers, had his eyes punctured, and worse.

But whatever they sent his way, it wasn't enough to put him down. He wouldn't _allow_ it to be enough. Thanks to the power he'd gained training with his family, he stood fast against everything they threw his way, wounds knitting closed, flesh filling the tears, and energy surging steadily through his body. Where others would fall, he continued to fight, to struggle, and to draw attacks away from his allies.

After all, when it came to being tough, to being strong enough to take a hit for someone else, he wouldn't lose to anyone except perhaps Jaune—and even then, only if Jaune didn't enhance him further. He'd continued to raise his Vitality, such that it was now well over six hundred fifty, and his Semblance was ideal for this. He could feel the layers of himself, set as much beside one another as within, and the outermost layer was the largest and the toughest.

If enough damage was caused to it, it would shatter and melt away, revealing the next layer and the next until he was left only as himself, the process getting easier with ever victory on their part—but enemies like these couldn't even kill his outermost self. Every time they attacked, he withstood and countered, bringing to bear as much of the strength his massive form conferred him without threating his own allies.

All the while, he sought to keep watch over his family. As part of his nature as Jaune's Familiar, Jaune could activate techniques for him, sharing his own power to open up paths for him. If they were close enough to one another, that was particularly true—but for a price, Jaune could shore up his weaknesses even from a great distance. For a battle like this, he'd been force to limit that slightly, so as not to interfere with his own battles, but…

Well. Even if only a shadow of his friend's power was added onto his own, it was enough to blot out the sun.

It was always a strange feeling to draw on another's power, though. In his mind, it felt like some kind of circuit opening, a jagged line of power drawn between two points. Power flowed down that connection like it was a river, filling a well in his thoughts that seemed to branch out, drawing connections to various parts of his body as though it were another nervous system. Some moved to enhance his musculature, lines of power overlaying muscle fibers, while others permeated his skin or focused on his eyes or mouth. When he looked at himself, he could almost imagine the light shining through his own skin as it bolstered and protected him.

Especially since sometimes he _could_. Granted, that was more because of the adjustments made to his senses than anything else. Even though Jaune could lay his power upon him, not everything was made simple. There were gaps, holes that being a Familiar couldn't fill. For all that he had access to most of the direct powers, so long as Jaune made an effort to grant them, the secondary ones weren't so easily transferred, and that was never more apparent than with his senses.

Sometimes, he struggled to imagine how Jaune did it—how he could look at the world this way all the time and _understand_ it instead of being driven made. The power he was under now, Clairvoyance, opened up aspects of the world he wouldn't have been able to image before he was able to actually see it. He knew, logically speaking, that his eyes were different from a humans and that he normally saw the world in a different way, but when his eyes were opened like _this_ , none of that mattered. The world lit up in patterns of blinding power and flowing energy if he didn't focus, breaking down into patterns of heat, motion, wavelengths, and entire spectrums of light. When he focused on something, it hardly seemed to matter how close or far away they were, they seemed as though they right before his eyes and large enough to see clearly, even if that meant increasing or decreasing in size. If he paused to take something in for too long, he could accidentally peer through their skin to see expanding and contracting muscles, nerves made luminous by the transportation of signals, and even cellular activity.

If he focused, he could probably see even deeper than that, but he'd never really tried; after a certain point, it became too much. He knew that Jaune used it constantly and without a seeming care, predicting movements by analyzing motions or assessing people in their entirety at a glance. Jaune had even told him that he had senses that went beyond what he was now seeing, such as a Third Eye that showed him the truth of the world. Honestly, he was fairly pleased to say he couldn't even imagine it.

Jaune was different—if he could, he'd want to see everything, partially because he could take it. He wasn't sure if that was a natural part of who he was, the result of a skill he'd picked up at some point, or simply one of the benefits of his Semblance; in all likelihood, it was a combination of all three. Someone who's soul took the shape of a being with a million eyes and who's Semblance seemed to dredge up knowledge lost to the annals of time probably had an edge when it came to things that gathered and analyzed pieces of information, but he imagined having the Gamer's Mind and what must have been a dozen skills that made him more than human probably helped.

He didn't have that. The closest he _did_ have was another skill Jaune had conferred to him—Extrasensory Perception—which, if anything, made things that much worse. It expanded the breadth of Clairvoyance to encompass his other senses, all but burying him beneath a mountain of sensation and information. Normally, his senses of hearing and smell were as important to him as his sight, if not more so, but Extrasensory Perception heightened them to an almost painful degree, especially in a fight. Each breath he took flooded his mind with information on his enemies, such that he could tell without looking which was which and where they were, even though there were dozens. At the same time, every step their took and move they made resounded in his ears, sound carrying across vaster distances than he'd every imaged until he had no choice but to blot out the gathering of far-distant storms.

And that wasn't all, either. The taste of air on his tongue as he panted drew information to him as clearly as his nose, each taste so distinct that he distinguished them easily. At the same time, he could _feel_ approaching attacks before they struck, a phantom sort of pain that warned him of danger, and the moment of air against his skin was enough to let him gauge the locations of his enemies and allies alike. Even beyond that, he could sense people's location simply by how they touched a surface he was connected to, sending vibrations through the ground. His sense of touch extended even beyond his skin, such that he could feel when things came in contact with his Aura or even his own attacks. Being as large as he was should have and _did_ interfere with his senses, but the techniques he was under now made such things irrelevant.

It hurt—a constant pain that he felt alongside his brain, like someone had filled his skull with flames. He suspected Jaune knew that, whether consciously or as part of the subconscious effect of his 'Pericognition.' Either way, he generally avoided using any skill that caused him particular discomfort.

But this was a special occasion and he'd asked Jaune for every advantage he could get. He was a hunting dog, yes—but a guard dog first and foremost, and there was no point to his safety if he let his family come to harm. On the off chance that he suffered a stroke, he'd simply have to rely on his accelerated healing to make up for it. Even if it interfered with his own ability to fight, it was worth it.

Thankfully, the more physical techniques were easier. The skills of the original Jian Bing and the ancient techniques of Remnant—they were simple to use by comparison. Yes, the breaking of his Adamant skin would hurt when the technique ended, but what was being flayed, really? And yes, perhaps the Sacrifice to the Wolf occasionally shattered his bones and tore muscles, but again, what of it? Even without the Liquid Flesh buff Jaune had applied to all of them, he could recover from such wounds almost before he felt the pain of them. Wounds like that were nothing to him; he cared about them even less than the strikes of the Grimm.

Speaking of which…

Drawing a deep breath to fill the caverns of his lungs, he snarled at the Grimm again—and this time, flames filled his mouth like froth. He exhaled a wave of searing fire and then let more of it rise from his fur, attacking what Grimm had drawn to close. This skill wasn't the Karna he was more familiar with, but rather the skill known as Surya, which it had developed into. It was the chief weapon Jaune had provided him with, along with his Psychokinesis, as both skills simply enabled him to use specific powers. They were draining, however, and his MP was relatively minor compared to his HP; less than seven thousand and even then, only by virtue of his level. He could regenerate his MP at a not _entirely_ pathetic pace thanks to Breath of the World, but it wasn't something he wanted to waste. For that reason, he kept the flames up for only a few seconds and then shook them off along with the Grimm.

Simple instinct made him want to press the assault, to chase the monsters as they retreated. If he shut off the dizzying array of senses Jaune's power had granted him, he could focus on them and go on the attack. Just as Autumn had recently been enhanced by the skill Preta, which allowed her to create and command a strange semblance of life, Jaune had elevated him with the skill above Familiar, Tiryagyoni. With a thought, he could shift into a monster more twisted than anything Autumn could imagine, drawing the traits and features of countless animals into his flesh until mouths yawned open and limbs stretched. He could fill his jaws with rows of teeth and poisonous fangs, transform his fur into the tendrils of a thousand jellyfish, rearrange his skeleton and organs, and more.

But that wasn't why he was here. He was a guardian and he kept an eye on his family, drawing attention and taking any blows that might be dangerous. His senses let him pick those out among the chaos of battle and so were more useful to him than a thousand more mouths.

And it was those same senses that made him the first to become aware are the situation changed. He saw the cracks growing in one of the invisible walls that surrounded this pace and shifted slightly to better position himself in front of his family. But as a figure appeared alongside Jaune, holding him by the throat, his senses also made him completely aware of the truth.

This wasn't someone he could beat. It wasn't somehow he could stop or fight or kill; trying to do so would mean his death.

He considered that for a moment, giving the thought the weight it deserved, and promptly decided it didn't matter. If that was true, it was more important that he make his actions count. Should he cover for Raven? Yes, that was the smartest thing to do. Raven was close enough to Adam to reach him in at a moment's notice and draw him through a portal—a portal she'd no doubt take up to Autumn, grabbing her as well. So long as he could defend her for a second, she should be able to get both of them to safety. Would she come back afterwards, putting herself in danger? It was regrettably possible, but Autumn and Adam's safety was worth more than his life; worst case scenario, those two could take care of one another and Jaune himself was unlikely to die, given what they knew. It was everything _besides_ death that he needed to be concerned about. He could take care of them both, so long as they escaped, and another Familiar could be found.

Besides which, he was the largest target.

He reached out, being carefully delicate with his Psychokinesis, and planted a paw-shaped construct on Raven's upper arm, signaling her. Her chin lowered and rose less than a centimeter, which was the only sign she'd noticed with her gaze perfectly steady as she looked at the figure, who was Gilgamesh and not Gilgamesh.

Slowly, he braced himself—and made the first move, diving fully in front of Raven even knowing what it could mean.

"Oh, a volunteer?" He heard, but couldn't even see the new figure move—instead, there was flash of pain as his outer layer shattered completely, coming apart into dark energy that swirled and reshaped itself into something perhaps half as large. For that brief moment, he was thankfully protected as his next layer was drawn out into conventional space, hopefully slowing his enemy down—but the next layer shattered the moment it formed, along with the next and the next, until he was suddenly himself, lying on the ground at the strange figure's feet.

Raven, however, was already gone.

It was worth it, then.

"Buying time for your friend's to escape?" The figure asked, and though he had no mouth he sounded as though he were smiling. "What a brave puppy—but you know, I'm the _master_ of portals. It's a little trick to create them when I'm like this, but it's not impossible, and I know where she went. It's just…it's always more fun when people think their safe. Isn't that right, Jaune?"

The figure—who must have been Malkuth, given his crude disposition—reached out to him with the hand that wasn't clasped to Jaune's neck.

"Still, it was a good effort," He continued. "What's say I give you an original death, to make it worth your while?"

Some kind of strange, violet light gathered around his hands and he thought this was it.

But…this was okay. Dark as the situation may have seemed, he knew Jaune would do something—that he'd figure out a way to keep them safe in what little time they'd bought.

So this was enough—and a pretty good effort for a dog who should have died in an alleyway, besides.

Light flashed and he waited for the end to come once more, but this time without fear.

—And just like before, he was saved.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Journey**

 **Arcana (Active & Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%  
The compendium of secrets, the ultimate mystery. The Arcana exists as a representation of a soul's journey, both through life and beyond, and in so doing, illustrates the truths hidden within. By mastering this skill, the user comes to understand the path they've taken and learns how to use the knowledge and wisdom they've acquired to forge a path for themselves across time.  
Upon learning this skill, the user learns to access the memories hidden within their own soul, recalling their past and present lives.  
In addition, this skill may be activated for no cost, allowing the user to draw strength from within themselves in the form of the twenty-two Major Arcana.  
These effects activate in correlation to the user's present state and may change accordingly.**

As I activated the Arcana, I felt something clear form within me, descending upon me from above. It didn't come with any flashes of light or cinematic riots of power, because I wasn't drawing strength from it or unleashing anything.

I was the Arcana. It was a crystallization of what was already there, a refinement of who I was, who I'd been, and who I wanted to be. In a way, it was the closest I'd ever come to my past self's Semblance, because a Semblance was itself an expression of who a person is—but at the same time it was more than that. It was an intermingling, a conversation of the heart and soul, and it drew elements from the both of us. Or rather, from me.

And it was like my heart had started beating after a long period of nothingness.

Malkuth's grip on my neck didn't slacken because of my internal shift, nor did our situation change. I don't think he'd noticed yet, because it was—for now—still something purely internal, but I'd need to choose my moment carefully. I kept anything from showing on my body with careful control and lifted my gaze to look at my friends.

The battlefield had gone still at our entrance, the Grimm obviously recognizing their master. They seemed to almost fade into the background without actually moving, dark tremors rippling over their flesh. Nothing extended from Malkuth directly—or, at least, nothing extended from Gilgamesh's body—but I could see them recovering slowly. Perhaps his awareness of them was enough to reach out from the other side of their portals or perhaps they simply drew strength from his presence; either way, I saw wounds slowly knit closed.

More importantly than them, however, I saw my friends. I saw Autumn high above us, still floating on the wind, and saw her multifaceted eyes focused on me. Her expression didn't change, but I could feel her emotions shift as she drew matter and energy from her internal well, preparing herself for a fight. I could tell from the signs left on the battlefield that she'd already made use of her powers as a Preta, but that didn't stop her from readying herself now.

Below her stood Adam, Gou, and Raven. My best friend, my _team_ , all focused on me. Adam pursed his lips, hand on his sword, and beneath his mask his eyes focused on me and the hand at my throat. Looming over him, Gou flicked his eyes over Malkuth and I, but the majority of his focus then turned to the rest of our team and I could feel his thoughts shift towards protectiveness.

I could all but hear their thoughts; Adam readying himself to put his all into a single attack, distracting Malkuth at a crucial moment to allow me to escape, even if it cost him his life. Gou readying himself to die if it meant allowing the others even a slim chance of escape.

But fuck both of those ideas.

Finally, I turned my attention towards Raven, whose eyes were focused entirely on me. I looked through her mask to meet her eyes, both of out gazes steady. Under different circumstances, I'd send her a subtle signal with Psychokinesis or Pathokinesis, but with Malkuth so near I didn't dare give him a sign.

So instead, I just smiled slightly, the expression light. A moment later, I saw Gou extend a Psychokinetic hand towards Raven, alerting her with a touch, and she nodded. To him? To me? There was no way to know for sure—but I didn't have to know for sure. I trusted Raven to get the job done.

It didn't surprise me in the slightest when Gou threw himself to the ground in front of Raven, a body that dwarfed building throwing up massive clouds of dust even as it dug a colossal trench in the ground.

"Oh, a volunteer?" Malkuth asked and he must have been smiling. An instant later, he _moved_ , crossing the distance between us and Gou with such speed that he snapped my neck in the process. He didn't even bother attacking Gou, he simply stepped into him, shattering Gou's layers with a touch. I saw it as the black energy that made up Gou's for in-between spaces flooded in each time, fluctuating, flowing, and spiking with every wave, but they gave Gou only moments of reprieve. In less than a second, all that was left was Gou's base form, lying prone at Malkuth's feet.

Malkuth must have gotten off on kicking puppies, because I got the feeling his smile widened as he looked down at my friend.

"Buying time for your friend's to escape?" He asked, attention now on Gou. "What a brave puppy—but you know, I'm the _master_ of portals. It's a little trick to create them when I'm like this, but it's not impossible, and I know where she went. It's just…it's always more fun when people think their safe. Isn't that right, Jaune?"

Goddamn fucking piece of shit asshole prick.

I didn't answer, taking the moment to allow the feeling of my broken neck to fade. The full heal I'd prepared was still at the ready, but Gou's base form was thankfully unharmed—that was the best thing about his Semblance, in my opinion; even if he got weaker and more vulnerable as his outer selves were broken, damage didn't cross between layers. Instead, he was just exhausted as the power he'd tied into them was dispersed. So far, nothing had happened to him that couldn't be fixed.

Of course, being near Malkuth meant that probably wouldn't last long—if there was anything he was good at, it was violently ruining the lives of everything he touched. I needed to do something right now.

"Still, it was a good effort," Malkuth continued, proving me right. "What's say I give you an original death, to make it worth your while?"

Matter shifted as he gathered power in his hands and I made my move.

Gritting my teeth as I got my knees under me, I pushed myself forward as hard as I could. I felt Malkuth's hand tighten on my neck, but he was woefully unprepared for my current strength—all he managed to do was tear my head from my shoulders. An instant later, my forehead hit ground with a crack and—

The earth exploded. A wave of force expanded out from me, pulling up several centimeters of soil as they went, and then the ground shattered violently. A hundred meters, two hundred, four hundred, and then further beyond, everything was crushed by the force of the impact and sent flying into the air. At the same time, my other self left my space and dashed towards Gou, reaching him too quickly for me to register. I had a mental image of Gou being hauled up onto his shoulders, but I wasn't able to actually _see_ anything until Gou was dropped off on the other side of the crater.

Strength and Chariot, huh…it wasn't a _bad_ hand, given the situation, but hardly ideal. That was the risk of using the Arcana—I didn't pick them conscious; they simply rose in accordance with my actions.

But I suppose that was life—doing your best with the hand you're dealt.

 **Strength: The Arcana of Strength—the representation of the courage and resolve needed to endure and overcome life's setbacks. It is the power of understanding and control that temper the triumphant power of the Chariot. When the user is within this state of being, the power of all MP attacks without a physical component drop to 0. Increase the user's Strength by the combined value of their Intelligence and Wisdom.**

 **Chariot: The Arcana of the Chariot—the representation of the control and willpower needed to assert dominance over one's own life and reach for one's dreams. It is where the assurance of youth meets the understanding of adulthood to create crowning achievements and victories, but is still tied down by aggression and impatience. When the user is within this state of being, MP attacks that possess charge times are unusable. Increase the user's Dexterity by the combined value of their Intelligence and Wisdom.**

"…Hm," Malkuth said at last, cracking the fingers that had previously been clenched around my neck. "Have you been holding out on me, Keter? I must admit, I kind of thought you'd start taking things seriously after I bashed your head against nothing and broke it."

"Sorry," I said, lifting my hands into a fighting stance. "I just wanted to save the best for last."

It wasn't a lie, sadly. Quite frankly, I hadn't wanted to use the Arcana until the very end if I could avoid it and I could freely admit _this_ wasn't what I'd had in mind. The Arcana were my trump cards, true, but they were risky and had to be used wisely. As they arose from my situation and my actions, the ones that manifested were closely linked to where I stood at any given moment and I could undercut my own position if I activated it at the wrong time. Each of the Arcana came with great power, but the drawbacks…well, some of them were fairly severe.

As these things went, Strength and the Chariot weren't the worst ones I could have wound up with. Under the circumstances, I could have easily manifested the Tower or the Devil—which had their uses, sure, but really weren't the type of things I needed right now. Strength and the Chariot had their own downsides, but they were comparatively manageable.

Strength limited me to more physical MP attacks, such as Bai Hu's skills, my Strike skills, and other things that boosted my physical attacks. My other MP attacks would effectively do nothing, coming apart even as I tried to cast them…but that was no real loss at this point. I'd already hit Malkuth with a horde of such attacks and he'd simply brushed them off like they were nothing. MP abilities that weren't attacks were left untouched as well, so I still had access to most of my persistent skills like Acceleration, my sensory abilities, and so on. Now if I'd lost _those_ , that would be something to worry about, but as is the only things I'd truly miss were Longinus, Lux Aeterna, and Ohr Ein Sof, and even those skills hadn't been doing as well as I might have hoped. But thankfully, I still had access to all of them, in a sense.

After all, I wasn't the only one who'd activated the Arcana. Because of the nature of Thaumiel, I effectively had two picks from the deck; one for each of us. It was a bit complicated, because the Arcana simultaneously recognized us as being united and separate, but the results were fairly good so I couldn't complain. Quite frankly, if I'd been fighting alone, I'm not sure I'd be willing to risk using the Arcana in a real fight; all it would take was a bad draw to shut down some vital part of my strategy and I was screwed. Instead, I was able to draw two cards and we couldn't—or, at least, had yet to—draw the same Arcana, so we were only truly screwed if we _both_ got bad hand's, which was comparatively unlikely.

For instance, where I'd manifested Strength, my other had manifested the Chariot, so while I was unable to use MP attacks that didn't enhance my physical abilities somehow, he was limited to attacks that didn't naturally come with charge times, thankfully ignoring the effects of Hyper Soul. That meant _he_ could still use things like Longinus, so long as he didn't try to charge them past their normal limits; it wasn't ideal, but it was manageable.

Now, had things gone as planned, I'd have continued to keep Gilgamesh—or Malkuth, as the case may be—off balance, controlling the tide of the battle every step of the way and directing the fight. That was the best way to use the Arcana after all; not to let circumstances define you, but to define them instead. Had I been able to go through with my plans for Keter, I should have been able to get at _least_ the Star or the Sun, and maybe both. The World was unfeasible, but if I'd done things right, it might have even been possible to manifest Judgement. Even with how strong Malkuth was, so long as he was limited by Gilgamesh's body I was fairly sure that would have been enough to decide the fight.

Instead, here I was. If I'd activated the Arcana from the very beginning, I might have gotten the Magician, High Priestess, or maybe even the Hierophant, but it was a bit late to worry about that now. And frankly, it probably wouldn't have changed anything.

I'd just have to do my best with what I had.

Even before felt my counterpart ready himself, I was moving, rushing towards Malkuth with all the strength I could muster. While the effects of my obscenely enhanced Strength differed from my other's improved Dexterity, there was always a certain amount of overlap between strength and speed. With every step I took, the ground seemed to ripple beneath my feet, hardly even feeling solid—like I was running over water instead of earth. My feet sank into the ground with each step, breaking through some kind of wall, and each time the ripples expanded far enough, the ground shattered yet again, strained far beyond its limits. As I rushed for Malkuth, anything that could break, broke, but each step pushed me what seemed like leagues forward.

Malkuth lifted a hand to block as I came near—but it was too late for that, now. Just before I reached him, I activated Bai Hu's Lunge and close the last meter in an instant. The moment my fist struck his guard, a shockwave expanded from the point of connection and flashed outwards at an astonishing speed, destroying everything it touched. The now utterly shattered ground was forced down by the pressure, reducing everything near us to fine powder, and whatever smoke and dust still lingered on the battlefield was promptly swept away.

Though Gilgamesh's mask reveal no expression, I liked to think Malkuth widened his eyes in surprise. Instead of stopping me like he probably intended, I drove Malkuth back, forcing his feet to drag long trenches in the ground. We went fifty meters, a hundred, two hundred, and then even further, hardly seeming to slow as we passed through the almost frictionless sand. A touch belatedly, Malkuth lifted his other hand in reaction, reaching for me.

I lifted my eyes to his mask and smiled.

A moment later, something tore through the world. My other self crossed the battlefield at full speed, layering all the skills he had to enhance it even further, and his passage caused almost as much destruction as my _attacks_ had. A colossal fireball began to expand from his distant starting point, only the flashing waves of energy out pacing his approach. In almost the same moment I noticed him, he passed fully through my body and struck Malkuth head on, fist hitting the same hand I had. Malkuth abruptly vanished from my sight, the attack carrying him most of a kilometer away from me and leaving me to weather the rest of the fireball.

I braced myself, holding on even as I felt it wash over me—but though the force was unspeakable, I had the strength to stand against it. I felt my flesh burn and my eyes hiss and crackle inside my head, but I couldn't call to Suryasta, trapped as he was within Keter. Instead, I simply waited and endured, knowing what was to come.

Sure enough, I saw my other return no more than a moment after his departure, hand firmly clasping Malkuth's head. The Bane of the Prometheans bolstered his already ludicrous speed, aided by everything else he'd been able to bring to bear, and Malkuth's body was held parallel to the ground by the speed of his retraction. My twin passed through me once again on his way back and we occupied the same space once again—but this time we didn't separate, and I allowed myself to be reeled in alongside them.

At the last moment, however, I activated the Yellow Path, changing our direction—specifically, straight down. We moved with the full extent of my strength and my twin's speed and in an instant, I shifted our hold on Malkuth, turning him as we moved.

Truth be told, in the midst of my various musings I'd once wondered how much you'd have to hate someone to try to suplex them to death.

The answer was, of course, 'significantly less than I hated Malkuth.'

Needless to say, we added another crater to the battlefield—but no one liked Jericho Falls anyway.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Close**

As the explosion rocked over the already blasted landscape, even I needed a moment to recover. My skin felt odd, as if it had been encrusted with something—like the very air had stuck to my skin like a bug to a windshield.

Which…kind of _was_ what happened, honestly. At the speeds my other had Accelerated to, air molecules simply couldn't get out of the way anymore and so instead they were torn apart. At that speed, pretty much _anything_ was devastating, and the ride we'd taken Malkuth on especially so. In its wake, the air had turned to plasma and high-energy wavelengths had filled the air, blasting everything around us mere moments before the fireball itself. The path of destruction we'd wrought, along with the massive crater that had been pounded into the earth, had reshaped the battlefield yet again, adding a massive, elongated crater to the existing one while slagged everything around us.

Inside of me, I could feel my other panting at the exertion. It wasn't just the cost it had taken in MP—though that had been exorbitant as he ramped his Acceleration up as high as he could manage—but also the stress it had caused him physically. That was another downside to Strength and the Chariot, if a hidden one; the massive increases to Strength and Dexterity didn't come with a corresponding increase in _durability_. Even I had felt my bones shattering with every hit; for my twin, who had gone so far past our normal limits that it wasn't even funny, the damage from simply moving was extreme, with every molecule in the air seeming to cut away at our flesh. I'd only taken a small portion of that so as to take some of the burden off of my other, and still I was feeling it.

But, I had to admit, the result was fairly satisfying. A pity we didn't have more time to enjoy it.

Cracking my neck once as the Gamer's Body brushed away the last of the pain, I took stock of myself and my other before applying a full heal to my twin, helping him brush off the aftereffects. Thanks to our unified nature, I knew my other could keep a stock of his own, so I didn't need to be _too_ frugal, and if there was ever a time for it, it was while I was beating the shit out of Malkuth. I felt a response from him as a motion within our shared volume and accepted the thanks with ease.

Then, I stood up, using my strength to pull Malkuth—who my suplex had buried from his head to his waist even _after_ obliterating just about everything around us—from the ground like a weed, lifting him by an ankle before punching him in the gut with all the force I could muster, which was thankfully a fair bit. Malkuth's body rocked forward, curled by the force of the blow, and his head came up to bang against my knee.

"— _Dick_ ," Malkuth grunted, seemingly brought back to the present by the blow, though I noted he still seemed dazed. It was nice to know that _some_ things affected him, even if only while he was in a reduced form. Alas, stuck in the body of a Grimm as he was, Malkuth possessed nothing for me to kick him in, so I couldn't take advantage of the line he'd given me. With a touch of sadness for opportunities lost, I instead kicked him in the face, knocking him backwards and over my head, turning at my grip on his ankle. I couldn't imagine that was comfortable, which was a pleasant though, and I added to it by grabbing him by the back of his head as he came around and then bringing him down hard on my rising knee in a sincere effort to fold him in half.

Malkuth grunted again and I got the feeling he was glaring at me.

"Okay, that's enough," He said, hand snapping up to grab _me_ by the head, massive claws closing on me in a brutal vice. Just as quickly, his other hand rose, smashing into my nose hard enough break it and pretty much every _other_ bone in my face, snapping my head back as a side effect. Taking advantage of that momentary opening, he delivered another series of blows to my face, chin, and throat, tearing at the savagely until I let him go and freed up my hands.

Malkuth flipped over in midair, landing neatly on his feet before me in a way that spoke of yet more physics fuckery. I saw energy gather in his arms as he crouched and braced myself. I matched the first punch with my own, feeling bones break from wrist to shoulder, and then punched him across the face hard enough to make his head duck. He lifted it again and buried a rising fist into my stomach and I leaned over as I felt it pulverize my organs. Against my will, I staggered back a step and he pressed his assault, half a dozen hits landing on my chest in barely more than an instant, shattering ribs each time.

In response, I stepped into his next assault, lifting my arms quickly as if to strike him—and lowering them just as fast, trapping his arms beneath them. In response, Malkuth flexed his claws, bladed fingers sinking into my back and thumbs into my front, as if he was planning to pull my ribcage open lengthwise.

Before he could, however, my twin stepped back into play. Seeing as he was fully recovered, I let my other self go to town on our trapped enemy and while he stayed largely within the same volume as me, he reached out with his arms and began to deliver lightning fast punches to Malkuth's abdomen. Malkuth released another annoyed breath, but I held his fast, refusing to let him escape, and the air between us soon turned to plasma in the steady rhythm of my other self's fists.

Malkuth released a sound that I might have considered a growl if it hadn't been accompanied by his mask suddenly turning a deep blood-red. At once, my twin dropped low, crouching and slamming both of his fists into Malkuth's ankles to help keep him grounded. Without letting go of Malkuth's arms, I stepped on my other self's back and used it as a spring pad of sorts, contorting briefly in midair to get my feet in position before shoving both of them right under Malkuth's chin, forcing his head back.

A moment later, a narrow flash of red light flashed through the sky, tracing a line across empty air that seemed to glow for a long moment before exploding. The force rocked us all, nearly forcing us to the ground, but we endured and so did Malkuth.

That still left us in a rather awkward position, with my arms binding Malkuth's, my feet pushing up his chin, and my other self holding his feet onto the ground. Malkuth seemed to realize this as well, because he immediately flexed his arms and leaned back slightly before altering his shoulders in a fashion I immediately recognized.

A moment later, my twin hauled Malkuth's feet up off the ground, leaving him parallel to the Earth as he fired off his arms like he'd done to Keter beforehand. Instead of being launched _away,_ I was fired straight up, and I let his projectile limbs carry me for a brief moment before releasing them, judging that I was high enough.

Then I let my twin take control as he Fluctuated into me and began his descent. I felt skills layer and time warp as he fueled our dive, even going so far as to add Atlas to the combination, and we fell towards Malkuth like a comet.

Predictably, he tried to dodge, having already seen such a tactic.

Obviously, we didn't fucking let him, changing directions with Yellow Path without slowing down.

To Malkuth's credit, he still managed to react in time, hand snapping up at the last possible instant to catch my other's fist with a regrown arm—but what he didn't expect was for me to continue on with the same momentum, leaving my other self's space at full speed to clothesline him anyway. As I caught him around the throat, I tightened my arm around his neck, letting my body snap forward as I dragged him down and back, hauling him off his feet and to the ground.

The moment he was prone, my twin hand on top of him, power already gathering—and then his hands flashed out, little more than a blur to my eyes. When he stopped, however, the results were obvious—ten neat holes from ten different Longinus, expending most of my twins remaining energy. One through the head, one through where the portal should be, and one for each of his non-existent vital organs; it was a move we'd practiced some, but it was, unfortunately, designed for foes with more vulnerabilities. Malkuth screamed as the spears pierced through him, but didn't fucking die, not that I'd been _that_ hopeful.

Onto the next plan, then.

Before he could counterattack, my other self rolled over Malkuth and into my space, at which point I leveraged him up and over me as I came to my feet, slamming him back into the ground. This time, he was down for only a beat before coming back for more, body glowing grey as he struck me in the center of my chest.

For a brief moment, I stopped moving before continuing my earth-shattering punch—but by then, he was already gone, dancing several steps out of my reach.

"Not gonna lie, I'm getting a little tired of your shit now, Keter," He said, glow strengthening. "No offense, but I think it's about time we end this. You still have a job to do, as I recall."

"I'm procrastinating," I replied. "Beating your face in is just so much fun, you know."

"Glad you enjoyed it," He answered. "Because now's the part where _I_ start having fun unless you do what you're supposed to. Why are you so intent on wasting time when we both want the same thing?"

"I feel fairly confident in saying we don't want the same thing at all," I replied. "But I'll ask you the same question—why are you still here? Why not go on your merry little way and leave me be? Do you need to be here for something?"

When he didn't answer, I clicked my tongue.

"So you want me to crack open the safe while you watch my back?" I asked him. "Sorry, I have trust issues. Namely, my issue is that you're a fucking godless piece of shit and I don't trust you."

Lines of purple-red power flashed down his arms and legs as he focused on me.

"The hard way it is, then," He said. "Now…which of your friends should I start with?"

"How about me?" Raven asked as a portal swirled into existence beside me.

Here's where things got tricky.

I liked to think I was pretty smart. Yeah, I had a ton of points invested in both INT and WIS, but even beyond that. At the very least I _tried_ —to plan things out, to think ahead, to consider the different angles and try to come up with a way around or through. I tried to learn from my experiences and mistakes both, taking into account lessons learned, and remember them in future situations. I had a lot of advantageous, I admit; my senses, my altered perception of time, my Semblance, and so on. But I honestly tried to think thing through and figure out what would happen.

Of course, it didn't always work. There's always things I didn't or couldn't know, and I was often left scrambling when everything went to hell. I'd learn from that, too, not that it was particularly hard when I was so often in the dark. In that regard, I often found the _act_ of planning more useful than my plans themselves—planning out every single detail didn't usually workout well, at least not for me; no plan survives contact with the enemy and all that. But in the process, I generally ended up with a pretty good idea of where I should go and what I should do. If they did this, I'd do that; if this tactic failed, I could resort to this—on and on, for eventualities and possibilities. I had a fair bit of free time, after all, what with the amount of it I spent in Accelerated grinding.

So while I could freely admit I hadn't _planned_ for things to get to this point, the possibility hadn't caught me _completely_ unawares. If things had gone according to plan, I wouldn't have had to face Malkuth like this, wouldn't have had to activate the Arcana this early, and, ideally, would have won already. But I wasn't arrogant enough to assume everything would work out exactly as planned, because that pretty much never happened to me, so I'd considered what I'd do if things went wrong at various points. If Gilgamesh proved vastly stronger than anticipated or somehow immune to my major trump cards, I could withdraw along these paths; if I couldn't catch him within my barriers at first, I could try to slow him or hold him still with this and that.

And, of course, there was the big one. What if Malkuth showed up to be a huge asshole again? That had been a major concern and it would have been nice if it hadn't happened, but…well, here we were. I knew it was a possibility from my fight with Conquest and it would have been foolish to do nothing to prepare for it. Unfortunately, there weren't many good options for dealing with him; ruining the lives of anyone and everyone appeared to be his greatest strength. With the Arcana, I'd been able to close that gap somewhat, but…

Well. Here we were.

Needless to say, I wasn't at surprised that he'd threaten my friends—I mean, come on. That was fucking inevitable and it's not like I have much else _to_ threaten. I'd long since mulled over how people might try to get to me and there were only so many ways. Powers that affected my mind directly would be shut down by the Gamer's Mind, the things I did to myself on a daily bases casually dwarfed most methods of torture, and I liked to think I could be fairly stubborn when the need arose. When it really came down to it, there was only one way to threaten or compel me into doing something and it was to use something I valued. That could take various forms; you could offer me something I wanted, such as a powerful or useful skill book, and that would probably be enough to get me to do most things. You could also threaten my life, such as Cinder had, and that could make me do a fair bit as well. But there were some things that were worth more than baubles or skills or even my life and only one way to force me to act even at that point.

Target the people I loved. My family, my friends…I admit, I could do a lot for them. I'd thought about it, weighed the options, and if I had to…well, there were somethings that I'd never do otherwise, but would do for them. I wasn't _proud_ of that, really; I was more scared of the fact than anything else. But it _was_ a fact and I treated it as such.

I also didn't tolerate threats to the people I loved, as a rule—and I sure as hell didn't plan to stand back and just allow it. That wasn't limited to Malkuth, either; I'd considered what might happen if someone more… _normal_ targeted Jaune Arc or Jian Bing through their family or team and how I might react. Generally, my plan boiled down to 'brutally murder whoever was responsible;' I sure as hell didn't plan on letting anyone who attacked my daughter or sisters or friends just walk away. I wasn't going to allow that precedent. As a rule, I didn't kill people, but that's because I was powerful and also thought that lives had value. If there was a bank robbery happening right in front of me or something, I _could_ just reach out and snap the necks of those responsible with my mind…but I could disable them in a thousand other ways without needing to, so shouldn't I? Yeah, it might take a fraction of a second more effort, but so what? I might not be a saint, but I wasn't going to kill someone over a momentary inconvenience or pass judgement when I could just as easily see them tried. I liked to think that was just me being crazy. I didn't kill people not because I _couldn't_ , but because I shouldn't.

Up to a point. If, for some reason, the only way to stop those same robbers from killing people was to kill them first? If they were a problem that couldn't be dealt with in any other way? If I had to, to protect others or the ones I loved? I could do it. I had done it. I'd even killed my own father, to keep him from hurting anyone else and because I knew he'd have rather died then threaten innocent people. And when the question arose, 'what would I do if someone put a metaphorical gun to my daughter's head?' The answer was simple.

I would fucking kill them. If there was any way I could stop the gun, prevent it, or get around the problem without risking Autumn, I'd take it and then kill whoever was responsible. Like I would for the rest of my family, for Adam, and for Raven.

The only question was what I would do if someone was threatening them and I wasn't strong enough to stop it—like Malkuth was doing, here and now.

Truthfully, I'd always known that it would come down to this. If Malkuth wanted to force me to do something—which he did—he'd start by targeting the one place I was vulnerable and I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop him. Given the nature of his powers, the presence of his servants, and everything else…hell, Malkuth had ways to create portals and I'd known it even before this fight; he used them to maintain some of the stronger Grimm. Even keeping my loved ones away from the battlefield wasn't enough, in and of itself, to guarantee their safety.

Assuming I hadn't managed to stop him before it came to this—which, unfortunately, I hadn't been—I would have to take that fact into account.

And the only thing I could really do was prepare for it as best I could. My mother, sisters, and grandmother were in an airship somewhere over the sea, and Malkuth hopefully hadn't been able to notice the first portal we'd made; that didn't mean they were _safe_ , but it meant they would be at least a little harder to target. I'd sincerely considered leaving Adam, Autumn, and Gou behind for the same reason, in the hopes of making things tougher on Malkuth, but hadn't for two reasons.

The first, of course, was that I couldn't do this without help. I needed them here for any of my plans to work. Had I been alone, it would have been far harder, maybe even impossible, to beat Gilgamesh and his flunkies, and I'd have definitely been worse off. Had I been able to get as far as my barriers, I might have been able to manage using Lucifer, but even so, it would have been a tougher fight.

The second, however, was more important—hiding them away wouldn't have solved things, not by itself. If Malkuth could make portals, he could escape my grasp at any time and I wouldn't be able to catch up with him fast enough to make a difference. Even if I was able to hide everyone I knew away somewhere he couldn't find them, itself a dubious proposition, it wouldn't stop him. If it really came down to it, he could always just go 'I'm going to kill some horrific amount of people every second until you obey' and make good on it while I could do nothing but watch until I gave in. If he made an actual effort, he could probably get my loved ones as a _side_ effect; our current fight could have leveled cities and then some.

In the end, that wasn't a risk any of us had been willing to take. I'd told my team about the possibility and they'd agreed on how they would face it—head on. So long as Malkuth knew about them, he was that much less likely to wiping out Kingdoms. In large part, they'd put their lives on the line for the sake of the world.

And I'd allowed it. Though, truthfully, if it came down to it…I might fold.

But Raven was here to make sure that didn't happen. She was one of my few remaining trump card, the only way I could keep both Malkuth and his attention in check. With her Semblance, we could pursue Malkuth if he escaped and she thought she might even be able to stop him from leaving entirely. In that regard, she played one of the most important roles, allowing me a chance at winning just by being her.

And that meant she was in the most danger, too. By being here, she'd be the target of a person I wasn't sure even I could survive, had he wanted me dead—and unlike me, she was standing before him without any clout, any protection, anything to keep her alive if he tore off her head.

Except, perhaps, me.

And even then, it all came down to the Arcana

Be enough, I prayed. Be _enough_.

"…And you are?" Malkuth asked, looking her over. He seemed more confused by her presence than concerned.

"I don't see any point in making introductions to people I plan on killing," Raven replied, unflinching in the face of his attention.

Malkuth tilted his head to the side for a moment and then laughed.

"Fair enough," He said. "Let's skip introductions then, shall we? Thank you for volunteering; goodbye."

He lifted his hand, power gathering—

And Raven vanished.

My heart didn't skip a beat as I shifted my eyes and saw that she'd reappeared perhaps five meters behind Malkuth, who abruptly staggered.

"The _fuck_?" He asked, looking over his shoulder, but she was already gone again.

At the same time, I felt the Arcana shift.

 **The Lovers: The Arcana of the Lovers—the balance and strength that comes from relationships with others, be they friendship or love. It is the power of choice, of deciding who one shall stand beside and care about, where one chooses to care about more than oneself but also those to whom they have connected. When the user is within this state of being, all skills which target the user may also affect another individual at no cost, even if the skill in question does not normally allow such a thing. In addition, damage received by the target of this ability may instead be transferred to the user and vice versa. While this ability remains active, however, all of the user's attacks have their damage reduced to 0.**

 **The Magician: The Arcana of the Magician—the representation of the power to act upon the world and the will to do so. It is the power of concentration and action that are born from the conscious mind, balanced by the intuition and understanding of the High Priestess. When the user is within this state of being, they're Intelligence is tripled. Reduce the damage of all physical attacks to 0.**

 **XxXXxX**


	20. Chapter 20

**Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Ninth Interlude – Raven Branwen**

Even with prior experience, the suddenness of it all still caught her by surprise. It wasn't a gradual thing, something that built up and allowed her to grow used to it and adapt—it was like a switch being flipped, an instantaneous change that came without warning.

And the moment it did, she felt everything change. It was like a portal had opened into her heart, flooding it with liquid fire—enough that for a moment, she honestly believed she might spontaneously combust and burn to ash. Instead, it flowed through her veins, spreading its increasing warmth to her limbs. If her veins had started to glow through her skin, it wouldn't have come as a surprise.

Then it began to solidify, taking shape as a network of power and light inside of her, pulsating in tune with her heart—and she began to change. She felt her skin harden into something besides human flesh, steady waves of energy rewriting the very fabric of her being. Energy, untold and absurd amounts of energy, gathered in her muscles, giving her strength and speed. At the same time, the world began to slow to a crawl, moments beginning to drag and stretch around her.

And then the world began to open up, as if a veil had been lifted. Where there had once been darkness, now there was a riotous calamity of light, expanding across her field of vision. For a moment, she felt like she'd been blinded—while at the same time, like she was seeing the world for the first time. Things fell away and became meaningless as visible light was revealed to be nothing but a fraction of the much broader spectrum. Colors flashed before her eyes that she had no reference for, because they were a mixture of more than just three primary colors, while the illusion of solidity was dispelled throughout the world around her as matter was broken into a billion tiny parts by her gave. The blue sky vanished, replaced by remnants of cosmic phenomena that painted broad stokes of light upon it.

It wasn't just her eyes—or rather, her eyes became an almost meaningless part of it all. She could feel the brush of air against her skin and the very touch of light, and it was enough for her to 'see' by. Her senses combined and expanded until there was no practical difference between what she could hear or see or feel. It was an onslaught of sensory information, even before taking into account the fact that time had been slowed tremendously, giving her ample opportunity to take in everything.

And then there were the things that went above the normal senses, beyond them. As she cast her gaze over the battlefield, she could see traces of things left behind long ago, blurred images of men and women dying at the hands of the Grimm, of carnage and bloodshed and terror. She could see traces of Aura seared into the world around her, something at once blindingly pure and terrifyingly infectious. The lesser powers that had been unleashed throughout the battle had left its mark as well, in vague flickers and flashes, but they were nothing compared to the volcanic eruptions of light that marked traces of what had been left elsewhere.

But all that was dwarfed, literally and figuratively, by the figures that stood above it all, revealed for what they were. She saw Jaune as a towering figure, similar to the form he sometimes adopted but made distinct by his sheer size as he towered to the heavens and covered the sky with his thirty-twofold wings. Countless eyes burned like stars, brilliant even against a background of pure white, and even knowing it was just an image, she was surprised his gaze didn't incinerate everything it touched.

Beside him was another figure, expect beside him wasn't the right word. Adjacent to him, within him, reflecting him—it had elements of all these things, but none of them fit quite right either. Regardless, the figure that stood with him seemed like an inversion of him; made of darkness where he burned with light, gaze literally frigid, and seeming to cover the sky above and below Jaune's wings with darkness. That must have been Jaune's second soul, his twin and partner. Seen this way, they seemed like an angel and a devil, but also seemed united, allied despite how they appeared—and they stood in opposition to the same foe.

The final figure—who could only have been Malkuth—was a giant as well, every bit as tall as either of the twins, but distinct. The twins, though opposite to each other, were similar in that their presence was like a brand upon the world, like divinity trespassing upon the mundane. Their presence was impossible not to notice and she was sure that had anyone else possessed the senses she'd no gained, they'd have been able to spoke either of them from miles away—hundreds of miles, possible.

Malkuth was different. His true appearance was a subtle thing, seeming to bend into the patterns of the world around him. Even as colossal as he was, he seemed like a nature part of the world—a mountain that pierced the sky, perhaps, but still a mountain, a natural aspect of the world, however remarkable. Looking at him more closely than that only furthered that impression, because his form was almost like a window or, perhaps, a mirror. Looking into him, she saw the world and saw it fill with life over what must have been eons, even as she also saw the here and now, the world she was faced with and lived in.

Seeing him like that—seeing _them_ like that—left her feeling very, very small.

Taking it all in, on top of what her own Semblance provided…her brain felt like it was overheating. Almost literally, in fact—like something was slowly breaking inside of her. But it never quite came to _pain_ , though the sensation stopped only just short of it; as soon as it appeared like it might cross that line, the feeling dulled slightly, as if the feeling was escaping her mind. That would be Jaune's work, she imagined—healing her before she was even harmed or something to that effect.

None of which really changed how striking the experience was. This was how _he_ viewed the world, every day—but even just a glimpse of it was terrifying. That was the best way to describe it; the breadth of the world seen through his eyes was horrific. Seeing it this way could have—perhaps _should_ have—driven her mad.

But she was a Huntress. She managed.

Besides—even if it wasn't in quite the same way, having a broad view of things was something she was used to.

Taking a moment, she forced herself to calm down and focus came to her even more quickly than it usual did. Once she found that center, it was a simple matter to tap into her power—in fact, it was hard not to, especially at a time like this. Truthfully, she felt as if someone had torn the heart out of her chest and replaced it with a burning star, such was the power flowing through her—like it would incinerate her if she didn't shed it all, though she couldn't possible get rid of even a fraction of it.

But there was one place for her to start.

Taking a slow breath, she channeled that power, gathering it behind her right eye—and felt the world start to break.

It was like walls falling away again, the background information she had struggled for so long to master and control rushing back in through the cracks. As it had since she was a young girl, the broadening of her awareness both gave her a way out and trapped her further. With a thought, her view of the world warped and shifted elsewhere, showing her places far distant. _Any_ place, coming upon her in a chaotic, uncontrolled rushed of images.

When she'd been younger and less experienced, it had been hard to even function after her Semblance first developed. She'd never forget that first month, when she'd been bedridden, where even a stray thought could tear her from the present and draw her mind round the world. At first, she'd tried to just blot it out and ignore it, but that had proven unfeasible in short order—it wasn't something she could stop thinking about and it wouldn't go away. There had been times when it almost _seemed_ like she was in control of it, but then a single word or the sight of something unfamiliar would shatter her grip on it and she'd feel like she was somewhere else.

In a way, it had been similar to what she was feeling now, though nowhere near as bad, because the issues built upon each other, worsening matters. Where before, she could only focus on a few specific places and things, flipping back and forth routinely, now things began to flood her vision. A thousand different images, a thousand different places, a thousand different people—and she could see them all clearly, at the same time. But whatever the breadth of the problem, the solution remained the same.

Before her power could fly away with her, she tied herself down with what she could see.

Her brother had been the first, in no small part because he had been the _only_ at that point in time. Back when she had been plagued by her power, he'd been the one to take care of her, even feeding her on the days when a particularly jarring image would make her drop dishes or shatter glasses. He'd been…himself, but that had been reassuring in its own way. She'd thought that whatever happened, at least her brother would never change—and that had been what anchored her. Whenever something happened or her power started to infringe upon her thoughts, she'd look to him as a way of self-assurance. He was still there by her side, so she was still _here_ , not in the snowy mountains of scorching deserts or whatever else happened to spring to mind.

But she'd been young and, before she knew it, things _had_ changed—for the better, mostly. They'd gone to Beacon and she'd been place upon a team. She'd found friendships, really friendships, and two more anchors in the process.

For a long time, it had been just her, Qrow, Taiyang, and Summer—and the rest of Beacon, of course, but she'd never been good at tying herself to _places_ , not when she could be anywhere. People were different; she could cross from Vale to Vacuo in a second, from Atlas to Mistral in a step, but who she was with, who she stood beside? They were how she determined 'here' and 'there.' Qrow had always understood that and the others had come to as well.

Other things, it had taken them longer to realize, for which she was someone glad. Her innocence, optimism, and nativity had been short-lived after she acquired her Semblance—an unfortunate downside of being able to see what was happening behind the scenes. She couldn't even remember when it had first started, but all it had taken was some idle musings about what the Council was doing, or some famous Hunter, or whoever else. What people did when they thought nobody was looking…well, she'd learned various things, quite a few of them things people wouldn't have liked.

Some of them, things she herself hated. She'd dreamed of being a Huntress since she was a girl, same as most young children—but that dream began to tarnish as she grew older and learned more and more about what went on behind the scenes. Some of it had to do with the darker choices Hunters sometimes had to make and the things that were carefully edited out of the tales told to children…but mostly, it was the people who pulled the strings. So many decisions, so many plans, so many 'necessary sacrifices.' She'd been watching heroes die since she was a child because of what they deemed 'necessary,' and so much of it had seemed pointless. What purpose did it serve but to deep the lies she couldn't help but see through? And knowing that in becoming a Huntress, she might become a sacrifice herself…that her _friends_ might bleed and die for the wishes of some distant council…

She'd told Qrow about it, on one of the nights she'd been unable to sleep and had been completely unsurprised by his reaction—he'd decided on the spot to rise to the top, until he was the one holding the strings and could make things 'right.' It had made her smile, because he was always like that and always serious about what he said, but she'd wondered even then…how could they fix anything? They were Hunters; powerful, yes, but that power leant itself primarily to killing things and there were only so many ways to cause wide-spread political change with a sword. Her brother wouldn't even _consider_ any of them, even knowing the truth.

But she…she had. More often then she'd like to admit, she'd considered just appearing from the darkness and slipping a blade between the ribs of a few politicians.

Instead, she'd waited, allowing herself to be tied down further and further. She'd fallen in love, in time—Taiyang had been charming, kind, optimistic, and a part of her team. She'd trust her back to him without a thought and knew she wouldn't be let down. Why not other things? It was common, perhaps even _expected_ , for such a thing to happen, and he was one of the few people she truly trusted. They'd dated and had fun and everyone had smiled, saying they'd expected it for years.

Perhaps they had, but probably not for the real reasons. She's been looking for something desperately, something she still couldn't pin down precisely—something that was wholly _hers_ , something that would change things and make it so she never wanted to fly away again. She'd found a husband, a house, romance, a career, and, in time, even a daughter.

But not what she'd been looking for.

She'd always remember the day her daughter was born, the day she'd first held Yang in her arms. She'd been beautiful, even then—precious and innocent as a only an infant could be, with her father's hair and what she thought might have been her own features. Labor had been uncomfortable, but looking at her daughter had made it worth it, and she'd loved her from the moment she saw her. Taiyang had been on one side of her, smiling as brightly as the sun at their daughter, while Qrow had waited at the other, smile making it clear that there would be celebrations in short order. Even Summer, always so shy and afraid that fragile things might break apart at her touch, and pressed in with a smile. She'd been happy, at home among friends and family.

Meanwhile, the Right's Revolution had been building. Atrocities were occurring throughout the Kingdoms and Menagerie, tensions bringing the beasts out of men. She's seen it all, unable to stop thinking about it even while giving birth, while holding her daughter, while laughing with her friends. It didn't leave her during the night, didn't leave her in the morning, and it plagued her constantly.

Since the day she'd gotten her Semblance, she had always felt as though she should be elsewhere and it had never been stronger than when she looked at what was happening then. Even her own daughter hadn't been enough to banish it—if anything, the feeling only grew stronger for enduring. What kind of mother would look at her daughters face and want to be somewhere else more than she wanted to stay? A bad one, no doubt.

But she had. She had never been good at ignoring what happened before her eyes, which was complicated by how she saw _most_ things, and in the end…

She'd left. And knowing what she intended to do, the methods she intended to use…she hadn't come back. A part of that was for their sake, to keep from drawing trouble onto them. She'd never allowed the full truth of her powers to become known outside her team, but people suspects suspected and once she began, they'd know.

The other part, perhaps the larger part, simple didn't want to look them in the eye and admit the truth or explain it. To tell them she'd valued her self-appointed duty more than them.

Funny where that had led her.

Menagerie had only been the beginning—but she knew better than most how important beginnings were to endings. It had been a chaotic place, where the pieces of a thousand broken lives had been left to stew and stir until they boiled over. She'd known from the beginning how things would probably go, and hadn't been surprised…but one didn't need to be _surprised_ to be appalled.

Most people—and, surprisingly, even most _Faunus_ —tended to think of the Faunus race as a united whole. She had no idea why; being members of the same 'species' certainly hadn't united Mankind, after all, and it hadn't done much to historically aid the Faunus, either. While commonly considered a single species, the Faunus were composed of thousands of different groups, who'd made their homes in vastly different locals and shared very different histories. The Faunus had fought with each other as often as they had mankind, for countless different reasons; though some fight be surprised by it now, at the end of the day, a man with scales isn't necessarily any more like a woman with cat ears than he is like a plain human, and for a long, long time those differences had mattered. Being a Faunus, or being the wrong _kind_ of Faunus, could see you shunned just about anywhere.

Then there were the…political issues, the facts that now went unspoken. Slavery and effective slavery had been hallmarks of Faunus history, but where did those slaves come from? The modern train of thought seemed to be of humans hunting Faunus down in fields and strapping chains upon them, but such things were rare—something she'd always thought obvious, honestly. If the purpose of owning a slave was to make them work in one's stead, could you really expect someone who owned a slave to go through all the effort of capturing and training one themselves? More often, slaves had come from wars between groups of Faunus, with the defeated being conquered and enslaved by the victors and later sold to human settlements for profit. When people think of the historical treatment of the Faunus, they tended to brush over that or assume that every group was treated the same by mankind, when the so-called Slave Kings had been seen as nobles by the men of their time.

People always seemed to forget that people—Faunus or otherwise—are more than just one thing. There had been slaves and slaves, Kings and Kingdoms, wars and sacrifices and defeats. Boundaries based on homeland, on culture, on appearance, on blood, or on 'history.' For all that people thought of them as being one, the Faunus were just people; varied and complicated and fractured along a million lines.

Her mother had been a slave. Perhaps not called such, but the fact remained that she hadn't belonged to herself—she had always been another's, for as long as she had known her. Perhaps one of those owners was her father, though all the ones she remembered had been noblewomen, keen to sell and trade the body of another; quite frankly, she'd never asked or wanted to know and she'd left before it could ever matter. When they were still children, too young to work or do much else but take up space and food, they'd been cast out and left to fend for themselves.

Neither of them had found much sympathy on the streets, not even from their own kind—they were Faunus, yes, but with traits so muted it hardly seemed to mean anything unless attention was drawn to it. When there were young, it had seen them shunned by everyone around them, caught between two sides. It had always amused her how people had cared then and never even noticed later on, but she supposed that had been for the best. After a few years, no one even knew who or what she was and so no one had sought to discriminate against her, oppress her, or force her to do anything. Not that it would have worked out for them if they had, of course, but they hadn't even thought to try.

And no one had so much as looked her way when the Faunus were being gathered and locked up in Menagerie. People had even come up and talked to her about it, asking her to take a side on the issue or chime in for or against the Faunus. It had been laughable in its absurdity, but she'd never been able to come up with an answer or decide how she felt. It would have been a lie to say that her race was a matter of _pride_ to her. That wasn't to imply that it was something she felt ashamed of, so much as it was something she felt absolutely nothing at all for. She was a Faunus and she considered that fact pretty much irrelevant to who she was.

But at the same time, Menagerie had meant something to her, even before she stepped onto its shore. Why, she wasn't sure—perhaps it was simply the implication, the _opportunity._ Menagerie was the first time in recorded history that the Faunus could truly be said to be one, united in one place and, presumably, with the desire to escape. In such a situation, it should have been possible for them to work together, to change things as a group, to finally _see_.

She wanted to say she was surprised when instead they turned upon each other, but she really hadn't been. It was inevitable, however disappointing it may have been; there were too many differences to be put aside, too much history to simply forget, and while Mankind may have been an enemy in a distant sense, they were trapped in a prison with a million other foes. You didn't need to be of different races to do something horrible to one another, after all.

If it had just been that, she'd have left them all rotting there and forgotten about them—what had 'the Faunus' ever done for her, after all? Nothing to help her when she'd been a child on the streets. Why should she feel any loyalty to 'her kind.' She was loyal to her friends, to those that were loyal to her, not to groups of people she'd never met.

But even despite that, there had been a reason why she'd chosen to act—to leave her friends and home behind and enter the Menagerie. The organization that would one day become the White Fang, the dream that went with it, and the people who, despite everyone and everything, were still worth fighting for. Though no one had ever done anything for her, she was a Huntress and she had to be better than those who'd stand back and do nothing while people suffered right in front of their eyes.

With her strength and her Semblance, she'd connected the scattered pieces of her kind, giving them the purpose, focus, and power they needed to act, to change things, and too make things right. She'd found allies and they brought with them others, building upon one another to create something powerful, great. A beast of such power that even the Kingdoms had been forced to stop and take heed—and they had.

It just hadn't mattered, in the end.

Once the walls came down and the common enemy vanished, everything she'd built faded away. For a while, she thought that might have been for the best—after the Revolution ended, things improved. The Faunus were given legal protection and things that had been common where outlawed. After the example Menagerie had created, things changed as people realized that the Faunus as a whole could resist and reject. The organization she'd created changed and refocused on bridging the ancient gap between man and Faunus, and for a time all had seemed well.

She hadn't believed it. Unfortunately, because of how much she'd always known of the truth of things, she'd become a cynic. Even more unfortunately, Remnant was itself and cynicism usually proved itself right. While the Faunus as a whole could resist and execute change, once Menagerie was escaped there was no driving need to _remain_ unified and centuries of history working against it. People went back to their homes and their lives and for a while, there was a hush of sorts—people's feelings towards the Faunus hadn't changed overnight, of course, but with a war having only just ended, they were hesitant to act.

Slowly, however, people began to test the boundaries. Minor snubs aimed towards Faunus, skipping over them when it came to opportunities, and so on. While discriminating against Faunus itself was outlawed, it was a simple thing to come up with explanations and excuses; to say they weren't as qualified, perhaps, or to shore up the quality of another worker. If it came to trial, the court might feel inclined to lean one way, to be more excepting of a story. Laws were important, but in and of themselves they couldn't change everything.

In short order, dissatisfaction began to grow among the Faunus, or at least groups of them. Most were still content with the change, seeing it as a huge step up from where they'd been previously, however short it may have fallen from the ideal. Some refused to accept that, fighting against it—peacefully, at first, but the Kingdoms of Remnant had always been good at brushing uncomfortable truths under the rug. There were rallies and protests and marches, and all too often they came to naught. Those who believed in the cause needed no swaying, after all, while those who laughed at it could ignore it with ease. Things grew from there and the organization she'd helped build quickly returned to its militant roots.

It would be a lie to say that displeased her, but an exaggeration to say it made her happy. As far as she was concerned, violence was just another way to accomplish ones goals—but it wasn't the _only_ way nor the best in every situation, and like any other method, there were limits and conditions to its use. Violence, or even the _threat_ of violence, could change hearts and minds, but it was somewhat difficult to use it too its full effect from a position of weakness. The White Fang was a shadow of the beast that had formed during the Revolution; a vocal minority, but still a minority. Most of the soldiers who had cut their teeth in the war had found work in the Kingdoms, partially because ones race or species didn't matter to the Grimm and partially because the Kingdoms were wise enough not to antagonize the group most likely to be able to oppose them. Those who could fight had been accepted with relative ease.

It was those who couldn't who had the most reason to protest, but, of course, they had very few means to do so. _That_ was the White Fang that had sprung up in the aftermath of the Revolution; those who'd been angered enough to turn to violence but lacking any means to be a true threat. By her reckoning, it was better to resist than to not, but the Kingdoms wouldn't even notice such a thing.

In time, it had been possible to change that, but it had been harder than during the war—and, truth be told, her heart wasn't really in it any more. She had felt committed to the path she had set out on, but seeing where it had led and knowing what had come of it was…discouraging. She aided the budding White Fang where she could, calling in a few favors and reminding several allies she'd made of their past loyalties. Though the new members were non-combatants, they could be trained and, given time, become fighters in their own right. She wasn't convinced it would much _matter_ , given their size relative to the power of the Kingdoms, but it had been _something_. But with limited enthusiasm and nothing to do but wait, she had focused on other things.

Her son, for instance.

When she'd first found Adam, she'd seen something in him that reminded her of herself and her brother; of what they could have been, perhaps, but for one another. Menagerie had done horrible things to even the best of people and it was no place for a child—and seeing one rage across the countryside, seemingly hell-bent on destroying everything in his path, himself, or both, had been…saddening. But it had also served as something of a reminder for her, of what a part of her had always dreamt of doing to all the monsters she'd seen with her Semblance. Seeing it from the outside, seeing it in the eyes of a child no older than she had been when her power first came to her…

She'd put a stop to his rampage and took him in, giving him the aid she'd only received from her brother—because he had no one and who else if not her. At first, she'd still kept her distance; she was the teacher and he was the student. It had been difficult to do so, but it had seemed wrong to do anything else; to treat Adam as her son after abandoning Yang. She'd left behind her family for the sake of duty, choosing her desires over them. Who was she to play the part of a mother, however much he may have needed one.

Ironically, it had been her reunion with her own mother that had changed all that. It hadn't involved anything like closure, hadn't been a heart-felt reunion after decades apart, but then it wouldn't have been. She'd barely remembered her mother, after all, and she'd never truly considered her such. There had been circumstances and reasons, of course, and she understood that; she'd never hated her for giving them up. It would be pointless to, when she'd had no choice in the matter. But at the same time, she'd never _loved_ her.

But she'd lied for the sake of a broken, dying woman who'd lost everything without even having a chance to decide. Said she remembered her, forgave her, and loved her, even when she hadn't felt anything but pity.

She'd watched her mother die and simply walked away. But afterwards, she let herself treat Adam like a son, as if trying to make up for the fact that her mother had never had a daughter.

And so, she'd waited. For a long while, she wasn't sure for what exactly—for the White Fang to mature into something greater, for Adam to grow up, or maybe just for time to pass her by. She could have gone back to her brother and her team, but she never did; it just didn't feel like she had any right to return, knowing she'd walked away and would again. But she'd watched over them from a distance and she was pretty sure they knew she was.

Sometimes, her brother would walk into an empty room and just start talking, like he had when they were kids—speaking to her, as if she was there, which of course she was. Sometimes, it would be just a normal conversation, him talking about his day, and sometimes he'd rant and rave at her, as drunkenly insulting as he could get. Either way, the point was the same; it was an invitation to respond, to reappear and pick up an old argument or throw something at his head or bring up some factoid she'd gleaned from the other side of the planet. Sometimes Summer would sit out in the backyard of her home with plates and chairs for two, leaving her the option of reappearing and sitting down. And sometimes Taiyang would just stay up late and wait for her to come home.

She never did. Soon enough, they tried to move on and so did she, even if none of them seemed particularly sure what moving on _meant_. On the occasions where they talked about their own deaths and addressed the possibility, they seemed to come to an unspoken agreement that they'd die together; that that was the only way they'd ever be separated.

But life has a way of not going according to plan. Taiyang had already decided to become a teacher and Qrow had decided to follow him; both remained active, performing missions when they could, but focused primarily on preparing the next generation, to make sure they were prepared for what was ahead of them. Summer had remained an active Huntress, taking missions whenever she could, separating the team once again, but she thought that it'd be okay. She'd told herself that if it every happened, if one of them were in danger, she'd step in to save them and she kept them in the periphery, even now—not so much that they infringed upon her thoughts, but enough to notice if there was a massive change. She'd saved her brother's life a few times that way.

But she hadn't saved Summer. Hadn't even noticed that something was wrong until she was abruptly gone, vanishing into the wind like she'd never been. With fully half of their team gone, Taiyang and her brother had been visibly crushed, along with her daughter and even Summer's young girl.

And…she had been, too. Now, she thought she might know the reason, but back then? She'd wondered and worried. For her to lose track of someone that way…had she been upset? It hadn't been long after her death that Summer approached Taiyang and pulled him out of his depression, but she'd thought she'd just accepted that—after all, she'd been the one to leave. The romance had been a quick one, but so had hers and Taiyang's; when you'd spent over half a decade living and fighting for your life beside each other, one could usually just skip the 'getting to know each other' stage of romance. Even before their first date, she'd known just about everything about Taiyang, inside and out. Literally; she'd seen him naked _and_ disemboweled.

So she'd accepted it and moved on. Or, that's what she'd thought, but Summer's death made her doubt. She was pretty sure it made the others doubt, too; that first month, they'd seemed to just expect that Summer would return, whether on her own or arm in arm with her. That vanishing off the face of Remnant had just meant she'd swept in to save her, like she should have. After a couple weeks went by, Qrow had even asked about Summer's condition, speaking to her in an empty room—asking if she knew how she was, if she could find her, if she was watching. She hadn't appeared then, either, simply because she wasn't sure what to say. Whatever had happened to Summer, she shouldn't have allowed it.

That was when people first started thinking she was dead, something she found morbidly amusing. She disappears for years without a word and people just shrugged, but not appearing out of nowhere to save a former teammate from danger in the middle of nowhere and they assumed death must have stopped her. She tried to be annoyed, to get pissed off by their expectations, but that's how it _should_ have been. Instead, Qrow stuck closer to home for several years, no longer seeming sure that she'd appear to save her team or her daughter if they were in danger.

Ironically, she'd kept a closer eye on them, too. When Yang was old enough—or perhaps, in hindsight, still too young—she'd even dropped one of the pictures she'd taken with her into her path. She'd deserved to know that much and it was a way of telling those who needed to know that she was still breathing.

But otherwise, she waited and worked behind the scenes—like her brother did, but with a further reach and less need to hide the truth. While she'd thrown off the reins of the Council and the Hunters, she still did what she thought was her duty, now and then. She'd step in to slay the Grimm now and then, stopping them before they could reach a vulnerable village and cause fear and panic to snowball into a massacre, or seeing to it that a few men and woman who'd come into power in villages at the edges of the Kingdom made their way to where they could be trained and do the most good; subtle things, mainly, light touches.

And then there were the major threats, the _human_ ones. It had always been a fear among those who knew; that the wrong person might develop the wrong power and throw the world into chaos. Where she could, she did her part to make sure that didn't happen, whether that meant stopping a man with a Semblance that gave him influence over minds that spread like a virus before he could go too far or killing a growing monstrosity before they shut down every machine in Vale. She was subtle then too, of course—they'd vanish and no one would even know they'd been there to begin with.

It was almost funny; she'd stopped being the Kingdom's assassin, but hadn't stopped _being_ one. Even so, she made sure to hold back, to keep an eye on threats and only interfere when they proved to be a threat. None of them ever even noticed they were being watched.

Until one did.

'Jian Bing.' A man using the name of a historical Faunus King. She hadn't found out about him until after the White Whale incident, when he'd exploded onto the scene without warning, and by the time she'd seen the news report, he'd already vanished. Usually, she worked backwards, tracking odd reports back to their sources, but a cursory investigation hadn't revealed anything that pointed to a man acting on such a massive scale. She'd considered investigating more thoroughly, but seeing as her son had been involved, had decided to simply ask instead.

Surprisingly, Adam had been fairly tightlipped about him. He'd told her plenty about Jian Bing, but nothing about where he'd come from or even really how they'd begun working together, except that it was because of Blake, her maybe granddaughter—Adam seemed about as unsure about that as she had been with him, which was probably because she'd set a bad example. Regardless, it was clear he knew something and just as clear he didn't want to be forced to say, which had been at once unexpected and familiar.

It had made it clear he thought of him as a friend, of which Adam had never had many. For that, as much as anything, she hadn't pushed. She wasn't one to act without investigating first anyway, and such a man was bound to cause waves.

And he had. Mere days later, he returned from his quest with a thousand Faunus refugees and the name Jian Bing was on everybody's lips, at least within the White Fang. Some even began to speculate that he might have truly been Jian Bing reborn, though the majority laughed that thought off. Personally, she hadn't been sure what to think and hadn't been sure she cared. He could have been a super robot beneath a human-seeming exterior, a genetic experiment gone wrong, someone whose Semblance allowed them to transform into others at the cost of their selfhood, someone using the name for their own ends, or simply crazy—whatever the explanation, the fact remained that these things happen.

As it turned out, he was actually an ancient and possibly celestial superweapon gone wrong, now reborn as a human man who was pretending to be the reincarnation of an ancient Faunus king with the help of an exceedingly powerful Semblance—which, admittedly, was a new one for her.

Of course, she hadn't known that at the time and instead continued to keep an eye out for him—but besides a few attempted copy cats, Jian Bing seemed to vanish off the face of Remnant as soon as his mission was done. She'd known better than to accept such a thing at face value and had continued her vigil, watching to make sure he wasn't doing anything major, but for quite a while, he seemed content to do nothing. As if saving those particular Faunus from that particular place was all he'd wanted to do.

And then he'd reappeared in Mistral, just as the situation began to worsen, walking into a White Fang base as if he owned the place and it just didn't know it yet. It had been coincidence more than anything that had given her that first glimpse of him—she'd been there at the same time and heard word of her arrival. But when she'd looked in to see what she could learn…she'd been spotted.

That wasn't something that happened to her often and the occurrence immediately set her on edge. She'd grown overconfident, brushing off the possibility for how rarely it occurred, and he'd noticed her with an almost casual ease. Hardly even seeming to twitch at the knowledge he was being watched or even at the sight of her. And he'd recognized her on sight, despite her mask and long absence, and met her eyes without flinching.

All of that spoke to him being a very dangerous man and she'd put up her guard at once. Abruptly, she'd had a thousand questions and no easy way to find answers, not when he could sense her so easily. What was he doing? What else was he capable of? What was he after? She'd tried to ask Adam without letting on how concerned she was with his new friend, but doing so made it difficult to truly demand anything. A part of her wanted to do the same thing she always did when cornered—to _act_ , to _move_ —but she made herself wait, refusing to let such things control her as she continued to wait.

Luckily, she hadn't had to wait for very long—though their second meeting was as jarring as the first. The news about Weiss Schnee had been unexpected and she'd been quick to act, knowing she'd need to do so before the more…extreme members of her group had a chance. That much couldn't be helped, really; with all that the Schnee Dust Company had done, it was impossible for there to be no resentment held, and regardless of what the girl had or hadn't done, anger like that was only rarely aimed. Those who joined the White Fang did so for a reason and if given the chance they would have killed her.

But that was an explanation, not an excuse, and so she'd prepared herself to step in, to deal with things with a cool head—until Jian Bing had chosen to interfere as well, arrive mere moments after she shifted her attention to the scene and appearing as if tearing his way through space. At first, she'd wondered if that was how he'd noticed her, if his power was somehow similar to her own—but that was only the first surprise he'd had for her.

He'd defeated the heiress, but hadn't killed her. He'd taken what he'd needed from her necklace, but then gave it back. And he'd faced her after doing all of that, with no way of knowing what to expect or how she might react as a member of the White Fang, and still looked at her without flinching. And he'd followed it all up with offers of alliance, casual displays of power, and knowledge. He'd shown her what she'd come to expect from those in power and had taken it all in calmly, even when her own emotions started to boil over.

And then he'd told her of Babel, of the Grimm, and had spoken of the fate of the world. Of saving it together.

It was strange, after waiting so long—to finally have a mission. But strange revelations and unexpected surprises were what she soon came to expect from Jian Bing. Adventures and impossible things; he seemed to defy experience and expectation alike, telling her things that she'd never imagined and somehow making her believe them. Every time they met, he seemed to have changed, as if the break was nothing more than an opportunity to quickly refill his bag of tricks, and when they spoke again…

She'd found an answer about what had happened to Summer. Laid something to rest and found yet more goals to work towards, where before she'd spun her wheels in uncertainty. She'd found an enemy to work against, a cause to reinforce, and more. The knowledge of what they were up against had been terrifying in its own right, but for her it was the good kind of fear—the kind that prompts action instead of halting her or slowing her down. She had the power to see everything and she'd learn more in just a brief time with Jian than she had in years on her own.

But all the while, Jian Bing remained a mystery. With every question she had answered, a dozen more arose. With everything revealed, an ocean was left implied. He had staggering power and shed it as casually as the sun, but who he truly was, she hadn't known. Every time they met, every time she looked at him, she'd wondered if she truly knew the tiger for what he really was or if she could only see the stripes. It was a question she'd wanted answer, but not one she could answer for herself.

And then he'd told her the truth.

It had been hard to believe, at first. Still was, in many ways. Some of it was terrifying enough that she didn't want to believe it, some of it so incredible that it seemed too good to be true, some of it just nearly unbelievable. After his confrontation with Cinder—and _her_ true capabilities been terrifying in their own right—what he'd told her, what he'd _shown_ her…

And yet, hard as it had been to believe, she had. Or rather, she'd believed in _him—_ that what he told her was the truth, however ridiculous or absurd it may have seemed. When he told her about his Semblance, about his past, about his true identity, about their true foe, about what she had to expect…she'd believed it. And when he told her about Summer, had shown her Autumn…

It was almost funny now, looking at how things had started to change. She still anchored herself to the world with people, but they'd begun to shift—because the people she thought of had changed, in turn. Her brother, Taiyang, her daughter and Summer's—they were still there. But now there were others, with them. She thought of Autumn now, instead of Summer's grave, a new life instead of one lost. When she'd first seen her, she'd been staggered, unsure what to think; had Jian found Summer somehow, saved her from the creature that had taken hold of her? Or was it something else? When he denied it, that had only added to the confusion, causing her to wonder if it was a trick or if she was truly grasping at straws. He'd shown no particular knowledge of Summer, apart from what they'd learned together, but maybe…

She'd wanted to believe. And when Autumn had spoken, giving the answer that Summer had kept so close to her heart…it had just seemed to fit. And what they'd found, what they'd done, the pieces they'd put together…

She wasn't Summer, she knew that much. She was what came after, just like her name. But there were still pieces there, remnants and words and actions that she didn't even think about. She wasn't Summer, perhaps, but being with her made her think that perhaps she hadn't failed completely—or, at least, that she could still make up for her failure.

Admittedly, she could be a touch odd at times, owing to her nature as a sapient plant-being, but it was easy to brush it off as a product of her Semblance, which it technically was anyway. She was hardly in any position to judge on that front, regardless. And she was a good student, absorbing things like a sponge despite her age and adapting to her abilities with astonishing speed. The only thing she wasn't sure of was precisely where everything stood with her friends, family, and team, but she was starting to right that up as a lost cause after the confusion Jian had added to it. She couldn't force Autumn into such a thing, couldn't bring her before her once-husband, teammate, and daughters and place the burden of their expectations upon her. Autumn was young enough that she probably was entirely sure who _she_ was, even before adding in her nature as a fallen Huntress reborn as a floral hivemind.

Then there was Adam, her son, happier now than she'd ever seen him, not that he would ever admit it. He had been in her thoughts as one of her anchors since he was a young boy, but her view of him had changed quickly over these past months. He was less cynical, less resentful, for all that he still pretended to be. Instead, there was something quietly hopeful, reassured, and confident, like he was somehow certain that things would work out—that they could get better instead of worse. He'd always been one to fight for a cause and to his last breathe, but he'd always been one to doubt if it, or even he, mattered.

He was stronger now, even if he didn't see it. As a fighter and as a person. She'd seen the training regime he'd undergone with Jaune's aid, the tasks he willingly took upon himself, and it was obvious that he was driven in a way he'd never been before. His swordsmanship had improved dramatically for what little time he'd had to practice, and his skill with his power and Semblance had skyrocketed, to say nothing of the benefits he'd garnered thanks to Jaune's Semblance. As he was now, she knew he could hold his own against some of the strongest fighters she'd ever known.

Then there was Gou, in some ways the oddest addition to her new team. The nearest parallel she could draw was to Zwei, but he had never really been _her_ pet and she'd never desired one. Instead, he had just been one of the things she focused on when she thought of home. He was still there, at times, image floating to the surface of her thoughts alongside picture frames and the house itself—a fond memory that tied to her team, of him fighting alongside Taiyang and bouncing through the house. Not a pet, but an associate of sorts, at times even a fellow warrior and ally.

But Gou wasn't a pet either, nor anything like Zwei. If anything, he was the voice of reason and stability on their team—ironic, perhaps, as he was a magical talking dog, but the fact remains. Adam was still impatient, eager to fight and change things. Autumn was young, even if it could be hard to remember how much so when she warped herself into something monstrous. She was plagued by things near and far, a thousand things fighting for attention and a need to be resolved, elsewhere even while she was her. And Jaune…

Jaune was too far from normal to have any idea what it even was. Intelligent, brilliant even, but if there was anything she could be certain of with him, it was that he probably wouldn't react to something in a standard way. No matter how terrifying the situation got, he remained calm, never showing more than he wanted and quick to respond with some new trick, twisting space or setting stars in the sky or who knows what else. He always knew how to make ends meet, of course, but at times there seemed to be a conflict with how he understood the world and how he believed everyone else was capable of interacting to it. He'd react to things at time, things she had only recently begun to glimpse; phenomena that most people wouldn't know existed, to the sight of things no one else could see, to the flows of energy through the world, to souls, and more besides. In an instant, his view on something would shift dramatically without his skipping a step, changed by a crucial piece of evidence he'd somehow garnered, and he'd just…know. He'd fall silent for a few seconds and in that time plot out his entire strategy, contemplating and reacting and deciding what he'd have for lunch in between the bullets. Assuming he ate food. She was pretty sure he didn't.

It wasn't just his mind either. His body seemed to hold no value to him—but then, he could shrug off just about anything, ignoring wounds that could kill or cripple anyone else. His fighting style was absurd on the face of it, based around that and a library of skills that gave him an answer for seemingly every situation. And if they didn't, he'd pause for a millisecond and engineer a solution from the pieces he had and call down power out of legend, crafting displays out of literal storybooks as if they were toys made exclusively for him to play with. He'd adjust his entire style in-between moments, never stopping or worrying or even seeming to need to try.

By most standards, she was fairly certain he'd qualify as somewhere between a god and a madman. Which end of the scale he leaned towards seemed to vary from moment to moment.

And for all that, he was her best friend. Her team leader. Her partner. Jaune Arc, Jian Bing, Keter—it hardly seemed to matter. When she first met him, she hadn't been sure what to think of him. Now that she knew him better, she _still_ wasn't sure what to think of him. But she knew she trusted him.

That was why she was here, after all. Why she'd come to this place, when everything she knew painted it as a death sentence. Why she hadn't left when given the chance, until it was part of the plan—and why she'd come back after ferrying Adam, Autumn, and Gou to safety. Why she had stood before a being that by all rights, from everything she'd seen and heard and knew, should be able to wipe her from the face of Remnant with hardly more than a thought, even when she couldn't be certain Jaune's plan would work. Why she was about to start the fight of her life, without any guarantees.

Without looking at him, she could sense him now—where he was, how he was doing, even vague shades of more. A connection forged from the skill he'd used, keeping them aware of each other. According to him, most of his personal skills would be shared by the process and he'd be able to support her with everything else. It wasn't a lot to go on, but she knew he was relying on her to make this plan of his work.

That was all she really needed to know, she supposed. This was her target. This was her task. Destroy everything that gets in her way.

Huntress 101.

She gestured with her sword, cutting a wide swath through the branching paths that filled the air—and portals flickered open, numerous enough to cover the sky.

"Ho…" The possessed Grimm before her mused, tilting his head up at the sky. Before he could do anything more, she swept her sword again and then turned to drive it deeply into the ground. As she did, space distorted all around her to swirl into pits. They weren't arranged in walls, exactly, but randomly placed in the air such that it was impossible to move without touching any. At the same time, the ground seemed to drop away and more portals opened beneath their feet, covering the ground as it had the sky.

And then, with a flick of her wrist, a solid dome of portals rose to cover Jaune, encasing him in a shell of twisted space.

This was something she'd never done before, at least not on this scale—but the connection she now held with Jaune fed her power constantly, or else supercharged her own ability to generate it. She could see the barriers around them bolstering that even further, leaving her with oceans of Aura to draw from. With Jaune handling all of the effects now upon her, there were only so many ways for her to make use of that power and this…this was something she could use.

She didn't bother counting the portals around her because she didn't _need_ to. She was aware of them all in a way that went beyond such things; she could feel things through them as if they were extensions of herself, sense the touch of air and light upon their surfaces in a way she'd learned to interpret as sight and sound—and they hung in her thoughts in a way she didn't even need to consider. This point connected to that one, this distance bridge like this, and so on.

And with the senses her connection to Jaune no offered her…even this flood of information what nothing. She could literally _see_ from them, hear through them, and feel them. They were connected to her through an extension of power that she could draw from and control, channeling things from the center to the whole. Between that and her natural ability, she had no trouble at all creating a mental image of where all of her portals were, where they led to, and what was waiting on the other side of them.

Given his own talents, Jaune shouldn't either.

She stepped forward, leaping into a portal with all the speed she could muster—and as she was now, that was more than enough to set the air aflame and worse around her. She didn't move in a straight line, either, flashing between points and moving from one portal to the next; a shadow that appeared briefly and skipped to another position in space. She could feel the attention on her with her Aura, keep track of when and where Malkuth lost sight of her, but knew that Jaune would be able to sense her through their connection and figure out what she was doing. Could Malkuth? She'd arranged it so that there were thousands upon thousands of possible paths for her to take, countless ways to approach him, and portals opened and closed with every second. One second she was far away, the next at mid-range, then far, close, near, far, and close again. To her, it was no different than moving in a straight line, but could he understand the route she was taking? Could he react to it?

Only one way to be sure.

In a step, she went from mid-range to right behind Malkuth's back, and he was looking in entirely the wrong direction. His gaze flickered to the upper left, towards the entrance to a pathway she'd switched from at the last moment, and found nothing. Whatever he was doing to track her, it wasn't perfect.

To his credit, however, he reacted fast, whirling around the instant she began drawing her blade. When it came to Iaido, she was one of the best, and with her current enhancements she could draw her sword at an absurd speed, but he still managed to turn half-way around and lift a glowing hand towards her face before firing what looked like a blood red lightning bolt at her.

But before he did, before he even moved to attack, something trembled in her like the vibration of a spider's web. A warning of what to expect, what was to come, and at the same time a reminder that whatever physical enhancements Jaune called forth, they were but a shadow of the mental ones. A portal opened in front of her, swallowing the blast and releasing it from on positioned behind her, skipping the space she occupied. It was an almost unconscious reflex, a nearly instinctive defense for all that she'd never practiced it, and instead of striking her, the blast careened to strike a patch of ground that she briefly cleared of portals.

The earth erupted in a sudden explosion that expanded to about the size of a person and then froze for an instant. Then, the explosion seemed to reverse, sucked towards the center by some force, dust and smoke gathering into a piece of extremely dense matter no larger than a marble. It began to fall the second it form, dropping towards the perfectly smooth crater that the blast had created.

It simplified things, she mused, to simply assume anything he sent her way defaulted to absurdly lethal. If it hit her, she'd briefly regret it; ergo, she should make sure not to get hit. Simple enough.

Instead of giving it any more thought than that, she finished drawing her sword and swept it cleanly through his outstretched arm, energy gathering to help put on a sudden burst of speed as she did. The moment the blade struck his flesh, the spacial Dust activated, creating a kind of sticking effect—instead of 'cutting' his arm off, which she assumed would be exceedingly difficult, she _separated_ them, an altered portal clinging to either stump. They didn't bleed as they came apart, but the hand fell to the ground, caught in gravity's hold, and she positioned a portal such that it ended up a fair distance away. Not a wound, technically speaking, but removing the limb all the same. Against a regenerating opponent, it tended to have more effect regardless.

Unfortunately, Malkuth seemed familiar with such effects, because instead of wasting even a moment waiting for it to grow back, he made the limb glow an off-yellow color. A moment later, it simply evaporated, coming apart into a chemical cloud that she didn't recognize but which was probably meant to do horrible things to her. She swept her sword through it, leveraging the same blade to a different effect, and what looked like a glass lens briefly formed in midair before banishing the toxic gas, switching it with a similarly-sized patch of air elsewhere. Still a portal, but meant to replace instead of move. Just in case, she moved it somewhere near enough for Jaune to deal with it and focused again on stabbing Malkuth in the face.

"Bitch, I just grew that back," He said, sounding annoyed as he evaded her next strike. However he was communicating, it wasn't reliant on sound, because she didn't slow down. Telepathy? No, this didn't have the feel of a mental effect. Some kind of energy- or Aura-based transmission that her brain interpreted as words.

It didn't matter, truthfully, but it meant that she might have to listen to him talk as she tore him apart. Thankfully, before she had to do any more of that, she felt a shift come from Jaune's direction and was reacting even before he fired. Portals opened all around Malkuth, moments before an extremely narrow beam of light flashed from an open space at his feet. It pierced straight through his chest and feed into another portal behind his, releasing it from another for it to tear through the elbow of Malkuth's remaining arm and fly into another portal. In an instant, there was a cage of piercing light weaving in and out of Malkuth's body, and the world darkened until it was the only thing visible.

Taking advantage of the opening, she sheathed her blade once more.

Except…that wasn't quite it. It was a trick she'd used before in a pinch, now no more than an afterthought. Her revolving sheath contained dozens of different Dust blades, each designed for a specific task, and now she was creating a tiny portal at the entrance of her sheath with the other side positioned within the case itself. Putting her current sword back where it belonged was simple enough; she didn't even really need her power for that, seeing as it was currently on the empty place. Remembering the precise location of the exact blade she needed relative to that empty space was usually a bit trickier, which was why she'd used several tricks when it came to their precise arrangement. Mnemonic things, to make it simpler; batching similar types together, ordering by color, numbering them, and more. There were several different methods, because in a battle there wasn't always time to think through or get tricky—in those cases, she went with whatever she thought of first and made due.

Now, however, there was no need for tricks. She could literally see inside the case without even looking at it; she disconnected her current blade, reassigned the portal to what she wanted, and attached the new one in a process that took no more time than it had taken to sheath and draw her sword.

If space didn't work, what of time?

She swung her new blade, her Aura causing the Dust to glow, and a wave of twisting power leapt from the edge to sweep across the battlefield.

The secret of using Dust is that there is no predefined way of using it. It was something that reacted to a person's Aura and could be used as a catalyst to create something _new_ , beyond the user's normal ability. At the most basic level, it was easy to draw parallels between one person's use and another's, because Dust could simply be used to align the user's Aura with the corresponding element. Similarly, an experienced or reckless person could simply draw the power _out_ of the Dust, unleashing it upon the world with no restraint but their own power and will. Even then, however, there were countless possibilities hidden within Dust and just as many ways to use it. There were—and had been for as long as their records now went back—many schools of thought and practice when it came to wielding the power of Nature's Fury. Martial arts styles, sword styles, long and short-range methods; there were even styles meant entirely for show, practiced by high-end entertainers. Once, she'd listened to a musician who used their instrument to weave a song into a story, illustrated by mobile figures of ice and fire. Those were all things that could be taught, given a willing enough student.

And then there were things that were as personal as one's Semblance. Specifically, the ways Dust interacted with a person's Semblance. It was, after all, a personal expression—perhaps even manifestation—of the user's Aura. While generally static and unchanging barring…special circumstances, there was always the option of aspecting or redefining one's power through the lens of Dust. Not all Semblances allowed that; for some, there was just no meaning to aligning their power with an element, while others were just entirely unaffected. A precog she'd once known could use Dust to sense the presence of only a specific element in the near future, but outside of rare situations, that did nothing but limit her sight. Jaune's was like that, too, and was perhaps the most thorough example she'd ever seen, with the most basic aspects of his power left completely untouched no matter what he drew upon. He could use Dust to change the nature of some of his skills, but the Gamer itself? No.

But that was too be expected. Not all Semblances lent themselves easily to such modifications after all, nor to violence itself. Worse, because of the personal nature of it, it wasn't necessarily something that could be _taught_ , but which had to be discovered. A dozen different crystals might prove themselves utterly worthless to a person, while using a specific kind of Dust might yield unexpected results.

In many ways, that had been the case for her. She'd first learned how to use Dust by observation, peaking into classes and watching practices while she was just a little girl. Like most talents, Dust was something that took time and effect to master—and even more time and effort to _remain_ a master of. Once she'd figured that out, it had become simple to find unknowing teachers and, with her power, easy to find opportunities to practice. Many of them had ended explosively, in one way or another, but in time she'd gotten a feel for it and explored the possibilities. Due to the nature of her Semblance, spacial Dust had been one of the first she'd put serious effort into learning to use and she'd found a variety of ways to do so. A 'sticky' portal that seemed to separate things she cut through. A sharp portal that she could use to intersect things, dividing them in truth. Portals of different sizes that could cause temporary alterations to any who moved through them, briefly turning pebbles into boulders and monsters into kittens. She'd even figured out a way to make a portal within a portal, such that anything that tried to pass through appeared to be reflected.

After tampering with space had provided so many useful results, however, she'd inevitably started to wonder about its counterpart—so, of course, she'd tried.

As it turned out, it was tricky, meddling with time. Playing with time Dust was much the same. It was costly, with even sizable chunks of the material potentially lasting only an instant, and the uses almost always short-lived in an absolute sense.

But sometimes, all you really needed was a little time.

Malkuth lifted his remaining hand even as the other began to regrow. Violently colored light wreathed it, bright enough that had she been relying on her normal senses, she might have had to avert her eyes. Instead, she stared at him silently, waiting without fear. Malkuth prepared to fire—

And abruptly staggered, a gleaming blade emerging from the center of his chest. Sparing it a brief glance, she trust her sword forward where it seemed to vanish into the air—consumed by time and space even as the blade that had stuck Malkuth disappeared.

Without hesitation, she rushed towards Malkuth, feeling a change come over her even as she did. She'd only experienced this once before, during the single trial run she and Jaune had managed to engineer, but it was as exhilarating as it was terrifying. Her flesh began to peel away, revealing something underneath as if it had always been there. She felt the mask come over her face, _become_ her face, even as her clothes turned black as night, becoming something in-between armor, flesh, and skin. Her arms became vaguely wing-like, feathers sharp as steel. But more than any of that, she felt her gaze sharpen. Not her _sight_ , but the view she had of the world, now coming into even clearer focus before her.

This was Sahasrara, if she remembered correctly. The skill Jaune used to bear his literal soul and draw power from it. It was good timing, though she wasn't sure if that was because of the Dust or just Jaune. Either way, she'd happily take advantage of it while she could.

She approached Malkuth through another series of portals, flickering from place to place in moments and letting minute adjustments of time confuse the process. Even so, as she drew near her opponent, he once again reacted fast, gathering sickly green light in the center of his chest instead of his hands. It spilled forth as something between a whip, a laser, and a lightning bolt, carving a line of destruction straight for her—and then vanishing into another circular ripple of space. It didn't reappear instantly, but she flicked her blade down and it reopened, the blast slipping through time to strike at Malkuth at her command.

It did nothing but splash over him—obviously, he'd known better then to dish out more than he could take while fighting a portal-user—but it was a distraction and that was all she really needed. She flicked the tip of her sword to the left and a silver portal opened to the left of Malkuth. Another twitch and it's opposite point opened a moment later. Two portals, bridging not just separate points but separate _times_. Even with all her power, she could only cross a matter of moments, but…a moment was enough.

A solitary portal opened in the midst of it all, the other end of it right in front of Jaune, and he didn't need any more of any invitation to give his best shot.

What came forth was very nearly blinding to look at. It wasn't Longinus, the space-piercing spear bound to interfere with her portals, but instead a torrent of pure light—Lux Aeterna, most likely.

Good. That served her purposes better than Longinus would have, anyway.

Malkuth lifted his arms in defense, leaning into the blow as if anticipating it—but it was pointless. The initial strike was all but meaningless in this case, at least compared to what was to come. The light washed over him, searing his flesh and pushing him back, before reaching it's true destination and flowing into the time portal.

The moment it did—or rather, several moments _before_ it did—the same amount of light came streaming from the opposite portal, rushing back through the intervening space and adding onto itself. She managed to close the portal at the center just in time, before that power had a chance to splash back through, and so it continued onwards, crashing over Malkuth and flowing into the time portal yet again.

And so the process repeated. Whatever entered the first portal exited the second several moments before it entered—in this case causing Lux Aeterna to retread the same path, creating a line of still-brightening light as it overlapped with its past and future self in a strange manner. The nature of entropy saw to it that the attack itself constantly lost energy, but that was nothing compared to the energy being funneled into it through the quirk in time, and so its net energy was increased by its previous iteration with each lap it took through the connected points in time and space. And being an attack made of light…well. It should go without saying that it took many, many laps.

In a way, Lux Aeterna may have been the best possible choice for this combination—enough so that she assumed Jaune had understood the nature of her attack in the moment or so of thought he'd been allowed. From what see understood, the nature of the attack was to draw in energy, condensing further as it grew more powerful. Jaune had once described it as endothermic light, and as it devoured itself endlessly and grew further and further, it stayed neatly within the pathway allowed by her portals. And as that pathway intersected Malkuth quite nicely, he got to enjoy every moment of the process.

Against anyone else, she'd say that was enough. The power gathered in that stream of light, the power being added to it every second—it was something awesome in a literal sense. Awe-inspiring, terrifying…it was one of the reasons she didn't use this application of her powers very often. For all the potential it held, the risks should it be unleashed or go out of control way phenomenal. Under normal circumstances, with far weaker attacks in use, it was possible to cause extreme collateral damage; added onto itself enough times, practically anything could be weaponized. A flash light, a laser pointer, or any variety of weapons…once, she'd even combined it with her secret weapon and the results had nearly been disastrous. The 'wipe nations clean of life' kind of disastrous—and Lux Aeterna was significantly more powerful than a laser pointer. Under normal circumstances, she'd hold it in place over the target for a second and let nature take its course.

But Malkuth wasn't a normal enemy and she knew it. She'd gone into this knowing she'd need to start with her best tricks and scale up and so that was exactly what she was going to do.

Unfortunately, while the twist in time she'd created could shatter any number of physical laws, in truth or in seeming, it remained an application of Dust—and it's time was ironically running out. Perhaps it was the stress caused by sustaining Lux Aeterna, something Malkuth had done, or the other uses she had put it to before this, but what should have been enough to last a second or two looked like it wouldn't even last one. Once it ran out, the portals would fade and the power gathered would take its natural course. And given the power in question, If it did that…it was entirely possible they'd lose something they couldn't live without.

They being Mankind. And that may well be lowballing it; even with the senses granted to her by her connection with Jaune, it was hard to keep track of the precise magnitude of something that was overwriting itself at the speed of light and she'd given up before even trying.

Normally, this would be when she'd create a portal in time and space, banishing the attack utterly before it could cause too much damage—but she was reluctant to throw such a weapon away so easily, considering their foe.

Besides. There might be a better use for it that simply getting rid of it.

Sheathing her sword again, she cast it aside but kept her power flowing through it—it would waste away entirely in a few more moments, but she _needed_ those moments.

And in its place, she brought out her trump card—a blade of purest white, the only one of its kind she had. While she could afford to carry duplicates of most kinds of Dust, there were several varieties that were too hard to come by to allow that. Thanks to her power, she had other ways of getting what she wanted, but even then, finding enough of certain kinds of dust to make an entire _blade_ could be a challenge. White Dust in particular was a severe chore to acquire in such quantities, especially with the limits to its use. But every now and then, it proved itself worth having. In her lifetime, this was the third such blade she'd owned and the previous two had saved her life.

Hopefully, this one would live up to their standard.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her sword and called to the power contained within it.

In an instant, there was nothing left in the world but her. Everything around her flickered once and then went black, fading utterly from her sight. The light of the portals, the sky, _everything_ —it all just seemed to cease to be. The only thing she could see, the only thing she could _sense_ , was herself and the blade she held in her hand—and even that was changing. The white Dust of the blade seemed to corrode, shattering and breaking apart in a matter of moments as if it were falling to…well, to dust. The physical matter that had composed her blade was gone, completely and utterly.

But in its place was something else, like a light in the darkness. It embodied the same space, held the same shape, still looked like a swords edge—but it wasn't. Instead, this was the state her Semblance took when exposed to white Dust.

It was a portal in the shape of a sword. For a long time, she'd though that it was nothing but an opening, that there was no other side of it, but her time with Jaune had changed that. _Where_ the portal led to, she still wasn't certain, but it had something to do with the Light Jaune drew several of his own skills from. And now that she held that power in her hands, the only question was how to use it.

White Dust was strange. For all that it seemed to embody the element of light, it was more than that—or rather, the Light was more than that. It wasn't just a matter of photons and illumination; it held ties to the very soul, to the core of a person. The first time she'd used it, she'd broken through limits that should have been untouchable, bisecting her opponent with a portal. The second time, she'd created a portal that drew in everything around it and another that emitted it as raw power. Two completely different uses, with the only connecting point being her.

This time, she used it differently once more. As the world came back to her, she ignored the light, though it now seemed to draw her towards it. She ignored the ignored she could sense within it as well, though she considered leveling this power towards him. Instead, she focused her light on the swirling darkness she could feel at the edge of her senses—and cut.

The still black pit that had hovered over the battlefield tried to resist that power, but it couldn't, nor could its master. It came apart at the seams and released its prisoner—and the light assailing Malkuth gained a mind of its own.

"Thank you, Raven," Jaune said as he strode past her, abruptly by her side. He'd probably teleported when he sensed the situation change—and change it had. Of all the possible uses for the one shot the Dust gave her, this had seemed like the safest best, even if it was also the least certain. She couldn't be certain what would result from this, because it wasn't her power she'd chosen to rely on this time. Instead, it was someone else's.

She'd chosen to trust Jaune's plan.

He stopped and looked back at her, smiling for a moment.

"Do you mind if I handle it from here?" He asked.

Already, she could feel her power and control fading—so instead of answering aloud, she simply nodded.

She smiled a bit wider and then looked at the torrent of light, now writhing as if fighting to take shape or to retain one.

"I figured none of the skills I'd learned would be enough to stop you—if it was that easy, you wouldn't still be here. You've probably seen it all before, anyway. So…here's a _new_ trick, Malkuth," He said. "Something I made just for you."

His form fractured, splitting in two—and then there was light between his halves, drawn from the power gathered before him; Keter, briefly visible between the twins. Then the two sides of him came together with an explosion of force, trapping that light and energy between their reunifying mass and collapsing into itself.

But what was left was something greater than the sum of its parts.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Light-Hearted**

I was two and one—a division and then a unity. Lines blurred, edges faded, and then there was a connection. My twin and I were, after all, originally the same. Were _still_ one, for all that they were also separate. Linking themselves together was as easy as coming apart, if somewhat more spectacular.

It couldn't be helped, though. They were the Dual Contending Forces. To unite, they had no choice but to come apart and forcibly merge, splitting along the lines that separated them in order to come back together. As they divided, they felt themselves waver, as if the solidity of their existences had been disrupted. In that moment, they were energy as much as matter, wavelengths and signals that communicated and aligned. At the same time, they were matter and antimatter, something bound to disrupt and eradicate on contact. Though they could draw lines like 'the original' here and 'the second' there, the truth of the matter was that they were identical, pieces split equally and housing halves of the same soul. If anything, they were both copies and it was only by merging that they could recreate the original.

And wasn't that was the point? They were Thaumiel, the Duality and Twins of God. The division of that which is perfect only in unity—of Keter, the Crown. It only made sense, then, that Keter be here as well—and he was.

At the center of it all, there was light. A riotous calamity of power and forces, only barely contained by their Light Elemental's power. They couldn't blame him for struggling, consider the magnitude of the power in question—Raven's temporal trick had created something that had shocked even him, a cycle of endlessly increasing light. That Keter was able to control it at all, even just for a moment, was astonishing.

But then, he _was_ the Light, or at least _my_ Light. There was more at work now than a struggle of physical forces; this was as much a mental effort as a matter of power and a test of _being_ more than even that. Who they were, what they were, what they believed, what they hoped for, and what they intended—the answers to those questions meant more than any amount of MP, here and now.

And thankfully, I knew all of those answers now, or at least thought I did. There was still a great deal missing in terms of memories and such, but that was okay. I was 'Keter', what laid above the mind's ability to comprehend. Even if I couldn't remember, I _knew_ and I _was_. I was Jaune Arc and Jian Bing and Keter and _Metatron_. I was me—and I simply was.

It was enough. My divided selves fully lost coherence, coming apart and flowing back into place. They came together like a collision of particles, a fusion in addition to a reunification—a resonance and a chemical process, a release of energy and a change of state. People existed on countless levels that most of them weren't even aware of, but as I became one again, I was aware of them all. I became myself again as my halves underwent a convergence of being.

And trapped between them, held in place by my will and my soul, was Keter—and all the power we'd managed to gather thanks to Raven. If it had been power alone, it wouldn't have mattered; the reunification of my halves operated only partially in Malkuth and couldn't be affected by a gathering of energy any more than it could be stopped by physical distance or barriers.

But because Keter was there, it was more than just a lot of energy. All throughout that conflagration of power was my Elemental—a part of my soul given physical form in the world by attaching itself to something else; a part of the world with 'substance,' something that didn't apply to a soul on its own. Like Thaumiel, it was a part of me, at once separate and united. That was how skills like Agni worked, after all; they temporarily fused those parts back together, just like I was piecing myself back together now.

And those similarities were why I'd first considered this, why I'd had the idea and tested it out.

I'd obtained Agni and the skills like it by using Tiferet, but the process wasn't a _fusion_ as such. I wasn't entirely sure _how_ it worked, but I was pretty sure it did so along lines of similarity. Rather than _creating_ skills, I was finding them, having my Semblance draw upon ancient knowing in a fashion similar to however it created skill books. I gave it reference points and the power it needed to search for something useful, connecting the dots I laid out for it. At a guess, that had something to do with the nature of my Semblance or the nature of Keter—what remained above 'knowledge' or 'thought,' above 'action' or 'formulation.' The spark that eventually grows into something more. It was probably connected to why I was so skills with sensory techniques, too, and why my soul had a million eyes.

Even so, Tiferet couldn't do everything; it had its limits. The first, of course, was the need for reference points, allowing it to find something specific. Without that, I assumed there was simply too much to find anything specific—if I was drawing from a well that went above thought or even separation and individuality, the signal to noise ratio was probably rather severe. That could be dealt with by learning more skills and became easier as Tiferet's level improved, presumably allowing it to find things with less specific information.

The second was trickier to work around—Tiferet couldn't find what wasn't there. It was the center of the Sephirot, connecting every point but Malkuth, the place where everything would take shape…but it _needed_ to have taken shape for Tiferet to work. Someone needed to have put the pieces together, to created results and completed a process for it to exist as a _fact_ instead of a _concept_.

That wasn't even a _weakness_ , per se; Tiferet was a point of integration, allowing me to stand on the shoulders of giants. That's what Mankind did, in science and literature and everything else. We built upon successes and tried to learn from failures. My power, great as it was…I owed it all to others. To the countless people who'd struggled and works for years or decades to create the skills I now used in concert. That I'd mastered and combined to create something greater.

But the fact remained that Tiferet couldn't create things—couldn't build things on its own. It was where things came together, drawing up knowledge and ideas and drawing down what had been lost from human memory. It was a balance of surrounding forces—but the one Sephirot that it didn't touch directly was Malkuth, the Kingdom. Instead, it touched upon the Foundation of Yesod, because that was what it had provided.

Tiferet couldn't create things—but I could. I had, with magic Missile so long ago. Given the choice, I preferred to make use of what had already been perfected, but I could make new things as well.

So I had. When, even after my ability to summon Elements improved, Tiferet hadn't offered any skills above those like Agni, I'd accepted the truth—that such skills likely didn't exist. Elementals were a power that few could access to begin with and which even fewer _did._ Of those, how many mastered them? And how many obtained access to higher Elementals? How many people, in all of history, had reached the point of a Dimensional or a Light Elemental? Very few, in all likelihood. So it was unlikely anyone would have been able to create something like Agni for me to draw from.

Which meant I just had to do it myself. I knew the process, after all. Even if I hadn't gained that knowledge along with my mastery of the skill, my senses made it easy to see the details and the minutia. All I needed was to put it into practice, which was easier said than done.

But now, I had everything I needed and then some.

What I was making now, like all things, began with an idea. Skills—the things my power interpreted as skills—covered a broad array of possibilities. If was, in many ways, an exception, but in most cases Aura-based techniques weren't a science. At least, subjectively they weren't; objectively, you could break down the how's and why's and all the variables and see how something worked, and in many ways I thought that was what _my_ power did.

But for most people, skills in general were more art form than science, if generally _martial_ art form. They were something a person learned and practiced for years, like a normal fighting style, figuring out the tricks and the quirks, practicing for days, months, and years until they figured it out. From the outside looking in, you could analyze the mechanics of a martial art's fighting, break it down into biology, ranges of motion, and an interaction of forces. And that view of things is both accurate and true, but it's not _complete_. From the perspective of the fighter, it's not just a matter of kinetic energy and chemical responses; it was a matter of training, reflex, instinct, and memory. The punches and blocks, the reactions to shifts in the flow of battle, they weren't just methodical responses to the situation; there was a person behind the fists and it was important to remember that.

Similarly, learning to create fire or channel power through the body to achieve some great feat…it wasn't just a matter of the movement of MP. For me it was streamlined—not _automated_ , still something I _knew_ and _felt_ , but still nearly effortless; so long as I had the power, I could perform the skill, as easily as if I were breathing. I didn't have to think about the idea or science or even heart behind it, though I knew them; Keter was something above all that, while simultaneously encompassed it.

For others, however…

The soul wasn't something that could be boiled down to just the numbers and the facts—not _all_ the time, not in _every_ case. Because the soul wasn't just one thing, wasn't just this or that, here or there. It was a matter of expression, of who a person truly was, and things that drew from its power were colored by it. A person could have a natural ability in one thing and a complete lack of talent in another, simply because of who they were. The ultimate expression of that was their Semblance, but it applied in other ways, too. There was no guarantee that following the same steps would have equal results for every person.

And even if two people managed to master, say, Magic Missile, that didn't mean they'd create the same thing—it could vary not only from person to person but from day to day. I could be certain my skills would do what they were supposed to do when activated, unless affected by an external forces, but if someone else summoned fire while relaxing and summoned it while consumed by fury, they results would almost certainly differ. They might draw more power to fuel it without thinking, something they couldn't identify mathematically without something suited for the task, but even if they used the same amount of power there were bound to be differences. This person's flames could be hotter than another's, generate more smoke, cause more pain, or any number of other things. One of the reasons learning skills was so hard for normal people was the simple fact that nothing about the process was _certain_. Things that drew power from the soul could be changed _by_ the soul.

How much that was true varied from skill to skill as well. Elemental skills weren't the best example because unless they were created using Dust, they depended on the user's Elemental Affinity—their Aura's natural affinity with a specific element. As that depended on the nature of their soul to begin with, it was more likely to vary; something simple like a Far Strike, would probably be changed less. At the same time, it only made sense that things that drew _more_ from the soul would be more personalized.

Elementals were perhaps the best example of that. A part of the user's soul given physical form through a medium they had an affinity with, the nature and identity of the entity created were completely in the air. How it looked, how it acted, how much control the user had over it…there was no way to be sure of anything.

That was true even for me. Simple skills required only MP, but greater ones could call for other things. My Elementals required an Affinity that my Semblance and skills thankfully granted, just as many of my stat skills demanded some special condition or another that it handled. Things like that, my Semblance could break down easily enough.

But with some of the greater skills I knew—the Brahmastra, Ohr Ein Sof, Sahasrara, and Thaumiel, to name a few—there was more to it than just numbers. The first time I'd received a skill with a 'Special' cost had been an eye opener for me; it required something my Semblance couldn't quantify.

It made sense in a way. Malkuth—the Kingdom, the realm of the physical laws and actions, where things take shape—was a place of 'concrete' things. Things that are solid, that are defined and work in specific ways. Physics, matter, energy. Time, space, and distance. It was when those things interacted with Aura that shenanigans ensued and things that drew more from the realms above Malkuth were, by their very nature, harder to define.

Skills like Agni were good examples. Skills that merged a fractured soul into something greater than its parts, it varied on countless levels. The person, the Elemental, and more. Agni itself had been a name—the name of its user, specifically. It was entirely possible I could only imitate it because of my Semblance and Tiferet; that had anyone else tried, it would have manifested differently. A transformation into a being of fire, perhaps, or something in the other direction; merging the person with the Elemental, instead of vice versa.

Something like that was personal and complicated—and I was trying to do something even greater, merging not just with one Elemental but with my _Light_ Elemental, who'd been created from all the pieces of my soul. Even for me, that wasn't something that could be done easily.

But I knew how to do it, because of the skills I'd already learned.

To begin with, I needed _power_. Power _alone_ wouldn't be enough for this, but I still needed it; this was a process that would take energy on an absurd scale. More than I could generate on my own, even given an amount of time that would be completely unreasonable to ask for in a fight. Originally, the plan had been to generate this power in the fight against Malkuth, drawing upon both Lucifer and Malkuth's seemingly endless reserves. Lux Aeterna had converted that energy into light and I'd fed it into Keter to contain it. Even then, I hadn't been sure if it would have been enough and Malkuth had trapped Keter before I could follow through with it regardless.

Thankfully, Raven had come through with more than I could have possibly asked for, a gathering of raw, contained Light beyond anything I had even imagined being able to get under these conditions. There were no certainties—couldn't be, really, with something like this—but this was everything I could hope for and then some. I'd just have to hope it was enough.

The rest was trickier. Agni, Kubera, Varuna and the others had several things in common and power was only one of them. Agni had formed in battle, Kubera in the face of the death of his people, Varuna in the wake of unbelievable disaster. The presence of power to draw upon in each case, but also _need_. Necessity was the mother of invention, and it played a role.

That was the first hurdle I'd had to figure out a way around. And I had _motivation_ , yes, and a desperate need, but they were calm things, intellectual. I needed power to defeat a foe, but they were a distant one, shadowed in unknowns. I was terrified of Malkuth and his minions, for completely logical reasons; they were nightmarishly powerful, after all. I knew I had to defeat them somehow, for me, my friends, and the entire world—but it was a little hard to be that hard pressed when mulling things over on a couch. Even without the Gamer's Mind, I'm not sure if I could have done it; I was worried and desperate, but not like I'd been when it was my _father_ on the line.

In truth, that had been another part of why I'd put myself on a time limit, why I'd given myself only a week to prepare. Malkuth was a world-ending threat, yes, but it was hard to really conceptualize or _feel_ a danger that was wrapped in secrets and maybes. Malkuth's strength, the strength of the Legendary Grimm…I had to see it for myself. Had to test their limits and mine, push myself to the breaking point, and not just know but _experience_ what I was up against, what was at stake.

Gilgamesh had pushed me more than I had been in a while, but even he hadn't been enough in the end. He hurt me, might have even been able to kill me early on if he'd wanted to, but I'd had plenty of things in my bag of tricks and I'd pulled them out one after another. I'd set things up in my favor, changed the tide, and I'd known all the while that I _could_ win. That I'd need to be cautious, careful, and do things right, but that this was a foe I was theoretically able to defeat. He hadn't been what I'd needed and if I'd won against him and Malkuth hadn't appeared, I might have been relieved—this is all I was up against? Even if he turned out to be one of the weaker Legendary Grimm, if I could beat him, then with enough effort, enough time, I could defeat the others, too.

But Malkuth had appeared. He was weakened, limited by his current form, but he was here, and I'd thrown my best hits at him.

He'd shrugged them off like _rain_. Crushed me. Terrified me when he tore apart my plans and captured Keter. Ripped through my barriers and went after the ones I'd loved, forcing me to pull out the Arcana—and even then I'd known he was holding back. He even withstood an assault from Raven and I that would have annihilated me with ease.

If I couldn't even match him as he was _now_ …then how was I ever going to face the real deal. I'd lost before, when my previous self had had _centuries_ more experience and I was losing again now. Fighting him, facing him, it had made me wonder. Maybe even doubt.

Good.

And to cape it all off, I had a blurring of the self. That was the other thing those skills had in common—an understanding of who they were, but also a blurring of the lines. I knew who I was already, what my Elementals were, but it hadn't been enough.

This was something else. Thaumiel, pushed to its limits. The use of Ohr Ein Sof, nearly unmaking me each time. Coming apart and back together—seeing, feeling, _knowing_.

It made the difference and all my pieces came together at last. I felt power flowing through my being, power beyond words—but it was nothing compared to the certainty, the feeling of wholeness and completion. The knowledge of a simple truth.

I am.

Opening the eyes of my new self, I saw the world around me. Raven behind me, Malkuth before me, both of them stopping just to stare at what had happened. In my heart, I could feel the Arcana shifting, and before my eyes…

 **You've thought of a new skill. Would you like to name it?**

I paused for a moment, considering it. Those who'd come before me—or perhaps just Tiferet—had named skills like this after themselves, or else had taken those names for their own afterwards. Perhaps they'd been their human names or the names of their Elementals or maybe they'd even found their true ones, as I had so long ago. But in my case, what should that name be? Jaune? Jian? Keter? All names that were mine, that were important to me.

But here and now, knowing what I was doing and why I was fighting, with my goal almost in sight…with the computer I'd left myself still waiting…

I suppose there was only one thing it could be. Out loud, I could call it something else, but this skill was mine, the combination of everything I was, and it deserved the name.

With a thought, I titled it Metatron.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Hard-Hearted**

"This _is_ a new trick," Malkuth said after a long moment's silence, looking at me. He didn't have any eyes, but I could tell his gaze was more curious than afraid—I suppose not being anywhere near the actual damage would do that. "Tell me, what _is_ it, Keter?"

"You losing," I answered simply, tilting my head slightly. I was slowly trying to orient myself in a way that was hard to describe. I was standing on the ground right now, but I didn't _feel_ like I was; it was as though I were hovering in a void and could move how I wished. I could feel things around me, too, but I had a hard time placing them as well—senses, but nothing like physical ones. I'd opened more metaphorical eyes than pretty much anyone and this wasn't like that. I wasn't seeing anything new, wasn't feeling it against my body or mind, but…they were there. Malkuth and Raven, along with signs of their power, especially where Raven's portals were now fading.

"Heh," Malkuth chuckled, even lifting a clawed hand to his masked face. The sound was amused, but he wasn't, I was certain of that much. "I'll admit, it's something I haven't seen before—but stuff like that is why this world is fun, isn't it? People come up with new tricks all the time, struggling to survive and succeed, to beat me…and they fail. Like you failed. You're a few thousand years too early _and_ late to talk about beating me."

I shrugged slightly before rolling my shoulders and lifting my hands. Right now, I looked regular, normally—the effects of Sahasrara, Metamorphosis, and everything else receding. Except that wasn't quite right, because I wasn't the same as I was before and those things simply weren't there. I felt at once distant from the world and closer to it than I even was before.

Regardless, I didn't see much point in answering Malkuth's questions, so I just watched him calmly for a moment.

"Nothing to say?" Malkuth asked after a moment.

I shrugged again.

"I'm going to kill you," I stated, not putting any emphasis on the words. "I've won, you lost, the end. There's really not much else to say. I gave you a chance to say your last words and they look like they'll be rather hilarious in hindsight, so I'm good. You ready to die yet or would you like to continue embarrassing yourself?"

"You—"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off as he staggered several steps back, a hole larger than his head appearing in the center of his chest. The circle was perfectly carved, its edges smooth, and at the exact center of it all was Malkuth's portal, hanging suspended in the emptiness. Already, matter was flowing from that hole to replace what was lost, but it glimmered around the edges with sparks of white light.

Malkuth looked down at the hole in his chest and then traced a path to the finger I'd pointed at him absently.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt; please, continue. I just wanted to check on something."

It was true, in a way—I'd felt the shift, but I wanted to confirm it. The Arcana had changed the moment I adopted this shape, which was inevitable; I'd reunited my split haves, found what I was looking for, and I'd accomplished one of my major goals. I felt strong now, whole, and at ease in a way that was hard to describe or define.

The Arcana had taken shape accordingly.

 **Judgement: The Arcana of Judgement—the representation of the self, of what remains and shines through when all else is gone. It is an understanding of past mistakes and an acceptance of them; the ability to learn from them and face the future. At the same time, it is a point of choices and decisions, of loss and rebirth, as one reaches their own Judgement Day and decides the path of their lives. When the user is within this state of being, nothing may stand in their way—all attacks receive 100% defense penetration and ignore inherent immunities. At the same time, the user must be wary, lest they falter in this moment; active defenses may not be used in this state.**

I rolled my wrist, closing my hand and then opening it. Three small spheres, each no larger than a marble, rotated in a quick circle above my hand. I looked at them curiously for a moment, trying to determine their nature. The Arcana was a skill I understood only in part and this was the first time I could see with any certainty how it manifested and confirm several of my own theories. It wasn't something that drew greater power from above like Ohr Ein Sof or the Brahmastra; instead, it drew from something just as important.

Me. It was the point of connection between who I'd been and who I was—not so much as dividing line between Keter and Jaune as a bridge. It was what remained, what my soul had taken with it when it passed on and was reborn. The way it manifested…it wasn't like my former Semblance, wasn't as broad or easy to control. I couldn't just _assign_ myself a role, either, so instead it arose _from_ my role. But the touches, the influences, they were obvious and clear. It wasn't the same, but it was still _mine_ ; the remains of a soul that had gone through life and the cycle of reincarnation. Something that didn't translate well into thoughts or memories, into something held by a human mind, but which was still _there_ , even after all those things were gone.

It might even have had something to do with why souls were reincarnated in the first place, but that was nothing more than a guess.

Still, the way it manifested…it was an obvious alteration to who I was, to the nature of my soul. Not on the level of a Semblance but close. Strength and the Chariot, in and of themselves, changed spiritual and mental force into physical ones. The Lovers blurred lines between individuals along paths of connection. The Magician…widening the connection that the Aura drew on for power?

But _this_ …Judgement. At first glance, it seemed similar to Longinus as it accomplished the same ends…but no. It was something else. Longinus pierced defenses by cutting through space—by severing the most basic forms of connection and ignoring anything to do with the material. What a target was made of or blocked with was irrelevant, because those that seemed to be hit by it weren't actually touched at all, they merely suffered from the fact that the volume space they'd inhabited had been shredded with them inside of it. That was probably why it interfered with portals the way it did, too; if a portal twisted space to connect one point to another and Longinus tore a hole through space as it passed…

Judgement was something else. The power I'd gathered like this, the very Aura I was channeling—its nature had changed. It seemed both less physical and more certain, as if the power I was channeling was built from simple fact. The attacks created did not hit hard enough to do, say, a hundred damage to the target. They simply imposed a hundred damage on the target, as if it were a natural law. Reducing the effect or defending against them did nothing, because however one tried to block, that damage could not be reduced.

The strike that had hit Malkuth hadn't damaged him directly, hadn't shorn through his armor. Instead, it had simply touched him and taken effect, with that effect being 'take this defined amount of damage', erased parts of him to meet that criteria.

It was interesting, in no small part because it seemed like something that would belong to Malkuth. A limited application of his power, perhaps, an overly specific and defined one that was reached in a different way…but there were traces, similarities.

And it seemed as though I wasn't the only one to draw that connection.

"Tch," Malkuth said, touching his chest. "Keter, you bastard. Pulling out your old tricks again—"

The spheres rotating above my hand stopped in place for an instant and flashed forward, hitting and erasing most of his head. Pointless, perhaps, given the obvious lack of anything vital in there—but it was well worth it to shut him up.

Malkuth's body rocked for a moment and then began to run even without a head—straight towards Raven, who'd slowed after the Lovers had vanished. Even so, I could see a blade humming in her hands, trying to make up the difference with Dust.

I didn't chase after him. I didn't bother. Instead, I simply held out a hand to my side—and his fist made contact with it, stopping just short of Raven. On contact with his skin, the flesh of my hand seemed to dissolve, revealing nothing but pure white light in its stead, and flecks of burning flesh began to rise from Malkuth's hand.

"Don't," I said and we were twenty meters away from Raven. "I'm not the same as I was back then—I won't let you touch the people I care about again."

" _Bastard_ ," Malkuth said again, a note of muted effort in his voice as he tried to push me back or pull away.

Instead, I let him go, moving my hand to his chest. As it did, it seemed to leave wavering after images behind—but they weren't of _my_ arm. One was made of fire, another of air. Earth, water, steel, lightning, ice, distorted space, and countless others, each a different shape and size.

Each still a part of me.

I fired.

What came forth from my hands was less a focused assault or barrage and more a breaking of reality. Gravity went haywire, points in space rippling and then being sucked towards the center. Space itself followed suit, parts of the area warping and lengthening whilst others shrunk or even disappeared, shunted or drawn oddly into empty places. What could only be described as sparks of time fluttered out from my skin, expanding into roughly spherical bursts wherever they touched Malkuth, and those parts that were encompassed by the sphere were abruptly covered in horrific wounds, the evidence of injuries that had yet to happen imposed upon the present. Light flooded over and through all of it, making and unmaking what it touched in a way that was both interconnected and distinct.

And all of it was followed by everything I could throw at him. One arm shattered and spun into a growing whirlwind of glass, with individual shards sticking and seeming to melt into the surrounding landscape, transforming what it touched into glass and adding it to the cyclone. Fire burst from everything around me and then sank, the heat drawing into the affected surfaces to burn hotter, charring things without any sign of the source even as the damage crept deeper. Beside the living heat were growing patches of ice, left behind in the defiance of Thermodynamics and then given life in its own right. Shapes began to rise from it, as well as the earth and water nearby, the more physical elements struggling to take shape. The ground fractured violently, massive fissures opening up from which poured all manner of things, and the ground continued to shake in a steadily growing earthquake even as the wind began to whip into a storm and lava began to flood up from the ground.

The sound of it all was distorted oddly, carrying in strange ways and intermingling into a rising cacophony that altered itself every few seconds. Stone, glass, and crystal began to shatter, inevitably exploding into clouds of wicked shrapnel. The pressure in the area skyrocketed, the very air seeming unspeakably heavy, and the effects of inertia followed, causing things to move oddly—things that should have shaken or scattered remained stock still, things that should have remained immobile as steady as a mountain. Friction shifted with it, things stopping in midair, flying strangely, or even growing faster with no source. At the same time, I saw things melt, some of them simply coming apart while others were covered in growing pools of strange acids.

There were other things, as well—every element I could access, which was _all_ of them, showing up in force. They turned upon Malkuth, upon the world around him, and blasted it with everything. Every vector of assault was followed through with, each attack piercing his defenses as if they didn't exist. Malkuth's existence, his very being, was stripped away, sometimes in chunks while other times in pieces, until nothing remained but the tiny insignificant portal that allowed him to exist here and now.

I lifted a hand, pointing at it—and space rippled outwards from it as if something had crashed into it with unspeakable force. That done, I clinched my hand into a fist and everything around us, the chaos I'd made of our surroundings, leapt from the ground around us and flooded into that opening, drawn to and gathering around a narrow orb of light.

Malkuth screamed in a way that didn't translate very well into sound—it was a noise like a rise in frequency, a slowing of natural processes, and overlay over the background of the world spinning. Even so, the 'sound' was loud and it carried, echoing until I dropped my hand.

The hole in space bled black, a small stream of fluid stripping down from it in a strange way, as if dripping down an invisible surface rather than empty space. More of it flowed upwards and then to the sides, stretching into the shape of something like a stick figure as he healed.

I didn't move, but figures stepped out of me. Suryasta, Xihai, Levant, Ereb, Vulturnus—even Crocea Mors, now physical instead of a reflection. They were followed, impossibly, by figures that were mutually exclusive in existence; my Ice Elemental, Steam, Pressure, Inertia, Plasma, Gravity, Glass, Vibration, my Dimensional, and more. Everything I could create, that could spring forth from my existence, was present.

Malkuth stopped for a moment, not healing or moving. I waited.

"You and your fucking Elementals," Malkuth swore at last. "You always did try to keep up with me."

It kind of looked like I was doing more than keeping up, from where I was standing—but the situation was special in various ways and there was no point in letting myself be dragged into his flow.

"Leave, Malkuth," I said. "You've already lost and you shouldn't be able to cling to that body much longer, anyway. You should know by now that you aren't going to get what you want—after all this time fighting me, you should be used to being disappointed."

"Oh, I am," He replied. "But probably not for the reasons you think I should be. Look at you, Keter—all this time and you're still the same. So…unimaginative. All that power and you don't even want to play with it?"

"How?" I asked. "By torturing you? Believe me, the idea's crossed my mind—but I can't imagine it'd be all that fun when you're running around in a meat-puppet. And personally, even if it were, I'd rather just be rid of you."

"Bah," He said. "That's no way to talk. But fine, I know when I'm not wanted—and I know how to lose with grace. Catch you later, _Keter_."

Despite the words, he immediately tried to screw me over.

Needless to say, I was shaken to the core by a complete and utter lack of surprise.

His response occurred on several levels simultaneously. The first was the simplest—he attacked me. Even if I said it was simple, however, it was still something major and noteworthy, because this time he wasn't holding back.

That was the downside of putting myself of this level. Every time I fought him or his minions, they'd been playing nice, soft-balling me. I knew full well that there were a lot of fights I'd only survived because I'd been allowed to, fights I'd only won because my enemies had the kid gloves on. If every Grimm I'd ever fought had gone all out from the very start and aimed for the throat, I probably wouldn't be here by now. All this time, I'd had a massive advantage because my enemies couldn't _afford_ to kill me.

I figured that was probably intentional. Whatever I'd done in my past life, I'd known what would happen, at least well enough to make some guesses. Whatever was in that computer, the password on it wasn't just to keep Malkuth and his lackies _out_ , it was to make sure I survived long enough to make it _in_. If not for what they needed me to accomplish, Malkuth probably would have made sure I died in some horrific manner the moment he learned of my existence. I'd obviously failed to kill Malkuth, but I'd managed to give myself a chance to come back and finish the job.

It was risky, however—because Malkuth _was_ watching me and he _was_ my archenemy. While playing around with me was probably all well and good as far as his sadistic mindset went, he _knew_ me, knew who and what I was. Giving me time to plan and prepare was a dangerous idea at the best of times; giving me an endless amount of it was a recipe for disaster for anyone who wasn't on my side. Malkuth wanted me alive, but he didn't want me alive and in any position to put up a serious fight, and I was entirely certain that if I ran the clock down enough he'd do something to force my hand before I was ready to face him.

That was another part of why I'd come here when I did—because it had been on my terms, on my conditions. Things had gone according to _my_ plans instead of his, because I hadn't been marching to his tune and hadn't waited until he was making sure I didn't try anything funny.

Malkuth was my greatest foe, but I was his biggest threat, even if I might have also been his only hope. If I were in his position and my reincarnated enemy had started looking like a serious threat, I'd probably start thinking about killing him and trying again with number three. The measures I'd taken had given me time, but Malkuth would do everything in his power to make sure it wasn't _enough_ time.

That was why Metatron was my trump card; it was something he hadn't seen coming, a change of the game he hadn't been able to predict. It had been a risk—a terrible risk, given what was on the line—but it had been the only way to close the gap fast enough to take him off-guard.

And it had worked. Something I'm sure he didn't like one goddamn bit—and he showed it by holding nothing back. All the things he'd kept up his sleeve for fear that I wouldn't be strong enough to survive it came abruptly to the forefront. Here, more of those attacks that caused matter to fall apart. Rays that interfered and interrupted brain activity. Forms of transmutation that paid no mind to the subject's ability to survive. Forms of dimension shifting that were meant to remove chunks or bisect, a blast that cut a hole in the world, a red spark that caused matter to implode—

Well. The point was that Malkuth had a whole pot full of his most lethal hits and he was now willing to hit me with them—and while I was unable to bring many of my defenses to bear, no less. Malkuth had no way to know about the limitation the Arcana imposed upon me or he might have hesitated before unleashing hell.

Oh well. I hadn't come this far and risked so much to be unable to face Malkuth head-on. Even if it was still only a shadow of him, this was still the fight I'd been both dreading and anticipating for so long and I wasn't going to be defeated. Even if my active defenses were gone, my passive methods were still working fine—and more than that, there was a loophole of sorts to Judgement.

Except, it might well have been fully intentional, considering the nature of the effect; the 'roles' of the Arcana seemed designed to incentivize what I considered 'types of play.' In the case of Judgement, this was especially clear, because while it forbid _defenses_ , it said nothing of _attacks_.

And sometimes, the best defense really _was_ a good offense.

Malkuth threw everything at me and I threw everything right back. Waves of light with bursts of strange energy, consuming and pacifying them. Oddly colored sparks dancing with searing lightning across the surface of empty space and ionized air. Spikes and storms of violent matter took hits and bore through them, piercing blasts of power flashing through whatever was in their way, and everything between Malkuth and I began to fall apart.

At the same time, my Elementals—the parts of me I had encompassed and now manifested in their familiar shapes—marched forward through it all like a small army. They were different now, the change a spiritual one instead of anything physical, because they were perfected in unity with both me and each other. Though the battlefield was rendered into chaos, they pushed forward.

The moment they were close enough to touch him, however, Malkuth exploded into a mass of what I could only describe as probability clones—the odds of him trying to escape in a given direction granted not-quite physical form. They'd shatter, I could tell, falling to zero the moment they were caught, but if even one escaped, they'd turn out to be the real Malkuth. My Elementals immediately leapt into action, shifting and dividing as needed to reach their targets, but I stayed back, expecting a trick.

Because of that, I noticed the subtle movement of space as one of the probability clones took a less conventional path, slipping through something I would have thought a portal had it not clung to his skin. I followed suit all the same, willing myself to be more of a constant than any of the principles that governed space, tying myself to Malkuth and remaining equidistant from him even as he moved. I recognized his target before he even appeared and reacted as he materialized above Autumn, pulling instead of allowing myself to be pulled.

He swept a hand through her, but we were already in the wrong state, a shifted area of space that was disconnected from hers. His claws didn't reach her, even as they swept cleanly through her body, and I reached out to grab him.

We came apart, vanishing and reversing as I returned us to a previous position in space, drawing us back to the battlefield in an instant.

Malkuth released a growl of frustration that rose into a scream as he unfolded, mass shifting away to reveal more mass, covering an impossible volume. I felt something activate, something shift, and figured it was probably a bomb.

"Fine then," He said, the words not of sound. "Be that way. I'll settle for just the one, then."

I didn't have to glace behind me to know he was focusing on Raven, looking for some way to deny me victory or at least lessen its worth.

"No," I said. "You won't."

Lifting a hand, I activated Ohr Ein Sof once more.

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Breaking Down**

In the course of planning for my fights with Malkuth, I'd considered every option I had available before boiling things down to just a few. The simple fact of the matter was that most of my skills wouldn't really work against someone whose power gave him such complete control of the world around him—even limited by Gilgamesh's body and unable to directly control the world beyond himself, Malkuth had proven that. I trap him with in the heat of a perfectly contained stellar explosions? He makes it so that heat doesn't flow from a hotter area to a colder one. I destroy his body completely? He recreates it with summoned matter. I could hit him as hard as I could, but he had countermeasures for just about everything I could do, up to and including changing basic parts of reality like the speed of light in a vacuum.

And that was all in direct stuff—essentially weapons he'd cobbled together by altering his physical mass and how parts of him interacted with the world. From removing matters ability to hold itself together, causing it to implode and fuse into a confined mass, or twisting probability into and actual physical things, the world was his bitch even while he was kneecapped in terms of power and versatility. How the hell was I supposed to beat a guy with source code hacks to the universe I lived in?

There weren't a lot of answers. Even with all the power I had and everything I could muster, we existed in the realm of Malkuth— _his_ world. His playground, really. However many times I punched him in the face or destroyed his body or whatever else I happened to try, the fact remained that the game was rigged, the rules rewritten to ensure I couldn't win.

And yet, I had, in my past life. Not completely, of course, because whatever had happened, I hadn't walked away from it—but at the same time, Malkuth usually wasn't running around being a colossal douchebag and making my life a living hell. I'd stopped somehow, even though the most basic laws of physics were playthings in his hands. How?

I had no idea. I was willing to bet that was a big part of why Death had made sure to give me a good scrubbing, though the thousand years of experience and preparation probably hadn't helped my metaphorical case. And whatever I'd done, I was about a million percent sure Malkuth had dedicated a pretty significant portion of his time since ensuring it wouldn't work on him again, or else he wouldn't be so confident.

But, for all of that, for all his power, and for all his minions—including the Riders, who could theoretically infect and pull just about _anyone_ to his side—he wasn't free to act. Not unless I did something to tamper with the connection that led back to him.

There were only a few possible explanations for that, the most likely of which was that I'd trapped him somehow. The only reason he'd be watching from a distance instead of constantly following me around, micromanaging and strong arming me at every moment, was because he had no other choice. If he _did_ , he'd have reached out to me the moment he knew who I was, back before even I did, and might have presented a friendly face until he got what he'd wanted. Assuming he didn't do that, he'd at least be constantly threatening and hurting things I cared about, driving me whichever way he chose. But either way, he'd have done _something_ and I'd have had no choice in the matter; I'd never have a moment's peace, a moment's escape, because he could even enter barriers like Naraka.

But instead, he'd been forced to work through clumsier means, using the tools he had—the Grimm—even though I'd known they were monsters from the get-go. He'd been forced to keep his distance, to watch and wait and nudge here and there. To hold thing back and play things safe. Not the actions of someone who had much _choice_ in the matter.

No, if he could have been there, he would have been there—and since he hadn't, it was only because he couldn't. Something was stopping him from getting involved directly.

It might have been on my end—something I'd done to myself to protect against his involvement—but that was unlikely. If I had some secret weapon that could ward him off up my sleeve, I probably would have used it the first time around. While some kind of spiritual bomb in my head that was ready to explode if Malkuth came too close _might_ keep him away, the risk to me was obvious and if something went wrong…well, I was fucked. I didn't want to screw _myself_ over and I'd been _planning_ for a reincarnation, even knowing how long it would take; been planning to do something save the world in round two, even though I knew it meant countless people could die before I could get back in the ring. I wouldn't have done that if I had any other choice and I sure as hell wouldn't risk making people suffer even _more_ by causing there to be a round three. There _might_ be, if I fucked up, but I was really hoping to avoid that.

Besides, if I'd left Malkuth free to run around, he'd have fucked up everything by now. My life, the geography, the world, _everything_. I'd have heard of some nightmarish god-king by now, at the very least, or he'd have sent other minions, controlling things from a distance. No, whatever I'd done, it had almost certainly been on his end. I'd caught him in a trap of some kind.

It couldn't have been a physical prison—or, at least, I couldn't think of one that I thought could hold him for very long. Given the amount of fucks he apparently gave for…pretty much anything, stone walls and iron bars seemed unlikely to be his weakness. In this world, Malkuth's power was absolute and even if I was far stronger then than I was now, I was pretty sure I'd have a bitch of a time _physically_ locking up a guy who _controlled the laws of physics._ Anything grounded in this world was putty in Malkuth's hands.

So I must have used something he _couldn't_ control, which could only mean one thing. Where I'd failed with Et in Arcadia Ego—my attempt to remove the fight from 'reality'—I'd figured out _some_ way to succeed and I'd locked him in a box he couldn't touch with his powers. I'd imprisoned him in a place _above_ Malkuth, above the physical. A place where his methods didn't apply, where the very concepts of fighting, resisting, and clashing, as we understood them here, were meaningless. What was a battle in a world where space, time, and distance held no value? He wouldn't be able to escape from such a thing while inside it. He might not even be able to _try_ to escape the box I'd put him in.

Well, if it worked at all how I thought it might—and I could barely imagine the mechanics of such a thing—it was probably more of a hypercube than a _box_ , as such. But still. He was cut off from the physical and unable to even reach out towards it… unless something reached out first. Unless something from the physical world interacted with him, allowing him a chance to affect something with his own power, to some extent or another. The metaphysical distance probably imposed restrictions upon that beyond the obvious ones, but it turned the impossible into the possible. The Sephirot were connected, after all, if in strange ways.

And the problem was, there were things doing that all the time. The Grimm were connected to their master in a way not dissimilar to my Elementals and I—separate and united, the 'people' and the Kingdom. They drew power from him, strength, and he remained connected to the world as a result. And when I reached out to tamper with that connection, like I'd done with both Conquest and Gilgamesh…it gave him a way in, however temporarily. He still had power _here_ , after all, he just needed to be able to reach it.

But it was a reminder that there were some things that could work on him, some things that could still reach him. It had been a starting point, once I'd thought of things that way, a place to begin—and one of the places it had led me was here.

Ohr Ein Sof was more than just an attack in a case like this—it was a bridging of points.

And I used it to drag Malkuth kicking and screaming up the Tree of Life.

In the light of Ohr Ein Sof, all things came apart, regardless of their nature. That was because, at its most basic level, it wasn't a destructive technique—instead, it revealed the truth and sometimes that truth wasn't something people could survive learning. In Ohr Ein Sof, in the realms above, everything feel away. There was no flesh to conceal you, no material things to distract you, no natural law or permanence or anything else. There was no time, no space, no distance. You couldn't lie in that light, not even to yourself; couldn't hide or deny or deceive.

What you saw was you. Who you truly were, _what_ you truly were, behind everything. As you rose through the Tree of Life, things simplified on a level that could be—that _was_ —frightening. Even just a step above Malkuth was Yes—the Foundation, the connection between one thing and another, between an idea and an act. Image what that was like for a person, being reduced to the foundations of who you were, somewhere between the concepts above and the realities below. And then you continue to rise higher, seemingly shedding more and more of who and what you were, reduced to what most people would think of as a soul as early as Netzach and Hod, at least were the Aura was concerned. Above that, one could argue if you existed as a being in your own right, as something distinct and separate from everything else.

That was how you survived Ohr Ein Sof and it was far more difficult than it seemed. The question was, when there was nothing left but _you_ …was that _enough_? The words 'I Am' were simple and easily spoken when you could think and talk, when the vibrations of air could generate sound and electrical impulses help form conscious ideas, when boundaries were made real in Malkuth, but what separates one entity from another above that? The mind? Perhaps that could sustain you for a time, but what about when you reach above the mind in the heights of the Sephirot? What of when you transcend them entirely in the Light? The Light was something that was, perhaps, infinite and all-encompassing. It existed in all things, in all _states_ of things, divided and separated by the emanations of the Sephirot. If you remove all those, what separated one thing from another?

You. You did—and absolutely nothing else. Not your body, not your mind, not your memories or feelings or emotions, not your hopes or your dreams or desires, but just _you_. Who you were when, paradoxically, everything you were was gone.

But that perspective was, in and of itself, limited. Keter was 'that which laid above the mind' and things that existed within the state of Keter or even above it…needless to say, they were hard to conceptualize. In that state, we were less people than ideas, except even that gave too much weight to us. We were the moments _before_ an idea, the instant before something clicked and seemingly meaningless and unconnected thoughts came together into something grand. The moment of inspiration, the moment of conceptualization, the first moments of existence. If the world had sprung forth with a bang, Keter was the silence that preceded it. Something impossible to truly nail down but undeniably existent; the beginning. Not where something was _perceived_ as beginning, like the first word on a page or even the first idea of the story, but what came before that.

And instead of an idea, it was a person. Though calling it a idea _and_ a person may not have been incorrect, on this level.

This was the prison I'd sentenced Malkuth to—the prison of Being and Almost Being, to the moments you lived before you were. Where there was nothing but who you were about to be, except perhaps one other thing. The 'soul', beyond all labels or expectations.

And this was the state I'd brought us to now.

Everything we were on the surface fell away, our physical forms dissolved and what remained—who we really were when all else was stripped away—flowed up the channels of the Sephirot. I felt it as we rose, each level stripping away more of who we were, peeling back the lies that hid the truth. Though the attack may have struck Gilgamesh, that body was nothing but Malkuth's puppet now, and it did nothing to hide him. Ohr Ein Sof peeled away the flesh and bared the soul, tracing the connection back to its source. For a moment, I could sense him in a way that was hard to describe, because 'sense' implied observation, the ability to distinguish the world outside from yourself, or at least distinguish different _parts_ of yourself. I couldn't do that here, because most of it just didn't apply. I couldn't think and so I couldn't form thoughts into ideas and words.

But I _was_. And I _knew_ I was. After all—and especially now—I was Metatron. I was Keter, the Crown and that which remains. And here, I had the advantage.

In many ways, this was nothing but a change in our battlefield—an exceedingly literal escalation. Just as Malkuth warped the laws of physics to shape the terms of our battle, I'd now removed us from those laws entirely to turn things to my advantage. Our power and control of the world didn't matter here, only we did, who we were. We didn't pit those things against each other, didn't come into conflict, because the mere idea of a fight on this level was laughable. Even thinking mean thoughts in each other's general directions was impossible, because we had no location, direction, or thoughts to do such things with.

Instead, we fought by existing. By continuing to exist, above and beyond the grasp of everything that implied we _could_ or _should_ exist. What could you hold onto when you had and were nothing and what would you let slip through your grasp? I had the advantage, by my very nature—my power, my Semblance, they all drew from this. In many ways, the Gamer's Body and Mind were tied back to this state and thus all of my power. More than that, I had Metatron on my side, both the skill and the name. I knew who I was.

Malkuth, I assumed, just had a lot of experience from being locked up here all this time. But even then, that wasn't entirely an advantage, because it was that much harder to cling to physical things and that was a major danger in Ohr Ein Sof. Perhaps you managed to cling to your mind—but do you still have a body to attach it to? What if your body remains, but not yourself? What if _nothing_ remains? I had a similar issue because, if anything, _this_ was my natural state, but I was better equipped to deal with it. And while in many ways, Malkuth felt as solid as the world itself and as steady as it's turnings, I could feel things on the edges beginning to fray.

Then the moment passed. Ideas initialized and renewed, pieces coming together and taking shape—inspiration became idea became action. We _were_ again.

And I found myself somewhere besides Jericho Falls.

"So," Malkuth said, voice coming from behind me but sounding different, indistinct. Everything that had been in the voice before was gone. "It appears you won after all, Keter. How…annoying."

I turned around slowly and looked at him. He didn't look like Gilgamesh anymore; he was back in the form that I'd originally seen him in, a black hole with a person-shaped event horizon, and stood looking at me quietly. The world around us was a vague and indistinct plain, as if he couldn't be bothered to give it any definition, with nothing but the two of us within it.

"You don't sound too upset," I asked, looking around as I tried to figure out where we were.

"Oh, I'm furious," He replied, but his tone was dull. "It pisses me off that you managed to get this far, that I'm going to have to do this the hard way. You _lost_ Keter and I watched you die—it just doesn't seem fair that I still have to fucking deal with you and your shit."

"Wait, are you talking about _fairness_?" I asked, looking at him, down, and back up. "Is that a thing you're doing right now?"

He ignored me.

"You _should_ have lost," He continued. "But you did _this_ and here we are again."

He gestured and I looked around, considering his words.

We were still somewhere in-between, I realized. Using Ohr Ein Sof, I'd dragged up to the top of the Tree of Life, but that was only half of the technique—the rise that was followed by a descent. But he'd stopped it at the border between Malkuth and Yesod, which was why nothing seemed quite finished or real.

No, perhaps 'stop' wasn't the right word. I could still feel the power of Ohr Ein Sof building, feel it gathering to destroy him—but he'd paused it just before the end, apparently to get a last word in.

Seriously, what an asshole. You lost, you worthless piece of shit—just up and die already so you can go back to your fucking box.

He started talking again before I had a chance to say any of that aloud, however.

"But…perhaps I'm not as surprised as I should be," He said. "I suppose it wouldn't be much of a game without proper competition. I would rather have won utterly, of course, but failing that…this takes me back. I'm going to enjoy ripping you to pieces—and this time I'll make sure you stay dead."

"You're assuming I have any intention of letting you out," I replied. "Personally, I'm pretty cool with you being stuck in Limbo until the end of time."

He snorted.

"Nice bluff, but you and I both know how this ends," He answered. "Nothing's changed—you're still on the clock and I'm still the one who makes it tick. You're stronger than I expected you to be, but I can snap my fingers and unleash the full power of the Grimm, kill everyone and everything you love, and the only way you can stop that, the only way you can keep it from happening, is by killing me. This trump card of yours…it's not something that lasts forever, not something you can use all the time or even for very long. My greater children, my Riders…"

He chuckled.

"I can wipe Humanity from the face of the Earth in a night," He said. "Could bring up a host even greater than the one that destroyed you the first time. The only reason I gave you this much time was because I needed you to be ready—and you obviously are. So I have no reason to hold back anymore or show any mercy. So you're going to let me out, because you have no choice. Since the very beginning, the only way this was ever going to end was between you and me."

I looked at him silently for a long moment, pursing my lips.

"So to keep you from killing them, I should let you out so you can kill me and then murder all of them anyway?" I mused aloud. "Not the best sales pitch, I must say."

I couldn't see his lips, but I thought he was smiling.

"Aw, what's this?" He asked. "You _still_ don't think you can win? All the cards are in your favor, your trump card is set up, and I'm betting that opened up a few new possibilities for you. Hell, you just smacked me around with barely any effort and you still too much of a pussy to come and have a go?"

"Seeing as you seem to really like the idea, I'm thinking no," I told him. "Doing what my archenemy wants me to do seems a tad foolish, no offense."

"You say that as though you have any room to negotiate," He replied.

This time, I chuckled, laughing quietly under my breath.

"While I could empathize if you found the idea of murdering countless people funny, I get the feeling that's not why you're laughing," He said, sighing slightly. "Which means I'm probably going to have to listen to you talk. Wonderful."

"It's only fair, seeing as you paused the game right before I _killed_ your ass," I retorted. "Trying to put off the inevitable like that…what are you, five?"

He couldn't roll his eyes as a black hole, but I was pretty sure he was trying.

"I thought it was odd," I continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "When I first saw you, you didn't look anything like a person—you looked like you do now—and when you did take a shape, you based it off _me._ Not as good-looking, of course, and more of an asshole—"

"Bitch, please," He muttered. "Not only was I better looking, but you're a smug prick at least ninety percent of the time."

I ignored him outright.

"But it made me wonder why. At first, I thought you might be hiding your identity, but I couldn't figure out why you'd even bother. Would I recognize you, put the pieces together if I saw your face? I wasn't sure and I didn't have any way of knowing the truth at the time regardless. Later, it just didn't seem important so I brushed it off as you being an asshole and left it at that. But even when you possessed Gilgamesh, when I had most of the pieces and you knew it, you didn't change shape. Why is that? Why would you even bother hiding your face when I already know it?"

At that, Malkuth was silent, but I could all but feel his glower.

It made me smile.

"But that's not it, is it?" I asked, voice taunting. "You're not trying to hide anything—you just don't remember anymore, do you?"

His form fluctuated violently, as if he were about to shift, to prove me wrong just to spite me—but he hesitated at the last moment, as if afraid he'd just prove my point. In doing so, he did anyway, and I laughed at him.

"It's weird, the things my power pulls up sometimes," I said. "One of my titles referred to the Grimm as 'creatures of anonymity.' I didn't think much of it, because hey—they all where masks. They don't have souls, either, things beyond the physical to set them apart. But what if there's more to it than that? Trapped above the world in the realms beyond the physical…it can be so hard to hold on to the little things, to keep them from slipping through the cracks. Cut off from the world, tied only to the Grimm and even then only lightly, it must have been rough. But it's a little funny, isn't it? How even after everything you took from me, I still remember who I am…and you don't? Identity and Anonymity. Odd how things come together sometimes, isn't it?"

I tilted my head, still smiling at him broadly.

"I remember what you looked like, you know," I said, just to be a dick. "And trust me—you're not missing anything."

"If you have a point, get to it," He said, his voice—devoid now of anything like an accent, anything unique—a growl.

"I wonder if I planned this," I mused. "I mean, hell, maybe if you stay here long enough, you'll lose the parts of you that make you a fucking prick. Though if a few thousand years didn't do it, I guess it's probably impossible—I suppose it's just part of what makes you _you_."

"I'll kill them," He said, his voice almost frighteningly empty. It wasn't angry, wasn't loud—it was soft, distant, and entirely devoid of anything human. "I'll kill your mother. I'll kill your sisters and daughter and friends. I'll have my Grimm do it slowly, let my Riders have their fun. They'll enjoy that after all this time, you won't. And I'll make you watch. You're strong enough to kill Gilgamesh, but I have mightier children and there are so many. You'll fall, you'll fail, and I'll make you see what it means."

I let all traces of amusement slip from my face, bringing up only the power running through me.

"And how much will you lose in the process?" I asked. "How long will it take for me to be reborn? A thousand years? Five? Ten? The fact that you've managed to hold onto yourself this long is miraculous—but you've lost things. You'll lose more. Can you really afford to wait? If you mobilize your forces to kill the people I love, what's to stop me from hanging you out to dry? To say fuck it and just take as many Grimm as possible down with me? You can't torture me. You can beat me, but you don't have the power to strong-arm me anymore."

I must have done this intentionally as well—done something to keep him from just wiping me out if I got to dangerous. For a long time, I thought I was the only one with time against them, but Malkuth had just as much to lose from too long a wait. If I lost and died, countless people would suffer and die before I had another chance—but Malkuth's identity would continue to erode. Slowly, given that he apparently had enough strength of will to hold on this long, but what was it like to live like that? Cut off from everything, knowing each day might take some of your mind away from you?

Death had stripped me of my past life quickly, but I wasn't so kind.

"What would you propose, then?" He asked at last.

"A ceasefire," I said. "For a time. You have things in motion and so do I—let's allow things to play out just a bit more before we force each other's hands."

He hummed for a moment, as if in consideration.

"Let me see," He said. "So I give you, a guy who grows at an exponential rate, a significant amount of time to continue to grow. I leave you to run around and kill my dudes, growing in power and versatility all while crippling my own ability to threaten you. And in return, I stay locked up in here? Not the best sales pitch, I must say."

"That's not what I meant by a ceasefire," I replied. "You don't attack the Kingdoms, I don't attack the Grimm. Not in any major way, at least—you won't stop killing people and I won't stop killing monsters on the small scale, but I won't kill your Knights yet and you won't wipe everything out."

"So you use Naraka instead?" He asked. "I can feel the Grimm within it, you know—don't think I can't. We may have made that technique together, but they're still _mine._ "

I filed that bit of information away and nodded slowly.

"Not even them, then," I said. "No loopholes, no tricks—we both just hold back for a while."

It wasn't a huge loss, all told—the amount of experience I got from most Grim was negligible at this point and while hunting the Knights would yield what I assumed were enormous quantities of experience, it seemed as though it would mean fighting Malkuth each and every time. It was still a loss because the points I gained from leveling were my easiest way to improve my stats, but…I had already reached the limit of Intelligence and Wisdom and I had other ways of improving my physical stats now.

Besides which, my true power had always been in my skills. I had a better feel for what I was up against, I just needed more time to learn and improve now. It wasn't as though I had much choice, anyway; it was this or throwing down _now_.

Malkuth was watching me, frowning—but I could see him considering it. Despite his threats, I had a feeling neither of us was in ideal condition for a real fight. I'd taken him by surprise with Metatron, the Red Rider was out of commission, Cinder was in the middle of doing whatever she was planning, and Death…I still needed to be sure of where he was. Conquest and the Knights were still lying in wait as well.

Beneath all of that, however, I knew what really concerned him—waiting for a while or waiting for thousands of years.

"How long would such a thing last?" He asked.

"Knowing you? Not long," I answered. "But you can attack any time you wish. You can kick things off any time you wish and I can't stop you—I just won't release you unless I think I have a chance of winning. Until then, the two of us just have to rig things as heavily in our favor as possible."

"And what guarantee do I have that you would ever let me out?" He asked.

"Neither of us have any guarantees," I told him. "But I want to kill you and you want to kill me. You already mentioned why I need to do the former; if you want to do the latter, you're just doing to have to play the game and time things right, same as me. We'll both be taking a risk, both be trying to win, and both doing everything in our power to make sure we do—and one wrong move would screw us both over."

He watched me silently and didn't answer.

"Now I call that _fair_ ," I said, emphasizing the word gently before clicking my tongue and smiling slightly, even as I crossed my fingers on the inside. "Or close enough."

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Final Strike**

I came back to my body with a crash, the power of Ohr Ein Sof leaping from my fingers in a rush of annihilating light. I saw it rush over Gilgamesh's body, a thin line piercing through the center of his chest and the portal therein, before the blast expanded. It lost all semblance of shape as a beam as it expanded, growing into a wave of light that could have dwarfed mountains and devoured cities. It blotted out the world in front of me as if someone had taken an eraser to a whiteboard, clearing it of everything in sight.

When it faded, everything in front of me was gone as if cut away by a surgeon's knife—and so were Malkuth and Gilgamesh.

Slowly, I let me hand drop to my side, the tension that had built up within me over the course of the fight easing as I relaxed, receiving what was perhaps the best possible confirmation I could ask for.

 **Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one! Your level has increased by one!**

I'd won.

I wanted to smile, laugh, cheer, and celebrate—but I didn't. I couldn't muster up the will to, in the end, couldn't relax quite that much. Because even though things had gone well, even though they'd gone better than I could have expected or hoped…that had been close. Too close for even me to be comfortable with, to not feel just a little tired and worried. It wasn't the fight, which had gone better than expected, all things considered, but what had come after; the negotiation between Malkuth and I. If I'd been wrong, if I'd made a mistake in my assumptions…everyone I loved would be dead right now, or in the process of getting there.

On a level, I'd known it would come to this—I knew better than to focus on an event to the exclusion of what came after. Defeating Gilgamesh and Malkuth was necessary to get to the computer and whatever laid within it, but even that was almost secondary to my real goal.

Buying time.

I had no other choice, when it came right down to it. I'd needed to find a way to forge a temporary armistice with Malkuth, because I'd known full well that if I let him out as I was, if I faced him at my current level of power…I'd lose. With Metatron active, it was possible I could have made it a _fighting_ defeat, but I'd had no delusions about how that fight would have ended—I would have died, followed by everyone I knew and loved.

And I couldn't allow that, not when I might have been able to stop it. But I'd also known that the moment I proved myself strong enough to do whatever it was Malkuth intended, he'd try to force my hand—to make me give him his freedom. I knew how far he could go to do it, too, and so there'd only been one way to go about doing it; putting us in a situation where neither of us could win, even if it meant gambling my life, with all of our lives.

But if I'd been mistaken about him, if he _had_ been willing to wait, if I'd been wrong…

I hadn't been I reminded myself. It was okay. I'd bought them, all of us, a bit of time.

How much time…that I wasn't sure of. I wasn't foolish enough to believe that Malkuth was going to stop being an asshole—sure, I could bend space and time to my whim, but I knew to keep my goals realistic. He wouldn't have agreed to my plan unless he'd had something in mind as well, I just wasn't completely sure what. Was he counting on Cinder's plan? Death? Or something else? How did any of those play into getting one over on me and making me obey?

There was no way of knowing yet—and depending on what he was scheming, I might not see the knife coming until it was too late.

That was one of the downsides to this little arrangement of ours—neither of us wanted to obey the rules; we just wanted the others to obey them and didn't want to suffer the consequences of breaking them ourselves. We'd both be trying to push the boundaries of the agreement, seeing which rules we could bend and which we could break. The only problem was that Malkuth was better equipped to skirt the edges of it than I was. His threat was that he'd start wiping nations off the map if I did anything, whereas mine was that I'd die fighting before letting him out. Sadly, he could do quite a bit without ending civilization, whereas I wasn't going to make him give a shit by doing anything _less_ than dying. The deal had been in his favor in that regard at least.

But then, it had to be. If he hadn't been able to see some advantage to it, he wouldn't have accepted the deal—and I stood to profit in other ways besides. It was unfortunate and less than ideal, but that was compromise, I suppose; everyone was a little bit unhappy. But I was happier then I would have been watching everyone die and however long I had, I'd just have to make the most of it.

I had to make the most of what I'd been given, by both life and my past self. Use this time to figure out a way to finish what I started.

It was almost funny, really. I couldn't go any further without the knowledge within the computer—and to reach that knowledge, I'd had no choice but think of a way to survive just a bit longer. That was my life, I suppose.

For a moment, everything was silent, muted by the simple fact that just about everything capable of making noise was gone. It was only after several seconds passed and she saw me relax that Raven spoke.

"Jian," She said. "Is it over?"

"Almost," I said, opening my eyes again. "We still have to get what we came for."

Raven nodded once, expression tight and hand still hovering by her sword; she was still expecting a trap, which seemed wise. I just wasn't sure if it would be a _physical_ trap.

Either way, we'd just have to deal with it.

Before that, however…as the items appeared before me, I snatched them up with my Psychokinesis and held them in the air before me. The exorbitant amount of money, I simple stored away, having no real use for it, but the others…a mask, a suit of armor, and one of those trange metallic plates like the one I'd gotten from my father.

 **You have obtained the item 'Enkidu.'**

 **You have obtained the item 'Utnapishtim.'**

 **You have obtained the skill book 'Shutur Eli Sharri.'**

I added them to my various collections as well and held out a hand to Raven, who took it.

Then, I gathered the power of Metatron around myself and slipped through the dimensional barrier that yet remained untouched, Trespassing with a simple act of will—and we entered the ancient city that had been left behind. In a way, it felt like venturing into the unknown, but in another…

It was like coming home.

Ozpin's words hadn't done it justice. The city was awe-inspiring, built to a scale that I had never seen. Building rose high, many of them towering hundreds of meters in the air, and they shined brilliantly in the light. The chaos of our battle thankfully hadn't touched anything on this side of the barrier and neither, it seemed, had the passage of time. The sun lit up gleaming towers of steel and glass, reflections casting yet more light down to the streets far below. The buildings seemed as if they'd been arranged carefully, the streets and skylines somehow artistic in placement, and even on a personal level it was remarkable. The buildings were somehow colored by the passage of light through them, turned the colors of the dusk and dawn, whilst the streets and sidewalks seemed polished into mirrors of black and white.

From top to bottom, each structure looked as though it were the masterpiece of some architect—and the city hadn't just been built _up_ , but also _out_. There were thousands of buildings—no, that was understating it; there were far over a _million_ , spanning everything from houses to factories to office buildings. The city seemed to roll over the land like grass over plains and hills, stretching out as far as the eye could see, and I was willing to bet that the artistic design applied to a bird's eye view of it, too.

All told, it was enormous. Large enough to fit the inhabitants of entire Kingdoms in, maybe the inhabitants of _all_ the Kingdoms—it was so large, in fact, that I had to catch myself as I started wondering what the point of it all even was, because it took me a moment to remember that at one point there had been people enough to justify such a thing. I'd known that mentally, of course, but even for me there was a difference between hearing talk of a civilization that had boasted a population of billions and seeing the truth of it.

At one time, cities like this had been all over the world, host to a Humanity that didn't have to hide or struggle to survive, that could grow and expand, explore and reach, dedicate themselves to such things as this.

And then, of course, the Grimm had come.

Remarkable as it was, I braced myself for the trap. I reached out with my senses, sending them into and through the city walls. Flecks of light rose from my skin and leapt to nearby surfaces, shining through them even as they mapped out my surroundings, flowing through surfaces and into walls as they touched upon what was within. I scanned the area, flickering through my various senses to better determine if there were discrepancies between layers of perception. Did something appear in one that was invisible to another? Were there marks or remnants that shouldn't have been there? Was there anything hidden and lying in wait.

I waited a moment, searching—and then frowned.

No. I didn't see any hidden traps or enemies and what traces I could find were faded to the extreme by time. When it came to the city itself, it was foreign enough to me that I wasn't sure what qualified as odd or unusual, but I didn't see anything that struck me as wholly out of place considering the overall design.

And yet, it felt…hollow, somehow, and I finally knew what Ozpin had meant. This was _real_ , yes, but it wasn't alive. It was as if everything beneath the surface had been cut away, all the things that should have made this a city, a place for people, a safe Haven, simply gone. Everything that could have carried power had stalled and died, the water was still and stagnant, the air was stale, and wherever there should have been life, even if only that of plants…there was nothing. There weren't even any signs of rot or decay, as if even those things had been halted. The city was perfectly intact, untouched by rust, overgrowth, or time, but it was like a piece of art—something beautiful to look at, but not meant for life or use.

The only question was, was that a natural part of whatever had created this barrier? Or the result of something else? The name Death sprang to mind, because if this place was anything, it was dead. A city this large, built like this…it could have been used as a shelter for people, a final bastion of mankind if everything went to hell—and if nothing else, I liked to thing I was pretty good at finding multiple uses for things. If I'd built this place, even if my primary goal had been to host and protect whatever was stored on that computer, I was fairly sure I would have gone the extra mile and made this place habitable. Why not, after all? It would have been a safe place for Mankind, a shelter for the innocent who may have suffered. Why not make that possible? There were have been downsides, risks, and concerns; there always were when you added the human element to the mix, even before addressing Auras and Semblances, but it would have been better that leaving them to die.

There was little reason not to make this a place that people could be safe in—and if people weren't a concern, why bother with an entire city.

But perhaps it simply hadn't been enough. Closing my eyes for a moment, I remembered what Conquest had said during our fight, about the things he and his brothers had done.

Then I started walking. I didn't let go of Raven's hand, carefully shielding her from our surroundings. While I knew Death was a soul-based weapon, I hadn't the slightest idea of what form he might take. Would he register to my Third Eye, even though the Grimm itself should have been soulless? Was there a material component to it here somewhere, a physical vector? Was I missing some sign of him, even now?

There was no way for me to know. So far, Death was the only one of the Riders that I hadn't definitely proven I could detect and until I did, I couldn't take anything for granted. With my senses, I liked to think I would notice whatever was going on in my vicinity, but if this was the one time I was wrong and it completely fucked up everything I'd been working for and planning…well, that'd be both tragic _and_ embarrassing.

Bring Raven along with me was a risk in that regard, but so long as she was close, we had options. With the power of Metatron, I should be able to enhance her portals with Trespasser, allowing us to put not only spacial but dimensional distance between us and any threat that appeared. That was one of the greatest powers Metatron granted me—control of my power and how it appeared. If Malkuth was the result, Metatron allowed me to adjust the equation. The core concept would remain the same, but the _details_ …those could be adjusted with ease. I could manifest an attack in its normal form, layer it over a physical object, form it into a barrier or personal force field, fire it as a beam or sphere; I could even simply emit it as light, inflicting the effect on anything I illuminated. A skill like Trespasser that was normally either a personal transfer or a shattering effect, I could cover another with, form into a doorway, or whatever else I chose.

It was one of the things I thought I could depend on even against Malkuth—and I kept it at the ready here. Adjust the effects here and there to either touch or evade Raven and I could prepare to drop Longinus as a space-rending explosion. It should work as a first line of defense.

"This way," I murmured to Raven as I sensed what we were looking for. We both moved with caution.

The building the computer was housed in was at the exact center of the city and it towered over those around it, reaching up to touch the clouds. It looked like a cross between a skyscraper and a palace, made out of similar materials as the rest of the city but crafted in such a way that the light shining through it made it softly glow. The colors shifted and changed minutely, too small for a regular eye to notice, but I saw it slowly shifting in tune with the sky above. At dusk or dawn, beneath the light of the moon, or even when the sun was at its peak, I was sure it would have looked magnificent.

But I wasn't here to sightsee and so I opened the door with an effort of will and entered the building.

Taking a look around, I quickly came to the conclusion that Ozpin flat-out sucked at describing things. Had I looked at it only from the outside, I might have expected something like a grand hall or even a throne room—but what awaited us within held more in common with a laboratory than anything. It was clean, sterile even by the standards of the city, and it looked as though it had once been full of things, from strange devices to odd stone tablets. There were what might have once been forms of storage, from glass tubes to screens, and an entire wall of what must have once been samples.

I say 'once' because while the rest of the city appeared almost bizarrely untouched, this place looked as though it had been ransacked and torn apart. All the items had been rent apart in a fury, torn to scrap metal and broken glass. I saw traces of what might have once been biological samples, through whatever had left them was utterly gone, as well as chemical residues. To one side, there was a reinforced but empty room that I assumed had been meant for containing experiments, but the door had been torn off and the viewing window shattered. The walls bore claw marks, as did the ceiling and floor, and I could see other things purely by their absence here, with items that should have been there and items of shelves simply gone.

It was a ruin—but for one area that was completely untouched. Near the center of the room there was a raised platform, empty of anything at all, but none of the chaos went anywhere near it.

I frowned for a moment, actually allowing the expression to show as I considered the room and what lay beneath the surface. This place was more than it appeared—or rather, more then it currently was. It was hard to describe, but from the way my power flowed through this place, it felt as if it wasn't meant to exist like this, to be all in one place. Parts of it should have been separated by spacial and dimensional barriers, held continents apart but still connected. Things like that containment room were meant to be isolated from the rest of the world, so that behind a thin pane of glass, anything could happen. Want to test out what happens when you have a ping-pong tournament with matter and anti-matter? Do it inside the room to avoid fucking up everything else. Similarly, the entrances and exits of this room were meant to lead to more than just the next rooms over, but to connect this place to another through permanently twisted doorways.

But instead…it _was_ here. All of it was present in this one time, this one place. It felt wrong, somehow, even if all the pieces seemed to fit together seamlessly; there was a kind of feedback.

Even so, it didn't keep me from feeling what lay beneath and around the platform. Circuitry, of a sort, though the connections twisted and broke oddly, seeming to go nowhere. Yet were everything else was dead, I could feel _something_ within it.

This was the 'computer.'

I hesitated before I approached. If there was ever a time to spring a trap, it was now. That was how I'd do it, at least, conceal it as best I was able and make sure to strike when the target's guard was down. Whatever was inside the computer, it seemed safe to assume it would be distracting one way or another, and as soon as the target's attention was elsewhere, I'd strike.

But I couldn't sense anything. I scanned the room with my senses, sent out waves of searching light, glowing softly as I altered the way my senses manifested, and more, but I couldn't find a thing. Were my opponents that good at hiding or was there truly nothing there?

Either way, I had work to do.

Gently squeezing Raven's hand in a signal, I let go of it and stepped away. She let it fall to her side but kept her fingers open, ready to lift it to her sword in an instant as she watched over me as I made my way towards my goal. Remaining calm as ever, I strode up to the platform, stepped atop it, and knelt in a place where I saw vague traces of something.

The moment I did, I felt something wash over me, the feeling somewhere between that of distant attention and the touch of cold air. It ran over my skin, _looking_ at me, and I felt it touch my Aura as if to analyze it. The circuitry that had seemed to go nowhere was lighting up, filling with the patterns of my own Aura as it used me as a power source and I could see where another person standing in the same place might have created a different configuration. Whatever the results were for me, they seemed to appease it, but instead of doing anything it seemed to wait and grow colder until a feeling like ice seemed to fill my veins, my head.

For a moment, I was uncertain—because this wasn't what I'd expected when it came to computers and passwords. If anything, given how everything was arranged…it was like the _user_ served as the computer.

Ah, I realized, lowering my gaze to the floor. And with a sensation like the tap of a keyboard, I remembered what it had been like to learn my true name—Metatron. The memory I had inherited with Arcana, the feelings that had gone with it, everything.

And with a sensation like the final keystroke on a computer, I felt a lock give way and a doorway open—and with a sensation like breaking glass, time stopped.

"Hello," A voice said. "You must be me, then."

I would have blinked once, had my body not been halted as well. I tried to hone in on the source, but found that my senses weren't working as they were supposed to, failing to reveal anything out of the ordinary—but then I mentally clicked my tongue, understanding what was happening. Slowly, carefully, I stood up from my own body, Projecting myself but differently, letting Metatron color the results. My spirit left my body behind and I closed my eyes for a moment before turning around and opening them.

As I did, I saw a figure who didn't appear to any of my other senses, because he existed only in my…not quite my _mind_ , as such, but within the system I was now a part of. He had no physical presence, no spirit, beyond what I created with a self-imposed illusion, but as I crafted the Delusion it slipped from my hold in an odd way and the figure began to move in his own right. He was about my height, perhaps a little shorter, with hair somewhere between auburn and blonde and lightly tanned skin. We didn't look much alike build-wise, either; I was taller and built stronger, while he was more…honestly, the only word I could really use was statuesque. He looked like an actor to my warrior, which probably wasn't a coincidence given our natures, and I wondered absently precisely how much was defined by our powers. It must have been at least a few things, seeing as our eyes were the same color.

 _Exactly_ the same color.

"Hello," I greeted, smiling slowly. "That would be me, yes. Should we bother with introductions seeing as we're the same person or just skip the formalities?"

"I wouldn't consider it a _bother_ ," He said. "Unlike you, my knowledge of the situation is somewhat limited. It's rather difficult to prepare for something so far in advanced. By now, you no doubt know me as Keter, seeing as you must have already remembered our _true_ name, and it's hopefully safe to assume you're my reincarnation, unless I failed and made some dramatic oversight. May I ask for your name, then?"

"Jaune Arc," I said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Keter. I assume you're a record of some kind? Not quite an AI, but—"

"Not quite a person," He finished, smiling. "Yes. There was only so much I could do on short notice, especially with so much uncertainty involved, so I borrowed this trick. To make things simple, you could consider me an interactive daydream of sorts; I contained what I could within this place, keyed it to parts of our soul as tightly as I could, and…here we am. I'm not an independent being, per se—if anything, I'm just a projection of your soul upon itself, drawing from what was locked within this."

He tapped a foot on the platform and I imagined it making a sound.

"Interesting," I mused. "We couldn't rely on our own memories, so we hid them somewhere else—somewhere Malkuth couldn't risk tampering with."

"Precisely," He agreed. "Though memories might not be precisely the right word. Matters of the soul do have a tendency towards the complex, ours in particular. In a way, it's more like I locked some of our time away. Our past and future history? Our life? I apologize; I don't think there's a word in your language for it."

"I figured a few things might be lost in translation," I told myself. "Don't worry about it—whatever the case, I'm glad for this chance to finally see myself. I was a bit worried, you see; as you probably expected, I don't remember much about my previous life—and I remember more of the early days than the later ones. Death's work, but you obviously suspected much."

He nodded in understanding.

"It wouldn't make sense for Malkuth to leave us with much, given the chance to take things away," He said. "It'd leave us with too many advantages, after all, too much knowledge of how things work. Returning to our full power would still have taken time, but vastly less than he would have liked. Luckily, it seems you didn't have too much trouble making progress—I hope you didn't have too much trouble on the way in."

"I had to fight Gilgamesh," I said before shrugging. "And Malkuth, through him. I managed."

"That's good to hear," He replied. "And Death?"

I sighed, shoulders falling slightly.

"Not here, as near as I could tell," I answered and at that, the memory looked surprised. "Unless he has some means of hiding extremely well that I couldn't counter, which could be bound. I take it he was supposed to be here?"

The image of Keter hesitated.

"I don't know anything for certain, of course," He began, musing as much to himself as to me. "I wasn't active for any of the intervening time. But…I'd _suspected_ he would be here."

I nodded, having figured as much myself. Having seen this place now, knowing more about it, things didn't add up. It didn't make sense for Malkuth not to leave anyone inside, just in case. It was always possible, after all, that I might have snuck in without Gilgamesh or his cronies noticing, so it only made sense to have someone stand watch within, to sound the alarm if nothing else. That was, in part, why I _hadn't_ tried to sneak in—the last thing I needed was to run into one problem, have them say a word, and end up as the meat in a Grimm sandwich.

And if it were to be anyone, I'd thought it would probably be Death. The one who'd scrubbed me clean last time—if I were to learn of anything untoward, something Malkuth hadn't expected and couldn't handle, it made sense to have him on hand to make sure I didn't get a chance to use it. Failing that, Death seemed pretty much bound to be the greatest of the Riders and the most likely to still be able to ruin the day of someone who made it past a small army of super Grimm. It even fit with the general state of things here, the emptiness and _lack_.

And yet, there hadn't been anyone waiting for me. It had been suspicious as all hell from the very beginning, leaving only a small handful of options.

The first was that it was a trap—which was still a possibility. Death _could_ be lying in wait, positioned somewhere I couldn't see even with Metatron active. That'd take some pretty serious space-time fuckery at the very minimum, but Malkuth probably could have managed it if he'd had a chance. If so, I could expect unpleasantness as soon as I left this dream sequence.

As much as I dreaded the possibility of that happening, though, I almost hoped it was the case—because the second was, if anything, even more worrying, though for different reasons. That Death simply wasn't here, that something had convinced it to leave its position, something that changed things. But Death was a Rider and must have had a host, and I knew of one person who might have served that purpose. Was this the proof I'd needed to prove Ozpin's true nature? The inconsistencies, the lack, everything?

Maybe. I really, truly hoped not, but _maybe_.

If there was ever a time for me to be wrong, though, I'd really like for it to be now.

Either way, though…I'd have to deal with that as I came to it.

"I'll handle Death, one way or another," I said. "For now…you know what I'm looking for."

He looked at me for a moment and then smiled, lifting an empty hand.

"It may not be what you wanted," He warned before lifting the other as well. "But it may be what you need. Would you like to know? The reasons behind it all and…the nature of Metatron's Cube?"

I nodded and reached out to grasp his hand—and the world dissolved beneath my feet.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Tenth Interlude - Metatron**

Even without looking, I sensed him long before he came into sight, the connection between us—the separated pieces of a billion souls—naturally reacting. Figuring out what had happened was trivial, given what I sensed from him and past experience, but there was still the matter of deciding how to respond. I was many things to many people, after all, even as all of those things were me. I decided who I was, what I was, and manifested accordingly. I could be a friend, an enemy, a leader, a teacher, a student, or anything else I chose.

But this time, I approached Malkuth as 'The Brother.'

In that way, I felt myself change in a way that wasn't visible, wasn't even truly _physical_. Some of the powers I'd held in my previous role fell away, new ones arising even as others altered. A sensory ability that began providing more details, a defensive ability that could be projected and surround a distant person, an ability to shift damage onto myself, and many others besides. Things I was capable of, but altered in how they were expressed, just as a fireball might manifest as a conflagration in one role or a burning sword in another.

None of those things were what I was after right now, however, so I left them aside.

"Couldn't sleep, brother?" I asked, literally radiating a feeling of comfort and safety as I entered the room.

"When can I ever?" He said with a slight shrug, never taking his eyes off the symbols that filled the air before him. He was making adjustments every few seconds, altering the experiment he was working on to see how it changed the results. I could have become 'The Scientist' and unraveled it with a glance, but it could wait. "There's a reason I don't even bother trying. You should have just kept me awake."

"You were tired," I answered as I moved to his side and took a seat. "You stretched yourself too far in that last experiment, breaking down the barriers between matter and energy like that. I won't deny that the results were fascinating, but containing them the way you did…"

I shrugged a shoulder.

"I thought you deserved the rest," I continued. "It has been most of a decade since you last slept. Even the others sleep now and then."

"Except for you," He noted with a snort and a glance. "The only times you ever sleep are when you want to walk through dreams. Don't think I didn't see you."

I smiled.

"But you didn't have nightmares, did you?" I asked. "I kept them all at bay. So why are you _really_ up?"

Malkuth was silent for a long moment, lips pulled into a slight frown as he shifted his gaze away from his work and stared into space.

"It was odd," He said at last. "Sleeping. Being able to sleep without remembering the lives and deaths that made me. Odd, somehow. So when I realized what was happening, I willed myself awake."

At that, I sighed.

"Would you like to tell me why?"

"I would, if I knew," He mused softly. "But even I'm not sure. Maybe…maybe I'm just not sure who I am without it. The nightmares and dreams, histories and tragedies…it reminds me that I'm just the sum of my parts."

"I'd say you're more than that," I replied.

"Would you?" He asked me. "If you stripped away all the lifetimes I remember, all the people I know I once was, all the memories I have—what would be left of me? From the moment I was born, I knew exactly what I was and where I'd come from, because I remembered every moment of it. Everything I did, I did for them. Because of them."

"Did you really?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Is it because of them that you're here with us now?"

He was silent, expression briefly unsure and then blank.

"You remember countless lifetimes," I continued. "And most of them ended in tragic ways. You are, in a way, the sum of those people—but at the say time, there's more to people than simple math. What you remember made you who you were, but you've lived with those memories and created your own, same as I have. None of those people acted like you did, because none of them remember all the things you do. Those lives ended and continued in you, but…you're more than the sum of your parts."

He remained quiet for several more seconds before sighing.

"Maybe," He whispered at last. "Maybe. But sometimes, it's hard to believe. I joke and laugh and I remember Rahel doing the same. I make something and it's Urdu's work I see. Sometimes, I even feel like it's what I should see, what I should remember—because if I don't remember, who else ever will? It's been less than twenty years and I'm the only one who still cares. Who still even _knows_ everyone who died."

"That's a hard way to live a life," I said. "As a memorial to something lost, instead of as a person. Is that what you want to be?"

"No," He answered at once. "I hate it. In fact, sometimes I think I even—"

He cut himself off and looked down.

"It doesn't matter," He said. "It's stupid."

"If it worries you this much, it's not stupid," I replied. "And it seems to have gotten you working pretty hard."

Malkuth's eyes snapped back to the symbols in the air before he closed his hand and dismissed them all.

"That's something stupid, too," He said, looking embarrassed and guilty. "A dumb idea I had."

"About what?" I asked.

He hesitated for a moment before shrugging and admitting the truth.

"Nehemoth," He said. "And the Qliphoth."

I hummed in response.

'Qliphoth.' It was a word with many meanings. The literal translation of the word was 'husks', 'peels', or 'shells'—things that concealed, contained, and protected, but which were inevitably left behind. In that regard perhaps 'Remnants' was a better way of thinking about the term. They were what was left behind.

In one sense, the Qliphoth was meant to be a hypothetical inversion of sorts, the shadows left by the Sephirot when they were imbalanced. Not the _absence_ of them, per se, but perhaps more the singularity or corruption of them—Gevurah, untampered by kindness or restraint, became Golachab. They were untampered, wasteful, and incomplete.

In another, however, it was a theory. The Sephirot were considered to be the 'matter' of the soul and thus far, only those ten types had been identified. There were no Qliphoth elements or at least none that had been thus identified. Instead, they were considered to be something else; hypothetical states that the material of the soul could assume in the proper conditions. It had been an area of interest to the Angels, but not one that had gone very far. One of the Sephirot out of control was still itself, it didn't change in properties or nature. As a result, the Qliphoth had been more a matter of thought and philosophy than of science.

But then, someone had come up with a different way of pursuing the idea, altering their plan for going about it. Instead of focusing on the natural expressions of the Qliphoth, which seemed to do nothing if they even really existed, they chose to attempt to create such a thing for themselves—touching upon the divine with the physical, just as the physical was naturally touched by the divine, creating something extraordinary from base materials. To take the brief and momentary expressions and distill them down into a finished product, to see how it would take shape. It wasn't unprecedented, after all, for the Angels had done similar things before. Alchemy was one example, at least in terms of the end goal. Transubstantiation, the alteration of a physical objects inherent essence to create Dust…it was difficult, something they did only rarely when they had easier methods of acquiring it. But it was most definitely _possible._

One couldn't create something apart from the Tree of Life, of course—that would, in a very literal since, be like trying to create something apart from existence—and that wasn't the point. All things took shape in Malkuth, the Sephirot above it flowing down and becoming something definite and defined. Some things could draw more from the spheres above then other; indeed, _most_ things could be said to do that, even without taking into account Aura. But that was the point of the Sephirot, to establish boundaries, differences, and allow for things to exist in different shapes, as different people.

The Qliphoth, too, wouldn't be something set apart, but created _from_ , and there were natural examples of that, as well. Things that go out of control, knowledge that was hidden, lies and deceptions, those were all supposed forms of the Qliphoth, they just weren't 'useful' forms, nor did they have interesting or meaningful applications. A parent lost their temper and screamed at their child, a man took a bribe or lied, people hurt and killed one another, and those things were bad—but what did it really matter?

That was the actual, honest question—where was the line drawn between the body and the soul, a change in Gevurah and a simple loss of temper, and did it make any actual difference, in the end?

By and large, the answer was that no, it didn't, except in literal theory—because that was what the Qliphoth were to the Angels, an attempt to further their understanding of the soul and it's pieces. There were countless theories about the soul, but none of them accounted for everything, even when the math said they should have and they broke the soul down to its most basic level. When all was said and down, he Qliphoth were the remainders, the errors that took shape in the system and needed to be accounted for; the reason why, even if you made two people with the exact same 'amount' of each Sephirot, the results would still differ wildly. In the end, people were separated by their differences and imperfections, their souls distinct no matter what said they shouldn't be. The Qliphoth were something even less 'physical' than the Sephirot and yet undeniably there.

I could see why Malkuth was interested in them, given his own situation. If one could theoretically examine those unseen pieces, if one could understand and prove and account for them, then they should be able to completely understand the nature of the soul. That was why the Angels had been so interested in the field, despite their meager results. In fact, one could even argue that it had been one of the reasons they'd created the Archangels, creating macro-souls to better glimpse the mechanics underlying it all.

A part of me wondered if that had born any fruit, before they all died.

"An interesting topic, to be sure," I allowed after a moment. "Have you made any progress thus far?"

"Only a bit," He answered after another moment of hesitation. "I looked into the information we took from the Angels, but it was difficult to find anything definitive on the subject."

"There hadn't _been_ anything definitive on the subject," I said. "That was rather the issue, in fact."

"True, but I'd hoped there'd been a breakthrough of some kind, that one of them had figured out something before we killed them all," He replied, letting loose a quiet sigh. "Doesn't seem that way."

I nodded quietly, considering the matter carefully.

"Would you like us to help you?" I asked, meeting his eyes as he looked towards me. "I can't speak for the others, but I'm sure they'd agree to help if you asked them to—and I know that I will, if you let me."

Malkuth hesitated again, looking at me uncertainly.

"I wouldn't want to drag everyone into my business," He murmured, looking down. "I know this is…that it would tread into uncomfortable territory for most of them. The experiments, the memories, the nature of the soul…I don't want to do that to them."

I bumped my shoulder against his and smiled at him.

"I know you don't," I said. "But that's why they'd do it anyway. Come on, you look like you need so help. Even if it's just me, you know I'll be fine."

He bit his lip for a moment before nodding, at once seeming embarrassed and relieved.

"Okay," He said after a moment. "Do you have any ideas, then?"

"It depends," I asked. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

"I was thinking—and don't laugh, okay?" He interrupted himself to ask, continuing when I gave him a nod. "I was thinking that if souls could be gathered—"

He gestured between the two of us.

"Can they be _separated_?" He continued. "I mean, obviously they _can_ , because that's what the Angels did to make us. But instead of being reduced to pieces, could they become something separate and distinct?"

"Like the Preta?" I asked, thinking of the ruined spirits that the Angel's experiments had sometimes left behind. The hungry ghosts, complete enough to retain something of who they were and damaged enough that it only meant they suffered. So far, they hadn't found any way of fixing that and it wasn't the most desirable of fates besides.

"Sort of," He said. "But I was thinking still _whole_ , just…scattered. All parts of the same person, a single being, just with many bodies and minds."

"Distributing the memories?" I guessed. "Dividing the souls that created you to see what changed and what remained?"

He didn't deny it, so I fell silent for a moment.

"That sounds like it would be more my domain than yours," I said at last. "Not to mention the fact that none of the souls within you are complete any more. Even if you separated them, they wouldn't be anything like they were, even if they could exist separate from you."

"What if they had a physical form?" He asked. "A body to inhabit, even if they weren't completed souls."

"A physical form?" I asked, musing over the possibility. It was intriguing in its own way. What if I were to separate my soul in such a fashion and distribute it amongst something _real_? Ascribing roles to fragments of myself. If it was flesh used, it might be possible to create a Homonculus, but even putting a side the potential moral forms, why bother with something so limited? If I provided the power to give it shape, I could create a body for…anything. The wind, the rain, fire and earth, maybe even greater things.

And if Malkuth did what he was suggesting and did it right…tied the pieces to bodies and bound them to this world…

Slowly, the connection with the Qliphoth became clearer. In theory, if they were too take shape anywhere, it would have to be in Malkuth. Most of them could only be differentiated from their corresponding Sephirot by thought or action; they had no meaning, otherwise. A common way of illustrating the Qliphoth was by setting it _beneath_ the Tree of Life, in fact, with Keter at the uppermost point and Thaumiel at the lowest, implying that if the Sephirot covered the canopy and the trunk of the tree, the Qliphoth were the roots, hidden deep in the darkness. And the points where those two sides connected? In Malkuth and Nehemoth.

But what was Nehemoth? It was, if anything, the least defined of the Qliphoth, the hardest to grasp—but what was the shadow of the physical realm?

The Qliphoth as a whole were like a second tree of life, one representing Sitra Ahra—the so-called 'Other Side.' But what was it? I had no idea, truthfully, but if Malkuth was the endpoint that resulted from the spheres that came before it, Nehemoth should be the same with the Qliphoth, the point where concepts became realities. And if no one knew what those realities _were_ , if no one truly knew what Nehemoth or the other Qliphoth _could_ be…what did that imply?

I wasn't sure, but…

"What did you have in mind?" I asked carefully.

"What do you think of reincarnation?" Malkuth asked, out of the blue.

I allowed my eyebrows to rise, but waited a moment before answering. They were working on altering states of matter, trying to create different things in pursuit of their more distant goal. It was hard to say how quickly they were progressing, simply because there was no way to know what the results would look like when they found them. Was creating semi-solid lasers a step in the right direction? Orbs that reverted into lightning bolts once a current was applied? Things that weighed more than their mass should have allowed or possessed strange properties?

Things had changed since they'd gotten started decades ago, grown. From the very beginning, all of them had been unprecedented and so knowing how to best use their own power was something they had been forced to find out for themselves—and so they had. Exploring new possibilities and venues, crafting new techniques and fields of study, and they'd built upon what they had and what had been left behind.

The place they were in now was somewhere between a laboratory and a factory—the place where we created wonders. Taken on its own, it was nothing, because it could not function without the power they worked upon it. But when they worked together, they could produce things that would have been considered impossible anywhere else.

Largely because they would have _been_ impossible, anywhere else. Much of what we did required Malkuth's power to make the laws of physics more agreeable. Crafting materials that were simultaneously extremely rigid and supremely flexible was normally fairly difficult, but exceptions could be made by force, if necessary. Natural reactions delayed to see what occurred if something _didn't_ explode when it was supposed to, tests to see what might happen if one forced the laws of geometry to make something that was both circular and triangular, if matter was made to occupy the same place. Different forms, hypothetical states, even the products of theories that were proven false, made correct for a time. What they'd learned in the process was almost impossible to describe outside of it, simply inapplicable in places where natural laws had no choice but to behave themselves, but _here_ …

The others got involved from time to time and always paid attention to the results and what we were creating, but by and large this was _their_ lab, _their_ work. The Archangel that governed this world and the one that was least attached to it, forcing it to stretch and conform to see what happened, where errors popped up and holes emerged.

Of course, the results were short-lived without Malkuth's power to sustain them and were quickly ground down by the basic laws of mathematics. I could adjust things somewhat myself, altering the state of myself and my power, but there were limits still, things we had yet to overcome. My power was more personal, a matter of definition rather than of being defined. Still, there were places I could reach and things I could do that even Malkuth could not, reaching above to add new factors and variables to the system.

That was what I was working on now, in fact; I was attempting to raise something above the realm of Malkuth, however slightly, and then draw it back. If—or rather, _when_ —we managed it, we'd see what state it returned in and then if it could be brought back in other forms instead. Things could be hard to change in worlds of concrete laws and rules, but if you stripped them down to the most basic level, to thoughts and concepts and ideas, and _then_ made them real again, there was no telling what would happen.

Sadly, it wasn't going well. There were rules and limitations they still hadn't mapped out and their progress was proving slow.

Still, it was rare for Malkuth to talk about something else while they were working and it was a clear sign that he considered the question important. I just wasn't certain how to respond. I rolled the question around in my head for a moment, trying to take it apart and see if there was more too it, but nothing I did found me answers. Truthfully, it wasn't something I spent a great deal of time thinking about, because _death_ wasn't something I spent much time thinking about, for several reasons.

The first was fairly obvious. When I lifted my eyes to stare at my brother for a moment, he hadn't aged a day in all the years that had passed—just as none of us had. Whether that was a natural product of the amount of the Sephirot that had been gathered within us or how much Aura we possessed or something else, we still weren't entirely certain, but neither of us looked like anything but men in our early twenties. Never _would_ look older than that, near as we could tell, because we'd never age beyond out primes, never die of natural causes. And given the power we'd learned to wield, the natural defenses we had in place, it was unlikely we'd die of anything but direct, personal action of another being and there were few that were up to the task. Really, our odds of killing one another were better than the chances of anyone else doing it.

And wasn't that a sobering thought?

"In what sense?" I finally asked, feeling concerned enough to ask for clarification. "Scientifically? Metaphysically? Personally?"

"Yes," Malkuth answered simply. "I just want to know what it is to you."

I pursed my lips for a long moment before answering.

"Scientifically, it's a proven process, more or less," I mused. "The Angels identified enough souls and later found ones that were exceedingly similar again that it's almost certainly real. There's still a great deal we don't understand about it, though, and answers weren't forthcoming."

"Because they don't remember anything," Malkuth replied. "Nothing of their lives, of the intervening time."

We both remember, in our own ways, I noted. In a technical sense, one might argue that we're both reincarnations, though I wasn't certain how applicable that was to this. As in many things, neither of us were standard or meant to be taken as the norm, so instead I nodded.

"Yes," I said. "And because there can be significant delays to the process, for whatever reason, it was hard to research in a controlled environment. Should someone die, it might be decades or centuries before they return, at which point they will inhabit completely different bodies, possess no memories of their past lives, and apparently be wholly different people. It is believed that certain personality traits remain, certain elements of the original life, but it is hard to prove such things definitively and it's possible that anyone who made such connections was simply projecting what they wanted to see. As will many aspects of the soul, nothing could be said for certain."

Malkuth nodded and went silent for a moment before speaking again.

"The Angels didn't see it as any different from ceasing to exist entirely," He stated. "Some even considered it a worse fate than becoming a Preta, given the choice."

"The Angels were afraid of many things," I answered, shrugging a shoulder slightly. "Death was one of them."

"Are you not afraid of death?" Malkuth asked.

I considered that.

"I'm not afraid of death, in and of itself," I mused. "Though I can imagine circumstances where I might be afraid to leave things behind. Nonetheless, given the unique state of my soul, it is likely that I would stand out from others and you and the others are immortal. Assuming you don't die along with me, it's likely you'll be able to find me again."

"You wouldn't be you, though," He stated.

"I wonder," I said. "Is that true? I am the Archangel associated with Keter, that which lies above the mind's comprehension, and I hold a concentration of it that's impossible to find anywhere else. When I was born, I knew who and what I was, even if I didn't remember it like you did. If I died and was reborn, would I truly be wiped clean, or would some things still persist? If anything should carry between bodies, wouldn't it be that which is contained in Keter? It's possible I'll still be myself, after."

"But what if you weren't?" He asked. "If you did _forget_?"

Ah.

"If you died, I'd find you, however long I had to wait," I stated simply. "Whatever happens, you're my little brother after all."

Malkuth made a face and looked away, but I saw him relax for a moment before tensing again.

"Would I be?" He asked. "Really? True, Keter might persist between lives to one degree or another and I might even be able to arrange something for myself when the time comes, but if I was reborn, lost everything, and became something new, in what way would I be me?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "No one else seems to, either. But I'd like to believe that something would remain, even if only through luck or our strange natures—if nothing else, I'd want to hold on to hope. If nothing else, however, perhaps we'd meet each other elsewhere."

"Where?"

I shrugged again.

"Souls remain _somewhere_ when they aren't inhabiting bodies," I said. "Somewhere above the Tree of Life. Whatever process governs the laws of reincarnation, logic would dictate that there is _some_ benefit to the process or why would souls even bother? As a result, even if we couldn't remember here, perhaps we might remember _there_."

"In Heaven?" Malkuth asked in a wry tone. "Do you believe there is one?"

"I don't know," I admitted again. "As it's usually portrayed? Perhaps not. I'm not certain what would qualify as an eternal paradise, especially for people like you and I. I don't have many good memories of people who call themselves Angels, either, and when it comes to God…truthfully, I'm not certain I _want_ to believe there's a being of such power, who could create a Universe as grand as this and yet still allow things like you and I to happen, letting countless souls be torn apart for someone's curiosity. With all you remember, do you feel any differently?"

"If there's actually a God, he owes everyone who became me an apology," Malkuth said. "But then what do you believe in."

"I _want_ to believe that there's something beyond death, waiting to be unveiled," I said. "Or else death would so boring. Wouldn't you like to unravel the mysteries of what awaits us? We know that _something_ exists, after all; it's simply a matter of finding it and understanding it."

"I think that would be more frustrating than anything else," He answered. "Those who reincarnate don't remember what happens between lives, after all. I have no use for mysteries I'm not allowed to learn the answer to."

"Perhaps so," I allowed. "But I would be a way to pass the time. And if possible…I'd like to meet you and the others there, should we all die together. Anything else would be saddening, so I'm willing to label that possibility 'Heaven.'"

Malkuth went silent again for a long minute before slowly cracking a smile.

"Maybe," He said. "Yeah, I suppose."

"What got you so interested in reincarnation all of a sudden?" I asked him.

"I was just considering something," He said. "What might happen if we succeed, if I separate myself while remaining connected? What would it be like? Like dying, perhaps, or being reborn?"

"We don't have to go through with it, even if we figure everything out," I told him. "We're just exploring the possibilities, still. If you're worried…"

"I'm worried," He murmured. "But…maybe a bit intrigued, too. It's strange…I don't know. But I want to know what we might find, where it might take us. Even if it takes a thousand years to figure everything out…I want to know."

"Then we'll find out," I promised.

 **XxXXxX**

"Any progress?" Malkuth asked as he entered our lab again. Blue and yellow symbols fluctuated and glowed above his left hand, writing notes to one of his storage systems, but he hardly seemed to pay any attention to it as he entered. It had been some time since they'd last spoken, as they'd both been distracted by other projects and chosen to pursue their research separately for a time before comparing notes.

It probably said something about them that it had been several months since we'd last seen one another but we acted as if no time at all had passed. Immortality didn't make days pass any faster, but it seemed to give them less import after a while. Time flew when one was having fun and if a few weeks happened to pass by in the background…well, what of it?

And I had certainly been having fun.

"Oh, quite a bit," I said, smiling brilliantly.

"Do tell," Malkuth replied, gesturing and causing the floor to ripple and rise into a seat.

"I think we may have made some faulty assumptions when it came to matters of the soul," I replied, raising a hand. At once, the air began to ripple and gather, swirling throughout the room centered on a space just above the palm of my hand. Slowly, a form seemed to take shape, shifting in and out of transparency as the edges of the winds took color and shape. Soon, there was a tiny figure, no more than six inches in height, floating just above my hand. "Malkuth, meet Stribog."

"Stribog?" He asked, blinking as he looked at the new figure before his eyes widened and he leaned forward in his seat. "You did it?"

"In a way," I said. "I had a bit of inspiration and an idea came to me, so I began an experiment that bore fruit. As you already know, I've been trying to empower something physical with a part of myself, to give it a role and place in its own right even as it remained a part of me, but nothing I did seemed to work even if everything we knew seemed to be correct. So finally, I went back to basics—because if the results don't match what we think we know, then there are only three possibilities; our results are in error, our observations are in error, or our _knowledge_ is in error. So I threw out everything I thought I knew and started all over again."

"And you found something," He stated. "What?"

"We began with the assumption that whatever I did, I would be adding something new to the equation," I replied. "That I would be pouring a soul into an empty vessel, essentially. The air, the water, the wind—whatever I chose. After all, only living things have souls, right?"

He frowned.

"Normally I'd say yes, but given the context of the conversation so far, I assume the answer is actually no?" He asked, sounding vaguely baffled.

"Exactly," I said. "When I started questioning the basic theories we'd built our assumptions on, I started to wonder exactly what separated things that had souls from those that didn't. Was it life? But when you got down to it, life is nothing but a biological process. So I began to wonder if that process was somehow key and examined a variety of different species, starting with the creatures most closely related to Mankind and diverging further and further. I tested fungi, plants, insects, fish, and more. By the time I got to algae and sponges, which I think we can agree are fairly different from humans, biologically speaking, and yet _still_ proved capable of manifesting an Aura, I concluded that the only common denominator was that they were all organic. I even experimented with several kinds of single-celled lifeforms, just to be sure."

"That sounds like it would have been tricky," Malkuth noted. "I hope you took precautions, as well. I'd hate for you to have created some kind of magical super plague."

"No need to worry," I stated. "Wormwood is remarkably well-behaved and has promised not to plot against Mankind while I'm still alive."

"The sad part is that I don't know if that's a joke or not," Malkuth murmured to himself. "Pretending it is for my own sake, however—we knew this. Only living things can generate an Aura. Except maybe not?"

"Yes, yes," I gestured towards him, rolling my eyes slightly as I ignored that last part. "We 'know' that. But I was wondering _why_. It's not a matter of sapience, clearly, or even a matter of sentience once you get to a low enough level. What is it about a particular mixture of hydrogen and carbon that decides what does and doesn't have a soul?"

"I have no idea," He answered.

"Neither did I," I said. "And I couldn't find one, either, couldn't make since of why it was true when I chose not to accept it as fact. With the existence of reincarnation, we know that while souls may attach themselves to living things, they can and do exist outside and beyond them. One doesn't have a soul, one simply has a body. Is it a matter of choice on the soul's part then, a desire for a living and active form? But a variety of living species are scarcely more active than, say, water or air molecules. And because of the Sephirot, we know that all things come from the same source, the Light taking shape through the descent to Malkuth; that's as true for earth and steel as it is for human flesh and the soul. And if we're made of the same thing, with only a slight change in somethings molecular structure allowing for life, then what's the difference, really?"

"I still have no idea," He said again when I paused for him. "Are you going to explain at some point or…?"

"What if there's no difference?" I asked him. "What if it's not a matter of presence, but of _structure_. Every person's soul is different and the souls of plants and animals differ in nature from those of humans—and the further you get from a human in terms of biology, the more different the structure of the soul. Every species is unique, just as every organism differs if only in subtle ways. Some are extremely simple, such as microscopic life and hardly detectable without proper training. It doesn't _feel_ like a human soul, either. But then, if that's the case for simple life…how strange would something that wasn't alive at all?"

Malkuth frowned at me again.

"You're saying that everything has a soul then?" He asked. "Just that some are so different they aren't recognizable as such."

"Exactly," I said. "Or perhaps _soul_ is the wrong word for what I'm talking about—but there's _something_ there, some connection to the source if you reach back far enough. You've felt it too, haven't you? The massive currents of power that run through the world? What if they're like Aura—just from something a lot bigger than a human? What if, instead of trying to fill a void, it was a matter of connecting with and awakening something that was already there? A connection and an _exchange_?"

He was silent for a moment.

"Perhaps," Malkuth murmured at last. "Seeing as you produced results, I can't do anything but believe you. It's a bit odd, but that's us for you. But there's one problem with that theory of yours."

"Hm?" I wondered, tilting my head.

"You pursued the idea that everything had a soul, live or dead," He stated, lifting a hand and opening it. In the center of his palm rested a quivering lump of black material. "I went the other direction. If the nature of Nehemoth is that which isn't supposed to exist in Malkuth, if what we needed were empty vessels to fill…then wouldn't the logical assumption be to create something that was alive, but which had no soul of its own?"

 **XxXXxX**

I was silent for a moment, surprised. In a way, it was almost funny how our research had taken us in such similar yet different directions, but I didn't voice that aloud as I considered Malkuth's strange creation and sensed a strange sort of nothing from it.

"Much like you, I went back to basics and tried to figure out precisely how to do what I had in mind," Malkuth explained as things bubbled and writhed between his hands, black ooze growing. "But I went in a different direction. While creating life is relatively simple, that's not what I wanted, at least not entirely—because if it was alive, it would have a soul of some sort, right?"

"Right," I agreed, frowning as he worked. "But given what we know now, so should everything else. How did you create something that doesn't?"

"Like I said, I went back to basics," Malkuth answered. "And what are the basics of a soul? The key elements that _everyone_ must have to some extent or another?"

"Keter," I stated. "Yesod and Malkuth, too, as well as something to link Keter and Yesod. Even if the structure of other souls differs, as near I can tell that remains true."

"Yes," He answered. "And what if you removed parts of that equation?"

"The soul wouldn't form at all?" I guessed. "Wouldn't function, at least. Without Keter, there's no source of power to feed the process. Without Malkuth, there's no result. And without something inbetween, the connection is broken and there's nothing to guide or shape the flow."

"Exactly," He stated. "So what if, instead of _removing_ elements, you simply…substituted them?"

"With what?" I asked before tilted my head and narrowing my eyes. "The _Qliphoth_? You found a way?"

"Perhaps," He stated. "I'm still not entirely certain I've found what I'm looking for and it could use some refinement regardless. But I kept coming back to the same problem—if Nehemoth is the shadow of Malkuth and where things that aren't supposed to exist do anyway…then what does that _mean_? How do you create something that isn't supposed to exist? You can create things that don't exist _yet_ or don't exist _naturally_ , but if you can create something, whatever the means, it has the potential to exist. Even if the probability is tremendously low, it's still _there_ ; even if it requires my power to create, then that still means it's _possible_."

I nodded. We'd realized that much pretty early on—that part of our very premise was evidentially impossible. But we'd persisted anyway, just to see what would happen and if we couldn't redefine possibility. Between us and the growing nature of our power, it wasn't impossible that we might be able to draw something into this world that couldn't be created otherwise. But…

"You found a different way," I assumed.

"I wondered if maybe I was wrong," He answered. "It's rare, I know, but it happens occasionally. Nehemoth is the Qliphoth we know the least about, after all, and maybe I'd made a faulty assumption somewhere along the road. So I went back and reviewed everything I knew about the others and changed my hypothesis. Nehemoth is where the other Qliphoth are given form, of that much I was certain, but what _were_ the other Qliphoth? How would they appear once manifested?"

He shook his head and made something between a grimace and a smile.

"It was hard, because all I had to go on were the 'mundane' expressions of the Qliphoth, such as they were," He said. "They aren't something that we understand very well, by their very nature; they're what we labeled something we didn't understand. They're mistakes, flaws, and imperfections in our view of the world—things that seemed to occur independent of what we knew of the soul. If our grasp of the system by itself would be perfect, the Qliphoth are why it's not, the errors that occur because of the human element."

I nodded again.

"People have the ability to make choices," I said. "To decide how they want to act and live—and that carries with it the potential to make mistakes and do the wrong thing. Whatever your soul might say about you, who you are as a person matters as well—it's why the same soul can take the form of completely different people. Your actions, your decisions…they make you who you are."

" _Precisely_ ," Malkuth said and the topic seemed to excite him—which was natural, I suppose, considering that it was partially what he was after. "But that made me wonder—how did that apply in terms of Aura instead of emotion? Especially to Nehemoth? If the Qliphoth are simply imperfections and limited views of the truth, how would they take form, especially when it came to the shadow of Malkuth? What if, instead of making something that _couldn't_ exist, I made something that simply _shouldn't_ exist?"

"How?" I asked, tilting my head.

"I broke the rules," He stated. "The realm of Malkuth is where things come to be, taking shape based on the flow of the Sephirot. In some cases, that just means that things in this world are solid and real—but there also exist things that aren't. Thoughts, emotions, the mind…they're _real_ , but real doesn't necessarily mean _tangible_. But what if I made them that way?"

I paused, tilting my head.

"But you make things that wouldn't normally be possible all the time," I said. "Wouldn't that be an expression of Nehemoth, too?"

"It _is_ ," He replied. "We keep thinking of the Qliphoth as separate from the Sephirot—and they are, in a way—but they grow from them, too. They exist _within_ each other. Elements of Nehemoth have colored my power from the very beginning, just like elements of Thaumiel must color yours. But what if I took the expressions of the Qliphoth and made them real in the most literal way possible? What do you think would happen?"

"That?" I asked, pointing to the mass floating between his hands.

"Mhm," Malkuth answered, smiling and looking pleased with himself. "It's alive and it isn't, but…it's _real_."

"Does it work the way you imagined it would?" I asked him, frowning even as I tilted my head.

At that, his smile dwindled slightly.

"Not yet," He admitted. "There's something there, I think, but it's still incomplete—like it's not finished yet. It's soulless and 'alive,' but not…not _whole_. I built it from parts of myself, from my memories of…of before, but there's still something missing. It's the power source, I think."

"Thaumiel," I said. "I can see the problem. If you draw upon the Light directly, then they'll likely have a soul of _some_ kind, so it's important to stop there and pull from something else. Maybe even just Thaumiel itself. The Dual Contending Forces…"

"That's a bit outside my area of expertise," He admitted. "Could you…help me?"

I smiled at him, putting aside my uncertainty.

"Of course," I said. "You used the memories of your past lives, correct? Perhaps the issue is simply that your memories aren't complete. After all, you weren't the only one who inherited their will. They gave you Malkuth and they gave me Keter...let's see if we both can't give something back."

 **XxXXxX**

I realized that Malkuth was right soon after we began. The line between Keter and Thaumiel was so fine that I wouldn't have noticed it had I not known to be looking, simply failed to notice a force that was at once _of_ and apart. Thaumiel was Keter, but cut-off from its surroundings—from the Light above and the path leading down to Malkuth below. A power that had no apparent source or destination and yet _was_ , existing in its own right as if to spite the world that said it couldn't, to challenge possibility.

I could respect that—and it was exactly what we needed for this. A power that stood separate from the natural way of things, emanating its own power against all reason without allowing itself to be colored or shaped by exterior forces.

Of course, that simply raised more questions about the nature of the Sephirot. Even when separated from what should have been the source of its power, Thaumiel was able to emanate the exact same amount of 'energy.' Basic logic dictated that it had to come from _somewhere_ , but there was no apparent source but itself. Was there something I couldn't feel, even though it was a part of me? Could that power be coming from a place they simply couldn't detect—the still theoretical 'Other Side' of Sitra Ahra? Or was this an insight into the nature of the Light and the Sephirot, that I could draw such power while standing away from and against what should have been the source of it?

Perhaps that was it. The Sephirot were formed _of_ the Light, but somehow made distinct—in fact, at the most basic level, one could argue that they were the _only_ things that were distinct from the Light, with everything else being shaped from their interactions. They were, perhaps, the 'matter' to the Light's 'energy,' but why did they exist in a different shape to begin with? And what did that state mean? I wasn't sure, but they were still composed _of_ the Light, made of the same boundless power they were designed to channel. They were the same and yet distinct, just as Thaumiel was proving to be now; something that existed in a distinct way despite everything that said it shouldn't.

Or, at least, that was the feeling I got from it. But in the end, the truth of the matter was that I simply wasn't sure; this was an area that even I couldn't say I had any mastery of. Now that I had found it, I could feel the difference between Keter and Thaumiel, but it was hard to describe; like flipping a light switch, except the light didn't turn _off_ , it just shifted. A connection vs. a closed circuit, but the same results either way. At least, maybe? _Would_ the results be the same? I hadn't had time to try and test what the differences would be in using power from Thaumiel in place of power from Keter, but it _felt_ much the same.

But maybe that was simply because the power was familiar, as if it had been there all along—which perhaps it had been, in hindsight. Looking at it now, I could see shades of myself in Thaumiel—or, perhaps, shades of Thaumiel in me. The will that drove me to defy the Angels, to set myself apart from the world that tried to define me and to define myself instead. The need to _be_ , to know myself even if it wasn't acknowledged by anyone else, the knowledge of my name, the distinction between who I was outside and within. The separation of my 'self' from the 'world' and my 'mind' from my 'body,' and more besides…now that I knew what to look for, I could see the lines and similarities, down to the very way I existed in this world. There were elements that showed marks of Keter _and_ Thaumiel, the two intermingled so much that the lines could only be guessed at.

Was this a natural thing, I wondered? Or as natural as such a thing _could_ be, at least? We were artificial gatherings of such absurd amounts of the Sephirot that perhaps the Qliphoth were bound to manifest in extremes in turn—and, indeed, the method of their creation likely made that even _more_ probable. In a way, _they_ were as good an example of the Qliphoth as the thing they were now creating—the crafting of a soul within the mortal realm, the binding of many separate pieces and people into a distinct and separate whole. We were something that couldn't have occurred naturally _forced_ to occur by the madness and greed of the Angels. Add to that the state of the people who'd gone into our creation, how they'd felt in their final moments and how those thoughts must have translated over into _them_ …was it any surprise? And then there was the matter of who they were, what they'd chosen to be…yes. Thinking about it and looking back, I could all but imagine it now—the Qliphoth, always there and always unseen, an invisible and intangible part of us as much as our very souls.

In fact…as I felt that knowledge sink in and take hold, I could feel something stirring and rising closer to the surface. It wasn't something _new_ , per se—more like something I'd simply never noticed before, except that thought in itself was ridiculous. I'd always known what I was and what I could be, even if certain paths only became clear as I learned more about myself and the paths that led to them; if this had been there all along, I would have noticed it.

Should have noticed it. But I somehow hadn't?

No, that wasn't quite right, either. It was close, but it didn't _feel_ like one of the masks I wore or the roles I adopted—not entirely, at least, though I could feel possibilities forming and taking shape within it, now that I was aware of it. If anything, it felt more like when I first found and noticed my name, Metatron.

Except that _still_ didn't make sense. Metatron was more than just a name—it was _my_ name, the part of me that remained even when all else changed. It was who I was, the essence of my self that everything boiled down to; it wasn't something I could have another of, without being someone else.

Or was that it, perhaps? The name and the role, it was…who I was when I wasn't myself, maybe? Who I could have been if I hadn't been me? Or something else along those lines. A possibility that had always been there, even expressed itself in ways, but just a possibility, a choice I could have made. I had always been one to define myself and choose my paths; this was just a decision I'd made without realizing it, as a result of all the other decisions I'd made.

And here it was now, spelt out clearly. Not reaching out, not inviting me, but there and waiting to be explored if I so chose. A chance to take the path not traveled.

But seeing it now, _feeling_ it, I was startled. I drew back metaphorically, shied away, and the certainty I'd had for what seemed like all my life briefly faltered. I couldn't understand it completely, couldn't truly comprehend it without reaching out, but I could still vaguely _feel_ it, who I could have been.

This was what they could have made me. What I might have been born to become. And I wasn't sure how to describe it. 'The Opposite' didn't quite fit the feeling, though parts of it applied; it was more than that. 'The Other,' 'The Reverse,' there were shades of applicability, but it still didn't fit. If I had to define it, name the sensation…I would have called it 'The Adversary.' The opposing force, the nemesis, the enemy. Not 'Thaumiel' instead of 'Keter,' but what I could have become had things been different, had I remained alone.

Of who? Of what? Maybe me, maybe someone else, maybe everything. I wasn't sure—and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out.

Before, I'd have pushed forward, reached out to examine the sensation, pushing on my scientific curiosity and wonder, sure that whatever came of it, I'd be able to see myself through and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Why would there be? We were the strongest beings in this world, dwarfing the Angels when we were young and dwarfing ourselves then as we were now. There shouldn't have been anything in this world that could frighten me and there wasn't.

But for the first time in a long, long time, I felt doubt. Faced with what could have been, what could still be…

Maybe this wasn't a good idea, I thought.

"Brother, look!" Malkuth spoke, drawing my attention moments after the thought crossed my mind. "We've done it!"

I turned at once, a pang of dread striking me as I looked towards him. The black mass that had gathered between his hands began to shift and writhe on its own power, something filling the empty vessel. It wasn't a soul, as such, wasn't complete—but it was something we'd made from the pieces of what had once been a person, altered by power and will. It was a semblance of life, except that wasn't the right word, because whatever this creature might be, it was most assuredly alive. Soulless? Perhaps, but alive.

It opened its eyes slowly, the orbs completely and brightly red, with nothing to indicate an iris, pupil, or sclera. Even so, I could feel it as it looked around, turning it's gaze first towards me and then to Malkuth. It didn't have a true shape yet, still confined to the amorphous blob Malkuth had created, but I could feel the potential within it in a very literal sense. It was something I'd always had a knack for, judging others; perhaps a side-effect of my ability to determine my own place in the world. I could look at another person and see where they stood, what they were, and sometimes even what they might become.

Perhaps for that reason, new things had always fascinated me. Children, my creations, and more—to me, they all but glowed with possibility and potential. It was something I'd taken an interest in over time, trying to guess what things might become when they grew up or reached their conclusions…it might have been why I'd become a scientist in the first place and pressed the boundaries of what was and could be. What new things would I find? What new thing would I create and what would they become?

Here I was standing before one such thing and I…

I wasn't sure. I could see the potential in it, vast in a way I'd only seen when looking at my siblings. This was something truly new, both for us and for the world, and there was still no telling what it could become. My sense of it wasn't clear enough to break into distinct images yet, not this early and so far from the choices that might define it, but I could make guesses. I felt positive possibilities and negative ones, ones that felt steady and protective and ones that seemed almost sharp against my thoughts. I could imagine where we might go from, building upon our creation in countless ways. New futures, new theories, new everything—I could feel the bold futures we might create. Would we go further, making greater things or perhaps breath truer life into what we'd made? Or would it become something else entirely, surpassing all expectations?

There was no way of truly knowing what something might be except to watch and wait—but for the first time, that idea worried me. Because while many of the futures were bright, others were frighteningly dark, shadowed beyond my ability to see. I could feel danger from them, however, feel the possibility that my greatest fears might come true. This thing could grow up to become a wonder, yes, but it could also be a terror.

It wasn't too late to stop this, I thought. I could end it here, ask Malkuth to set things aside. It would bother him, especially this close to success, but if I asked, he'd do it. We could leave the answers to our questions a secret instead of searching them out and put all this behind us. I could destroy this thing before it became any of the things I saw, instead of risking it becoming a threat.

But I recoiled from the thought at once. What since did it make, to destroy something because of what it might become? It was something new and young, still able to become anything—of course not all its futures were bright. Our hadn't been either; no one's were. That was the point, the possibility inherent in free will, and the true meaning and value of the Qliphoth.

Slowly, hesitatingly, I relaxed. The Angels had wondered about the Qliphoth, sought to unravel why no two people were the same, even if their souls were constructed along the exact same lines. They looked at it as if it were some grand secret, adding chaos to the system as a byproduct of something greater—but what if that was the point, in and of itself. The Qliphoth added decision and distinction, _division_ , separating people from one another by the simple matter of _choice_. It was a risk of sorts, giving people the chance to be less than what they _could_ be, but also to rise above their nature and become more, giving them the opportunity to strive alongside the risk of faltering. It was the power of free will, creating variables in the system to keep things from becoming static, to allow for possibilities and create futures.

The possibility I'd found within myself, the Adversary—it wasn't the power of Thaumiel turning me evil. The Qliphoth didn't work like that; they were byproducts of choices rather than the causes. What I'd seen was simply something that had always been present within me, but which I hadn't chosen. If Thaumiel was Keter cut off from all other things, the person I'd seen and imagined was myself cut off from all others. If the others hadn't been born or if they'd been born to late, if I'd been raised as the Angel's had planned and hadn't pushed things ahead of schedule for the sake of my brothers and sisters…yes, I could have been something horrific. I might have still slain the Angels, true, but what would I have done then? What roles would I have taken up, what powers would I have wielded?

I had the power to be anything I wanted, good or bad, and I could have been an Archdemon as easily as an Archangel.

But, as I knew better than anyone, I could have been a lot of things. So could my brothers and sisters, so could my newest creation. There was no way of knowing what it might become other than to watch over it and raise it, as a parent did a child. My own creators had been monsters—so I'd just have to be better than the Angels.

"How is it?" I asked. "Everything okay?"

"I can feel it," Malkuth seemed to marvel. "I can see through its eyes, feel what it feels. It's separate, but it's a part of me."

Like my Elementals were part of me, yet separate, I mused.

"Is it okay?" I asked. "Are you?"

"What?" Malkuth asked, seeming startled. He blinked once, looking confused, before nodding. "Yes, yes, of course. I'm great—I'm better than ever! It _worked_ , brother! I can feel a part of myself in it and it's still me, but it's _not_!"

He was so excited that he was babbling like he had when we were both still children. I smiled, even as I looked him over for any signs of change, any unintended shift. I watched him carefully, still a touch worried—but there was nothing. Near as I could tell, he was the same as ever.

"That's good," I replied. "Does anything feel different? Do you feel better now?"

At that he paused, smile replaced slowly by a look of confusion.

"Maybe," He mused. "It's still hard to tell, since there's only one of them. But…I think so? I feel happier, more certain. But there's something else."

I tilted my head.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't know," He muttered. "I can…sense something, just barely. From that direction."

He pointed and I frowned, switching roles and then peering through the veil of space. My gaze flew over the terrain and then back, which didn't help much.

"There's nothing in that direction but the city," I said. "Is that what you're feeling?"

He paused and then shrugged.

"Maybe," He said again. "It's too faint to really say. Maybe it's nothing."

But the frown on his face remained, as did mine. I didn't see a change in him, nothing acting upon him or coming from our creation, but…

I'm still worried, I thought. But of course I'd be—this is something we have to handle with care.

"We'll look into it," I said out loud. "For now, let's be careful, however. We both know the dangers of tampering with the soul."

"Right," Malkuth replied. "Of course, brother—there's no rush."

 **XxXXxX**

As I entered the laboratory to prepare for our next experiment, I smiled as I noticed that Malkuth had already beaten me to it. The gravity engine was spinning slowly to life, twisting a hole in worlds so that we'd be able to draw matter and energy from elsewhere. Today, we'd be working on my side of our shared work, testing the lifts of my 'Elementals' and seeing how they were defined—and to that end, we'd see precisely how far the nature of 'inorganic matter' went, using both my and Malkuth's power. It was something I'd been looking forward to for a long time now, and I'd be happy to see the results.

Sadly, my enthusiasm was short-lived as I turned my attention towards my brother. The room we now occupied had been shifted out of conventional space, only technically existing at the edge of the exosphere, so I hadn't noticed anything wrong on the outside, but as I opened the door, the details were impossible not to take in.

Malkuth was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, staring off into space with hands trembling slightly on his legs. He didn't even react as I entered the room.

"Malkuth?" I asked, suddenly more than a bit worried.

He twitched once but didn't answer and if there'd been any doubt that something wasn't right before, they died a quick death.

"Malkuth?" I tried again, ignoring the distance between us to kneel by his side. "Brother, what's wrong?"

His eyes flickered towards me, both of the orbs wide, but it seemed to take him a moment to recognize me, because for a moment, he seemed baffled.

"Keter," He said at last, the words sounding almost uncertain.

"What happened to you?" I asked. "Tell me and I'll fix it."

His mouth opened for a long moment but closed with a click without him saying a word. A second later, he tried again, but not before giving me a helpless smile.

"They…" He began before faltering slightly and shaking his head. "They're…afraid of us. They _hate_ us."

The words didn't make any sense to me. They? Who were 'they?' There was no one here and even if there were, who could drive my brother into a state like _this_? But if he hadn't realized that his words would be unclear, hadn't been able to formulate a real reply, then trying to get answers out of him would be slow.

So I switched gears and began to change roles. I looked him over with the eyes of the Healer and the Protector before turning my gaze outwards. The Seer, the Farsighted, the Theocrat, and more all shifted to the forefront, taking the stage for only a moment before moving on. I scaled our surroundings, this time piercing the physical and metaphysical distance that separated this place from the outside world, looking for anyone who might be a threat.

It was only as I adopted the role of the General, however, that I truly saw them. Patterns lit up across the globe far below, written in shades of hostile colors. These places, a threat to what I wanted to protect. Here, weaknesses, ways to cripple them, draw them out, and strike them down. Without even thinking about it, I felt my power assign them priorities, threat levels, and more, and I felt a plan taking shape to cripple them all and remove the threat.

Except the threat was 'everyone and everything.' All of Mankind.

"The people?" I asked after a moment, still feeling a disconnect. "Brother, I don't understand. How are they hurting you?"

"I can feel them," He whispered. "All of them."

I analyzed that reply for a moment and then shifted to the Researcher to do so better. My natural awareness of people remained no matter what my role, but it sharpened in some ways and dulled in others. As I looked at Malkuth now, I could feel…something, a connection that flowed this way and that, shifting endlessly, and the texture of it was—

Ah.

"You can feel their emotions," I said at last, pieces finally coming together. "That what you've been noticing in our experiments. But it was never like this before…"

"Something finally clicked," He said. "And I finally understood what I was feeling. Everything became clearer then and I realized why it was so familiar. They think we're monsters."

I took a breath and then shrugged a shoulder.

"Hardly a surprise," I answered evenly.

"They think we're _monsters_ , Keter," He repeated, voice growing as he rose from his seat. That anger seemed to allow him to push through the feelings that had been distracting him and I could see him clinging to it. "They hate us—and they hate each other, hate themselves, hate this world!"

"Hopefully not all at the same time," I replied, tilting my head. "But Malkuth, think of what we are to them—immortal and unspeakably powerful, guided by what are, to them, unknowable whims. At times we appear and get involve, forcing order on the chaos before things get too bad, but then we leave and fade away. They know we're real, but they don't know _us_ , so why wouldn't they be afraid? They don't know our motivations and intentions, so what must our actions seem like to them? We're all but gods to them, Brother, and that must be terrifying."

"After everything we've done," He continued, as if he hadn't heard me. "After all the times we've helped them and protected them, after the things we've saved them from, they hate us. We were the ones who _saved_ them from fates they can't even imagine in this happy, healthy world. When the Angels ruled—"

"The Angels died hundreds of years ago," I interrupted. "No one alive remembers them except us."

The reminder silenced him for a moment, probably because what everyone else had forgotten had long been a sore point for him. I used that opportunity to continue.

"People don't judge the quality of their lives based on some grand external measure," I said. "They judge it based on what they have and don't have. They're lives may be wonderful compared to what they were, but they aren't perfect. They fight with each other, still, and when they wake up and look to the sky, they think of us—beings who could tear down their world at any time, for any reason, without them being able to do a thing to stop it. If we were there for them to see, people they could speak to and understand, that might be one thing, but we didn't. We walked away after getting tired, doing only what we feel obligated to, and otherwise left them be. We didn't care to do more than what we had to so we didn't."

"Are you saying _we're_ to blame?" Malkuth asked, sounding tense.

I shook my head.

"We don't owe them anything," I said. "The only people we _ever_ owed anything died to create us and we laid them to peace when we killed the ones responsible. What we've done since, how we've taken care of them, has been because of what we felt was right or remembered—but we don't _have_ to do anything. I'm merely saying that if we do little, it should be expected for some people to see us that way. Why do you care? They have their reasons to hate us, so let them hate—it doesn't change what we've done or who we are or anything. It doesn't mean everyone things that, either. While some people might loathe us constantly, others likely just go one with their lives; you would know that better than anyone, I think. So Malkuth…tell me. What's this really about? Tell me what's wrong and I'll try to fix it."

He was silent again for a long moment before answering.

"It hurts," He said, making me frown.

I considered what he'd said, shifting roles a few times to fill in the blanks and put the pieces together in context. Empathy was a known but largely undesirable ability, owing simply to the fact that…well, if you could know what everyone around you was thinking at all times, would you really want to? Worse, because of the simplicity of the ability at its most basic level—reacting to fluctuations and changes in surrounding Auras, effectively reading the body language of the soul—most recorded Empaths had a fairly extensive range, often covering kilometers at the low end. More than large enough to encompass good-sized chunks of cities and countless people as a result; generally, that alone was enough to drive most such people away from civilization. I figured that alone would be enough to harm Malkuth on the scale I'd detected.

But what if there was more to it than that? This wasn't conventional Empathy—it was like calling to like. The manifestations of the Qliphoth that Malkuth and I had created…the could sense manifestations of themselves in others and they were drawn to them. It wasn't particularly relavent since they were all tied to each other through Malkuth anyway, but I was willing to bet they could sense each other fairly well, too.

And it occurred to me that perhaps being an empath who could effectively only sense negative things might have unfortunate side-effects on a person. If it had been me…well, I probably would have any more difficult than I did with normal Empathy; I was above such things, generally speaking, just as Keter was the crown above the head. But Malkuth and I were very different in a lot of ways, however similar we were in others.

Even so, I hadn't expected it to affect Malkuth this way. His memories of his past lives gave him an enormous amount of experience at resisting such things, both from what he'd gone through in those lives and this one. While he didn't have the blatant immunity to mental assaults I enjoyed, he was about as resistant as he could otherwise be, a mental fortress of countless lives.

But perhaps that was the problem here. The same thing that had given him peace had left him vulnerable, opening holes and forging a connection that let things in.

That…could be problematic.

"Malkuth," I said carefully. "Perhaps we should put our experiments on hold for a while. Deactivate everything, until we can get this sorted out."

I saw his fingers spasm at the idea, which told me pretty well what he thought of that idea, which I'd unfortunately guessed already.

" _They_ aren't the problem," He answered a moment later.

"They're why you're feeling this way," I reminded.

"That's like saying my skin is a problem because it's what lets me feel pain," He replied. "And, to continue that analogy, that flaying myself alive would be an improvement. I _need_ that—and you know what will happen if I draw back all my pieces. You're asking me to suffer for the sake of people who _hate_ me."

"No," I answered gently. "I'm asking you to do it for me. Just for a few days, until we sort everything out. This is _hurting_ you, Malkuth, and I don't like seeing you in pain."

He seemed ready to retort again, but my last words seemed to take the wind out of his sails.

"I'll be in pain either way," He muttered before going silent for a minute. "Just for a few days? You promise?"

"I promise," I answered. "I know this is painful for you, Brother—but I also know you're strong. You endured it for centuries and I'll do everything I can to make sure we fix this."

"It's not just a week of hell," He whispered. "It's a week of a hell I thought I'd finally escaped."

But then, his eyes drifted to the spot where he'd been sitting, huddled alone far above the world to try and escape, and he closed his eyes.

"But you're right, of course," He said. "So I'll do it, because you asked me to."

 **XxXXxX**

I did my best to keep my word. I met with our brothers and sisters and we agreed to change things. We took a more active role in the world again, going back on the decision we made so long ago, the way we'd withdrawn from the world. I could tell that it was tough for a lot of my siblings, putting aside the freedom we'd embraced for an obligation we'd never really held to in the first place—but they did it. _We_ did it.

For Malkuth.

We returned to the world and split it between ourselves, taking a kinder, more personal hand. Four for the largest continent, one for the smallest, and two for every other. I stayed with Malkuth, rebuilding the lands of our birth on the continent of Grimm. At my urging, we leveraged our research to the cause, using it to create a better world. Medical technology, transportation, energy, and more—I made it a challenge of sorts, urging the others to explore paths we'd never had any use for personally. Even our projects with the Qliphoth turned to aim in a new direction, in an attempt to build strengths upon weaknesses. The power that made Malkuth so painfully aware of the world also served as a way to detect sources of that pain, letting us act before things went out of control. I tried to make it into a self-resolving problem, tried to create a cure from the disease. I tried to solve the problem.

But…

Malkuth was crying again, staring forward with the empty gaze that always frightened me, because it meant he was more somewhere else than he was here. This had happened before, if only rarely over the last few centuries, in moments were things broke down and fell apart. It meant that something had happened that had spiraled out of control despite their best efforts, that there was a war going on, or a riot, or a plague, or a disaster, or a panic—something that would be short lived in the grand scheme of things, but which was horrifically and dangerously real in the _now_.

To the people and to Malkuth.

It was a frustrating reminder that even they couldn't control everything—not everywhere, at least, not _all_ the time. It made a part of me wish that we'd never made them, what people now called the creatures of Grimm, but no, that was only part of it, a side-effect of the greater issue. Malkuth was suffering, had suffered since the beginning, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It was an issue made all the more galling by the fact that if it had been me, if I had been able to take everything he went through upon myself, it would have been nothing. I could have born the pain he was forced to endure, I just couldn't bear it for him. All I could do was try and help, in ways that never seemed to last, never seemed to address the real issue.

Which is what I did now. Silently, I laid a hand on Malkuth's head and kept it there, feeling my power take hold as I changed roles. He didn't resist, didn't even seem to really _react_ , and silent sobs cut off abruptly as he was driven into a senseless, dreamless sleep. Only then did I lift a hand and rise from my place at his side.

"Gevurah," I said, voice quiet and calm. "Whatever is causing this, find it and put an end to it. Now."

Gevurah shifted in his place at the doorway, glancing towards me for a long moment. I glanced back at him and looked into his eyes, staring firmly into the windows of his soul. Like the rest of us, his eyes had always been different, _distinct_ , but his were more noticeable than my blue or Malkuth's red. Instead, they were like mirrors, but with flames filling the background of whatever they reflected. When he grew angry, those flames flooded closer, filling his gleaming eyes with clouds of smoke and burning corpses that ran and screamed in silence.

And he was always angry, nowadays. Frustrated, upset, _tense_ —at the situation, at what he was forced to do, at what kept happening to Malkuth. Maybe even at me, for some reason.

But after a moment, he nodded and left without a word.

I stayed where I was, knowing I wouldn't have to wait long now. Gevurah worked fast, especially when it was stuff like thing, and he was as smart as the rest of us. He'd find whatever was wrong and fix it in minutes.

Sure enough, in less than three minutes, Malkuth stirred, fighting off the effect I'd laid upon him with ease and opening his eyes.

"It happened again," He whispered.

"What was it this time?" I asked.

Malkuth lifted a hand to his eyes, covering them for a moment as he began laughing quietly.

"Does it matter?" He returned after a few seconds, when he finally settled down.

I waited silently.

"An earthquake," He eventually said. "Worst in about a century. I tried to stop it, but people started panicking when the buildings started falling. Things got worse afterwards, when fear turned into other things, becoming grief and anger and more."

I nodded, figuring as much. Enki had alerted me to a disturbance on that front and moved to act, but I'd figured that anything on that level would hit my brother hard and had headed here instead, calling the others on the way. Gevurah had headed over as well, probably expecting my request, though why he even bothered waiting, I wasn't sure.

"I sent Gevurah to handle it," I said after another brief silence. "And he did. It's enough, at least for now."

He lifted his hand to look at me, eyes disbelieving.

"No," He said. "It's not."

He rose to his feet, standing until we were eye to eye, but his hands were clenched into fists at his side.

"These are _stop-gaps_ , Keter," He continued. "They aren't _solutions_. This keeps happening, again and again and again."

I nodded quietly, sharing his feelings.

"I know," I said. "It's not perfect. But it's at least rare, now, something that only happens every few decades, every couple of centuries. It's not as bad as it could be."

"'Not as bad as it could be,'" He repeated, nodding but not in agreement. "Yeah, that's great. My _life_ 'isn't as bad as it could be.' It's just, I was expecting a bit more than that."

"I didn't mean it that way, Malkuth," I replied. "You know that. But…it was this or disabling the Qliphoth, suffering occasionally or suffering constantly."

"I'd rather not suffer at all, I think," He murmured.

"I know," I said the same way. "I…I might have a solution."

At that, Malkuth seemed to perk up, eyes brightening as they met mine.

"You've figured it out?" He asked, phrasing the question oddly.

"It's something I've been working on, a barrier that should cut you off from this dimension and the people in it," I said. "I can show you the math, it's almost done, but—"

"It _won't work_ ," Malkuth cut me off with a snarl, stepping towards me. "Do you think I haven't tried that? Cutting myself off from them? Don't you think that was the _first_ thing I tried!? It doesn't _matter_. I'm the _Kingdom_ , Keter, and I can see through the walls of dimensions like they're made of glass—and so can all of my creations."

I fell silent at that, momentarily surprised before accepting his words as truth.

"Something else then," I proposed hesitantly. "It's something I've been working on—a way to reach above this world, above _Malkuth_. Above time and space and distance and everything else. If I finish it, we—"

"Could do what?" He asked. "Lock me away from the world? Lock me up alone in a hole for all time?"

"Not alone," I continued, still whispering. "You know I'd never do that, Brother. I'll go with you. And it won't be forever, either, just…until we figure out a solution."

He was silent for a long minute at that, bowing his head until his hair hid his eyes.

Then his shoulders shook slightly as he laughed again, the sound barely audible.

"There you go again," He said. "You and your solutions, again and again. Every time, you tell me to suffer for a while, because things will be better, and when they aren't, you do it again, always trying. But there's only one answer and we both know what it is. The way you handle it, every time you fail."

This time, it was my turn to fall silent, and I bowed my head as well.

"What you're suggesting is monstrous, Brother," I whispered. "Understandable, given what just happened to you—what keeps happening to you—but—"

"But what?" He snapped. "Don't you get it? Can't you see what's right in front of your own eyes? We _are_ monsters, Brother! Look at what we've done, the things we've created, how we act and view and think about the people we rule over! Don't you get it? We don't _care_. The others agreed to play their part for _my_ sake, not for Mankind, and it's something they hate when there are so many things we all would rather do. And you, you sent out Gevurah again, to do your dirty work—to kill people en masse that you wouldn't have to see die yourself—just so you could keep your hands a little bit cleaner."

"That's not what I told him to do," I said.

"It's what you _meant_ ," He snarled. "It's what you knew he'd do. You could have stopped him, sent someone else, gone yourself, handled things differently, but it was the fastest way, wasn't it? The quickest way to help me. So tell me honestly, Archangel Keter—why did you send Gevurah to do it?"

Slowly, I heaved a sigh and looked up at him.

"He's the best at such things," I answered. "The least affected."

"Because he _doesn't care_ anymore, Brother. Go and ask him," Malkuth challenged. " _I_ have and do you know what he said when I questioned him on how it felt, how bad it was? He shrugged and told me what he really believed—that people die all the time. They're nothing to him now, after all these years, if they ever were to begin with. But tell me, is he really the least affected? Tell me, do you really feel a _thing_ for them, for the people you abandoned all those centuries ago? Have you ever really felt sadness for those who died because of us? Would you really cry if they _all_ died? Would you even really care? Nothing _ever_ hurts you, Keter. Nothing ever _haunts_ you, ever leaves a _mark_. But you're telling me that _this_ would?"

I couldn't say he was wrong or refute his demands, but I didn't flinch away from them either.

This time, I told him the truth.

"I don't think it would," I whispered. "But I think it should. I think that I should care, that I should be more than what I am, be kinder, that all of us should be. I know I'm messed up—given everything, is that a surprise to anyone? But I already killed everyone who did anything to me personally. Why should I take my problems out on the innocent needlessly? Why should I let what was done to me make me a monster in turn? More of a monster, at least."

"And yet you still kill them," He stated. "Like you did today."

"For you," I said. "Like I would for any of us. I can kill when I have to, be a monster when I have to, if it means protecting my family. It's a compromise and still a sin, but that doesn't mean I should act that way all the time and kill whoever I want, whenever I want. If we did such a thing, we'd be no better than the ones who made us. Perhaps worse, at least in some ways. And we promised we wouldn't do that."

"We said some words," Malkuth said. "Caused some vibrations in the air nearly a thousand years ago. It was a promise, but guess what? Promises are broken all the goddamn time, Keter, and we broke this one. If I contacted Keter right now and told him to wipe Mankind from the face of the world, what do you think he'd say? 'Okay'? 'Sure'? Or do you think he'd demand an explanation or an excuse before doing it? We've held back from staying into the same experiments the Angels stated, but do you think we haven't thought about them? Haven't wondered about the mysteries contained within the soul, have never wanted to find out? Haven't _you_? We've toed the lines so often, haven't you wanted to cross them? How much longer until we do? We're not like the Angels, no—because we're stronger. Because we won. Because we know what killed them and how to avoid it."

"Not the most ringing moral justification I've ever heard," I admitted, but couldn't deny what he said, which worried me. I'd wondered before and I suppose I'd known we _all_ had, but I suppose I'd always figured that some things had never changed—that some things never _would_ change.

Malkuth laughed again and I could tell from the cadence that it was directed at me.

"Look at you," He said, voice almost found. "You never were good at stuff like this. You change who you are at a moment's notice, can adopt new powers and faces in a second, but at the core of it all, you're still the same. You never really changed from that day, did you? From the day you were born. What was it you told me—"

"If that even with all that's happened, who I am hasn't changed," I repeated quietly. "Then that must be strength."

He smiled at that and pointed at me.

"And maybe it is," He said. "But it's funny, too. In the beginning, when we were all children, you seemed like an adult, strong and calm and certain—but you're also static. The rest of us grew up and changed over these last thousand years, but you? You didn't."

I tilted my head.

"Right now, I'm not so sure that's a bad thing," I replied.

"Good or bad, it doesn't matter," Malkuth said. "It's just a fact. But what do you think the others would think if I told them what I wanted.

I went silent again, honestly considering it before answering.

"Gevurah might agree with you, perhaps," I said. "But not all of them. Netzach, Hod, and Yesod might go along with it, knowing it would help you, but Chesed? Tiferet? Binah and Chokhmah? You'd be splitting us in two."

"Perhaps," He acknowledged. "If it was just a request from me, perhaps you'd be right. They draw from the higher Sephirot like you and they're less…affected by it. They're curious, still, and they restrictions imposed on them chaff, but they'll follow your lead if you say to refrain. But at the same time, they'll do it if you ask them to."

I closed my eyes for a moment.

"What would you have me do, Brother?" I asked him.

"Something painful," He said at once. "And it's awful and it's selfish and it's going to hurt—but it's for _me_. Everything I did, all those times I held back and suffered for people I didn't care for or about, it was because you asked me to. I want you to prove you'd do the same for me."

"And if you asked me to cut off my arms and legs, I'd do it," I said. "If you told me that the only way to help you was to flay my own skin off and gouge out my eyes, I'd have already done it. But this is—"

"What's physical pain to you?" He interrupted, voice almost scornful. "You say you'd do those things and I believe you, but they mean nothing to you and me. You'd barely notice any of those things, much less be hurt by them. What I'm asking you to do…I know it's bad. I know it's wrong. And I know it would actually hurt you. But I'm asking you to do it for my sake."

I took a deep, slow breath, dropping my gaze to the floor.

"You're my brother, Malkuth," I whispered. "I promised I'd protect you, no matter what. That I'd keep you safe, whatever the cost."

But I knew I couldn't do this. That this was a line I couldn't cross—not because of Malkuth or even because of the people who'd been hurt, but simply because of me. This wasn't who I was.

Of course…I could always _change_ who I was, couldn't I? That was what all this boiled down to in the end, wasn't it? So I reached down inside myself, touching a place I'd hidden for so long, pushed out of my mind since the moment I knew it was there. The path not taken, but which had been there all along as a possibility.

The Adversary. The power of Thaumiel given shape within me—and this time, I accepted it, embraced it, and let it come over me.

I expected the change to be something enormous, as ominous as the feeling I'd gotten when I first seen Thaumiel itself. I expected it to feel like darkness and rage and worse, to feel like a darkening of my soul, to feel evil.

But instead, I didn't feel different in the slightest. It didn't clear away the doubt, didn't show me the way, didn't give me anything that I could see. In fact, instead of giving me any new powers, I felt that had been bolstered dull and what had been lessened swell. My many masks and roles were still there, waiting as they always were, but I wasn't connected to any of them right now, wasn't wearing any particular face. In fact, it felt as though, for the first time in my entire life, I wasn't playing any particular role. That I was just me.

Had I failed or was this a sign that I'd already become what I'd feared, that I was becoming it on my own right now? Or perhaps, was this another insight into the nature of Thaumiel, something that stood apart from all else, that didn't touch my mind or incline me in any particular direction—something that was opposed, yes, but more than that, was independent? That was wholly and solely itself?

I wasn't sure. Maybe it was nothing or it just took time to kick in. But somehow, it was that lack of anything that gave me strength. A lack of surety that made me certain. I let my senses expand to look over the world again, feeling my power come to life in a way that was entirely mine. I could feel Thaumiel reacting now that I'd made my decision, but it was hard to define or describe, nothing like what I was used to. It didn't feel like it was congratulating me for making the right choice—if anything, it just seemed pleased that I'd made _a_ choice, for myself. It still didn't feel like much of a role or a secret weapon or a hidden power.

It just felt like me. As I could be, as I had been, and most of all, as I was.

And it was enough.

I looked back up at Malkuth and smiled as I saw him draw away from me, looking stunned. I suppose that was to be expected, seeing as he'd never seen me cry before—because I never had, until now, except when I was faking it. Nothing had ever hit me like that, but this…this hurt. And it would hurt more.

But I'd made my choice.

"But I'm sorry, Brother," I said to him. "I can't."

He seemed frozen still, simply looking at me—but slowly, both his head and shoulders fell. His hands clenched into fists and his teeth grit even as he shook.

"Fine," He finally answered, voice colder than I'd ever heard it. "I'll do it myself."

As he made to leave, I lifted a hand and he paused by the door.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "But I can't let you do that either, Brother. If this is really the only way, if you really can't think of any other answer…I'll stop you."

He looked at me and I almost marveled. Here we were, Malkuth and Keter. The two brothers that had stood against the world, now standing against each other.

Malkuth looked away first and stepped over the threshold before answering, silently making it clear that his decision was made.

"Go ahead and try," He said.

 **XxXXxX**

We went to war. It started slowly at first, simply because none of us truly wanted to hurt each other, but hesitation had soon given way to curiosity. In many ways, the battles had been like a game, a new experiment with which to test our powers. We would protect what they would harm, they would harm what we would protect. Both sides came up with measures and countermeasures, possibilities and alternatives, leveraging past research to new purpose and inventing new things.

Even I had to admit that it was exciting on a level. We'd never had much need for battle, having defeated the only people we'd ever considered enemies in the early years of our existence. We'd accounted for the possibility, of course, the idea that others might rise in the Angels place, but as our powers had grown over the years, it had been a relatively minor thing. Martial prowess or not, what was the enemy to do again an opponent that could rewrite the laws of nature? Swim through dimensions like a fish through water? Create stars and erase continents and twist time and space? We'd prepared for it, making sure we were aware and durable, but we'd never truly needed to fight. We'd done everything in our power to make sure that nothing could threaten us but one another and we'd succeeded.

So, in a way, it was fun. Fighting—not just as a spar that was stopped before anyone was hurt or confined by dimensions and rules and things that were not to be destroyed, but as something serious, with nothing held back. To innovate new means on the spot, to design weapons meant for practice instead of play, to pit ourselves against one another and drive ourselves to the limit. It was a call back to the days when we weren't certain of our power and safety, when we didn't know the results before a battle even started. It inspired us, motivated us, and brought out the best and worst, as though we'd all been sleeping in anticipation of this day.

But whatever it might have been, this wasn't a game. It wasn't a fight we could afford to lose, not for me and not for Malkuth. I think it may have taken time for that to become apparent to the others, but they realized it too, in time. Mankind was something so different from us, so _distant_ from us, that it could be hard to recall that we were in anyway the same when we lived so far apart, but war has a way of breaking down barriers and opening doors. We—Binah, Chokhmah, Tiferet, Chesed, and myself—we all that stood between Man and a force they could not survive or withstand, the only thing that could protect them when the world itself seemed to turn upon them. Man, woman, or child, it didn't matter; they relied on us, huddled closer when the skies turned to fire or the air to poison in their lungs, spoke to us and wished and prayed.

We'd always been figures of extraordinary power and authority, held up high above it all and far from the normal man, but that all vanished before the coming end. People came to us, spoke to us, asked for news and promises and hope. It's hard to think of them as anything _but_ people then, when you could see them shaking in fear when a battle was about to begin. When you could see their corpses when a battle was lost. When you could feel the absence in those left behind, the effects of you failures on a person instead of a city or a nation. When you could fly and do battle around the orbit of the moon, it was easy to look down and see nothing, to consider the lives of the people so far beneath you _as_ beneath you, but it was harder to do that when you looked them in the eye every day.

It wasn't a game and in time those who sided with me learned that. It was a war.

And we were losing.

It was an unfortunate fact, but not necessarily a surprising one. We, the Archangels embodying the upper parts of the Tree of Life, were less affected by the rigors of the physical world, but also less attached to it. We relied upon less physical means to manifest our powers, like I did with the roles I played, rooted in what could be, while the other side was tied more closely to what _was_. Our nature allowed us to ignore some of the rules that characterized Malkuth, but Malkuth could outright _define_ those rules. The Sephirot were meant to be connected and all the things formed above where meant to be given shape below. Sadly, that gave them something of the home field advantage.

Added to that, Malkuth unleashed his creatures of Grimm in a growing array of horrific forms, some of them too powerful for even us to ignore—and there seemed to be no end to them. What started with just a few of us quickly grew into something enormous as the Grimm grew to number the millions, the _billions_ , building off principles Malkuth had discovered and learnt to use and designed to learn. With only the five of use to stand against them, we had no choice but to draw on aid for our side as well, taking strength from the people themselves. The power of the soul had not been forgotten during our reign, becoming, if anything, even more common place, but some of its military applications had fallen out of favor with no one to war against. But as we relearned the arts of battle, so did Mankind.

It helped slow the fall, but it wasn't enough. Not with the Grimm growing ever stronger and Malkuth finalizing the details of projects we'd worked on, unleashing his Riders—Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. It was a joke, as I understood; things we thought we'd undone, made into our undoing. I didn't think it was very funny, personally, but I lacked much of a sense of humor at times like these. What mattered was that we began to lose more and more battles and we felt the losses much more sharply than they did theirs, because we had so much more to lose.

This had gone on too long. This world hadn't been made for battle on our scale—hadn't been designed to allow it or survive it. Gevurah burning down nations, Yesod reducing all to nothing, Malkuth rewriting the rules…it was too much for the world to endure forever. Too much for Mankind to endure, with the Grimm eating away at them constantly.

So I'd decided to end it, on the same fields were we'd defeated the Angels. We hid what was left of Humanity away as best we could, planned for the occasion, and made our preparations. Just in case, I even took measures, in case we should fail. Truth be told, it was quite possible, even likely, so I did my best. But at the same time, I resolved myself for what was to come.

And then we fought. For our lives, for the lives of Mankind, for what we believed in—for all those things and more, we burned down the field of Megiddo once more. Nothing remained in the wake of our battle. The land had been scoured of all signs of life almost before the battle began and then it had been used as a tool to wage our war. Parts of it had ceased to exist, while others had been reduced to shapeless primordial chaos. Others had been removed via more physical means, burnt away or shattered or shunted elsewhere. Some areas bore marks of effects that seemed frozen in time, while others continued as if holding their last note without end. In some cases, they even did both, such as with a lightning bolt that was utterly still on one end and writhed in the air on the other.

We'd divided the battlefield as we'd planned, facing our opponents on our terms, and things had gone as well as could be expected—which was to say that my brothers and sisters, the people I loved more than anything else in the world, all laid dead. They'd killed and died for me, except that wasn't quite the case; they'd done it for what they believed in, what they loved, and what they'd valued at the end.

Funny what a difference of opinion could amount to. Almost all of my family laid dead around me, a fact that I'd never be able to forgive myself for our forget—at least, not in this life, meaning it might not be a long-term issue for me. Not for the first time since this battle began, my thoughts went back to the conversation Malkuth and I had had concerning reincarnation and I wondered what it would mean for us. Would we remember? If we found each other again, would we know? Would we take the same path or repeat the same mistakes?

What a depressing thing to think about, here at the end.

"Keter!" Malkuth snarled, slashing a hand through the air, and a corridor of matter about the size of a building suddenly vanished as fundamental forces ceased to operate. I came apart and back together, focusing on the battle through my own musings.

I was losing, which was unfortunate but, again, not surprising. If anything, the _way_ I was losing was a bit ironic. Malkuth had made himself untouchable, becoming a constant, something unchangeable. I, meanwhile, was ever changing, shifting roles with every second, often pausing only long enough to release a specific effect before moving on. I drew parts of surrounding dimensions into ours and then fired bolts of piercing energy. I switched places with those same bolts as they connected and struck Malkuth with a blow that was overlaid with a hundred thousand possible variations of itself, multiplying the impact accordingly. As I made contact, I tried to alter his position in space, pushing parts of him into other dimensions with severing force, and then I withdrew by becoming a part of the land beneath my feet and growing a new body from the earth even as Malkuth scattered the previous one. I marked out possible futures and moved to avoid them, not dodging attacks but preventing openings from appearing in the first place, and then I unleashed a reality storm, assaulting Malkuth with an area of violently alternating time, gravity, and space that could annihilate nearly anything. Nearly because Malkuth survived it.

Unsurprising. He'd seen it before, alongside pretty much all of my tricks; it was to be expected that he'd prepared countermeasures. It was sad that it stripped me of most of my best tricks, however.

Gesturing, I summoned my Elementals before closing my eyes. Letting my senses expand, I could feel lights dimming around the world despite my best efforts to protect Mankind, but I reached out to them now and drew them from their intended course to give them a chance to defend others. Their spirits took shape within my Elementals, bodies and faces rising from a colossus of moving earth even as spectral figures appeared on the wind. They stood tall, each dwarfing the tallest of mountains, and the others soon joined them, combining with a gesture. My soul took shape as a figure of light, as massive in truth as my soul appeared to onlookers, and I withdrew for a moment, bracing myself. I shifted us into another reality just before the first blast went off, minimizing the damage to the world around us.

"Keter!" Malkuth shouted again, pushing at my Elemental and forcing the giant back with a hand. He was multiplying and broadening the effects of physical force, I noted. "Is this what you wanted!? They're dead! They're dead because of _you!_ "

Our siblings, he meant, but I couldn't see if he was crying in his grief for them. He may have been, but if so, the tears probably vanished in the bombardment centered on him. Either way, I didn't answer, instead choosing to consider alternatives. Using physical force was proving about as effective as I'd expected, even if it had kept Malkuth busy while the others fought. It was time to change tracks now, though, which meant choosing how best to do so. If I failed, I may not get another chance.

In the end, Malkuth chose for me. He unleashed a roar and the sound itself came alive, turning into a physical being that tore at my Light Elemental even as it became a resonance. Even as it did, however, Malkuth tore through both of them, black ichor forming around his hands into some kind of energy-annihilating field. He leapt at me, moving fast enough to outpace light—or else, altering the pace _of_ light—to strike at me.

So I met his eyes and didn't dodge. I left myself open, lowered my defenses, and put my life on the line.

And in the end, it wasn't any of those defenses that made my brother falter and lower his hand a touch so that it only erased most of my remaining self. It was the same thing that had started all of this, something above the physical.

A thousand years and the memories that went with them. Even now, even with all this, we were still brothers. It was enough to make him stop, to make him hesitate, to make him wait just a bit too long.

I'm sorry, Brother. I win.

For a long moment, the battlefield fell silent as we stared at one another—and Malkuth was the one who finally broke it, closing his eyes and dropping his head.

"Why, Keter?" He demanded in a whisper, drawing back a step before raising his hands once more. "Why? Look at them, Brother—you killed them!"

"If anything, I'd say _we_ killed them," I mused in reply, refusing to falter. "But I told them all what would happen today. They knew this would end with their deaths."

"Then _why?_ " He asked. "Why fight? Why would you all sacrifice yourselves for _them_?"

"So it _would_ end, Malkuth," I said. "We aren't the only one who've died for this. We're not the only ones who gave their lives for something we wanted or believed in. We're just the only ones that mattered to you…so I suppose it had to be us. There's no other way to stop you"

Malkuth's hands twitched at his side and he grit his teeth.

"Because they can't reincarnate without Humanity?" He asked. "You bastard—don't you get it? Death is _it_. Even if they're reborn, it won't be _them_ anymore."

"Maybe," I whispered quietly, unable to keep myself from mulling over the same possibility. "Maybe not. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"It doesn't _matter_ ," Malkuth insisted, almost taking a step forward as a growl entered his voice. "Humans…they're _nothing_. I can create and destroy them as easily as breathing. They aren't worth _this_ , they aren't something you can hold over me; if I have to, once I find a _real_ solution, I could grow men like grass in the summer. But our brother, our sisters…they're dead because of this fight. Because you made them give their lives for people who don't even matter."

"There's more to the value of life then how easily it is taken or given away, Brother," I replied, meeting his eyes calmly. I had to try not to sigh. "You of all people should know that. Wasn't it a matter of human lives that brought us here in the first place?"

"Considering everything that's happened?" He replied. "Not the most convincing argument for leaving them alive."

At that, I chuckled and exhaled slightly before looking up at the sky. Our battle had utterly ruined the world around us, but the skies remained largely clear and I could see the stars. It was a funny thing, really; watching them change their place ever so slightly over the years. I wasn't much for star-gazing except in the pursuit of science, but I could remember the day we'd first freed ourselves and declared our independence from the Angels, when we first felt the touch of fresh air and looked at the night sky.

Such a long time ago, now. It was a path filled with memories, from beginning to end—my story. Except, given the choice, I'd rather think of it as _our_ story; the Kabbalah. There were good memories and bad memories, memories I'd thought good that were no painted in sadness and sad that I now recalled fondly. On the whole, however, it was something I remembered fondly, if now with melancholy. Given my nature, I'd always held a love for stories, or at least the idea of stories; the roles characters could play in a cohesive narrative, set against all the roles they could have played, the people they could have been.

As endings went, this seemed like a sad one, but it was the nature of people to be more than they were intended to be. I wondered if that applied to me in a way, too, or if I was still the same in the end.

I wondered if it made any difference, either way.

"Perhaps," I said aloud, deciding not to bore Malkuth with my final musings. "I suppose it doesn't much matter now."

A point of light appeared above and to the side of us, as blue as my eyes and shining with a brightness that couldn't be described—couldn't be _confined_ —to the purely physical. Although the point was indescribably tiny, it cast enough light to illuminate what was left of the lands of Grimm out to the lefts of my basic perceptions, casting the sky in odd colors in the process.

And no sooner had the light appeared than did it start to move. Like a blade being taken to the fabric of reality, the point was drawn into a line before changing directions and tracing a different path until it formed a perfect square—and it _was_ perfect, lacking anything but length and width for a single, solitary instant.

Then, that instant passed and it continued to expand, new paths tracing from the corners to encompass us in a cube, sealing us within. Then, the cube itself grew, branching out along new paths to become a tesseract, something that couldn't wholly exist within normal space and so simply expanded beyond them. Moments later, it expanded to a penteract and then to a hexeract, multiplying in size each time yet staying confined to the same volume.

"What are you doing?" Malkuth asked, eyes widening. The process was occurring at speeds even he couldn't track and we were already sealed in. I felt his power try to resist my own, but it seemed to struggle as it did, power over the physical realm slowly losing meaning as we my 'cube' spread—and drew us—into higher dimensions. Already, things like sound were becoming distorted, the words impossible to speak and thus simply conveyed by intent and idea, and it was only just beginning.

Even so, I looked at my brother and answered.

"Previous, I was buying time," I told him without lifting my voice in the slightest. "Presently, I'm winning."

To his credit, that was all Malkuth needed to hear to start putting the pieces together.

"This was your plan all along," He said. "You could kill all the others, but you knew you couldn't kill me, so you decided to…to trap me, like you said before. Lock me up alone in a box, far away from reality."

I was silent for a moment as I considered how to reply, what I could and should convey, but in the end I chose to go with the simplest explanation. He could put together the rest.

"No," I said quietly. "Not alone."

Malkuth's physical form was beginning to…not unravel, that wasn't the best way to describe it. Instead, it was more like it was simply losing meaning. It was there, but it didn't matter _here_. Even so, I could tell that he was surprised by my words and for a moment he seemed speechless.

"You'd lock us both in hell?" He asked. "Why?"

"Because you're my Brother," I answered simply. "And whatever you've done, whatever you've become, I had a part to play in it all…so I'll help pay the price as well. Besides…it's better than being in hell alone, isn't it?"

He stared at me for a moment that I couldn't really define, since time was starting to breakdown, too. Instead of waiting, I decided to continue to speak, while I was still able.

"This is the end," I said. "You and I, locked up forever. The others will be reborn eventually and hopefully they're find each other again—or, at least, find something like happiness and peace. They're strong and they'll be strong, perhaps strong enough to fix things, but who they'll be I don't know. But…I hope they'll be good people, that being born and raised among Humanity will ground them and help them. But you and I, we always we the strongest, too strong not to shape the entire world around us, so…let's just fade away into the storybooks. Okay? Perhaps I'll never truly understand what you'd had to go through and live with, but…I'm your older brother. I'll stay beside you until everything is over."

Our bodies were almost completely gone now as we ascended into the uppermost reaches of Malkuth and began to touch upon Yesod. But Malkuth hardly seemed to care about that now.

"You and me?" He said. "Trapped forever?"

"Hopefully not forever," I said. "Perhaps someday, we'll find a solution or perhaps even figure something out for ourselves. We'll still exist in some form; we might even retain ourselves to some extent or another. But if necessary, if this world is too painful, why not just leave it behind? This…is the closest I can get to doing something that truly hurts, with a price I can pay. Isn't this enough, Brother?"

Instead of answering, Malkuth just seemed to look at me and then away—and then something pierced straight through me. I looked down at myself, startled for the first time in a long, long while, especially when I saw the source. A number of blades had impaled my chest, striking through me from behind, and the weirdest thing was that while everything else seemed to fade, they seemed utterly and wholly real. It pierced through the walls around us as if they weren't even there, slipping through the reality trap as though it weren't even there, as if there were no greater truths to trap.

It took me a moment to recognize it and only then did I relax. Something like that would have been impossible for even Malkuth, by design, but I knew of at least one thing that could—and though I'd planned for it to be separated by Malkuth, it didn't matter much at this point,

"Killing me won't stop this, Brother," I said. "It's already too late for that, bound to the two of us. If I die, it'll just leave you even more alone."

Even without touching the extension of Death, Malkuth seemed to draw strength from it, growing more real in its presence—enough that when he looked at me again, I could make out a smile and see that it looked sad.

"Who would want to be trapped with _you_ forever, Brother?" He asked. "Such a thing would be a fate worse than death, so instead just…just die and forget everything."

I looked at him for a moment, not sure if this was meant as an act of kindness or of spite.

"Malkuth…"

"You have plans, I'm sure," He continued, seeming to ignore me. "You always do, don't you? For what to do if this happened—if you lost or if I killed you. You'll be reborn eventually."

I didn't deny it.

"If Mankind survives, at least," I replied. "You won't be able to act on the world the way you're used to; that'd go against the entire point. If you kill them all…"

"Of course you'd plan for such a thing," He said with a scoff, but didn't seem surprised. If anything, he seemed calmer than I'd seen him in a long, long time. "It doesn't matter."

Not the most assuring statement of Mankind's survival, but I felt confident that they'd remain in some capacity. That there would be hope, however slim. I hadn't wanted this to happen, hadn't wanted to shift my responsibilities onto others when I was supposed to be my brother's keeper, but I'd known I might fail. I'd taken precautions to ensure there'd be a chance to set things right someday.

But…

"Maybe in my next life, I'll manage to be a better brother," I mused, thinking both of the brother before me and those who'd led the way in death.

"Dead is dead," Malkuth said, the words soft and sad despite their ferocity. "In your next life, you won't be the same. You'll be nothing to me, no one. I'll take what I need, rip you to pieces, and finish what I started. I won't hesitate or show you mercy again, Brother."

I wondered if that meant what I thought it did, if he planned to wipe me clean—if so, it wasn't unexpected. I'd suspected that would be my fate if I fell in battle, assuming I wasn't outright annihilated. I wondered, more than that, if anything would remain and what.

There were no answers, even as I was dragged back into the realm of Malkuth and caught in the hands of Death.

I'm sorry, I thought, not certain who I was apologizing to—there were so many who deserved it, after all.

And then, I closed my eyes.

I died.

 **XxXXxX**

 **Murazor** _Chief Encyclopedist_ ** _Super Awesome Happy Fun Time_**

 **The Games We Play  
Game Over**

I came back to myself in a rush, blinking my eyes closed for a moment before opening them once more. I left myself rock slightly backwards as I did, shifting on the balls of my imagined feet, but it was more because I felt I should than anything. It was a lot to take in— _should_ be a lot to take in, something hard to swallow, to grasp, to comprehend.

But instead, I simply took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and then nodded.

"So it's like that," I said, even as I sorted the pieces out in my head. Before, I'd remembered nothing but the absolute basics, everything else having been scoured away by Death. I hadn't even remembered the way I'd died or how or even why; the only things that had been left behind were things that were at once indiscernibly intrinsic and priceless, such as my name, or varied scattered images that were hard to make sense of without context. I'd remember a few quiet hours one afternoon without anything before or after it, part of a speech or conversation, bits of work. There were other important memories mixed into it, but they were parts of an otherwise missing picture and the blanks became harder to fill in the long things went on. When it came to conversations with my siblings especially, things tended to grow oblique as things were rooted in interactions I couldn't recall and conversations I didn't remember. It was enough, over all, for me to paint a rough picture, but relatively little more. Given what I knew of the context and what had resulted, I sorted the pieces out as best I could.

This was different. I still hadn't gotten everything, but I'd gotten enough—gotten most of what I'd considered important. It was a steady chain of memories, along with everything tied or connected to it. Not every single day of a thousand year lifetime, but most of the important days, the major events and turning points and whatever else I'd deemed important. I could remember _that_ , in fact; myself creating this computer as a living, organic thing, something as much temporal as it was physical. It was less a storage place and more of a backup drive that had sorted through my lifetime and drawn out whatever had fit certain criteria, analyzing them for surrounding bits and facts that helped make them understandable. If there was any computer her, it was me, with this place being an external hard drive of sorts that I remembered linking myself to.

If I wanted, I could do so again now, letting it store _my_ memories as well. It would remain connected to me, even once I left this place, because it wasn't something that just existed within the confines of its physical mass—I remembered leaving it behind as one of my backup plans before going to fight Malkuth for the last time, but I remembered our final battle, too.

Should I risk it, though? In a way, this wasn't just my backup—it was Malkuth's, as well. So long as it remained, he could have another chance; he could still, at least theoretically, afford to kill me and wait for my next life in the hopes I'd be less careful then, more malleable. Looking back on things now, I was even more aware of the risks involved, the measures that I'd been forced to take. The time it had taken for my Semblance to awaken had been intentional, both to give myself more time to grow attached to Humanity and live a 'normal' life, as well as to help avoid Malkuth's attention until I was prepared to deal with it properly. If I'd come into my power too early, if I'd had a worse childhood, if he found me…everything could be ruined before it even began. Many things had carried over across lives, but I was still different, had been made different through the loss of my memories and the people I'd been attached to. Should I die again and be wiped clean, I'd be different again and even I couldn't say for sure how, and that was only the beginning of the risks I might face. I was pretty sure Malkuth didn't want to risk having another round any more than I did, but the possibility remained.

Of course, the risk remained no matter what. I'd been wrong in a number of my assumptions, believing some things had been deliberately planned where they'd truly been forced, that somethings had been goals when they'd merely been results. This had been personal for me since the day my father died, but it had been personal for _us_ for far, far longer, and I couldn't be certain of anything. I didn't want to believe I might fail, that I'd pass on what was now my responsibility to someone else and possibly go through the same things, but neither had Keter. In the end, it might still happen and getting rid of our backup plan wouldn't change that, merely raise the stakes.

And frankly, the stakes were fairly high as it was. I wasn't particularly surprised to learn that the fate of the human race hung in the balance, but having it confirmed was a bit troubling. To say nothing of the parts my other erstwhile siblings might play in all this, if they'd been reborn yet. If they had, it was likely that _someone_ had noticed, seeing as out natural power rendered us effectively immortal; assuming nothing had killed them before they truly came into their power, they might still be around. I'd always known that, of course, but with what I'd seen…some of them had been on my side and some had chosen to side with Malkuth.

Five-on-five, I'd managed something resembling a draw. But if none of them remembered anything either, if Malkuth was keeping an eye out for them as he was for me and had gotten to them…well, I was pretty sure I wouldn't like a nine-on-one fight. At least, not when the odds were against me. Worse, thinking things through I already had a few worrying suspicions.

Of course, things were hardly the same as they'd been before— _I_ was hardly the same, especially now. Remembering what had happened, remembering the progression of events and the battles…it had done more than just explain things and fill in the blanks. It had come with _knowledge_ , with an understanding of what I was doing as I fought and worked. Again, it wasn't _complete_ , but I'd known what I might be facing and hadn't been foolish enough to send myself in blind. I didn't recall every experiment, couldn't remember all the researched and attempts and failures, but I could see a fair bit of the results, especially for the things I'd put to practical uses. But for some things, that was enough.

 **You have received the title, 'Crown of Heaven.'**

 **You've obtained the skill 'Metatron's Cube.'**

 **You've obtained the skill 'Tzimtzum.'**

There were others, although some things showed for their absences. In those cases, I'd need to work through some of the blanks and put things together. I'd had no way of knowing how my Semblance might manifest upon my rebirth, so there hadn't been any way to determine precisely what _needed_ to be recorded. In many cases, where my power had simply given me the skill, I had an easier time picking things up than my prior self would have. Where it hadn't, where there'd been a focus on concept, idea, and theory, I'd have more difficulty as I was forced to figure out what was wrong, what was missing, and what I'd need to learn and do; I couldn't simply assume the role I needed to take it for myself.

But even then, at least I had some idea of where to start and what results I was aiming for; it was simply a matter of figuring out the other side of the equation, instead of taking shots in the dark to see what would stick. Better yet, I'd managed to pass on a number of my important tricks, even if they'd proven ineffective on Malkuth himself and I was dubious about how well they'd work on his most powerful minions. Metatron's Cube was all well and good, but it was probably too much to hope for that the same trick would work on him twice…and it hadn't really worked the _first_ time, at least not the way I'd _wanted_ it to. He'd still retained a connection to and control over the Grimm and had destroyed _most_ of the world. Tzimtzum was better, but not much so. The offensive skill I'd created to contract time, space, gravity, and more, built to crush parts of reality and leave only an absence behind hadn't even knocked the breath out of Malkuth and he'd had a long, long time to figure out further countermeasures. It might make a good weapon against the Grimm, but it wouldn't surprise me if several had ways to block it by now. With Metatron, I might be able to reshape them into greater things, but even then…

No. Those were useful, but the real prize was what I'd come here for in the first place. What mattered most was the _knowledge_ ; I'd had ideas and theories about possible ways to defeat Malkuth that either hadn't shown results in the time I had or which had simply ran into walls—and it was _those_ things that I'd been after, not my failed attempts. I'd needed something to at least reduce an impossible battle to one I _might_ be able to win, to make it something that was merely _liable_ to get me killed instead of guaranteed.

Did I have that now? Maybe. It'd take time to sort through the results, compare notes, and see what I could find. The surrounding well of information I now had to draw on would help clarify things and put them in place, as my knowledge of Partzufim helped shape my understanding of the composition of 'souls' and Gilgul shaped my knowledge of their cycle.

It was a place to start, at least. Something small but indescribably important.

Hope.

Taking another slow and pointless breath, I lifted my eyes to look at my copied self.

"You have what you need now," My recorded self said, looking at me. "You understand."

I nodded once.

"Yeah," I said. "I think I get it."

Then I hesitated for a moment before continuing, pursing my lips slightly.

"Malkuth was wrong and he was right," I told him. "I'm still me and I'm not me. Knowing what I do now, remembering our time together…I know him better. I understand him. A part of me even cares about him and who he once was. But here and now, he's a monster. He's hurt countless people for longer than even I can really imagine. Someone has to stop him and it looks like it has to be me."

My duplicate looked a bit sad at that—but not surprised.

"It's been a long time," He said. "At this point, death might be a mercy."

I didn't nod. He might have been right, but I tried not to dress things up more than they needed to be.

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you intend to do now?" He asked.

"Leave," I said. "I'll back you up again, add this iteration of myself to the system. It's not bad for you in here, is it?"

"No," He replied. "I can't fully exist without you here; I'm not conscious of anything that occurs in your absence. For me, it's not no time at all will have passed, if and when you return."

"Do you ever wish that wasn't the case?" I wondered, musing to myself.

He paused for a moment, seeming surprised and then considering.

"I don't know," He mused to himself. "I exist so briefly, I've never really thought about it. I don't feel lonely or without purpose, if that's what you're asking; when I do exist, I remember your past as if it were my own."

"It is," I said. "For all intents and purposes."

"Perhaps," He allowed. "But do I wish for more? I don't know. I'm not sure it's possible, considering what I am…but I suppose I'm not _against_ it, if that's what you're asking. Do you need me for something?"

"Maybe," I replied. "Just an idea I'll be looking into. If anything should come from it…"

I shrugged and he nodded.

"And after you leave here?" He asked, drawing things back to the original topic of conversation.

"I'll keep moving forward," I told him. "There's some people waiting for me and they're probably worried, so I'll check on all of them first. At least for the moment, Malkuth and I are at something of a stalemate."

"It won't last," He stated.

"No," I agreed. "So I better make sure that when it all falls apart, I'm ready for the aftermath. I've got a lot to do on that front, though; some people I've got to keep an eye on, friends and enemies, options to explore. There's still a long way to go before anything is resolved. And then there's my siblings, if any of them are around. I'm not sure whether to be hopeful or filled with dread by that idea."

"I suppose it depends on whose side they're on," My recorded self replied. "And what they're doing. Life and death are funny things, aren't they? There's no telling how much difference a single one might make."

I nodded quietly at that, looking down at myself. My death and rebirth had resulted in a number of changes, both planned and not. Many things, I'd prepared for before going into battle, well aware of the possibility of death and what might happen if I failed. But others…there were things I'd had no way of knowing or planning, such as the nature of my Semblance, in so many ways ideal for the fight I now had to prepare myself for. I'd thought to myself a number of times that it was too perfect to be anything but intentional, but it hadn't been a _conscious_ decision. The only explanation I'd been able to come up with was that it was that my soul had been responding to my situation and preparing for it.

How far did that go, though? Probably further in my case than in most, given my nature as Keter, but I still had no real way of knowing how souls existed, above it all. When I used skills like Ohr Ein Sof and rose to those levels, I wasn't conscious, as such—at least, not in a recognizable, human way. Was it possible that I'd done other things intentionally, helping myself before I even knew to? I wasn't sure. I wasn't even sure of any way to _be_ sure. But it made me wonder about something I'd once told Malkuth, about us being together after death, and if there had been any truth to it.

None I could remember, sadly. But perhaps. And if so, I wasn't sure if that would make the probability of other Archangels being around more or less likely.

Either way, it was another thing to keep an eye out for. I had suspicions, but none I could safely confirm—but hey, that was my life, pretty much. I'd manage somehow, or else die.

"Malkuth—" I began before stopping myself again, pausing to decide on precisely what I wanted to say. My copy watched me for a moment, waiting patiently as I did. "I still remember the past, even if it doesn't change the present. I may be the _only_ one who remembers anymore, how things used to be and could have been. If they're alive, none of the others are likely to remember exactly what happened and even Malkuth might not recall it any more, having lost so much. So…I'll do my best not to forget it."

He smiled.

"That's good to hear," He said. "I think I understand now, what he meant—about how sad it be, living as the only one who remembers what was lost. I'm glad that's not what I am to be, even if I spend most of my time dormant."

I chucked quietly at that and nodded before sighing.

"It looks like I won't be able to fix things this time either," I said, letting my tone grow serious. "Or grant my own wish, to be a better brother. But…if I defeat Malkuth, if I kill him and am still alive when he's reborn, or if we die and are reborn together…I'll try then. I'm not the type to hold grudges longer then they deserve to be held and everything that's between us now, I'll try to end with this life. After that, we'll start over and hopefully I'll do a better job."

"It's risky," He warned, but his smile undercut it. "There's always the chance that history could repeat itself. Just as you retained part of who you are, it's not impossible that something could persist in him."

"I'll manage," I told him with a shrug. "If nothing else, I should have a while to prepare for his arrival, right? I'll figure something out and deal with the risks. I don't really like it when stories don't have a happy ending. And it's such a long one, it'd almost be a waste. Do you think I can do it?"

My reflected self paused for a moment and seemed to consider.

"I believe that the human spirit is indomitable," He said at last. "That if you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate and sometimes it may be something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. But the effort you put forth into something transcends yourself, so there is no futility even in death."

I thought back to my previous life, to my brothers and sisters who fought and died for what they believed in and to myself. I was willing to trap myself forever to achieve my goals, willing to go far past death if that was what it took, even if it was just death I found in the end.

But here I was now, at it again. Still fighting. Was that a single will carried over or two wills united towards one cause? I wasn't sure. Maybe both. But either way…

"Then like I said," I replied, closing my eyes and smiling slightly. "I'll manage somehow."

He nodded, looking at ease now.

"Goodbye," He said as he began to fade. "And don't worry. However long it takes, I'll believe in your success."

The living illusion faded and I blinked eyes open, abruptly back in my position on the platform. The moment I was back to myself, I began to gather power, waiting to give a nasty surprise to any nasty surprises.

But when nothing happened, I stood.

"Was that it?" Raven asked, seeming a touch surprised. Given the nature of the 'computer', she hadn't experienced the amount of subjective time I had, to say nothing of the vast deluge of memories I'd received. She'd probably just seen me kneel, pause, and then stand up again.

The way other people viewed the world could get kind of weird, honestly.

"It was pretty user-friendly," I replied, smiling at her as I stepped off the platform.

"Did you get what you needed?" She asked as I drew closer.

"Mm," I said. "Yeah. I think I did."

She looked around, scanning the perimeter in expectation of a surprise attack—but at this point, I was fairly convinced that we weren't missing anything. Death simply wasn't here. Which had a whole _bunch_ of worrying implications, but they could wait until later. Here and now, at least, we'd won.

"A bit anticlimactic, after everything it took to get here," She mused. "I suppose it's time to go then?"

"Don't sound so disappointed," I replied, bumping her shoulder lightly with my own. "We survived Jericho Falls. Jericho Falls did not survive us. It's a good day. We should go celebrate."

Her lips quirked upwards at that before she shrugged a shoulder lightly.

"I suppose," She said. "We should make sure the kids haven't done anything while worrying about us as well."

I imagined Autumn growing to consume a building. She tended to spread and build fortifications around herself when she was nervous, after all.

"Probably a good idea," I agreed.

"And then?" She asked, giving me a moment's pause.

Thinking back, it had all started with a rejection letter from Signal. And now, here I was, looking forward to the future, towards the place that everything had been leading for so long. All the pieces were coming together, the plans and schemes coming to ahead. More would follow now, considering the cold war Malkuth and I had started, but…

I guess this settles it, I thought.

I was finally going to Beacon.

 **The End  
XxXXxX**


End file.
